this is bbc news. i'm mike embley with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. us and european authorities recommend pausing the rollout of thejohnson &johnson jab, as it becomes the second covid vaccine linked to blood clots. president biden sets the withdrawal of us forces from afghanistan for september at the latest. japan faces criticism for a plan to release contaminated water from the fukushima plan to release contaminated waterfrom the fukushima plant into the sea. and a report on thousands of homeless congolese children.

hello and welcome. johnson &johnson has delayed the rollout of its covid vaccine in europe after regulators in the us called for a pause because of safety concerns. six people who'd had the vaccine in the us have developed rare and severe blood clots. it's so far been given to almost seven million americans. our medical editor fergus walsh reports. an abundance of caution was cited by us health officials as the reason why they paused the use of the single—shotjohnson &johnson covid jab. the vaccine, which in europe is branded as janssen, was approved in the us in late february. since then, there have been six incidents of very rare clots in the brain, out of 6.8 million doses. so less than one case per million people immunised. all were women under 50, one of them died and one is critically ill. i think this is an unusual

occurrence of a serious adverse event that you want to make sure before you go forward, you investigate it thoroughly. and that's exactly what they're doing. they're pausing, so that they can look at it more carefully. similar very rare clots have occurred with the oxford—astrazeneca jab and scientists are investigating whether this type of vaccine technology could be implicated. both of these vaccines used a disabled common cold virus called adenovirus to smuggle the gene from the coronavirus spike protein into the vaccine, into your arm. so they both work in broadly the same way and that raises the possibility that something about this type of vaccine could be the explanation for this kind of very rare side effect. 30 million doses of the j&j janssen vaccine are on orderfor the uk, although it is yet to be approved. it's hoped the delay in the roll—out won't slow

the vaccination drive here. the biggest concern is globally. the plan was to immunise one billion people worldwide with the vaccine this year. if that's disrupted, it will slow efforts to finally bring the pandemic under control. fergus walsh, bbc news. we can now speak to dr peter hotez, co—director of texas children's hospital's center for vaccine development. he joins us from houston. thank you for your time, i know you are busy. what do you make of the latest developments? well, i think of the latest developments? well, ithink it of the latest developments? well, i think it probably is related to the vaccine but an extremely rare conditions. if's not simply blood clots, so evil one basis, a severe life—threatening condition. —— it's not simply. the reason they took the measure to put it

on hold was to alert clinicians they should be on the lookout for other similar cases. —— to liberal thrombosis. also the numbers may start to go up when they do that. to get on the numbers of the percentage. and i think it is also to talk to the european and british regulators, the mhra and the ema, because it may be a very rare pathway for the adenovirus vector vaccines, astrazeneca oxford, johnson &johnson and oxford, johnson & johnson and maybe oxford, johnson &johnson and maybe even the russian vaccine. a few days to get around it is warranted. years ago this would not be such a big deal, but we now have a new world with a very aggressive anti—vaccine landscape and that makes it more complicated and problematic.— more complicated and problematic. more complicated and roblematic. , . ., problematic. yes, we will come to that in _ problematic. yes, we will come to that in a _ problematic. yes, we will come to that in a second. _ problematic. yes, we will come to that in a second. it _

problematic. yes, we will come to that in a second. it sounds . to that in a second. it sounds as if you expect the numbers to go up. i as if you expect the numbers to no u. ~' as if you expect the numbers to .o u, ~' �* , ., go up. i think it's a possibility. - go up. i think it's a - possibility. remember, we go up. i think it's a _ possibility. remember, we could go from six to 12 cases but that's still going to be a pretty uncommon number. the rates looking at europe, one in 100,000, one in 250,000 in the us, maya million, and we 100,000, one in 250,000 in the us, may a million, and we have to be very careful about the messaging. the us is in a different position. if tomorrow the us never authorised the astrazeneca oxford vaccine and shelved the johnson astrazeneca oxford vaccine and shelved thejohnson & astrazeneca oxford vaccine and shelved the johnson & johnson vaccine, shelved thejohnson &johnson vaccine, it may shelved the johnson & johnson vaccine, it may not have that much impact on the us programme because there are other options, they have procured so much of the two mra vaccines in abundance. but the problem is that when you look at sub—saharan africa, latin

america, they are all adenovirus vector vaccines. if somebody signals a problem or sounds the alarm, that could have a really devastating effect on the ability of africa and latin america to fight the pandemic. so it's so important how we operate and proceed, not only thinking about the safety of the american people but thinking about the world. professor, i know you know your subject through and through, but speaking in laypersons terms, if someone says they are worried about the vaccine, any vaccine, and worried about the risks of covid, what would you advise? h0 risks of covid, what would you advise? ., , ., ,~' advise? no question, the risk of covid far _ advise? no question, the risk of covid far outweighs... - advise? no question, the risk of covid far outweighs... we l of covid far outweighs... we have seen the devastation, half a million american lives lost in the united states, hundred thousands more globally. it is one of the great killers. the adverse events happening in the vaccine are extremely rare.

