Eu leaders will meet in a few hours virtually to discuss their covid response. As new variants spread across the continent and cases spiral, one of the topics is how to speed up the Vaccine Rollout and get access to more supplies. Measures to restrict Vaccine Exports is still on the table, even after a joint statement with britain on wednesday saying both sides will Work Together to try to resolve the dispute over access. Jon donnison reports the vaccine row between the uk and eu has been rumbling on for months but it has intensified with many countries on the continent is now facing a third wave amid concerns over Vaccine Supply and a slow roll out of the jab. In supply and a slow rollout of the ab. ,. ,. , the jab. In a oint Statement Last night the jab. In a joint Statement Last night the the jab. In a joint Statement Last night the eu the jab. In a joint Statement Last night the eu and the jab. In a joint Statement Last night the eu and uk the jab. In a joint statement| last night the eu and uk said they were working on ways to better cooperate over vaccines. So could an end to the acrimony be inside. , so could an end to the acrimony be inside be inside. This is very positive be inside. This is very positive news. Be inside. This is very positive news. What i be inside. This is very l positive news. What we be inside. This is very positive news. What we want to see is vaccines flow freely Around The World and we want to work to build capacity so that we can make sure that everybody gets vaccinated including the uk, eu and many developing countries because we are only going to tackle coronavirus by making sure everybody gets vaccinated so this is a very positive step forward. Eli positive step forward. Eu leaders will positive step forward. Eu leaders will meet Via Video Conference today to discuss ways of boosting Vaccine Supplies and possible new restrictions on Vaccine Exports including doses of the astrazeneca jab which could impact the uk. Impact the uk. They are fulfilling impact the uk. They are fulfilling their impact the uk. They are fulfilling their contracts| impact the uk. They are i fulfilling their contracts in the uk fulfilling their contracts in the uk but not fulfilling contracts in the European Union and they contracts in the European Union and they are exporting Vaccination Material from the eu to Vaccination Material from the eu to the Vaccination Material from the eu to the uk and not fulfilling the duties that they have within the duties that they have within the European Union and i think within the European Union and i think it within the European Union and i think it is within the European Union and i think it isjust natural that the think it isjust natural that the european to react to this. That the european to react to this. That some the european to react to this. That some Health Officials have accused european leaders are sending out confusing messages by questioning the vaccines safety which is led to poor uptake of the jab on the continent. With many eu voters are angry at their governments and frustrated with Vaccine Roll Outs that lag far behind the uk there is a political blame game under way. You cannot wrap blame game under way. You cannot wrap a blame game under way. You cannot wrap a flag blame game under way. Hunt, cannot wrap a flag around a vaccine in this modern world. It does not work this way. These are integrated Supply Chains and any attempts to impose any barriers whatsoever will disadvantage everyone involved. In other words, the so called Vaccine Nationalism might be understandable but not helpful. But the pandemic that is global. But the pandemic that is global. I think as far as the eu is concerned, the aim meanwhile, in brazil, 300 thousand people have died from covid i9. And oxygen is running low in some of the busiest icus. This is the frontline in the battle against the virus at the moment, and it would appear things are going from bad to worse. The bbc� s mark lobel reports. Counting the cost of coronavirus. Translation we are in | a situation that affects the whole world, and so far no one has been able to contain it because the one. Who decides is god. But statistics in brazil are particularly grim. It has the second largest death toll the world. Highly contagious variants are sweeping through the country, creating a tsunami of new infections, and many blame the president for opposing lockdowns and masks. He remains resolute. Translation i want to reassure the brazilian people and confirm that vaccines are guaranteed. By the end of the year. We will have reached 500 million doses to vaccinate the entire population. We will soon return to normal life. His optimistic message drummed out by brazilians bashing pots and pans, in several cities. Outside one of rio dejaneiros hospitals, a moment to reflect on the huge pressures on beds inside intensive care units. President Jair Bolsonaro has installed a Fourth Health minister as he attempts to reassert his authority, introducing his new recruit, as he launches a new Crisis Committee to deal with the surge, promising weekly meetings and coordination with governors. We are talking about a president who after an entire year