welcome to bbc news, i'm lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: overnight curfew and internet shut down, as tanks roll into cities in myanmar. valentine's day in russia sees more protests in support of the jailed opposition leader, alexei navalny. a coronavirus outbreak in new zealand results in a three—day lockdown in the city of auckland. anchored and idle — a year on from the shut down of an industry, we ask when cruise ships might travel the world again. and — the duke and duchess of sussex announce they're expecting a second child — harry and meghan are said to be overjoyed.

we start with the latest on the military coup in myanmar. and there are troop deployments in response to the mass demonstrations. western embassies in myanmar have called on the country's military to "refrain from violence against demonstrators and civilians". this comes after reports security forces opened fire to disperse a protest. car horns blaring armoured vehicles have been seen driving round the streets of central yangon for first time since the coup two weeks ago. many drivers expressed their anger by beeping their horns. our reporter nin yah ay filed this report from yangon just before the blackout started. back on the streets for the first time since the coup, the military have returned to central yangon. tonight, the generals want to send a powerful message to those planning to take part in a nationwide strike

on monday. tensions are high across the city. as news of more arrests filter out, people are taking to the streets tonight, setting up barricades and patrolling their neighbourhoods. the people here want to stop more night—time raids from the military. all across the city, you will find scenes like this one. dozens of people are staying up all night to protect their neighbours.

if police arrive to make more arrests, they bang their pots and pans to sound a warning. banging on pots. there's also many rumours here. people are worried about attacks on their homes by strangers. translation: we're hearing. things about attempted arsons and chaos, they're trying to create an impression that there is a lack of security. that is why we are making our own arrangements together to protect our communities, our towns and villages. we are providing security from 9pm to 5am. tonight, western embassies here, including the british, are calling on the country's military to refrain from violence against demonstrators and civilians. gunfire. but there is already reports of shooting in the northern part of the country. nin yah ay, bbc news, yangon, myanmar. to russia now. valentine's day has seen

more protests in support of the jailed opposition leader, alexei navalny. women took to the streets with flowers — and this evening supporters across the country lit torches and candles, some forming heart shapes in the snow. there was no repeat of the violence and arrests of previous demonstrations. here's our moscow correspondent sarah rainsford. the cold was toe—numbing in moscow today. but these women defied the frost and their fear to turn out for a valentine's day protest. they called it a chain of solidarity and love, and they carried flowers, not placards. but the hearts were black, in memory of all the russian women detained and persecuted because of their politics. i want to support all these women, and all these prisoners. there are some of my acquaintances in prison also. we hoped that today it wasn't to be so many arrests. because we are here for love. not for struggle. the numbers here are not huge, but the message the women are sending is a strong one. about the right to political, peaceful protest, and for an end to arrests of people

just for expressing their views. today's protest was inspired by alexei navalny�*s gesture to his wife in court. yulia was there as the opposition politician was sentenced to almost three years behind bars. chanting that ruling brought crowds onto the streets last month, chanting for navalny�*s freedom. there were the biggest protests against president putin for years. and the response was tough. thousands detained and dozens facing serious criminal charges. the kremlin calls the rallies illegal, fomented by the west, it says, to weaken russia. so, navalny�*s team have switched tack. across russia tonight, his supporters formed heart shapes in the snow in their own backyards, a protest both peaceful and riot police—proof. they then flooded social media with the images.

filipp and ignat came out tonight too. they were both arrested last month at the first street rally for navalny. locked in the same police van, they then shared a cell for ten days. undeterred, theyjoined the flash mob in filipp�*s yard. we want to feel free, we want to say our opinions, we would like to change something, yeah. but you don't feel free now? no, no. so the protests have moved off russia's deep frozen streets for now, but it seems the protest mood hasn't faded here. sarah rainsford, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. early results in spain's semi—autonomous catalonia show separatist parties increasing their representation in the regional government. with more than 60% of the votes counted, the socialists of the spanish prime minister pedro sanchez look likely to win the biggest single share of the vote. but the three separatist parties are set to gain 7a of the 135 five seats, allowing them to continue to govern.