even today talking to people who have already gotten a single jab of thejohnson & johnson vaccine, i say, look, don't panic, this is an extremely rare event. the likelihood right now is roughly the same as being struck by lightning, which national geographic puts at about one in 750,000. we are about at those kinds of numbers.— kinds of numbers. professor, thank you _ kinds of numbers. professor, thank you very _ kinds of numbers. professor, thank you very much - kinds of numbers. professor, thank you very much indeed. | turkey is now third in the world in terms of new cases of the coronavirus with close to 55,000 more per day — the highest levels ever seen in the country. the turkish doctors union has told the bbc the government has consistently ignored their advice to impose stricter measures. restrictions have now been tightened for the islamic fasting month of ramadan, which began on monday, but doctors say the damage has been done. orla guerin reports. another life hanging in the balance. turkey is gripped by a brutal third wave of covid—i9.

this is the intensive care unit in marmara university hospital, one of the biggest in istanbul. we found dr ali exhausted and scared. as cases soared last month, president erdogan appeared unconcerned. no social distancing for his supporters in ankara. "i greet you at this meeting where snowfall kills all germs," he said. ajoke, but look inside.

the venue packed to the rafters for a congress of hisjustice and development party. attendees had to have a negative test. but doctors called it a congress of all the covid variants in turkey. and here at the funeral of an islamic scholar, turkey's health minister fahrettin koca, of all people, ignoring his own advice. he later apologised, saying everyone knows the pandemic spreads much faster in crowds. it spread fivefold after the government eased restrictions on march 1st. watch the red zones seep across this map produced by an independent data analyst. the turkish doctors union tells us it was like giving

people an appointment to get the virus. they say the government has blood on its hands. even sometimes we lose young people. it is a very big sadness for us. and then we cannot, how we say, prevent our fears. it could be prevented by government and then it was not prevented. for this reason we call this situation a social murder. poor neighbourhoods are especially hard—hit, like tarlabasi in istanbul, where many live hand to mouth. no pandemic payments here providing an income. from her windowsill, zehra tells us she has covid. this is her social safety net, food delivered by neighbours. doctors are calling for support for the poor to stay home and for all workplaces to close. that's not happening,

but there are more restrictions on the horizon for the coming weeks, including a ban on indoor gatherings and an earlier start to the nightly curfew. but will this be enough to halt the alarming surge in cases? orla guerin, bbc news, istanbul. the us president has spoken to the russian president vladimir putin, calling on him to stop the build up of troops on the border of ukraine. russia seized crimea from ukraine in 2014, and in recent weeks fighting has increased in the east of ukraine between government forces and russian—backed separatists. our north america correspondent gary o'donoghue says president biden is now turning his attention to international matters. after months of concentrating on the domestic arena of covid and the economy, joe biden flexing his international muscles, calling russia provocative

for amassing those troops on the ukrainian border and occupying crimea. russia throwing that back to washington for sending two warships to the sea. joe biden is also suggesting the two men should meet for a summit in the coming months in a third country. that should be an interesting encounter given thejoe biden has described vladimir putin in the past as soulless and last month, he agreed with the generals who described him as a killer. but that could be a chilly summit when it does happen, but they do have things to talk about climate change iran and afghanistan, but on afghanistan, there's lots to talk about because the administration announced that it would withdraw all us military from the country before the 20th anniversary of 9/11 later this year, ending america's longest war in focusing its resources to threats from china

and indeed russia. as gary was reporting, president biden says he will withdraw all us forces from afghanistan by 11th september — the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, which started the conflict in the country. the trump administration had previously agreed to a complete military exit by may, during negotiations with the taliban last year. secunder kermani is in kabul with the latest. many here will see this as a boost for the taliban despite the technically being a breach of the deadline that they have been insisting is adhered to. some in the afghan government were hoping they would adopt a more conditions—based approach to the peace process but instead that has been specifically ruled out with the september deadline. it seems unlikely that taliban want to jeopardise this withdrawal plan by launching attacks against nato forces over the coming months, but the slow pace of talks so far suggests it will be very difficult for them to reach a deal on a power—sharing arrangement by september and many are sceptical

and they fear the taliban will simply wait out this withdrawal and push for an outright military victory or dominance. the officials say that they will be able to hold out militarily against the taliban for a number of years, even without international assistance, but that international assistance has been crucial in the fight up until now. a spectre of an even more fragmented conflict looms. this is not with the united states would want, a disastrous legacy to leave behind after so much bloodshed and money spent. we'll have to see what kind of leverage they and the afghanistan government have left. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we are with the charity workers trying to help 30,000 congolese children living on the streets.

