offered a first vaccine. we're going now to the 45 to 49 group, they are being asked to come forward. a new cluster of the south african variant in south london — everybody in the area is being asked to get a test. university students in england can return to campuses from mid—may. travelling around scotland will be allowed from friday — 10 days earlier than planned. now the johnson & johnson vaccine is linked to blood clots — american health experts want a pause in its roll—out, and the company is delaying its distribution in the eu. the prime minister insists the review he's ordered into greensill — the collapsed finance firm that david cameron lobbied for will be given free reign. but labour says the investigation�*s scope is inadequate. the defence in the murder trial of derek chauvin has begun — the former police officer denies murdering george floyd last may. and coming up — we take a trip under the sea near cape town

to where the bafta award winning documentary �*my octopus teacer�* was filmed campaigners there are trying to preserve one of the world's richest ecosystems. good evening and welcome to bbc news. if you're over 45 years old and live in england you can now book your covid jab, as the vaccination programme enters its next phase. everyone over fifty or in a high risk group has already been offered a first dose, according to the government, and ministers say they're on track to offer all adults a vaccine by the end ofjuly. it comes as officals try to contain new cases of the south african variant in south london, where hundreds of thousands of residents have been asked to come forward for tests.

today the prime minister has warned that infections will rise as the economy reopens, and he's urged people to continue to be cautious. with the latest on the vaccine roll—out, hugh pym reports. are you feeling well today? a firstjab with a new vaccine, this one supplied by the us company, moderna available in england for the first time today following wales and scotland last week. it is a timely arrival, as supplies of the main uk vaccine astrazeneca has slowed down for a few weeks. thank you, i didn't feel anything! the a zjab�*s link with blood clots has been well publicised but that hasn't put off people arriving for their second dose in derby. i think it is in your best interest and your health to get it done. i've had no effect whatsoever from the first one. i was really poorly, the first one i hope i'm not poorly with the second one. but you are happy to be here? well, lam, really.

the alternative is not very good, is it? just get on with it because i'll be better off with two - injections than one. the government says all those in priority groups, including aged 50 and over, have now been offered a first dose. in england and scotland, those aged 45 and over are now eligible for a jab. in wales and northern ireland, people in their 40s are getting it from but from the prime minister, a note of caution. the success of the vaccine roll—out is great but it's notjust the vaccine roll—out that is causing the reduction in death and infections. overwhelmingly, that's been delivered by the lockdown. now, we need to continue to be cautious and be sensible as we roll forward with the vaccination programme. around the uk, there is variation in the roll—out of the vaccination programme.

among those aged 50 and over, 94% have had a first dose in both england and scotland. in wales, it is 88% and in northern ireland, just 63%. there are regional differences within england. in the south—west, 97% have had a first dose but in london, it is just 86% of those aged 50 and over. there is a little uncertainty over future vaccine supplies but nhs leaders and ministers think the target for all adults being offered a jab is still on track. the supply forecast gives us confidence that assuming that those supplies carry on as expected then, yes, we will not only deliver on the april 15 milestone of everybody aged 50 and above having had the chance for a vaccine but all adults by the end ofjuly. queues built up today outside testing stations and part of south london. residents have been urged to get

tested because cases of the south african variant have been identified, including in a care home. officials say they are linked to a traveller arriving from africa in february. it's another reminder of the continuing threat of the virus. hugh pym, bbc news. first there were the concerns over the astra—zeneca vaccine — now it's the jab produced by the pharmaceutical companyjohnson and johnson that is being linked with rare blood clots. health experts in america have called for a pause in its roll out and the company itself is delaying the distribution of the vaccine in the eu. we can speak now to dr amesh adalja. of thejohns hopkins center for health security in baltimore. this for health security in baltimore. pauses at the rigt do? this pauses at the right thing to do? this pause i don't know if it's the right thing to do what were talking about is a very rare side evenif talking about is a very rare side even if it is linked to thejohnson &johnson vaccine we are talking about six cases in over 6.8 doses of

the vaccine given. so this is extremely rare, this is something very similar to the astrazeneca problem that happened with these blood clots. i think what we are dealing with here is a lot of vaccine hesitancy in this country. i'm worried about the repercussions. this is going to be a very hard vaccine to restart because of this pause. i think we want to understand what happening here but i think it could been handled a little bit better without creating all the panic and all of disruption that occurred. ., ., , ., , occurred. for what is an extremely rare occurrence. _ occurred. for what is an extremely rare occurrence. do _ occurred. for what is an extremely rare occurrence. do we _ occurred. for what is an extremely rare occurrence. do we the - occurred. for what is an extremely rare occurrence. do we the public. rare occurrence. do we the public understand this concept of pausing to check things out? i'll be any good the public at assessing risk? no, not really. i think in general the public is not very good at thinking about what an acceptable risk is a an unacceptable risk is. i feel that this pause even after the fda does its review and they say this is something that is rare, that this is something that is rare, that this is something where the risk is justified because the benefit of the johnson &johnson vaccine is so great, many people again if you get all of that. they're just gonna

