hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. buckingham palace has responded to the allegations made by prince harry and his wife meghan in their interview with oprah winfrey, saying the royal family is saddened to learn how challenging the last few years have been for the couple. the statement says that some issues, particularly that of race, are concerning. but it doesn't admit any wrongdoing and says it will address the claims privately. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. the revelations in their interview have been heard. there has been hurt on both sides. tonight, buckingham palace issued a statement from her majesty the queen. it read... it amounted to just 61 words. the palace made it clear it would not be commenting further. earlier, while the palace was pondering its response the daily business of the british royalfamily continued. the prince of wales was at a vaccination centre in northwest london. a normal visit, apart from the inevitable question... sir, can i ask, what did - you think of the interview? millions around the world have now heard meghan�*s claim to have been suicidal but ignored, and her assertion of a racial slur by a member of the royal family about her then unborn baby. in those months when i was pregnant, all around this same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of, "he won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title", and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born. what? meghan�*s estranged father thomas markle watched the interview on us television. what did he make of his daughter's claims? i don't think the british royal family are racist. _ the thing about what colour will the baby be or how- dark will the baby be, - i'm guessing and hoping it's just a dumb question. closely linked to the question of racial prejudice in the couple's view, is the role of the british tabloid media. this is what meghan said in the interview... there's a reason that these tabloids have holiday parties at the palace. they're hosted by the palace. the tabloids are. you know, there is a construct that is at play there, and because from the beginning of our relationship they were so attacking and inciting so much racism, really, it changed the risk level, because it wasn'tjust catty gossip. it was bringing out a part of people that was racist in how it was charged. and here, amid the blanket coverage, some voices are saying, yes, there was a double standard in the way that meghan was reported. you have to draw conclusions from the way meghan was systematically criticised and attacked for things which other, white, members of the royal family could get away with. and so a sharply divided debate continues. was meghan the naive american who never understood the nature of being a british royal, or a huge potential asset who was wasted and wronged by an inflexible institution? one unexpected consequence of the reaction to harry and meghan�*s interview has been the celebrity tv presenter, piers morgan, losing hisjob as a breakfast anchor. he had said he did not believe a word the duchess had said when speaking with oprah winfrey. that led to 41,000 complaints being made to british broadcasting regulators. mr morgan also had an on—screen row with a co—presenter, who accused him of "continuing to trash" meghan. his employer, itv, said he was leaving the good morning britain show with immediate effect. mr morgan hasn't commented, but did post this gif on twitter showing a ticking clock. joining me now is daisy mcandrew, royal commentator and former chief political correspondent for itv news. daisy, what do you make of mr morgan deciding that he's had enough — or was he pushed? i deciding that he's had enough - or was he pushed?— deciding that he's had enough - or was he pushed? i suspect that it's, as with so many — was he pushed? i suspect that it's, as with so many of _ was he pushed? i suspect that it's, as with so many of these _ was he pushed? i suspect that it's, as with so many of these stories, l as with so many of these stories, six a both and half a dozen of the other. it was clear earlier today when his boss, the boss of itv, was actually do a round robin telephone call to investors, updating them on the financial health of itv. she certainly very obviously didn't give piers morgan her backing, so i think it was looking quite dubious from this morning onwards. i suspect that they've had discussions in the past about how long he was staying. we know he's personally very wealthy, he doesn't need the job for money. but of course, we know he loves the sound of his own voice — and i don't necessarily mean that as an insult. so i'm sure he'll be moving on to other things. so i'm sure he'll be moving on to otherthings. but so i'm sure he'll be moving on to other things. but i suspect his time at gmb had run out, and certainly having a standup row with one of your fellow presenters is never a good look. your fellow presenters is never a good look-— your fellow presenters is never a aood look. , , , good look. indeed, but seemingly, dais , it's good look. indeed, but seemingly, daisy. it's the _ good look. indeed, but seemingly, daisy, it's the potential— good look. indeed, but seemingly, daisy, it's the potential belittling l daisy, it's the potential belittling of a possibly mental health issue that meghan may have had that probably did it for mr morgan. if probably did it for mr morgan. if there are two no go areas that you really will struggle if you're trying to overtly criticise somebody about, it'll be about race and mental health — and he basically did a double whammy on both of those, saying he didn't believe meghan about her own personal