of biblical texts dating almost from the time of christ. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. sweden and latvia are the latest eu member states to suspend use of the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine following concerns about possible side—effects. france, germany, spain and italy have all said they're awaiting the conclusions of an investigation by the european medicines agency which are due on thursday. but the agency has already said today there's �*no indication�* that the astrazeneca vaccine causes side—effects such as blood clots. our medical editor fergus walsh has more details. this vaccine saves lives, of that there is no doubt. and yet in the middle of a pandemic, with thousands dying every day in europe from covid. germany, france, italy, more than a dozen eu countries have temporarily suspended using the astrazeneca jab. why? the concern is blood clots. astrazeneca says there have been 37 incidents of blood clots in the uk and eu, but that is following i7 millionjabs. in germany, seven rare clots in the brain and three deaths have been recorded. the european medicines agency is investigating each case, but says the overall rate of clots is no higher than you would expect in the general population. at present, there is no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions. they have not come up in the clinical trials and they are not listed as known or expected side effects with this vaccine. germany's health ministry said it won't be responsible to keep using the astrazeneca vaccine without a re—evaluation, but the eu safety regulator says the suspension is unnecessary. we are still firmly convinced that the benefits of the astrazeneca vaccine in preventing covid—i9, with its associated risks of hospitalisation and death, outweigh the risk of these side effects. take up of covid vaccines here is among the highest in the world. and scientists hope public confidence will not be undermined. i think it's very important that people don't worry at the moment, i mean this, this is being sorted out, it's being looked into, but at the moment, there doesn't appear to be any signal that would make us feel concerned about risk of clotting. i would be much more worried about not being vaccinated than being vaccinated. the european medicines agency also publish its safety review on thursday. if it gives the astrazeneca jab the all clear, france has said it will start reusing it immediately. but the fear is the pause may increase vaccine hesitancy, and that alone could cost lives. fergus walsh, bbc news. meanwhile, the world health organisation has urged african countries not to lose faith in the astrazeneca jab. many parts of the continent are relying on doses which are being delivered as part of the covax global sharing initiative. the bbc�*s rhoda odi—hambo has more. out of the 55 african countries here, it is only the democratic republic of the congo that suspended the roll—out of the vaccine, and this was of course as a precautionary measure, looking at what was happening in europe last week when denmark and norway and austria were the first european countries to temporarily suspend the roll—out of the vaccine following the number of people who reported to be having blood clots after being inoculated. but we've seen countries like nigeria, senegal and even kenya, where the government in these countries have come out and said that the vaccine is still safe for use because echoing what has been said by the who, the africa cdc and even the european medical agency, the benefits outweigh the risks that are currently being reported right now. so, looking at how the oxford astrazeneca vaccine is one that has been touted as one that's safe for the continent. they're advising people to still use it because the situation right now is we're better off using it than not using it. it's good to mention that africa is not looking at the rolling out of vaccines as a sprinting approach. we are rolling it out into phases, even though critics have cited that the continent will not have a problem in rolling out vaccines because of the mass vaccination campaigns like measles and polio that it used to carry out all year. through so many countries, once they receive the vaccine, they take about two to three days to see how they're going to roll it out, and this has also helped african countries to know how they are going to distribute the vaccines across other parts of countries. the uk has announced that it will shift its focus towards indo—pacific countries as part of a post—brexit foreign policy overhaul. the review also includes efforts to increase britain's stockpile of nuclear weapons by the middle of the decade and to do more on what is described as the "systemic challenge" of china. this report by our diplomatic correspondent james landale includes some flash photography. for years britain's place in the world was defined by its relationship with the european union and the united states. but brexit changed that. now the government's promising a new approach to foreign affairs. one the prime minister said would keep people safe at home. for us there are no far away countries of which we know little. global britain is not a reflection of old obligations, still less a vainglorious gesture but a necessity for the safety and prosperity of the british people in the decades ahead. one new idea is for britain to focus more on the indo pacific, boosting ties with growing economies like india, where borisjohnson will travel next month. new partnerships with regional groups