remember another bad headline about thejohnson &johnson vaccine. the johnson & johnson vaccine. another thejohnson &johnson vaccine. another bad headline about covid—i9 and his getter had to vaccine hesitancy and people will be put off the vaccine and i think we will all sufferfor the vaccine and i think we will all suffer for theirs. the vaccine and i think we will all sufferfortheirs. is the vaccine and i think we will all suffer for theirs.— suffer for theirs. is it more likely for a person _ suffer for theirs. is it more likely for a person to — suffer for theirs. is it more likely for a person to get _ suffer for theirs. is it more likely for a person to get run _ suffer for theirs. is it more likely for a person to get run over- suffer for theirs. is it more likely for a person to get run over in i suffer for theirs. is it more likely for a person to get run over in a| for a person to get run over in a car accident on the way to a vaccine that it car accident on the way to a vaccine thatitis car accident on the way to a vaccine that it is from them to get sick from the vaccine itself?- from the vaccine itself? that's what's being _ from the vaccine itself? that's what's being said. _ from the vaccine itself? that's what's being said. it's - from the vaccine itself? that's. what's being said. it's definitely more likely than getting in a car accident i don't know about getting run over car but yes. we take a lot of risk every day for them every time we step out the door, every time we step out the door, every time we step out the door, every time we take an ibuprofen or for our cough and cold, all of that has a risk that is higher than what we're talking about here. even birth control pills have a higher risk of blood than we have here. i think this is important to put into perspective what we want to look at the full context when we make these types of decisions. i think they could've done this study without pausing or pausing and for those women in age groups between 18 and 40 women in age groups between 18 and a0 for, child—bearing years where we saw these cases occur rather than a blanket type of prohibition on the use of this right now. it's going to

have lasting repercussions that it can be hard to recoverfrom. how have lasting repercussions that it can be hard to recover from. how are vaccinations — can be hard to recover from. how are vaccinations in _ can be hard to recover from. how are vaccinations in the _ can be hard to recover from. how are vaccinations in the united _ can be hard to recover from. how are vaccinations in the united states - vaccinations in the united states tamping down the infection and death ray? tamping down the infection and death ra ? , ., ., ., , ray? they are doing really well. we've really — ray? they are doing really well. we've really been _ ray? they are doing really well. we've really been able - ray? they are doing really well. we've really been able to - ray? they are doing really well. . we've really been able to decouple cases from hospitalisations and death. if you walk at a hospital guy was just a death. if you walk at a hospital guy wasjust a mile death. if you walk at a hospital guy was just a mile yesterday taking care of patients, it's much different now and april that i was just injanuary when we weren't really busting at the seams with a lot of patience. we got our vaccine at a high risk individuals with the people in nursing homes. that's really shown how effective the vaccines can be. and we are starting to see the pattern normalcy. everyday we have millions of vaccine doses going into peoples arms. and people get their lies back by getting vaccinated. i think this is gonna be very important because we are no longer really supply constraint. we have a lot of vaccine now now would be coming to man constraint. that's why i'm so worried about vaccine hesitancy being a setback to us going back to put a prepaid debit way of life. thank you so much.

speaking at a white house briefing president biden's chief medical adviser — dr anthony fauci — backed the move by the us food and drug administration to pause the roll out of the johnson and johnson jab. (tx sot) our fda is internationally know for their capability of making sure that we have the safest products out there. and that's what i meant when i said in an abundance of caution. you want to make sure that safety is the important issue here. we are totally aware that this is a very rare event. we want to get this worked out as quickly as possibly can. that's why you see the word pause. in other words, you want to hold off for a bit and very may well go back to that may with some conditions or maybe not. but we want to leave that up to the fda and the cdc to investigate this carefully. i don't think it was pulling the trigger too quickly. our medical editor fergus walsh explained the move in america was out of an abundance of caution, and is unlikely to last long. they expect this pause

only to last a few days. they've had six cases of very rare clots among 6.8 million people immunise. so less than a one and a million chance here. one person died and one is critical they were all women aged under 50. now we've seen similar cases in the uk with the oxford astrazeneca vaccine. both are highly effective, both give a lot of protection against covid and for the vast majority of us that is a much greater risk than the side effects from the vaccine. both vaccines use a similar kind of technology. they both use this disabled common cold virus. and scientists are investigating whether this is prompting some kind of very rare side effect. here people under 30 are going to be offered either here people under 30 are going to be offered either the pfizer or moderna

jab when their turn comes. thejohnson &johnson vaccine which in europe is known as the jansen vaccine is produced in belgium,, janssen is the vaccine division ofjohnson &johnson for some the company has pause the roll—out here. it is not yet approved here and doses weren't mostly expected until the second half of the year. so there should be enough doses of the other three vaccines and it is a single shot vaccine for them so it would've been very useful if it was available when it came in. and it still may in the coming months. well, here, the latest government figures show the following. there were 2,a72 new coronavirus infections, recorded in the latest 2a—hour period, with on average 2,757 new cases being reported per day in the last week. 23 deaths were reported in the latest 2a hour period, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. bringing the total across the uk to 127,123 deaths. on average in the past week, 3a deaths were announced every day. nearly 60,000 people have

had their first dose of a covid vaccine in the latest 2a—hour period, bringing the total to over 32 million, while more than 200,000 people had their second jab, meaning nearly 8 million people, have now had both doses of the vaccine. it's been confirmed tonight that university students in england will be allowed to return to campuses from mid—may. it comes after growing calls from universities and students for clarity, on how face to face teaching would resume. the government says students will be encouraged to take three supervised covid tests on their return. our education editor branwen jeffreys reports from the university of york. finishing touches to a huge tent. not for a festival, but for students. york university, taking a student union outside, ready for when they're welcomed back onto campus. it's incredibly stressful for students.