health battles, when she was talking about being suicidal, and he was clearly quite dismissive of her stories of racism, and he was very, very dismissive of the story is that the press was racist towards her. he took those battles on and he fought hard back on those. so i think those two issues, you're either very brave or very foolhardy to take those issues on. or very foolhardy to take those issues om— or very foolhardy to take those issues on. ~ ., ., i. ., ~ ., issues on. what do you make of the alace's issues on. what do you make of the palace's statement? _ issues on. what do you make of the palace's statement? it _ issues on. what do you make of the palace's statement? it took - issues on. what do you make of the palace's statement? it took them . issues on. what do you make of the palace's statement? it took them a | palace's statement? it took them a wee while to put something out there, apparently the queen decided she was going to sleep on what was going to be said. but yes, they're saying they are saddened to learn how challenging the past few years have been for the couple. itinfoil how challenging the past few years have been for the couple.— have been for the couple. well as nicholas was _ have been for the couple. well as nicholas was saying _ have been for the couple. well as nicholas was saying in _ have been for the couple. well as nicholas was saying in your- have been for the couple. well as. nicholas was saying in your report, it's only 61 words, but you can really tell from reading it how carefully the words have been chosen— not overly supportive but not overly critical, trying to find a common ground. because of course, from the palace's point of view, the most collateral damage that was received or that was landed on anyone it was landed on prince charles, and he's the one who has the most to lose. he's one of the least popular senior royals, but he's about to be the most important senior royal. i don't wish to be unkind here, but our monarchist will be 95 soon. even if she decides to hand over, she won't be going on for that much longer. so to have a monarch in waiting who is that close to the top job who is seventh or eighth in popularity after harry and megan, after all sorts of other members, after his 99—year—old father, that's not great. and then, when you have a suspicion that his own child and daughter—in—law are accusing him of racism — which of course he is under suspicion, as are all those other senior royals who have not been excluded from the list — or under suspicion, and this man is about to be the head of the commonwealth and has a popularity problem. plus the fact that harry said, "my father stopped taking my calls," which showed to be a rather uncaring, unloving side of that relationship. you will see this has sent shock waves to the palace, and they'll be worrying about the succession and popularity of the most important member of that household after the queen herself. briefly, daisy, a generational split in the country, as regards to who is at fault and who deserves sympathy with this. younger generations seemingly siding with meghan markle and harry, and other generations that older generations siding with the palace. if that older generations siding with the alace. ,, ., ., ~' that older generations siding with the alace. ,, ., the palace. if you look at the ura - hs the palace. if you look at the graphs showing _ the palace. if you look at the graphs showing this, - the palace. if you look at the graphs showing this, they i the palace. if you look at the - graphs showing this, they couldn't be more stark. it's notjust a little difference, it is overwhelmingly a huge difference, as you said, younger under 35 is pretty much overwhelmingly on harry and meghan�*s side, saying it's under outrageous the way they've been treated, of course they have to look after themselves and the family, and aren't the royal family pretty disgusting? older generations saying categorically not. it seems that the daily mail has poll on the front page tomorrow saying that the majority of people who they called are saying they would like to see harry and meghan stripped of their titles. i would be interesting to see the demographic of that, of the people who were polled, because again i suspect there would be a big split in age groups, and i can imagine the older generations saying they don't want to do the work, they don't want publicity, they want to live in america, why are they holding onto their titles? daisy, aood to holding onto their titles? daisy, good to see _ holding onto their titles? daisy, good to see you. _ holding onto their titles? daisy, good to see you, thank- holding onto their titles? daisy, good to see you, thank you - holding onto their titles? daisy, good to see you, thank you forl good to see you, thank you for joining us. good to see you, thank you for joining us— there have been further protests in towns and cities across myanmar, in defiance of the armed forces. they're calling for an end to military rule and the release of the country's elected government leaders, following last month's coup. it's thought more than a0 people were arrested overnight, with government forces sealing off neighbourhoods to round up demonstrators. our south east asia correspondent jonathan head reports. with their homemade shields, they practice defensive manoeuvres. more reminiscent of ancient rome than modern myanmar. but this is all they have against bullets and tear gas. throughout the day, these young activists play a dangerous game of cat—and—mouse with the security forces. advancing, then retreating down sidestreets, hoping they don't get caught. everywhere, you see breathtaking