this is bbc news. the headlines... more than 70 mps launch a campaign against coronavirus vaccine passports, calling them �*divisive and discriminatory�*. the philippines, pakistan, kenya and bangladesh have been added to england's travel red list — international visitors will be refused entry, and british and irish citizens and residents will have to enter hotel quarantine. the trial resumes of the police officer accused of killing george floyd in minneapolis last year —— with the prosecution questioning a city police sergeant. 50 people have been killed and dozens injured in a train crash in taiwan. oxfam suspends two members of its staff in the democratic republic of congo following allegations of sexual misconduct and bullying. wildlife conservationists warn

people to keep their distance from seals this easter weekend, over concerns that disturbing and scaring them can lead to harm. good afternoon. more than 70 mps — across parties — have warned against the introduction of vaccine passports in england, which could mean people have to show they've received a jab before they're allowed into some venues. the idea has been described as "divisive" and "discriminatory". the government is reported to be considering testing a scheme for some major events, including the fa cup final next month. downing street has dismissed these reports as "speculation" and said that no final decision had been made on covid certificates. our political correspondent,

jonathan blake, has more. slowly, things are opening up. but once all restrictions are lifted in england, might we have to prove we have had the vaccine or a negative test to do certain things? no firm plans yet, but already there is opposition. more than 70 mps and peers across political divides have signed a pledge. they say, "we oppose the divisive and discriminatory use of covid status certification to deny individuals access to general services, businesses orjobs." i hope the government will take on board the level of concern about this across parliament and it will avoid what i believe would be a huge infringement of our civil liberties, and unnecessary. when you inject an element of compulsion into public health measures such as vaccination or symptomatic testing, you actually encourage resistance and scepticism.

but for sectors like the performing arts, which have struggled to survive through the pandemic, the government argues that asking people to prove their covid status could help fill empty seats. this is not about a vaccine passport, it is about looking at ways of proving that you are covid—secure, whether you have had a test or the vaccine. clearly, no decisions have been made and that means we need to weigh up different factors, the ethical considerations and so on, but it may be a way of ensuring you can get more people back doing the things they love and being in fantastic institutions like this. soon, big sporting events like the fa cup final will be used to trial ways of getting large crowds back into empty venues. testing and possibly some kind of covid certification will be part of that. for some businesses, trying to work out what this might mean for them, though, there's uncertainty and concern. the additional burden of the vaccine passport could really, really scupper things. it could make us actually feel that we are discriminating against sections of the population that haven't been offered

vaccination or are unable to have one, like pregnant women or those like granddad — who's probably going to forget his actual vaccine passport because he doesn't have it on his smartphone. allowing parts of the economy closed for so long to be able to open up safely seems to be dominating the government's thinking here, and the prime minister has talked increasingly openly about asking people to prove their covid status in order to do certain things. but there are big questions about how covid certification might work, who will police it, and — crucially — how the government can convince the public that it's worthwhile. for international travel, vaccine passports seem inevitable, butjust how proving your covid status in everyday life will work is the big question the government must answer. jonathan blake, bbc news. four more countries have been added to the "red list" of countries, which requires visitors to self—isolate at government approved hotels for 10 days on arrival in britain.the philippines, pakistan, kenya and bangladesh

will be added at 4am on friday the—9th—of—april after new data showed an increased risk from new coronavirus variants in those countries. government scientific advisers have failed to agree what the uk's r number is this week. the uk r number — which illustrates whether an epidemic is shrinking or growing — was at zero to 0.9 last week. the figure for england could be as high as 1 and was calculated to be between 0.8 and 1 — unchanged from last week. the department of health says particular caution should be taken with the estimates for london and the south west, as they are based on low numbers of cases and/or dominated by clustered outbreaks. in the last few minutes we have had

some news from the netherlands, it has announced it is halting the use of the astrazeneca vaccine for people under the age of 16. this follows the death of a women who received a shot, this is according to the national news agency, and they are citing the health ministry in the netherlands. around 10,000 scheduled appointments for vaccinations will reportedly be scrapped in the netherlands as a result of this decision. this comes off the back of issues within europe with the astrazeneca vaccine in particular, and we have had certain countries like france and germany at various points talking about the risk of astrazeneca with regards to blood clots. this latest news in the netherlands mean under 60s will not receive the astrazeneca vaccine in the netherlands. more as we get it. also numbers in terms of covid—19

infections and deaths in this country. i can tell you that in the uk 52 new covid—19 defs, death to michael people who had covid—19 within 20 days of a positive covid—19 test. this and also 31102 new cases of covid—19 have been reported on friday. that is up —— down on thursday, important to reiterate that wales, those figures are not included in these uk figures. some regional airports are warning it will take them years to recoverfrom the pandemic, with many worried that if short—haul flights to europe aren't possible this summer, there could be more damage. uk airports are losing £5.3 million every day, and research suggests nearby communities have seen greater unemployment than the national average. 0ur transport correspondent, caroline davies reports.