the world health organization is planning rapid assistance to guinea, where an ebola epidemic has been declared. eight cases have been confirmed, with three deaths. people contracted the disease after attending a burial in the south of the country. the world's oldest brewery has been uncovered at the ancient egyptian city of abydos. british archaeologists first mentioned the existence of the brewery in the early 1900s but couldn't find its exact location. it's thought to have made more than 20,000 litres of beer at a time and was built to provide beerfor rituals that were taking place inside funeral facilities for the kings of egypt. let's go to the us now. presidentjoe biden has called for congress to pass gun law reforms, including a ban on assault weapons. in a statement, mr biden said: "this administration will not wait for the next mass shooting to heed that call. we will take action to end our

epidemic of gun violence and make our schools and communities safer." he added: "congress must also eliminate immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets. the time to act is now." this statement comes three years to the day after the parkland school shooting in florida where an ex—pupil killed 17 people. the shooting sparked outrage across the us and prompted fresh demands for firearms control. let's speak to professor bob spitzer from the state university of new york college at cortland, and has written five books on gun policy. thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for coming on the programme-— thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for coming on the rouramme. ., , programme. good to be with you. let's start — programme. good to be with you. let's start by _ programme. good to be with you. let's start by looking _ programme. good to be with you. let's start by looking at _ programme. good to be with you. let's start by looking at these - let's start by looking at these proposals byjoe biden. the specifics, first of all, quite ambitious to try to tackle and control in the us, we know that, but on the specifics, what do you think has the best

chance of actually coming into law? , , . ., . chance of actually coming into law? the best chance against these proposals _ law? the best chance against these proposals -- _ law? the best chance against these proposals -- among i law? the best chance against. these proposals -- among these these proposals —— among these proposals, is to establish background checks for all gun purchases. most link there are background checks for all purchasers in america, but that is not so. many occur without a background check, over 90% of americans support that measure, over 80% of gun owners support that measure, and it actually passed the house of representatives in 2019, and if it comes to a straight vote in the senate, both the senate and house controlled by the democrats, who are more friendly to stronger gun measures, surely it will pass borrowing a filibuster attempt or effort in the senate, that will buy far have the greatest chance to pass.— will buy far have the greatest chance to pass. greater chance for more _ chance to pass. greater chance for more background _ chance to pass. greater chance for more background checks. i for more background checks. what about the idea of restrictions on the magazines? magazine limits should also be

measured, that should be able to pass through, simply because it doesn't mean you can't have a gun or even a gun that holds a gun or even a gun that holds a large capacity magazine, meaning one that does not hold more than ten rounds. the gun industry and the gun lobby, the nra, do not like that measure, thatis nra, do not like that measure, that is also one that should be able to win a fair amount of support because it is hard to make a rational argument that billions should be able to buy bullet magazines that hold more than ten rounds.— than ten rounds. biden looking ”romisin than ten rounds. biden looking promising on — than ten rounds. biden looking promising on those _ than ten rounds. biden looking promising on those two - promising on those two measures. what about this idea of holding manufacturers more responsible?— responsible? that will be a little more complicated, partly because many people don't really know about it because it is of fairly complicated measure relating to tort law, but it was a giveaway to the gun industry because it provides them special legal protections that no other industry has and it simply means, or if it were removed,

it would mean that if they engaged in behaviour that is irresponsible, people could sue for damages, as you could for any kind of manufacturer. at i think would be a tougher hall but not impossible.— but not impossible. more broadly overall, - but not impossible. more broadly overall, for - broadly overall, for many americans every time they hear of any gun reform, they immediately hear the phrase "oh, they are trying to take their guns off me", and that blocks any kind of progress. do you think that has really changed?— you think that has really chanced? ., ., , you think that has really chanced? . . , , changed? that attitude is very stron: changed? that attitude is very strong among _ changed? that attitude is very strong among gun _ changed? that attitude is very strong among gun owners - changed? that attitude is very strong among gun owners andj strong among gun owners and when you married to that second amendment which talks about the right to bear arms, which would not be a bar to any of these measures, and it —— as i think any legal expert would agree, but when those two things are brought together, for gun owners it means running to the barricades to prevent the enactment of new gun laws, and unfortunately, america is in a position right now where the far right is in a heightened

state of political awareness and anxiety and this will likely add some fuel to what i would label the paranoid fears of some in the gun rights community who fear that any step towards stronger gun measure is simply moving down the road towards gun confiscation, which is not something that is going to happen. something that is going to ha en. �* ., , something that is going to hauen. ., happen. 0k, bob spitzer, great to have you won, thanks for talking us through that. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a brother or sister for archie — the duke and duchess of sussex announce they are expecting their second child. nine years and 15,000 deaths after going into afghanistan, the last soviet troops were finally coming home. the withdrawal completed in good order, but the army defeated in the task it had been sent to perform. malcolm has been murdered.

