sunday. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. in the past hour spain hasjoined france, germany and italy to become the latest countries to suspend use of the oxford—astrazeneca jab. it's over concerns about blood clots. this is happening despite the who saying there is no indication of a link between the vaccine and blood clots. earlier, the republic of ireland and netherlands made a similar decision. it means eleven european nations in total have paused their rollout of the vaccination. some european countries have stopped using certain batches of the drug as a precautionary measure. the european medicines agency is carrying out a review into incidents of blood clots. it says the vaccine's benefits continue to outweigh its risks, and that it will hold an extraordinary meeting on the vaccine on thursday. around 17 million people in the european union and the uk have received a dose of the vaccine, with fewer than than a0 cases of blood clots reported. that's lower than would be found in a normal population sample. let's hear from the who's chief scientist. at least 2.6 million people have died of covid. and so far, of the 300 million doses that have been given to people across the world, of course using different vaccines, there is no documented death that has been linked to a covid vaccine. so i think that while we need to continue to be very closely monitoring this, we do not want people to panic. and we would, for the time being, recommend that countries continue vaccinating with astrazeneca. despite this — germany's health minister says the suspension of the use of the astrazeneca jab is effective immediately. let's go to germany first, 0ur correspondent in berlinjenny hill has the latest. here in germany i can tell you that the decision was announced on the basis of a recommendation from the paul ehrlich institute. this is the body which advises the government here on vaccines and vaccination. and it has published the statement upon which this decision has been based, and it says that there have been new cases in recent days of people who have developed, what they described, is a special type of a rare blood clot in the brain following vaccination with the astrazeneca vaccine. and that's why they want to investigate further. now, they did not say how many people have been affected or indeed how badly, butjust as we came to air i noticed that the national broadcaster here, usually very reliable it's quoting the country public health minister and he's talking about, out of 1.6 million doses that have been given, that's 1.6 million people, of course these are first doses, just seven people seem to have been affected. so that's not what's coming straight from the horse's mouth, if you like, from the institute that advises the government, but if this report is correct the numbers indeed are very low. and that perhaps chimes with governments that were saying there's really no need to suspend the vaccinations at this stage. a very controversial decision. and i think one which is going to cause, well it is already causing, we can see it, anger and a lot of concern in germany. because the vaccination programme here has been very slow to get going. just over 7% of the population received a first dose. case numbers are rising, new variants are spreading. there's a lot of concern about how this country is going to get anywhere near back to normality. let alone do something about the hundreds of people who are still dying from a covid every day. so to take a vaccine that's an important vaccine here out of circulation, you know, is not a decision that's going to be made lightly by the government. the health minister saying it's not a political decision, it's a decision based on facts. next to france — here's president macron announcing the decision is that week can hope to resume quickly if the opinion of the european medicines agency allows. here's hugh schofield in paris on the reasons it has given for going ahead with its suspension of the vaccine. no reasons, really other than that it's a _ no reasons, really other than that it's a precautionary measure taken in coordination with other european countries _ and i'm sure what she was saying about germany is echoed here in france as well. it's not a step that they would want to take, because there vaccination programme is proving to be very slow and labourious. and it's only yesterday that the prime minister was adding his voice to the several forces that have been out there in the last week or two saying that astrazeneca is a good vaccine, and there's actually no reason not to take it. this, because there was already a kind of prejudice against it which had sort of settled in much of the population. encouraged, it has to be said, by the government's on pronouncements earlier on about whether it was reliable or as effective as the other ones. be that as it may, it's now very much part of government policy to get astrazeneca into people's arms. and so this is not helpful at all. they will be hoping and presuming that the ema, the european medical agency gives it a swift go—ahead on thursday. 0r whenever it is meeting come up so that they can resume their programme. because as they were saying there and here it's very much part of the plan. not all european countries are towing this line. poland's health minister said his country would not be taking the same measures as france and germany. translation: at the moment we still believe that the benefits from - vaccination in terms of the increase in public safety are much bigger than possible risks from taking the astrazeneca vaccine. the bbc�*s katya adler has this analysis from brussels. covid is still biting hard across europe as you say. several countries tightening their restrictions, italy just today. and the eu of course has been complaining loudly that it has a severe vaccine shortage. that hasn't had deliveries of the amount of vaccine that it expected. many countries invested heavily in astrazeneca particularly. austria and other countries in central and eastern europe but every eu country had access. and now as you say quite a number havejust had access. and now as you say quite a number have just said we are going to pause the roll—out of astrazeneca while we investigate these claims of blood clots. we have a number of countries taking these measures, denmark, austria and the netherlands yesterday you have germany and italy, france feeling under pressure to take the same kind of action. germany said there's a precautionary measure, and waiting to hear from the european medicines agency which they state still believes the use of they state still believes the use of the astrazeneca vaccine far outweighs any risks. bear in mind that here in mainland europe people tend to be more sceptical about the vaccines and this could endanger others just even using astrazeneca orany others just even using astrazeneca or any other vaccine and the critics of government who are halting the use of the vaccine say this could actually just cost for their lives. anthony cox is a reader in clinical pharmacy and drug safety at the university of birmingham. hejoins us live here in the programme. thank you for your time. you tweeted earlier you think what these countries have done in halting the vaccine is "not rational based on known information". why? welcome ever since we knew the vaccines were a possibility the european regulator and the year kate regulator have put in place safety plans for monitoring the safety of these vaccines.