welcome to bbc news. i'm lisa—marie misztak. our top stories: police in georgia crack down on protesters, as thousands demonstrate against controversial new laws. 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 government may have gone too far. an investigation into the killing of breonna taylor concludes that a us police force routinely discriminated against black people. the uk prime minister defends his asylum reform plans, including banning anyone arriving in a small boat from claiming asylum or seeking citizenship.

the dutch government says it will restrict the export of some equipment used to make microchips, citing national and international security concerns. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to be within uk and abroad. we begin in georgia, where large crowds have been protesting against new laws which critics say will limit freedoms. the biggest demonstrations have been in the capital, tbilisi. police have been using water cannon and tear gas to try to disperse crowds. our correspondent, rayhan demytrie, is in tbilisi and 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. 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 stigmatise 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 of tbilisi has been the scene of so many anti—government and anti—russia protests over the years, but this time the government may have gone too far. the country's opposition is powerless to change things inside parliament because the government holds the 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 am 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 said they want to join the eu,

but their actions back at home speak louder than their words abroad. this could be georgia's midan moment — the first stirrings of mass unrest against the government that appears increasingly out of sync with its own population. rayhan demytrie, bbc news, to billy singing. well earlier i spoke to rachel denber who's the deputy director, europe and central asia division at human rights watch. i asked for her assessment of the significance of this proposed foreign agents bill. it's very significant. it is a retrograde law, a bill, that would impose scrutiny, investigations, fines, even imprisonment on organisations that don't comply with an onerous requirement to register if you get just as much

as 20% of your funds from foreign sources. but the real aim of this law has nothing to do with fiscal transparency of media on non—governmental agencies as the government is claiming. what this law is really about is making it possible for the government to stigmatise, marginalise and eventually silence organisations and media that are critical of the government. this is a very significant step. georgian dream chairman said the law would help those rooting out those enemies of the country and the powerful orthodox georgian church. they also argued it was an exact analogue of the us foreign agents registration act. what is your assessment on that? well, it's great that these officials are just taking all their masks off and making clear that this isn't about fiscal transparency at all, that it is really about a witchhunt against people and organisations that

are critical of the government and that it would rather would stay silent. and it's completely disingenuous to compare this law to the us foreign agents registration act, because even though the language might be quite similar, there are some significant differences, and also that us law, first of all, it is not perfect, and second of all, it is not used to go after non—governmental organisations that provide services to the public, or it is not used to go against media, domestic media, that are critical. so in fact it is used for a very small number of lobbyists, and the government, the georgian government here, as being rather dishonest about the uses of the law. now, georgia has also applied tojoin the eu and also

nato block. do you think there new bill will impact that at all? i think the eu has made quite clear it is going to impact that process, because these types of laws have been ruled as incompatible with european human rights standards. by the european court of human rights. so the eu has a ready made it clear that this law is a serious problem, and that's a problem, it should be a problem for the georgian government, because between 70 and 80% of the georgian public support close integration with the eu. a us justice department investigation has concluded that the police department in louisville in kentucky routinely discriminated against black people, used excessive force and conducted illegal searches. it follows the death of breonna taylor, a black woman who was shot dead

by police during a raid on her home in 2020. here's our north america correspondent peter bowes. the botched armed raid on breonna taylor's home later this stop months of protests demanding the police officers involved to be held to account. the medical technician had been asleep with her boyfriend when officers burst into her apartment. she was hit with six bullets and died. the outcry that followed helped fuel the black lives matter protests. now a department ofjustice investigation into the louisville police has found engaged in a pattern of civil rights violations including the use of excessive force, including unjustified neck restraints, the unreasonable use of police dogs and tasers, searches based on invalid warrants, and unlawful discrimination against black

people. discrimination against black --eole. , . discrimination against black --eole. . , people. this conduct is unacceptable. - people. this conduct is unacceptable. it - people. this conduct is unacceptable. it is - unacceptable. it is heartbreaking. it erodes the community trust necessary for effective policing and it is an affront to the vast majority of officers who put their lives on the line every day to serve louisville with honour. and it is an affront to the people of the law who deserve better. he said louisville police agreed to the appointment of an independent monitor to oversee reforms within the force. breonna taylor's mother gave her response to the investigation�*s findings. her response to the investigation's findings. does this cive investigation's findings. does this give you _ investigation's findings. does this give you vindication - this give you vindication you've been waiting for? ho. this give you vindication you've been waiting for? no. it is heartbreaking _ you've been waiting for? no. it is heartbreaking to _ you've been waiting for? no. it is heartbreaking to know- you've been waiting for? no. it is heartbreaking to know that l is heartbreaking to know that everything you've been saying from — everything you've been saying from day _ everything you've been saying from day one has to be said again— from day one has to be said again through this manner. that it took_ again through this manner. that it took this — again through this manner. that it took this to even have the