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this is bbc world news, the latest headlines. us and european authorities pause the rollout of thejohnson &johnson jab, as it becomes the second covid vaccine linked to blood clots. in the democratic republic of the congo, more than 30,000 kids are left to fend for themselves in the streets, mainly in the capital kinshasa. meanwhile, the government is accused of failing to provide them any support, with the burden of trying to get them out of the streets falling on a few ngos with very little funding. the bbc�*s elodie toto reports from kinshasa every morning, this congolese social worker goes around kinshasa. the children sleep on the streets. she tries to offer support in the form of food and medical help. she tells them

about shelters. this 17—year—old girl who we are keeping anonymous has been homeless for several years and says she was forced to leave home because of abuse. she now lives with several other kids on the streets of the capital, without access to clean water. she doesn't go to school, instead spending her day looking for food. translation: ~ , , translation: we sleep under boxes on the — translation: we sleep under boxes on the floor. _ translation: we sleep under boxes on the floor. when - translation: we sleep under boxes on the floor. when night falls, at 8pm, we spread our boxes and sleep. at about four o'clock in the morning, you have to go and get some money. this allows you to eat. often you finish everything. that is how we live.— you finish everything. that is how we live. the aim, because their parents — how we live. the aim, because their parents cannot _ how we live. the aim, because their parents cannot look - how we live. the aim, because their parents cannot look after| their parents cannot look after them, they are sometimes runaways, they are on the

street... since the coronavirus, the situation has become worse. translation: i become worse. translation: . ., become worse. translation: .., , ., translation: i can tell you the situation is _ translation: i can tell you the situation is difficult. _ translation: i can tell you the situation is difficult. we - translation: i can tell you the situation is difficult. we are - situation is difficult. we are told to respect social distancing and other measures, but how do you do that with children in the streets. they sleep one on top of the other because it is cold at night. in this difficult period, children survive by begging. nowadays people don't have money so how are they surviving? those are the questions we don't have the answers to. in the questions we don't have the answers to-_ answers to. in 2009, the government _ answers to. in 2009, the government passed - answers to. in 2009, the government passed a - answers to. in 2009, the j government passed a law answers to. in 2009, the i government passed a law on child protection to try to get children off the streets. they say they are working but they don't know how many children are living on the streets of kinshasa or how many need their help. in the meantime, charities and social workers

tried to fill the void. a trial run away was taken in by a social worker. run away was taken in by a socialworker. —— run away was taken in by a social worker. —— a child. translation: socialworker. -- a child. translation:— socialworker. -- a child. tuna/mom- socialworker. -- a child. translation: ., translation: god gave me the race to translation: god gave me the grace to go _ translation: god gave me the grace to go home. _ translation: god gave me the grace to go home. he _ translation: god gave me the grace to go home. he brought. translation: god gave me the | grace to go home. he brought me off the streets to help me get my life on track, help me find my life on track, help me find my parents and repair our relationship, the arguments with my father that caused me to run away. that is how i was reintegrated.— to run away. that is how i was reintegrated. unfortunately his sto is reintegrated. unfortunately his story is an _ reintegrated. unfortunately his story is an exception, - reintegrated. unfortunately his story is an exception, until- story is an exception, until there is more support to help change their lives, children will remain on the streets. the policewoman who fatally shot a black man near minneapolis has resigned, along with the police chief of brooklyn center, where the shooting happened on sunday. it's believed that daunte wright was killed by accident when kim potterfired her gun instead of her taser. the shooting has led

to two nights of unrest. from minneapolis, nick byrant sent this report, and a warning that it contains some distressing images. it's a uniquely american story we've 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 center 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. chanting: 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'd 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 fault line of race. this was the moment daunte wright was pulled over for 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. ijust shot him. tonight, after 26 years in uniform, the officer kim potter resigned, and so too did the chief

of the brooklyn center police. today, the mother of daunte wright described how her son telephoned her after being stopped by the police, then there was a second call with a friend he'd been driving with. she was crying and screaming and she said that they had shot him and then she pointed the phone towards the driver's seat and my son was laying there unresponsive. that was the last time that i seen my son. that's the last time i heard from my son and i've had no explanation since then. 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. protests in minneapolis have taken place just a few miles away from the courtroom where the high—profile george floyd murder trial continues.