— plans for monitoring the safety of these vaccines. there's been a lot of thought — these vaccines. there's been a lot of thought about _ these vaccines. there's been a lot of thought about how _ these vaccines. there's been a lot of thought about how we - these vaccines. there's been a lot of thought about how we will- these vaccines. there's been a lot. of thought about how we will monitor them, how we would look for safety signals, how we will communicate that to the public. and how we would confirm whether signals were real or not. and what we appear to be in now is a cascade of bad decisions outside of that process that was carefully prepared by the european medicines agency. and ifeel that there is a failure to understand how there is a failure to understand how the precautionary principle does not work in drug safety. for any new drug or new vaccine there will be multiple signals that will appear in the data and these have to be looked at and judged as to whether they are real or not. and that it is no causal link between the vaccine and these blood clots. ishiith causal link between the vaccine and these blood clots.— these blood clots. with the people susendin: these blood clots. with the people suspending this — these blood clots. with the people suspending this vaccine _ these blood clots. with the people suspending this vaccine are - these blood clots. with the people suspending this vaccine are not. suspending this vaccine are not politicians, these are specialists in this area. they are part of the national regulators and lots of different individual countries. they will know all the points you making so why do you think they are drawing quite a different conclusion? i quite a different conclusion? i think of the misapplication of the precautionary principle. we have people dying across europe, cases going up in many european states. a faltering vaccination programme with high levels of vaccine hesitancy already. and they are not looking at the downsides of the suspension. 0nce the downsides of the suspension. once the suspension happened once the suspension has happened rebuilding public trust may be impossible. you can't pull the cork backin impossible. you can't pull the cork back in the bottle. it's an irreversible decision that is being made even after, if they even make a decision to say the balance of benefits is still higher than the possible risks and harms of the vaccines they will not be able to reverse that decision because the public trust will be lost. ishiith reverse that decision because the public trust will be lost.— public trust will be lost. with that vaccines developed _ public trust will be lost. with that vaccines developed at _ public trust will be lost. with that vaccines developed at a _ public trust will be lost. with that vaccines developed at a speed . public trust will be lost. with that i vaccines developed at a speed which we have never seen before, we've had trials conducted at a speed with never seen before, and we are now seeing a vexing roll—out on a scale we have never seen before, isn't it right that in amongst that understandable rush to address the pandemic there are moments of caution as we understand what these vaccines are doing quick hit of the existing vaccination safety monitoring plan that was in place by the ama was very carefully constructed. there are multiple ways to look for safety issues within these vaccines, the clinical trials had over 20,000 people in a clinical trialfor the vaccine, had over 20,000 people in a clinical trial for the vaccine, nothing found of this nature. the system we have found nothing of this nature, the vaccines were not rushed. like anything you can do things faster, it does not imply that there has been rushing, there's been very careful deliberation over the data for these vaccines. in terms of why these committees are making these decisions, companies can make wrong decisions. 0nce decisions, companies can make wrong decisions. once one makes that decisions. once one makes that decision that sort of poor decision—making can cascade through several committees through different countries as there is a sort of pressure to do something. why is this country up making these decisions and being careful and why aren't we not? that can become a problem. we have seen in the past poor decision—making by committees. the initial decision about restricting the astrazeneca vaccine to the under 65 so the bad decision which they have now reversed. so it does happen and europe has a medicines regulator that should be dealing with issue through the process they put in place. and i feel it's a real shame that that, the european medicines agency planned for the vaccine safety has not been followed by these things. doctor anthony cox live with us here on outside source. so there's this ongoing debate in europe around the astrazeneca vaccine. and it's happening as europe faces rising infections. in the next 5 minutes we are going to look at germany, france, poland and the netherlands — but first — italy. last year it was the first country in the world to impose a national lockdown. and on monday much of italy entered a third lockdown. this is rome — as you can see the streets are almost entirely empty. in more than half the country — all non—essential businesses, shops and schools have been closed. milan is also under the new lockdown restrictions. 0ur correspondent mark lowen is there. the beautiful blue skies of milan belie the dark clouds of covid gathering it again, because, just over a year since italy became the first country in the world to impose a national lockdown, it is shutting its doors once again. this region, lombardy, the original epicentre of the first wave, is now one of 11 regions in italy, over half the country, in which schools, shops, restaurants are closing as part of a red zone, and for three days across the easter holiday, the whole of italy will become a red zone, so there will be closures right across the country. italy is now in a third wave of the virus, with infections likely to peak in six or seven days, and while some here support the tightening of the measures, for many, well, they feel at the end of their tether. we know that it is necessary but we are very tired, so i hope that this is the last one. we feel pretty dreadful. it is like back to square one after a year. it is incredible that the schools haven't had a chance to think about an alternative. we look at israel, we look at the us, and we look at the uk thinking, well, things are working there, yeah. and here? not really. italy's vaccinations have indeed been sluggish, partly due to supply problems, but from today they have pledged to almost double daily shots in a mass national mobilisation, a gradual relief to a nation that has suffered so much. i was worried about her, yes, because a lot of people died, especially in lombardy so now i am happy to receive the vaccine. this hospital alone has gone from administering 200 vaccines a day injanuary, to 1300 a day now. but with a slow start and with cases still rising here, italy is racing to get to the point at which daily vaccines outweigh new infections. it has got some catching up to do. from italy — to the netherlands. the government has also temporarily suspended the use of the astrazeneca vaccine. and while that's happening. monday marks the start of its general election. and as you'd expect — the election is dominated by one thing — covid. first — it's created challenges for those organising it. the election is being spread over three days instead of one to allow more space at voting booths. and the organisers have come up with some creative ways for people to vote safely. this is a �*drive thru' voting booth in amsterdam — so you can vote without leaving your