department being looked at. it is, i department being looked at. it is, i don't _ department being looked at. it is, i don't know.— is, i don't know. three years after the _ is, i don't know. three years after the killing _ is, i don't know. three years after the killing of _ is, i don't know. three years after the killing of breonna l after the killing of breonna taylor, the use of excessive force continues to call into question police tactics around the country. five black officers from the memphis police department are facing murder charges over the killing of tyre nichols, the 29—year—old black man whose mail and arrest was caught on video injanuary. one of the footage is due to be made public but a judge has blocked its release to allow lawyers for the officers to review the tapes. they've all pleaded not guilty. peter bowes, bbc news. to the netherlands now and the dutch government says it will restrict the export of certain types of equipment used to make microchips, or semiconductors, on the grounds of national and international security. it comes after pressure from the united states to get the netherlands to restrict china's access to high—end chip

technology, but the government did not mention china by name. it said the restrictions, which it hopes to have in place before summer, would help prevent dutch chips being used for undesirable military applications and cited a technology used by the leading dutch manufacturer of semiconductors asml. let's speak now to dexter roberts. he's a senior fellow with the atlantic council think tank's asia security initiative. dexter, thank you for taking the time to come in the programme. how significant do you think this announcement as? element it is very significant. we heard injanuary that element it is very significant. we heard in january that the three countries that can produce advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the us, japan and netherlands, had reached an agreement but we had not heard much detail, no public statements from the dutch orjapanese. now we have heard that from the dutch that indeed they are going to restrict sales of what are

called deep ultraviolet lithograph machines which are crucial for the production of advanced semiconductor chips. this is a real step forward, real victory for the us, frankly, and also very bad news for china. ~ . frankly, and also very bad news for china-— for china. what impact you think this _ for china. what impact you think this will _ for china. what impact you think this will have - for china. what impact you think this will have on - for china. what impact you i think this will have on asml? will have a significant impact indeed. i believe about 18% of asml's indeed. i believe about 18% of asml�*s sales office equipment goes to china, so it is one of the most important customers. i am sure that they had some very strong mixed feelings about now being told by the dutch government to stop these sales. they'd already restricted something called extreme ultraviolet lithograph machines which are one step even more advanced, but now they are even more of the market will china

—— will be restricted to china. what does it mean us and china relationship? l115 what does it mean us and china relationship?— relationship? us and china relations — relationship? us and china relations are _ relationship? us and china relations are already - relationship? us and china relations are already in - relationship? us and china relations are already in a i relations are already in a pretty bad place. this clearly will make things even worse. on monday we had president and general secretary xi jinping of china for one of the first time single out the us directly as he said, containing and suppressing china's advancement. i think this is a signal that china is even more certain that the relationship is spiralling downwards and the relationship frankly is going to get much worse going forward. to get much worse going forward-— to get much worse going forward. , , ., ~ forward. dexter roberts, thank ou for forward. dexter roberts, thank you fervour— forward. dexter roberts, thank you for your insight. _ stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the lionesses, england's women's football team, use international women's day to announce new funding

for girls sports in the uk. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 24 hours then, 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 _ then he came outj through a fire exit and started firing at our huts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged ai, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an eight—car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much, do you think? i don't know, really — _ i've never been married before.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: police in georgia crack down on protestors, as thousands demonstrate against controversial new laws. a two—year review by the us department ofjustice found department of justice found that department ofjustice found that louisville police consistently violated the civil rights of people. the british prime minister has been defending his plan to reform 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 the country in small boats from claiming asylum or seeking british citizenship. the labour leader sir keir starmer accused the government of delivering �*utter failure' and called the latest plana 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 but 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. and talking of 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 claims 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's looking into it. back in the commons, the snp accused 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. so 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. and it illustrates the scale of the global migration crisis. and this is the government's latest response to what it calls a crisis — a former raf base in essex that will be used to house migrants. at a conference in london, japanese scientist professor katsuhiko hayashi announced he has created eggs from the cells of male mice. the research involves turning male xy sex chromosomes