no holiday excitement. no last—minute suncream purchases. no pre—flight pints. apart from a skeleton staff were today's one flight in and out, southampton airport stands near empty, waiting. as does martin, one of the only taxi drivers still coming here for work. lucky if we get one trip a day. it's not enough, and the savings are right at the end now, so we're sort of looking, thinking, blimey, what am i going to do now? you know, there's lots of people that are on furlough at the moment. they are all in the same boat that i am, you know, they're thinking, if this airport doesn't stay, what am i going to do? southampton airport, like many smaller airports, was hit twice last year. firstly by the collapse of flybe, that ran many of its routes, then by the pandemic. the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in nearby eastleigh was 1a7% higher in january 2021 than january 2020. the fact that there

are no passengers doesn'tjust have an impact on the airport and the airline and people who work here. local businesses have said they are concerned that the airport recovers too. just under 30 miles away, r h h franks makes parts for commercial and military aircraft. having a thriving regional airport brings lots ofjob opportunities to people, but also inspires younger generations to get into the world of aviation. it creates a wide pool of personnel within the local area that businesses like r h h franks can recruit from. many regional airports are worried airlines will return to bigger airports first. derek runs southampton, aberdeen and glasgow airports. it's been unspeakably hard for us this year. at this moment in time, our sole focus is on maintaining our airports to remain open. but of course there is a commercial reality. with no flybe and its smaller aircraft, southampton wants to extend its runway so it can accommodate larger planes.

the local area committee turned down the proposal. the local council will look at it soon. as well as worries about noise, there are concerns about the environment. as we talk about building back better, should we be making airports bigger? we already have more capacity in our airports in the uk then we could possibly use within our carbon budget. creating morejobs in high—carbon industries i don't think is the best way to meet net zero or the best way to give people long—term and secure employment. the industry says it does have plans to reduce its carbon emissions. airports have received business rates relief and used the furlough scheme, but they say that help is a drop in the ocean. a government spokesperson says it has pledged £7 billion to aviation and is continuing to explore how best to support the travel industry. more announcements are expected on international travel from england. as many wait for a date for take—off, smaller airports will be hoping

they are not left behind. 0xfam says it has suspended two members of staff in the democratic republic of congo over allegations of sexual exploitation and bullying. the charity said the suspensions were part of an "external investigation" set up last november into the allegations. the charity was allowed only last month to resume applying for funding from the british aid budget, after claims of serious sexual misconduct in haiti. the labour mp sarah champion chairs the house of commons international development committee — she says this will damage the reputation of the aid industry. unfortunately, it is going to knock people's confidence and that is a great shame because the aid sector does the most unbelievably amazing work. it saves lives, it empowers people around the world, it gives them prosperity and a future. but we have to accept that these are incredibly vulnerable people. there is a massive power imbalance in the relationship

between the donors, the aid workers and people that are in receipt of their support. and so, right from the very beginning of every project, safeguarding needs to be embedded and until we see that happening as an absolute automatic, until we see the very people that are there to receive the aid being viewed as partners, as people who know best how to both invest the money but also build in the safeguardings, these scandals are just going to keep on coming up. and i don't understand why the aid sector as a whole doesn't address this once and for all. and that is why it pains me that this has happened to oxfam, because i know they have been trying to really uncover all examples of where there are weaknesses in their system and change them. and that is part of the problem. you have to accept that, because you're dealing with vulnerable people, there is always the potential. what annoys me more is the organisations that aren't looking for abuse. i think every organisation needs

to assume that there is that potential and do something about it. helen evans was 0xfam's global head of safeguarding until she resigned in 2015. she reported concerns to the charity commission in 2015 and 2017 — and joins me now from bristol. thank you forjoining us. what you make of these latest developments? i think incredibly concerning but sadly also not so surprising. what we uncovered back in 2015 is this issueis we uncovered back in 2015 is this issue is systemic and will take many years for the sector to get on top of it. what worries me in this case is the people who raised these concerns said they had been raising them for several years at had not been acted on, and when they were acted on the people at the heart of them were not suspended. that is really concerning it has got to the point where they felt they had no option but to take it to the press.