car. and if that's the practicalities — prime minister mark rutte's handling of the pandemic is the key factor in the election campaign. here's anna holliga in amsterdamn. his country was the last in the eu to roll—out its vaccination programme with an average 5000 new infections daily. the netherlands is going to the polls under one of its strictest lockdowns yet. and the government collapsed two months ago. still, the prime minister who presided over all of this is performing best in the polls. covid—19 and all of its consequences have absolutely dominated the _ pre—election debates, and less than 24 hours before vulnerable voters went to the polls there were clashes between anti—lockdown protesters and police not far from the dutch parliament. if he performs as well as expected he will be first in line to inform the next governing coalition, and to begin a fourth term in office. while the netherlands begins its general election — in germany — chancellor angela merkel�*s cdu party is digesting its worst ever results in two local elections. the elections took place in two southern regions on sunday — and these are regions where traditionally the cdu does well. not this time. the greens and social democrats have increased their shares of the vote. and we're paying particular attention as the national election is coming down the track in september — and angela merkel will not be leading the cdu into it for the first time in 15 years. well these local results are being put down to the pandemic. germany fareed well last year — but less so this winter. here'sjenny hill in berlin. well, after a winter in lockdown, germany has onlyjust begun to lift some restrictions. schools, nurseries, hairdressers and some shops have been allowed to reopen in recent weeks, but already it seems increasingly likely they will have to shut again. new variants are spreading, case numbers are racing and may experts warn that this country, like so many of its neighbours, is now firmly in the grip of a third wave of infection. today the body which advises the government on its pandemic response, the robert cook institute said that in the next few weeks they expect to see a dramatic rise in case numbers if nothing changes. but perhaps the strongest warning came from germany's intensive care doctors who, this morning, demanded an immediate return to lockdown restrictions. they also urge the government to crack on with its vaccination programme. that began around three months ago, but to date just over 70% of the population have had their first dose of vaccine. to france now — cases and deaths have been rising for weeks — and doctors say the situation in hospitals is now as bad as it was in march last year at the start of the pandemic. in paris — intensive care beds are so scarce that patients are being sent to bordeaux and even across the border to belgium for treatment. president emmanuel macron has imposed curfews and other social restrictions in several regions of the country — but unlike italy he is yet to announce a third lockdown. and finally — there's poland — cases are rising rapidly across the country — here's our correspondent adam easton in warsaw. in poland, the number of new cases has increased by more than three quarters compared with one week ago. and the amount of people requiring hospitalisation is rising in very sharp rates. they have ordered two and half thousand extra beds be readied in temporary hospitals set up during the second wave in the _ autumn. i did restrictions have been introduced on monday in two provinces, including the capital warsaw. that means shopping centres, hotels, sporting and cultural facilities have all closed. officials say that the spike in cases is being caused by rising numbers of the uk variant which they say is rampant in northern poland. and now accounts for about ao% of all new cases nationwide. they are also saying that people are simply ignoring the rules, especially the younger generation. social media footage of people without facemasks and not maintaining social distancing in crowded bars despite the fact that— all of those bars are supposed to be closed. stay with us on 0utside source — still to come. i will update you on me and marco my factories links to china are being set on fire as part of the protests against the military coup. in afghanistan — a ban on girls singing in public imposed by education officials kabul last week has been overturned after a social media campaign. secunder kermani has more from kabul. the past few days have seen a great deal of criticism on social media here pushing back against this ban on all girls over the age of 12 singing in any event where men are present. many accuse the acting minister of education or herself a woman, of trying to oppose the same kind of repressive policies that the taliban implemented when they were in power back in the 1990s. many fear that there would be a gain at the end up with some kind of role in their government in the future. in protests activists and ordinary afghan women uploaded videos of themselves singing using the hashtag i am my song, and themselves singing using the hashtag iam my song, and in themselves singing using the hashtag i am my song, and in the face of this criticism of education backtracked. 0ver this criticism of education backtracked. over the weekend issued a rather confusing statement saying that this band did not reflect the ministry's official policies and this investigation is under way as to why this was announced. this is 0utside source live from the bbc newsroom. 0ur lead story is that more european countries have halted astrazeneca's coronavirus vaccine over concerns about blood clots despite there being no evidence to two are linked. let's turn to myanmar. we're seeing more evidence of the military using brutal force the un has said it is appalled by the splitting violence of the military. using brutalforce across all position and according to the monitoring group association for the assistance of political prisoners a8 people died on sunday. the the deadliest day since the coup happened on february one. most of the deaths happened in yangon which is the biggest city. these are some of the distressing images that emerged. this was on sunday. a number of protesters were taking shelter behind makeshift shields. and you can see a person is lying motionless on the ground. another person squats beside them. men then approach. two appear to be police officers with guns raised. they then drag a woman out from behind her shield, and strike her. the protester on the ground — who isn't moving — is then dragged away. we've chosen to not show that part of this video. some of the violence was in the hlaingthaya township — it's an industrial area near yangon�*s centre. again — the pictures from there are distressing. this was also on sunday. security forces fired on protesters — who again hid behind makeshift barricades. some of them used rubbish bins as shields as they attempted to rescue the wounded. but not all of them could be reached. we're told 22 died in this area alone. a man called thata was among those protesting in the township. he told the bbc what he saw. they started shooting with the light ammunition. there were a lot of dead bodies _ ammunition. there were a lot of dead bodies in _ ammunition. there were a lot of dead bodies in front of my eyes. but we can even_ bodies in front of my eyes. but we can even try— bodies in front of my eyes. but we can even try to take them or grab the injured — can even try to take them or grab the injured people or grab the bodies — the injured people or grab the bodies it— the injured people or