we're sitting here today. you can get a haircut, you can get holiday home, you can go to the pub but unfortunately, you can't have any in—person teaching for the majority of courses. so i think students are feeling forgotten and left out. preparations have been made in the dark, waiting for government advice promised over easter, hoping for all students to be allowed back on may 17th. for students, the return of some face—to—face teaching is coming right at the end of a frustrating year, and it's likely to be very limited. we're not going to see full lecture halls. for those getting their degrees this summer, graduation ceremonies have been cancelled, all adding to their feeling of being overlooked and forgotten. as students return, a series of rapid tests will be the safety net, similar to those used in school reopening. for those in charge of universities, just a few weeks now to get things ready.

frankly, this is very late for us to do our planning, which makes it extraordinarily difficult for our students to know where to be, what they're going to be doing. i actually find it rather disrespectful that students don't have the certainty that other sectors of the economy, for example tattoo parlours, do. campuses have been half empty, face—to—face teaching just the practical courses. but it's the sport, societies and social connections that many students have missed. i'm just hoping we canjust have a large group of people in a room together of sorts at some point in the near future. it's been a very long time since it's been anywhere near to normality. for the majority of people who either aren't here yet or are still working at home, it can be quite frustrating for them. it'll be really exciting i when everything opens up again and we can - actually enjoy university. like we said before, it's not -

the experience we were expecting. the library here has been opened to help students, quiet study space away from their bedrooms, even a brief return to campus welcome for many. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. the ban on travel around scotland will be lifted on friday, ten days earlier than planned. the first minister, nicola sturgeon, said that declining cases meant some easing of restrictions could be brought forward, for the sake of people's mental health. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon has more from glasgow. the first minister said that good progress in the vaccination programme is suppressing the virus meant that this key restriction could be lifted early. and that on friday people can travel anywhere across mainland of scotland to visit friends and family, to socialise, to exercise. as long as the groups don't exceed six adults from six

different households and don't involve any overnight stays. but there is still caution in the rest of the road map out. you have to way to the 26th of april for the big expansion in the restrictions to do with the economy. at that point all remaining shops can travel between scotland can resume. gyms can reopen and hospitality can resume with some restrictions particularly indoors. on that hospitality trade parties are concerned they say it doesn't go far enough and fall short of what is required to make a licensed premises viable. and we'll find out how many of the latest developments in the fight against coronavirus — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers — our guestsjoining me tonight are the political commentator lance price and rosa prince, editor of the house magazine. the headlines on bbc news. if you're over a5 and in england you can now book a covid jab. the government says it's ahead of its target — everyone in the top 9 priority groups has now been

offered a first vaccine. a new cluster of the south african variant in south london — everybody in the area is being asked to get a test. university students in england can return to campuses from mid—may. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, good evening... chelsea are currently in action as they bid become the first of the remaining english sides to make the champions league semi—finals. they lead porto 2—0 from the first leg and are hosting the portuguese side at stamford bridge. in seville both being played because of restrictions. it's still goalless they are. it's still goalless they are. in the night's other quarterfinal, psg have a 3—2 first leg lead over holders bayern munich. no goals there either. they've only been playing for about 15 minutes,

both of those matches. northern ireland's women are looking to reach a major tournamet for the first time, they beat ukraine 2—1 away last friday and are playing the second leg of their euro 2022 play—off right now these are live pictures from seaview in belfast, they have been playing for half an hour. it's 0-0. northern ireland are ranked just inside the worlds top 50 and they would be the lowest ranked team at next years euros in england should they qualify. a nervy night in belfast. you can watch it on the bbc sport website. there a few inbternational freidnlies as well. england are playing canada at stoke. the lionesses lost to france last week, this is the last match before interim boss hege riise names her gb team for the olympics. this match is on bbc four. canada are winning one mill. the

welsh ladies are playing a friendly against denmark and cardiff. and they are losing that against denmark. and they are losing that against denmark. a tottenham disabled fans�* group says the decision to bar extremely vulnerable supporters from the efl cup final is "direct discrimination". manchester city and tottenham have each been allocated 2,000 tickets for the match on april 25. it's part of the government—led pilot scheme aimed at returning fans safely into venues. the programme doesn't allow for unders—18s, pregnant women, or those classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, or those living with them, to attend. that's brought this response from tottenham disabled supporters group, spursability. the department for digital, culture, media and sport has been approached for a response.

england all rounder ben stokes has broken his finger and will miss the rest of the indian premier league. he sustained the injury in the field playing for the rajasthan royals yesterday against punjab kings. the royals are also missing jofra archer who has had hand surgery and treatment for an ongoing elbow issue. there's new faces and fresh perspectives in the coaching party for the british and irish lions tour to south africa this summer — and head coach warren gatland says it'll make player selection difficult. scotland head coach gregor townsend will lead the attack, on his first tour as part of the coaching set—up, along with the scots' defence coach steve tandy. leinster�*s robin mcbryde will take charge of the forwards — and neiljenkins returns for his fourth tour as kicking coach. gatland is expected to name a 36—strong squad next month and already there's been a lot of names thrown into the mix by the whole coaching party.

