this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: an internet blackout fails to prevent protests in myanmar — thousands take to the streets in the biggest demonstrations yet against the miltary coup. translation: as a citizen l who was born in this country, i cannot accept the unjust takeover by the military. because of this military dictatorship, many of our lives have been destroyed. we cannot let our future generation meet the same fate. astrazeneca confirms a trial does suggest the oxford vaccine has only limited effectiveness against the south africa variant — but says it still offers protection. in india, thousands of farmers block roads across the country in a protest that sees the deployment

of 50,000 police officers. 0ne guest on a lonely lighthouse — sweden's film festival takes social distancing to the extreme. we speak to the woman who won a ticket to 70 solitary screenings. we start in myanmar and the military coup there. and there are reports of a second day of mass gatherings on the streets of yangon. on saturday, there were the biggest day of protests since the military coup last monday. the protesters are calling for the release of everyone detained by the army since monday, military leaders there shut down the internet, as the demostrators called for the release of all those detained, including elected leader aung san suu kyi. 0ur correspondent jonathan head reports.

five days after the military takeover and people are testing the limits. this group included factory workers from the western suburbs of yangon. but led by young political activists, shouting their condemnation of the new regime and their support for the ousted government. translation: as a citizen l who was born in this country, i cannot accept the unjust takeover by the military. because of this military dictatorship, many of our lives have been destroyed. we cannot let our future generation meet the same fate. translation: i am really pleased with what i see i in these protests. here people are not paid to come out to protest, these are genuine people. to those who are watching these scenes, we welcome you tojoin us. the crowd grew as it headed towards the downtown area of myanmar�*s largest city, where a line of police blocked their way.

offering a perfect backdrop for the hunger games salute that has become the symbol of popular defiance in this region. it's hard to gauge how much of the country shares this sense of outrage, but it is a fair bet this coup is widely unpopular. the protest was broadcast as it happened on a dozen or more social media pages but the military began shutting down the internet and blocking popular apps so that through the day we watched myanmar slipping back towards the digital dark age of a decade ago. protests have taken place outside myanmar too. with aung san suu kyi in custody once more, these are painful echoes of a wretched past. are myanmar�*s generals really prepared to return to the bad old days? perhaps even they do not know

what they will do yet after inflicting such a blow to their country's hopes. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. wai wai nu is a human rights activist from myanmar and the director of women peace network. she says the internet blackout has severely disrupted communications with people on the ground. since yesterday, the communication has completely cut off. the internet shutdown and now we are not letting any contact to the ground. so far from some colleagues in myanmar, we are hearing that last night police were arresting the activists last night so we don't know the number yet. night so we don't know the numberyet. but night so we don't know the number yet. but we are watching with great concern and we are hearing that today they are going to continue with mass protests so we are very concerned about the safety and

security. iiii concerned about the safety and securi . ., ., security. if there are more protests — security. if there are more protests and _ security. if there are more protests and larger- security. if there are more i protests and larger protests planned, are you expecting therefore some kind of retaliation from the military? the military is famous for cracking down the protesters in the past, in history, and yes, i am very fearful of another crack down by the military and we don't want the tragedy again in this time. we really need immediate response and protection for these protesters and civilians.— and civilians. well, the military _ and civilians. well, the military have _ and civilians. well, the military have one, - and civilians. well, the - military have one, essentially, the military is in control of the military is in control of the country. what do you expect the country. what do you expect the protesters here to actually be able to achieve? the the protesters here to actually be able to achieve?— the protesters here to actually be able to achieve? the goal of the protesters _ be able to achieve? the goal of the protesters is _ be able to achieve? the goal of the protesters is basically - be able to achieve? the goal of the protesters is basically to i the protesters is basically to go to the normal where they are

calling for, they are calling to end this coup and the transfer of power to the elected officials and release of the all elected officials and detainees. that is the goal for immediate, short—term goals and we have, the community as activists and young students, we have a longer goalfor the country where we have no military control over the systems we have a new constitution that uphold democratic futures which have assurance of life of, the rights of everybody in the country including the minorities.— country including the minorities. . minorities. that is looking . uite minorities. that is looking quite far _ minorities. that is looking quite far away _ minorities. that is looking quite far away as - minorities. that is looking quite far away as things i quite far away as things stand right now. many people were taken by surprise that the military stepped in at all given it is already in a puff —— powerful position, it clearly felt threatened in some way and has decided to take this. what do you think the international community could