of south—east asian countries and membership of a trans—pacific free trade agreement and the new aircraft carrier hms elizabeth visiting the region later this year. to hold joint operations with allies, and show britain can project force overseas. but will it be enough? there will be some questions, i think, about the details. what will this actually mean for uk presence on the ground, for the resources it is willing to deploy in the region and to some extent, how much it is willing to listen to demand signals from the region as well? but what will this mean for britain's relationship with china? the report says the uk should pursue a positive relationship with beijing on trade and climate change but still says it presents a systemic challenge to britain. china represents the generational threat and the reason for that is that the idea that china will become more like us as it got richer or as its economy matured is clearly for the birds. the question for any new foreign policy is not what people at the foreign office think, but whether it changes people's lives. will this new focus on asia make people safer and more prosperous or will it neglect britain's interests closer to home? the report insists britain's commitment to euro atlantic security is unequivocal with nato at its heart but there is little about cooperation with europe on regional threats. like russia, which after the salisbury poison attack the report says remains the most acute threat to britain's security. the review rightly identifies russia as the number one threat that we face, both at home and abroad, but there was no strategy to work with our european partners to try to deal with that challenge, there was no strategy to repair our defences at home. to help tackle new threats there will be a white house—style situation room near downing street, and a new counter—terrorism operation centre and the cap on britain's stockpile of nuclear warheads will be lifted because of what the report says is the evolving security environment. an old school weapon for what is supposed to be a new strategy. james landale, bbc news. veerle nouwens is from the royal united services institute, where her research focuses on china's foreign policy. thank on china's foreign policy. you forjoining us here or news. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. so china is a strategic threat and yet whilst acknowledging that in confronting china of certain issues like hong kong wants to deepen its trading relationship. i5 like hong kong wants to deepen its trading relationship.— trading relationship. is that possible? _ trading relationship. is that possible? that's _ trading relationship. is that possible? that's the - trading relationship. is that - possible? that's the million-dollar possible? that's the million—dollar question that everyone is asking. it's very difficult to balance all of those interests vis—a—vis a country like china. nevertheless, i think the uk government has made it clear that china is reality, it's fair to say, the uk has to find a way to engage with it. not as global challenges whether that being climate are held but also because the economy simply is the number two economy, at that number one economy in the world and it's on the uk will have to engage with. so i think instead the government has sought to emphasise risk mitigation internally as well as how we can use partnerships abroad to really short of those issues like supply chains on critical components like other challenges they share like china. interesting that interesting lincoln is in the region at the moment with the defence secretary as well. he specifically warned china against coercion and aggression. britain has sent a warship to the region as well. how is china going to react to that? while the rest of the world is worried about china's territorial ambitions china won't want anyone interfering with what they will call their own domestic policy. yeah and we've seen — their own domestic policy. yeah and we've seen china _ their own domestic policy. yeah and we've seen china go _ their own domestic policy. yeah and we've seen china go through - their own domestic policy. yeah and we've seen china go through a - we've seen china go through a difficult period with the uk diplomatically following the passage of hms albion in 2018. having said that, when it came to banning quality at last year we didn't really see a massive push back on china from that. instead the papers were saying that whilst china needed to think of ways to retaliate and really stand up for itself it didn't need to have relationships spiral completely out of control. and the economic relationship is still very important. it will be interesting to see how china does respond to the uk. ~ , ., ~ see how china does respond to the uk. ~ ~ uk. when you think about the military build-up, _ uk. when you think about the military build-up, the - uk. when you think about the military build-up, the fact - uk. when you think about the | military build-up, the fact that military build—up, the fact that china's pass that law saying its coast guards can fire on shipping in certain areas of the south china sea. the scope for miscalculation here internationally, is narrowing, isn't it? i here internationally, is narrowing, isn't it? ~ . , here internationally, is narrowing, isn't it? ~ ., , ., , isn't it? i think as more countries and more — isn't it? i think as more countries and more players _ isn't it? i think as more countries and more players become - isn't it? i think as more countries. and more