this is bbc news, with the latest headlines my name's mike embley. the united states threatens myanmar with new sanctions after the military seizes power in a coup. mobile testing in england for south africa's covid variant after cases with no links to travel are found. if you live in one of these postcodes where we are sending an enhanced testing then it is imperative that you stay at home and that you get a test, evenif home and that you get a test, even if you do not have symptoms. president biden meets republican senators to try and agree a bipartisan compromise on his covid stimulus package. the price of silver reaches its

highest level in almost 11 years as an army of investors take a shine to the precious metal. and storm orlena strikes america's east coast, warnings of power cuts and deep snows, could be one of the worst in years. hello. the united states has threatened to impose sanctions on myanmar, following a military coup in the country. president biden has urged an international response to the power—grab, and called it a direct assault on democracy. those detained include the head of the largest party, aung san suu kyi and other memebers of the civilain —— civilian leadership. troops are on the streets of the capital, naypyidaw, and the biggest city, yangon and a curfew has been put in place. our special correspondent, fergal keane reports. an army reverting to autocratic type, swiftly and ruthlessly deposing

a democratically—elected leader. somewhere behind the guns, aung san suu kyi is once more a prisoner of the generals. and even if people never trusted the military, they're still shocked at what's happened. translation: the army assaulted i people as it carried out a coup i on the civilian government elected by our people. our country is just a bird learning to fly. now the army has broken our wings. i am surprised and shaken. i fear that prices will rise and people will revolt. i hope that aung san suu kyi and her colleagues will be freed sooner rather than later. the crisis began when suu kyi's party won a landslide victory in elections last november. that win may have convinced the military that their hold on key security ministries — the root of real power here — was threatened. this was their response, relayed to the public on state television.

allegations of election fraud from an army notorious for its human rights abuses. there'll be a state of emergency for a year, with limitless powers to detain political enemies. this is the husband of one woman mp asking the soldiers what they want. his wife is taken away in one of the numerous dawn raids. expect them to escalate. the coup has an air of dark familiarity. for decades, the military has tried to maintain a monopoly of power. this was in 1995, when aung san suu kyi was released after her first six years of house arrest. the woman i met then was a global human rights icon. i think i became more political after i was put under house arrest than before, because once i was under house arrest, i became totally a political animal. because this was my whole existence.

but human rights would eventually come second to politics. three years ago, by now sharing power with the military, aung san suu kyi defended generals accused of genocide against the rohingya muslims, even appearing for the defence at a war crimes trial in the hague. do you ever worry that you will be remembered as the champion of human rights, the nobel laureate, who failed to stand up to ethnic cleansing in her own country? no, because i don't think there's ethnic cleansing going on. for western powers, the issue isn't about a personality, but the principle of democracy in myanmar. and tonight, president biden threatened renewed sanctions on the military. but he needs chinese support, and that's far from assured, given the competition for regional influence between beijing and washington, and china's long—standing support for the generals. the army's supporters were on the streets today, but the cheers

won't echo for long. ahead lies deepening isolation, perilous uncertainty. fergal keane, bbc news. linda lakhdhir is a legal advisor in the asia division of human rights watch focusing on the criminalisation of speech and assembly in the region. there is a un security council emergency session. what do you make, what chances of anything coming out of that do you think, especially since, presumably, the regime did consult china before it did this. ~ consult china before it did this. . ., , this. we can certainly hope. i think there _ this. we can certainly hope. i think there is _ this. we can certainly hope. i think there is a _ this. we can certainly hope. i think there is a wrong - this. we can certainly hope. i think there is a wrong call - think there is a wrong call from many countries involved in the security council meeting and are shocked that this has happened only five years after requires a civilian government took hold. we are certainly pushing and encouraging all countries to work together and take a united front to push

