tonight at ten, the safety of the astrazeneca vaccine for young adults comes under the spotlight. from now on, because of a possible link between the vaccine and blood clots, adults under 30 will be offered an alternative as a precaution. this is a course change. it is based on a clinical preference, based on newly emerging data. it will be kept under very careful review. the official regulator says there's no proof the vaccine causes clots, and the prime minister is urging people to come forward to get theirjabs. these vaccines are safe. they have saved many thousands of lives, and people should come forward to get theirjabs, and we'll make sure they get the rightjabs. but the eu's medicines regulator

says unusual blood clots should be listed as a very rare side effect of the astrazeneca vaccine. also tonight: in brazil, for the first time, the authorities have recorded more than 4,000 covid—related deaths in 2a hours. a body found in epping forest in essex has been formally identified as that of richard 0korogheye, a 19—year—old who disappered just over two weeks ago. an team of scientists says it's discovered strong evidence of a new force of nature which could transform our understanding of physics. he's around the goalkeeper, and he walks it in! and in seville tonight, chelsea take the lead after the first leg of their champions league quarterfinal. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel, it has only been five months since the last one, but the stage is set for the start of the 2021 masters tomorrow.

good evening. the safety of the astrazeneca vaccine for young adults has been in the spotlight today. the uk's leading health experts have issued new guidance, following evidence that in extremely rare cases people who've had the vaccine have developed blood clots. the official regulator, the mhra, said the guidance was not proof the vaccine had caused the clots, but it said the link was getting firmer. so, from now on, people aged between 18 and 29 will be offered an alternative to the oxford—astrazeneca jab. but those who've already had a first dose of the astrazeneca vaccine should go ahead and get the second. pregnant women and people with certain blood disorders should consult a doctorfor advice. and the medical regulator has insisted that the benefits of taking the astrazeneca vaccine still far outweigh the risks for the vast majority of people.

0ur medical editor, fergus walsh, looks at the factors behind today's changes. turn up, get yourjab. the message remains the same. but in future, for the first time, the covid vaccine you receive will depend on your age. that's because evidence is emerging of a link between the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine and very rare blood clots. the uk regulator, the mhra, said up to the end of march there have been 79 cases of rare clots with low platelets following a first dose of the astrazeneca vaccine. 19 people have died. that's out of 20 million who received the jab. that's one rare clot in every 250,000 vaccinations. these monitoring systems are now detecting a potential side effect of the covid—19 vaccine astrazeneca in an extremely small number of people. the evidence is firming up.

the balance of benefits and known risks of the vaccine is still very favourable for the vast majority of people. very few adults under 30 have died from covid, so that changes the risk—benefit balance from getting a vaccine. it's thought younger adults are at higher risk from clots after the astrazeneca jab about one in every 100,000 doses. so they will be offered a different vaccine when their time comes. are you worried that this change of course might damage vaccine confidence, especially in the young? these are really carefully considered decisions, and it remains vitally important that people who are called back for their second dose come for it, and it remains vitally important that all adults in the uk come forward for vaccination

when they are offered it. there was no vaccine hesitancy in birmingham among those who were getting the astrazeneca jab. i think the positives outweigh the negatives, so, for me, it wasn't really a question of whther i was going to have it or not. well, you can get blood clots any time, it doesn't have to be the vaccine. i'm not bothered at all. i'm very pleased i've had the second one. the european medicines agency has come to the same conclusion — there is a possible link between the astrazeneca vaccine and very rare blood clots, mostly in women under 60. several eu countries had already restricted the astrazeneca vaccine to older adults — france to those over 55, germany to those over 60. scientists who analyse risk say this change of course should not put people off getting a vaccine. this vaccine is extraordinarily effective, and it would be tragic if this led

to distrust of this vaccine, even worse if it was for vaccines in general, for covid, because it has been shown to be amazingly effective. it's saved thousands of lives already. both conservatives and labour urged people to get vaccinated. the prime minister believes the lifting of restrictions should not be disrupted. i don't see any reason at this stage at all to think we need to deviate from the road map, and we are also very secure about our supply. it's thought covid vaccines have already prevented 6000 deaths in the uk, and they remain the key to ending lockdown and returning life to something like normal. fergus walsh, bbc news. ever since the first reports suggesting a link between blood clots and the astrazeneca vaccine, there have been questions about what it means for the uk's vaccine programme and people's confidence in it.

