welcome to bbc news — i'm lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: thejury retires to consider its verdict — in the trial of the former police officer charged with killing george floyd. the case is seen as a key moment in us policing and race relations. outrage as europe's richest clubs announce plans to join a new breakaway football super league. and, mission accomplished. nasa flies a drone over the surface of mars, in yet another first for human—kind's efforts in space. and walter mondale, who served as us vice president under jimmy carter has died at the age of 93.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we start in the us city of minneapolis. agery city of minneapolis. has retired to consider its agery has retired to consider its verdict in the trial of derek chauvin, the white former police officer charged with murdering a black man, george floyd, last year. security has been significantly increased around the court building in minneapolis as officials prepare for protest once the outcome of the trial is known. footage from the distressing incident was again shown in closing arguments and some of it is included in the�*s report. —— nick bryant. it's a measure of the passions aroused by this trial

that the courthouse looks more like a prison. and the presence of the national guard serves as a martial reminder of how this midwestern city has become america's most volatile fault line. put your hands up, right now. let me see your other hand. in its closing argument, the prosecution showed police body—cam footage of george floyd's arrest for a minor offence, and his reluctance at getting in the police car because he suffered from claustrophobia and anxiety. already handcuffed, the officers took him out and forced him to the ground. i can't breathe... "i can't breathe. " george floyd uttered these words almost 30 times. this wasn't policing. this was murder. the defendant is guilty of all three counts. all of them. and there's no excuse. then derek chauvin listened as his lawyer mounted his final defence. he argued that the officer followed his training and adhered to police

procedures in a highly stressful situation... i can't breathe! ..and that george floyd's drug use and heart condition contributed to his death. the state has failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore mr chauvin should be found not guilty on all counts. over this three—week trial, which seen the emotional friends and eyewitnesses, the testimony of medical first responders... in lay terms, i thought he was dead. ..the rare sight of a police chief publicly condemning the actions of one of his officers... it is not part of our training and it is certainly not part of our ethics or our values. ..and the dramatic moment when derek chauvin decided not to testify. i will invoke my fifth amendment privilege today. this has become a familiar american streetscape — shops boarded up and ready for a storm of protest. but tonight, a pause for prayer for the family of george floyd, their testament of hope that justice will be served. nick bryant, bbc

news, minneapolis. derek chauvin has been charged with three crimes and the sentences vary accordingly. the biggest charges second murder which carries 25 years and the second charges are 25 and the second charges are 25 and 10 years. all three charges would give him 75 years. the maximum prison time he can serve his a0 years. however, he is a first—time offender and the state of minnesota has a sentencing matrix which would mean that he would probably go to jailfor 12.5 years if he was found guilty of all three charges. however, the prosecution is asking the judge to depart from that sentencing guidelines that give him a much harsher sentence if he is found guilty. however, something we have to keep in mind is when the verdict has been decided by the verdict has been decided by thejury, both sides the verdict has been decided by the jury, both sides of the prosecution and defence will make submissions to the judge

about the sentencing they are recommending. naturally, the lawyers representing derek chauvin will be asking for a lighter sentence because he is a first—time offender and the prosecution has already sat there asking the judge to depart from adding to be harshest possible sentence. it is not going to be will we heard the verdict how long he is going to go to jailfor if he is convicted. they will have to wait slightly longer. 0ur correspondent larry madowo is in minneapolis. it is fair to say plans for a new european super league and football haven't gone down well with a lot of people. 12 of europe's biggest football clubs intend to break away to form a �*super league�* of their own. here is the head of the european footballing body. the heads of european footballing body. tue: heads of uefa european footballing body. tte: heads of uefa and the footballing fans stand united against the disgraceful actions we have seen a the last aa hours from a select few clubs in europe fuelled purely by greed amongst all else. this idea is a spit in the face of

