this is bbc news, i'm ben boulos with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. flights between new zealand and australia are expected to get the green light, as both countries are now effectively covid—free. the minneapolis police chief testifies that the white officer on trial for the murder of george floyd violated the department's policy on the use of force. north korea announces it won't be taking part in this summer's olympic games over worries about coronavirus. climate change might be having on the oceans near the equator.

hello and welcome. new zealand prime minister jacinda ardern is, within the next few minutes, expected to announce a date for the start of a travel bubble with australia. the australian authorities say they're hopeful their citizens could travel to new zealand as early as the end of this week. a two way travel bubble would allow citizens of both countries to cross the tasman sea without having to quarantine at either end. with me is our reporter tanya dendrinos. just explain the background to why they are thinking of doing this, and when.— why they are thinking of doing this, and when. both australia and new zealand _ this, and when. both australia and new zealand have - this, and when. both australia and new zealand have done i and new zealand have done incredibly well in controlling the coronavirus pandemic but that has largely come to the

closure of their international borders, so there has been no international tourism really since before last march, and what that means is they are only repatriating citizens who are returning to both of those countries, and they are of course then subject to that hotel quarantine of 1a days, so finally this is opening up a window for aussies and kiwis to travel between the two nations without the need to quarantine and of course there has been a 1—way bubble in place since october whereby citizens of new zealand have been able to travel into most states of australia, minus a few hiccups in those glitches when it comes to small outbreaks.— to small outbreaks. where are the u- to small outbreaks. where are they up to _ to small outbreaks. where are they up to with _ to small outbreaks. where are they up to with the _ to small outbreaks. where are they up to with the vaccines i to small outbreaks. where are they up to with the vaccines in j they up to with the vaccines in both australia and new zealand? i think this is really the reason why this travel bubble is so important. i’m reason why this travel bubble is so important.— is so important. i'm sorry i'm 'ust is so important. i'm sorry i'm just going — is so important. i'm sorry i'm just going to _ is so important. i'm sorry i'm just going to interrupt - is so important. i'm sorry i'm just going to interrupt you . just going to interrupt you because the new zealand prime minister is about to start speaking. let's hear what he has to say about this travel bubble. ,., ., ., ., ., has to say about this travel bubble. _, ., ., ., ., ., bubble. good afternoon. i am “oined bubble. good afternoon. i am

joined this— bubble. good afternoon. i am joined this afternoon - bubble. good afternoon. i am joined this afternoon by - joined this afternoon by covid—i9 response minister to announce the opening of the trans— tasman bubble. tomorrow i am visiting dunedin and the training centre and i will be speaking to the south island symposium. on friday... inaudible. and a $60 million unit at the mason clinic for those with acute mental health needs. and on saturday i'm looking forward to attending a festival in auckland which of course had been cancelled previously because of covid. keeping covid out of new zealand in the past year has been a massive effort, and while i am overall familiar of

how lucky we are especially as we witnessed some countries just starting to rebuild again, we still do not forget that the position we find ourselves in her still come at a cost. one sacrifice that has been particularly hard for many to bear over the past year has been not being able to see friends and family. our health response now gives us the opportunity to connect with loved ones again, as we start a new chapter in our recovery. cabinet was presented with advice today for conditions of opening up quarantine free travel with australia and there have been met. the director—general of health considers the risk of transmission of covid—i9 from australia to new zealand to now being low, and that quarantine free travel would be safe to commence. cabinet accepts that price and is confident not only in the state of australia but also in our own ability to manage the travel arrangements.

while queensland has recently undergone an outbreak connected to the border, this too looks contained, and cabinet believes any residual risk can be limited with additional cautionary processes including testing, and on that basis, i can confirm that quarantine travel between new zealand and australia will commence in just under two weeks time from the 11:59pm sunday april 18. this is an important step forward in our covid response and represents an arrangement i do not believe we have seen in any other part of the world, that is safely opening up travel to another country while continuing to pursue a strategy of elimination and commitment to keeping the virus out of. while quarantine free travel to australia and vice—versa will start in a fortnight, it will not be what it was pre— covid. while we absolutely wish to

encourage family and friends to reunite and visitors to come and enjoy the hospitality new zealand is ready and waiting to offer, those undertaking travel on either sides of the debts will do so under the guidance of flyer beware. people need to plan for the possibility of having travel disrupted if there is an outbreak. but to help people plan ahead and make decisions around their travel, we want to share as much information as we can about our decision—making. just as we have our alert level settings are managing cases for new zealand, we will also have a framework for managing an outbreak in australia. in many ways we will treat australia as a region of our own when making decisions on restrictions. 50. decisions on restrictions. so, the new zealand _ decisions on restrictions. 50, the new zealand prime decisions on restrictions. so, the new zealand prime minister jacinda ardern confirming that quarantine free travel, described as a travel bubble between australia and new zealand, will start on april 19. let's bring our reporter