back against what is happening in myanmar. back against what is happening in myanmar-— back against what is happening in m anmar. ., ., ,, in myanmar. how well would you sa the in myanmar. how well would you say the un _ in myanmar. how well would you say the un general— in myanmar. how well would you say the un general has - in myanmar. how well would you say the un general has handled l say the un general has handled the human rights situation in myanmar was to mark is it a lack of real international response to the treatment of the rohingya behind this? absolutely. there has never been a strong co—ordinated response by the international community and that has led the generals who have enjoyed impunity for decades feel as if there impunity can continue. it is time for the international community to stand together and to tell the generals that this really cannot stand. find to tell the generals that this really cannot stand. are the chances of that, actually, do you think, realistically?— actually, do you think, realistically? whether you would get _ realistically? whether you would get a _ realistically? whether you would get a security - realistically? whether you i would get a security council statement on that, unclear because china can block it. but if it does not happen in the security council they can take it to the general assembly and get a resolution there and your chances there are pretty high. he could also have the human rights council call a special

session to speak on myanmar and you can also have individual governments who have sanctions on regimes to work together to put a strong sanction in place on military generals and on all of the military owned businesses that helped to fund these abuses. d0 businesses that helped to fund these abuses.— businesses that helped to fund these abuses. do you think the nld has any — these abuses. do you think the nld has any realistic— these abuses. do you think the nld has any realistic path - these abuses. do you think the nld has any realistic path for. nld has any realistic path for action? anything that it can do given that most of its leaders have been arrested was to make the bigger problem is that the 2000 and a constitution that was written by the military and is the alleged basis under which they call for a state of emergency gives no reasonable legal avenues for them to contest this. so the real question is what the nld supporters do and whether they do or do not take to the streets in myanmar. thank you very much. let's get some of the day's other news. iran's foreign minister has suggested the european union help negotiate his country's return to the international nuclear agreement. iran lifted restraints on its atomic programme after donald trump

pulled out of the deal. the us has warned that tehran could be only weeks away from having enough material for a nuclear bomb. russia's state prosecutor says he'll ask for a 3.5—yearjail sentence for the russian activist alexei navalny. there have been more protests across russia in support of the putin critic. his wife yulia navalnaya has been fined about $270 for taking part. police in turkey have entered a university campus in istanbul to quell a student protest against the arrest of two gay rights activists. scores of officers dispersed demonstrators, arresting around 100. the south african government says there has been a one—third fall in the number of rhinos killed by poachers — partly attributed to covid—i9 lockdowns. but conservationists warn poaching remains a big problem and that the rhino population in south africa has plummeted in recent years. there's growing concern among health experts around the world about the south african variant of coronavirus.

the uk government has promised to "come down hard" after the discovery of cases with no links to foreign travel. 80,000 people across england have now been told to take tests — even if they don't have symptoms. 0ur health editor, hugh pym has the latest. new mobile testing units have moved in to some communities in england, part of a drive to track the spread of the south african variant of the virus. all this after a handful of cases were discovered which could not be linked to arrivals from south africa or other countries. around 80,000 people aged 16 and over in eight areas — most in the south east of england and one in the west midlands — have been asked to take tests regardless of symptoms. positive cases will be analysed to see if they're caused by the variant. if you live in one of these postcodes where we're sending in enhanced testing, then it is imperative that you stay at home and that you get a test even if you don't have symptoms. this is so important

so that we can break the chains of the transmission of this new variant, and we've got to bring this virus to heel. how confident are you that the existing vaccines in use will be effective against the south african variant? so, three of the vaccines that have been used to date in trials have shown that they've been effective against the south african variant. we expect all other vaccines to have a similar level of effectiveness, particularly in reducing hospitalisation and death. there's speculation the vaccines might have to be adjusted to cope with new variants. it is unlikely that people would have to start again. much more likely that it would be a booster shot, a bit like the annual flu vaccine. local councils like woking have been sent home testing kits.