all football lovers. and our society as well. so we will not allow them to take it away from us. �* . , allow them to take it away from us. �* ., , , ., us. and there was this from the former manchester _ us. and there was this from the former manchester united - former manchester united footballer eric cantona. t footballer eric cantona. i would like to say something about the european super league. since the year we have seen games on tv with the best clubs in the world and the best players in the world. and it was so boring and it is still so boring because the fans are not there. the fans singing, jumping and supporting their teams. so the fans are the most important thing in full all. they have to be respected stop did these big clubs ask their fans what they thought about this idea? no, unfortunately and that is a shame.-

this idea? no, unfortunately and that is a shame. simon hill is a football _ and that is a shame. simon hill is a football commentator - and that is a shame. simon hill| is a football commentator based in sydney and he gave me the reaction there. in australia there are a lot of premier league fans in particular and i think their reaction has been one of stunned silence to a large degree, but also anger and disappointment that their favourite clubs, particularly the big six of england because the premier league is hugely popular here, has decided to go down this road. i have to say it has been a little bit of a shock. i think to all of us because we were all expecting on monday to hear that these revamped plans for the champions league had been rubberstamped with the expanding group stage and instead of evolution, we got revolution. i think people are still digesting it but are very angry and very disappointed. what do you think is the motivation is behind these changes?

money. laughs. it is as simple as that. it is an insurance policy against relegation, if you like, from the champions league. the big clubs of europe want more of the cash that is on offer from global football. they feel they can get more of it by going alone with a super league and of course protecting their place. this is the nub of the whole argument that we have these 12 founding clubs plus another three yet to be named that would essentially be immune from being relegated from that elite group, and with that comes of course a guarantee annually of lots of lots of money. if you look at the way the premier league table stands at the moment, a handful of those big six clubs that are going to join the super league, liverpool, arsenal, tottenham, and chelsea, that is four of the top six, are not in the top four spots in england. so at the moment at least they wouldn't qualify for the champions league next year which means a huge loss in revenue and that is what they want to insure against. i see. what about the argument that it works in america and australia

where leagues there are ring—fenced and there is no promotion or relegation and fans still love it and still watch it? well, they do but i think america and australia are very different markets to the global game such as football with established traditions of well over a hundred years of sporting meritocracy essentially. even here in australia, there is a big push for a national second division and promotion and relegation. at some point we will probably have that when finances allow. the geography of the two countries as you mentioned, the united states and australia, sort of works against in many ways that system of promotion and relegation. of course, in football terms, they don't have quite the same histories in terms of the longevity of their leagues. so this is a global game that has been established on these principles for many years, and i think that is why fans are, in my opinion, rightly outraged.

0ur our thanks to simon hill. it has been announced that former us vice president walter mondale has stayed at the age of 93. his overjimmy carter and went on to run as a presidential candidate in 198a but lost to ronald reagan. let's be to our north america correspondent peter bowes. how do you think he will be remembered? he do you think he will be remembered?- do you think he will be remembered? he will be remembered, _ remembered? he will be remembered, and - remembered? he will be remembered, and is - remembered? he will be i remembered, and is being remembered, and is being remembered as a statesman who was higher principle, had a very long career in american politics before coming vice president, he served in the us senate, representing his home state of minnesota. he had been a lawyer in minneapolis, a city which of course is very much in the news today because of the trial of derek chauvin. he served in that role in the senate for some 12 years. i think probably it was his achievement, the passing of the fair housing act. he campaigned

for an act and was really essential to getting it passed through the senate that banned discrimination on the basis of race and religion and sex. and that he was, as you say, elected to the white house with jimmy carter. that was in 1976. as vice president, that is really where he made his mark, elevating that role like no other vice president. i think it's quite that most presidents really, thejob is without portfolio and it is down to the individual to make the job what they can and make the best of it. he really elevated in terms of importance and in many respects was more experienced in washington politics than jimmy carter. so the two of them worked very closely together. he was the first vice president with an office in the west wing at the white house and played a key role in policy, especially foreign policy, especially foreign policy in the middle east. it was to be relatively short lived for both of them, just a single term in the white house and then came along the juggernaut that was ronald

reagan who took over as president. you thought that would be the end of walter mondale's national career that wasn't to be, coming back in 198a. he served for his party, challenged ronald reagan and did not do very well and in very badly with ronald reagan sweeping back into power and he only managed to win a single state, minnesota. he did one thing that are still being remembered today and that is that he had a woman as his running mate, geraldine ferraro. he chose a congresswoman at the time and that was a decision that are still being talked about today. thank you very much, peter. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a forgotten coffee species rediscovered in sierra leone brews promise for the industry's future.

