welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. president biden has told america that better days lie ahead after a year of lockdown and loss following the coronavirus pandemic. in his first prime time televised address since his inauguration, mr biden said the country would have enough supplies to vaccinate the entire adult population by the end of may. he said he hoped people would be able to celebrate independence day onjuly 4th with their families but he also reminded people of the dark days behind them. i've told you before, i carry a card in my pocket with the number of americans who died from covid to date. it's on the back of my schedule. as of now, total deaths in america, 527,726. that's more deaths than in world war i, world war ii, the vietnam war and 9/11 combined. here's the bbc�*s david willis. this was, as you mentioned, joe biden�*s first prime—time address since taking office just 50 days ago. it came from the east room of the white house, lasted less than 30 minutes and it came after the passage of the american rescue plan — nearly $2 trillion measure —— this is this nearly $2 trillion measure aimed at resuscitating the american economy, providing relief to those who have suffered because of this pandemic. and those who have suffered included, mr biden said, those who lost theirjobs, those evicted from their homes and those have been targeted because of his predecessor, donald trump's insistence on referring to the virus as a so—called china virus. vicious hate crimes against asian—americans who have been attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated. at this very moment, so many of them, our fellow americans, they are on the front lines of this pandemic trying to save lives. and still — still — they are forced to live in fear for their lives just walking down the streets in america. it's wrong, it's unamerican and it must stop. david, plenty of targets in that speech. take us through those. absolutely, james, and currentlyjust, of course, just 10% of the population here has actually received the coronavirus vaccine, butjoe biden talked about increasing purchase of doses of the vaccine and increasing the number of people who were qualified to administer it. and this is what he had to say about how his administration had turned things round in his first 50 days in office. when i came into office, you may recall, i set a goal that many of you said was kind of way over the top. i said i intended to get 100 million shots in people's arms in my first 100 days in office. tonight, i can say we are not only going to meet that goal, we are going to beat that goal, because we are actually on track to reach this goal of 100 million shots in arms on my 60th day in office. no other country in the world has done this. none. and i want to talk about the next steps we are thinking about. first, tonight, i am announcing that i will direct all states, tribes and territories to make all adults, people 18 and over, eligible to be vaccinated no later than 1 may. let me say that again. all adult americans will be eligible to get a vaccine no later than 1 may. all of which, joe biden said, could pave the way for a return to some semblance of normality by the fourth ofjuly — the traditional independence day holiday here which, joe biden suggested, could also mark this nation's independence from the coronavirus. now, as far as his next plans are concerned, he is going out on the road, the president, intending to take his message to the heartlands, to people who want to know where this $2 trillion is going to be spent. and that will include $1400 cheques to many households — about 160 million households, it's thought, could benefit from that — and there will, of course, be other economic measures as well. these are measures which a lot of economists here are saying could put the us economy — the largest in the world of course — back on its feet within the end of the year. and it could, of course, take somewhat longer for all the jobs that have been lost to be replaced but nonetheless, clear signs from joe biden that he believes that things are looking up, hopefully. david willis. let's get some of the day's other news. a lesser third—degree murder charge has been reinstated against derek chauvin, the white former police officer accused of killing george floyd in minneapolis last may. a video of the ex—policeman kneeling on the victim's neck sparked worldwide protests. prosecutors feel the new charge may make a conviction more likely than for the more serious charges mr chauvin is also facing, and denies. for the second day in a row, brazil has recorded over 2,000 coronavirus deaths with 2,233 fatalities in the last 2a hours and 75,412 new cases registered. it comes as health officials there warn that hospitals are reaching capacity. the us house of representatives has approved two bills to strengthen gun laws. one would see expanded checks on anyone buying a gun online, at a gun show, or in some private sales. the other would give more time for background checks to be carried out on purchasers. they face an uphill battle in getting approved by the senate. in his first public comment since harry and meghan�*s bombshell tv interview, prince william has insisted that the british royal family is not racist. he was speaking during a visit to a school in london. it comes after meghan said that someone in the royal family voiced concerns about their son's skin colour before he was born. the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine has been suspended in three european countries after reports that some people who've had the jab had developed blood clots. the european medicine agency has stressed the move was precautionary. norway and iceland announced their decisions after denmark stopped its rollout for two weeks. paul hawkins reports the ema's message is clear — there is no link between blood clots and the astrazeneca vaccine. the manufacturer says the drug's safety has been studied extensively in clinical trials. nevertheless, denmark, norway and iceland have temporarily suspended the rollout of the vaccine after two