so much more needs to be done. something i really believe is absolutely critical is the establishment and aid on the vitamin stop we can no longer rely on the mechanisms in place. —— aid ombudsman. the aid sector needs to get on top of this. how ombudsman. the aid sector needs to get on top of this.— get on top of this. how do you think this has been _ get on top of this. how do you think this has been able _ get on top of this. how do you think this has been able to _ get on top of this. how do you think this has been able to happen - get on top of this. how do you think this has been able to happen within | this has been able to happen within an international aid organisation like 0xfam, not only in haiti but now it debit —— democratic republic of the congo? it now it debit -- democratic republic of the congo?— of the congo? it has been an issue for many years. — of the congo? it has been an issue for many years, back _ of the congo? it has been an issue for many years, back in _ of the congo? it has been an issue for many years, back in 2002 - of the congo? it has been an issue for many years, back in 2002 it. of the congo? it has been an issue | for many years, back in 2002 it was first exposed with the west africa food for sex scandal. it is a long—standing scandal which will take a long time to get on top. there have been really important steps in the right direction since 2018 but still a long way to go. i think in my view we are still not on top of the governance of theirs and we need to put in place a body to

really hold the aid sector to account. untilthat really hold the aid sector to account. until that happens, really hold the aid sector to account. untilthat happens, i really hold the aid sector to account. until that happens, i do not think we will see all the changes that we need to ensure that people are kept safe, because the aid sector play such an important role, it is vital, but we have to ensure it gets its house in order added this report today shows there is further still to go. what added this report today shows there is further still to go.— is further still to go. what is the role of the _ is further still to go. what is the role of the charity _ is further still to go. what is the role of the charity commission? j is further still to go. what is the - role of the charity commission? the chari role of the charity commission? iie: charity commission role of the charity commission? tie: charity commission as role of the charity commission? ti2 charity commission as they are principally to deal with uk—based charities but when this comes to incidents overseas, it is just not set up to do that. it is also not set up to do that. it is also not set up to go and investigate on a case—by—case basis. it isjust set up to go and investigate on a case—by—case basis. it is just in terms of smaller uk charities, that is its principal role. these are charities within £300 million operating over many countries in complex environments, it needs regulated, someone who is setup to deal with those complexities, and thatis deal with those complexities, and that is not the charity commission.

how big a problem do you think sexual abuse is in aid sector? iwhen sexual abuse is in aid sector? when i resiuned sexual abuse is in aid sector? when i resigned from _ sexual abuse is in aid sector? when i resigned from oxfam _ sexual abuse is in aid sector? when i resigned from oxfam my - sexual abuse is in aid sector? when i resigned from oxfam my view - sexual abuse is in aid sector? tav�*i2�*i i resigned from oxfam my view is i resigned from 0xfam my view is wise it was systemic, but it is not just 0xfam, it is an issue across the sector that had not got on top of. it is a widespread issue. a widespread issue is going to take time to really root out that small minority—owned people who join these organisations to abuse, and i would echo the point that there are a lot of people doing an amazing job in very difficult situations, but there is a minority who do abuse and we need to root them out. as we have seenin need to root them out. as we have seen in many different institutions, finally the world is waking up to theissue finally the world is waking up to the issue of sexual excitation and we need to get these people out and ensure they are not able to join these organisations going forward. thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news... more than 70 mps launch a campaign against coronavirus

vaccine passports, calling them �*divisive and discriminatory�*. the philippines, pakistan, kenya and bangladesh have been added to england�*s travel red list — international visitors will be refused entry, and british and irish citizens and residents will have to enter hotel quarantine. 50 people have been killed and dozens injured in a train crash in taiwan. sport, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here�*s catherine. the trial of former minneapolis police officer easter weekend is always a busy one in the rugby league calendar — two superleague games and a championship match for you to enjoy this good friday — in the first of those, warrington beat superleague newcomers leigh 411—12. the wolves ran in four first—half tries — including this one from gareth widdop — to give them a 22—point lead at the break. they added four more after half—time. leigh did manage two of their own, but never looked like staging a recovery. this match and the following between