grab the bodies. it was really intense. even the ambulance cannot go through to take the _ the ambulance cannot go through to take the dead bodies or to take the injured _ take the dead bodies or to take the injured people. the military has declared martial law in districts of mandalay and yangon — that means protesters can be tried in military courts — which are largely held in secret. here's south east asia correspondentjonathan head. it's not just it's notjust that it's not just that this appears to be a strategy with no soft side to it. from the military authorities to crash this movement through sheer terror, shock and random violence. but the attitude of soldiers and police come that's what's really stunned people. police and soldiers almost laughing at picking people off of their high velocity rifles from the bridge. they have basically gone to war with their own people. and picking them off as though they are hunting it when people go to try and help others who have been shot they are being picked off. china has a history of close relations with myanmar�*s military. and some anti—coup protesters allege that beijing backed its coup. and over the weekend this happened. this is reported to be smoke after several chinese—funded factories near yangon were set alight. there are 100 factories of this type in the area and china's embassy in yangon says 32 were targeted. and this china's foreign ministry on what happened. it's unclear who is behind the attack. next let's hearfrom annie zaman — a journalist in yangon. the protesters, they've been walking in straight lines, they have been coming and dispersing before the security divorces come and attack them —— security forces. when we saw these factories associated with chinese owners set on fire, so the defence story coming out and some people are saying it's the military that did this and some say if the protesters but they are not clear, no witnesses or footage coming out of actually who did it. it's important because china is playing a very important role. people believe that china can actually negotiate and to make a bigger role in the country. that's it for this half an hour, plenty more in the stories we've been covering on the bbc news website. hello there. monday we had quite a mixture of weather around for the uk. for many of us there's quite a bit of cloud around but which is a bit of cloud around but which is a bit of cloud around but which is a bit of sunshine, for example here across the west midlands, however further east across the east midlands, across the west yorkshire area down towards london in the southeast we had some shower clouds and one of those showers passing through the london area there's that line of shower clouds on a satellite picture. as the northwest have got some thicker cloud looking and this is our next weather system. there's going to be bringing more general rain as we go through the night and for some of us on into tuesday as well. let's dive into the forecast detail then, and wet weather working across scotland and northern ireland with the rain sinking southwards across northern england, north wales. across the midlands later in the night and we eventually arrive across east anglia. perhaps the far southeast of england right towards the end of the night starting to pick up on some of that reign. given the cloud it's good to be a relatively mild night, temperatures about seven to 10 celsius. and for tuesdayis about seven to 10 celsius. and for tuesday is whether france will continue their journey southwards tuesday is whether france will continue theirjourney southwards in eastwards, behind this cold front we are going to see the weather improves significantly. so scotland and northern ireland quickly will see the back of the rain and the sunshine will come out. further south england and wales cloudy with some rain still around for the morning, in fact the rain could still linger across parts of east anglia and the far southeast even into the afternoon. for most of us the weather will cheer up sunny spells breaking through. temperature similar to those of the day but probably feeling a little bit fresher as the sunshine starts to come out later in the day. for wednesday, high pressure is in charge of the forecast for most of us. dry and fine of the sunshine england and wales, scotland sees a week weather front working and that's going to be bringing some thicker cloud with an odd patch of rain. no great amount from that it will be mainly affecting the north of scotland. chapters ten to 1a, some of the highest overtures across the south of wales. end of the week sees high—pressure so to the west of the uk but we will start to get some of these colder north easterly winds blowing in across east anglia and across parts of southern england and that will really knock the temperatures down. in mark eight to 70 curies through friday and saturday but factor in that risk northeasterly wind and it will feel even colder than that. across most of england, wales, norther ireland and scotland this is quite cloudy but try, it temperatures into double figures. hello, i'm ros atkins. this is 0utside source. drip slams the break on astrazeneca. translation: the decision which is being taken is to suspend as a precaution suspending the vaccination from astrazeneca. but suspending the vaccination from astrazeneca-— suspending the vaccination from astrazeneca. �* , , ., astrazeneca. but because of happen but there is no _ astrazeneca. but because of happen but there is no evidence _ astrazeneca. but because of happen but there is no evidence they - astrazeneca. but because of happen but there is no evidence they are - but there is no evidence they are caused by the vaccine. 0ne described the move is baffling, germany as well as france are the latest to withhold its use. covid cases continue to rise in europe. much of the country in italy has gone into a third locked down. and we will also talk about the protests which are continuing in myanmar because the violent response continues too. more than a0 people were killed by police on sunday. you'd be forgiven for asking — what on earth is going on with the astrazeneca vaccine in europe? in january there were bitter words about delays in its supply. there was an insistence that the eu would act as one on vaccines. and president mccrone question how effective it is for older people while the european regulator created for useful site —— president macron. and now in march — some eu countries including france and germany have suspended its use. without waiting for the european regulator. that has prompted this senior global health researcher says... they wouldn't use that word — but this is what is happening — and the reasons some are baffled. last week norway, iceland, denmark, lithuania, latvia and estonia suspended the use of astrazeneca's vaccine. a small number of people out of several million had experienced blood clots. the decision was taken despite the who and the european medicines agency both saying there is no evidence of a link between the vaccine and blood clots. also last week italy suspended the use of one batch of astrazeneca because a soldier had a cardiac arrest. it's very rare for a particular batch of a vaccine to be a particular problem. there was no evidence of a link between the cardiac arrest and the vaccine. and astrazeneca has run its own tests and found no issues. now france, italy, germany, spain, ireland and the netherlands have fully suspended this vaccine's use. here's the german health minister. translation: the german government is suspending i vaccination with astrazeneca as a preventative measure. this