the stars and stripes at half—mast outside columbine high. the school sealed off, the bodies of the dead still inside. i never thought that they would actually go through with it. one of the most successful singer—song writers of all time, the american pop star prince has died at the age of 57. i was — it's hard to believe it. i didn't believe it. we just — he was just here saturday. for millions of americans, j the death of richard nixon in a new york hospital has i meant conflicting emotions. a national day of mourning next wednesday, sitting somehow. uneasily with the abiding memories of the shame i of watergate. and lift off of the space shuttle discovery with the hubble space telescope, our window on the universe.

pretty this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. the latest headlines: the jury in the trial of the former police officer charged with killing george floyd retires to consider it's verdict — the case is seen as key moment in us race relations and policing. plans for 12 of europe's top football clubs to form a breakaway super—league have been greeted with outrage. nasa says a new chapter in space exploration has been opened after a successful test flight of a drone on mars. it's the first powered, controlled flight by an aircraft on another planet. the drone, called ingenuity, was airborne for around a0 seconds. more ambitious flights are planned for the days ahead. here's our science correspondent rebecca morelle. it was a flight that lasted just a0 seconds. but by hovering in the martian air, turning and then landing, nasa's ingenuity

helicopter made history. applause. confirmed. ingenuity has performed its first flight. and this was the moment mission control learned of the success. human beings have neverflown a rotorcraft outside of our own earth's atmosphere. we don't have to say it any more. we have flown, human beings have flown a rotorcraft on another planet! and we have started it by flying at mars. it's a huge deal for humanity. the helicopter took pictures, too, this one mid—flight capturing its own shadow below and anotherjust before it touched down. until now, nasa had no guarantees this would work. these flights are testing cutting—edge technology. on board are solar panels and a thermostat, so the helicopter can survive temperatures down to —80 degrees. for each flight, scientists upload a plan, but ingenuity also has to make decisions by itself. high—tech cameras and sensors can spot obstacles, so it can adjust its

height to avoid these. but the helicopter can also use these features as landmarks so it could navigate its way down to the ground. this flight is just the start. in the coming days, the helicopter will begin to fly further afield and it could transform our view of mars. helicopters can cover more ground, can act as scout vehicles, can go into different areas that the rover can't go into. and then they can do co—ordinated science data. future manned missions to mars can utilise a drone helicopter. so there is a lot of opportunity. more than 100 years ago, the wright brothers made history with the first powered aircraft on earth. now a little mars helicopter has shown the same is possible on another planet, propelling us into a new era

of space exploration. rebecca morelle, bbc news. unicef says the number of migrant children stranded in mexico has arisen ninefold. nearly 3500 children, mostly from honduras, and guatemala and el salvador and mexico itself are waiting to cross into the us or have been pushed back. the agency says the number is increasing by 300 children every day. us federal officials are investigating a fatal car crash in texas which local police say appears to have happened with no—one in the driver's seat. two people died in the tesla car. investigators are expected to look into whether the vehicle was being controlled by its autopilot system. tesla says it advises drivers to keep their

hands on the wheel and pay attention, even when using that feature. the uk's imposing travel restrictions on india after a huge surge in cases there. the indian government says every adult will be eligible to get of coronavirus vaccination from the start of next month. health services in parts of india have been brought to their knees. and for the first time in six decades, cuba's communist party as a leader who isn't one of the castro brothers. the cuban president has been chosen to succeed rail castro who announced on friday he was resigning. the island has not and governed by anyone other than the dell castro or rail castro since the cuban revolution in 1959. there's been strong condemnation of russia over recent days with president putin coming under international pressure on several fronts. the us imposed new sanctions on russia last week for meddling in elections

