welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... police in georgia crack down on protests, after thousands demonstrate against controversial new laws. this place outside of georgia's parliament has been the scene of so many protests over the year, but this time the government may have gone too far. an investigation into the killing of black woman breonna taylor finds a us police force indulged in routine discrimination, illegal searches and the use

of excessive force. britain's government is accused of utter failure over its plans to stop migrant boats — but the prime minister says they're the �*people�*s priority�*. and australia looks set to become the first country in the world to totally eliminate cervical cancer. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin in the former soviet republic of georgia, where large crowds have been protesting against new laws which critics say will limit freedoms. the biggest demonstrations were in the capital, tbilisi, where police used water cannons and tear gas to try to disperse the crowds. our correspondent rayhan demytrie

is in tbilisi — in the last hour, she sent us this report. every big moment in history has its iconic image — this may be georgia's. on tuesday, thousands of protesters stood for europe and stood their ground against water cannons, tear gas and pepper spray. and they even fought back. 55 police officers were injured, but protesters have been outraged by what's been happening in parliament. pro—government mps spoiling for a fight with the opposition and then backing a controversial foreign agents bill. the law would require ngos and media that get more than 20% of their funding from abroad to label themselves as agents of foreign influence. it's in the same spirit

as russia's foreign agent law, which over the years has been used to stigmatize and silence critical voices. the georgian government says that it wants more transparency and that the bill has been copied from an american law. but in a statement, the united states embassy in tbilisi described it as �*kremlin—inspired" legislation and said it was a dark day for georgian democracy. this place outside georgia's parliament in the capital, tbilisi, has been the scene of so many anti—government and anti—russia protests over the years. but this time the governments may have gone too far. the country's opposition is powerless to change things inside parliament because the government holds a majority of seats. but it doesn't mean that the people of georgia are ready to give up the fight for their country to have a future in europe. we belong to europe. we are europe.

i'm here along with all these people, to guarantee that there will never be a russian rule here — ever. on the international stage, georgia's authorities say they want to join the eu, but their actions back at home speak louder than their words abroad. this could be georgia's maidan moment, the first stirrings of mass unrest against the government that appears increasingly out of sync with its own population. in other stories for you today, the usjustice department has delivered a damning indictment of louisville police department over the fatal shooting of a black woman in 2020. breonna taylor was shot dead by police during a raid on her home in 2020. an investigation by thejustice

department has concluded that the police department in louisville routinely discriminated against black people, used excessive force, and conducted illegal searches. here is what attorney general merrick garland had to say. lmpd uses excessive force, including unjustified neck restraints and the unreasonable use of police dogs and tasers, tasers, conduct searches based on invalid warrants, unlawfully executes warrants without knocking and announcing, unlawfully stops, searches, detains, and arrests people, unlawfully discriminates against black people in enforcement activities. the news comes just as a us judge halted the release of more than 20 hours of additional video and audio footage related to the separate case of the killing of tyre nichols, an unarmed black man who was beaten by police officers in memphis, tennessee during a traffic stop injanuary.

for both of these stories we can speak to our correspondent in new york. i'm joined now by our correspondent in new york, nada tawfik. nada, give us a sense of how significant these developments are? well, this is incredibly significant. rememberthat the significant. remember that the department significant. rememberthat the department ofjustice significant. rememberthat the department of justice after significant. rememberthat the department ofjustice after the black lives matter movement in 2020 really took off after the killings of george floyd and breanna taylor. they have launched these investigations. now the investigations. now the investigation into minneapolis is still ongoing, but here we have a really damning indictment about what happened in louisville, kentucky. in this 86 page report you heard the attorney general merit garland outlining there, just exactly how this was a pattern of racial discrimination. he detailed how police officers video tape themselves throwing drinks from their cars at people, how they insulted disabled people, how they used racial slurs against black citizens, calling them things like