0ur health editor, hugh pym, explains the potential problems and the effect they've had. lockdown is easing, the vaccination programme is going well. but today there has been a change of course, raising new questions. first, what is the risk with oxford—astrazeneca? it is lower the older you are, as the potential for serious illness with covid is weighed against possible harms from blood clots. some medication, including the contraceptive pill, also has a very small blood clot risk. anyone who has had a firstjab and four days or more after that gets severe headaches, blurred vision or certain other symptoms should contact a medical professional. a committee of europe's regulator, known as prac, drew this conclusion. we know the benefits of the astrazeneca vaccine have been established. it prevents covid disease, it prevents hospitalisation and it prevents mortality. so in that respect prac feels that the overall benefits outweigh the risks.

so will it delay the vaccine roll—out? today a newjab was delivered for the first time in wales and scotland, made by the us company moderna. it is set to be offered elsewhere in the uk from next week. health officials say even with under 30s given a choice of alternative jabs, they're still on course to offer all adults a first dose by the end ofjuly, so the road map should stay the same, although it does depend on supplies currently promised. of the vaccines currently in use, the government ordered 100 million doses from oxford—astrazeneca, but the roll—out will slow down this month because of supply issues. from pfizer—biontech, it was a0 million, and from moderna, 17 million doses, though only a limited amount will come through this month. two more vaccines are being assessed by the regulator the mhra — novavax, where there are 60 million doses on order, and janssen, 30 million doses.

trials are ongoing with other vaccines where the government has made preliminary orders. so will confidence in the oxford—az vaccine be affected? people in younger age groups we spoke to had varying opinions. i am a bit concerned to hear it, because i'm 2a and i've already had my first dose of the astrazeneca vaccine, and i have my second dose booked in for a couple of weeks. it's one of those very rare cases. it might happen, but it probably won't. the risk is probably... it's probably worth the risk, right? i'm still all for it. i'm going to do a little bit more research now into it, _ but i still think at this point - i would get the astrazeneca vaccine. it remains to be seen how people react to today's announcement, so one leading official made the point that the chance of getting a blood clot through having covid—19 was much higher than with the az vaccine. hugh pym, bbc news. let's take a look at the latest government coronavirus figures. there were 2,763 new coronavirus

infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means that on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 3,072. across the uk, an average of 3,536 people were in hospital with coronavirus over the seven days to first april. 45 deaths were reported. that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week, 31 deaths were announced every day. the total number of deaths so far across the uk is 126,927. the uk is continuing its programme of mass vaccinations, and in the last 24—hour period, 85,227 people have had their first dose, taking the overall number of people who've had their firstjab to 31,707,594. the number of people who've had their second dose of the vaccine in the latest 24—hour period is 186,793. that takes the overall number of people who've had their second jab

to more than 5.6 million people. now that we've seen all those figures, fergus walsh, these new guidelines today, i think what viewers would like is a bit of useful context.— viewers would like is a bit of useful context. ~ , , useful context. huw, ithink this is one of those _ useful context. huw, ithink this is one of those cases _ useful context. huw, ithink this is one of those cases where - useful context. huw, ithink this is one of those cases where the - one of those cases where the headline is genuinely scarier than the detail of the story. the risk here is very small indeed. we are going to need more research to find out why the astrazeneca vaccine appears to be triggering these very rare blood clots and why two thirds of them are in women. if we look at the highest risk age group, people in their 20s, there is a one in 100,000 chance of getting one of these very rare blood clots after an astrazeneca vaccination. putting that in context, that same age group, the risk of dying in a road accident is also one in 100,000

every three months. i don't know many 20—year—olds who would avoid getting in a car. even so, that age group will now be offered an alternative, probably the pfizer or moderna vaccines, which don't trigger these rare blood clots. interesting that many eu countries are still limiting the astrazeneca vaccine too much older age groups, but this review shows the safety surveillance system is robust, the danger is it could damage vaccine confidence, but that would be tragic, because they are a huge scientific success story, vaccines, which is what will lead us out of this pandemic.— which is what will lead us out of this andemic. , . . . this pandemic. fergus, again, thanks very much. — this pandemic. fergus, again, thanks very much. fergus — this pandemic. fergus, again, thanks very much, fergus walsh _ this pandemic. fergus, again, thanks very much, fergus walsh with - this pandemic. fergus, again, thanks very much, fergus walsh with his - very much, fergus walsh with his analysis, our medical editor. in brazil, the authorities have for the first time recorded more than 4,000 covid—related deaths in 24 hours, as a more contagious variant of the virus drives a new surge in cases. hospitals are overcrowded, and the health system is on the brink of collapse in many areas. more than 330,000 people