leeds and castleford are both being played at st helen�*s stadium due to coronavirus restrictions. leinster�*s heineken champions cup last—16 match against toulon this evening has been called off after an unnamed toulon squad member tested positive for covid—19. the french side were already in dublin. the winner of the match was set to meet exeter chiefs or lyon next friday. scotland flanker hamish watson has topped an online vote for this year�*s player of the six nations. watson was instrumental in wins against england and france and was man—of—the—match against italy. he also scored a try in scotland�*s narrow home defeat by ireland. watson is the second scottish player to win the award after stuart hogg in 2016 and 2017. india cricket legend sachin tendulkar is in hospital, as his coronavirus symptoms have got worse. he tested positive six days ago after developing mild symptoms, but after quarantining at home he has been advised to admit himself to hospital. he�*s now 47 and is test cricket�*s

all—time leading run scorer, in a record 200 matches. his social media tweet, thanked people for their wishes and prayers and says the decsion to go to hospital is out a of an "abundance of precaution" and that he hopes to be home in a few days. the diving world cup in tokyo has been cancelled by the sport�*s international governing body because the organisers�* planned covid precautions "will not properly ensure" athletes�* safety. it was due to take place at the tokyo aquatics centre in just over two weeks�* time as the final 0lympic qualifier and an official test event for the delayed games. in a letter seen by the bbc, fina also criticise the japanese government who, in their opinion, "did not take all the necessary measures to ensure successful and fair" competition. now, after the world cup qualifiers, it�*s straight back into club matches today, and the football league takes centre stage, with the easter weekend often a defining time in promotion and relagtion battles. there are 11 games in the championship — barnsley against reading

and birmingham against swansea in the later fixtures. keep up to date with all the latest scores and access bbc local radio updates on the bbc sport website and app. charlton have boosted their hopes of finishing in the play—off places in league one. they won 1—0 at doncaster, thanks to this strike from ian maatsen — on loan from chelsea. charlton are now fifth — a point clear of portsmouth and gillingham. pep guardiola has said that manchester city are unlikely to buy a replacement striker this summer because they�*re all too expensive. sergio aguero will leave the club at the end of the season, and guardiola has been looking at options for a new forward, but says they can�*t afford the asking price: a lot, lot, a lot of big chances we are not going to sign a striker for the next season, we cannot afford it. it is impossible. all the clubs

are struggling financially, we are not an exception. they have played incredible in this position, young players in the academy who play. i don�*t what is going to happen. maybe it is going to be him, maybe, but maybe we are not going to buy any striker for the next season. and golf�*s first major of the year is underway in california — the women�*s ana inspiration. three english players — charley hull, bronte law and georgia hall — are just three shots off the lead — follow that on our website this evening. and there�*ll be commentary of the final two rounds from tomorrow night on 5live sports extra. late golf fans, a treat for you. including my husband! —— late—night. the trial of former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin is continuing — he�*s accused of killing george floyd by kneeling on his neck last may in a case that triggered worldwide

protests over racial inequality. the defence contends it was floyd�*s drug use and underlying health conditions that led to his death. 0ur correspondent lebo diseko gave us this update within the last hour. this week we had been hearing from the prosecution�*s witnesses, basically trying to establish that it was derek chauvin�*s actions, his knee on george floyd�*s net, that caused george floyd to die, that that use of force was unreasonable. —— net. also try to dispel arguments around whether or not george floyd had been aggressive or posing a threat to officers. we have heard from a number of people that were at the scene what has been striking is how many of them still carry guilt with them to this day. we heard from very young children, teenagers still saying they wonder, had they intervened, done things differently, would george floyd still be alive?

the girl who actually filmed the incident said she still is praise and says to george floyd, she apologises to him and says that she wishes she could could have done more. yesterday we ended the day with slightly less emotional testimony but no less powerful we heard from two paramedics that had attended the scene who testified that they thought george floyd was dead when they arrived. very powerful testimony that they had actually had to tell derek chauvin to move from george floyd�*s whilst they were trying to check for a pulse. the day ended hearing from derek chauvin�*s supervisor, he had been called by a 911 dispatch worker who had been watching things unfold from inside the dispatch room ad was so alarmed that she called his superiors. he was saying that for him the use of force should have stopped when it was clear george floyd no longer was resisting.