that has a terrible affect on the morale of the people. i'm terrified of the repercussions on the streets, one wonders who is next. gunfire. as the airlift got under. way, there was no letup in the eruption itself. lava streams from . a vent low the crater flowed down to the sea the east of the island, i away from the town for the time being. | it could start flowing again at any time. i the russians heralded their new generation space station with a spectacular night launch, they called it �*mir�* — the russian for peace. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: in myanmar the internet has been suspended and a curfew imposed as protests against the military coup continue. western ambassadors have warned the burmese military not

to harm civilians. supporters ofjailed russian opposition leader alexei navalny have held valentine's day protests across the country with the slogan �*love is stronger than fear�*. a human rights monitor said several people had been detained. a coronavirus update here in the uk now. in less than two hours, travellers arriving in england from 33 countries around the world will have to quarantine in a government approved hotel for ten days. it's part of efforts to try to stop new coronavirus variants taking hold. but there are questions over whether the travel industry and the border force are fully prepared. here's our correspondent katy austin. the union that represents immigration staff says that there is still a lack of clarity around some details when it to implementing the policy at the border. heathrow airort policy at the border. heathrow airport which _ policy at the border. heathrow airport which is _ policy at the border. heathrow airport which is expected - policy at the border. heathrow airport which is expected to i airport which is expected to handle most passengers arriving from affected countries says it is concerned about whether the

border force will cope. the worry there is about cues building up and incoming flights needing to be delayed. home office told us this staffing levels at heathrow throughout the pandemic and people should only travel when it is strictly necessary. the government's thinking behind introducing the policy is an extra layer of security against a new variants of coronavirus. secured ten hotels for the purpose although that number could expand and while people are staying there they will have to take two covid—19 tests during the ten day period. now to a country that already has a tried and tested hotel quarantine system in place — new zealand. there a new 3—day lockdown is underway in the city of auckland, after three new covid cases were reported. the level three restrictions will require everyone to stay home except for essential shopping and work. new zealand hadn't had any local cases for months and has been one of the most successful countries in containing the spread of the virus. prime minister, jacinda ardern

said the authorities would work quickly to assess the extent of the new infections. dr suzie wiles is a microbiologist and associate professor at the university of auckland. thank you forjoining us on the thank you for “oining us on the rouramme. ., ~ i. ., ., programme. thank you for having me. i still think— programme. thank you for having me. i still think people _ programme. thank you for having me. i still think people around . me. i still think people around the world will still be shocked when they hear of three—day lockdowns just for that tiny number of cases. is this a system that is working? absolutely. for us, we are living at a low level one which is basically life as normal but no tourists, essentially. and in order to stay that way we need to stop community transmission. these three cases and having a three—day lockdowns is to stop any potential transmission while we try and identify who else may be in for and where these cases have come from. find be in for and where these cases have come from.— have come from. and is this a s stem have come from. and is this a system that — have come from. and is this a system that will _ have come from. and is this a system that will carry - have come from. and is this a system that will carry on - have come from. and is this a | system that will carry on now? this aim of zero covid, the

lockdown, the amazing testing and tracing system that the country has there. this is just carry on? it country has there. this is 'ust carry onafi carry on? it is certainly going to be for— carry on? it is certainly going to be for the _ carry on? it is certainly going to be for the foreseeable - to be for the foreseeable future. we have vaccines coming into the country this week but only a small number and that will be for our border workers. so until we get supplies later in the yearfor the so until we get supplies later in the year for the rest of the country this is definitely the strategy. is country this is definitely the strate: . , ., ., , strategy. is there a reason why vaccines are relatively late? in the uk we had 15 million of ourfirst doses on in the uk we had 15 million of our first doses on the presumption is that the sooner those vaccines are in, that critical mass of the population, the sooner that life can return to normal. it life can return to normal. it is life can return to normal. it is unclear whether that will be enough at the moment. in new zealand, the strategy was to stop covid—19 in its tracks from the very beginning so for many months now we have been living as though there was no covid. we had hotel quarantine