courage against a military government with little regard for human life. this was sister ann rose nu tawng in the city of michener yesterday, pleading with the police not to open fire. "shoot me instead," she said. to no avail. in this extraordinary shot taken from a nearby building, the protesters surge forward — but are met with volleys of gunfire. two died, some were horribly injured. five weeks after the coup, this has all the hallmarks of a civil war — but a war where only one side is armed. at night, the soldiers roam around rebellious neighbourhoods, terrorising with wild gunfire, hunting down dissidents. they captured 50 last night after besieging this district. much of myanmar is once again bracing itself for another frightening few hours until daybreak. jonathan head, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. japan's top news agency, kyodo, is reporting that the government has concluded that foreign spectators will not be able to attend this year's olympic games. kyodo said overseas fans would not be welcome because of concerns over coronavirus. the government says a final decision will be made by the end of the month. england's chief medical officer has warned that easing coronavirus restrictions too soon could lead to a substantial surge in infections. professor chris whitty told mps that plans to allow some indoor mixing of people in england in may involved "significant risks". britain has hit back after the european union accused the country of imposing a vaccine export ban. the claim was made by european council chief charles michel. but the uk foreign secretary has said the allegation is "completely false". like many countries around the world, singapore has started a coronavirus vaccination programme. but, perhaps uniquely, the island state is dependent on the outside world and foreign nationals for much of its economic prowess. so it's taking a unique approach to giving out the jabs — as karishma vaswani reports. the crowds are back at singapore's airport, but they are not here to fly. this terminal�*s now transformed into a vaccination centre for front line workers. but in singapore, that doesn't mean only nurses and doctors. everyone here today is from the aviation sector. that includes this woman, who works in customer service. she's considered a front—line worker here — it's why she's among the first in line. it's very sad to look at the situation now, because it's very quiet. if everybody plays their part to actually get vaccinated and, you know, it'll be safe for everyone to travel, and then we can start going back to how the normal is. aviation workers aren't the only ones of the top of the list. along with the elderly and health care workers, singapore is also putting a maritime and transport workers of the queue. it may look like business as usual, but it's not. there's something missing — tourists. this isn't enough to get singapore's economy back on track. it's got to open borders and the economy to survive. borders have been closed for over a year because of the pandemic. jobs have been lost and businesses have shut for good. that's why the government's spent close to $80 billion us to support workers — a huge amount for a population of six million people. in our case, our society infection rates are very low. but we're at risk from our borders, from the front—line workers at the port, at the airport, at the land borders. so for us, that was the first priority, to take care of them. the hope is that strategy could help fill these empty planes with travellers once more, so singapore's economy can take off. but it needs the rest of the world to open their doors, too. karishma vaswani, bbc news, singapore. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we'll look at countries around the world are bringing in huge financial stimulus packages, and the effect that could have on post—pandemic economies. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this, 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 from the gym, then he came out and started firing at our hearts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41— - sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90 — l travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an eight—car convoy. i paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what'll you do now? will it change your life much, you think? i don't know, really, i've never married before. this is bbc news, our main story this hour... following harry and meghan's explosive interview, the royal family says the issues around race are concerning and it takes them very seriously jury selection has been taking place in the trial of former police officer derek chauvin, who faces charges of murder and manslaughter. chauvin killed an unarmed black man, george floyd, in may 2020 in the us city of minneapolis. video of chauvin kneeling on floyd's neck triggered weeks of protests across the us and around the world. our north america correspondent barbara plett usher sent this report. chanting: we are unstoppable, another world is possible! - after months of protests, a moment of reckoning for policing and racism in america. activists demanding justice for the black man george floyd are facing their most important test — the trial of the white police officer charged in his killing, derek chauvin. you have been summoned as potential jurors in the case of the state of minnesota vs derek chauvin. jury selection is the first step. in an unprecedented move, the trial is being broadcast live because covid is keeping the public out of court. so, americans are getting a good look at mr chauvin. it's the first time he's been seen on camera since a bystander