is due to new cases of cerebral vein thrombosis reported in connection with the vaccine. these countries are pointing to norway, where four people, three of whom are under 50, are being treated in hospital. the medical director at the norweigan medicines agency says... as of course does everyone. but then we have this from astrazeneca's chief medical officer who says... that's right — the rate of blood clots is lower than we'd expect anyway. and those taking the decision admit, they're being cautious. this is ireland's deputy chief medical officer who says... we don't need to wait a week for that — it's happening. and the reason is that these decisions aren't being taken in a vaccum. as one of germany's leading doctors puts it... and these national regulators in the eu know that this vaccine already has a reputation problem. look at this headline from zib two news in austria. "problem—stoff" = "problem med" — in other words this vaccine is a problem — despite it being cleared for use by the eu's regulator. and these was belgium's largest vaccination centre in february. far from busy. the guardian reported that by the end of last month, four out of five astrazeneca jabs delivered to the eu had not been used. there are a range of factors here but regulators know some people are reticent to take this vaccine, that its reputation is under pressure. —— they know that these suspensions risk increasing that reticence. they also know there is a cost to a slow vaccine roll—out. as natasha loderfrom the the economist tweets... the head of the group who made this vaccine makes a similar point. and while the eu shifts its position on this vaccine — the uk has adminsitered 11 million doses. and the roll—out goes on. we continue to be a very confident about the programme and it is very great to see it being rolled out at such speed across the uk. now the prime minister hasn't criticised what's being done elsewhere. but not everyone is holding back. this former uk government adviser says... the point being that you cannot apply this level of scientific caution when a your vaccine has a reputation issue despite it being caution when your vaccine has a reputation issue despite it being found to be safe and effective, and second there's a pandemic that urgently needs to be tamed. there's also criticism of the fundamental calculation here. some argue that while these symptoms could be caused by the vaccine, chance is a more likely explanation. the statistician sir david spiegelhalter writes in the guardian... right — but the people across europe taking these decisions are not just me or you looking at a dirty car bonnet and drawing the wrong conclusion. these are leading medical regulators. and they say their decision is about confidence building. perhaps that will work. perhaps it's the best course of action. there is though a risk. if building confidence is the goal, bringing in a raft of suspensions based on far from conclusive data may be, to use emmanuel macron's infamous phrase, quasi—ineffective at doing that. it's not hard to imagine confidence falling because of all these suspensions. and if that happens, that will impact the speed of the vaccine roll—out which in turn will bring a human cost from the virus. these are the calculations each country must make. here in the uk, the prime minister says the government will work to ensure that women have confidence in the police following the death of sarah everard and the outcry over the police's response to a vigil for her on saturday. borisjohnson says he continues to back the metropolitan police commissioner, cressida dick, and that there will be an independent investigation into what happened. by coincidence, parliament is debating a new policing and justice bill today which, amongst other things, will restrict the right to protest. our special correspondent, lucy manning, reports. this is a moment. a moment for the country and women in particular. it has triggered something in so many and although few here will have known sarah everard, they think of her and their own experiences of harassment, abuse or rape. "your stories as ours and ours is yours," the message here. that's why this scene two days ago where reflection turned to resentment towards the police behaviour upset so many. 0fficers dragging away women taking a stand against violence. for those at the vigil on saturday, anger it didn't stay peaceful. the at the vigil on saturday, anger it didn't stay peaceful.— at the vigil on saturday, anger it didn't stay peaceful. the police in the middle _ didn't stay peaceful. the police in the middle of _ didn't stay peaceful. the police in the middle of the _ didn't stay peaceful. the police in the middle of the bejeweled - didn't stay peaceful. the police ml the middle of the bejeweled made didn't stay peaceful. the police in i the middle of the bejeweled made a clear decision to do enforcement and it was at that point that they went up it was at that point that they went up to the bandstand that the mood changed individual and people became distressed and upset. —— in the middle of that vigil. given the fact there was a load of burly men going up there was a load of burly men going up to the bands and stopping women speaking. up to the bands and stopping women s-ueakin. , ., ., a _ up to the bands and stopping women sheakin, , ., ., �*, ,y ., ., speaking. georgina ashby was also at the vi . il and speaking. georgina ashby was also at the vigil and on _ speaking. georgina ashby was also at the vigil and on her _ speaking. georgina ashby was also at the vigil and on her way _ speaking. georgina ashby was also at the vigil and on her way home - speaking. georgina ashby was also at the vigil and on her way home when l the vigil and on her way home when she saw man exposing himself. it was she saw man exposing himself. it was a u-rou she saw man exposing himself. it was a a-rou of she saw man exposing himself. it was a group of about _ she saw man exposing himself. it was a group of about five _ she saw man exposing himself. it was a group of about five or _ she saw man exposing himself. it was a group of about five or six _ she saw man exposing himself. it was a group of about five or six police - a group of about five or six police officers _ a group of about five or six police officers and — a group of about five or six police officers and i went up and said hey there _ officers and i went up and said hey there is— officers and i went up and said hey there is a — officers and i went up and said hey there is a man who has his genitalia out, i_ there is a man who has his genitalia out, ifeet— there is a man who has his genitalia out, i feel really uncomfortable, it is scary _ out, i feel really uncomfortable, it is scary can— out, i feel really uncomfortable, it is scary can you please go check it out? _ is scary can you please go check it out? and — is scary can you please go check it out? and a — is scary can you please go check it out? and a female officer was like 0k, out? and a female officer was like ok. let's — out? and a female officer was like ok, let's go for some and a male 0k, let's go for some and a male officer— ok, let's go for some and a male officer said — ok, let's go for some and a male officer said no we are not dealing with this, — officer said no we are not dealing with this, we have had enough of the writers _ with this, we have had enough of the writers tonight we will not deal with that. ., ., with that. how did that we view feelin: with that. how did that we view feeling they _ with that. how did that we view feeling they did _ with that. how did that we view feeling they did not _ with