announced he is going to create a five strong team. We are by far in their worst moment of the pandemic. We still dont have a decent Vaccination Plan so far. We have vaccinated only 5 of our population. I am sure that we have lost thousands of lives that could be spared, if we had a president if we had a leader, who takes the whole situation seriously. With thousands dying each day, the outlook remains bleak. Mark lobel, bbc news. Cuba has begun administering its own Homegrown Covid I9 vaccine. Named soberana 2, the jab is still in late phase trials but the first of two doses are already being given to health workers. Officials say that havana residents could get their first shot by the end of may. If successful, it will be latin americas First Covid I9 vaccine. North korea has fired two Ballistic Missiles that flew hundreds of kilometres to land in the sea ofjapan. The japanese prime minister, suga yoshihide, called them a threat to peace and a violation of un resolutions. South Koreas National Security Council is due to discuss the incident. The launches are pyongyangs first Ballistic Missile test since President Biden took office injanuary. Robert kelly is a professor of Political Science at a national university, hejoins me now. Thank you forjoining me. How much of a threat are these missiles . I am much of a threat are these missiles . Iam not much of a threat are these missiles . I am not sure if they add anything we have not seen before. We are waiting to learn the Technical Details about it and well have to wait to see what the americans and south koreans give us next few days but the north koreans have had significant Missile Capacity for at least a decade. And the ability to strike the United States for this for years. Im not sure this actually adds anything dramatic that we have not seen. It does not indicate they are more willing to use them, for example. My own readers that it is a test or an effort to provoke the Biden Administration and tell them we are here, you cannot push us around. ~. , ,. , are here, you cannot push us around. ~. ,. ,. Around. We have come to expect this kind of around. We have come to expect this kind of stunt around. We have come to expect this kind of stunt every around. We have come to expect this kind of stunt every time this kind of stunt every time we get a new us president. What sort of response may it elicit . The biden people would be wise not to say a whole lot. This is what they responded to the shorter term test. Not because north korea is not a threat, it obviously is. But biden, we dont have a lot of good options. Were not going to risk a conflict with north korea. North korea is already under sanctions. We cannot slap more on them. We have already gone down that road far. So the administrations options are pretty limited. I think they do not want this to be read into as a test of its resolve or willingness to be tough because the options are just so poor. You see that the japanese response is also correct. How can it be the case . How can japan saying it is a threat to peace in the violation of un rules sort of tally with the fact that we have had very little from the Biden Administration. Which one is it . , , administration. Which one is it . , it . That is right. It is a violation it . That is right. It is a violation of it . That is right. It is a violation of the it . That is right. It is a violation of the since l it . That is right. It is a violation of the since 2006. That is correct. The idea that they are building a new car Nuclear Capacity the only argument i would make is that i dont think this would add to a great deal that we have seen in the past. The japanese are right to be upset but i think there is not a lot that they can do. There is not much we can do. There is not much we can do, right . Every time the north koreans do this kind of stuff we have a Policy Review and it will say the same thing as weve been doing for a long time. Deterrence, Isolation Sanctioning things like that because otherwise, you know, we dont have a lot that we can do about these things. We cannot stop them. We about these things. We cannot step them stop them. We certainly cant but it does stop them. We certainly cant but it does appear stop them. We certainly cant but it does appear that stop them. We certainly cant but it does appear that these | but it does appear that these Weapons Testing is making a return after a year of isolation for north korea. After the pandemic. And it is cut off most of its trade with china as well. How far do we think theyre willing to go to get the attention of the white house . ,. , house . The cheque then is to convince house . The cheque then is to convince the house . The cheque then is to convince the biden convince the Biden Administration to come back in administration to come back in a way that is more conducive and open to negotiation than the Trump Administration which was willing to meet but they didnt offer a great deal to the north koreans in exchange for what they wanted. We demanded a lot. We asked them to give up everything they had upfront in exchange to vague promises and they will not do that. They wanted to get a great deal more before they