we've probably got a number of names that we are all suppose out of 36 may be 20, 23 names all across the board. maybe one are different. but how difficult it's going to be a? and so much competition. between us we had 50 odd names. or write 50 doesn't go into 36. no, it doesn't. mark cavendish said he'd never get tired of winning — and he's done it again. following his first victory in three years, on stage two of the tour of turkey yesterday, he took stage three, in another bunch sprint to the line in alanya. after he contemplated retirement, his decision to return to the dercoo—ink quick step team is really paying off. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc. c0. uk/sport.

there will be goals, i promise. there will be goals, i promise. there better be. now to the row over david cameron's lobbying on behalf of the finance firm greensill capital. borisjohnson has insisted the review he's ordered into the firm will be given "carte blanche" to talk to anybody it wants. but labour is unhappy with the scope of the investigation and it wants a parliamentary inquiry into what it calls the "rampant cronyism" in government. here's our political correspondent chris mason. the draw of power, the desire to influence those who govern us to lobby has always existed. but former prime ministers know how government works and know who works in government better than most. today, borisjohnson claimed the senior lawyer looking into greensill n david cameron has been given a free rein. i've given him pretty much carte blanche to ask anybody whatever he needs to find out.

i would like it to be done quickly but i want him to have the maximum possible access. take a look at this. it is 2009, david cameron and the now health secretary matt hancock before mr cameron was prime minister and before mr hancock was even an mp. i think we might be able to put something in your speech responding to this. by 2013, david cameron is prime minister and has given matt hancock a job as a minister. by 2019, mr cameron is working for lex greensill, mr hancock is in the cabinet and the three of them are going for a private drink. absolutely, i attended a social meeting organised by the former prime minister and given that departmental business came up, i reported to officials in the normal way. it is cronyism and it stinks, so if he thinks he has done nothing wrong and has nothing to hide, will he publish all of

the minutes, allthe e—mails, all the correspondence, all the directions he gave to civil servants and all his text messages with david cameron so we can see exactly what went on with the awarding of this contract? mr hancock insists he behaved properly and added... what i would say is it is very important governments engage with external stakeholders, with businesses. there are far bigger questions about access to government, lobbying, and are likely to be addressed in this review. its remit is narrow and it has no legal powers to change anything. labour and others say the rules need to be tightened, the system needs to be more transparent, as tonight another detail emerges about greensill capital. a letter from the lobbying watchdog has revealed a former senior civil servant, bill crothers, was given permission to work for greensill capital whilst he was still working in government. we are told the prime minister is personally concerned about this.

it is yet another strand for the review into what on earth went on here to explore and it is due to report injune. chris mason, bbc news. an inquestjury has heard how the man who stabbed to death two people at fishermongers hall in london in 2019 did nothing to raise suspicions in the minutes before the attack. jack merritt and saskia jones were both killed by convicted terrorist usman khan during a prisoner rehabilitation conference. the inquest heard khan had told a barrister at the conference that he had been going down the wrong path in life but had changed his ways. in the us — there has been a second night of violence on the streets of minneapolis. riot police faced crowds of protesters angered by the fatal shooting of a black man on sunday. twenty year old daunte wright died after he was shot during a police stop. the local police department says the officer who fired the shot mistook her gun for a taser. the shooting came as the high—profile george floyd murder

trial continues just a few miles away. from minneapolis — nick byrant sent this report and a warning that it contains some distressing images. it's a uniquely american story we have told many times before. yet another police station besieged by yet another protest after yet another shooting of an unarmed african—american. there was fury on the streets of brooklyn centre last night. america's latest racial flashpointjust ten miles away from where the trial is taking place of the white police officer accused of murdering george floyd. hands up, don't shoot! it began as a boisterous but non—violent demonstration. a response to the police shooting of a 20—year—old black man, daunte wright, by a female officer

who claims to have mistaken her handgun for a taser. do you know the difference between a gun and a taser? yeah! the police were determined to enforce a curfew that came into effect as dusk turned into night. and determined to force the protesters off the streets. it's a police department very much on the defensive, not that you would have thought it last night. may i have your attention, please? we see these confrontations year after year, america, as ever, fractured along its anguished faultline of race. this was a moment daunte wright was pulled overfor a minor infraction, and the police realised there was a warrant out for his arrest. in the scuffle that followed, the officerfired her gun and immediately realised her fatal error.

she has been identified as kim potter, a 26—year—old veteran of the force, now placed on administrative leave. at a vigil last night, the family of daunte wright demanded justice. he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a father. he was a grandson, he was so much more, and he did not deserve this at all. my heart is literally broken into a thousand pieces. this is so crazy! there was more looting last night just yards from the police station. another urban battlefield in the ongoing struggle over policing and over race. nick bryant, bbc news, minnesota. we are now hearing that officer kim potter — who fired her gun instead of her taser — has said she would resign from her position

effective immediately. that's according to law enforcement labour services, a us labour union. similarly, the chief of the city's police department tim gannon has also tendered his resignation, according to the city's mayor. the defense has started calling witnesses to the stand in the murder trial of derek chauvin, the former policer officer charged with killing george floyd. our north america correspondent larry madowo is in minneapolis. by my by my count the defence has called six witnesses so far bring us up to date. ~ . , . six witnesses so far bring us up to date. ~ ., , ., ., date. we have been hearing from barry broad _ date. we have been hearing from barry broad a _ date. we have been hearing from barry broad a defence _ date. we have been hearing from barry broad a defence expert. - date. we have been hearing from| barry broad a defence expert. the prosecution last week one use of force expert from the los angeles police department and other use of force expert this week. now it's time for defence to bring their own. and larry broad says that whatever derek chauvin used in the arrest of