women in europe died after getting the jab, one of them in denmark itself. translation: in denmark, - more than 140,000 people have received the vaccine, so that alone would mean that there may be random things that would otherwise also happen, even if people had not been vaccinated. the suspensions are a precautionary. —— the suspensions are precautionary. the other death, also from the same batch, was in austria — one of six countries that have stopped using that specific batch — again, as a precaution. the ema, meanwhile, say 30 people in total have developed clots out of 5 million europeans who have had the jab. because millions of people have got it, just by chance, many of them will have had different conditions happening soon after they got the vaccine, unfortunately. so this does not mean the vaccine caused it. suspending vaccine rollouts is the last thing europe needs. delivery delays mean vaccination rates across the continent are still way behind countries like the uk and some reports suggest the single—dosejohnson & johnson vaccine, which was approved on thursday, may not arrive until april. most of the countries with the highest infection rises are in central and eastern europe. the czech republic, seen here, and slovakia have had to move covid hospital patients to other european countries, while parts of estonia ran out of hospital beds this week, triggering another partial lockdown. the vaccine can't come soon enough. paul hawkins, bbc news. a major study is underway to determine what the long—term health effects of covid—19 might be. the genetic details of 500,000 people were already stored in the uk biobank database before the pandemic struck, and now researchers are carrying out detailed scans of thousands of covid patients to see how their organs might have been affected by the virus. rebecca morelle has the story. searching for the after—effects of covid. these scans are part of the world's biggest imaging study, shedding light on the long—term impact of infection. this is brian shepherd, who is taking part in the research. the 71—year—old lives in gateshead with his wifejean. in november, he was taken to hospital with covid. when i got in the ambulance, my wife was standing on the pavement and you think, "when will i see her again?" after five days of treatment, he was allowed home. but months later, he is still feeling the effects, and hopes the scans could explain why. we're all very proud to have taken part in it and feel that our little bit can help somewhere along the line for the rest of the world. the scans are being carried out by uk biobank — it's a huge study that holds medical images, genetic data and health information on 500,000 people. now it's imaging 1,500 of these participants who've had coronavirus. they range from asymptomatic cases to those with long covid, who still feel ill months after infection. having these standardised scans both before and after infection, researchers will be able to investigate the direct effects of coronavirus infection on changes in both the structure and function of organs, which is obviously what we all want to know. these scans can provide vital clues about the impact of covid on different organs. the virus infects the respiratory system and damages cells in the lungs, so scientists will be searching for any scarring. they'll examine the heart for inflammation or muscle damage, and to see if it is worse after a severe infection. the virus also affects the brain, and this study could pinpoint where in the nervous system these changes are happening. the brain scans can tell us whether there's evidence for inflammation in the brain that may be persisting and whether there has been damage enough to actually kill nerve cells in the brain that may cause some shrinkage. these scans will be repeated over the coming years and made available to researchers all around the world. our understanding of the pandemic�*s health legacy isjust beginning. rebecca morelle, bbc news. vaccine scepticism remains an ongoing issue in the us, as it does elsewhere in the world, and so all living former presidents — with the exception of one — have come together to encourage their fellow americans to get the jab. take a look. this vaccine means hope. i want to go back to work and i want to be able to move around. ...to visit with michelle's mum, to hug her and see her on her birthday. you know what i'm really looking forward to going to opening day at texas ranger stadium with a full stadium. we have lost enough people and we've suffered enough damage. | in order to get rid of this pandemic, it's important for our fellow citizens to get vaccinated. you will have noticed donald trump was not featured — that's because he opted not to take part. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: $70 million for an artwork that doesn't physically exist — the digital art auction that's become a record—breaker. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this, the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 2a 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 out through a fire exit and started firing at our huts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, - sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, i 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 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 world news, the latest headlines: in the us, president biden gives a primetime address on the pathway out of the pandemic, saying americans could be able to gather byjuly fourth. the chinese communist party has approved a resolution to overhaul hong kong's electoral system, the latest move tightening its control of the city. it was passed at the national people's congress, and will allow a pro—beijing panel to vet and elect candidates for hong kong's parliament. the british government says the change will "hollow out the space for democratic debate" in the city. 0ur china correspondent, john sudworth reports. the electronic buttons were pressed and the unanimity said it all. just one abstention as china's compliant parliament voted to remake hong kong's political