officials have been preparing to distribute them as fast as possible. the aim now is to contact as many households as they can. what we're doing is mobilizing over 100 volunteers to go out and knock on residents' doors in a defined geographical area with letters and testing kits, with a request that they carry out a test themselves, and then we'll come and collect it. so this is about identifying how far the south african variant has spread within the community. in the areas being targeted, like hanwell in west london, local people have been urged to take extra precautions, with a call for them to minimise social contact, as well as getting a test as soon as they can. officials say the variant doesn't make people sicker than the original strain, but it can spread fast, and that's what they want to stop. hugh pym, bbc news. president biden has been meeting with republican senators on a covid stimulus plan. the us president wants to push

through a sweeping $1.9 trillion stimulus package to get the economy moving again. but the republicans are proposing an alternative that would provide a much smaller $618 billion relief package — that's less than a third the size of biden�*s package. speaking straight after the meeting, susan collins — republican senator for maine — told reporters that it had been a productive discussion. it was some very good exchange of views. i won't say that we came to gather on a package tonight, no—one expected that in a two—hour meeting but what we did agree to do is to follow up we did agree to do is to follow up and talk further. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowesjoins me now. i suppose it is very likely that mr biden has more in common with the so—called centrist republican like susan collins than with the left wing of his party. how does this look now, ring us up to date? this is the first big test of

president biden �*s pledged to be bipartisan in his approach to dealing with congress and republicans, especially bringing both sides together. but i think there is still a huge amount of doubt as to whether this stimulus bill will be a good example of the because he has really been digging in his heels to get the $1.9 trillion which would be split between money to help combat the virus, the distribution of the vaccines, but also economic aid as well. and these republicans who approach the president —— president, he agreed to the request for a meeting and that has happened without any agreement at the end of it although the republicans, those republicans in the meeting seem to be happy with it. there is a clear difference between what those republicans believe in what resident biden wants stop he will give individuals less than a certain amount $1400 in terms of stimulus checks. the

republicans want less than that, about $1000. the threshold has come down. they want they given only to americans earning under $50,000 a year. and economic experts argue over how to spend the money, that if people are given more money in their pocket or that filter into the retail economy which needs a shot in the arm as well? so at least they are talking. i think the one big thing that both sides here are in agreement on and this is in the wake of new numbers that show that the last month was the worst month for coronavirus in the united states, some 90,000 deaths. both sides agree that given everything that is happened at the moment, this package is a matter of urgency. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the us east coast grinds to a halt as storm 0rlena brings 18 inches of snow. this is the moment that millions in iran had

been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid. the ban on the african national congress is lifted immediately, and the anc leader, nelson mandela, is to be set free unconditionally. ..four, three, two, one... a countdown - to a critical moment. the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 - of its engines at once. and apart from its power, it's this recycling of the rocket, l slashing the cost of a launch, l that makes this a breakthrough in the business| of space travel. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it "a piece of cake". thousands of people have given the yachtswoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth after she smashed the world record for sailing solo around the world non—stop.

this is bbc world news — the latest headlines: the united states threatens myanmar with new sanctions after the military seizes power in a coup. mobile testing in england for south africa's covid variant after cases with no links to travel are found. the reddit army of amateur investors are at it again. after pushing video game retailer, gamestop shares to dizzying highs, members of the online chat forum have now done the same for silver. prices for the precious metal jumped 11% at one point, reaching an 8—year high. michael wittmeyer is ceo and co—founder ofjm bullion, one of the largest online bullion dealers in the world. he's in dallas. what do you make of all this and what is it doing to your business?—