animal, monkey, boy. and he said there's an extended even into the departments practices when it was looking into sexual assault calls or other calls that were of a sensitive nature, and he said that there's really eroded the community trust thatis really eroded the community trust that is so needed when we are talking about effective policing and communities. so this really speaks i think to what a lot of activists have been saying, that there is a widespread toxic culture in policing that needs to be addressed. merit garland talked about the fact that there are cops who do theirjob very well and serve the community, but he did see this pattern here, and i think that makes this report incredibly significant. where do we go from here? now that as you have pointed out that there's been a great deal of detail on that report, where do we go from here because mac well

detail on that report, where do we go from here because ma- detail on that report, where do we go from here because mac well if you look at what — go from here because mac well if you look at what the _ go from here because mac well if you look at what the attorney _ go from here because mac well if you look at what the attorney general - look at what the attorney general has reached with the city and government they are is called the legally binding consent decree. so they actually have to have a monitor that will oversee a lot of the reforms that they have a great now to put in place as a result of this report. if we look at what happened with tyree nichols in memphis, the police chief there has actually asked to the department ofjustice to look at their practices and to come up with recommendations. and we know that the department ofjustice is more widely looking at some of the specialised police units. remember, five of the police officers who beat and killed tyree nichols who are now facing murder charges murder charges, they were part of a specialised unit that was actually supposed to reduce crime in these areas. when many citizens they are said, it actually led to them intimidating the community. so i think we are now seeing some of these reforms having to be put in

place. i think for socialjustice advocates, they are going to continue pushing for those reforms and trying to hold these triple police departments to account to see if anything really changes. thank ou for if anything really changes. thank you for that _ if anything really changes. thank you for that fascinating _ if anything really changes. thank you for that fascinating analysis. | the uk prime minister rishi sunak has been defending his controversial plan to change the uk's asylum system, saying it shows his government is "on the side of the british people." the proposed legislation would ban people who arrive in britain in small boats from claiming asylum or seeking british citizenship. the leader of the opposition labour party, sir keir starmer, accused the government of delivering �*utter failure' and called the latest plan a gimmick. here's our political editor chris mason. no sign of any migrant crossings at dover this morning, in the horrible weather, as the home secretary explained why she claims a new approach on the issue is crucial at westminster. and why she thinks it will be

lawful, but can't be certain. we are testing novel interpretations of the law but we do not consider that we have crossed the boundary and we do not consider that we are in unlawful territory. labour don't want to appear soft, as some might see it, but they reckon the approach continues to be hopeless. after 13 years, small boat crossings higher than ever, claims unprocessed, the taxpayer paying for hotel rooms, criminal gangs running all the way laughing to the bank and an asylum system utterly broken on his watch. the prime minister said labour had opposed many of his plans, including sending asylum seekers to rwanda. stopping the boats is notjust my priority, it is the people's priority. he wanted to, in his words, scrap the rwanda deal. he voted against measures to deport foreign criminals, mr speaker, and he even argued against deportation flights.

he is just another lefty lawyer standing in our way. talk about criticising lawyers and others, look at this, an e—mail that didn't come from the home office, but the conservative party, suggesting previous policies on small boats were blocked by an activist blob of left—wing lawyers, civil servants and the labour party. it's all in the name of the home secretary, even though she claiming she knew nothing about it. civil servants are furious. if she or the conservative party make a mistake, admit it and apologise people you have insulted. those people are working on some of the most difficult things and they deserve better than this. the conservative party says it is looking into it. in the commons, the snp accused the government of exaggerating. yesterday this was a tory government who said 100 million people could be coming to these shores, and this is a tory government that this morning said that number

could in fact be billions. complete and utter nonsense. may i ask the prime minister, from whom are his government taking inspiration, nigel farage or enoch powell? the figure of 100 million doesn't come from the government but from the un, mr speaker. it illustrates the scale of the global migration crisis. and this is the government's latest response to what it called a crisis — a former raf base in essex that will be used to house migrants. so, will the government's new plans deter migrants from trying to cross the channel? 0ur correspondent lucy williamson reports from calais. in the sudanese migrant camp in calais, they understand determination. you don't end up here without it. the prime minister's own resolve to stop the boats shrugged off around the campfire. "we will never stop,