george and floyd was reasonable. there is a reasonableness standard that has been brought up again and again in this trial. would in all of us are trained with derek chauvin have done the same thing? in the defence contends that yes, they would have. and they can convince at least one juror to agree with them because if they can have a juror that disagrees it's a hung jury and derek chauvin walks free. that's what they've been trying to do today. what they've been trying to do toda . ~ ., ., ., today. what overall did you get the sense of the _ today. what overall did you get the sense of the defence _ today. what overall did you get the sense of the defence tactics - today. what overall did you get the sense of the defence tactics from l sense of the defence tactics from the examining of the six witnesses they called? we the examining of the six witnesses they called?— the examining of the six witnesses they called? we have a pretty good sense of the _ they called? we have a pretty good sense of the tactic. _ they called? we have a pretty good sense of the tactic. they _ they called? we have a pretty good sense of the tactic. they spent - they called? we have a pretty good sense of the tactic. they spent a i sense of the tactic. they spent a lot of time with three main themes. from the beginning eric nelson and his opening statement that he's a lead attorney for derek chauvin said that derek chauvin his actions were in line with his training this is what any officer would have done. two, george floyd was a known drug

user. they found traces of drug effect at all and methamphetamine in his system. and that could've accelerated his heartbeat and led to his death. and three, also he had underlying health problems. your high blood pressure and he had also heart disease. those things combined with his drug use i would lead to his death. now want to bring their own experts. we are always promised in the trial that it will be a battle of the experts. a battle of the medical expert in a battle of the medical expert in a battle of the policing and the use of force experts. and we are now starting to see that. . ~ experts. and we are now starting to see that. ., , ., ., , see that. thankjust want to bring ou some see that. thankjust want to bring you some breaking _ see that. thankjust want to bring you some breaking news - see that. thankjust want to bring you some breaking news we - see that. thankjust want to bring you some breaking news we are l you some breaking news we are getting from here in london. the police, and this is a statement, as that on tuesday the rest of the man who was carrying an axe on the mall. that is the central road connecting right up to buckingham palace from trafalgar square. and the statement says police officers were on patrol at approximately 6:30pm when they

spotted a man carrying an axe, that's according to the metropolitan police. the statement goes on, armed officers were on duty nearby they attended a scene where a male believed to be his a0s was detained and arrested on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon and any more on that we bring to you. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. we've seen some showers pop up during today in places but for many spots, it remains dry and a lot of dry weather in the outlook for the next few days. but rather cool at times, and by night there is the continued risk of frost and fog. not quite as close last night. louis values across northeast scotland, —6 looks quite likely. and into tomorrow a similar sort of day and we will see one or two showers developing, some areas of patchy

cloud but the majority will stay dry with some long spells of sunshine. light winds from both but for the brisk wind for easter areas and commit officially northeast for eastern coastal parts and particularly chile, temperatures generally lifting towards the end of the week and it stays dry for most. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. if you're over a5 and in england you can now book a covid jab. the government says it's ahead of its target — everyone in the top 9 priority groups has now been offered a first vaccine. we're going now to the a5 to a9 group, they are being asked to come forward. a new cluster of the south african variant in south london — everybody in the area is being asked to get a test. university students in england can return to campuses from mid—may. travelling around scotland will be allowed from friday — 10 days earlier than planned.

now the johnson & johnson vaccine is linked to blood clots — american health experts want a pause in its roll—out, and the company is delaying its distribution in the eu. the prime minister insists the review he's ordered into greensill — the collapsed finance firm that david cameron lobbied for — will be given free reign. but labour says the investigation's scope is inadequate. the defence in the murder trial of derek chauvin has begun — the former police officer denies murdering george floyd last may. and coming up — we take a trip under the sea near cape town to where the bafta award winning documentary �*my octopus teacer�* was filmed —campaigners there are trying to preserve one of the world's richest ecosystems. church leaders have appealed for politicians to provide a unified response to what they call "heartbreaking" scenes of violence in northern ireland.

almost 90 police officers have been injured in rioting in the past week — although recent nights have been quiet. the appeal was made to northern ireland ministers, the british and irish governments, and the european union. earlier in the commons, the northern ireland secretary, brandon lewis said there was still work to do to ease tensions. northern ireland has made huge strides over the last two decades, but it is a post—conflict society and there do remain elements of fragility. some sections of the community feel their concerns are not understood. the reconciliation, equality and mutual understanding between the communities and traditions envisaged in the belfast good friday agreement is not recognised or experienced by all. there is still work to do. the shadow northern ireland secretary, louise haigh criticised the prime minister and said the instability was caused by a loss of trust. the prime minister made promises to the people of northern ireland that there would be no border with great britain, knowing full well his brexit deal would introduce