give away in the mean for my guess is what this is intended to be. If you dont come to the table us real stuff we will keep shooting these missiles and put Nuclear Missiles at the top of our priorities. Lets get some of the days other news. President bidens pick for assistant us health secretary, rachel levine, has become the first openly transgender person to receive Senate Approval for a top federaljob. Two republicans broke ranks to vote with democrats in her favour. Doctor levine will work in washington on combatting covid i9. Virginia has become the First Southern us state to abolish the death penalty. Signing the bill into law, governor ralph northam, whos a democrat, said Capital Punishment had been applied disproportionately to black people, and that a flawed legal system had led, too often, to mistakes. Pope francis has ordered cardinals in the Catholic Church to take a 10 pay cut, to try to free up money to protectjobs of ordinary employees working in the vatican. A spokesman said the decision was taken after the pandemic affected the income of the holy see. Low tide overnight has slowed efforts to try and dislodge the Container Ship which is blocking the suez canal. The ever given vessel ran aground diagonally across the canal on Tuesday Morning after losing the ability to steer amid high winds and a dust storm. Several dozen vessels have backed up at either end of the canal to create one of the worst shipping jams seen for years. Officials in sicily have been forced to close the airspace over the island after the Mount Etna Volcano erupted for the 16th time injust over a month. The latest eruption sent fountains of lava and a cloud of ash and rock into the air. Catania airport has been closed because of the falling volcanic ash. Stay with us on bbc news, still to come the tokyo, Olympic Torch relay, gets under way injapan. The delayed summer games are expected to start injuly. Im so proud of both of you. Let there be no more wars or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. With great regret, the committee have decided that south africa be excluded from the 1970 competition. Chanting streaking across the sky, the white hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from i onlookers on fiji. This is bbc news, the latest headlines. Britain and the European Union agree to Work Together, to resolve their dispute over access to coronavirus vaccines. Brazil struggles to contain the rapid spread of covid i9 as the number of deaths surpasses 300,000. This month marks 10 years since the uprising began in syria. On this day, mass protests spread nationwide in what signalled the start of a lengthy and deadly civil war. One and a half million syrians fled to lebanon where they now face blame for social and economic problems. Carine torbey reports from beirut. This man is from kobani in northern syria, but hes never been there. His father fled a decade ago to lebanon before he was born. Translation when i fled into lebanon, i thought it would be three months, maximum, before i returned to syria. Months passed, and then years, and now were in the 10th year and counting. Its so hard, i dont know what to say. Three years after he left halil� s house was flattened by an air strike. Translation we all long to return to syria and for things to be as they were. But its a wish thats far from coming true. Its Notjust The Physical Destruction its the human fabric. If i were to return, i would be a guest, a refugee in my city. I dont know anyone there, and people have changed. Many syrians in lebanon say they wish to return to syria, but notjust now. With the massive destruction and fears for their safety back home, they prefer to stay in lebanon and thats despite the increasingly difficult conditions here with the country in economic and financial collapse. The majority of refugees in lebanon live in rented accommodation. Only 20 of them live in camps. The lebanese authorities want them to go back to syria. The un only managed to resettle around 60,000 of them into third countries. It remains their main source of assistance. From the onset, the unhcr has been coordinating support and aid to the syrian refugees. Alla, a humanitarian worker with the un, has been on the field since day one. He saw numbers of refugees growing even as Aid Programmes dwindled. Translation the needs of refugees have increased tremendously. The few who could work are now withoutjobs especially with coronavirus. Aid programmes should always be updated and developed, but the needs never cease to grow. Many battlefronts in the syrian war have now become silent. But for the millions of refugees, the struggle continues. In many countries where they are scattered, they are often not identified by their names or their professions but by the fact that they are refugees. A Status Sticking to them as a smear for a wrong that they have never done. Carine torbay, bbc news, beirut. The Bank Of England will unveil a new £50 later which celebrates the world war 2 code breaker alan turing. The mathematician helped britain win the war with his code breaking skills. Nina warhurst reports. Alan turing showed that by asking one question you can change the world. His