tv BBC World News BBC News February 15, 2021 5:00am-5:31am GMT
5:00 am
this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the burmese military deploys tanks and troops across myanmar in an increasing hard line against protesters — as aung san suu kyi's detention is extended. catalonian separatists win more than half of the seats in the regional parliament in spain. from today, passengers arriving in the uk from 33 countries will be quarantined in a government—approved hotel for ten days at their own expense. and solving covid is easy — what's hard is fixing the climate. so says bill gates in a new interview with bbc news.
5:01 am
hello and welcome. we start with the latest on the military coup in myanmar. the lawyer for civilian leader, aung san suu kyi, says her period of detention has been extended for another two days. it had been due to end today. the news comes after internet in the country was cut overnight, but some services have since been restored in the main city yangon. car horns blare. and more troops have been deployed in response to the mass demonstrations. many drivers expressed their anger by beeping their horns. 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.
5:02 am
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
5:03 am
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.
5:04 am
nin yah ay, bbc news, yangon, myanmar. in spain's catalonia region, separtist parties have boosted their majority in the regional parliament in sunday's election. together they're on course to get 7a seats in the 135—seat it's now been more than three years since a failed bid to break away from the rest of the country. paul hawkins reports. this is pere aragones, who for four and a half months has been the acting president of catalonia but after this election, he is now favourite to keep the job. aragones�* centre—left, pro—independence erc party won 33 seats, while the other two pro—independence parties in the catalan parliament won 41 seats. combined, that gives separatists parties in the catalan parliament 7a seats, up four from the previous election in the 135—seat assembly. more importantly, for the first time ever, separatist parties have polled more than half the vote in the
5:05 am
catalan election. i would like to send a message to european authorities, the results are clear. we, the pro—independence parties, have a majority. we have reached more than 50% of the popular vote. the catalan people have spoken. the time has come to negotiate a referendum please get involved. # celebrate good times! good times for spain's governing socialists who also increased their number of seats from 17 to 33. but celebrations will be short lived. all three pro—independence parties have agreed not to deal a deal with them. so now the bargaining begins between the three separatist parties as to how they will govern catalonia. it is a highly prosperous region of spain home to the city of barcelona and 7.5 million people with their own language and culture. its economy is about the size of denmark. in fact, no other spanish
5:06 am
region has a higher gross domestic product so catalonia is vitally important to spain. four years ago, the region had its autonomy suspended for almost seven months by the government in madrid after a failed bid for independence. two years ago, nine catalan politicians and activists were jailed for up to 13 years for their part in that effort to break away. this election however has been overshadowed by the pandemic. it is thought to be one of the main reasons why turnout was down from 80 to just 53%. but with separatist parties getting a record share of the vote, the calls for independence won't be going away anytime soon. paul hawkins, bbc news. israel has released early data on how effective vaccines are at stopping the spread of coronavirus — and the results are encouraging. the country's largest healthcare provider has reported a 94% drop in symptomatic coronavirus in those who have been
5:07 am
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. the uk enters a new phase in its fight against the virus. new rules have come into force in england in the last hour or so. passengers arriving from 33 countries including portugal, south africa and brazil must now quarantine in a government approved hotel for ten days. it's to try to stop new coronavirus variants taking hold. 0ur transport correspondent caroline davies was given access to one of the hotels involved. disinfecting before the guests arrive. quarantine hotels like this one start taking arrivals from today. in england, anyone who has been at any one of 33
5:08 am
designated high risk countries in the last ten days will have to quarantine in a hotel. in scotland that applies to all international arrivals. rooms like this will— international arrivals. rooms like this will be _ like this will be home for ten days with no—one allowed in or out except for occasional exercise. it is a very different hotel experience. this gives you an idea of the scale of the operation just at this hotel. each of these bags will be filled with food to provide guests with three meals a day every day throughout the course of their stay and this is just for one course of their stay and this isjust for one corridor course of their stay and this is just for one corridor in a hotel with 710 rooms. do you have any questions about how this will work or concerns about what could go wrong? the hos - itali about what could go wrong? tue hospitality aspect about what could go wrong? tte hospitality aspect of about what could go wrong? ttj: hospitality aspect of people coming to the hotel and looking after them, that is simple and we know how to do that. it is a change in the way we do that, the change in the way we interact with our guests that it is just a change to our normal practice. frankly, those hoteliers around the country are very eager to get people back into hotels. to get people
5:09 am
off when working again. the government _ off when working again. the government initially secured a few hundred rooms but how many people will need them is not certain. some arrived back before the hotels open. priya lives in the uae which is on the red list. her daughter is in sixth form in the uk. she has been waiting for schools to reopen to send her back centre yesterday with a friend to avoid staying alone in a hotel. there is no way i would send my 16—year—old to a hotel room, globally anywhere so the idea of putting her in a hotel room on her own, ifind that terrifying and i find on her own, ifind that terrifying and ifind it terrifying and ifind it terrifying that i cannot find any information on any government website that tells me what i should be doing with an unaccompanied child. she will quarantine _ an unaccompanied child. she will quarantine with her brother. the government said that if children have to travel to the uk they advised parents that they are accompanied by an appropriate adult. priya says