barriers across the irish sea. he made those promises because he knew economic separation would be unacceptable to the unionist community, and the growing political instability we are seeing has its roots in the loss of trust this caused. trust matters. it is what secured and has always sustained the belfast good friday agreement. in moments of instability, what sirjohn major and tony blair, what mo mowlam and the right honourable member for skipton and ripon understood, labour and conservative, is that trust, leadership and partnership are paramount to finding a way forward in northern ireiand~ _ our ireland correspondent chris page has the latest on the situation in belfast itself. after a week of street violence in various parts of northern ireland, several towns and cities come the last three nights have been totally quiet. the lull in the violence it's really down to a number of factors. loyalist groups have called off street protests against, for example, the brexit arrangements

for northern ireland, because of the death of prince philip. they say it's not appropriate for demonstrations to be held during the period of mourning, so they have appealed for people not to take to the streets in protest. also, and i don't think you can underestimate this, the likes of youth workers, church leaders, community activists have been on the ground in the places where there was trouble last week to try to steer any young people who are turning up perhaps looking to cause trouble, away from those areas to try to keep a sense of calm and there's been a lot of work going on on the ground quietly away from the cameras but nonetheless very effective and very important to try to quell the unrest in the areas where there was writing. so now the attention very much turning, as we heard in the commons, to the underlying causes, if you like and the politics of the situation.

you have unionist politicians and cross community parties criticising the government, i suppose for different reasons. unionists over the northern ireland protocol, that part of the brexit deal which resulted in an effective trade border between northern ireland and the rest of the uk that is causing unease amongst loyalists, and also nationalists and the likes of the cross community alliance party state that government need to be more engaged in northern ireland. that, for example, there needs to be a summit convened between the british and irish governments under the auspices of a group called the british irish governmental conference. which was provided for in the good friday agreement. the irish foreign minister will be travelling to london tomorrow to have some talks about the situation in northern ireland and about the ongoing issues around the northern ireland protocol, although he want be negotiating directly with london about the protocol because that is the european commission's job. he will, i think you may be looking at some of the issues around the process to try to reach agreement

between the uk and the eu to ease the way that protocol is operating, and the hope is that if an agreement is reached on that between london and brussels in the next few weeks it may go some way into diffusing the tension that exists within loyalism. if you want to edit these astons, you must take control of this page in the united states an official has confirmed presidentjoe biden is withdrawing all us forces from afghanistan by september 11. that's the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks but would miss the may deadline for the pull—out agreed with the taliban by the trump administration last year. officially there are 2,500 american troops in the country. our chief international lyse doucet explains how the pull—out is seen is afghanistan. afghans are worried. they been worried for a very long time, in fact they have been worried for years as the violence continues to intensify. there was a rare moment of hope when peace talks with the taliban finally began last september, but the peace talks have made very little progress, and now the americans have said they are

pulling out without any conditions, so they are not going to wait for there to be a genuine effort by the taliban to negotiate peace. they are not going to wait for there to be a reduction in violence. so obviously afghans are going to be worried. there will be a hope that these next six months, there's a window, 5—6 months, there is a window for the taliban, for afghanistan's international partners, including the united states, to try to make a bigger push to get all sides at the table. and to move towards peace rather than towards greater war. that is the that there's a fear that this willjust lead to more war and it will get even worse once the last of some 10,000 us and other nato forces are gone. a serving metropolitan police officer has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison

after assaulting a black man. pc charlie harrison approached the victim, who was walking with his two sons in forest gate in east london in 2018 — with the apparent intention of conducting a police stop. he used his foot to strike the man's legs and the victim fell to the ground and fractured his knee. pc harrison has been suspended from duty. trade between the uk and eu partially recovered in february — after a steep drop the previous month. but as our global trade correspondent dharshini david reports, there's still not enough data to make a judgment about the economic effects of brexit. the biggest changes in british trading arrangements for over a0 years meant a chaotic start to the new year for haulage boss pete white. probably the worst, most difficult week i have had in this job in 20 years. weeks later, it's a different story, as teething problems subside. we're winning. that's the basic outlay of where it's going now. we've come to terms.

we've got processes in place. in february, the amount of goods that we sold to the eu jumped by almost a7%. dramatic, but that follows a plunge of a0% in january while exporters struggled to get to grips with the new formalities and some stayed away from shipping goods altogether, forfear of disruption at the border. that trade has now resumed, but we're still down in terms of exports, more than 10% on where we were a year ago, due to the pandemic and also as some companies still struggle with the new rule. hardest hit — food. this supplier provides a taste of home for brits wherever they roam. hailed as an export success story by the government, but a deluge of complex rules have forced it to limit sales to the eu. we've seen huge disruption. we have seen a massive drop in sales. we have had to reduce our workforce by a0 people and we are moving thosejobs into the eu.

so i wouldn't say that has been successful at all. to resume, it may have to hire more workers at a base in the eu. whether it's to your taste or not, brexit is here. the government, which has delayed similar controls on goods coming in, says it's working to support exporters who are still struggling. the eu accounts for two fifths of our exports. protecting that trade means preserving profits and jobs. dharshini david, bbc news. the organisers of the edinburgh international festival have said it will go ahead this summer, with a series of live performances in outdoor venues. details of the programme won't be announced tilljune but they hope to stage live performances to socially distanced audiences across the city as well as streaming them online. the executive director of the edinburgh international festival, fran heji, says it's going to be a different kind of festival this year. we still are in a pandemic, we are not out of it yet. but we are hopeful that by the time august

