this is bbc news: i'm david eades. our top stories: a vigil in wisconsin to mourn the death of five people run down during a holiday parade. police are to charge the driver with five counts of intentional homicide. tensions rise across europe as countries reintroduce restrictions to counter a surge in covid cases. a bbc investigation discovers two women, who died after giving birth, could have been infected with herpes by the same surgeon. the brits scrap their best male and best female artist accolades and settle for a single �*artist of the year'. this is after complaints that

non— binary artists were excluded. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around welcome to our viewers on pbs the globe. 10,000 people in wisconsin have gathered for a vigilfor 10,000 people in wisconsin have gathered for a vigil for the five people killed and a0 injured after a man drove his vehicle into a christmas parade in the city. police say they have charged a suspect with intentional homicide that they do not believe it was terrorism related. our correspondent is in the city. this little girl narrowly escaped with her life. she had no idea what was hurtling towards her. and here the moment when thejoy and festivity of the christmas parade turned to horror and tragedy. a vehicle travelling at full speed struck members of a marching band. the driver continued forward,

hitting and running over others in his path. these young dancers perfectly in step one moment, the next brutally disrupted. people, families and children ran for their lives. chelsea! others tried to save those crumpled on the pavement. it wasjust carnage, likening it to a war zone. there were adults, children that were injured. some of our first responders were there with their families. they left their families to treat people, helped with incident command, helped transport... the suspect is a local man, darrell brooks, an aspiring rapper. he posted this video on his youtube channel, including what looks like the red vehicle used in the hit—and—run. court documents show he has a lengthy criminal record. police said he had fled a domestic disturbance and that he had acted alone. but the result was devastating. this was the president's message to a community in mourning.

last night the people of waukesha were gathered to celebrate the start of a season of hope and togetherness and thanksgiving. this morning, jill and i and the entire biden family, and i'm sure all of us, pray that that same spirit�*s going to embrace and lift up all the victims of this tragedy. this afternoon the police cordon came down and the road reopened. but nothing feels back to normal. in the coming days, there will be opportunities to grieve and remember the victims together. but right now the town is onlyjust beginning to absorb the shock and loss. barbara plett usher, bbc news, waukesha, wisconsin. european ministers will meet later in brussels to discuss a coordinated response to the latest covid crisis. the continent has seen the number of cases spiral in recent weeks, prompting governments to reintroduce some restrictions and urge more people to get vaccinated.

germany's health minister went so far as to declare that by the end of winter most germans will be as he put it, vaccinated, recovered or dead. and austria is the first eu country to re—introduce a nationwide lockdown. our europe editor katya adler has the latest. chanting: freiheit! covid concerns are spreading across europe. spiralling case numbers are spooking some. others, like this massive crowd in vienna, object to covid restrictions being reintroduced. i'm a free austrian who wants to be free and live free in this country. liberte! today austria became the first eu country to reimpose a full — if brief — lockdown. vaccinations will be compulsory here from february. in berlin, germany's health minister said his country faced a national emergency. his choice of words caused some controversy.

translation: probably | by the end of this winter, as it's sometimes cynically said, pretty much everyone in germany will be vaccinated, cured or dead. that's how it is. so what's gone wrong? the eu's huge headache at the beginning of the year was securing enough vaccines. now it worries too few people have used them. what we're seeing now, i think, is mostly driven by a lot of contacts between people coinciding with colder weather, a lot of indoor activities. the uk is following a different course. in the uk, you see that the numbers have been high for several months now, but they seem to be relatively stable, whereas in many other countries in western europe and northern europe we've seen a steep increase in cases since october, which doesn't seem to happen in the uk. an average of 60% of europe is now fully vaccinated, but each country is different. the rate in eastern europe, for example, is far lower.

the eu is now considering vaccinations for children over the age of five. it approved jabs for the over—12s in may. the economic effects of covid, those rising gas prices, people here in europe say they're in need of some seasonal cheer, so no government wants to be seen to be cancelling christmas — and that, they say, is why they're taking these covid measures now. but what measures? well, that varies from country to country and region to region. bavaria has cancelled its christmas market. brussels is giving it a good go. the european commission has nothing to say here because, when it comes to health, each eu member state decides for themselves. this weekend there were protests, some violent, against new covid restrictions in austria, italy, the netherlands, croatia and belgium. pressure is mounting in europe on the health services as well as the streets. the world health organization warns

