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tv   BBC World News  BBC News  April 7, 2021 1:00am-1:31am BST

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a very warm welcome to bbc news. my name is mike embley — with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. delicate diplomacy in vienna — the united states says the first day of talks on reviving the iran nuclear deal were constructive. brazil registers more than 4,000 coronavirus deaths in 2a hours — a new record for the country. at the trial of derek chauvin a police trainer tells the court the force used by the ex—officer on george floyd was excessive. the new, voluntary, one—child policy — why so many chinese parents are limiting themselves to a single infant. translation: for me, it's i already hard to raise this one. it feels better to put all your energy into one child, or we might feel guilty that we can't properly take
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care of many. and spectacular views of the darker sky at night — the impact of less light pollution during lockdown. hello and welcome. the united states has described the first day of indirect talks with iran as constructive. iran and the united states are holding indirect talks in vienna in a bid to revive the landmark iran nuclear deal. european officials are acting as an intermediary, hoping to solve what's seemed like an impasse, ever since former president donald trump announced the us�*s exit from the deal nearly three years ago. mark lobel reports. tentative steps in vienna as european diplomats shuttle between iranians and americans
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in the same city, but different buildings, looking for a way in between the smoke to rein in iran's nuclear activities. did ou see iran's nuclear activities. did you see this _ you see this as constructive —— we do see this as a constructive and certainly welcome step. in the end, we hope that we are able to return to the united states with our negotiating team with an understanding of a better road map of how to get back. at understanding of a better road map of how to get back. at the heart of the — map of how to get back. at the heart of the dispute _ map of how to get back. at the heart of the dispute is - map of how to get back. at the heart of the dispute is uranium i heart of the dispute is uranium enrichment. the united states wants iran to limit enrichment to 3.67%. but iran has been increasing to around 20% and stockpiling it. iran's chief nuclear negotiator says so far meetings have been constructive and on the right track but gave this warning. i and on the right track but gave this warning.— this warning. i have come here to do business. _ this warning. i have come here to do business. but _ this warning. i have come here to do business. but i _ this warning. i have come here to do business. but i doubt - to do business. but i doubt
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that there is the same seriousness in the other side. if the us is serious, they should be prepared to lift all sanctions that they have imposed or reimposed against iran, and after verification, we certainly go back. this global effort is _ we certainly go back. this global effort is an - we certainly go back. this global effort is an attempt to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that donald trump abandoned in 2018. but who will blink first? sanctions are hurting around's economy and oil trade. —— iran's. with an election in june two replace hassan rouhani, a more moderate figure, with hardliners... and iran's ballistic missiles and regional ambitions. iran's ballistic missiles and regionalambitions. so iran's ballistic missiles and regional ambitions. so there is an expectation this shuttling between the americans and iranians could take some time
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to resolve. mark lobel, bbc news. we will get more on this in a few moments. brazil has registered a new daily record of covid—19 deaths on tuesday. the health ministry said 11,195 people died with the virus in the past 2a hours. more than 300,000 brazilians have now died since the start of the pandemic — the second highest total in the world after the united states. will grant, our latin america correspondentjoins me now. this is a horror story. give us more details, if you can? it really is. upwards of 4100 deaths, in fact, almost 4200 deaths, in fact, almost 4200 deaths in a 24—hour period. of course, as we know, there is a political crisis unfolding in brazil at the same time, six of the presidentjair bolsonaro
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the president jair bolsonaro have the presidentjair bolsonaro have placed the blame firmly at his doorstep throughout this process. that he said he hasn't taken it seriously from the start, that he has underplayed the crisis, that he has even attempted to unpick the lockdowns being put in place by regional governors, but if any kind of remainder was needed that resilience is notjust towards the light of the end of the tunnel that some countries are beginning to tentatively feel like they are, rather, it is at its worst point at any stage since the pandemic began. is there any light at the end of this tunnel at the moment? in many countries, i guess this would be an existential threat to the leadership of the country. but there is a disconnect between the president and the regional governors, which is a big part of the problem?— of the problem? absolutely. that is definitely _ of the problem? absolutely. that is definitely part - of the problem? absolutely. that is definitely part of - of the problem? absolutely. that is definitely part of the | that is definitely part of the problem. there is tension between the state and federal government, and that has repercussions beyond the