have died with covid in brazil, a number exceeded only by the united states. 0ur science editor, david shukman, has more details. even at night, the graveyards in brazil are busy, so huge are the losses from covid. and although the rate of deaths, given the size of the population, is not quite as bad as in the uk or italy, things are getting worse. at most hospitals, the beds are full, and people know that it's not even worth trying to get one. we are dealing with the lack of supplies and lack of beds, intensive care beds. so we are in full capacity, in any moment we will have this collapse. it's the president, jair bolsonaro, who is getting the blame. right from the start, he's played down the virus, and he keeps blocking local

authorities from taking any action, so the disease is now out of control. and the big worry is a new variant, known as p1, which has now spread fast. the result is this depressing picture of the rapid rise in the number of coronavirus deaths in brazil, with more than 4000 in the last 24 hours. behind much of this is that p1 variant, which, compared to others, is more transmissible, and it seems to affect more younger people, though it is thought that the vaccines should still be effective against it. in any event, the variant has spread to most of south america, including uruguay, peru and bolivia, which has just closed its border with brazil. and it's got further — british columbia is dealing with hundreds of cases, and there are far smaller numbers as far afield as japan, turkey, the uk and many other countries. this nuclear reaction out of control, like, is the way i define brazil now,

it's a biological fukushima. we are basically generating variants that can spread not only throughout brazil and south america, but can spread throughout the planet. and although vaccines are being given in brazil, they've reached only 8% of people. and that matters, even to countries that have done far better. if we continue to vaccinate only certain people in certain countries while allowing the virus to continue to spread unchecked in other parts of the world, the new variants will emerge in these parts of the world, against which our current vaccines and treatments may no longer work. we're not in that position just now, but it's the future. the fear is that when brazil or any country fails to bring infections down, the more chances there are for the virus to mutate, so the vaccine producers are already having to think ahead. david shukman, bbc news.

the metropolitan police have said that a body found in a lake in essex has been formally identified as richard 0korogheye. the 19—year—old student went missing from his home in west london over a fortnight ago. 0ur correspondent tim muffett is at new scotland yard with the latest. yes, apart from sensi three to footage taken in essex the day after he left his home in west london, there were no sightings of the missing 19—year—old student —— apart from some cctv forest. police searching a lake in epping forest said a body had been found and today the metropolitan police concerned the metropolitan police concerned the body was that of richard 0korogheye. they said the death was treated as unexplained but at this stage they do not believe there is any third party involvement. they say a postmortem examination has taken place, there is no sign of

physical trauma or assault, a verdict on the debt is pending while other investigations are carried out and sympathies go to richard's family at this time. his mother said he struggled during logjam, he had sickle—cell disease, he had left without his medication and home secretary priti patel said thoughts are with the family in mourning, mourning possibly they described as a gentle giant who was there for everyone. —— mourning somebody they described. studio: thank you. the prime minister said this evening he was deeply concerned by further scenes of violence in northern ireland. crowds in a unionist area of belfast set a hijacked bus on fire and attacked police with stones. the stormont assembly is set to be recalled tomorrow morning for an emergency debate following days of violence. last night, we reported on the financial effects of the pandemic on families. but other effects are more difficult to measure.