there could be half a million more deaths here by springtime unless effective action is taken. katya adler, bbc news, brussels. that is a story that is moving all the time. and you can get much more on our website, bbc.com/news on this topic — including the latest data on vaccinations across the world. lots more analysis and news on the site — or download the bbc news app. a private investigator has been describing the lengths he says he went to, around 15 years ago to get information about prince harry and his then girlfriend chelsy davy. gavin burrows has told the bbc that he targeted her voicemails for a newspaper. prince harry is part of a group involved in on—going legal action against the news of the world and the sun that could culminate in a trial. the private investigator is a witness in the legal case. his claims have yet to be heard in court and are strongly disputed by the publisher

of both papers. news group newspapers has though previously accepted that some unlawful activity did occur at the news of the world but denies wrongdoing at the sun. here's our media editor amol rajan. and a warning — his report contains some flashing images. what is referred to is the invisible contract behind closed doors. between the institution and the tabloids. the duke of sussex regularly speaks out about what he sees as the ills of modern media. his difficult relationship with the press goes back to the youth and the culture of tabloids in the mid—2000s when subjects of interest to them and included his then girlfriend chelsy davey. how he basically became the new diana. this private investigator is a witness in legal cases against the news of the world and the sun but by prince harry and others which claim how he became a victim of media intrusion from his teens. the duke is also

taking legal action against mirror group newspapers. gavin burroughs says he targeted daily for news of the world. there was a lot of voice mail hiking there was a lot of voice mail hacking going on and surveillance going on on chelsea bailey, on her phones, chelsea would brag to herfriends when she was going to see him. and so her life became an object of obsession for you guys as well. yes, medical records, had she had an abortion, sexual diseases, ex boyfriends, basically was part of a group of people that robbed him of his normal teenage years. good to meet you. the lawyer representing the group which includes prince harry says that while most victims of hacking have settled, some have not. certain claimants want to have their day in court and want to see there be a trial so that newspapers are held to account for what they did. meghan markle's privacy case against the mail on sunday

generated plenty of headlines but her husband's ongoing legal battle could be an even bigger moment. how big a moment in british public life do you think it could be if prince harry gets his day in court? i think it would be massive because it's very striking that he keeps going and all the other people up until now have settled a financial settlement with no admission of guilt on any side. over a thousand people have settled? over a thousand people have settled and prince harry is one of those. ——is not. he does not want to be a thousand and one. prince harry he says what he wants a reform of the media. this ongoing case which could culminate in a trial shows he intends to use the law is one tool to achieve his ends. an investigation by bbc news has found that two women who died of herpes could have been infected by the same surgeon working in kent. the women died six weeks apart, within days of giving birth, of what is usually a mild infection. east kent hospitals trust said they could not identify

the source of the infection, and the surgeon had no history of the virus. our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan uncovered the story. these two women, both new mothers, died aa days apart. their families were led to believe their deaths were not linked, until now. she was a real fun—loving girl. great personality. had lots of friends. in may 2018, kim sampson gave birth to a son, her second child. she was a brilliant barber and a brilliant mum. the 29—year—old had undergone an emergency caesarean delivery. but complications set in, the hospital didn't know why and she died 19 days after giving birth. we kept being told everything was going to be ok after she had that first operation, but from then... and then she had a further operation after that because she was bleeding out from lots of places and there was nothing they could do with her.

that trust told the family that kim had died of herpes, a common, usually mild infection that is rarely fatal. but they couldn't say how she had been infected. they didn't give us an explanation other than, she may have come into close contact with someone who had a cold sore. following kim sampson's death, the trust said they told all maternity staff to take precautions against herpes infections butjust seven weeks later, another woman became similarly ill. they went on their honeymoon and i think she fell pregnant just after they got back. and she wanted a child? yes, definitely. they'd always talked about having three children. samantha mulcahy gave birth by caesarean section to her daughter injuly 2018. the 32—year—old again quickly deteriorated, baffling medics, and died eight days after giving birth. i can remember right at the very end, even then they said they were basically at a loss,

they didn't know what was wrong. the hospital said samantha too had died of herpes, two rare deaths but seemingly no link. we were told there was no connection at all with the deaths. but that turned out not to be the case. the trust quickly discovered the same surgeon had operated on both women. documents we've seen show that just two weeks after the second death, they were told "it does look like surgical contamination". public health england concluded the strain of the virus the women died of was rare and maybe epidemiologically linked. these are certainly very unusual cases. very rare indeed. we shared the documents with peter greenhouse, a world—renowned expert on herpes infection. the only common source would be the surgeon who performed the operations, but if you think of the speed at which these women became unwell and the location of their infection, which was inside the abdomen, it does seem very much more likely and more biologically plausible that was the original