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borders of brazil, too, with the rest of south america and the rest of south america and the rest of america and the rest of the world concerned, really about what is happening in brazil, because of course it is notjust that in brazil, because of course it is not just that these in brazil, because of course it is notjust that these numbers are so terribly bad for brazil, for brazilian families, they have been using —— there have been upwards of a third of a million people since the pandemic began. and the brazilian strains are considered more transmissible. it is considered by epidemiologists around the world is a global threat. other --eole world is a global threat. other people somehow _ world is a global threat. other people somehow managing i world is a global threat. other people somehow managing to| people somehow managing to cope, day by day? we hear about the spirit searches for oxygen cylinders?— cylinders? yeah, and we hear tales as well— cylinders? yeah, and we hear tales as well of _ cylinders? yeah, and we hear tales as well of doctors - cylinders? yeah, and we hear tales as well of doctors and l tales as well of doctors and nurses at their wits' and, saying they're doing everything they can to get to the end of a shift. i have spoken to family members, i have spoken to doctors, they do paint and
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almost new apocalyptic picture of the situation. we should say jair bolsonaro believes there is a lot of media hype about how bad things are, but when you look at the raw data, when you look at the raw data, when you look at those numbers from today, the highest the country has experienced, one of the highest numbers in the world, then you know it is a very, very serious crisis unfolding in brazil. ~ very serious crisis unfolding in brazil-— very serious crisis unfolding in brazil. ~ ., ~ , in brazil. will, thank you very much for _ in brazil. will, thank you very much for that. _ a trial of the 0xford—astrazeneca covid vaccine on children has stopped giving outjabs while the uk's medicines regulator investigates a possible link with rare blood clots in adults. the university of oxford has told the bbc that there are no safety concerns with the trial itself, but its scientists were waiting for further information. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh says the decision has been taken out of an abundance of caution. there are no safety concerns and the volunteers, it is just simply sensible to stop vaccinating while this adult review is going on. no
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medicine, whether it is paracetamol or vaccines, is risk—free, but i'm picking whether there is a link between the astrazeneca jab and these incredibly rare load clots is frankly difficult. and the incidents in the uk is thought to be one in every hundred thousand vaccinations, in germany, it is higher, mainly involving younger women. its case has to be investigated. did those involved have underlying conditions, did they have covid—19, which increases your risk of clots, and is there a connection? we know there a connection? we know there is an old to real risk from covid, especially in the elderly, and in the 40s, there is a one in 1000 risk of dying from covid after infections. much lower in your 20s and 30s, which means that balance of benefit verse risk is more balanced. now, regulators have said now in all age groups, the
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benefits of the vaccine greatly outweigh the risk. this is a global vaccine, 2 billion doses of the astrazeneca jab are being produced, so this is going to play a vital role in bringing the pandemic under control. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh. let's get some of the day's other news. president biden says the us is on track to exceed his goal of giving 200 million vaccinations in his first hundred days in office. but he warned that new variants of the virus were increasing and the country was still in a life—or—death struggle. the un has warned that about a third of the entire population of the democratic republic of congo is facing acute hunger. the world food programme and the food and agriculture 0rganization say more than 27 million congolese people are urgently in need of food. russian police have detained the doctor of the opposition activist, alexei navalny, outside
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the detention centre where he's serving a jail sentence. she was among 10 people arrested. the supporters are demanding that he receive proper medical treatment. mr navalny, who's on hunger strike, is said by his lawyer to be seriously ill. pro—democracy protesters in myanmar have sprayed red paint on roads and bus stops in the biggest city, yangon. they say it's to symbolise blood on the hands of myanmar�*s military rulers. more than 570 people, including at least 43 children have been killed since the coup on february one. day seven of the trial of derek chauvin, and the jury has been told that the neck restraint employed was against policy and training. prosecutors say mr chauvin made no attempt to calm george floyd down and spent more than nine minutes kneeling on his neck, which, they argue, led to his death. larry madowo has been following the case in minneapolis. we have heard from ten witnesses who are from the police, the minneapolis police department, all testifying that derek chauvin violated department policy, his use of force in the arrest of george floyd was excessive and this is not how