that. how did that we view feeling they did not take - with that. how did that we view feeling they did not take any i feeling they did not take any action? it feeling they did not take any action? . , feeling they did not take any action? , action? it was disappointing. i would not _ action? it was disappointing. i would not say _ action? it was disappointing. i would not say it _ action? it was disappointing. i would not say it is _ action? it was disappointing. i would not say it is necessarily| action? it was disappointing. i. would not say it is necessarily an issue _ would not say it is necessarily an issue with — would not say it is necessarily an issue with police on the ground from it they— issue with police on the ground from it they are _ issue with police on the ground from it they are listening from the top of the _ it they are listening from the top of the need to be a systematic change — of the need to be a systematic change because of the prime minister said the _ change because of the prime minister said the pictures from the vigil were _ said the pictures from the vigil were distressing but he still had full confidence in the head of the metropolitan police cressida dick. people _ metropolitan police cressida dick. people must feel and what women must feel that when they make serious complaints about violence, about assault that they are properly heard and properly addressed. in and properly addressed. in westminster, a few hundred people gathered to demonstrate against attacks on women and about the commons debate this evening on new laws for the police and courts. tao laws for the police and courts. too man of laws for the police and courts. too many of us — laws for the police and courts. too many of us have _ laws for the police and courts. trrr: many of us have walked home from school or work alone on wheat to hear footsteps uncomfortably close behind us. too many of us have pretended to be on the phone to a friend to scare someone off. too many of us have clutched our keys and our fists many of us have clutched our keys and ourfists in case many of us have clutched our keys and our fists in case we needed to defend ourselves, and that is not ok. it defend ourselves, and that is not ok. , , defend ourselves, and that is not ok. ,, ., ., ._ 0k. it is still so emotionally charted 0k. it is still so emotionally charged here. _ 0k. it is still so emotionally charged here. men - 0k. it is still so emotionally charged here. men and - 0k. it is still so emotionally i charged here. men and women standing, many of the women are in tears. it has certainly touched something and if the spark was the death of sarah everard and the flashpoint the police clearing the vigil, then the focus has to be on the police and the politicians and stopping the attacks and harassment of women. at the heart of all this, sarah everard. police searching in sandwich and can't today as they widen the investigation to find out how she was murdered. lucy manning, bbc news. meanwhile millions have rallied in australia outside of cwmbran. her report complaint —— it contains flash photography. ads, contains flash photography. political system they say has let them down. i have been honked at, i have been grouped in bars, and i think it is time that everyone takes responsibility for this issue. i responsibility for this issue. i want a better future for my girls and i_ want a better future for my girls and i want — want a better future for my girls and i want my boys to understand the seriousness _ and i want my boys to understand the seriousness of these issues. as a woman, seriousness of these issues. as a woman. it _ seriousness of these issues. as a woman. it is _ seriousness of these issues. as a woman, it is almost _ seriousness of these issues. as a woman, it is almost wrong i seriousness of these issues. as a woman, it is almost wrong to feel angry~ _ woman, it is almost wrong to feel angry but — woman, it is almost wrong to feel angry but i — woman, it is almost wrong to feel angry but i feel— woman, it is almost wrong to feel angry. but i feel angry. _ woman, it is almost wrong to feel angry. but i feel angry.— angry. but i feel angry. they marched _ angry. but i feel angry. they marched in _ angry. but i feel angry. they marched in more _ angry. but i feel angry. they marched in more than i angry. but i feel angry. they marched in more than 40 i angry. but i feel angry. they i marched in more than 40 towns angry. but i feel angry— marched in more than ao towns and marched in more than a0 towns and cities. the biggest was here in canberra home to parliament house, the country's seat of power. this is where brittany higgins, a former political adviser to the liberal party, alleges a male colleague had raped her. she says her experience reflects a dismal reality for many women. my story was on the front page for the sole reason that it is a painful reminder to women that if it can happen in parliament house, it can truly happen anywhere. applause. shutters click. in a separate claim, australia's attorney general christian porter has vigorously denied allegations that he raped a 16—year—old girl in 1988, long before he entered politics. the prime minister scott morrison has been under mounting pressure to launch an independent inquiry but has so far refused. he praised the peaceful rallies, but he's been accused of being tone deaf for suggesting a comparison with countries where protesters can be shot. this is a vibrant, liberal democracy, mr speaker. not farfrom here, such marches even now are being met with bullets. but not here in this country, mr speaker. groaning. this is a triumph of democracy when we see these things take place. the controversy of these rape allegations and the way they've been handled have rocked the government and touched a nerve with australian women. many are furious at what they say is a culture of no accountability among politicians and a leadership that is out of touch with their struggles. stay with me here in outside source, we will hear how the un special envoy to syria says that the cease—fire there may be achievable after ten years of war. new measures have been promised to improve bus services in england including cheaper, greener and more frequent services and miles of new bus lanes. the government says its aim is to encourage more people to take the bus rather than use their car. here's transport correspondent caroline davies. it's the route in, it's the route out, so how well it works can affect your life. buses to southfields northampton run every 30 minutes, but never on sundays. like, as it is now, we are not getting any increments in our salaries but the buses are rising, so it's really expensive. today, the prime minister announced the government's plan to improve buses, including introducing a,000 hydrogen or electric buses. this is an investment in the long—term future of this country. it's an investment in driving down carbon emissions, in making the uk one of the world's leaders in clean, green technology. the government say they also want simpler bus fares, more services, contactless payments and more bus lanes. local authorities will have to work with bus operators to make a legally binding plan that meets the government's priorities, in order to secure some of the £3 billion of funding. the idea behind the government plan is that this would create a positive cycle. so, for instance, if more bus lanes were introduced, buses would move faster, they would be more reliable, more people would want to use them and, therefore, there would be more money in the system. sally keeble was the local mp here and campaigns for bus services. she doesn't think this amount of money is enough. i'm sure that some local authorities will be able to cope with it very well, but to expect them all to be able to put plans in place within a year in order to qualify for the money, i think, is unrealistic. the liberal democrats say the plan won't return routes cut over the years. the green party welcomed it but said that the government needs to stop the fuel duty freeze which has cut the cost of driving, if it wants a bus revolution. after months of being told not to take public transport, the first challenge will be to get the public back on board. caroline davies, bbc news, northampton. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is... more european countries have halted astrazeneca's coronavirus vaccine — over blood clots — despite there being no evidence the two are linked. ten years ago today protests started in several syrian cities to call for the removal of president bashar al—assad's regime. the peaceful uprising was met with a violent clampdown which then spiralled into a full—scale civil war. hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the violence that's followed — and millions have been displaced from their homes. inevitably, this has also had a devastating effect on the economy. 80% of syrians live in poverty which according to the un means earning less than $1 a day. the price of a basic basket of food has gone up by 230% this year alone. and prices shift a great deal — sometimes within a single day. ten years ago, 1$ us bought a7 syrian pounds. today, 1$ goes on the black market for a,000 syrian pounds. the un special envoy for syria geir pedersen addressed the un security council today — and spoke to our chief international correspondent lyse doucet. the suffering is unimaginable. and my message to the syrian people is that i also regret on behalf of the united nations that we have not been able to ameliorate the weight of this conflict. —— to mediate in discomfort. but my message is also is that this is not also on the united nations. we need a different kind of cooperation if we are to succeed in stopping this. you are the fourth _ succeed in stopping this. you are the fourth un — succeed in stopping this. you are the fourth un special— succeed in stopping this. you are the fourth un special envoy i succeed in stopping this. you are the fourth un special envoy in i succeed in stopping this. you are| the fourth un special envoy in ten years. all of your predecessors said the same thing. some of them resign because there was not this kind of international cooperation. why would they listen now? for international cooperation. why would they listen now?— they listen now? for the first time in ten years. _ they listen now? for the first time in ten years. the _ they listen now? for the first time in ten years, the front _ they listen now? for the first time in ten years, the front lines i they listen now? for the first time in ten years, the front lines in i in ten years, the front lines in syria have not change. we have what i call a fragile... this creates opportunity because when i talk to all my international partners, they all my international partners, they all emphasised that they understand that no one can dictate the outcome of the conflict in syria. but of course it still requires difficult political concessions to be able to move forward in this way. it political concessions to be able to move forward in this way.- move forward in this way. it has been said _ move forward in this way. it has been said time _ move forward in this way. it has been said time and _ move forward in this way. it has been said time and again i move forward in this way. it has been said time and again there| move forward in this way. it has. been said time and again there is move forward in this way. it has i been said time and again there is no military solution but if you look at the ground, isn't there the reality that there has been a military solution that it is president assad's forces backed by strong and loyal allies in russia, iran, his brother of lebanon that have prevailed militarily? —— hezbollah. and when you say no one can dictate from it they are dictating this is why i say we are at a new stage of development. why i say we are at a new stage of development-— why i say we are at a new stage of development. why i say we are at a new stage of develoment. �* .. , ., , ., development. because i do believe of course that no — development. because i do believe of course that no one _ development. because i do believe of course that no one can _ development. because i do believe of course that no one can tell _ development. because i do believe of course that no one can tell whether. course that no one can tell whether the relative calm they're having now with that that will continue or not. but that is why i am saying we need to develop that column into a nationwide cease—fire... and based on that, give priority and i know it hasn't happened before but it needs to happen this time that they give priority to read political solution. and let's be honest yes the government looks better now than what it did in 2015 but still, it's a disaster for the syrian people what is going on today where if the economy is in complete ruins, the currency has lost its value, and we have nine out of ten syrians living in poverty. lyse is here. i'm listening to the un talking about building on the relative calm but are the different sides even talking to each other? he but are the different sides even talking to each other?— talking to each other? he has focused his _ talking to each other? he has focused his efforts _ talking to each other? he has focused his efforts in - talking to each other? he has focused his efforts in the i talking to each other? he has focused his efforts in the last| talking to each other? he has i focused his efforts in the last two years on trying to get a constitutional committee off the ground. there has been five rounds of meetings. the last one he just said we can't go on like this. i'm so disappointed. every single proposal he brought was rejected by the government in damascus and there is something i kept hearing from military commanders from diplomats, from political members of president assad's cabinet. whenever we asked them about the territory still held by the opposition and now it is in a small northwestern corner most of it under the control of some islamist groups now, they would always swear, "we want to take back every single inch of syria." and this is what president assad has said. what pedersen is saying is there is not this calm, this area that is under the control of the opposition, most of the country is under the control of the country is under the control of president assad's forces, there are five different foreign armies also controlling different areas in syria but now there is the time where there is not as much fighting to get together and try to move towards a cease—fire in a negotiated way out. and he warned that if there is not this kind of new international cooperation, that the syrian war could drag on for another decade and that would be absolutely catastrophic in what is already as we have been hearing a calamitous situation. to we have been hearing a calamitous situation. ., ., ., ., ., situation. to follow that through, is the un then _ situation. to follow that through, is the un then open _ situation. to follow that through, is the un then open to _ situation. to follow that through, is the un then open to the i is the un then open to the possibility that syria as an entire territorial entity may not be reunited?