comes along we will have a little bit more flexibility and relaxation. so we are planning to come back live, which will be the first time we have been able to do it in well over a year, and we will have a programme of really brilliant actors and artists in three bespoke specially built outdoor venues. so to give people that comfort that they will be in an outdoor venue, but they can see all the artists and people that they would like to get from the northern festival experience. there have been some dark days, and i think, you know, i've never known a year like this and no one has known the year like this in my career, but i think we are kind of confident and happy where the numbers have landed. because they are not 1 million miles away from where we thought we might end up. because obviously festivals have to plan months in advance of when they happen, so actually we needed to make a call as to what we

were going to do around christmas time, and so we took the decision then that we were going to go outdoors and that we would end up in the hundreds rather than thousands in our audience. so actually it's really good to see the guidance today because i think we are in the right ballpark. the headlines on bbc news... if you're over a5 and in england you can now book a covid jab. the government says it's ahead of its target — everyone in the top nine priority groups has now been offered a first vaccine. a new cluster of the south african variant in south london — everybody in the area is being asked to get a test. university students in england can return to campuses from mid—may. an man carrying an axe has been arrested near buckingham palace, police have said. armed metropolitan police officers were on patrol when they spotted the man, believed to be in his forties, walking on the mall in central london holding the axe at around 6.30pm this evening. he was detained and arrested on suspicion of carrying

an offensive weapon. there are no reports of any injuries, according to the met, and the man was taken to charing cross police station for questioning. the force said enquiries are continuing. londoners will head to the polls on the 6th of may to elect a mayor. the vote normally takes place every four years — but was postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic. more than six million people are registered to vote in the capital — and the mayor is responsible for transport for london, the metropolitan police, as well as having a role in housing, planning and the environment. our political correspondent damian grammaticas reports. waking slowly from the pandemic. london, with its 9 million inhabitants, may be one of europe's biggest, richest cities but it's grinding back into gear scarred — facing uncertain times. transport networks starved of passengers and income. more workers still on furlough here than anywhere. it's why the current mayor says his priority for a new term would bejobs, jobs and jobs.

it's been an awful year. in our capital city, we've lost more than 18,000 londoners because of this awful to pandemic. more than 300,000 londoners have lost theirjobs, most of them young, and there's more than a million londoners who are currently furloughed. i'm determined to have a brighter future after the pandemic, with a city that's greener, safer and more equal. whoever is elected, restarting a shuttered capital won't be easy. will spaces that have sat empty refill with tourists? will the service economy find customers to serve? will new home workers now stay at home, or is there an opportunity for something different? a shift to home working is going to have a massive impact on our capital and i haven't heard anyone else talking about what we're going to do with all this empty space. we don't want to be looking back in a year's time and thinking, we've left areas to languish when we had a real opportunity to think about that space creatively and to finally

solve our housing crisis. others are hoping london's challenge means their message has found its moment. we've got to recover from the pandemic in a way that is truly green — that helps us to achieve our climate targets and creates a more fair and a more equal city. one that really values well—being, notjust economics, and that is what the greens have always been about but it's so much more important now. it's notjust about the pandemic, though. the mayor's job is to champion their city and the majority here voted against brexit — something the conservative candidate has to confront. so, the party's choice has an unusual back story. a former youth worker, who rose to become an adviser to david cameron on how to tackle crime. the key issues in london are clear as day. we have to turn around the mayor's failure on crime, on housing, on the environment, on young people. i have a plan for 8000 extra police officers,

a000 extra youth workers, 100,000 homes for £100,000 a completely zero emissions bus fleet — all costed, all ready to go, all focused on giving london a fresh start. but promising a fresh start is one thing. the new mayor will have do deliver itjust as old certainties are melting away for this metropolis and everywhere else too. damian grammaticus, bbc news, london. and for details on all the candidates standing in the london mayoral election go to bbc.co.uk/news the bafta—winning netflix documentary �*my octopus teacher�* tells story of a filmmaker who befriends an octopus. it was filmed off the coast of cape town in one of the world's richest ecosystems — now the makers of the documentary are part of a campaign to preserve the underwater forest. our africa correspondent andrew harding went under water to bring us this report. the sea life here is spectacular. but try for a moment to look past

the exotic creatures crowding the cold waters near cape town and focus instead on the seaweed — the endless underwater forests of kelp. i think we should check out the cave and have a look if the sharks are there... i've come here with a group of activists who want to draw the world's attention to this extraordinary, but little—known ecosystem. they're calling it the great african sea forest. we hear so much talk about coral and about the great barrier reef, but there are these giant underwater forests, and they are so important, just as important when it comes to climate and climate change. there's a big value in these kelp forest ecosystems. they protect from storm surges because they break the waves, they prevent coastal erosion, they sequester a lot of carbon which is mitigating global climate change.

