we start with brexit, and an indication of how much effect the uk leaving the european union has had on trade in both directions across the english channel. figures compiled by the uk government show how british exports to the eu fell byjust over 40% injanuary — the first month when the post—brexit rules came into force. and imports from the eu were down by nearly 30%. there are of course contributing factors, like earlier stockpiling, and pandemic lockdowns. our economics correspondent, andy verity, has the details. this manchester exporter of branded clothing, much of it for corporate events that haven't been happening, has gone through what it describes as a nightmare yearjust staying in business and keeping staff safe. but now, its boss told me, far from the promised frictionless trade, it's become very difficult to export to europe. transporters and couriers are charging big extra fees to cover much more complex paperwork and taxes, pushing costs up so high that it's had to stop exporting to european consumers. we had one order which was a £15 order. the customer contacted us because they were contacted by the post office to say that there were 38 euros of admin charges to pay in order to collect that order. we've tried to deal with it by paying on behalf of the customer. we've taken on the complexity of that, but the cost and the time and the adminjust means it's not viable to ship those orders into europe any more. overall, exports of goods to the eu dropped by 40.7%, the biggest fall on record. by far the hardest hit were exporters of food and live animals, with dairy down by 50%, meat exports down 59% and fish and shellfish exports down by 83%. we are working very closely with the eu. it's in everybody�*s interest that trade is as smooth as possible. we were always clear there would be extra processes that would need to be undertaken, and i'm confident that we will continue to build exports to the eu as well as exports to the rest of the world. while the economy is officially forecast to roar into action next year, growing by 7%, businesses like goodwood still have months to get through, with very little money coming in. now we know over the next few years, we've got to get back to where we were two years ago. but that's going to take another couple of years. after the economy was brought screeching to a halt by the lockdown last spring, it picked up speed in the summerand autumn, only to have the government slam the brakes on again after christmas, leading to a 2.9% drop in activity injanuary. while the office for national statistics said much of the hit to trade was probably temporary as businesses adjust to the new regime, just weeks after the break to the new regime, just weeks after the brexit transition ended, it's still too soon to tell how much of that economic damage might be more lasting. andy verity, bbc news. gunmen in the northern nigerian state of kaduna have attacked a school and abducted about 30 students. armoured vehicles and a helicopter have been deployed to try to rescue them. state authorities say that 180 people were rescued by the nigerian army in the early hours of this morning, but about 30 students are still missing. this is just the latest of kidnappings in the past few months. in february, 279 schoolgirls were abducted in zamfara state, and a further 42 staff, students and family members were taken from kagara, niger state — one was killed. in december, more than 80 schoolchildren were kidnapped from a school in katsina state, and a further 300 boys abducted from another school there. all have since been freed .our correspondent in abuja, ishaq khalid told us more about the rescue effort. well, basically at the moment, the nigerian authorities are saying that troops are trying to rescue the dozens of students who were kidnapped by the gunmen. troops with guns and helicopters have been deployed. and initially, the authorities said that 180 people had been rescued at the initial stage of the abduction, following gunfire with the military. but some sources are saying that those people were actually students and staff who escape during that time. the authorities are saying they were rescued by the military. and now, about 30 people are missing — students, males and females — and the authorities are saying they have launched a search operation. basically, what happened is the gunmen in large numbers stormed the college on the outskirts of the nigerian city of kaduna overnight. they broke the fence and then opened fire within the premises, moved into the dormitories of the students and kidnapped a number of people there. so, this is the latest abduction in a series of such mass kidnappings across nigeria since december. around 700 or so students have been abducted, and all of them have been released after negotiations with the kidnappers. for the moment, there is no clarity as to who carried out the latest attack, but it's believed to be criminal gangs who are kidnapping people for ransom. there's no clarity whether negotiations are going on. joining me now from abuja is buky williams, executive director of education as a vaccine, an organisation which aims to improve the education and health of young nigerians. she is also a malala education champion. thank education champion. you very much forjoining us here thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc news. first off, the impact of these repeated kidnappings and objections across northern nigeria, how is the country as a whole reacting to this?- nigeria, how is the country as a whole reacting to this? there is a lot of frustration, _ whole reacting to this? there is a lot of frustration, there _ whole reacting to this? there is a lot of frustration, there is - whole reacting to this? there is a lot of frustration, there is some l lot of frustration, there is some anger and there is basicallyjust exhaustion as well, feeling like this happens —— keeps happening and there doesn't seem to be a plan, there's no clarity on what's being done, and thenjust not there's no clarity on what's being done, and then just not even sure... who is doing it, sometimes it's bandits, sometimes it's criminal gangs, its terrorists. you know, so there are so many... who is actually doing it? what investigations are taking place? there are a lot of people who have a high level of frustration, and you might also know that the chief of staff was replaced by the president quite recently, so there was hope that may be something to change, something will be done it's leading for people to be feeling frustrated and that nothing is being done in terms of security of this country.