and on monday the eu criticised the kremlin over the build up of troops on the ukrainian border. the us government has said the world will hold the russian government to account if the prominent opposition leader, alexei navalny, dies in prison. correspondent steve rosenberg reports from krasnoyarsk, in siberia, on the growing tensions within putin's russia. where is russia going undeeradimir putin? what kind of a country is the president building? what is he thinking and planning? getting inside vladimir putin's mind is artist vasily slonov�*s job. he sees a leader determined to keep power. translation: however you mix up the pieces, i russia's jigsaw will always show putin. he's outplayed everyone. all his opponents have been removed, jailed, poisoned or killed.

alexei navalny was poisoned and later imprisoned. the opposition leader is on hunger strike. there's growing concern about his health and growing pessimism among his supporters. injanuary, police detained igor at a pro—navalny protest. translation: we're going back to the red terror of stalin - when anyone who thought differently from the great leader was persecuted. now, people who don't support our president are seen as enemies. patriotic chimes — a sign of the times. the kremlin�*s encouraging national pride and distrust of the west. in krasnoyarsk, we're being followed... ok, there it is again, the same numberplate. . .everywhere we go. the fact that we're being followed shows just how nervous the russian authorities are, how sensitive they are to potential criticism about what's happening here, and also how suspicious they are of the west.

so one of the cars that's been following us has just pulled up here. we're going to try and have a little chat. he says he's not following us, it's just our imagination. that's not true. for kseniya and herfamily, it's not the west they fear, it's russia's direction. but like most russians, they avoid politics and protests. i think that people are afraid because if your director finds that you went there...

to a protest? yeah, and maybe you were jailed, sometimes you can lose yourjob. people are just afraid. when you look into the future, what kind of a russia would you like your son to live in? i would like russia to be more free. but, you know, i don't believe that anything will change in the nearest future. but change can happen suddenly in russia. communism collapsed, and some think that a system built around one man, even a strong man, is dangerously unstable. translation: russia is heading straight for a big catastrophe. i i'm certain. it's irreversible. it's like the titanic heading for the iceberg. the overriding feeling i get about russia is uncertainty, and that's of global concern because the direction russia takes has consequences for the whole world. steve rosenberg, bbc

news, krasnoyarsk. i'v e i've forgotten copy species has been rediscovered in sierra leone. researchers say small plants could be key to future proving the industry.- plants could be key to future proving the industry. 2020 was the hottest _ proving the industry. 2020 was the hottest year _ proving the industry. 2020 was the hottest year on _ proving the industry. 2020 was the hottest year on record - proving the industry. 2020 was the hottest year on record and | the hottest year on record and brought unprecedented levels of extreme weather including fires, flooding and drought. making warnings like this from the un increasingly urgent. this is truly a pivotal era for humanity's future and this report shows we have no time to waste. ., , , ., , waste. climate disruption is here. rising _ waste. climate disruption is here. rising temperatures i waste. climate disruption is i here. rising temperatures are already affecting food security with more and more land becoming unproductive. coffee is one cop under threat, affecting the livelihoods of more than 100 million farmers. but in these dense tropical forests of sierra leone,

scientists say they've rediscovered a copy species not seenin rediscovered a copy species not seen in the wild for decades. we think we have a really important discovery because we found a coffee that grows at higher temperatures, found a coffee that grows at highertemperatures, but found a coffee that grows at higher temperatures, but also has those qualities that the consumer requires from coffee, such as a fantastic taste. if we are interested in generating the copies of the future, this is a really important little plant. is a really important little -lant. ., ., ., ' i: i: plant. there are more than 100 known corny _ plant. there are more than 100 known copy species _ plant. there are more than 100 known copy species but - plant. there are more than 100 known copy species but most . plant. there are more than 100| known copy species but most of us get our caffeine hit from arabica beans but the cops are less resilient to higher temperatures and its estimated arabica production could halve by the middle of this century and so the search for a replacement begun. and so the search for a relacement beuun. ~ . . replacement begun. what we want is a tree that _ replacement begun. what we want is a tree that has _ replacement begun. what we want is a tree that has relatively - is a tree that has relatively compact, it is drought resistant, but is climate tolerant and can give us a good yield with good flavour attributes and that is almost the holy grail that we've been looking for. the holy grail that we've been