we will never give up," they said. salah has been trying to reach the uk since last summer. we showed him the home secretary's speech to parliament yesterday and explained what the new policy means. yes, i will go uk. that's my ambition, my dream. he told us he would rather be in prison in the uk than stay free here in france. if i go to prison, no problem, i can stay in england, yes. even in prison? yes, no problem. i will come england. but he said he would take extreme action, perhaps even take his own life, if he was faced with deportation. i will not return in rwanda if that is happening. i can kill myself, but i'm not returning rwanda. police routinely clear tents from sites like this and patrols stopped 40% of small boat crossing last year.

the vast migrant camps you used to see here in northern france have now largely gone. they have been replaced by these smaller scattered groups. uk immigration policy may have got tougher in recent years, but conditions here in the camps have also got much harder — an added incentive to leave. aid workers say that suicides in the camps have risen for the refugees, it is the french police who is very bad and it is calais which is a very bad place to be, but if we tell them that it is the uk government who gives the money to make those fences and pay those police, mostly they don't believe it, they will say, "no, no, uk will never do that, many cling harder to the lure of the uk across the channel. many cling harder to the lure of the uk across the channel. the uk wants to make the price

not worth the passage, but caution is a luxury many here say they cannot afford. lucy williamson, bbc news, calais. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... a world first for australia as the country looks set to totally eliminate cervical cancer. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 2a hours, the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior. we heard these gunshots in the gym and came out firing. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, was sentenced to 99 - years and due for parole

when he is 90, traveledj to jail in a car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what now, will it change your life, do you think? i don't know, i've never been married before. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. let's bring you some live pictures now from tblisi. you can see there that it's just gone about three o'clock in the morning, and hundreds of people are still out on the street. it's relatively peaceful scene right now, but overnight we've seen police

using tear gas, water cannons, and stun grenades, pushing back people who have broken through barricades. it is seen to be georgia's biggest protest in many years, and tens of thousands have been rallying for a second night to oppose a bill that they say is modelled on a russian one used to suppress civil liberties. we'll have more in that story throughout the day here on bbc news, so do stay with us. but for now, i want to take you to another one of our top stories today, and australia. one of our top stories today, and australia. australia says it's on track to become the first country in the world to totally eliminate cervical cancer — globally this is the fourth most common cancer — and also the fourth leading cause of cancer death. the world health organization has a target to eliminate cervical cancer within the next century but australia could achieve that as soon as 2028. this type of cancer is entirely treatable, given screening, vaccination and access to treatment, but it is also a disease of inequality, with low income

groups facing the worst survival rates. we can hear more now from dr claire nightingale, from the melbourne school of population and global health. it is wonderful to get you on the show doctor nightingale. it is a really remarkable achievement. so give us a sense of what australia has been doing so right with its cervical cancer strategy.- has been doing so right with its cervical cancer strategy. thank you for havin: cervical cancer strategy. thank you for having me- _ cervical cancer strategy. thank you for having me. australia _ cervical cancer strategy. thank you for having me. australia has - cervical cancer strategy. thank you for having me. australia has had i cervical cancer strategy. thank you for having me. australia has had a| for having me. australia has had a very strong focus on prevention for a very long time. as you mentioned, screening and vaccination a very important here. so australia has had a screening programme for the last 30 years, either in the form of a pap test as many people will know or more recently hpv testing. about 60 to 70% of women have participated regularly in this programme, and also australia introduced a school—based vaccination programme