— is being done in terms of security of this country. sorry, do you think that the replacement _ of this country. sorry, do you think that the replacement of _ of this country. sorry, do you think that the replacement of those - of this country. sorry, do you think| that the replacement of those fairly senior individuals within the military services was just an act of being seen to do something because mike because some of the reports we are getting, nigerians, particularly across northern niger are not happy with what the government is doing. yeah, i mean, there was some slight optimism because there was an assumption that nothing would happen, that they wouldn't change, that no changes wouldn't change, that no changes would happen, that we would just continue with business as usual, and so there was a little bit of hope with this change, maybe something will be done, some people will be held accountable. but actually you know, a few weeks later, everyone is back to realising that. we haven't really seen the changes we want to see, we haven't seen any clear plans or way forward. also what's happened with the last kidnapping when there was conversations about negotiations, so peoplejust realise, oh, this is now a business. yes, ok. very briefly, when you say it is a business and people are kidnapping these children knowing they are going to get the money because of the media attention, they are soft targets, what do nigerians think about how this should be handled? ., ~ ., think about how this should be handled? ., ~' ., ., handled? you know, the truth of the matter is i don't _ handled? you know, the truth of the matter is i don't think _ handled? you know, the truth of the matter is i don't think i _ handled? you know, the truth of the matter is i don't think i can - handled? you know, the truth of the matter is i don't think i can speak i matter is i don't think i can speak for every nigerian, but i can speak for every nigerian, but i can speak for the parents who have visited community is quite recently because thatis community is quite recently because that is one of the places where we have projects to ensure that girls go back to school. one of the issues parents keep mentioning is the issue of safety, and you have actually seen parents who have come together who have contributed money to be able to post security guards or vigilantes in schools looking for funds to be able to build fences in schools or pushing the government to do so in terms of the workaround advocacy, so they are actually feeling that the security situation in nigeria as currently untenable, and that something needs to be done. we really need to focus on who is investigating, who is actually going to make sure changes have been how are we going to ensure that the kidnappers feel like they can'tjust act with impunity? nigeriansjust really want to plan because we are feeling frustrated on so many ends and we are trying to recover from the impact of covid—i9, the financial impact of it, the health impact of it. we are trying to get back to a new normal, whatever term you have, but not feeling like any of those changes, especially insecurities happening. thank you so much for that — insecurities happening. thank you so much for that perspective, _ much for that perspective, important, thank you very much. london's metropolitan police has confirmed that a body found in woodland on wednesday, is that of sarah everard. she disappeared while walking home from a friend's house in clapham in south london last week. detectives have been given more time to question a serving police officer, on suspicion of the kidnap and murder of the 33 year old marketing executive. the uk police watchdog is investigating a number of issues including how the metropolitan police force responded to two allegations of indecent exposure involving the suspect, three days before ms everard went missing. the world health organization says there is no reason to stop the use of the oxford—astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine. the statement comes after bulgaria, romania, and thailand joined three scandinavian countries in suspending inoculations with the vaccine. they were reacting to reports of blood clots in some people who had received the shot — although there is no evidence of a link. the european medicines agency has also backed the use of the astrazeneca vaccine, saying the benefits outweigh the possible risks. margaret harris from the world health organization said she had no reservations about recommending the astrazeneca vaccine. it's very important to understand that, yes, we should continue using the astrazeneca vaccine, all that we are looking at is what we always look at, any safety signal must be investigated, in fact, it's very important that we are hearing safety signals, because if we were not hearing about any safety signals, then that would suggest that there is not enough review and vigilance. we must always ensure we look for any safety signals when we roll out vaccines, and we must review them, but there is no indication to not use it. margaret harris from the world health organization. the european medicines agency has also backed the use of the astrazeneca vaccine, saying the benefits outweigh the possible risks. today, brazil, which has reported a new daily record of two, 286 covid—i9 deaths, has approved the astrazeneca vaccine for widespread use. on thursday, el salvador received 30,000 doses of the astrazeneca vaccine through the covax programme, which they will start giving to health care workers imminently. and brazil has given final approval for use of the astrazeneca jab. the country, which has seen rapidly increasing rates of infection, and more than 2,000 deaths a day from covid, is also buying additional supplies of russia's sputnik v vaccine. italy is extending its coronavirus restrictions from monday. schools, shops, and restaurants will be closed in most of the country, with the measures extended nationwide for three days over easter. it comes as new covid cases in italy are currently being confirmed in excess of 25,000 a day. joe biden has held the first meeting of the quad — a group of four countries which he seems to hope will be a counterweight to the growing power of china. the group features the us, australia, india, and japan — all of whom have had varying levels of disagreements with china in recent months and years. mr biden and indian prime minister, narendra modi, both said that the group were standing up for universal values. let's take a listen. and in this