do, if anything, international community could do, ifanything, to international community could do, if anything, to restore democratic norms? irate do, if anything, to restore democratic norms? we plead to the international _ democratic norms? we plead to the international community i democratic norms? we plead to the international community to | the international community to take an immediate response. call the military general to release the all elected officials and to transfer power to them, and to put this targeted sanctions on the military generals and also having a comprehensive approach from multi— lateral approach to respond to the crisis in myanmar and put pressure, diplomatic pressure, economic pressure and security pressure against the military generals as well as ask to reconvene and adopt a strong resolution that include global arms and as a referral of the situation to

the international criminal court on the crimes that they committed against the ouija committed against the 0uija populations in myanmar. thanks to macro two them. —— wai wai nu. establishing what has happened in myanmar is quite tricky but reuters news agency has filed a couple of details confirming that there is now a second day of marching in myanmar in the big cities there. dozens of people on the streets again saying they are carrying red balloons, red is the colour of the party of aung san suu kyi, the defector leader that was detained by the military. and by mid—morning saying about 100 people also gathered in the coastal —— a coastal town and doctors gathering. let's move on to the coronavirus pandemic now and where we are with vaccines. drug company astrazeneca says

it believes its covid—19 by the south african variant of the coronavirus. but, the drugmaker admitted the vaccine appears to have limited effectiveness against milder illness caused by the south african variant. so what should we make of this and when will we know more? dr ingrid katz is an infectious disease specialist and associate faculty director at the harvard global health institute. i think we'll get more information in the upcoming week to really help us understand what is going on, particularly with these new variants as noted in south africa. and how concerned are you by these new variants? we have had one version in kent, and in south africa, could there be more? absolutely. i remain concerned about these variants, particularly when the rates of covid—19 are still incredibly high and the percentage of the population globally really is so low in terms of vaccination rates.

does this mean that we need to start thinking about the coronavirus like we think about the flu, that every single year there will be different variants and we will need protection against that? i do think the coronavirus is here with us to stay, u nfortu nately. but on the optimistic side, it's been wonderful to see that these vaccines do seem to prevent hospitalisations, which is the thing that we're most concerned about. so if they can continue to work on these vaccines to ensure that they're safe and effective as these variants mutate, then i think we may be considering annual shots to make sure that everyone stays safe. and can i ask you an unfair question on timescales, here? of course we don't know what will happen and we have to be prepared for the unpredictable, but with all

things being equal, given where we are now, do you have a rough hopeful timetable in your head for when life could start to get back to normal? yes. i mean, i have been thinking about this a lot. and i first have to say it's so critical that we think about vaccine distribution and equity globally, that the virus does not stop at a given border. it is critical that we get vaccines distributed globally. i think if we can get effective scallop of these vaccines over the next 3—6 months, globally, then i hope that we can really turn the corner on this by the end of 2021 and be resuming a more regular life. doctor ingrid katz, thank you so much for coming on. thank you for having me. china appears to have made good progress, with two vaccines — from sinovac and sinopharm — already making their way abroad. the sinovacjab has just received limited approval in china for use on an emergency basis. despite caution from sinovac that data for the protection rate for people over 60 is "limited". david campanale has more.

from mask diplomacy to vaccine diplomacy. china has been working hard to change global perceptions. it already has a vaccine in production made by sinopharm, which is being used internationally. indonesia's president joko widodo became the first major world leader to publicly receive a shot one month ago. by giving conditional approval to sinovac�*s product, chinese regulators have now allowed emergency access for a second chinese supply for general use. rio dejaneiro's iconic sambadrome, which hosts the city's famous carnaval. brazilians here over 90 years old have been receiving sinovac jabs after the venue was converted into a drive—through vaccination centre. translation: it will be - wonderful to see my family. there is nothing better than embracing them. i miss them.

translation: professionally, it is a unique experience i and as a citizen, it is a joy for us to be giving hope to people with a vaccine that is efficient, that is safe, and we hope for better days. sinovac says trials in brazil have shown 50% effectiveness in preventing infection, reaching 80% in preventing cases requiring medical intervention. but the company has also admitted that efficacy and safety results need to be further confirmed as trials are yet to meet normal standards. as western nations dispute contracts and bid up the price of the big—name vaccines, china's home—grown jabs are picking up customers overseas. in asia, singapore, malaysia, the philippines and indonesia have either signed up or begun rolling out the sinovac vaccine. turkey has also approved the sinovac vaccine for emergency use. other deals have been reached with chile as well as brazil.