for travellers for many months now so we stopped cases at the border and if there are incursions, and we have had very few, they are an opportunity to understand how the transmission happened, how we can tighten our border and return to normal. we had some cases where we have not had to do this kind of lockdown so they have been transmissions in they have been transmissions in the community where we have stop it without contact tracing but there are some features around these three cases, and it is one of the new variants, more infectious variants so that made us take these more stricter measures for the first few days. stricter measures for the first few da s. ~ stricter measures for the first few days-— few days. we saw pictures of that normal— few days. we saw pictures of that normal life, _ few days. we saw pictures of that normal life, almost - few days. we saw pictures of i that normal life, almost normal life in new zealand and many people around the world are looking on quite jealously. people around the world are looking on quitejealously. but it is not normal life for those involved in international travel moving back and forth and the only way that returns to normal and all that is through a full vaccine rollout programme, isn't it?-

programme, isn't it? yes. although _ programme, isn't it? yes. although with _ programme, isn't it? yes. although with these - programme, isn't it? yes. although with these new i although with these new variants arriving that may be escaping vaccination, i still think that every country should be trying to get their transmission down to zero. i am fully supportive of zero covid approach and it would be lovely to know that other countries were trying to do the same thing that we are doing. interesting stuff. thank you. there's some positive news from israel on the effectiveness of vaccines on the spread of coronavirus. the country's largest healthcare provider has reported a 94% drop in symptomatic coronavirus in those who have been fully vaccinated. the results are preliminary but involve one of the biggest real—world studies so far of vaccine effectiveness comparing 600,000 israelis who have received two doses of the pfizer—biontech vaccine with an unvaccinated group of the same size. staying with the coronavirus — in february last year the world's attention was gripped by the diamond princess cruise ship and the passengers stuck on board. they were quarantined for weeks as the disease swept

through the ship. it was one of the first widely reported coronavirus outbreaks outside china. a year on, what hope is there for an industry cast adrift by covid? rupert wingfield hayes reports. the diamond princess had set off from her homeport injapan in late with more than 3500 passengers and crew on board. three days from yokohama an elderly passenger fell ill, a serious cough, and was taken to hospital on arrival in hong kong. no—one was particularly worried and the ship continued its journey. but on—board, other passengers were starting to become ill. in hong kong authorities confirmed the elderly man tested positive for covid—19. back in yokohama on february 3, japanese authorities refused to let anyone disembark, but on—board the ship, infections were continuing to grow. from then from the day the ship arrived, infections soared to nearly 700.

and despite what the japanese government were saying, it was very obvious that the quarantine on—board that ship was not working. you can imagine the situation for the 2500 passengers locked up in their cabins 2a hours a day. how frightening it must have been as they wondered how the virus continued to spread and "will i be the next to be infected?" i don't know how all of us have been sitting here for 12 days and getting contaminated, but something this is a failed quarantine. by february 20 under huge pressure from the united states and other countries, japan allowed the passengers to be evacuated to their home countries where they faced more quarantine. the diamond princess may have been the first cruise ship to be struck by covid—19, in early march its sister ship the grand princess was ordered to dock in san francisco after a former passengerfell ill and died from covid—19.

president trump notoriously tried to stop the passengers from being allowed onto us soil to prevent them being counted in the us covid numbers. where it up to me i would be inclined to say leave everybody on the ship for a period of time and use the ship as your base. but a lot of people would rather do it a different way, they would rather quarantine people on land. and when we do that our numbers will go up. the owner of the diamond princess, carnival cruises, and the industry in general has strenuously defended its safety record. by mid—2020, most of the industry was completely shut down. some ships have tentatively put back to sea in the last few months on so—called cruises to nowhere but many remain idle, like these ones anchored in manila bay in the philippines. according to its website, the diamond princess hopes to welcome its first passengers in over one year sometime thisjuly. to india now.