into female ones. he cautioned the work is still in its early stages, but it could have a significant impact on human fertility treatment in the future. michele goodwin is chancellor's professor at the university of california, irvine and visiting professor of law at harvard law school. she's in cambridge, massachussetts. thank you for taking the time to come on the programme. how significant do you think this discovery is? it significant do you think this discovery is?— discovery is? it is quite a significant _ discovery is? it is quite a significant discovery - discovery is? it is quite a. significant discovery which should still be confirmed and i think there are a number of questions that people will have, questions that relate to law and ethics and there will be some that celebrate this news. it is also important that this also becomes a lesson in science, for example there may be people who say, well, this is inappropriate research, that

males are not meant to give birth. well, there are species such as seahorses, sea dragons where the males do give birth so this is going to open the door to a broader conversation. you mention some of the concerns there but the professor has said that it is still in its early stages. what do you think about the need for potentially human testing for women who may not be able to grow their own eggs. how much of a difference that could mean for the? these are cigna as my research over the years. the field of us free product technology that make reproductive technology has taken off with demands from around the globe because there is greater recognition and greater honesty now about the conditions of infertility got that women experience and men experience and underlying this research seems to be the

interesting ambition of the scientists involved to advance treatment for infertility and thatis treatment for infertility and that is a major issue that is in the united states and around the world, parts of asia and africa. south america, australia, all around the world where people contend with this question. it is still far from potentially being tried on a human being but do you think it could be a possibility? that human being but do you think it could be a possibility?— could be a possibility? that is robabl could be a possibility? that is probably the _ could be a possibility? that is probably the ambition - could be a possibility? that is probably the ambition of - could be a possibility? that is probably the ambition of this| probably the ambition of this research. i think there will be some people who would welcome that. but we also must be clear about the kinds of risks that can come with medical research. what does that look like? you want to make sure that the research is safe, that the products of the research, whatever that will be will not be harmed. there are historical bioethical principles, informed

consent common non— malfeasance, that there be autonomy, —— autonomy and no harm by doctor is. some of those principles do not necessarily meet the challenges of technology that is upon us right now. professor, i am sorry to interrupt you. thank you for your insight but unfortunately we have run out of time. 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 england! commentator: england, european champions! - 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. one, two, three! (whistle). 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's exciting times ahead, and hopefully there are girls who can take over from us and dojust even better. fantastic football players, but so much more than that, 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 to 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, that 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 there is an enjoyment gap — more than two 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 is, like, really important. i'm really glad, because i think everyone should be equal and get the same amount of sport. a note of caution, though — the department for education has ploughed billions of taxpayer cash into ringfenced 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. the important thing — the devil is in the detail. we need ofsted 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 all ready to go and be our next generation of football stars? yeah! now the government must hold up their side of the bargain. barbie is celebrating international women's day by releasing a doll in the likeness of the black female space scientist dr maggie aderin—pocock. a former president of the british science association, dr aderin—pocock is known in the uk as presenter of a television show called �*the sky at night', as well as for her work with the james webb telescope. a former president of the thatis that is all for now. thank you very much — that is all for now. thank you very much for— that is all for now. thank you very much for watching. - that is all for now. thank you very much for watching. you | that is all for now. thank you i very much for watching. you can reach me on twitter.

hello, there. we have some disruptive weather on the way. certainly, the next 2a to 48 hours look 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 at lower levels, up to 15 centimetres on the hills. but it's this amber warning we're 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, it's 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 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.

this is bbc news. the headlines: police in georgia are clashing with tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the capital, tbilisi, for a second day, over a law the government says will root out people working against the interests of georgia. but critics say it could crack down on any sort of opposition. the usjustice department has found the louisville metro police department used routine discrimination, illegal searches and excessive force. they've released a report prompted by the killing of breonna taylor who was shot by police during a raid on her home in 2020. the uk prime minister is defending asylum reform plans, including banning anyone arriving in a small boat from being able to claim asylum or seek citizenship. rishi sunak said his government is "on the side of the british people."

the opposition called it a gimmick.