5:10 am
that's not always possible. it has been over two weeks since the policy was announced but there are still concerned about how it will be implemented and worries as well that new checks could create delays at the border. , ., ., ., . border. every additional check the office has _ border. every additional check the office has to _ border. every additional check the office has to do _ border. every additional check the office has to do close - border. every additional check the office has to do close up l the office has to do close up the office has to do close up the transaction and increases the transaction and increases the risk of the infection to the risk of the infection to the officer and to the traveller and as the queues build different lanes — maclean�*s mix with one another and that increases the risk from traveller to traveller that the virus will spread. the government — that the virus will spread. the government says _ that the virus will spread. the government says that every airport has a responsibility to comply with social distancing measures and that they maintain staffing levels at heathrow throughout the pandemic. many are waiting to see how smoothly the introduction today goes. in new zealand, a new 3—day lockdown is under way in the city of auckland after three new covid cases were reported. the restrictions will require everyone to stay at home except for essential work and shopping. 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.
5:11 am
prime ministerjacinda ardern has given an update on the situation, confirming the cases are of the uk variant of the virus with no link to anyone who's been through a hotel quarantine facility in new zealand, with a rigorous process under way to determine how it was transmitted, the pm saying no stone will be left unturned. meanwhile ms ardern was able to reveal hopeful news on the vaccine. i can now add and confirm that the first batch of the pfizer covid—19 vaccine arrived in new zealand this morning. approximately 60,000 doses or 30,000 courses landed in auckland at 9:34am this morning on a singapore airlines flight from belgium, via singapore. that is more than enough doses to vaccinate our front—line workforce over the coming weeks. we have been working hard behind the scenes to ensure the vaccine is able to occur as quickly
5:12 am
and smoothly as possible. it was expected sometime in quarter one and, particularly in light of the last period of time, it is good news that it is here earlier than previously predicted. dale fisher is a professor of infectious diseases of the world health organization's global 0utbreak alert and response network. it is good to have you with us. what you make of this development in new zealand with this localised lockdown?— this localised lockdown? thank ou for this localised lockdown? thank you for having _ this localised lockdown? thank you for having me _ this localised lockdown? thank you for having me back, - this localised lockdown? thank you for having me back, then. | this localised lockdown? thank| you for having me back, then. i am a bit disappointed, to be honest. i would have thought that after almost one year of the pandemic that these sort of blunt lockdowns were not necessary. i'm not exactly sure why they are doing it for three days, perhapsjust why they are doing it for three days, perhaps just to catch up with contact tracing or
5:13 am
something but i certainly do not want to be critical when i am not there and understanding the ins and outs. find am not there and understanding the ins and outs.— the ins and outs. and when we look at the _ the ins and outs. and when we look at the way _ the ins and outs. and when we look at the way that _ the ins and outs. and when we look at the way that new - look at the way that new zealand has... i mean, it has been held up as a successful example of how you deal with an out greek and four months they went without any cases. in the long—term, however, how does that place them in terms of being able to reopen borders and start inviting people back in? 50 and start inviting people back in? , ., and start inviting people back in? ~ , ., ., ., in? so both australia and new zealand are — in? so both australia and new zealand are in _ in? so both australia and new zealand are in similar- zealand are in similar situations, really, with this zero tolerance for cases, if you like. melbourne also lockdown going at the moment with a very small number of cases and if you have a zero tolerance you are painting yourself into a corner in some ways because at what point do you stop this is your go to
5:14 am
intervention? covid is not going anywhere. even once we have heard immunity through vaccine there will be still cases and clusters so there will come a day when people to say, well, we're going to stop looking down. 0bviously lockdown also with tremendous economic and social impact. i suppose that now the vaccine is about to be rolled out in new zealand, given that the uk has had its time vaccinated 15 million people by mid—february, in a matter of months since the vaccine programme began, new zealand �*s much smaller population, they should be able to get that done even more quickly, shouldn't they? you could argue _ quickly, shouldn't they? you could argue that _ quickly, shouldn't they? you could argue that but - quickly, shouldn't they? tm. could argue that but you could also argue that what the level of vaccine hesitancy will be in a country where people really have not been affected too much
5:15 am
by the pandemic. so people still need to have the gym and thatis still need to have the gym and that is what is critical.- that is what is critical. thank ou that is what is critical. thank you very _ that is what is critical. thank you very much _ that is what is critical. thank you very much and _ that is what is critical. thank you very much and it's - that is what is critical. thank you very much and it's great| that is what is critical. thank i you very much and it's great to have you with us here on bbc news. thank you. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a brother or sisterfor 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.