backin 19. let's bring our reporter back in our. just running through the details of what jacinda ardern has been saying and how it will work. this jacinda ardern has been saying and how it will work.— and how it will work. as we have just — and how it will work. as we have just heard _ and how it will work. as we have just heard under- and how it will work. as we have just heard under two l and how it will work. as we - have just heard under two weeks time, the travel bubble will go ahead meaning aussies and kiwis can travel between those two nations without having to hotel quarantine for 1h days. a press conference is obvious they still going, jacinda ardern outlining the exact details of what that means, how they manage an outbreak in either of those countries, and then do we bring quarantine back in or are there ways of eliminating that through contact racing perhaps, and this is really exciting because this is the first time we are looking at countries within elimination strategy, both of these countries have tried to get their numbers as close to as possible, but that effectively means really, they are only safe to each other. this will be a welcome move for both travellers and for business? most definitely.

travellers have been itching, domestic tourism has been open in both of those countries but they are itching to have that international holiday, both having plenty of offerings ready for those travellers and i think the for businesses, they have been waiting for this for over a year, and they have been waiting for this for overa year, and in they have been waiting for this for over a year, and in terms of domestic tourism the market has still been open but we have had our lines grounded, international tourism is operating at a loss, but this is really exciting news, but still a long way to go in terms of how these countries possibly open up to the rest of the world. the chief of the minneapolis police department has given evidence in the trial of derek chauvin, the white former police officer charged with the murder of george floyd. thejury also heard with the murder of george floyd. the jury also heard from the emergency room doctor who treated mr floyd had announced him dead. week two of the most significant trial in recent years, and one which has reignited america's unresolved history of racial tension.

derek chauvin is the latest police officer to stand accused of killing a black man — an event that reverberated around the world. do you swear or affirm on the penalty of perjury that the testimony you are about to give will be the truth and nothing but the truth? i do. it is rare for a police chief to testify against one of his own, but this one did not mince his words when it came to derek chauvin's actions. once mr floyd had stopped resisting, and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalise that, that should have stopped. derek chauvin's defence argues that george floyd died of drug use and pre—existing health conditions, not the more than nine minutes the defendant spent kneeling on him. but that account suffered a blow when the emergency doctor who treated george floyd in hospital said he believed the most likely cause of the cardiac arrest was asphyxiation.

based on the history that was available to me, i felt that hypoxia was one of the more likely possibilities. and hypoxia as an explanation for his cardiac arrest, meaning oxygen insufficiency? correct. the beginning of this trialfocused heavily on the emotional and often tearful testimony of the bystanders that witnessed george floyd's last moments alive. it now turns to the battle of the experts and the central question: what was the substantial cause of his death? gary o'donoghue, bbc news, minneapolis. jordan's former crown prince hamza has confirmed his loyalty to the king and constitution in a letter released by the royal palace. the prince was accused of plotting to destabilise the middle eastern country. he's dismissed the allegations. prince hamzah is the half—brother of the country's ruler king abdullah.

jordan has been an american ally for years, and helped fight the extremists of the so—called islamic state group. but over the weekend, prince hamzah leaked videos to the bbc saying he's under house arrest. and now, he has released an audio message on twitter saying he will defy orders to stay silent. let's get some of the day's other news. the russian president vladimir putin has signed a law that will allow him to serve for two more terms. the legislation could see him stay in office until 2036. it limits future presidents to two terms but discounts the time that president putin has already served. google has been spared having to pay potentially huge damages

to its tech rival oracle. the us supreme court ruled in its favour in a long running copyright dispute. the justices ruled that it was fair use for google to incorporate the java programming language into its android mobile operating system. nigerian authorities say more than 1,800 inmates have escaped from a prison in the south—eastern town of owerri. they say heavily armed attackers stormed the facility in the middle of the night and used explosives to breach walls and doors. saudi arabia has announced only immunised people will be granted permits to perform the hajj pilgrimage in the holy city of mecca. it's considered the world's largest human gathering, with normally about two million visitors. the ministry of hajj and umrah says worshippers must have received either one or both doses of a covid vaccine, or have recovered from covid.