at least forty eight people have been killed in a passenger train crash in taiwan. hundreds of others were trapped in the wreckage. the train, packed with local tourists, derailed in a tunnel —— after a maintenance vehicle is thought to have slid onto the tracks. as we�*ve been hearing, cricket legend sachin tendulkar is in hospital in india after testing positive to coronavirus. it comes as several cities in india are experiencing sharp rises in case numbers. 0ur correspondent rajini vaidyanathan is in delhi and sent us this update. sachin tendulkar tested positive for coronavirus at the end of last week and was isolating at home, but now we know that he has moved to hospital. in his statement to his fans on twitter he said this was out of an abundance of caution and that he hoped to be home in the next few days. no immediate calls for serious concern but given that so —— sachin

tendulkar is a megastar in this part of the world, with hundreds of millions of fans, there are many people who will be watching his condition very closely. this all comes as india itself is seeing a huge spike in coronavirus cases. in the last 24—hour is more than 82,000 coronavirus cases were reported, but than 430 defs. that is the highest daily increase since the end of last year, since last october. at the start of the year cases were falling dramatically, and a lot of people thought that india was past the worst. 0fficials thought that india was past the worst. officials say that lax behaviour is to blame for the rise, perhaps people were not wearing a mask as often, not social distancing as much, and now what we�*re saying is this rise in cases. yesterday the government expanded its vaccination programme. anyone over the age of 45 is eligible for a coronavirus

vaccine. 0fficials is eligible for a coronavirus vaccine. officials want to make sure that everyone over the age of 45 in these areas where there are high case numbers gets a vaccine in the next fortnight. that is still a tough challenge here, there�*s still a lot of scepticism around the vaccine in india. the governmenttarget is to make sure that 300 million people get their first dose of a covid—19 vaccine by july, but experts believe that unless the vaccination programme is ramped up dramatically that could be quite a tough target to meet. wildlife conservationists are warning people not to disturb any seals they may come across on the coast over the easter weekend. it�*s part of a government—backed campaign by the seal alliance, which says getting too close can lead to seals being injured and even dying. john maguire has this report. clearly fearful and distressed, a herd of seals is fleeing the land, heading for the safety of the sea. it�*s not always an easy journey, but seals can be

spooked easily by people — or their dogs — getting too close. it�*s the youngest seals that are the most vulnerable, with only around a quarter of them surviving to adulthood. injury—wise, they�*re either the young pups who get bashed around in the storms and separated from their mums, orfrom litter — so entanglements in fishing lines, nets. and one of the worst injuries we see is actually the dog frisbee hoops — the seals play with them, they put them over their necks and then they grow into them and they can be really severe injuries. and as the latest lockdown restrictions ease, conservationists are asking people out walking on the coastline to give the animals adequate space. people can disturb them if they are awake and alert or they're moving, then they've been disturbed. and obviously the worst situations are when they crash off the beaches and rocks into the sea and they can damage themselves, cause themselves injury. and all the while that's happening, they're not getting the rest they should be getting.

well, we�*re all well used to seeing these warning signs around the coastline telling you about beaches, hazards in the sea, undertows, things like that. increasingly now you�*ll see these signs saying give seals space — reminding people to ensure they don�*t get too close to wildlife. last year�*s first full lockdown has been credited as one reason why some colonies around our coasts have thrived — having been left alone for weeks on end. but the case of freddie the seal, who died after being attacked by a dog off the lead on the banks of the river thames last month, has highlighted the potential risks to the wild animals of trying to live too close to people. john maguire, bbc news. now it�*s time for a look at the weather. good afternoon. it has been a decent start to our extended easter weekend. lots of dry weather out there, the best of the sunshine certainly

has been further west. take a look at this beautiful weather watcher picture sent in just a couple of hours ago in west lothian. there has been a little more cloud across that east coast, here disappointing, and as we go through the night, that breeze coming in off the north sea will continue to drive in more cloud. so the clearer skies are likely to be further north and that is where we could see temperatures falling close to freezing. a touch of light frost not out of the question. but there will be some sparkling sunshine on saturday across parts of scotland, northern ireland, northern england and wales. hopefully some of the cloud across central and eastern england should thin and break, but it will stay rather cool and disappointing across exposed east coasts, with top temperatures of 8 or 9 degrees. in the sunshine, we could see 16. so all in all it is not a bad start to the easter weekend. dry and settled for many, but getting noticeably colder, particularly on monday, with the risk of snow showers.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... more than 70 mps launch a campaign against coronavirus vaccine passports, calling them �*divisive and discriminatory�*. the philippines, pakistan, kenya and bangladesh have been added to england�*s travel red list — international visitors will be refused entry, and british and irish citizens and residents will have to enter hotel quarantine.

at least 50 people have been killed and dozens injured