5:16 am
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 military has deployed tanks and troops across the country against continuing protests, while elected leader aung san suu kyi's period of detention has been extended for another two days. separatist parties in catalonia have boosted their majority in the regional parliament in spain. they now have more
5:17 am
than half of the seats. president biden has called on congress to pass gun law reforms, in a statement released on the third anniversary of a mass shooting at a florida school. mr biden said there must be background checks on buyers, a ban on assault weapons and an end to legal immunity for gun manufacturers. in florida annex people killed 17 pupils. —— and x pupil.
5:18 am
david, given that to get anything through congress the new president needs to win at least some republican support, is a likely to get it for this? to put this into context and explain a little bit about why joe biden is doing this now, last year gun sales soared to record levels. it is thought in part because of the coronavirus pandemic and in part because of the black lives matter approaches. in times of uncertainty it seems americans had to the gun stores. in the light of the attack of the us capitol building, they saw record gun sales. joe biden seeking to introduce this legislation now, basically he says it would and the epidemic in gun violence in this country and he is proposing a ban on
5:19 am
so—called assault weapons of the kind used to carry out the attack florida three years ago and background checks on anyone looking to buy a gun, whether on the internet or a gun show stop into % of gun sales do not involve a background check. th involve a background check. in terms of the opposition he may face in getting something like this through, the pro—gun lobbyist are a powerful political force in washington? it really is but there is a feeling this could be... inaudible... we have democrats in charge of both the chambers of commerce and the white house and the nra, which has been
5:20 am
extremely powerful and influential in the past, has been hit by a number of scandals and inquiries into its finances and management and it is generally thought not to be the force it once was but getting this legislation through the senate would require ten republicans to basically cross sides and that is pretty unlikely given the fact that so many in the senate rely on the nra for contributions to their political campaigns. many thanks, david. _ a left—wing albanian nationalist party is on course for a landslide victory in kosovo's snap elections. the self—determination party ran on an anti—establishment ticket, promising to tackle corruption. it's a crushing defeat for the established parties who've been in power since kosovo declared independence in 2008. the head of the world health organization, tedros ghebreyesus, says it's
5:21 am
co—ordinating support for guinea where an ebola epidemic has been declared. he said assistance would include access to ebola vaccines and treatments. the organisation says it is now better prepared to deal with an outbreak than in 2013, when more than 11,000 people died from ebola across west africa. solving covid is easy compared to fixing the climate, warns bill gates in a bbc interview. the billionaire founder of microsoft says it will take the biggest innovation effort the world has ever seen to do it. he's come up with a plan for what needs to happen in his new book, how to avoid a climate crisis. 0ur chief environment correspondent, justin rowlatt, interviewed him from the spectacular main gallery of london's natural history museum. the pandemic will come to an end because these amazing
5:22 am
vaccines were invented in a year and now we're trying to scale up and adopt them to the variance but compared to climate change, that is very, very easy. sadly, climate change will cause far more deaths, overfive change will cause far more deaths, over five times as many over the years by the end of the century, but it will require a change in the economy, electricity transport. if we achieve to get 20 it would be the most amazing thing humanity has ever done. the most amazing _ humanity has ever done. the most amazing thing! we - humanity has ever done. the | most amazing thing! we have never made _ most amazing thing! we have never made a _ most amazing thing! we have never made a transition - most amazing thing! we have never made a transition like l never made a transition like we're talking about doing in the next 30 years. the two change the pipelines, venture capital and back the ideas even if they are high risks and partnership with big companies and then somebody willing to buy the products to catalytic
5:23 am