system in its own image. the decision is clear. the country's premier li keqiang told the assembled media afterwards "we should always have patriots ruling hong kong". after british rule ended in 1997, china promised hong kong's freedoms would be preserved by a one country, two systems formula. some believe that's now been broken. if they are going to impose a system on hong kong whereby my party — or other pro—democracy people — will not be free to take part in elections and to be elected and to carry out their duties with dignity, independently and freely, then, i mean, that one country, two systems is over. but the harder hong kong's pro—democracy movement has fought, the more china has tightened its grip. under a new national security law, dozens of politicians and activists were rounded up in dawn raids injanuary and now face sentences of up to life in prison. the latest measures attempt to tame hong kong's sometimes unruly parliament. already stacked heavily in favour of beijing, in future, a committee will be able to disqualify any candidate deemed not patriotic enough. there's been plenty of moments in recent years when observers have proclaimed the death of hong kong, but few can doubt the symbolism of what's just happened here in beijing with delegates dutifully rubber—stamping a decision to insist that hong kong's politicians show the same loyalty — and notjust to flag or country, but some senior officials have suggested to the communist party, too. in the end, it's the massive popular backing for democratic reform that's probably spooked beijing more than any violence. even hong kongers supportive of china appear to admit the ideal of democracy has now been dropped. ..democratic system has no intrinsic value unless it can deliver good outcomes. and we have had 23 years of experiments with democracy. the outcomes are far from satisfactory. we are underperforming. with the voting over, china's parliament drew to a close. short on dissent, long on applause, it offers a vision of hong kong's political future. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. the british—iranian woman, nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, is in urgent need of psychiatric treatment after her prison ordeal in iran. that's according to a medical report shared with the bbc and sent to the british foreign office. commissioned by the legal charity redress, it says she's suffering from serious and chronic post—traumatic ms zaghari—ratcliffe was released from house arrest earlier this week, but is due back in court on sunday. caroline hawley reports. show your nice hair. nazanin: love your hair! what a beautiful. my favourite part is when you brush your hair. a facetime call with tehran, a precious morning ritual. nazanin longs to be able to brush gabriella's hair herself. the last five years have been a psychological torment, but with her daughter especially, she puts on a brave face. there she is! there she is. last weekend, her ankle tag was removed, at the end of her sentence. but relief is now turning to nerves as sunday's her biggest terror is returning to solitary confinement. it's a really horrific experience, and it's cumulative and it builds up. and, of course, most of it has been hidden away. she didn't talk about it when she came out. i don't talk to the media about some other stuff. she didn't talk about it with her mum and dad. we all have that instinct to protect our families from the things we've been through. the report contains distressing new details of interrogations that lasted eight or nine hours, of threats, of pressure to cooperate, and claims she'd been abandoned by her husband and would lose access to her daughter. it says she's suffering from serious and chronic post—traumatic stress disorder, major depression and obsessive—compulsive disorder. the continuous uncertainty about her fate contributed to this, and that without reunification with her family in the uk and effective treatment, hersymptoms and disorders won't resolve, and will become chronic and potentially worsen. in order to recover, it says, she needs to be in a safe environment. the examination was carried out online, over several hours, while nazanin was under house arrest. psychological torture is even more difficult to heal and more long—lasting than physical torture, and it leaves invisible scars. worrying about richard and gabriella is a source of great guilt for nazanin. she knows how much richard is carrying on his shoulders as he campaigns ceaselessly to get her home. nazanin used to love coming to this exact spot when gabriella was a baby but, at six, she's not so interested in feeding ducks any more. she's growing up fast and her mother is missing it. all the time, time is passing. and all the time, her baby's getting bigger and she's not there. she's not there to protect her, she's not there to enjoy the good bits, not there for any of it. and even when she is back with them, this report makes clear that for the whole family, it's likely to be a long path to recovery. caroline hawley, bbc news. a digital artist in the united states has become one of the world's top three most valuable living artists after one of his pieces, which doesn't physically exist, sold at christies for nearly $70 million. its creator, known as beeple, combined digital images he made every day over 13 years. the sale of the piece, entitled "everydays — the first 5000 days" became the first ever by a major auction house using what's known as a "non—fungible token". it's a type of digital certificate authenticated by blockchain technology. will gompertz has the story. so, here it is: the $69 million artwork which doesn't actually exist in the real world. it lives virtually, online. authenticated as unique by a digital certificate known as a non—fungible token, ora nft. the ownership of which caused a bidding frenzy to acquire this collage by mike winkelmann, otherwise known as beeple, who is now a very rich man. i think the money is crazy and awesome, it will do a lot of good and i will do a lot of good for the world with this too. how would you describe the aesthetic and