hello and thanks forjoining us. the world health organization has urged countries not to pause covid vaccinations, as several major eu member states halted their roll—outs of the oxford—astrazeneca jab. the who's vaccine safety experts will meet later today after germany, france, italy and spainjoined other nations in halting the injections as a precaution while checks are made. it said there was no evidence of a link between the vaccine and blood clots. our health correspondent, jim reed, has more. 11 million people in the uk have already been given their first dose of the astrazeneca vaccine without any serious side effects emerging — but a growing number of other countries have now suspended its use after a small number of cases of blood clotting were recorded. france, germany, italy and spain have temporarily stopped using the vaccine as a precautionary measure, days after norway said three health care workers had needed hospital treatment. several other european countries, including austria, has stopped using certain batches of the drug. medical regulators in both the uk and the eu have said there is no evidence the clots were the result of being given the vaccine itself. manufacturer astrazeneca said the number of cases of blood clotting so far is no higher than doctors would expect to see in the general population in normal times. and the government's scientific advisers say there is no reason to pause the rollout in this country. the message for now is this vaccine is safe and effective. it's saved thousands and thousands of elderly and vulnerable people's lives and we're determined to press on with it unless we see a major safety signal to suggest otherwise — in which case we will be open and transparent with the public. later today the safety committee of the eu drugs agency will meet to review all the cases that have come to light so far. if it gives the green light, then other countries are likely to resume their vaccination programmes quickly. in the uk, the message from scientists is to take any coronavirus jab if offered as all the data so far show the risks of catching covid far outweigh the risks of a side effect from any vaccine. jim reed, bbc news. in france, the number of people in intensive care with covid—19 is at its highest level since late november. patients in the capital paris have been sent to other parts of the country to relieve the pressure on hospitals there, as france's prime minister says a third national lockdown remains a possibility. mark lobel reports. airborne assistance. a patient from paris touches down for life—saving treatment. translation: they arrived by special trains in the spring, - by helicopter in autumn, and each time, it is- a big mobilisation. inside this hospital in western france, things are feeling precarious. translation: it's| a duty of solidarity. right now, it's not very easy because since we are nearlyl saturated, or even already saturated, we have to find j solutions to increase our care capacity in intensive care. - the number of people in intensive care across france has reached its highest level since november. cases are rising once again, testing the limits of a 6pm nationwide curfew and closed restaurants and businesses. translation: we will likely have to make new decisions | in the coming days, based on those developments, l and i asked the governmentl to get to work so we can give citizens a timeframe - within the next few days. there are already weekend lockdowns in nice, and several towns along the french riviera. and restrictions further north in dunkirk, and pas de calais. there have been two national lockdowns — one a year ago last march, and the second in december. could there be a third in paris and the surrounding area? translation: i believe that we must not resort| to a lockdown, which is not out of the question. _ i say clearly, it is not out of the question, i but we must use all the weapons at our disposal to avoid - another lockdown. french pharmacies — the latest frontier in the fight against coronavirus — now opening their doors as vaccination centres. but, with a slow start, there are fears the country's death toll may begin to rise again soon, prompting the pressure for locking down again. mark lobel, bbc news. if there is a third national lockdown in france what could the economy consequences be? that will be a question in our business coverage in around 25 minutes. monica gandhi is an infectious disease expert at the university of california, san francisco and shejoins me now welcome. if we talk about first of all the european countries who are calling a halt to the use of the astrazeneca vaccine, what are your thoughts on that? in the us it has not yet been approved there.— in the us it has not yet been approved there. no, we haven't authorised _ approved there. no, we haven't authorised it _ approved there. no, we haven't authorised it yet. _ approved there. no, we haven't authorised it yet. we _ approved there. no, we haven't authorised it yet. we should. i authorised it yet. we should. and my thoughts on what is going on in the european continent is that it doesn't make sense to me, the halting of the vaccine would happen right now. there are 17 million doses administered between the uk and also other countries, including india, that have administered it. among those 70 million there have been only 37 reported cases of plots. that number divided by 17 million is much lower than seen in the general population of older individual anyway, and so there is no causal link and this doesn't seem elevated compared to the general population. i agree with the who that this does not make sense to halt the vaccination from astrazeneca. why has it not yet been approved in the us, given how long it has been around for? that is a really good question and i ask it every single day myself. i think it is a great vaccine, i think the uk have shown us it is extremely effective, you are rolling it out very fast. there were issues of this in the uk trial, this half dose and full dose being given. that was inadvertent and seems to be a hang—up here and so the us trial will be completed and i do think it will be authorised here, but i am sorry it hasn't been because it is a great vaccine are. in been because it is a great vaccine are.— vaccine are. in terms of vaccine _ vaccine are. in terms of vaccine hesitancy - vaccine are. in terms of vaccine hesitancy and i vaccine are. in terms of. vaccine hesitancy and fear about vaccines, what impact do you think this might have, what is going on in europe at the moment? i is going on in europe at the moment?