the united arab emirates and bahrain have approved the sinopharm vaccine, as has hungary, along with several others. china's initial cover—up of the viral outbreak and deflection of its roots to countries far away has lowered global trust in beijing. its largesse with its products, branded china's health silk road, is not entirely altruistic, with beijing hoping its largesse with its products, branded china's health silk road, is not entirely altruistic, with beijing hoping for a long—term reputational and diplomatic return. here in the uk the new chair of the vaccine task force says he's "very optimistic", of meeting the target of offering a first coronavirus injection to all over 50s by may. almost 11.5 million people have now received their firstjab. but some, particularly people in minority communities, remain hesitant. here's our community affairs correspondent, adina campbell. this vaccination hub, at the royal london hospital, has been up and running for almost six weeks

and it's non—stop, with staff putting jabs into hundreds of arms each day. any history of problems with bleeding or bruising at all? one of them is martin griffiths, a consultant surgeon, whose dayjob normally involves treating trauma victims with severe wounds, but now he's part of the vaccination effort. he's seen, first—hand, the disproportionate impact of coronavirus on people from black, asian and other ethnic minority groups. there's a lot of anxiety out in the community about coronavirus and the vaccination, about its speed, about whether it works or not and a lot of misinformation on, particulary on social media about that. i think it's important that people take the opportunity to ask questions and have their concerns answered by trusted individuals. this government video is one way of spreading the vaccination message on social media. people from these communities are up to four times more likely to die from coronavirus than white people, but there's growing evidence and research which shows they're more

reluctant to be vaccinated. we have to trust that, you know, the scientists have done what they should be doing, government and everybody has done theirjob correctly and they've put this out there. they've had a lot of misconception, especially within the bangladeshi community. it's more to do with not getting the information in the language that they need it or if they've got the misconceptions, where they come from. nhs staff are giving jabs from more than 1500 sites across the country. this is one of the busiest vaccination hubs in london and, at the moment, it's running twice a week, where up to 700 people a day are given a jab here. and for those still in doubt... we are not authority, we are people as well. we want to help our community get better. so, yes, please, ask questions. we'll give you the answer and tell you the truth and we can move forward from there. in an effort to get more people vaccinated, the government has now started to publish

ethnicity data and it's hoped these clinics will end up attracting the most hard to reach hesitant communities. adina campbell, bbc news. this is bbc news. our top stories. and internet blackout fails to prevent protests in myanmar, thousands partake in the biggest demonstrations he had against the military coup. a study shows the oxford astrazeneca vaccine has limited effectiveness in preventing mild illness from the south african variant of coronavirus, but the team says it does help prevent severe cases. to india now and the huge protests by farmers there. thousands from right across the country blocked roads to pressure the government to roll back agricultural reforms. more than fifty—thousand security personnel were deployed around delhi. small farmers object to plans to open up food production to big business. our india correspondent, rajini vaidyanathan reports. (tx

roadblocks as farmers in cities across india staged a three—hour traffic jam. protests against the government's farm laws have spread nationwide, protesters say they will not give up until the reforms are repealed. translation: in protest of the three farm laws i that a modi government have imposed on us, we are blocking the highways, but peacefully. there will be no violence and they will be carried out peacefully. the government says they will leave farmers better off by allowing them to sell direct to big businesses. farmers fear once big corporations enter the market, price guarantees on crops will eventually disappear. translation: the modi - government, under the pressure of big corporations, have brought these three farming laws. our demand is that these

laws be repealed because it is notjust bad for farmers, it is harmfulfor the 1.3 billion people of our country. as tens of thousands of farmers continue to camp in protest just outside delhi, a high security presence remains in the area. internet has been shut down at protest sites. farmers accuse the government of trying to silence them. the un human rights agency became the latest to comment on the protests, calling on the authorities to protect peaceful assembly and expression. it comes after public figures, including rihanna and greta thunberg, tweeted their support for the protests. in response, india's foreign ministry issued an unprecedented statement this week saying sensationalist social media by celebrities and others was neither accurate nor responsible. despite rounds of talks, both sides are in deadlock. this is the largest challenge facing india's populist prime minister, narendra modi.

farm leaders say they will not go home until their demands are met. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, delhi. to northern iraq now. the formal burial has taken place of more than a hundred members of the yazidi community who were murdered by the islamic state group. the ceremony has been held in the village of kocho in the sinjar region — where is carried out an attempted genocide in 2014. tim allman reports. on this day, in this place, they have to queue up to bury the dead. coffin after coffin — 104 of them, to be precise — carried to their final resting place. with each one, a photograph representing a life lost and a family bereaved. "it is the worst day in history," said this man. "the worst day in history. "people die once,

but we die every day. "these are our people, our community, all the yazidis. "they are our sons, brothers, mothers, fathers." thousands fled, thousands died as the so—called islamic state lay siege to sinjar. many women and girls were abducted, some used as sex slaves by is fighters. many of those killed were buried in mass graves. only now, their exhumed remains are finally being returned home. when we speak to survivors and ask them what is it that you want? the first answer of most of them is, we want to know where our loved ones, what happened to them. so their loved ones are missing and they are transferred in other countries or they are in these mass graves

