welcome to bbc news, i'm mike embley. our top stories. us and european authorities pause the rollout of thejohnson &johnson jab, as it becomes the second covid vaccine linked to rare blood clots. tensions rise around russia's military build—up in the ukraine and president biden suggests a summit with vladimir putin. president biden sets the withdrawal of us forces from afghanistan for september at the latest. japan faces criticism over plans to release treated contaminated water from the stricken fukushima nuclear plant into the sea.

johnson &johnson has delayed the rollout of its covid vaccine in europe after regulators in the united states 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 drjeremy faust, an emergency—medicine physician at brigham and women's hospital in boston. thank you for your time. what do you make of this development?- do you make of this development? this is an important _ development? this is an important setback. - development? this is an important setback. i - development? this is an important setback. i am| development? this is an - important setback. i am glad the approach is to pause. because when people go to get their vaccination, they don't want questions, they want answers. we want to know exactly how many people this affects. we know it is rare but we want to know how rare it is.

you used the word setback and said we will learn as much as possible, we know there is vaccine hesitancy, and it will only make people more hesitant. absolutely. we need to put everything in context. in the johnson &johnson trial, one in 2000 participants got blood clots who received the placebo. so statistically there was no difference in those who got the placebo and those who got the vaccine. tens of thousands of people, you saw no signal. it took millions of doses before you saw this. i think it is real, but the fact it took 7 million doses to see the signal is very reassuring. so the whole idea of getting over the hesitancy is so we can say to everyone, look, this is your risk by age group, there is almost no group that the end result would rather get coronavirus than this vaccine but we need to make sure we have the numbers down pat. yes.

have the numbers down pat. yes, perception — have the numbers down pat. yes, perception is _ have the numbers down pat. yes, perception is so — have the numbers down pat. yes, perception is so important. the pause presumably means digging deeper into the figures. the numbers might go up, isn't that in itself, it might be reassuring for people who know as much as you do, but for many laypeople it will be more worrying. laypeople it will be more worrying-— laypeople it will be more worrying. laypeople it will be more wor inc. . ~ , worrying. yeah, i think it is auoin worrying. yeah, i think it is going to — worrying. yeah, i think it is going to falter _ worrying. yeah, i think it is going to falter expert. - worrying. yeah, i think it is going to falter expert. two | going to falter expert. two people i admire most in the space of pandemic research and policy both gotjohnson & johnson recently and both told me they feel pretty good about everything, and they are sitting in a risk group possibly. so yes, it has to be careful messaging, but over and over, we have to tell people that it's not should i get the vaccine or not, it's should i get the vaccine or covid—i9? we know covid—i9 has a four teller to wait in double digits if you are older, but it is also

causing death in the young. —— has a fatality rate in double digits. my hope is that by the time we are back online with this, everyone feels pretty good and we can identify any subgroup for whom it is even close. i subgroup for whom it is even close. . , subgroup for whom it is even close. ., , , ., close. i realise the question vafies close. i realise the question varies on — close. i realise the question varies on age, _ close. i realise the question varies on age, but - close. i realise the question varies on age, but in - varies on age, but in layperson's terms, if someone is really worried about side effects from any vaccine, possibly lethal side effects, and worried about covid, what are you advising? lip and worried about covid, what are you advising?— and worried about covid, what are you advising? up until now, it has been _ are you advising? up until now, it has been vaccine, _ are you advising? up until now, it has been vaccine, vaccine, i it has been vaccine, vaccine, vaccine. by and large, that remains the same. the interesting part of this, in thejohnson &johnson trial, the johnson & johnson trial, 29% thejohnson &johnson trial, 29% of people got a headache. suddenly they will think they have these clots, and vanishingly few of them do. again it's going to be a lot of reassurance. the risk of any of these, any side effects, has to

do with new narrators and denominators. how many have been detected and how many have got the vaccine. i have very few questions except for the young adult female age group, and even then, it appears to be orders of magnitude more dangerous to get covid than the johnson &johnson vaccine. but the whole point of this pause is to gather the information so we are not guessing. we want to know for a fact exactly where we are. and a bit of an issue for doctors, in the rare cases we see this, we have to make sure we are treating it correctly. it is not quite the same as usual business, and for that reason alone, we have to tell the doctors to be on the lookout, which we are. really interesting — lookout, which we are. really interesting and _ lookout, which we are. really interesting and useful- lookout, which we are. really interesting and useful to - lookout, which we are. really interesting and useful to talk| interesting and useful to talk to you, thank you very much. a year after being released from jail, the former opposition leader in peru keiko fujimori

looks to have secured a place injune's run—off for the president. a right—winger, ms fujimori, a former congresswoman who was accused of corruption, is likely to face the surprise leader of sunday's first round votes, pedro castillo, a left—wing teacher. the campaign was dominated by the human and economic impact of the pandemic. a military court in burkina faso will try the former president, blaise campaore, for the assassination of his predecessor in the 1980s. investigations into the death of thomas sankara only began after mr campaore was ousted. however mr campaore is in exile in neighbouring ivory coast, a country which hardly ever extradites its citizens. the funeral of general jovan divjak has been held in sarajevo. divjak was one of the very few ethnic serbs to fight for the bosnian army during the devastating 19905 conflict that ripped the former yugoslavia apart. after the conflict, divjak renounced his rank of general and devoted himself entirely to charitable work supporting thousands of orphans and children from poorfamilies secure an education.