to girls and 2007 and extended this to girls and 2007 and extended this to boys and 2013. both these programmes have led to very low rates of cervical cancer here and have resulted in are staying on track to eliminate cervical cancer is a public health problem. but there are some women and some people with her cervix in australia that do participate in lower rates, and therefore do continue to remain at higher risk of cervical cancer. therefore do continue to remain at higher risk of cervical cancer. why is it so difficult to reach these people. one of the challenges to getting this treatment to those who need it. it’s to getting this treatment to those who need it— who need it. it's really getting --eole who need it. it's really getting people access _ who need it. it's really getting people access to _ who need it. it's really getting people access to the - who need it. it's really getting people access to the right - people access to the right prevention mechanisms. so for screening, so aboriginal people, some culturally and lingers the diverse immunities, people living with a disability and gender diverse people can face barriers to

screening, including a lack of services that they have access to, that make them feel safe, embarrassment, shame, an additional cultural barriers that make it harder to go to the doctor and to undergo a pelvic examination which screening typically requires. this requires you to undress from the waist down. we hope that some of these barriers can be overcome with these barriers can be overcome with the newer screening option, and it is self collection. talk the newer screening option, and it is self collection.— is self collection. talk to us about self collection _ is self collection. talk to us about self collection and _ is self collection. talk to us about self collection and how _ is self collection. talk to us about self collection and how that - is self collection. talk to us aboutl self collection and how that works, how successful it has been and how successful you are hoping it will be in the future. so successful you are hoping it will be in the future.— in the future. so self collection is when a woman _ in the future. so self collection is when a woman or _ in the future. so self collection is when a woman or person - in the future. so self collection is when a woman or person with - in the future. so self collection is| when a woman or person with her cervix can use a small swab, which is not much bigger than the swab that we use for nasal test, and there swab, a woman can use to collect your samples for screening. it's easier, it's far less invasive, and it removes any barriers associated with undressing and having a pelvic examination. it's also just as accurate for screening

and it has been part of the australian programme for the last six years, but it allows, and the last six months it's become more available for people. there is lots of global evidence that women prefer this option, it's more comfortable, less embarrassing, and offers more privacy. less embarrassing, and offers more riva . ., ., ., privacy. doctor claire nightingale, it's been wonderful _ privacy. doctor claire nightingale, it's been wonderful having - privacy. doctor claire nightingale, it's been wonderful having you - privacy. doctor claire nightingale, it's been wonderful having you on | it's been wonderful having you on the programme. i wish you the very best of luck with your efforts going forward. thank you forjoining us. thank you. the former director of the us centers for disease control and prevention has told a us congressional panel that he believes covid—19 was probably the result of an accidental laboratory leak in china. dr robert redfield, who led the cdc from 2018 to 2021, was testifying at the opening session of a house of representatives committee set up to investigate the origins of the virus. china has strongly denied the lab leak allegation, calling it defamatory. let's hear what dr

redfield had to say. as a clinical virologist, that i felt it was not scientifically plausible that this virus went from a bat to humans and became one of the most infectious viruses that we have for humans. all viruses are not the same. so when you look at coronaviruses for sars and mers for example, when they enter the human species, which they did via an intermediate, they never learned how to go human—to—human. even to this day they don't know how to go human—to—human. so you can't equate ebola with the coronavirus. all viruses. the un secretary general antonio guterres, has said it is critically important for an agreement allowing ukraine to export grain to be renewed next week. he was speaking after meeting ukraine's president zelensky in kyiv. the black sea grain initiative was signed injuly last year and allows ships to sail from southern ukraine, from 0desa, into the international waters of the black sea, crossing past the bosphorus strait

in istanbul, avoiding mined areas. following on from their momentous win at last summer's women's football euros, england's lionesses team are celebrating another victory. they've persuaded the uk government to put more money into sport for girls. the plans were announced on international women's day and mean girls at schools in england will be offered the chance to play football and have the opportunity of at least two hours of pe every week. here's our sports correspondent natalie pirks. it was a moment english football will never forget. but the next day, despite bleary eyes, the team were laser focused on their next target, ensuring equal access to sport for school girls. today, on international women's day, the prime minister granted their wish. we are passionate about a lasting