filmed him last year. i cannot breathe... kneeling on george floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, as mr floyd gasped for air and then fell silent. check his pulse! police restrained him this way after complaints that he'd used a fake $20 bill. the video will be the prosecution's main evidence — and the main challenge to seating a jury. i think it'll be extremely difficult to get an impartialjury. virtually everybody in the country — and practically the world — has seen the video, or at least read articles about the video and its contents. we think the best that we can hope for is that those who have seen it or read articles about it will commit to keeping an open mind and to being impartial as the trial goes on, and different kinds of evidence comes in. nothing is certain with a jury trial, and the graphic footage doesn't necessarily mean a conviction. the city is afraid that protests will turn violent if mr chauvin is acquitted — so it's put up these fences and called in the national guard. the intersection where mr floyd was pinned to the ground has grown into a memorial — a permanent refusal to accept his death is the end of the story. here, they've been counting down the days to the trial. barbara plett usher, bbc news, minneapolis. giving out money isn't easy — just ask the us government. the house of representatives is set to vote early wednesday on a $1.9 trillion covid relief package. a lot of that money will be in the form of direct payments. the headline figure there is another $1,a00 to eligible americans. we'll be discussing the further, but that's not all that's in the bill. it would also provid $350 billion to state and local governments, $130 billion to schools to help them re—open safely. and, unlike the previous relief measures, restaurants will receive around $38 billion. they've been hammered by having to close and then only partially reopen. as for that $1,400, there are salary caps — so if you make too much money, you're not eligible. but the white house made it clear that working families stand to benefit. with parents making under $150,000 a year combined and with kids in school aged eight and five, because of the president's rescue plan, that family of four will soon be getting $5,600 of direct payments. and because of the extended child tax credit, they'll get $2,600 in addition to that. so, that's $8,200 more in the pockets of this family as they try to weather this storm, on top of additional money in this bill to reopen schools safely, get shots in arms and help those who've lost their jobs. officials at the organisation for economic cooperation and development says the additional spending could help super—charge the us economy. in its half—year outlook, the oecd said growth will accelerate nearly twice as fast as previously expected this year — they put that figure at 6.5%. that's behind china, where the virus originated, but well ahead of europe. countries like germany and france have struggled in their vaccination efforts. and that, the oecd says, will hurt their prospects for growth. joining me now from new york is gregory daco. he's the chief us economist for oxford economics usa. his organisation has an even sunnier outlook for the us economy, predicting 7% growth this year, the highest since the 1980s. hello to you, thanks forjoining us. 7% growth, that's really quite incredible. are you sure your figures are right?— incredible. are you sure your figures are right? only time will tell whether _ figures are right? only time will tell whether these _ figures are right? only time will tell whether these figures - figures are right? only time will tell whether these figures are l tell whether these figures are right. but what's important is that this package will support much stronger growth than we have previously expected. we have revised up previously expected. we have revised up our growth forecast by over three percentage points to 7% for 2021. on the back of this american rescue plan, as you've stated, it will help lift lower income family's incomes and support spending as we get through this hopefully final phase of the recovery from this very deep covid crisis. of the recovery from this very deep covid crisis-— covid crisis. growth forecast in the uk, here in _ covid crisis. growth forecast in the uk. here in the — covid crisis. growth forecast in the uk, here in the united _ covid crisis. growth forecast in the uk, here in the united kingdom, | uk, here in the united kingdom, they've also been upgraded as well. i wonder if the predictions were a little too gloomy 12—14 months ago? i think what's key to remember is that 12-18 i think what's key to remember is that 12—18 months ago, we did not know what type of policy support would be put in place. and i think the key differences in this recession is that the amount of assistance that's been doled out by the us government and governments around the world is quite unprecedented and should help support this very strong rebound. i think one of the key elements of this recovery is at the us is likely to outpace china, in terms of its contribution to global growth for the first time since 2005, according to our latest forecast. so the us will take back its role as the global lokomotiv. so will take back its role as the global lokomotiv.— will take back its role as the global lokomotiv. so the united states will help _ global lokomotiv. so the united states will help all _ global lokomotiv. so the united states will help all other - global lokomotiv. so the united l states will help all other countries and its slipstream once vaccination programmes roll—out across the world, and the severe effects of the pandemic begin to ease?