a 22—year—old activist has been arrested after sharing a document intended to help farmers protest against new agricultural laws. disha ravi is accused of sedition and criminal conspiracy. here's our south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan. disha ravi, seen here with a black face mask is being taken to court. this young is now under lee's custody in investigation with an investigation with an investigation into alleged conspiracy to bring disrepute to india. disha ravi shared a document to help understand the ongoing farmers protests on social media and how to support the movement online. tens of thousands of farmers have been protesting against three new laws that they say will benefit private companies. translation:

these laws will have an effect on anyone corporate's are allowed to come in they will buy from us at very low prices and we lose our livelihoods.— livelihoods. the document, or the toolkit, — livelihoods. the document, or the toolkit, was _ livelihoods. the document, or the toolkit, was also - livelihoods. the document, or the toolkit, was also shared . livelihoods. the document, or| the toolkit, was also shared by the toolkit, was also shared by the global —— by the global climate change activist read a tunberg. international attention rattled indian authorities has who have described it as sensationalist. it has triggered shelf and disbelief in indian social media circles. many people are now skating and criticism. critics say that the hindu nationalist government is trying to curb political dissent and criticism. they say that the arrest of disha ravi is a critical of the government's policies. prince harry and his wife meghan — the duke and duchess of sussex — are expecting a second child. a spokesperson for the couple said: "we can confirm that archie is going to be a big brother" and described harry and meghan as "overjoyed".

royal commentator victoria murphy says this baby will be different to their first born as they are now completely separated from working royal life. this baby, this pregnancy is different because they are now completely separated from working royal life and are no longer working royals. this babyis longer working royals. this baby is being born in the united states, we expect, and will be brought up with absolutely no question marks over whether or not they might have some kind of input into the working royal family. have some kind of input into the working royalfamily. as far as i am aware this is the first baby in the immediate royalfamily first baby in the immediate royal family that has been born in the us although it is something of a first and obviously this baby will have us citizenship. when it comes to uk citizenship, we do not know. there may be more of over how that will work, just as there was with the birth of archie and we were wondering if

he would have dual us uk citizenship as well. i'm lewis vaughanjones and this is bbc news. having another week as cold it was last week could be quite an achievement that so is swinging the weather pendulum so quickly into the very mild category which is exactly what we're doing this week. temperatures so very different by day and by night but the change is coming with a fair bit of rain, rather than snow and it is a blustery week. the high pressure that was pumping cold at us from the east is now retreating. low pressure is in control this week and a flow of air the low the low pressure system that draws the air in from a mild direction from the south—west. as long as it stays that way we will have temperatures above the average for the time of year. it looks to be staying that way for

quite a while. as we start off on monday morning, look at that, no frost out there. for some of us temperatures will have headed up a few degrees overnight. plenty of cloud to start the day, misty and murky in places with rain still to clear away from parts of east anglia and south—east england. elsewhere showers into northern ireland will run across scotland and northern england, especially west of the pennines, a couple for wales and another reaching towards the midlands. it will gradually brighten up in the afternoon but many of us will end the day dry. breezy, and not as windy as it was over the weekend but look at these temperatures. 10—14 degrees and we are talking above freezing. and although we are largely dry to end the day here comes the next set of weather fronts, that wet weather pushing across us overnight and into tuesday morning and it will be a mild night and mild start to the day. still with a bit of rain to clear away from east anglia and south—east england on tuesday morning, bright skies following, showers moving in towards the west,

some of these could be heavy and thundery and a few will push further east during the day accompanied by a strengthening wind across north—west scotland. it will stay quite windy into wednesday. for the most part temperatures are in double figures. into wednesday, an area of showery rain pushing eastwards, still with us, those strong winds north—west scotland. a few sunny spells and the next area of wet weather shows its hand towards the south and that will push in wednesday night into thursday. further rain heavy in places. the temperatures take a step backwards on thursday but then into next weekend if you avoid the rain and see some sunshine it could turn out to be exceptionally mild.

this is bbc news, the headlines: in myanmar, the internet has been shut down and a curfew imposed as protests against the military coup continue. western ambassadors have warned the burmese military not to harm civilians as troops are deployed across the country. the un is demanding the release of the elected leader, aung san suu kyi. supporters of russia's jailed opposition leader, alexei navalny, have held short valentine's day torchlight protests across the country, using their mobile phones or candles. they posted photos under the hashtag �*love is stronger than fear�*. a human rights monitor says several people had been detained. the duke and duchess of sussex have announced they're expecting their second child later this year. a spokesperson for harry and meghan said the couple is overjoyed, and looking forward to the arrival of a little brother or sister for their first son, archie.

it'sjust gone 2.30 in the morning.