legacy and the next generation of football for girls especially, but it is exciting times ahead and hopefully there are girls who can take over from us and do better. fantastic players but so much more, their consciousness, that social conscience and trying to have a positive impact on society has brought us where we are today. with a two year cash injection, the government wants all english primary schools to achieve sport gender equality and commit to a minimum of two hours of pe a week. these figures illustrate why. 72% of girls play as much football as boys in primary school but by the time they reach secondary school, the figure drops to 41%. only 46% of all schools offer girls the same access to football via after—school clubs, and figures released last week show that is an enjoyment gap of more than 2 million fewer women who enjoy getting active compared to men. a lot of that is down to experiences in school. it feels really

brilliant because just knowing that everyone is equal, it's really important. i am really glad because i think everyone should be equal and get the same amount of support. a note of caution, though, the department for education has ploughed billions of taxpayer cash into ring fenced pe funding in the last ten years with little scrutiny of actual spend and impact. just how will they ensure schools now deliver on their big promise? it is potentially wonderful news for all primary schools in receipt of the funding and the important thing is the devil is in the detail. we need 0fsted to scrutinise what schools do thoroughly, which they have not done since september 2019. by helping to remove barriers for future players, the lionesses have shown they are not afraid to fight for their legacy. are you ready to go and be our next generation of football stars ? now the government must hold

up their side of the bargain. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello there. we have some disruptive weather on the way in the next 2a to 48 hours. looks very snowy indeed across a central swathe of the uk. the met office have issued an amber warning for heavy snow across northern england, particularly over the pennines, where we're likely to see up to a0 centimetres of snow by the time we move through thursday, thursday night and into friday morning. reason for it, this deep area of low pressure with all its rains pushing into the cold air. so although we'll have rain south of the m4 corridor, some of this rain could be quite heavy across southern england, south wales. it will be turning readily to snow across the northern half of wales through thursday into the midlands, certainly the north midlands and across northern england where we'll see significant accumulations starting to pile up over the pennines

and also for north wales. a milder day to come, i think across southern areas, ten to 13 degrees here. this is where we'll have the heavy rain. a chilly but sunny day across scotland with a few snow showers around now as we head through thursday evening, thursday night, the snowfall continues across north wales, northern england, certainly over the pennines and developing into northern ireland, southern scotland as well. again to the north of here, it's likely to stay very cold with clear skies. but we have a widespread yellow snow warning for northern ireland, much of southern scotland, northern england, the midlands into north wales, two to ten centimetres lower levels, up to 15 centimetres on the hills. but it's this amber warning most concerned about over the pennines, 25 to a0 centimetres likely by the time we reach friday morning. so the snowfall continues in those similar areas through the early hours of friday. starting to pull away, though, from northern ireland and southern scotland. here is going to be another very cold night. snow showers for northern scotland. that wintry mix of rain,

sleet and snow will be affecting large parts of england and wales. as we start friday morning, that area of low pressure starts to pull away in towards the near continent, taking the snow with it. but also we'll see a spell of strong northerly winds for a while and it's on its back edge as it pulls away. so a cold, windy, snowy morning across central and eastern parts of england, in particular for friday, could see some drifting of snow as well. but it clears out quite quickly and then we'll see plenty of sunshine moving in its place for friday afternoon, but it's going to be a cold day wherever you are. take care.

hello, i'm mark edwards with your sport. tottenham hotspur are out of this season's champions league — after a 1—0 aggregate defeat to ac milan in the last—16. it's the second competition they've been knocked out of in seven days — it finished 0—0 on a disappointing night for spurs, who didn't do much to trouble the visitor's goal and had their defender cristian romero sent off for a second yellow card on 78 minutes. harry kane, so often a hero for tottenham, had their best chance in injury time, a header which was well saved. that was as good as it got and — after an fa cup defeat to sheffield united last week and their top four status in the premier league precarious, it's been a torrid week for the north london club.

it's champions league disappointment again for big spending