hello and welcome. parts of france will re—enter lockdown from saturday, as the country fears a third wave of coronavirus infections. more than 35 thousand new cases have been recorded in the past 2a hours. hospitals are said to be nearing crisis point. the lockdown means non—essential shops will be shut again, and travel from paris to other regions is banned. tanya dend—rinos reports. patients fighting for life. nurses and doctors fighting to save them. 1200 people are currently in intensive care in paris, higher than at the peak of the second wave in november. breaking point is inside. translation: you can always go up. the elastic is getting tighter and tighter. we are not at breaking point at the moment that we have come very close oh, yes, we have the impression that the breaking point is not far away. we managed to adapt all situations but the is that we deserve the detriment of something else. the mounting pressure forcing the government to respond. from midnight on friday the french capital will go into month—long lockdown along with 15 other regions. translation: facing an acceleration of the virus and the pressure that is increasing in our hospital systems, we owe it to ourselves. the time has come to go further and implement more demanding measures in the most critical departments and situations. nonessential businesses will be forced to shut but schools will remain open. the measures are not quite as strict as the previous lockdown with people still allowed to exercise outdoors. meanwhile the national curfew will remain in place but begin an hour later. if this lockdown allows us to move onto the next step and take advantage of this month to vaccinate and prepare for future it is a good thing. it is more like saying that one is this going to end. one year we have not found a way out of this, in one year we have lockdown number eight? that is what scares me. a relentless cycle in the battle against the unrelenting virus. and we'll be live in paris in around half an hours time to disouss the affects of the lockdown on business in the capital. some european countries which suspended the use of the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine will restart their rollouts today — after regulators found no evidence it causes blood clots. the uk's prime minister boris johnson says the jab is safe — and has called on the public to "continue to get their vaccines when they are asked to do so" — he'll receive his jab later. here's our health correspondent katherine da costa. the oxford vaccine is safe and effective at preventing care for. no increased risk of blood clots. that is the consensus among regulators and a message the minister hopes will be heard around the world. today the eumpean _ heard around the world. today the european medicines - heard around the world. today | the european medicines agency has come to a clear scientific conclusion and i quote, this is a safe and effective vaccine. the oxford job is safe and the pfizerjab the oxford job is safe and the pfizer jab assay. the oxford job is safe and the pfizerjab assay. the thing thatis pfizerjab assay. the thing that is not safe as catching covid which is why it is important that we all get our jobs as soon as our time comes. review was carried out looking at data from 20 million vaccinated people. it looked in particular at their blood clots in the brain and found 18 cases including five in uk. there is no evidence of a link to the vaccine but they will continue to monitor this condition and are advising people with a number of symptoms including persistent headache or unusual bruising to seek medical advice. , ., . advice. there is no increase in the overall— advice. there is no increase in the overall risk _ advice. there is no increase in the overall risk of _ advice. there is no increase in the overall risk of blood - advice. there is no increase in the overall risk of blood clots| the overall risk of blood clots with this vaccine. moreover because the vaccine is effective in preventing covid which in itself is a cause of blood clots in my claim reduces the risks events overall. ital? the risks events overall. italy and france — the risks events overall. italy and france are _ the risks events overall. italy and france are among - the risks events overall. italy and france are among the i the risks events overall. italy and france are among the first to announce their was using the oxford vaccine and it cannot come soon enough. they are among several european countries experiencing a third wave of new infections with further measures being introduced. the first top level meetings between the us and china sincejoe biden became us president have been taking place in alaska. america's top diplomat antony blinken is meeting his opposite number yang gee—air chur. beijing has repeatedly said it wants a better relationship after the turbulence of the trump years. after a brief pause a second round of talks have just begun. the us official readout on the first round speaks of "substantive, serious, and direct," conversations running well beyond the two hours originally allotted. but the meeting began with blunt messages from both sides. today we will have an opportunity to discuss key priorities, both domestic and global, so that china can better understand our administration's intentions and approach. we will also discuss our deep concerns with actions by china including in hong kong, taiwan, attacks on the united states, economic coercion towards our allies. i said that the united states relationship will be competitive or should be, collaborative can be an adversarial work it must