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they're trained. it is highly unusual to hear that many members of police organisation testify against a member of their own force. there is an unofficial rule called the thin blue line of silence, where police officers often protect their own, which is why it's often so hard to convict a police officer in a case of police brutality or police misconduct as a whole. in this case, they have all come out against 0fficer derek chauvin, who was fired just a day after the death of george floyd. we also heard the first outside witness brought on by the prosecution. he is sergeant from the los angeles police department. he did testify also from the outside looking in that his use of force was excessive. this is that exchange from the court today. based upon your review of these materials and in light of the ground factors, what is your opinion as to the degree of force used by the defendant on mr floyd
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on the date in question? my opinion was that the force was excessive. the reason why this is important is the prosecution is trying to build the case that, as they said in their opening statement, that derek chauvin betrayed his badge, this is not consistent with police training. that is the narrative they've tried to build again and again. and the defence's case is to try to poke holes into that and discredit all the witnesses and to say that these are decisions that officers make that are split—second decisions, and they are situational, they take into account what's happening. in eric nelson's view — he is the lead attorney of derek chauvin — because there were a mob, there were people yelling and screaming at the officers there, they distracted them, they impaired theirjudgement, and that is why he made those decisions and that is why when he should have turned george floyd on his side so that he could recover, regain breathing. when he should have administered cpr, he didn't do that because of all the other factors around the arrest of george floyd.
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larry madowo there at the trial in minneapolis. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: how less light pollution during lockdown is enabling millions of people to see spectacular views of the darker sky at night. 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.
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i think that picasso's i works were beautiful, they were intelligent and it's a sad loss to everybody - who loves art. welcome back. very glad to have you with us on bbc news. wayne main headline dominating the news. just one man headline. in vienna, after a day of delicate diplomacy, the united states says the first session of talks on reviving the iran nuclear deal were constructive. let's stay with that story now. joining me now to discuss is karim sadjadpour, senior fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace. i know you are described as an experienced iran watcher. there has been so much back and
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forth. just give it some context. as the fact that these talks are even going ahead a kind of breakthrough? you know, i've always _ kind of breakthrough? you know, i've always thought _ kind of breakthrough? you know, i've always thought there - kind of breakthrough? you know, i've always thought there was - i've always thought there was always going to be a loss of back and forth about the logistics about reviving the nuclear deal, but at the end of the day iran really can't reverse its economic decline absent or removal of us economic sanctions, which requires other all partial return to the nuclear deal. the administration is very much committed to that as well. so i think at some point, however long it takes is unclear, it could take weeks, could take months, but i'd do think we are on a path to a revival, a full or partial revival of the nuclear deal. it or partial revival of the nuclear deal.— or partial revival of the nuclear deal. , . ., ., nuclear deal. it is clear that iran's economy _ nuclear deal. it is clear that iran's economy has - nuclear deal. it is clear that iran's economy has been i iran's economy has been suffering deeply from the sanctions, needs sanctions relief. but surely there are
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various people in the iranian leadership who kinda benefit from a cold war with the united states. howeverthese from a cold war with the united states. however these factors likely to play out, with an election playing out? in-run's deep state. — election playing out? in-run's deep state, oettl _ election playing out? in-run's deep state, oettl how- election playing out? in-run's deep state, oettl how many, | election playing out? in-run's i deep state, oettl how many, the deep state, 0ettl how many, the iranian guards, they have thrived as a result of the country's isolation, they view hostility towards the united states as part of the identity of the iranian revolution and islamic republic —— ayatollah khomeini. this is not about normalising ties with united dates, this is going to be a negotiation about fully or partially lifting some of the economic sanctions which prohibit iran from selling its oil. and, again, because of the fact that the biden administration is so keen on reviving what was one of the foreign legacies of the 0bama administer basin, i don't think that simply going back to the
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nuclear deal is going to be the challenge. the much bigger challenge. the much bigger challenge is what the biden administration has articulated, which is to lengthen and strengthen the nuclear deal and i think the iranians are showing from the beginning that they are hostile to any us attempts to actually further strengthen this agreement. find strengthen this agreement. and et it's strengthen this agreement. and yet it's also _ strengthen this agreement. and yet it's also a — strengthen this agreement. and yet it's also a delicate issue in terms of domestic politics for president biden and his administration. there is a loss of opposition in congress. that exolains why. _ of opposition in congress. that explains why, think, _ of opposition in congress. t�*isgt explains why, think, president biden is reluctant to spend too much political capitol on this iran issue and to be seen as too eager to go back. because even the best case outcome, if the nuclear deal whether iran is revived, half the country, frankly, is not going to like it. and there are even important members of president biden�*s party, the democratic party, like the head of the senate foreign relations