that are all over sinjar. a funeral is an ending, a chance to say goodbye to a loved one. but for the yazidi community, this is only the beginning. there are so many more funerals still to come. tim ullman, bbc news. in cuba, a big change in its state—controlled economy, the government will now allow small private businesses to operate in most fields. the caribbean island is looking to recover from a devastating economic slump. our correspondent will grant, is in havana. there have further opened up the economy about a decade ago, creating a list of about 130 or so activities that move into the private sector. now they say they will be only 130 that won't be allowed into the private sector and over 2000 that will, so in essence it's a huge step for a country like

cuba, which controls the movement of the economy, the production, the means of production, the means of production of course throughout the economy, but we don't actually know which sectors they are going to continue to control. i think quite clearly we can say education, anything to do with medicine, anything to do with medicine, anything to do with the production of food the government is very unlikely to let go of that, but certainly tourism and things we can imagine they will open up quite a lot. can imagine they will open up quite a lot-— quite a lot. sweden's gothenburg - quite a lot. sweden's gothenburg film i quite a lot. sweden's i gothenburg film festival quite a lot. sweden's - gothenburg film festival could not fill up will cinemas this year, so they sent one fan to watch every single film on their own on a rock in the middle of the sea. we chose lisa because she is a big film lover and that's

very important for us, that it will be someone who can appreciate the films that we love so much, and we decided to programme at the festival, but she has also dedicated this past year in the front line against the covid—19 pandemic. it was so nice just to be able to listen to your own mind, and not have this phone in your hand constantly, making noises and demanding to be heard. it was really nice just to put the phone down and don't care about the world outside. i watched the films that was on when i was there, so i watched all the movies that was on for the seven days, four or five movies each day.

the difficult ones were really more difficult because i was alone and no—one to share it with. it was just my own mind that kept me awake, being worried about werewolves and vampires. it was lonely, and it was brilliant. i actually want to go back again. is that possible? in the danish capital — copenhagen — they've been trying to cheer people up — with the city's annual light festival. there are 30 light installations all across the city — on bridges, buildings and squares. the festival will continue until the end of february.

you can get me on social media and on twitter. this is bbc news. hello there. it has been called the beast from the east two and during sunday strengthening easterly wind will bring in colder air and we will have snow falling widely. the focus of the snow has been in scotland and it is still snowing here now but the emphasis changes towards the south—east of england where we are closer to storm darcy, bringing thicker cloud and added moisture, which is bumping into that really cold air that we can trace all the way back to the baltic sea and towards the arctic. we will find snow falling by the morning in the south—east and east anglia. it might be slippery elsewhere, further north there will be snow showers coming in off the north sea. let's focus on the heaviest

snow, where we have the amber snow warning from the met office, it covers parts of suffolk, essex and kent. widely five to ten centimetres, more perhaps in some places and there will be blizzards and drifting as well with the winds continuing to strengthen. notjust knowing here, it will be snowing widely across the south—east of england and east anglia. further north, snow showers coming in off the north sea across scotland, northern england, northern wales, one or two for northern ireland, drier towards the south—west and parts of the midlands as well. the winds will be strong, perhaps gale force around the north sea coasts and it will make it feel cold. temperatures will be lower than saturday, so maybe two or three degrees at best. add on the strength of the wind and it will feel much colder, typically minus four or even minus five degrees. that run of cold easterly winds continue for the start of next week. the cold air coming over the slightly warmer north sea generates the cloud which generates the showers, which will be snow.

those will stream their way in across england, heading towards wales, lots of snow showers coming into scotland as well. drier for northern ireland. we shouldn't see the heavy falls of snow perhaps in the south—east of england but it will be very cold here. temperatures below freezing all day with that covering of snow and of course, because we have the strong winds, it will feel much colder in the wind as well. we are likely to find more snow showers, for eastern parts of the uk during tuesday. and by the middle part of the week, it may be a bit drier, not as windy but it is still going to be cold.

this is bbc news, the headlines: thousands of people are gathering on the streets in myanmar for a second day to protest against the military coup. in the main city yangon, crowds are chanting slogans against military dictatorship and in support of democracy, calling for the release of detained leader aung san suu kyi. pharmaceutical company, astrazeneca, says a small trial suggests the coronavirus vaccine it's developed with oxford university, does not appear to offer much protection against mild or moderate disease, caused by the south africa variant. but the firm believes the jab would protect against severe disease. thousands of indian farmers brought some of the country's major roads to a standstill to show their opposition to new agriculture reforms, which they say would leave them out of pocket. dozens were arrested with more than 50,000 members of the security services being deployed for the protests.

now on bbc news, click.