— is going on in europe at the moment? . , ., ., moment? i am very worried about what ou moment? i am very worried about what you just _ moment? i am very worried about what you just implied, _ moment? i am very worried about what you just implied, which - moment? i am very worried about what you just implied, which is - what you just implied, which is that if there is this idea that the vaccines are not safe, which isn't true, by the very few clots, that can increase vaccine hesitancy and you just reported on what is going on in paris. if anything there is only one tool that will get us out of it because it is not a tool but the solution, that is vaccination. so i am concerned that these kind of things happen. this happened in the us with some anaphylactic reactions among health care workers early on and then there was a concern that everyone would get anaphylaxis. very rare, have been documented now at a very rare rate. 2.5 peri million doses. we need to be calm, think about the general population, side effects, and not worry about these few clots. ~ ., u, not worry about these few clots. a, u, ,. not worry about these few clots. ., ~ not worry about these few clots. a, ., ~ i., clots. monica gandhi, thank you for our clots. monica gandhi, thank you for your time. — clots. monica gandhi, thank you for your time, good _ clots. monica gandhi, thank you for your time, good to - clots. monica gandhi, thank you for your time, good to talk - clots. monica gandhi, thank you for your time, good to talk to i for your time, good to talk to you. brazil's president, jair bolsonaro, has sacked his health minister, general eduardo pazuello, who is an army officer with no medical training. he was a controversial appointment who supported the president's policy of promoting an unproven drug to treat coronavirus and downplayed the need for social distancing. the new health minister takes over as the death toll in brazil approaches 280,000 — the second highest total in the world. a day before the us secretary of state antony blinken, and the us secretary of defence lloyd austin are due to arrive in seoul for theirfirst talks with south korean counterparts, north korea has warned the us to avoid "causing a stink" — if it wants peace. in a statement carried by the state news agency, the sister of north korean leader, kim yojong, also criticised ongoing military drills in south korea. earlier, the white house said north korea has so far not responded to invitations to engage in dialogue. let's get more on this from our correspondent, laura bicker, in seoul. interesting, all these comments back and forth ahead of antony blinken's arrival in seoul. yes, he is currently in tokyo. in the last few minutes he has reaffirmed the us's commitment with its allies to denuclearise north korea. that is the language they are using, which will not please the north koreans. when it comes to this warning from pyongyang and more specifically from kim yo—jong, the sister of kim jong—un, i think there are two macrame targets with her words. first of all ivy military every year when the us and south korea get together for the military drills, north korea see it as a provocation, i rehearsalfor war. sometimes that reaction comes in the form of a missile launch or a missile test. in this case the so—called war games by being reacting to win a war of words from kim yo—jong. she is saying this is a march of crisis and a march have worked from south korea. she is also giving seoul a warning that if this continues they may pull out of certain agreements. she also takes aim at the us saying if they want a peaceful four years in office and they want to sleep at night, they had better not cause a stink. they better not cause a stink. they better not cause trouble, in other words. washington, with their visit here, is being carefully watched by pyongyang. in terms ofthe watched by pyongyang. in terms of the context _ watched by pyongyang. in terms of the context of _ watched by pyongyang. in terms of the context of all _ watched by pyongyang. in terms of the context of all of _ watched by pyongyang. in terms of the context of all of this, - of the context of all of this, bring us up to day because it has been a while. it's almost like north korea has been off the radar for like north korea has been off the radarfor a bit. flit like north korea has been off the radar for a bit.— the radar for a bit. of the last few _ the radar for a bit. of the last few months - the radar for a bit. of the last few months it - the radar for a bit. of the last few months it is - the radar for a bit. of the last few months it is notl last few months it is not surprising that north korea has been off the radar. it has been more closed off to the world than ever before. it closed its borders last january to try to prevent the spread of covid—i9, and since then it has had very little contact with the outside world. when it comes to the border closure, it has caused real problems within the country. it really is thought there are dire economic circumstances within north korea because even trade with its main ally china has dropped. in the last three months of 2020 it to drop 99%. we are keeping a close eye on the likes of food prices for the likes of food prices for the ordinary north koreans, to just check on what kind of conditions it is like. meanwhile, with the unique realisation, remember we had those three meetings between the previous president donald trump and kim jong—un. the previous president donald trump and kimjong—un. it failed to reach any agreement on north korea's nuclear weapons. now we have a new president, joe biden, he is reviewing the entire north korean policy. they said they were published that policy within the next few weeks. that will be one of the discussions that will take place tomorrow here in seoul as the counterparts meet, and hopefully after that we will learn the plant.— hopefully after that we will learn the plant. thank you very much. learn the plant. thank you very much- we _ learn the plant. thank you very much. we will— learn the plant. thank you very much. we will speak _ learn the plant. thank you very much. we will speak to - learn the plant. thank you very much. we will speak to you - much. we will speak to you again soon, i'm sure. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... the 2021 oscar nominations are out — and the acting categories are the most ethnically diverse in the awards history. today we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter... cheering and applause. 