site of the infection. peter greenhouse says the strongest likelihood is that the surgeon had a herpetic whitlow, a small, often unnoticeable sore on his finger and that he unwittingly shared the herpes virus. even though he was wearing surgical gloves, a study of caesarean sections found the gloves tear in more than 50% of operations, potentially allowing the virus to infect the women. we showed both families the expert's opinion. that was the original site of the infection. does that make sense? yeah. i feel sick listening to that. it makes me think even more that there's a problem. in a statement, east kent hospitals trust said that following detailed testing and analysis, there was insufficient evidence to determine if the infection originated from the same

source. they added that the surgeon had told them he had no hand lesions or history of the virus. the women's babies both survived, and their families now want inquests into the deaths. michael buchanan, bbc news, kent. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: scotland's leaders come together to tackle the country's growing drugs problem, the worst in europe. president kennedy was shot down and died almost immediately. the murder ofjohn kennedy is a disaster for the whole free world. he caught the imagination of the world — the first of a new generation of leaders. margaret thatcher is resigning as leader of the conservative party and prime minister. before leaving number ten to see the queen, she told her cabinet, "it's a funny old world."

angela merkel is germany's first woman chancellor, easily securing the majority she needed. attempts to fly a hot air balloon had to be abandoned after a few minutes, but nobody seemed to mind very much. as one local comic put it, "it's not hot air we need, it's hard cash." cuba has declared nine days of mourning following the death of fidel castro at the age of 90. castro developed close ties with the soviet union in the 1960s — it was an alliance that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war with the cuban missile crisis. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: a vigil has taken place in wisconsin for the five people killed when a car drove into a holiday parade in waukesha. european health ministers prepare to meet to discuss a response to rising covid—19

infections on the continent. scotland has by far the highest rate of deaths related to drugs of any country in europe. the most recent figures show a record number of drug—related deaths for the seventh year in succession. the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, and the leader of the scottish conservatives, douglas ross, have been on a joint visit to a drugs recovery group in what they call a united effort to tackle scotland's ever—growing drugs problem. our scotland editor sarah smith reports. drug abuse is killing more than 25 people a week in scotland and ruining the lives of many, many more. the figures are the worst in europe. were you worried ryan would end up in a long prison spell? yeah, aye. either prison or take his own life, i'd say. john's son struggled with life—threatening drug addiction for years, in trouble with the law, yet the family couldn't access rehab treatment until a charity, the amy winehouse foundation, volunteered to pay for it.

he was begging for help. it was really frustrating. i was trying to break it down to them and say, "surely, it costs less to put somebody in treatment than it does in prison, and with treatment you give them a chance." ryan is now in recovery and has a full—time job. the dire drugs problem has united the first minister and the scottish conservative leader at a drug recovery facility. but cross—party cooperation isn't easy. meeting with former addicts, douglas ross and nicola sturgeon agree urgent action is required. in a policy u—turn, the tory leader says he may now support an official consumption facility which would allow people to use illegal class a drugs under supervision. there is a united effort to deal with this national scandal. the fact that so many lives are being lost means no one has got a monopoly on the solutions to this. we can come together

from different ideas from different political sides to come up with a solution that can really make a difference. drugs charities have long advocated that there should be a right to recovery. now the scottish tories are proposing a new law that would give a legal right to treatment to any addicts who need it. nicola sturgeon says she is open to all ideas, including those proposals from the conservatives, as she admits the problem is drastic. i think the drugs death toll is unacceptable. i think it's shameful and we've got to turn it around, so i'm choosing not to be defensive about this, i'm choosing to be candid and say we've got to do much better. i've got to do much better, my government has to do much better, and there's a serious determination to do that. boxing lessons are a part of the recovery programme at this community centre. it's what all parties say they want to see more of, and may be prepared to set aside the usual political punch—ups to try and make it happen. sarah smith, bbc news, glasgow.

a rapper whose popular song has been banned in mainland china says he has no regrets about being blacklisted. name—wee's social media accounts were blocked after the song, which makes fun of beijing and young chinese nationalists on social media, went viral. the bbc spoke to the malaysian singer—songwriter.