be. the people of the two countries in the world, they are hoping to see practical outcomes coming out of our dialogue and debate in taiwan are an inalienable part of china's territory. china's five firmly opposed to us interference in china's affairs. we have expressed our staunch opposition to such interference and we will take firm in response. i'm joined now by our state department correspondent — barbara plett—usher, who's in anchorage, alaska. an abrasive tone from both parties. it does not seem a way to stabilise a difficult relationship. what is the intention here. it was quite a rare public sparring match. this is not the way you normally start the state diplomatic meeting and it went on for some time. it was extended even after the formal remarks back and forth. in public comments before the meeting the biden administration have been quite blunt about its criticisms of china and they brought those same comments to the meeting said the chinese must have known what was coming and they really came prepared to hit backin really came prepared to hit back in kind. one of the senior officials basically said the us should stop pushing its own version of democracy. it has got its own problems and domestic problems, you know, this is not a model necessarily for the world and i'm paraphrasing. there are many other comments like that and as you mentioned afterwards, after this sort of sparring at the beginning they apparently had a sustained conversation in private afterward so i suppose there is always a bit of posturing involved but this was to an unusual degree nothing the chinese might have been angry in the way that the biden administration have been talking about them beforehand and the day before. sanctions were imposed over its actions against democracy activists in hong kong so it all came to a sort of atmosphere the beginning that was unusually undiplomatic. liberal values haven't been under this must pressure since the fall of the soviet union. china is determined not to compromise over how it asserts its will. how should the west best secure prosperity, lower the risk of war & protect freedoms as china's influence grows? that's certainly what the biden administration says that there will values are under extreme pressure and it has certainly framed its relationship with china in that way. it says china's behaviour towards hong kong and taiwan and what they call it economic coercion and cyber attacks all of these issues are notjust matters in internal affairs but they do affect the region in the world and china is not playing by the rules that maintain global stability and therefore they do cast this relationship in broader terms of sort of a democracy versus autocracy and they want to be a strong player in the battle as they would frame it, i suppose. in the battle as they would frame it, isuppose. in in the battle as they would frame it, i suppose. in terms of shaping the rules of the game going forward and part of that has been tough on china in terms of calling out human rights abuses and part of that is working closely with allies so that they have a joint approach when they feel that china's misbehaving and can exert pressure on part of that according to the biden administration as their inactions at home. that they are going to invest more in those critical technologies that china has the leading so that china has the leading so that they will be more prepared in shaping the technologies that are important for military and economic power. that is the way they are approaching it. thank you very much for your time. thank you very much for your time. the trial of one of two canadians charged with spying in china is believed to have begun. both men were arrested two years ago shortly after the detention in canada of huawei executive meng wangzhou on a us warrant. michael spavor�*s trial — this is thought to be him joanna chiu is a journalist for the toronto star and author of the book �*china unbound', shejoins me now.china we have the chinese executive under house arrest in one of her homes in vancouver and on the other we have two michaels neither of whom had, until very recently, in public for over two years. is this china's way of doing democracy? i two years. is this china's way of doing democracy?- of doing democracy? i don't think anyone _ of doing democracy? i don't think anyone observing - of doing democracy? i don't| think anyone observing think it's china demonstrating democracy. they are accused of some cvs espionage crimes and for the trial to be over in two hours, that shows you what kind of trial it actually is it is a conviction rate across the country is 99% so most people will not be acquitted in china, virtually none. experts tell me that, if there is a verdict, they will definitely be found guilty. in this timing during the talks in alaska is no coincidence. china sees washington as having the power to end everything and to free them by dropping its extradition request. they think that the arrest was extremely insulting to beijing so they are making the signal that they don't want to go overboard with improving relations in any way unless this issue is resolved by having let go, basically. michael is due in court on monday. we know him personally. what hope to have his freedom given that this trial lasted two hours. even going in before the trial started there was very little hope. i think the family membersjust very little hope. i think the family members just waiting for something when high levels to happen to somehow resolve the case in a way that definitely won't happen in a chinese court room. the two michaels have not had