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 the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. this was an international trophy and we understand now that the search for it has become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats. of the west, offering i reunification as quickly as possible, and that's. what the voters wanted. this is bbc news, the latest headlines... the world health organization urges countries to keep using the astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine — as a growing list of european nations suspend injections. the influential sister of north korea's leader, says the us must avoid causing a stink if it wants peace — as america's top diplomat heads to the region. senators in the united states made history on monday, confirming deb haaland as the head of the us interior department, making her the first native american to take the role. she will oversee the us government's relationship with tribal nations. and she's is also expected to play a key role in realising president biden's plans to fight climate change. our north america correspondent, peter bowes reports. the yeas are 51, the nays are 40, the nomination is confirmed. an historic decision. the first native american cabinet secretary in us history. most republicans voted against deb haaland, but the new mexico democrat and member of the laguna pueblo tribe has been confirmed to lead the interior department. the job will put her at the centre of environmental policy—making in the biden administration, and it is the department that oversees the us government's relationship with the 574 federally recognised tribal nations. a fierce campaigner for the rights of indigenous people, and the preservation of public lands, deb haaland opposes new oil and gas drilling leases on federal property. joe biden has promised a review, but republicans believe the move will costjobs. senator, if confirmed, will you tell the president that it is unwise to continue the pause as a permanent ban? i don't believe that it is a permanent ban. i am more than happy to work with you, and to work with, of course, at the pleasure of the president and along with, if i am confirmed, my colleagues, to make sure that we are doing everything we can to create jobs for americans. for the democrats, the confirmation of the country's first native american to run a cabinet—level agency is something to celebrate. the confirmation of deb haaland is amazing. it is a huge step forward. and now it creates a government that more embodies the full richness and diversity of this country. there will be challenges ahead — not least within her own party, as the biden administration takes on climate change — but for america's indigenous people, this is a moment, and long overdue. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. scientists in iceland are bracing themselves for a volcanic eruption after the island recorded more than 40,000 earthquakes injust over two weeks. this concerning amount of activity is an indication that an eruption is imminent, though scientists are unable to confirm when exactly it might happen. europe correspondent jean mackenzie has this report. at times the ground continuously shakes. thousands of micro—earthquakes cascade one after another. hundreds are strong enough to feel. at iceland's meteorological office they are recording every last one. ,, . ., one. since midnight today there have been _ one. since midnight today there have been 1200 _ one. since midnight today there have been 1200 earthquakes - one. since midnight today there l have been 1200 earthquakes and in a normal week you might have 100, 200. in a normal week you might have 100, 200-— in a normal week you might have 100,200. , , ., , 100, 200. many people have been woken u- 100, 200. many people have been woken up by _ 100, 200. many people have been woken up by earthquakes. - 100, 200. many people have been woken up by earthquakes. we - woken up by earthquakes. we have — woken up by earthquakes. we have had _ woken up by earthquakes. we have had several over a magnitude of the five so this is very— magnitude of the five so this is very unusual. i don't think anyone — is very unusual. i don't think anyone remembers anything like this happening. this anyone remembers anything like this happening-— this happening. this intense swarm of — this happening. this intense swarm of earthquakes - this happening. this intense swarm of earthquakes is - this happening. this intense swarm of earthquakes is a l this happening. this intense i swarm of earthquakes is a sign that magma is on the move, making its way to the surface of the earth, ready to erupt. everybody is feeling like they have been out to sea, a little bit giddy! but it is stressful and most stressful for people who live close to the active areas. ~ ., ., ., areas. we head out to the volcanic — areas. we head out to the volcanic area _ areas. we head out to the volcanic area in _ volcanic area in the peninsular. iceland is used to volcanic eruptions that there has not been won in this area so close to the capital for hundreds and hundreds of years, and so it is that that is making people a bit nervous. you can see the ground out in front of us is covered in old lava that has been here now for more than a thousand years. we are taken closer by one of the island's geologists. the activity is _ island's geologists. the activity is on _ island's geologists. the activity is on the - island's geologists. the activity is on the other. island's geologists. iie: activity is on the other side of this rich, so we are in a safe spot here. the magma is now at one kilometre depth in the crust and that is very shallow. so we can expect that to find its way up to the surface but we are not going to see, like we saw in 2010, a volcano with an explosive eruption and a lot of action. that is not the case here. the ancient lava — that is not the case here. the ancient lava has _ that is not the case here. the ancient lava has been - that is not the case here. the ancient lava has beenjoined by new cracks. the magma already making its mark. how much morning will you get for an eruption?— morning will you get for an erution? ., �* ~ ., ~ eruption? we don't know. we... hopefully _ eruption? we don't know. we... hopefully we — eruption? we don't know. we... hopefully we will _ eruption? we don't know. we... hopefully we will get _ eruption? we don't know. we... hopefully we will get the - hopefully we will get the warning, but it might be a very small signal. pm wa