let's discuss the situation in ukraine with a former ambassador to the region. what do you make of the build—up and president biden's response? the build-u president biden's response? the build-up is _ president biden's response? tue: build—up is troubling. president biden's response? tte: build—up is troubling. the russians seem to be bringing military units and equipment and combat forces from all across russia. to three borders with ukraine. in crimea, where they have occupied, illegally occupied territory, ukrainian territory. to the regular border with ukraine. as well as to the border with belarus. the russians are bringing a lot of force to ukraine. the question is why. the answer is not

clear. a couple of possibilities. none of these possibilities. none of these possibilities make sense. some anal sts possibilities make sense. some analysts have _ possibilities make sense. some analysts have made _ possibilities make sense. some analysts have made the - possibilities make sense. some analysts have made the point . analysts have made the point that when russia went into crimea, the element of surprise seemed to be really important. here, they couldn't have made the build—up more obvious. to some people, that suggests it is actually a blast. it some people, that suggests it is actually a blast.— is actually a blast. it may be a blast. is actually a blast. it may be a blast- it — is actually a blast. it may be a blast. it may _ is actually a blast. it may be a blast. it may be _ is actually a blast. it may be a blast. it may be an - is actually a blast. it may be | a blast. it may be an attempt to intimidate someone. == a blast. it may be an attempt to intimidate someone.- to intimidate someone. -- a bluff. to intimidate someone. -- a bluff- it _ to intimidate someone. -- a bluff. it could _ to intimidate someone. -- a bluff. it could be _ to intimidate someone. -- a bluff. it could be to - to intimidate someone. -- a bluff. it could be to do - to intimidate someone. -- a bluff. it could be to do with l bluff. it could be to do with the president _ bluff. it could be to do with the president of— bluff. it could be to do with the president of ukraine. . bluff. it could be to do with - the president of ukraine. maybe they are trying to intimidate they are trying to intimidate the new president biden administration. that seems to be failing. the call from president biden to president putin today was a stern conversation. not a pleasant one. so i believe if it is an attempt to intimidate, it is

failing. attempt to intimidate, it is failina. ~ ., ., , attempt to intimidate, it is failina. ~ ., , failing. ukraine has been t in: failing. ukraine has been trying to _ failing. ukraine has been trying to get _ failing. ukraine has been trying to get into - failing. ukraine has been trying to get into nato i failing. ukraine has been| trying to get into nato for many years, now trying to get a fast track. is that likely to exacerbate things with the russians even further? irrespective of what the russians think about ukraine trying tojoin nato, it's going to take a long time. many people have said, indeed nato leaders have said, in 2008, that at some point in the future, ukraine, and georgia by the way, will be members of nato. it takes time, a lot of work needs to be done to get a country ready to join the alliance. so it's not going to happen soon. but it could happen. happen soon. but it could ha en. happen soon. but it could happen-— happen soon. but it could hauen. ~ ., �* happen. do you think a biden putin summit _ happen. do you think a biden putin summit would - happen. do you think a biden putin summit would happen i happen. do you think a biden i putin summit would happen and what useful things could come out of it? it what useful things could come out of it? ,., , ~ out of it? it sounds like there is an expectation _ out of it? it sounds like there

is an expectation that - out of it? it sounds like there is an expectation that a - out of it? it sounds like there l is an expectation that a summit would happen. that was part of the call, as you know. there are some things the united states and russia are talking about, should be talking about. common interests, strategic stability was mentioned in the phone call. the threat to strategic stability between russia and the us, to do with nuclear weapons and new technologies, and the possibility of escalation for unconventional warfare to nuclear warfare. those are serious problems that ought to be discussed between the us and russia. other things as well. what is not on the table is ukrainian sovereignty. ambassador, thank you. we are seeing live pictures from minneapolis. many people on the streets there. a very tense atmosphere. but

relatively calm compared to the last few nights. this is in relation to the police officer who fatally shot a black man in minneapolis. she has resigned along with the police chief of brooklyn centre, the area where the shooting happened on sunday. it has led to two nights of unrest. and in minneapolis, tensions were particularly high because of the derek chauvin murder trial. brooklyn centre is just a few miles from the courtroom where the chauvin george floyd murder trial is happening. a use of force expert said derek chauvin acted with proportionate force, acted with proportionate force, a very different line from the one the prosecution tried to establish. the expert said the 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. the beginning of the defence case in minneapolis. stay with us. more to come. rolling stones calling for optimism as the pandemic eases in the uk. pol pot, one of the century's greatest mass murderers, is reported to have died of natural causes. he and the khmer rouge movement he led were responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million cambodians. there have been violent protests in indonesia, where playboy has gone on sale for the first time. traditionalist muslim leaders have expressed disgust. the magazine's officers have been attacked,