players become involved then sure, there is a risk for miscalculation. but even where we have seen close encounters over the past few years we have seen countries act very professionally and avoid some of these potential collisions that happens. i think there's an emphasis on professionalism, adhering to international law and exercising as you are allowed to and rightfully able to do under international law. and try to make that message very clear to china that the uk like others just as they are allowed to. let's get some of the day's other news. president biden has embarked on a series of visits across the united states to promote the covid relief plan he signed into law last week. his first stop was pennsylvania, where he visited a small business. the $1.9 trillion programme is popular with most americans, despite the fact that no republicans in congress voted in favour. reports from niger say more than fifty people have been killed during attacks near the border with mali. in one incident, gunmen shot passengers on a bus before setting it alight. an islamist insurgency has spread across the sahel in recent years. scientists believe they've found out what happened to the water that flowed across the surface of mars billions of years ago. writing in the journal science, they say vast quantities of liquid became trapped in minerals below the planet's crust. researchers have been trying to solve the mystery for decades. the evidence comes from rovers on the martian surface and orbiting spacecraft. there is a crisis on america's southern border — a surge of unaccompanied children trying to get into america from mexico. from mid february to mid march us border agents picked up some 400 children every day. now they are stuck in detention facilities — in scenes we remember all too well from just a few years ago. the reason for the dramatic increase in numbers is a change of policy. under president biden kids with no guardians are allowed to stay in america while their claims are being processed. some of the children grew up in mexico, many of them were simply passing through. they bagan theirjournies in places like honduras, el salvador, and guatemala. the bbc�*s central america correspondent will grant explains. unaccompanied minors come from what's known as the northern triangle in central america. that's honduras, guatemala and el salvador. and this latest push, surge, obviously there is language we want to avoid of ways and things like this. but certainly there's large number of people arriving at the border, unaccompanied minors are often from those parts of the region. but increasingly they are from mexico too. why? partly because of the covid pandemic and the restrictions in the economic downturn across this region. things are extremely ugly in central america right now. this is no exaggeration to talk about a crisis in guatemala, in honduras too. but i've always been struck by the unaccompanied migrants i've met on the road. and i was speaking to one a few years ago about 15 in guatemala and hejust set off on his own. that's really where he was carrying the economic hopes of his family is a pretty standard story. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: from wednesday, all uber drivers in the uk will be classed as workers, not self—employed with big implications for the wider economy. today, we have closed the book on apartheid, and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision. all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself was on a pedestal | in the middle of the cabinet here. | now, this was an international trophy, and we understand - now that the search for it has i become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is bbc news, the latest headlines... the eu medicines regulator says it remains "firmly convinced" of the benefits of astrazeneca's coronavirus vaccine — despite several european countries suspending its use over side effects concerns. the prime minister borisjohnson has set out his plan to reshape the uk's foreign policy — there'll be more spending on defence, including nuclear weapons and a focus towards the indo—pacific region. the duke of edinburgh is back home at windsor castle, having left hospital this morning, after a month—long stay. prince philip, who's 99, has been treated for an unspecified infection and a heart condition. his stay coincided with the controversial interview given by duke and duchess of sussex when allegations of racism and a lack of mental health support were levelled at the royal family. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. shielded by a screen, a patient, evidently in a wheelchair, was brought out from the king edward vii hospital to a waiting vehicle. moments later, the vehicle left with the duke of edinburgh safely aboard. as the car drove away, photographers caught sight of him sitting in the rear of the vehicle. little has been said by the palace about the reasons for his hospital stay other than he had been suffering from an infection and an unspecified pre—existing heart condition. but the treatment, evidently having been successful, he was on his way to be reunited with the queen at windsor. for the royalfamily, it was welcome news. the prince of wales was visiting a vaccination clinic at finsbury park mosque in north london when the news about his father was confirmed. and had he had a chance to speak to his father? the queen has continued with her official programme throughout her husband's stay in hospital, marking commonwealth day among other things, as well as coping with