after more than a year of lockdowns and social distancing, the impact on people's wellbeing, especially their mental health, has been severe. some 3.7 million people class themselves as lonely. that's over a million more than last year. the report also found that the areas with large numbers of young people or unemployment or high density housing tend to be the most affected. our correspondent elaine dunkley reports from manchester. opened during the pandemic, the feel good club couldn't come at a more needed time. somewhere over here, when we are all laid back out again, is where our big talk table is going to go. it will be a signal to other people that you are here, open to chatting to new people and meeting new friends. keira and her wife amy hope when their coffee house is fully reopened, it will feel like a home for those affected by loneliness and isolation. i think what the pandemic has taught us is that actually being open about those feelings and talking about them helps. the small moments where you meet friends and offload, i think that has become very apparent to people that those things

that we kind of took for granted pre—pandemic are actually so important. people in busy towns and cities are often the loneliest, according to today's report by the office for national statistics. a greater concentration of young people and high unemployment rates are major factors. 16 to 24—year—olds were four times more likely to say they'd recently felt lonely compared to the over 755. lonely young people turn into lonely adults. and if we don't talk about these things it becomes something that has a massive stigma around it. 16—year—old allon is a young carer and often feels isolated. claire has also experienced loneliness. i feel like the minute you say, "oh, this person is a young person," "0h, "they are always on the phone, they are talking to their friends, "they are always connected." yes, i have my phone or maybe i text my friends. that doesn't mean i'm not lonely. lockdowns, isolation and social distancing has intensified the public health

issue of loneliness. jed usually djs in care homes but has been unable to because of the pandemic. through the charity manchester cares, he has been able to connect with different age groups struggling with loneliness. many people don't even have a computer, you know, the older people. so i have been lucky enough to have a laptop and join in with activities. the older people welcome listening to a younger person's point of view. and in the opposite way, the younger people like listening to the older people's tales, you know, of things gone by and in the past, what we used to do. for some people, lockdown has been the first experience of loneliness. for others, it has been a long—term problem. for those wanting to break the stigma, highlighting the issue offers hope. elaine dunkley, bbc news, in manchester. a man has won a high court case against the betting firm betfred after it refused to pay a £1.7 millionjackpot

he'd won in an online casino. andy green won the prize injanuary 2018 while playing a game on his mobile phone. the bookmaker refused to pay out, claiming an error meant the game was not operating properly. the judgment means mr green will, after a three—year battle, receive his payout plus interest. the foreign and development office has once again suspended uk aid funding for oxfam after fresh allegations of misconduct were levelled against staff working for the charity. two members of staff were suspended last week following allegations of bullying and sexual misconduct in the democratic republic of congo. the charity had only been allowed to start reapplying for uk cash in march after a three year ban following a cover up of sexual exploitation by staff in haiti in 2018. myanmar�*s ambassador to the uk has been removed from his post by the country's military attache in london.

kyaw zwar minn was told he was no longer the representative of myanmar, and locked out of the embassy. all staff were asked to leave, and police were called to stop them re—entering the embassy. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams is at the embassy in central london. what has been going on? the ambassador _ what has been going on? the ambassador is _ what has been going on? tue: ambassador is still here, what has been going on? ti2 ambassador is still here, sitting in his carjust along the way. he has tried to enter the embassy a couple of times this evening without success, he says he has been locked out by the military attach a and the military has in effect taken over the embassy. he has been critical of the embassy. he has been critical of the myanmar military in the lusty weeks, not quite as critical as the country's ambassador to the un who called on the international community to defeat the coup, but the ambassador he has called for the

release of aung san suu kyi and has called for the military to operate restraints. there is a stand—off, the police are here, they have kept activists away. the ambassador says he has been in touch with the foreign office, the foreign office says it is seeking clarification on the current status of myanmar�*s ambassador in london, in line with diplomatic protocol.— ambassador in london, in line with diplomatic protocol. thank you very much. an international team of scientists, working on a project in the united states say they have discovered �*strong evidence' for the existence of a new force of nature. they say some sub—atomic particles, called muons, don't behave in a way predicted by current theories of physics. the british funders of the research say that scientists are on the precipice of a new era of physics. our science correspondent pallab ghosh has the story. the theories of modern physics have given scientists a new understanding of how the universe works.

but the current ideas aren't able to solve some of the biggest scientific puzzles, such as how the universe as we know it came into existence. now, scientists at fermi lab, a particle accelerator just outside chicago, have got a result that might take us a big step forward in answering those questions. they've been accelerating particles inside this giant ring close to the speed of light, and they found that they might be behaving in a way that can't be explained by the current theory of physics at the subatomic level. we found that the interaction of a muon, which is a heavy electron with a magnetic field is not in agreement with our current best theory of physics, and clearly that's very exciting, because it potentially points to a future of new laws, new particles and new forces in physics which we haven't seen to date. you have heard of electrons, well, there are similar particles called muons which are much heavier and spin like tops.