Crypto Analysis at Bletchley Park had already helped bring the Second World War to an end when his insatiable curiosity fixated on one thing. By asking the question, can machines think . Alan turing was combining mathematics with philosophy. What does it mean to be human . How far can computers imitate others and indeed go beyond ours . And he said about his work, this is only a foretaste of what is to come. The shadow of what is to come. The shadow of what is going to be. He was not wrong, was he . The smartphone you use, the tablet i am using to zoom alan turings nephew and the green screen he is trying to setup. I willjust have to be blue. Theyll exist because alan turing began the process of programming machines. Some, than others. You are not doing much for the alan turing name in terms of science. I much for the alan turing name in terms of science. In terms of science. I know, it is great. In terms of science. I know, it is great. Isnt in terms of science. I know, it is great, isnt it . In terms of science. I know, it is great, isnt it . I in terms of science. I know, it is great, isnt it . I have in terms of science. I know, it is great, isnt it . I have got i is great, isnt it . I have got a conflagration here. What is going on . It is on the light to change the light colour has tried to catch fire so the fire is out. ,. , is out. How much will having his face on is out. How much will having his face on a is out. How much will having his face on a banknote is out. How much will having j his face on a Banknote Help . How much will that raise the conversation around him . I think alan turing would have wanted us to think about things like underrepresentation of women in science subjects and black and ethnic minority kids and Stem Subjects at school and why theyre not been given the opportunities that they should have and why that is bad for all the buzz. These are things that i think he was quite keen on during his lifetime and am very that the Bank Of England in their choice of imagery decided not to major rap and code breaking in to focus on as a figure in computer science. What you think he would make of his nephews efforts of setting The Living Room On Fire . Think you probably find at least some of that hilarious. Alan turing was 41 when he died after eating an apple with traces of cyanide. He had been convicted simply for having a relationship with another man. But his legacy is everywhere. Every day, and every country. As the former Bank Of England governor said, alan turing is a giant. On his shoulder so many now stand. On his shoulder so many now stand. Time now for the latest sports news. Hello there, im tulsen tollett, and this is your sports news, where we start with european World Cup Qualifiers that got under way on wednesday. Reigning champions france were held to a 1 1 draw by ukraine in their group d match in paris. While in group b, the worlds number one ranked team, belgium, came from a goal down to beat wales 3 1 Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku among the scorers for roberto martinez� s side. Elsewhere, turkey were lt 2 winners over the netherlands in group g burak yilmaz with a hat trick for his side while Memphis Depay missed a stoppage time penalty on a rotten night for the dutch. For all the scores, of course, head to the bbc sport website. To womens football now, where holders lyon needed their late penalty to win the opening leg of their European Champions League quarterfinal Wendie Renard with the goal in the 86 minute as they chase a sixth consecutive title. Meanwhile, chelsea won 2 1 against last years beaten Finalists Wolfsburg sam kerr with the first goal, and Pernille Harder also on the score sheet against herformer club. There was a shock of sorts on the opening day of the wgc match play event in texas. Englands ian poulter was a 6 5 winner over rory mcilroy, with the Northern Irishman Mcilroy ended up in the water twice including this one, that finished in a residential swimming pool. Hell get another chance when he plays his second group game later on thursday as this poulter, who was more than happy with the way he hit the ball. I played well and obviously, you know, the scorelines pretty flattering, to be honest with you, but, you know, i kept rory under pressure and i made it difficult for him. Yeah, you hit a couple of loose shots, but, you know, putting the ball in pretty tight and, you know, taking control of a match. You know, i had to do that against rory. Former french open champion Jelena Ostapenko is through to the second round of the miami open. The latvian had to come from a set down to see off the chinese wild card wang xiyu. Ostapenko raced through the decider six games to one, and shell now face belgiums kirsten flipkens. Two of snooker� s great greatest names will renew a rivalry that stretches back to the 1980s. Stephen hendry, who has returned to the sport after retiring in 2012, Will Facejimmy White in the World Championship qualifying next month. Hendry beat white in four Crucible Finals in the 1990s, and ended up with a record seven titles in the modern era. Despite being a crowd favourite, white has never won a world title losing all six. Hes