and what is it doing to your business? , , , , ., , business? our business has felt a significant impact _ business? our business has felt a significant impact since - a significant impact since those posts started to go up on wednesday night. we saw it pretty much immediately, enormous demand for silver product, from our existing customer base and a horde of new customers coming from reddit so we sought start on thursday and then friday and culminated this weekend with some of the craziest numbers we've ever seen and we had our biggest sales day yesterday which we are going to top today. which we are going to top toda . ~ , ., ., which we are going to top toda . ~ i. ., ., today. i think you had to suspend _ today. i think you had to suspend silver _ today. i think you had to suspend silver sales - today. i think you had to suspend silver sales on | suspend silver sales on saturday evening? what does that mean, what are the implications?— that mean, what are the implications? silver markets aren't epen _ implications? silver markets aren't open on _ implications? silver markets aren't open on the _ implications? silver markets| aren't open on the weekend, implications? silver markets i aren't open on the weekend, so how we are able to sell products as we prepurchase portions of ounces to carry through the weekend. typically we are able to estimate that very well so when the market opens on sunday evening we are perfectly hedged in flat on inventory but this time around we sold so much that by saturday evening had to pull the majority of the silver of

the majority of the silver of the website because we would have had a significant exposure to when the markets opened on sunday evening and they did open well up as we feared, so it was the right move in hindsight and we were able to resume sales on sunday evening and ended up selling about $27 million worth of polict. part ofthe million worth of polict. part of the point _ million worth of polict. part of the point of _ million worth of polict. part of the point of what - million worth of polict. part of the point of what this i of the point of what this reddit army is doing is give the so—called fatcats a bit of a bloodied nose. it's quite likely some of the large funds will benefit from all this, as presumably other companies mining silver? 50 presumably other companies mining silver?— presumably other companies mining silver? so some of the thins mining silver? so some of the things posted _ mining silver? so some of the things posted on _ mining silver? so some of the things posted on that - mining silver? so some of the things posted on that sub- i things posted on that sub— reddit are going contrary to what they posted last weekend, and as you said, some of these hedge funds are in silver, mining companies benefit from high silver prices so there is some hesitation on their part if this is what they want to be doing or not but we still seeing tremendous demand both from new clients existing investors. did you see any of this coming? as soon as we saw this wednesday night, myself and one of the partners, we had

and one of the partners, we had a suspicion this was coming and we started to get ready and try to source inventory and batten down the hatches for what was to come. ., ~ down the hatches for what was to come. . ~ ., down the hatches for what was tocome. . ~ ., , ,, . .,, to come. talking of suspicions, do ou to come. talking of suspicions, do you have — to come. talking of suspicions, do you have an _ to come. talking of suspicions, do you have an idea _ to come. talking of suspicions, do you have an idea of - to come. talking of suspicions, do you have an idea of where i do you have an idea of where bits might move next? i do you have an idea of where bits might move next? i don't have a crystal _ bits might move next? i don't have a crystal ball _ bits might move next? i don't have a crystal ball on - bits might move next? i don't have a crystal ball on silver i have a crystal ball on silver prices but as far as our market goes, the physical coin and bar market, there will be a supply imbalance for months to come, this was such a shock to the supply chain but i think it will be several months before product premiums and availability normalise. thank ou ve availability normalise. thank you very much- _ the devolved government in northern ireland has suspended physical inspections of food consignments at belfast and larne ports because of security concerns. earlier a council withdrew its staff from larne, saying there'd been an upsurge in sinister behaviour over new brexit arrangements. checks are being carried out on some goods arriving from the rest of the uk.

i world health organization team sent to china to investigate the pandemic has continued its work. on the weekend, they visited a seafood centre in wuhan where the virus was initially detected. a major winter storm has hit the northeastern united states, bringing heavy snowfalls and blizzard—like conditions to new york state, pennsylvania and new england. thousands of flights have been cancelled, schools have been closed and coronavirus vaccinations have been postponed. mark lobel reports. heavy snow and high winds force a state of emergency in new jersey and new york city. flights grounded, vaccinations sites shut. with up to 22 inches of snow expected in coastal flooding, inches of snow expected in coastalflooding, new inches of snow expected in coastal flooding, new york's mayor warns of a new reason to stay at home. mayor warns of a new reason to stay at home-— stay at home. blizzard conditions, _ stay at home. blizzard conditions, stay i stay at home. blizzard conditions, stay off. stay at home. blizzard| conditions, stay off the stay at home. blizzard - conditions, stay off the road, stay off the streets and sidewalks, stay inside. if