defence lawyers have begun calling witnesses — and a �*use of force' expert has said that chauvin acted with proportionate force, and his acts were justified. mr floyd's level of resistance was, it was objectively reasonable for those officers to do the techniques that they were doing. i felt that that level of resistance exhibited by mr floyd justified the officers and higher levels use of force that they chose not to select. japan is facing intense criticism from its neighbours over plans to release more than a million tonnes of contaminated water from the stricken fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean. courtney bembridge reports. it's been more than a decade since disaster struck at fukushima. during the nuclear meltdown, more thani million tonnes of water was used to cool down the reactors. it has been stored in tanks ever since

butjapan been stored in tanks ever since but japan has just approved a plan to release it into the ocean slowly. it says the water will be treated undiluted so radiation levels are below those set for drinking water, but it has led to protests like this in fukushima. the country's fishing and tourism industries have also argued against it. suzuki runs a guesthouse, the only one still standing in the area, and he is worried it will drive tourists away for good. translation: i away for good. translation: ., ., translation: i will have to live with it — translation: i will have to live with it for _ translation: i will have to live with it for the _ translation: i will have to live with it for the rest - translation: i will have to live with it for the rest of. translation: | will have to| live with it for the rest of my life. tourists will not say explicitly they are not coming here because of the release of nuclear waste water but i think people will naturally not come here. ., . , ., here. china said the decision is extremely _ here. china said the decision is extremely irresponsible. l is extremely irresponsible. translation:— is extremely irresponsible. translation: , ,, ., , translation: despite doubts and o- osition translation: despite doubts and opposition from — translation: despite doubts and opposition from home _ translation: despite doubts and opposition from home and - opposition from home and abroad, and without sufficient consultation from neighbouring countries, japan has unilaterally decided. south

korea has _ unilaterally decided. south korea has also _ unilaterally decided. south korea has also expressed i korea has also expressed concern. these protests in seoul this week. but the un nuclear watchdog has backed the plan. nuclear watchdog has backed the lan. , ,. ., plan. they will discharge the water in a — plan. they will discharge the water in a controlled - plan. they will discharge the water in a controlled way, i water in a controlled way, there is no harm, no activity with fish all the sediment all the water. with fish all the sediment all the water-— the water. the process is exoected _ the water. the process is exoected to _ the water. the process is expected to take - the water. the process is| expected to take decades the water. the process is i expected to take decades to complete. residents in south florida and the bahamas got an unexpected visitor in the night sky — a meteor burning its way into the atmosphere. a streaking trail of light could be seen by eyewitnesses and various security cameras across the state as the lump of rock burned up and disintegrated. local meteorologists say it must have exploded near florida's atlantic coast. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter.

thank you for watching. hello. april so far has been colder and drier than average, and the weather for now is in no mood to change that pattern. so, plenty of dry weather continuing for the next few days, but of course the thing which has got most of us talking is just how chilly it feels. there's more of that to come as well and more of those frosty nights. it is high pressure. whenever you see this, you think, "well, it's dry." however, as we saw on tuesday, there were showers around. and there will still be a few in the day ahead, though most will stay dry after what is another widespread frost to start the day, another hard frost in parts of scotland, down to —6, for example, in the northeast. one or two mist and fog patches. they will clear and we're left with quite bit of sunshine. just some areas of patchy cloud around and, you canjust see it here, one or two showers developing, more especially

towards the western side of the uk. now, the winds for the most part are light, but look at the arrows here pushing in towards that north sea coast of scotland and down the eastern side of england, coming in from the sea, which is quite chilly at this time of year, and that's why these temperatures arejust showing 7, 8 or 9 celsius. so with the onset of that northeasterly breeze, eastern areas will actually be colder, whereas we're i3 in cardiff and plymouth and i3 probably towards western parts of northern ireland. any showers that have popped up will fade away as we get on into the evening. we have another largely clear and cold night to come into thursday morning, and again one or two mist and fog patches around. and there will be another widespread frost, although we're not expecting it to be quite as hard as it's been over recent nights. how's thursday shaping up? most dry with sunny spells, but on that northeasterly breeze, we will bring in a few showers to parts of eastern england, into the southeast, perhaps the east midlands as well.

if anything, that breeze will be a touch fresher, too. for the most part, though, elsewhere, the winds are light. there is warmth in the sunshine if you get some of that. you certainly feel it as temperatures, away from the chilly east, will be close to the average for the time of year. big picture going friday into the weekend, there are weather fronts trying to move in from the atlantic towards northern ireland and scotland, initially perhaps just bringing a bit more cloud. but deeper on into the weekend, more especially on sunday, there is a chance that, here, we could see a bit of rain, whereas elsewhere it stays dry.

this is bbc news,

the headlines... the roll—out of the johnson the roll—out of thejohnson & johnson covid vaccine in europe has been halted. rare blood clots are investigated. six women have developed clots at 7 million people who have had the jab and one has died. the united states will withdraw all of its troops from afghanistan ijy of its troops from afghanistan by the 11th of september, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attack. the trump administration had planned to finish the pull—out by the end of this month but the deadline has receded as taleban violence goes on. the policewoman who fatally shot a 20—year—old black man in minneapolis on sunday has resigned from the force, as has the local police chief. the man died with police officers after a struggle, and riots have been sparked.

it isi:30am. now on bbc news — click.