looking for-— looking for. the rediscovered s - ecies looking for. the rediscovered species promises _ looking for. the rediscovered species promises notes - looking for. the rediscovered species promises notes of. looking for. the rediscovered . species promises notes of rose, elderflower and light she and the taste to rival arabica that it could take several years to make its way to our cafe �*s. researchers more work needs to done before it's grown on a large scale. courtney bembridge, bbc news. according to media in australia, a travel bubble between australia and new zealand could be injeopardy after a positive covid—19 case. these were some of the first passengers to take advantage of the new rules, allowing passengers to skip hotel quarantine. now it's reported a border work at new zealand �*s auckland airport has tested positive for novamack. we will keep you up—to—date with what is happening there in new zealand and australia. that is about it from me. just quickly before we go, a man in belgium has come up with his own take of a covid bubble, take a look

at this. he is an artist and this is his idea. that's it. this is bbc news. hello there. hello there. april showers have been in short supply. it's been a very dry month so far. and for most places, tuesday will be another dry day with some sunny spells. but across the north of the uk, we can expect some patchy rain, courtesy of a weather front — you can see it here on the chart — drifting in from the northwest, moving slowly southeastwards through the day and weakening all the while. for much of england and wales, we're starting off the day dry with some spells of sunshine, although quite misty and murky for some of these eastern coasts. and through the day, i think we'll see a gradual build—up in cloud amounts. there may even bejust the odd rogue shower into the afternoon. for scotland and northern ireland, our frontal system bringing cloud, outbreaks of patchy rain southwards. behind it, the skies will brighten but the winds

will strengthen, and it will be quite a chilly afternoon across the northern half of the uk. further south, we're looking at highs 15, 16 degrees or so, and as we go through tuesday night and into the first part of wednesday, the remnants of that weather front will continue to sink southwards, so pushing down across england and wales, with more in the way of cloud here, the odd spot of rain, with clearer skies developing from northern ireland and scotland. some places will see a frost to start wednesday morning. so, through wednesday, that weather front will continue its journey southwards. not much left on it by this stage, just a band of cloud and the odd spot of rain, high pressure building back in behind, bringing sunnier skies for parts of scotland and northern ireland. so, our weatherfront bringing cloud southwards across england and wales. the odd spot of rain, quite misty and murky again for some of these eastern areas. could see the odd sharp shower breaking out through the day down toward the southwest, but sunnier skies for northern england, northern ireland and scotland. the highest temperatures will be where we get a bit of shelter, down towards the south and the west, 15 or 16 degrees.

and then as we move out of wednesday into thursday, the remnants of that weather front clear well out into the near continent, high pressure really asserts itself right on top of the british isles, so that means lots of sunshine through the day, a bit of patchy cloud here and there. highest temperatures, again, will be out west. we could get up to 15 or 16 degrees or so. always a little bit cooler for some of these eastern coasts. and quite breezy down towards the south of the uk. as we head through friday into the weekend, it stays predominantly dry with some spells of sunshine by day, and still the potential for some frost at night.

welcome to bbc news —

i'm lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: thejury retires to consider its verdict — in the trial of the former police officer charged with killing george floyd. in his summing up, thejudge urged thejurors to in his summing up, thejudge urged the jurors to avoid any bias and rely on the evidence. plans by 12 footer clubs to join a planned european super league have been met with outrage by several quarters. the british government says it will do whatever it takes to prevent the move. meanwhile, the president of the european football governing body has threatened to ban players. a former us vice president walter mondale has died at the age of 93. he served underjimmy carter between 1977 and 1981, and went on to run as a presidential candidate in 198a.

now, the