spanish authorities on the island of la palma have ordered people living in three coastal

towns to stay indoors after lover from a nearby volcano poured into the ocean, and sent the clouds of potentially toxic gas into the sky. officials also closed the airport and that all people in the capital to masks. the volcano has been erupting for about two months forcing thousands of people out of their homes. the brit awards — the uk's answer to the grammy�*s — will scrap gendered categories for the first time at next year's ceremony. the male and female awards for best artists will be combined into a single prize from 2022. artists like sam smith and will young had previously called for the change, saying the current system excludes non—binary artists. gennaro castaldo is spokesperson for the brit awards and told the bbc why the organisation has decided to make the change. i mean, the brits awards continue to try to evolve and remain relevant. we have been aware of that debate, we want to stay in touch with what is happening in the industry and society as a whole, and as markjust said there, this is of course about promoting inclusivity,

removing any barriers so that anybody can put their music forward however they identify but ultimately, it is about seeing the artist exactly as that, and sort of defining them, judging them by their work rather than by how they identify, and i think that's a more sensible and contemporary way of doing it. if you were starting the brit awards from scratch today or any other awards, you would probably think about it in those terms so i think, first and foremost, that is the key reason. but obviously, if it helps to remove barriers so it makes it movable and accessible to all, i think that has to be a very positive thing as well. now, a very very bad day in the office for one australian journalist. you've got a big interview with adele for her new album, and you've been sent from sydney to london to do it. but you come back empty handed. that's what's happened to an australian tv host who's said he is "mortified" over

an error that cost his network an interview with the superstar singer. matt doran from channel 7 met adele for her only australian interview. but after admitting that he had not listened to the album, sony withheld the interview footage. doran apologised and said he had missed an email with a preview copy of the songs. it was an oversight, but not a deliberate snub, he told the australian newspaper. "this is the most important email i have ever missed." australian media reported that the trip along with mr doran�*s two colleagues was part of a rights package that had cost the network $1 million australian — that's $700,000 us. not n ot exa ctly not exactly money well spent. and before we go, we have glad tidings from a zoo in germany which is welcoming polar bear twins! here you can see their proud mother, known as sizzel, taking care of her new babies. german media say she's doing a greatjob, plenty of snuggle time for the cubs.

now, it will take the twins up to two months before they can stand, but in the meantime, they're able to have plenty of fun. hello. after all of monday's sunshine, tuesday will be a cloudier day with the best of any sunny spells across southernmost parts of the uk. despite all the cloud, there'll be a lot of dry weather around, though you may encounter a little light rain or drizzle. it is high pressure, which is why it is mainly dry — it is bringing in the cloudier moist weather from the atlantic with some air which is a little less chilly than it's been — but i'm not sure we'll notice much difference between monday and tuesday because we're exchanging sunshine for so much more cloud — cloud will have prevented much in the way of frost into scotland and northern ireland overnight. it's england and wales that'll start with the lower temperatures and the greater chance for a frost, but also some early sunny spells. a rather cloudy day, though, in scotland and northern ireland, some patchy rain and drizzle north and west scotland, into northern ireland. and northwest england and north wales could see some of that, as well — and see the cloud just

increasing further through wales and england. just east anglia across southern england, to parts of south wales having some sunny spells on through the afternoon with temperatures which are close to average for the time of year. the odd shower near the north sea coast and the far southeast of england into the channel islands, a few of those could continue into tuesday night. with a lot of cloud around, so bear the only frost, and a band of rain working into scotland and northern ireland as we start off on wednesday morning. now, some fog patches for tuesday morning, as there could be for wednesday morning, as well — and particularly through parts of wales and england, they mayjust end with a grey and rather misty, murky day, an already cold—feeling day. ahead of this weather front, which takes rain towards northwest england and wales, and out of scotland and northern ireland with sunshine following, but blustery showers, wintry on hills. it is a colder—feeling day for wednesday. and then, for thursday, the colder air has come back — but it's a brighter day again with sunny spells, though cloud steadily increasing in scotland and northern ireland.

wintry showers in northern scotland, a few coastal showers elsewhere in both the east and west of the uk, but most dry with some sunshine. and then, this at the end of the week that will take us into the weekend, as well, an area of low pressure moves across us — so wet weather pressing south, heavy showers following on behind, and stronger winds with gales in places, as well. and it will feel much colder with a significant wind chill around. and some of these showers may be wintry not necessarilyjust on hills.

this is bbc news, the headlines: a vigil has been held in wauksha in wisconsin for those killed and injured when a car ploughed into people in a holiday parade. police are to charge a suspect with five counts of intentional homicide. they don't believe the incident was related to terrorism. as austria re—introduces a nationwide lockdown, european ministers prepare to meet in brussels to discuss a co—ordinated response to the latest covid crisis. the continent has seen the number of cases spiral in recent weeks, and have introduced more restrictions — sparking protests in several countries. britain's version of the grammy awards — the brits — will scrap the categories of best male and best female for next year's ceremony. the male and female awards for best artists will be combined into a single prize. artists had previously called for the change, saying the current system excludes non—binary artists.

now on bbc news, stephen sackur is in