— reunited? that's very, very sensitive. _ reunited? that's very, very sensitive. i— reunited? that's very, very sensitive. i don't _ reunited? that's very, very sensitive. i don't think i reunited? that's very, very| sensitive. i don't think they reunited? that's very, very i sensitive. i don't think they would want that. the syrian government, president assad's forces emphasise this sovereignty issue when it is the reason why they don't even allow humanitarian access to deliver badly needed food for the iraqi border, through the turkish border if they are not controlled by president assad's security forces. no, this is a step towards a power—sharing, that there has to be a syrian government acceptable to all syrians. it's a very, very big ask but pedersen's job is to be optimistic and try to build on the hope that syrians still have, to try and move towards a different kind of syria. he admits it will be difficult but what is the alternative?— it will be difficult but what is the alternative? ,, , ., , . alternative? think you very much indeed. the european union has begun legal action against britain — saying it has breached the brexit agreement. last week the uk government announced it would delay the start of enhanced checks on goods moving into northern ireland from the rest of the uk. both sides had agreed those checks would start, a few months after brexit. but the uk has now said it will put them off — for another six months. we'll return to this map in a moment. the eu today wrote to the british government saying delaying those checks violated "a duty of good faith" and... here's nick beake in brussels. there were due to be some checks that were coming in, as you say, next month and that would have affected parcels, food or pets and the british government has said that supermarkets and other people in northern ireland need a bit more time, really, to adjust to the post—brexit reality. the european union says you cannotjust unilaterally decide to do this sort of thing. and so this legal process has started. border checks in the irish sea were deemed necessary because — whilst the rest of the uk left the eu's customs area when brexit happened — northern ireland did not. that was deemed necessary in order to protect peace on the island of ireland — so that the land border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland to the south could remain without any checks. that matters to the nationalist community which wants a united ireland. the sea border though causes issues for another community, the unionists who have always strenuously opposed checks between what is two parts of the uk. they see them as a threat to northern ireland's status as an integral part of the uk — something they want to protect. here's the uk prime minister. it was very, very important that the wishes and consent of both the communities in northern ireland should be properly reflected in the outcome and that it should guarantee notjust outcome and that it should guarantee not just trade outcome and that it should guarantee notjust trade and movement north—south but east—west as well and that is all we are trying to sort out. this disagreement clearly isn't going to be resolved any time soon. let's get more from nick beake... it's a reflection of the growing mistrust between the two sides. you had lord frost, who people may remember was the chief british negotiator who now has been rewarded with a job in boris johnson's cabinet. he wrote a newspaper article about a week or so ago saying that the european union needed to get rid of the ill will it felt towards the uk. that some people really had not come to terms with brexit. and that sort of language was being seen a little bit on both sides a little bit of needling. and people of course in northern ireland in particular would say there's a big impact here because lots of lives are being affected by this. we've seen supermarkets being short of some goods over the past three or four months since the brexit deal came in because of checks. and this sort of slightly darkening mood is not a good thing. one thing i should say, is that behind the scenes today some nick finishes the programme. bye—bye. hello there. monday we had quite a mixture of weather around the uk. for many of us there's quite a bit of cloud around but we saw a bit of sunshine, for example here across the west midlands, however further east across the east midlands, across the west yorkshire area down towards london in the southeast we had some shower clouds and one of those showers passing through the london area and there's that line of shower clouds on a satellite picture. but the northwest has got some thicker cloud looking and this is our next weather system. there's going to be bringing more general rain as we go through the night and for some of us on into tuesday as well. let's dive into the forecast detail then, and wet weather working across scotland and northern ireland with the rain sinking southwards across northern england, north wales. across the midlands later in the night and eventually arriving across east anglia. perhaps the far southeast of england right towards the end of the night starting to pick up on some of that reign. given the cloud it's going to be a relatively mild night, temperatures about seven to 10 celsius. and for tuesday is whether france will continue their journey southwards in eastwards, behind this cold front we are going to see the weather improve significantly. so scotland and northern ireland quickly will see the back of the rain and the sunshine will come out. further south england and wales cloudy with some rain still around for the morning, in fact the rain could still linger across parts of east anglia and the far southeast even into the afternoon. for most of us the weather will cheer up with sunny spells breaking through. temperature similar to those of the day but probably feeling a little bit fresher as the sunshine starts to come out later in the day. forwednesday, high pressure is in charge of the forecast for most of us. dry and fine of the sunshine england and wales, scotland sees a week weather front working and that's going to be bringing some thicker cloud with an odd patch of rain. no great amount from that, it will be mainly affecting the north of scotland. 10—1a celsius, some of the highest overtures across the south of wales. end of the week sees high pressure so to the west of the uk but we will start to get some of these colder north easterly winds blowing in across east anglia and across parts of southern england and that will really knock the temperatures down. 7—8 degrees through friday and saturday but factor in that risk northeasterly wind and it will feel even colder than that. across most of england, wales, northern ireland and scotland this is quite cloudy but try, it temperatures into double figures. this is bbc news, i'm tim willcox. the headlines at 8pm. pulling the jab — at least for now. france, germany, and italy are among several countries to suspend the use of the astrazeneca vaccine over safety fears. a small number of people out of the millions who've had the vaccine have suffered blood clots — experts here insist it is safe. more protests outside westminster this evening after the police handling of the sarah everard vigil, but the home secretary warns people to follow covid restrictions. the right to protest as the cornerstone of our democracy but the government's duty remains to prevent more lives being lost in this pandemic. a plan for more, cheaper and greener buses in england to get us out of our cars. after a year of coronavirus, senior government figures tell say