and its editorial staff have gone into hiding. it was clear that paula's only contest was with the clock. and as for a sporting legacy, paula radcliffe's competitors will be chasing her new world best time for years to come. quite quietly but quicker. and quicker, she assumed to just slide away under i the surface and disappear. this is bbc news. us and european authorities pause the rollout of thejohnson &johnson jab, as it becomes the second covid vaccine linked to rare blood clots. tensions rise around russia's military build—up in the ukraine and president biden suggests a summit with

president putin. the turkish doctors union has said the bbc has... restrictions have been tightened for ramadan, that began on monday. doctors say the damage is already done in the damage is already done in the country. 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.

for many months, in fact ever since the us under president trump really started focusing on the withdrawal of its last few thousand us troops, afghans and foreigners alike, we have to avoid the mistakes of history. in other words, there was an echo of the soviet troop withdrawal in 1989 which sadly paved the way to the collapse of the government in kabul, and a civil war which paved the way to the taliban. for a while, so many were saying we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past. this is really a legacy

afghanistan wants to ensure doesn't happen again, but beyond all expectation, here afghanistan is again, a withdrawal of the last 10,000 us led nato forces, leaving the taliban poised to return to power. the afghans i have been speaking to after the announcement was revealed are saying they fear again a civil war. they hoped against hope that there would be some conditions attached to the troop withdrawal. but the senior us administration official who briefed journalists was adamant that the conditions of the last 20 years have not worked and it is time for america to close the book on this 20 year war. japan is facing intense criticism over plans to release water from the stricken fukushima plant into the sea.

it's been more than a decade since disaster struck at fukushima. during the nuclear meltdown, more than one million tonnes of water was used to cool down the reactors. it has been stored in tanks ever since butjapan hasjust approved a plan to release it into the ocean slowly. it says the water will be treated and diluted so radiation levels are below those set for drinking water, but it has led to protests like this in fukushima. such a decision is completely irresponsible. i don't think people with common sense would do such a thing. the country's fishing and tourism industries have also argued against it. suzuki runs a guesthouse in iwaki, the only one still standing in the area, and he is worried it will drive tourists away for good. translation: i 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. china said the decision is extremely irresponsible. translation: despite doubts and opposition | from home and abroad, and without sufficient consultation from neighbouring countries, japan has unilaterally decided. south korea has also expressed concern. these protests in seoul this week. but the un nuclear watchdog has backed the plan. they will discharge the water in a controlled way, there is no harm, no activity with fish or the sediment or the water. the process is expected to take decades to complete. for some, lockdown has been an opportunity to flex creative muscles. some took up painting, others wrote a novel. if you

are a legendary rock star like sir mickjagger, you can sir mick jagger, you can express sir mickjagger, you can express yourself in one way. he was once an exile on main street. now he is a legend in lockdown. so mickjagger, stuck at home like the rest of us, decided to turn his experience into song. easy sleazy, a tale of zoom calls, tiktok videos and too much television. a transatlantic co—production made with another rock god of a younger vintage. made with another rock god of a youngervintage. so made with another rock god of a younger vintage. so mick said, it's a song i wrote about coming out of lockdown with some much—needed optimism. thanks to dave grohl for jumping on drums, bass and guitar, it was a lot of fun working with him. dave's fulsome response, it's hard to put into words what recording this song with mick means to

me. it's beyond a dream come true. just when i thought life couldn't get any crazier. it's the song of the summer without a doubt. it's been a busy period for the rolling stones apostasy singer. last year they launched their first store in londoncarnaby street. —— londoncarna by street. —— rolling londoncarnaby street. —— rolling stones' singer. now the rocker celebrating a hopeful return to normality. we are heading back to paradise, he sings. some satisfaction at last. so mick on guitar, you don't often see that. crazy things in the sky above bahama and florida. a meteor streaking across the sky. it disintegrated and burned up. near the atlantic coast. you

can get us on twitter. 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 13 in cardiff and plymouth and 13 probably towards western parts of northern ireland. any showers that have popped up will fade away 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, althought 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, too. 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 — 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 jab in europe has been put on hold, american regulators calling for a halt in use as a rare blood clots are investigated. six women developed clots out of 7 million people who had the vaccine, one of them has died. president biden has urged president biden has urged president putin to ease tensions on the ukrainian border suggesting they hold their first summit. border suggesting they hold theirfirst summit. tensions their first summit. tensions are theirfirst summit. tensions are rising over russia �*s military build up next to ukraine. the russian leadership seen troop deployment is a response to what it calls nato threatening moves. the policewoman who fatally shot a 20—year—old black man in minneapolis on sunday has resigned. so has the local police chief. daunte wright died during a struggle with officers after a traffic stop and it sparked nights of protests calling for an end to police violence.