the fallout from the us television interview given by the sussexes. gayle, you spoke with the couple over the weekend. let's break some news. what did they say? on that, the aftermath of the sussex interview, one of meghan�*s friends, a us breakfast tv presenter has been sharing with her viewers what the couple told her at the weekend. i did actually call them to see how they were feeling, and it is true that harry has talked to his brother and his father too. the word i was given was that those conversations were not productive, but they are glad that they have at least started the conversation. fanfare. here the family's focus is firmly on the duke of edinburgh. in less than 90 days it will be his 100th birthday, and it will be a matter of reassurance to his family that his four weeks in hospital are now over and that doctors have decided he is well enough to return home. nicholas witchell, bbc news. from wednesday, more than 70,000 uber drivers across the uk will be classified as workers instead of being self employed. it's a far—reaching change following a ruling in the uk supreme court which gives the drivers the right to holiday pay, a pension and the minimum wage. uber had tried to limit the changes to those who were involved in the court case but that's now changed. the ruling could have huge implications for the so—called gig economy, the part of the service industry mostly involving freelance or temporary positions. our transport correspondent caroline davies has the story. it was the company that shook up the system, but today the system seems to have caught up with uber. after last month's verdict by the supreme court, it's announced that from tomorrow, all of its drivers will be classed as workers. for years, politicians and unions have said that you have been playing fast and loose with employment rights. does this not prove that they were right all along? i think the situation for employment in the uk has been ambiguous for some time. you've taken advantage of those ambiguities, haven't you? we have worked as hard as we can to try and provide drivers with a good way of earning, the flexibility that they want and the protections that they have. but we can now go further than we've gone before because of the clarity that the supreme court ruling brings us. drivers will still be able to work when and where they want, the company's minimum wage only applies once a driver accepts a ride. this will be costly to you? we are not expecting to rise prices and we want to remain price competitive. this will come out of the driver's income instead? our expectation is that we can grow the business by treating drivers well and bringing drivers onto the platform, and also by growing with cities as they unlock. tonight onedrive union was pleased with that i wish they had done this years ago. with that i wish they had done this ears a . o. , with that i wish they had done this ears auo. , , . with that i wish they had done this earsauo. , _, ., , years ago. this is a tremendous victory for _ years ago. this is a tremendous victory for working _ years ago. this is a tremendous victory for working people - years ago. this is a tremendous victory for working people in - years ago. this is a tremendous | victory for working people in this country. victory for working people in this count . , . , ., victory for working people in this count. , .,., victory for working people in this count . , .,., ., country. this decision could have implications _ country. this decision could have implications across _ country. this decision could have implications across the _ country. this decision could have implications across the gig - country. this decision could have - implications across the gig economy. huber is probably the most well—known and huber is probably the most well— known and potentially the biggest — well— known and potentially the biggest player of the gig economy. and other— biggest player of the gig economy. and other players will look closely at this _ and other players will look closely at this and — and other players will look closely at this and thinking well, after six years— at this and thinking well, after six years of— at this and thinking well, after six years of litigation huber had to -ive years of litigation huber had to give into— years of litigation huber had to give into the inevitable and agreed that their— give into the inevitable and agreed that their drivers are workers. so we probably need to be doing the same _ we probably need to be doing the same. , ., , ., ., ., same. this move is a fundamental chan . e same. this move is a fundamental change and _ same. this move is a fundamental change and its _ same. this move is a fundamental change and its wand _ same. this move is a fundamental change and its wand that - same. this move is a fundamental change and its wand that will - same. this move is a fundamental change and its wand that will be . change and its wand that will be closely watched around the world. it's a discovery even indiana jones would be proud of. fragments of a biblical scroll and other relics have been found in desert caves in israel. the dozens of pieces of parchment were written in greek, with just the name of god appearing in hebrew. they contain verses from the books of zechariah and nahum, from the hebrew bible. with more, here's david campanale. deep in thejudean desert, close to the dead sea are caves once used by second century jewish rebels. they'd gone into hiding following a failed revolt against roman rule. barely accessible except by abseiling