currently ranked 83 in the world. Hendry said that theyve recently been practising together but that will now stop. You can get all the latest at our website thats bbc. Com sport but from me, tulsen tollett, and the rest of the team, thats your sports news for now. The Olympic Torch is starting its four month journey around japan, as it heads to tokyo for the delayed Opening Ceremony of the 2020 summer games. The olympic flame, lit in fukushima. The location is significant, fukushima was, of course, the site of the devastating tsunami and Nuclear Disaster it is almost exactly a year since the unprecedented announcement that the Tokyo Olympics would be postponed and since then we have had months of speculation. Going to really go ahead . Well, you can see behind me here today in fukushima the start of the torch relay. This is really the point of no return. This is japan saint of the world, this game is going to go ahead this summer regardless of the pandemic. Well, the torch is going to travel from here in fukushima for a 121 days right in japan from the farthest north to the father Southern Islands and then it is going to arrive at the Olympic Stadium in tokyo onjuly 23 to the grand Opening Ceremony. Of course, because of pandemic, none of this happening here today is without problems. You can see there are no cheering crowd here in fukushima. There are only invited schoolchildren and the media and we have all had to add Health Checks in order to come in here. And on the route today and for the next few weeks people are being told not to gather men large crowds. Not to cheer the flame. Another is the games themselves. We now know the decision has been made that no international spectators are going to be allowed to come here to japan to watch the games. That is a huge disappointment for olympic fans and forjapan. But it is the reality of holding the olympics during a global pandemic. You can reach me on twitter im v fritz news hello there. The weathers looking pretty unsettled over the next few days and its going to be turning a bit colder as well. Before we get there, though, today on the satellite picture, we can see some thick cloud developing to the west of the British Isles. And this is going to be moving its way across northern ireland, with a little bit of rain here developing over the next few hours. More general rain and cloud heading into western scotland, so wet weather into the highlands, the Western Isles and perhaps pushing into orkney as well as we head into the first part of thursday morning. So for these northWestern Areas of the uk, cloudy with rain at times. Now, there will be a few showers elsewhere developing through the day across england, also some spells of sunshine, but towards eastern england, were going to have a zone of convergence. This is where the winds bash together and make a line of showers. And if you happen to live in this kind of area, thats where the greatest chance of showers are, whereas across the midlands and across the south coast, your chance of showers is much lower and there should be more in the way of sunshine. In the sunshine, temperatures widely around 13 or m degrees across england and wales. A bit cooler across scotland and northern ireland, ten to 12 celsius, about ten where it stays cloudy with rain. Now, it is going to be turning colder. Colder air thats just to the west of greenland at the moment has our name on it, and its going to be arriving across the British Isles as we head into friday behind this stripe of rain, which is our cold front. So, this band of rain, Squally Winds on it, will push its way eastwards across england. Then, sunshine and showers follow. Cold enough for a little bit of snow across some of the higher mountains across the northwest of the uk, and those temperatures really taking a plunge. Just 7 degrees celsius in both belfast and in glasgow through friday afternoon. Now, beyond that, into the weekend, it does stay pretty unsettled. Often, the weathers going to be quite windy and there will be some rain around as well. Of the two days, probably saturday the better of it, but quite cloudy across Western Areas with some patches of rain, more general rain spreading into northern ireland. And all the while, well have gusty winds. Temperatures still below par for the time of year, about nine to 12 celsius on saturday. And on sunday, weve probably got some heavier rain on the way, working into some central portions of the uk. To the south of this area of rain, temperatures not so low. Were looking at highs of around 12 or 13 degrees. But cold still in scotland, about 8 to 10 below average, then, for the time of year. This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and Around The World. Jockeying overjabs but can eu leaders inject some calm as tensions rise over Vaccine Supplies . The worlds most expensive traffic jam. The suez canal remains blocked for a second day after a vast Container Ship ran aground strangling billions of dollars of global trade. Oil prices ease despite the Suez Blockage as fears of a third Coronavirus Wave Preoccupy investors. Plus, Gambling Chips why the new boss of intel wants to spread the risk with more factories outside asia