access to lawyers throughout the two years. they have been selling solitary confinement and have only had access to some council officials every three months or so so they have not been able to see to the family members and friends they worry that michael had been telling his family as he was reading books but when he enters the courtroom and sees what it's like that he might finally have a spare broken. and michael just happened to be living in china to do business. you can well believe _ china to do business. you can well believe that _ china to do business. you can well believe that after - china to do business. you can well believe that after two - well believe that after two years in prison. i want to circle back on our previous story about the talks that are ongoing at the moment from the us and china. in many ways this is sort of a hostage situation with these two michaels and therefore a chain linked to the outcomes of these talks but given the grandstanding and grievance airing that went on, in your view is there any continuing talks between the two countries at this stage? even before the entered talks the two sides were exchanging harsh words in the us and past sanctions on china for its actions on hong kong and china, like a clip show, just rejecting any type of criticism, saying it is domestic affairs. the site going in, biden�*s administration may want to open channels of communication. the us wants china to be an ally as a counter pressure to north korea. both sides still remain trading partners for each other but it looks like with the on china is really sending the message that they are not ready to have open and honest talks until the us does something such as withdraw the extradition request and stop the hearings in canada. but it could take years. she has the resources to fight extradition to the supreme court in canada. they see the ball as being in washington's court to resolve theissues washington's court to resolve the issues so that they can go forward in the two michaels will be freed. but it seems very unlikely.— will be freed. but it seems very unlikely. thank you very much for _ very unlikely. thank you very much for your _ very unlikely. thank you very much for your time. - very unlikely. thank you very much for your time. that - very unlikely. thank you very | much for your time. that they were in a shorter time cells but thank you very much and we'll be waiting for the trial on monday here in bbc world news. thank you. stay with us on bbc news, still to come zoom at the zoo — how chimps too, are using tech to keep in touch. 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 french capital paris and 15 other regions prepare to go into a month—long covid lockdown as the country fears a third wave. the united states and china exchange sharp words in the first high level direct talks since president biden took office. tanzanian vice president samia suluhu hassan is due to be sworn in as president in the coming hours. she will be the first first female president of the country. it follows the death of presidentjohn maguful on wednesday. first elected as magufuli's running mate in 2015, she was re—elected last year and will serve the remaining part of the five year term before having to stand for re—election. hundreds of thousands have fled their homes in ethiopia's tigray region, four months into a brutal and bloody conflict there. civilians have been caught between tigray militias and allied ethiopian and eritrean forces. the us state department has accused some armed groups of ethnic cleansing in the battle for control of the region. the bbc�*s kalkidan yibeltal gained rare access to meet the people who've been forced to flee their homes. in shire, classrooms are packed, but there is no school here. this is one of shire's many displacement camps. these are the victims of the conflict in tigray, forced to flee their homes find shelter wherever they find space. when the conflict in tigray reached her hometown, this woman had to run to save her life. translation: people were walking through | hills in the dark. people were thirsty, they were hungry. you didn't even think to eat something for yourself. we passed through a lot. we saw unburied bodies. we are lucky we are not dead. the roads around here showjust a fraction of what they were running from. some of these areas in mountainous tigray that we are passing through witnessed heavy fighting, particularly in november during the height of the conflict. and the marks of the conflict can easily be seen and felt. we saw a number of tanks and army trucks burnt down by the side of the road. across shire, another camp and more people. more than 200,000 in the city alone. the conflict is the result of long simmering tensions between prime minister abiy ahmed's administration and tigray�*s political elite. he was accused of a power grab when national polls were delayed last year. in november, an ethiopian army base was attacked and open conflict began. these broken lives are the result. people are still arriving here fleeing their homes. this man arrived here a day ago. he travelled for more than we his family. this woman went into labour after she fled fighting near her home. she gave birth in the camp. she says she still hasn't been seen by a doctor. while some aid is arriving, people we met here say it is not enough. a agency is one situation aid agencies warn the situation could worsen. the administration say there are some 1.4 million displaced people in multiple cities across the region. translation: aid agencies were asking to be granted access. - now they are allowed to come in and