there is anyway you can avoid travelling. is there is anyway you can avoid travelling-— travelling. is this curtain of snow lifts _ travelling. is this curtain of snow lifts the _ travelling. is this curtain of snow lifts the mood - travelling. is this curtain of snow lifts the mood on i snow lifts the mood on broadway, it's most definitely snow time. in central park, as in europe recently, americans now savouring snow days at a time of otherwise spiritual life. i time of otherwise spiritual life. , ., ., life. i 'ust wanted to en'oy the life. ijust wanted to en'oy the snow d life. ijust wanted to en'oy the snow a d life. ijust wanted to en'oy the snow a little i life. ijust wanted to en'oy the snow a little bit. i life. ijust wanted to enjoy the snow a little bit. he i life. ijust wanted to enjoy the snow a little bit. he isj the snow a little bit. he is also enjoying it but i think he's done. also enjoying it but i think he's done-— also enjoying it but i think he's done. , , ., ., he's done. this is a wonderful da to he's done. this is a wonderful day to day- — he's done. this is a wonderful day to day. it's _ he's done. this is a wonderful day to day. it's not that i he's done. this is a wonderful day to day. it's not that often| day to day. it's not that often that — day to day. it's not that often that we — day to day. it's not that often that we get this kind of snow in new— that we get this kind of snow in new york city and this is one — in new york city and this is one of— in new york city and this is one of the most beautiful places— one of the most beautiful places in the world to enjoy that— places in the world to enjoy that snow. places in the world to en'oy that stand that snow. with the fight a t ainst that snow. with the fight against climate - that snow. with the fight against climate change l that snow. with the fight i against climate change thrown that snow. with the fight - against climate change thrown a lifeline by america's new president, current conditions show what global warming can lead to. meteorologists say snow here has become less frequent but more intense. the snow is perhaps _ frequent but more intense. tue: snow is perhaps less frequent but more intense. tte:

snow is perhaps less often, frequent but more intense. tt2 snow is perhaps less often, or i should say, it's mixed with rain or changes to rain more often than it's used to but when we get a big storm, more often than not, they become blocked dust storms.- often than not, they become blocked dust storms. from the fros to blocked dust storms. from the frosty to the — blocked dust storms. from the frosty to the fluffy. _ blocked dust storms. from the frosty to the fluffy. with i blocked dust storms. from the frosty to the fluffy. with the i frosty to the fluffy. with the world seemingly sliding into freefall at times, this is one way to make the best of it all. mark lobel, bbc news. south africa is one of the countries hardest hit by coronavirus and a shipment of vaccines has arrived. as soon the consignment of this vaccine arrived earlier today, in fact this afternoon, it was a take into an area where it will be

subjected to quality checks and verified. if it can fight off this new variant which is highly contagious, and also driving the number of infections and deaths here in south africa, but from what we have heard, the government is also going to get millions of more doses from pfizer which it says its vaccine has been proven to be able to fight against the uk variant and also the south african variant. fake coronavirus test certificates are being sold online, meaning people can travel without being tested. that's the warning today from the eu's law enforcement agency, who say criminals are exploiting the pandemic and putting lives at risk. it comes as bbc news can reveal that counterfeit certificates made to look like they've been issued by the uk's health service are also being sold online. angus crawford reports. this is a covid test certificate.