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committee, robert menendez, fellow democrats who oppose the iran nuclear deal. for that reason, as you mentioned, president biden does not have a huge incentive to spend a ton of time and capitol on this iran nuclear deal, the same way president 0bama spent on it. just on that issue of what things capitol might be spent on, there were many criticisms of the nuclear deal in the past few years, didn't really address human rights at all, did it, do you see any chance of that needle being threaded? not in these nuclear negotiations. what i have said is there are essentially three pillars to any iran strategy stop there is the nuclear issue, there are regional issues, and then there is domestic iranian civil rights and human rights issues. why do think it is incumbent on the biden administration to offer a strategy which is not only going to counter iran's nuclear ambitions, but also its
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regional ambitions and its brutal human rights record. those negotiations and discussions are likely to happen in parallel, not as part of the nuclear negotiations. karim sadjadpour, very interesting to talk to you. thank you. interesting to talk to you. thank vom— the international monetary fund has raised its forecast for the global economy for this year and next, after a sharp contraction due to the pandemic. it now predicts growth of 6% in 2021 and 4.4% next year. they say the united states and china will lead the recovery, but that they don't expect much of the world will see drastic improvements until 2023. the new president of tanzania has announced the creation of a panel of coronavirus experts to advise her government, marking a shift from her predecessor's stance. samia suluhu hassan said tanzania could not ignore the pandemic.
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the late presidentjohn magufuli, who died suddenly last month, was one of africa's most prominent coronavirus sceptics. for decades china used a one child policy to rein in what the government feared was an ever—growing population which the country couldn't manage. then in recent years the rules were eased, allowing couples to have two children. there'sjust one problem — most young people don't seem to want to have big families any more. 0ur correspondent stephen mcdonell met some of them in north east china. chinese kids are sometimes called little emperors because parents, limited to one child only, gave their offspring everything. then came the two—child policy, but for many, one has remained well and truly enough. you just have to ask parents with a single child if they want more. translation: i haven't even considered it. - neither emotionally nor financially could i afford it. in china's once prosperous
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northeast, dwindling populations in many towns have led to a suggestion that this could be the first region to scrap birth limits altogether. but this may not produce more children. translation: for me, it's i already hard to raise this one. it feels better to put all your energy into one child, or we might feel guilty that we can't properly take care of many. there's been a huge shift in attitude from generation to generation here in china. older generations, they come from big families, and it was a really crucial thing in terms of their lives. but for younger people, it's not the same. they really don't want to have as many kids. it's not as important for them. the one—child policy came into force in the early �*80s to stop an already massive
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population exploding. later, people in rural areas and those from ethnic minorities were allowed multiple kids. yet for the vast majority over three decades, having more than one child meant being fined. china in 2021 is a completely different place. young couples want different things. when you look at birth rates throughout history, poverty tends to produce people. that's because every new human being is an extra pair of hands to go to work. then along comes prosperity, and it's not as important to have kids for this reason. another factor is that this huge country has now produced generations of people simply accustomed to small family life. it might be hard to get them to change. stephen mcdonell, bbc news. 0ne unexpected benefit of lockdown has been some truly stunning views of the night sky. according to new research, that's because of a dramatic
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drop in levels of light pollution. such a decline can affect human health and wildlife by disturbing biological cycles and behaviours, as our chief environment correspondentjustin rowlatt reports. this is what a truly dark sky looks like. billions of stars wheel above the kielder 0bservatory in northumberland. set deep in a forest, the observatory enjoys the darkest skies in england. and throughout lockdown senior astronomer dan monk has been filming the incredible views. people often do get emotional when they sit underneath this amazing dark sky and they realise how small they are in the universe. it can actually make people cry at times. it's estimated 85% of us have never seen a truly dark sky. it means we are missing out because it gives us a sense of our place in the universe, the awesome vastness of space.