a second fissure has opened up and begun spraying lava into the air from an icelandic volcano which has been erupting near the capital rejkjavik for the past two weeks. the new fissure, more than a hundred metres long, is a kilometer away from the first eruption. the eruption, spitting flames and smoke, is far from populated areas, but the opening of the new fissure meant tourists coming to see the spectacle had to be evacuated. a new study has found evidence of climate change directly shrinking the richness of marine life near the equator. while numerous factors like overfishing have impacted tropical species, the study published in the proceedings of the national academy of sciences found a strong

correlation between species decline and rising temperature. eliza craston reports. the tropics off the coast of cuba. for thousands of years these waters have been one of the hot spots of life in the ocean. but in seas like this near the equator, the richness of marine life is shrinking due to climate change. a new global study, the largest of its kind has found that since 1955, open water species declined by about half in tropical oceans. sea surface temperatures rose by nearly 0.2 celsius. it is happening faster than expected. in geological history this is a wink of an eye, a blip and to see such rapid changes, such changes happening so rapidly is something that is astonishing, i would say. scientists analyse data on more than 118,000 marine species including fish, mollusks, birds and coral. it is the latest research that shows the large systemic changes that global warming has on the biodiversity of the ocean.

and it suggests that the tropics are becoming too warm for many species to survive. those species that can move are moving to cool the waters. they found that almost all the million species have moved, are moving away from the equator and accumulating in subtropics and that is where we have a higher peak in the species diversity. but for fixed species like coral, moving is not an option and staying put in warmer temperatures can lead to higher rates of coral bleaching. these shifts could devastate the ecosystem left behind and any fishing or tourism industries that rely on them. it is another stark warning from scientists that unless we act soon to address the urgency of climate change, it will be too late.

stay with us on bbc news — still to come: everyone's a critic — the russian journalist whose live reporting almost turned into a doggy disaster. 25 years of hatred and rage as theyjump upon the statue. this funeral became a massive demonstration of black power, the power to influence. today is about the promise

of a bright future, a day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past. i think that picasso's i works were beautiful, they were intelligent and it's a sad loss to everybody - who loves art. this is bbc news — the latest headlines: quarantine—free travel between new zealand and australia is to resume from 19 of april, as both countries are now effectively covid—free. the minneapolis police chief has testified that the white officer on trial for the murder of george floyd violated the department's policy on the use of force.

over 150 people have died in flash floods and landslides that have hit indonesia and east timor. torrential rain brought widespread destruction, dams overflowing, submerging thousands of homes. it's still unclear exactly how many people are missing. gail maclellan reports. mud and rubble dominate this view of the beautiful indonesian coastline. the village has been destroyed. officials say no—one will ever call it home again. translation: 0nce call it home again. translation: once we realised they had been a flash flood, they had been a flash flood, the houses were already gone, covered by debris, but we managed to help some survivors. rescue crews have been left with the grim task of searching through the debris for those who are unable to escape the torrent of water and mud. translation: ad we still can't

determine the actual number of missing people because we don't know how many people were in the houses when the flash flood swept through the area. they could have been guests or some family members could have been visiting nearby villages. the ura ent visiting nearby villages. the urgent priority _ visiting nearby villages. the urgent priority is _ visiting nearby villages. the urgent priority is to evacuate survivors, but efforts have been hampered with villagers cut off and roads damaged. translation: i would like to express my deep sorrow for the victims who died in this incident and i also understand the sadness experienced by our brothers and sisters due to the impact of this disaster. in impact of this disaster. in neighbouring east timor, floodwaters were lapping at the gates of the presidential palace. landslides and flash floods are well known in this region during the wet season, but the impact of this disaster has been significant. gail maclellan, bbc news. the sports ministry in pyongyang has said north korea will not participate in the tokyo

summer olympics, to protect its athletes from coronavirus. it'll be the first summer games north korea will miss since 1968. this puts an end to south korea's hopes that the postponed games could lead to progress in deadlocked peace talks. the washington post's bureau chief forjapan and the korean peninsula told the bbc this is one of many measures north korea has taken to protect itself from the virus. north korea has been absolutely paranoid about coronavirus, and took extraordinary measures at the beginning of the outbreak to close its economic lifeline, the international border with china, shutting off trade and telling border guards to shoot on sight people who tried to cross the border illegally, so we don't know if there have been cases of coronavirus in north korea but we do know

that public events have started again, the coronavirus pandemic there seems to be broadly under control but they are very, very worried that any outbreak could cause a collapse of the health system so it is not entirely a surprise that they've taken this measure. now all the sport from the bbc�*s sport centre. hello, i'm chetan pathak with your latest sports news. we start in spain — what a title race we have there — barcelona are nowjust a point behind the leaders atletico who were ten clear at the top with a game in hand two months ago. how things have changed. barca have made it six league wins in a row after ousmane dembele scored in the last minute against real valladolid to snatch a 1—0 win to take his side second. great momentum going into el classico on saturday, when they face real madrid who are now two points behind barca in third. west ham have never played in the champions league,