the holder is negative and fit to fly. except they might not be, because it's a counterfeit. an investigator monitoring online forums used by criminal gangs. in some, flight tickets are bought and sold using stolen credit cards. and now they're also dealing in fake covid test certificates. these criminal organisations that have been previously providing airline tickets using stolen credit card information, they're providing a fuller service. so they're now being able to give you false nhs certificates saying that you are fit to fly, that you have a negative covid test result. so this is like an underground travel agency? absolutely. and these guys have been operating for some time, not located just in the uk, they operate on a global basis. recently a man was arrested outside luton airport on suspicion of selling fake fit to fly certificates. on suspicion of selling fake fit—to—fly certificates. it's an issue the authorities right across europe

are worried about. our investigation found not just fake nhs certificates, but also ones sold abroad for people coming back to the uk. these look like they're from clinics in nigeria but they're also fakes. crucially, if they're getting fake fit to fly certificates, they may be carrying the virus. there is a very real risk of that, absolutely. travellers cutting corners, criminals making money. if fit—to—fly is easy to fake, can these certificates really keep britain safe? angus crawford, bbc news. just a brief reminder of that main news again. us president joe biden has strongly condemned the military coup in myanmar, saying those held responsible will be accountable. they say it's a direct result on democracy and the rule of law, urging an

international response, threatening new sanctions on myanmar if the military doesn't reverse actions. the un security council will hold an emergency meeting tuesday. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on our twitter feeds. hello there. heavy snow is on the way for tuesday. the met office have issued an amber weather warning for this one across parts of northern england, where we're looking at around 10—15 centimetres of snow over the higher ground. it's more than enough to cause transport disruption. some roads will be shut, and we could see some power cuts as well. this area of low pressure, then, these weather fronts are pushing into cold air that's with us across scotland and northern england and will be slow to budge through the course of tuesday. so it's one of these situations where the rain is starting to turn to snow, and that will continue over the next few hours. now, the initial concerns will be across parts of northern england, where we could be looking at around 3—8cm building in.

but across some of the hillier areas, you don't have to go too high up for this, we're looking at around 10—15cm. i think sheffield could be one of the places that gets hit pretty hard with this. notice the snow isn'tjust limited to the pennines. across into cumbria, into southern areas of scotland, we'll also see snowfall developing through the day, so we're more likely see some disruption in some of these areas, as well. now, funnily enough, away from this band of snow, we've got some sunshine and cold air in scotland. cold and frosty here. to the south, we've got some thundery ran pushing into the south—west but look how mild this is across these southern areas. temperature 12—14 degrees in cardiff and london. you aren't going to get any snow with that, but further northwards, that's where the cold airjust continues to loiter. as i say, transport disruption is more than likely. i suspect the a57 snake pass will be shut. the m62 could be affected, maybe parts of the m16 in cumbria and the a74m in southern scotland — all areas that could see some issues. now, we are not done with the snow just there because as we go through the night—time, tuesday night and into the early part of wednesday, the snow pushes

northwards into scotland. heavy rain across southern england could bring the risk of some localised flooding. could see some localised flooding from the rain in north—west england, as well. wednesday, we've got more snow to come in scotland, perhaps the heaviest migrating north of the central belt, causing some transport disruption here. but it's turning milder across northern england, temperatures about 9 degrees in liverpool and hull. still around double figures, 10 degrees or so in london and cardiff. so quite a mild spell of weather, really, across southern parts of england, and that means that what's coming next week may well come as something of a rude shock. that's the latest.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the united states has condemned the coup in myanmar as a "direct assault" on democracy. president biden says he will hold the military accountable for overturning a democratic transition — and threatened to re—impose sanctions. the european union, japan and india have also been critical. tens of thousands of people across england will be tested for the south african coronavirus variant, after a series of cases with no links to travel were detected. the health secretary, has said the uk must "come down hard" on the new strain, which has been found in six regions. joe biden has held a meeting with 10 moderate republican senators to discuss a proposal to shrink his sweeping $1.9 trillion covid—19 relief package. speaking afterwards, the republicans said, though they hadn't agreed on a package, they'd had the us president has promised to explore a bipartisan response to the pandemic.