leak created volume to bring the prices down.— the prices down. you are talkin: the prices down. you are talking effectively - the prices down. you are talking effectively about | talking effectively about government subsidy? because of the damage _ government subsidy? because of the damage climate _ government subsidy? because of the damage climate will- government subsidy? because of the damage climate will be, - government subsidy? because of the damage climate will be, we | the damage climate will be, we need price signals to tell the private sector that we want green products because right now you do not see the pain you are causing stop.— are causing stop. isn't it rich bill gates — are causing stop. isn't it rich bill gates calling _ are causing stop. isn't it rich bill gates calling for - bill gates calling for government intervention? you have battled governments saying they stifled your ability to innovate. they stifled your ability to innovate-_ they stifled your ability to innovate. . ., innovate. climate, without government _ innovate. climate, without government policy, - innovate. climate, without government policy, there l innovate. climate, without| government policy, there is no way we will not make ourselves into an incredible disaster, particularly for people who live near the equator. malnutrition and death will be five time what we have in the pandemic. five time what we have in the pandemic— five time what we have in the andemic. ., ., , ., , ., pandemic. how hopeful are you that we can _ pandemic. how hopeful are you that we can come _ pandemic. how hopeful are you that we can come together- pandemic. how hopeful are you that we can come together and |
5:24 am
that we can come together and solve this huge challenge of climate change? t solve this huge challenge of climate change?— solve this huge challenge of climate change? i am hopeful because young _ climate change? i am hopeful because young people - climate change? i am hopeful because young people care i climate change? i am hopeful. because young people care about natural ecosystems, people's livelihood, but it is not going to be easy and my optimism requires every year that this be a huge priority and that, with innovations, we get a bit lucky and some of them are really do solve the hard areas, but i have seen many times innovation surprises us in a positive way. the duke and duchess of sussex have revealed they're expecting a second child. harry and meghan have said they're "overjoyed" at the news, which comes less than a year after meghan suffered a miscarriage. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. that first child was born in may 2019. both meghan and harry were thrilled and made it clear
5:25 am
they hoped he would soon have a brother or sister. meghan suffered a miscarriage last summer. she described the almost unbearable grief of losing a child. we can assume the news of this pregnancy would have been of greatjoy to them. that is the impression they are giving. buckingham says the entire royal family is delighted at the news and wishes them well or the birth of what will be the queen's 10th or 11th great—grandchild depending on when the baby is born. that both could take place in the us, in which case the baby will be entitled to us citizenship. notwithstanding that, boy or girl, the child will be eighth in line to the british throne. don't forget you can reach me and the rest
5:26 am
of the team on twitter. thank you for watching, see you soon. hello. having another week as very cold it was last week could be quite an achievement but 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. it's low pressure is in control this week and it's a flow of air around the low pressure systems which is drawing 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. and it looks to be staying that way for quite a while. and as we start off on monday morning, look at that, no frost out there. for some of us temperatures
5:27 am
will have headed up a few degrees overnight. misty and murky in places, and a bit of rain still to clear away from parts of east anglia and south—east england. elsewhere, some showers into northern ireland. they are going to run across scotland, a few into northern england, and especially west of the pennines. one or two for wales and the odd one reaching towards the midlands. away from the showers though, it will gradually brighten up in the afternoon, in fact, many of us will end the day dry. it'll be breezy, not as windy as it was over the weekend, but look — 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, the wet weather pushing across us overnight and into tuesday morning. and it will be another 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. brighter skies following. some showers though quickly moving in towards the west. some of these could be heavy and possibly thundery. a few will push further east during the day, accompanied by a strengthening wind across north—west scotland, where it will stay quite
5:28 am
windy into wednesday. and for the most part, temperatures are in double figures. into wednesday, there'll be another area of showery rain pushing its way eastwards, still with those quite strong winds in north—west scotland. a few sunny spells. and then to end the day, the next area of wet weather showing its hand out towards the south, and that's going to push in wednesday night and into thursday, with further maybe rain heavy in places. the temperatures take a step backwards on thursday but then into next weekend, if you avoid the rain and got to see a bit of sunshine, it could turn out to be exceptionally mild for you.
5:30 am
this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the world trade organisation will announce its new leader ngozi 0konjo—iweala is the only candidate — and would become the first woman and the first african to lead the trade body. is bitcoin bad for the environment? a study finds so—called mining for the cryptocurrency uses more electricity in a year than argentina! and in sickness and in health — as the pandemic hits the wedding industry we look at what can be done to save it.
41 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
BBC News Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on