but they're into the english premier league's top four for now and keeping chelsea, tottenham and liverpool out of the final qualification place as things stand. david moyes�* side nearly threw away a 3—0 lead again — like they did against arsenal last month — but this time they managed to hold on to win 3—2 at wolves. they're a point clear in fourth, with 8 games to go. jesse lingard — on loan from manchester united — continued his great form with the opening goal. there are two mouthwatering quarter final first legs to look forward to in the champions league on tuesday. real madrid take on liverpool. both sides last met in the final in 2018 which real won, though a year later liverpool took their ci’owi’i. manchester city meanwhile are hoping to win the competition for the first time, pep guardiola's side face borussia dortmund and will come up against erling haaland. — who's been in outstanding form. dortmund reportedly want over 200 million for the young striker if they're to sell him. he's scored 33 goals in 32 games this season and is being linked to several clubs including city, who are looking

to find a replacement for sergio aguero. these players a lot easier to find in the past, honestly. so think he is 20 years old. with the numbers it speaks for himself. so when this happened, it means he scored the right, left, in the box, and when you dominate, so, yeah, he is a fantastic striker. and it's 125 years ago since the first modern olympics took place in athens. take a look at these great pictures. the 10—day event was officially known as the games of the first olympiad with some 240 athletes from 1a countries competing in 43 events. around two thirds of those taking part were from greece. here's how the high jump looked back then. more of a boxjump from a standing start. not easy in the slightest, as you can see from these examples. great pictures.

that's all the sport for now. there is more over on the bbc�*s website, including reaction to monday's football. but from me and the team, that is all your sport for now. one of the perils of live broadcasting is you never know what might happen next. the best laid plans and biggest egos can be laid low by breaking news or unexpected events. so, some sympathy, please, for the team an on—air interview was suddenly interrupted — by a surprise guest. the bbc�*s tim allman takes up the story. this was pretty routine stuff. spring had sprung in moscow, a local television channel sends out its reporter for a live update. yelena in the studio throws to nadesdja in the field, and then this happens. chaos, as the correspondent tries to get her microphone

back, and the slightly stunned yelena quickly cuts to commercials. (relaxing music) "elevator music let's see that again in slow motion... nadesdja is just getting into her stride when a golden retriever leaps into view and grabs hold of her mic. i suppose you could call this a soundbite. a few moments later, yelena is back on the air and nadesdja has a new friend. correspondent and canine, once sworn enemies, now effectively co—presenters. actors are told to never work with children or animals. clearly, the same rule applies to tv reporters. tim allman, bbc news. surely the tv station would have headlined it with journalist follows lead. maybe

not. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @benmboulos remember last week? it was nice, warm, and sunny — almost a dose of summer for some of us. a completely different picture — shock this week. we've got cold, northerly winds blowing straight out of the arctic bringing wintry showers, it's already been snowing across some parts of the country, especially in the north. if you look at the satellite picture, you can clearly see the pattern. all that weather, all the clouds are drifting in from the north — not coming off the atlantic, coming in straight out of the arctic and invading so many other parts of europe as well. so, we're not the only ones experiencing the cold weather. it's many parts of the continent. now, you can see where the wintry showers will have been across the north of the country, maybe one or two snaking into northern ireland and wales, a few icy patches as well, and a widespread frost early

on tuesday morning throughout the uk, probably away from the very immediate coast. now, tuesday is going to bring lots of sparkling sunshine at least in the morning. in the afternoon, the clouds will increase in some areas, and those strong northerly winds will bring wintry showers — particularly across scotland, but they will be strong enough to push some of these wintry showers even into northern england, the midlands, and possibly even the south coast. now, they will be gusting 30, 40, even 50 mph in the north of the uk. so, if it's only two celsius in aberdeen and you get a gust of around 50 mph — so that's two on the thermometer but the wind will make it feel, giving you an apparent and look at that — barely above freezing the apparent temperatures in the south, as well. now mid week, wednesday, it's going to start frosty. that's because we still have the arctic air over us. so, the arctic air�*s not going away anywhere. but we're starting to see the winds easing. in fact, that cold air stream straight out of the arctic has

been pushed into the north sea and instead, we'rejust getting a waft, a suggestion of atlantic air bringing somewhat milder air. so wednesday is not going to be quite as cold and we're not going to have as many wintry showers if any at all. and in fact, you can see this process happening on the weather map here wednesday and eventually into thursday as well when that milder, slightly milder air — the really mild air is in the south — that slightly milder air arrives, and you can see those temperatures bumping up to around about 12 celsius by the time we get to thursday. bye— bye.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. one week left before people in england can have that haircut, or even a pint in a pub garden. but travel will have to wait and airlines and travel companies are furious. denmark is about to launch its version of a covid passport, and it's all electronic. come with us to copenhagen to find out more. thinking of relaxing in a nice hottub post lockdown? tough luck! they are all sold out. we look at a little known industry.