— pandemic begin to ease? that's riuht. pandemic begin to ease? that's right- there _ pandemic begin to ease? that's right. there will _ pandemic begin to ease? that's right. there will be _ pandemic begin to ease? that's right. there will be a _ pandemic begin to ease? that's right. there will be a powerful. right. there will be a powerful cocktail that is put in place over the coming months with, on one hand, and improving health situation, both and improving health situation, both a reduction in the number of covid infections as well as increased vaccine distributions around world should help support stronger spending activity — and that will be increased by fiscal stimulus in various forms, aid to the private sector, as well as aid to businesses. combined, all these measures should help propel the us economy to about 7% growth with the us economy adding about 7 million jobs. but it won'tjust be important for the us consumer, which will likely be the key driver of growth in the us, but also important for the rest of the world because a stronger us economy will likely import from the rest of the world and help support stronger global activity. 50 and help support stronger global activi . , ., activity. so this will have reverberations _ activity. so this will have reverberations right - activity. so this will have l reverberations right across activity. so this will have - reverberations right across the globe, there's no question about that. ., �* , globe, there's no question about that. . �*, . . globe, there's no question about that. . . , that. that's correct. we will see these positive _ that. that's correct. we will see these positive effects, - that. that's correct. we will see these positive effects, positivel these positive effects, positive signals from the us economy that should pull stronger growth from the first its north american trading partners, but also from europe and asia, which should provide that increased stimulus, increased impetus in terms of growth. thanks for “oininr impetus in terms of growth. thanks forjoining us. _ impetus in terms of growth. thanks forjoining us, thank— impetus in terms of growth. thanks forjoining us, thank you. _ impetus in terms of growth. thanks forjoining us, thank you. thank - forjoining us, thank you. thank ou. you can reach me on twitter. good evening. we have a rather turbulent couple of days of weather coming up. there'll be some outbreaks of heavy rain, but also some really strong winds, gales which could cause some disruption and which will send some big waves crashing into the coastline. now, this is the earlier satellite picture. you can see a lot of cloud stretching right back out into the atlantic. a really deep low developing just about here. that will be heading in our direction, but in the shorter term, this shield of cloud bringing some outbreaks of rain through northern ireland and scotland. very gusty winds here for a time, gusting up to 60—70 mph in the far northwest of scotland. that wet and blustery weather will sink southeastwards as we head through the early hours of wednesday. clear skies and a scattering of showers following on into scotland. temperatures between 4—7 celsius for the most part. so, into tomorrow, here's ourfirst frontal system bringing those outbreaks of rain across england and wales first thing, but then another front starting to push its way in, so the rain will pep up once again as we head deeper into the day. in between those two weather fronts, there's a zone of drier, clearer weather, some spells of sunshine across scotland, albeit with a scattering of showers. wintry over high ground. but our next weather front will be bringing rain northeastwards across all parts of the uk through the day. temperatures between 8—12 celsius, and the winds will really be picking up during wednesday afternoon. and through wednesday night, notice our deep low moving in and on the southern flank, all of these white lines, all of these isobars squashing together. there is going to be a swathe of very, very strong winds pushing eastwards. could well see gusts of 50 mph or more for inland parts of england and wales. around the coasts, gusts of 60—70 miles per hour. not quite as windy for northern ireland orfor scotland, but still blustery enough, and the winds will remain a big feature throughout thursday. it's a sunshine and showers day, really. some of the showers will be heavy with hail and thunder, wintriness mixing in over high ground in the north. it's going to feel quite cold, ithink, given the strength of the wind. the winds will only slowly ease as we head through the end of the week into the weekend, and there will be some further showers, some of which will be heavy and thundery, but perhaps wintry over high ground in the north. this is bbc world news. the headlines — buckingham palace said the issues raised, particularly on the subject of race, in the interview given by prince harry and his wife meghan were concerning. the statement added that the matters raised were being taken very seriously and would be addressed privately by the family. in minneapolis, jury selection is under way in the trial of derek chauvin, the former police officer facing criminal charges for his role in the death of george floyd. widespread protests continue in myanmar, with demonstrators defying the armed forces after last month's military coup. an official from the deposed national league for democracy died in custody on tuesday morning. japan's top news agency, kyodo, is reporting that the government has concluded that foreign spectators will not be able to attend this year's olympic games. the likely move is because of concerns over coronavirus.