moment, it's a purpose that i think we all are concerned about, a free and open indo—pacific is essential to each of our futures for our countries. the united states is committed to working with you, our partners, and our allies in the region to achieves debility. ——and our allies in the region to achieve stability. translation: excellencies, i we are united by our democratic values and our commitment to a free, open and inclusive indo pacific. our agenda covering areas like vaccines, climate change and emerging technology makes the quad force for global good. our state department correspondent barbara plett usherjoins me now. barbara, there was china on the agenda as well as vaccine diplomacy. tell us more. agenda as well as vaccine diplomacy. tell us more-— tell us more. yes, the ma'or announcement, i tell us more. yes, the ma'or announcement, the i tell us more. yes, the major announcement, the major. tell us more. yes, the major - announcement, the major concrete announcement, the major concrete announcement out of this meeting was that there was going to be a joint push to produce many, many vaccine doses to be used in southeast asia, a by 2022 combining the money of the united states and japan, the production capacity of india and then australia was going to be playing a role in terms of delivery and shipment. this was presented by us officials as an example of how these four countries have common interests and how they wanted to show this alliance actually has a concrete outcome for people themselves. at the same time, as you said, this is an alliance of countries who all have their own difficulties with china. it's coming at a time when the biden administration is really having a solidify alliances as it looks how it can organise our strategic counterweight to china. although none of the countries actually mention china by name, they mention code language which is a free and open indochina concerns there about the chinese maritime and territorial claims, threatening that in some way, and other issues as well, we were told by us officials, they would have a frank and open discussion about the concerns regarding chinese behaviour and how they can strengthen their alliance. this is a one—day summit, the first time this has been held, what are the hopes for it? is this an indication of future alliances between these countries? this organisation — between these countries? this organisation has _ between these countries? ti 3 organisation has existed in some form since 2004 afterjoint action to deal with the tsunami at the time. it has been used in various ways by administration since then, but since the first time president biden has taken it to the leader level. this is the first time the leaders of the poor countries have met to address common issues it is a thing that biden wants strengthened this alliance has put in place the four of them have put in place structures to do that including the whole project to develop vaccines and working groups and how to combat climate change and also work in groups on how to deal with technology. is another issue that these countries have in mind when they look at china, which is shaping those by the neck cyber field. they want to look at how they can co—ordinate together to develop and promote those standards and design of technology in the future, which would by definition then provide a kind of counterweight to china's actions. �* ., ., kind of counterweight to china's actions. ., ., , kind of counterweight to china's actions. . ., , ., ~ actions. barbara platt usher, thank ou ve actions. barbara platt usher, thank you very much- _ lawyers for george floyd, the african american man who died while being restrained by police officers in minneapolis in may of last year, say the city has agreed a settlement. a payment of $27 millionwill be made to mr floyd's family. a former minneapolis police officer, derek chauvin, is standing trial on charges including third degree murder, following the incident. stay with us on bbc news, still to come — you aren't seeing double after all. researchers revealed there are more twins being born than ever before. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this, the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 24 hours, the soviet union lost an elderly, sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior. we heard these gunshots - from the gym, then he came out and started firing at our hearts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41 — sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90 — travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an eight—car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what'll you do now? will it change your life much, do you think? i don't know, really, i've never married before. this is bbc news, the latest headlines... a post—brexit reality check, as exports to the eu from the uk drop by more than 40% injanuary — the largest monthly fall since records began. another kidnapping in northern nigeria — this time, dozens of students are taken from a college in kaduna state at gunpoint. we'll have the latest details. if you have young children, you may have noticed there seem to be quite a lot of twins around. and it turns out, you would be right! researchers have found there are more being born than ever before. here's the maths — about 1.6 million twins are born each year worldwide. that means roughly one in every 42 children born is now a twin. why? factors like fertility treatments, such as ivf, and having children later in life. one of the report authors, professor christiaan monden, explains. the increase is really very clear in europe and a few asian countries, for instance south korea. and those are the countries that have had a real increase in ivf use. to that extent, some countries like greece, for instance, are now quite close in their rate to the central western african countries that traditionally were the twinning champions of the world, had the highest twin rates because of a naturally high chance of twins there. i'm joined now by mother of twins, sarah perris in london, and we can also speak to her identical daughters, georgie and india, too. big hello to the three of you. before we get to its, i want to ask sarah, i'm a mum. what is it like to be pregnant with twins? film. sarah, i'm a mum. what is it like to be pregnant with twins?— be pregnant with twins? oh, god, i can't even begin — be pregnant with twins? oh, god, i can't even begin to _ be pregnant with twins? oh, god, i can't even begin to tell— be pregnant with twins? oh, god, i can't