the look and the style? now it is like weird sci—fi stuff, some of them are kind of a bit nasty if i am being honest. how easy is it to make an nft? it is honestly not that hard, there is a bunch of sites out there where you can make them quite easy, it's what that nft represents. i look at it almost like it really is proof of ownership, so it can be attached to anything. christie's began the bidding at a modest $100, before witnessing the price go up in $1 million increments. the kind of excitement in our bidding pool, right, was amazing to behold. this is the future. we are boldly stepping into it. i think that this past year more than any year of my life really did break down that kind of membrane between the virtual life and the real life. nfts are the new kit on the auction block, the price paid today certainly surprised this art market expert. i think it's completely insane, quite frankly, absolutely bananas. but that being said, people wanted to buy it. it is beeple who is extremely well known. in that particular field, there is an absolute frenzy about cryptocurrencies at the moment. encrypted digital art is today's investment craze. it might be tomorrow's burst bubble or the beginning of a new story in the history of art. if it is, this collage will appear on page one. will gompertz, bbc news. a dutch lion has been given a vasectomy after fathering a few too many cubs. thor, an 11—year—old lion, had the surgery on thursday to make sure he didn't overpopulate the gene pool at burgers' zoo in arnhem. thor sired five cubs last year. staff said the snip was preferable to castration, which might have caused thor to lose his mane and dominant position in the pride's hierarchy. 0 nto 0nto other dominant males. barbie's famous beau, ken, has turned 60. toy company, mattel, are celebrating the milestone with a return to ken's original look — sandals, swimming shorts and a carefully slung yellow towel. a senior designerfor the company says ken has gone through many fashion transformations, skin controversially, ken and barbie split after 43 years of dating but rekindled their relationship in 2011. more on all of our stories on our website, more on all of our stories on ourwebsite, including more on all of our stories on our website, including analysis and reaction to president biden�*s first prime—time speech in which he detailed a possible roadmap out of the pandemic for the united states. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @jamesbbcnews. do stay with us. hello. thursday felt like one of those days where someone up there was just playing with the taps — raining one minute, then dry, then rain, then dry. it was like that pretty much all day. and some of the storms pretty impressive. we brought some hail to the streets of carlisle. some of the storms dropped temperatures by up to 5 degrees celsius as they went through, and we had some of this spectacular mammatus cloud on the underside of some of the cumulonimbus thunder clouds — a sign of really vigorous storm clouds building. and more recently, well, some of those showers have started to turn to snow across parts of northern scotland, particularly in the high ground, so we've had a bit of everything really and we've got more of the same to come as well on through the course of friday. a risk of icy stretches, then, where we have this snow and those lower temperatures, particularly across the high ground in scotland. but there could be a bit of sleet or a bit of hail mixed in with the showers just about anywhere over the next few hours, and it's going to be a blustery old start to the day on friday. heavy rain for a time across wales and south west england, slowly pushing eastwards with some thunder mixed in with that. then we'll probably have a more generally showery kind of spell of weather for most areas of the uk. some sunshine, some hail mixed in with the showers, temperatures dropping sharply when those clouds go through. and then late in the day, another spell of more general rain is set to move in as the winds start to crank up again. yes, it's going to be a particularly blustery friday night and early part of saturday morning. now, temperatures, by the time we get to the first part of saturday morning, well, low enough to give us some frost and again, there will be some snow mixed in with those showers over parts of higher parts of scotland, so for some, a chilly start to the weekend. and the weekend, well it's dominated by low pressure. we're going to continue to see strong winds, showers or even a few lengthier outbreaks of rain diving across the uk. so on saturday, it is a day of sunshine and showers. again, some of the showers will have hail mixed in with them. still a bit of snow over some of the higher ground because yes, it is maybe just about cold enough for that. and again, when those showers come through, the temperatures will drop sharply by several degrees celsius, but these are the kind of maximum temperatures that you might expect to see — highs of about 7—10 degrees celsius — but perhaps feeling cooler, given the strength of the winds. for sunday, another weather system dives south—eastwards across the uk, bringing more general rain with it. probably the driest, brightest weather across northern scotland, and those temperatures coming up just that's your latest weather. this is bbc news. the headlines: in the us, joe biden uses his first prime time address as president to set out what could be the country's pathway out of the pandemic. he's urged americans to get vaccinated saying they could be able to gather byjuly 4th. norway, iceland and denmark suspend use of the astrazeneca vaccine after reports that some people who were given it went on to develop blood clots. around half a dozen other countries have stopped using doses from specific batches but the eu's medicine's regulator says it is safe. a digital artwork has sold at auction for a record $69 million. the work is by an artist known as beeple and is a collage of 5,000 individual images made over more than 13 years. it was the first major auction of a piece of art that doesn't exist in physicalform.