help. now is the right time. we expect them to give us all the necessary aid and rescue our people. many people in these camps have their own tales of loss and tragedy. in four short months, their lives have been turned upside down. no one knows when peace will return to tigray, but for some, the scars will last forever. let's just show you some pictures from the us, as the country marks a milestone in its mission to return to the moon. it's successfully tested part of the world's most powerful rocket — the space launch system. the four main engines of the moon rocket were ignited for more than eight minutes, to simulate the time it takes the rocket to get from the ground into space. the sls will be used to send astronauts back to the moon , the last lunar landing was in 1972. we, humans, may be tired of video calls, socialising on a screen and streamed performances, but chimps at two czech zoos have just started to enjoy their new daily zoom calls. to compensate for lack of interaction with visitors since the start of the pandemic, staff at two wildlife parks in the czech republic launched a project which allows primates from separate enclosures to watch one another�*s daily lives on giant screens. soumer daghastani has the story. it is feeding time at the dvur kralove safari park and these chimps are enjoying their meal with some online company. to keep these social animals entertain, keepers set up big screens to link them up with potential friends in another zoo on another side of the country. at first, they were reluctant to come closer to the screens, but now they have got used to them. they have even adopted some human behaviours, such as grabbing goodies to chew on while watching the action. translation: for the first hours and days, i they were surprised and they were very interested in looking at the screens. then they realised that it was a kind of transmission, that these were not real animals and they started watching, just like we watch tv or movies when we are in the cinema. the sound is off, so no danger of mute button disasters, but there has been plenty of interest in what these chimps are up to since the project got under way. wildlife experts believe this project will ensure the well—being of these intelligent animals. translation: the project - created here aims to enhance, enrich the lives of these animals, to offer them a greater source of entertainment to keep them occupied. there isn't going to be much chance for human visitors entertaining the chimps until the zoo can open. but in the meantime, they are really enjoying watching one another and they are not as fed up with zoom meetings as we are. hello there. we saw plenty of sunshine across scotland on thursday. that pushed temperatures up to 19 celsius in edinburgh, making it the warmest day of the year so far. for most, though, it was rather cool and cloudy, and that's how it's going to be today. in fact, the southeast quadrant is going to be quite chilly, as we tap into some colder air from the near continent. so another chilly day here like we saw on thursday. elsewhere, plenty of cloud around, the odd spot of light rain or drizzle, but again, sunshine will develop through central, western scotland, northern ireland, perhaps western wales too, and plenty of sunshine across the southeast, as this colder air will be drier air, but it's going to feel particularly chilly, especially close to the coast, temperatures struggling to get much above 7—9 celsius. but in the sunnier spots, though, through central scotland, we could make 15 celsius, not as warm as thursday, and could see 12—13 celsius in some of the warmer spots, the sunnier spots elsewhere. so as we head through friday night, it stays chilly and clear across the southeast. elsewhere, quite a bit of cloud around, just the odd clear spell here and there, the odd spot of light rain and drizzle too. temperatures range from 4—7 celsius particularly where we have the cloud. but under clearer skies, lower than that, particularly in the southeast. so, this is saturday's picture, then, starts off mostly cloudy, again, but through the day, we will start to see some cloud break, some sunshine, eastern sctoland, northeast england, and this weather front will move into the northern isles and northern scotland to bring stronger winds here and outbreaks of rain. so a little bit cooler here because of the wind, but where we have the sunshine for eastern scotland, northeast england, we could see 13—14 celsius, but for most, 10—12 celsius. on into sunday, our area of high pressure's still with us, so winds for most will be light away from the north and east, a bit of an onshore breeze here, and then signs of the cloud tending to break up more on sunday. so we could see increasing amounts of sunny spells here and there, but some areas may stay grey all day. again, those temperatures 10—12 celsius, maybe 13 celsius in any brighter spots, but chillier along north sea coasts. then into next week, our area of high pressure eventually breaks down and moves towards the near continent and allows weather fronts to move in from the atlantic, starting to pick up more of a west—south—westerly airflow, so it begins to turn more unsettled. so a generally fine, settled, benign week, rather cloudy, before it starts to turn more unsettled by the end of the week. this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. jitters return to the markets as investors fear inflation and interest rates rises. adding to those nerves, fears of a �*third wave' of covid in europe as parts of france return to lockdown. 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