and then itjust happens. i put my hand out a tiny bit... it was here that these divers filmed a documentary — my octopus teacher. it became a global hit. but the kelp is the bigger story, covering a quarter of the world's coastlines. for now, the kelp in south africa is so plentiful that it can be harvested sustainably, for all sorts of human uses, from fertiliser to face cream. the mineral—rich fronds can grow half a metre a day. but these forests, acutely vulnerable to rising sea temperatures, are struggling elsewhere, hence the push to raise public awareness. we thought we have to give it an identity, and the reason for that was because if we want to do any kind of long—term conservation of this ecosystem, we need to make people aware of it first. when you think wild,

you think serengeti, mara, you know, great barrier reef. so we want that kind of romanticism and imagination attached to the kelp forest. the hope is that by naming this the great african sea forest, people will pay more attention to this extraordinary ecosystem, that they'll guard it and help it to keep playing its unique role in protecting our planet. a fun fact about them is that they can actually get up to 12—13 metres long. as part of that process, local children are now being introduced to the kelp, to learn its secrets and to meet the creatures that use these coastal forests as their underwater nursery. andrew harding, bbc news, in south africa's western cape. people across england have been revelling in some new found freedoms as we've been hearing, people across england have been revelling in some new found freedoms over the last few days , from drinking in pub beer gardens

to going on staycations. northern ireland's "stay—at—home" order has also been lifted and some rules were eased in scotland and wales. danjohnson has been speaking to some of those enjoying the easing of lockdown rules. 6am in shropshire. —2, and this is some people's idea of freedom. oh, my god! you're not regretting it, are you? no, not at all. also uncaged, dilys and harry, away from home and free to roam. campsites are maybe one of our favourite things to go to and it's just really nice here. are you having fun? yeah. very. their expectations are high and for those that can, like the stanleys from sheffield, this is a chance to brush off the caravan and the cobwebs. we were chomping at the bit, weren't we? yeah. i think we were all packed up by saturday. just to get out in the open air

with the kids and enjoy a little bit of sunshine. it's fantastic, isn't it? it does feel like you are on holiday, and that is quite a foreign idea. i'm not quite used to it! it feels really strange. and we're getting used to this again, too. it's nice to get together and share what we've been doing. _ it feels like forever that we've actually been able to sit down together. no, i think they're managing it quite well, yeah. it needed to be done. you need to be out with your friends and family and do these things. when we reopened last year, in the eat out to help out, l i think people still felt very edgy. and for some reason, yesterday, it just felt cool and calm. - it's as if not only - is there a sparkle of light at the end of the tunnel, we know we are going i in that direction. but will we keep heading that way? will this taste of freedom last? it's been a really difficult 12 months. you know, in the last three months, we haven't taken a single penny. so it's vital to this industry, and probably all others, that we can avoid that and stay open. on a sunny day in a really beautiful place like this, it is possible to start to forget

the last year, but there are still measures in place. we will have to take care, and i guess everyone's hope is that the relaxation now is a bit like this — irreversible. danjohnson, bbc news, in shropshire. too late to qualify for the olympics. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello, and if you're spending a bit more time than normal outdoors at the moment, i'm sure a dry weather outlook will be welcome but perhaps not so if you're trying to grow anything in your garden. rain has been in short supply lately. it stays largely if not completely dry through the next few days. rather cool as well, and another bit of bad news for gardeners, frost will continue to feature in the forecast. now, i show you the satellite picture to point out that all of the main rain—bearing weather systems are well away from our shores. high pressure is fending them off and keeping us largely dry but not completely dry.

we have seen some showers that managed to pop up during today and we'll see some more of those during tomorrow but for the time being, the showers are fading. so, many spots overnight will be dry with long, clear spells. a bit of patchy cloud and some mist and fog patches developing as well. temperatures for many spots not quite as low as they were last night but —6 looks quite likely in the coldest parts of north east scotland. so into tomorrow, a cold start, one or two mist and fog patches around but for the majority, it's a fine looking day with patchy cloud and sunny spells. but again like today, we will see just one or two showers popping up. now on first glance, the winds don't look like much of a feature. they will be very light in most places but close to the east coast, the winds you'll notice will be coming straight off the chilly waters of the north sea. so, temperatures across the east coast of scotland and england really will struggle, just 7, 8 or 9 celsius. and quite a noticeable breeze actually for coasts of norfolk, suffolk, essex and kent — so feeling really chilly here. but come further west,

a bit of shelter, it will be a little bit warmer — 12 celsius for glasgow, 13 in cardiff and in plymouth. now through wednesday night into thursday, high pressure will remain in charge. frost looks set to be a feature once again into thursday morning, and the orientation of this high means that eastern areas will continue to see a feed of cold airfrom the north sea. it also looks like we'll see this little line of showers skipping in from the north sea affecting parts of eastern and south—eastern england but many places again through thursday, dry with some spells of sunshine. highest temperatures out west, parts of northern ireland and western scotland could be looking at values of 1a or 15 celsius. stays dry for most for the end of the week and temperatures will begin to creep upwards as well, just some rain in the far north—west.

this is bbc news — this is bbc news — johnson &johnson becomes the second johnson &johnson becomes the second covid—19 vaccine linked covid—19 vaccine linked to blood clots. to blood clots. us authorities recommend pausing us authorities recommend pausing the roll—out of the jab the roll—out of the jab until we have more information. until we have more information. if there is a link it's rare — if there is a link it's rare —

withjust six recorded blood clot among some six million vaccines delivered. dr fauci says the us is acting out of an abundance of caution. this is in an unusual occurrence of a serious — this is in an unusual occurrence of a serious adverse event that you want _ a serious adverse event that you want to — a serious adverse event that you want to make sure before you go forward — want to make sure before you go forward you investigated thoroughly. the white house says it's withdrawing all us troops from afghanistan before september 11th this year — five months later than scheduled. also in the programme... the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man — donte wright — during a traffic stop