in the experiment, they were made to wobble using magnets. the current theory suggests they should wobble at a certain rate — instead, they wobbled faster. this might be caused by a mystery force that in turn is created by another yet to be discovered particle. scientists believe that there are four fundamental forces of nature — one for gravity, another for electricity and two nuclear forces which control the behaviour of atoms. together, they explain the way the world works, but in recent years, astronomers began noticing things in space that can't be explained by the four forces, such as galaxies spinning faster than they should. and they can't explain why the stars and planets and everything on them, including us, exist at all. the new result suggests there might be a fifth force, which could explain some of these mysteries. i think it's quite mind—boggling, and they have the potential to turn physics on its head. we have a number of mysteries that remain unsolved,

and this could give us the key answers to solve these mysteries. evidence for the fifth force has been growing. just two weeks ago, researchers at the large hadron colliderjust outside geneva had a similar result. the race is really on now to try and get one of these experiments to really get the proof that this really is something new. they will take more data and make more measurements and hopefully show evidence that these effects are real. these very early results aren't definitive yet, but they are generating a lot of excitement about the prospect of a giant leap forward in our understanding of the universe. pallab ghosh, bbc news. police in california say tiger woods was driving at almost double the speed limit when he crashed his car in february. officials say the golfer may have inadvertently pressed the accelerator instead of the brake when he realised he was losing control, but there's no evidence woods had been impaired by drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.

in a month's time, nearly 50 million people will be able to vote in a range of elections across england, scotland and wales. parliamentary elections are being held in scotland and wales on may the 6th, along with voting for councils, mayors and police and crime commissioners in england. our deputy political editor vicki young looks ahead to the contests and what they might tell us. for more than a year, our lives have been dominated by the covid pandemic, and so has the political landscape. last year's elections had to be postponed, but on may the 6th, voters in parts of the uk will get a chance to give their verdict on how politicians handled the crisis. so, let's run through exactly what's happening. 129 msps will be elected to the scottish parliament. the snp currently hold the most seats, as you can see here. but they lost their outright majority last time.

can nicola sturgeon�*s party do enough to govern on its own? and what difference might alex salmond's new alba party make? it's already attracted some snp defectors. he says he's complementing the campaign for independence, but could it end up undermining the cause? the conservative and labour parties in scotland have new leaders keen to make an impact. it'll be a fascinating contest. now, 60 senedd members will be voted for in wales and, like scotland, anyone over 16 can vote. labour have been the largest party in all previous devolved welsh elections, and current leader mark drakeford hopes to repeat that this time. this is what happened in 2016. the conservatives and plaid cymru are used to fighting it out for second place. and what will happen to those seven ukip seats? six of them have since left the party. elsewhere, there's the vote for london mayor, along with the 25

members of the london assembly, with more than 6 million eligible to vote in the capital. there are votes for seven combined authority mayors and five metropolitan mayors. thousands of council seats are up for grabs in 143 english local authorities. local issues are important to many voters, but this will give us a snapshot of the national mood, too. it'll be the first test of borisjohnson�*s handling of the pandemic, and the first time voters will have a say on how keir starmer and ed davey are doing. hartlepool will choose a new mp on may the 6th, and all 35 police and crime commissioners in england and four in wales will be elected, too. now, when it comes to the practicalities of casting our votes during a pandemic, some things will feel a bit different. we are being asked to take our own pens and pencils, and there will, of course, be social distancing. but the big questions about how our towns, cities and countries should be

run remain the same. that was vicki young, our deputy political editor, looking ahead to the elections in early may. in the first of the government's trials on how to ease covid restrictions, fans will be allowed to attend the snooker world championship this month at sheffield's crucible theatre. the venue will operate at 33% capacity for the first round, reaching 100% for the final. spectators will have to take a covid test before the event and five days later. the scottish government has given approval for 12,000 supporters — 25% of the stadium's capacity — to attend euro 2020 matches at hampden park injune. uefa had given the 12 host cities until wednesday to submit plans for attendance, with the likelihood of some venues being switched if no guarantees could be given. in tonight's football, chelsea had a good night in the champions league after beating porto 2—0 in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie.

natalie pirks watched the action for us.