down to them, thousands died here. but hidden with them were biblical treasures the like of which israel has not seen in over half a century. that is until now. israeli archaeologists working to prevent caves in the area from being looted, filmed the moment of their discovery. wow! amazing, amazing one says, three lines, this is exciting. they'd found ancient verses from the books of the prophets zechariah and nahum in the hebrew bible. likely written down in the centuries either side of the birth of christ, the israeli authorities said the scriptures were of immeasurable worth for humanity. for the first time in over 60 years we have fragments of a biblical book that were discovered in our archaeological excavation. it's important to us because this is the first time when such fragments are found in an excavation and brought straight here to our laboratory. the parchment had been written in greek. the language adopted after the conquest ofjudea by alexander the great. the name of god though exclusively appears in hebrew. written at a time when thejews were returning from babylonian captivity, zechariah writes of what's to come from the rebuilding of the temple and jerusalem to a coming messianic king. so the book of zechariah has two figures, our priest and a king who work together to bring about a new holy state. therefore it's a very important book which is quoted in the new testament. searches of the cliffs and caves in thejudean desert have yielded a treasure trove of finds over decades. the archaeologists involved say they hope to keep going with the hope of more discoveries to come. david campanale, bbc news. plenty more on that story and of course all the others on the website if you're watching in the uk. we are backin if you're watching in the uk. we are back in half an hour with another look at the international stories. hello again. it's been a glorious afternoon with lots of spring sunshine on offer and what a beautiful day it has been in the highlands of scotland. take a look at this weather watcher picture. you kind of wish you were there, yeah? for scotland it was the warmest day of the year so far, temperatures reached 15 celsius in edinburgh but it wasn't the warmest spot in the uk. there were a number of the spots that got to 17 celsius — amongst them cardiff, making it wales' warmest day of the year so far as well. now, looking at the weather charts overnight tonight, we're going to start off with those clear skies. temperatures drop away pretty quickly and there may be some clouds to waft in across the far north of scotland, perhaps a few showers there in shetland for a time but for the most part we'll keep those clear skies for the majority of the night. and a colder night than last night. temperatures typically between 3—6 celsius but cold enough for a nip of frost in our very coldest rural areas. high pressure still to the west of the uk on wednesday but this weather system dives southwards across from the north sea and a warm front will move into western scotland thickening the cloud here, bringing the prospect of a few spots of light rain and drizzle. showers meanwhile could affectjust about anywhere across eastern england as we go through wednesday, the best of the sunshine towards the south west but with the winds coming in from a northerly direction, they're coming more across from the cold north sea where sea temperatures are only 6 celsius at the moment and that subtle change in the wind direction means that it's actually going to be quite a cooler day across central and eastern england and across parts of northern and eastern areas of scotland as well. temperatures more typically around ten or 11 but still very mild towards parts of southern wales and south west england. thursday — again, we could see some rain clipping parts of eastern england but otherwise a lot of dry weather. there will be some breaks in the cloud particularly across western areas — so dumfries and galloway, a favoured spot. might see a few breaks towards county down, and certainly north west england, west wales. south west wales and south west england probably seeing some sunshine as well at times. by the end of the week, the high pressure is still there but we're going to be dragging some of these colder winds coming in from the near continent. it's not a bitter arctic blast — nothing like that, but there will be a sharp drop—off in temperatures particularly focused across parts of east anglia and around coastal areas of south east england. margate just 6—7 celsius on friday and the weekend with some strong winds around as well making it feel really quite chilly. elsewhere quite cloudy but temperatures staying in double figures. this is bbc world news, the headlines. the eu medicines regulator says it remains "firmly convinced" of the benefits of astrazeneca's coronavirus vaccine — despite several european countries suspending its use over side effects concerns. the agency will form its final conclusion on thursday. the british prime minister boris johnson has set out his plan to reshape the uk's foreign policy — there'll be more spending on defence, including nuclear weapons and a focus towards the indo—pacific region. president biden is embarking on a series of visits across the united states to promote his $1.9 trillion covid relief plan, which he signed into law last week. the duke of edinburgh has left hospital in london, after spending four weeks under medical care. prince philip, who's 99, did not speak as he began hisjourney back to windsor castle, but waved at groups of wellwishers.