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but look at this. even a tiny light is enough to extinguish the stars and bring us right back down to earth. the reduction in light pollution this year is an exception. satellite images show the night sky has been getting steadily lighter across the world. changes in light have been linked with obesity, heart disease, depression, and even cancer. you see, she's shaking? and some animals suffer even more profoundly. there are such a range of animals which are negatively impacted from this. when you think of our migrating birds, for instance, which are drawn off course by lights. insects, vast numbers of moths drawn to those lights, where they batter themselves to death or where they are predated by bats which change their behaviour to visit those lights, perhaps to their advantage, but to the deficit of other species of bats. so all of this is happening
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out there in our night. so what can be done? the good news is we can tackle light pollution relatively easily. small measures like businesses making sure they are turning their lights off at night time when the buildings also, local government making sure that street lamps are properly shaded and the lights targeted, so it's not spilling out there and creating unnecessary light blight. that will mean more of us can see sights like this. justin rowlatt, bbc news, northumberland. just briefly on a very different tack. the united states is facing a shortage of one of its most iconic condiments — tomato ketchup — due to the pandemic. heinz, which produces the most popular brand, says it has been unable to keep up with surging demand for sachets of ketchup, although it is now boosting production. demand for the sachets has been driven by the surge in takeaway food, coupled with advice to avoid using communal bottles in restaurants.
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that is it for now. thank you so much for watching. well, it's certainly been cold in the last couple of days. with snow, particularly across northern parts of the uk. here is the good news if you don't like the cold. it is going to feel a lot better on wednesday. we won't have the cold northerly wind. we won't have that windchill which we been experiencing for a couple of days now. but the arctic air has spread right across the continent into northern parts of the mediterranean as well, so it is quite a widespread outbreak of cold arctic air. now, through the early hours you can see clear skies across much of the country. still a few wintry showers that across parts of scotland. at lighter winds, clearskies, parts of scotland. at lighter winds, clear skies, a frost as well. temperatures in some cities around to —— down to
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around —2 or three celsius wednesday morning. looking something like this, lossl of bright sparkling sunshine first thing in the morning. the clouds will build through the morning and into the afternoon. so actually the second half of the day is looking a little overcast for some of us. and in the north—west of the country, later on in the afternoon, and was the evening, the clouds will thicken further and we are expecting some outbreaks of rain in glasgow, belfast, much of the western isles, a weather front is approaching, the wind is turning direction, mild air is turning direction, mild air is reaching us. and by very early on thursday morning you can see that generally across the country it is frost free dust us almost. the changes brought by area of low pressure which are struck into the of the uk. you can see that slightly milder air brought in by these south—westerly winds. so i think on thursday temperatures, at least for a while, will recover to double figures, onlyjust stopped perhaps 11 or 12 across parts of england and wales but
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without also comes a weather front and outbreaks of rain parts of the north—west of the uk. i think the best of the weather will be further south and also south—east. now, as we head into thursday night and friday, that weather front will move across, in fact, it's a cold front and behind it we once again open up the gates to a cold air stream from the r, which could bring wintry showers to northern areas of the uk full up so, yes, temporarily it is going to turn just a little bit milder through thursday, friday, maybe saturday, the second half of the weekend it is turning cold again.
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this is bbc news. the headlines: american officials have described the start of talks in vienna — intended to revive the international deal on iran's nuclear programme — as a welcome step, and constructive. a state department spokesman said the discussions are expected to be difficult, and an early breakthrough is not anticipated. brazil has registered more than 4,000 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours — a new record for the country. the public health system has been largely overwhelmed by the surge in cases. president bolsonaro has been widely blamed for the crisis — he has consistently played down the severity of the virus. the jury in the trial of derek chauvin, accused of murdering george floyd, has been told the neck restraint he employed was against policy and training. prosecutors say mr chauvin made no attempt to calm mr floyd down before kneeling on his neck. he knelt on his knack for more than nine minutes. —— neck.

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