this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. my name is mike embley. myanmar�*s military crackdown. clashes with protesters, tanks on the streets, and harsh new punishments, for those who challenge the coup leaders. it's one of the most dangerous places on earth — especially if you are a child. we have a special report from yemen from the so—called �*city of snipers�*. well, we have to move carefully here and take other in these front—line districts. nowhere is safe and no—one is spared, especially, it seems, the children. from today visitors from high

risk countries must spend 10 days shut in government approved facilities. not particularly looking forward to the next 11 days, but, yeah, just hoping it goes by quickly. hello to you. the general who is leading the coup in myanmar has said he would try to handle the mass protests against the overthrow softly, though he didn't clarify specifically what this would mean. this comes after threats that protesters could face up to 20 years in jail if they obstruct the armed forces or long sentences if they incite hatred towards the coup leaders. here's our south—east asia correspondentjonathan head. gunfire even for a country shocked at being back under military rule, it has been a stressful 2a hours. rumours of a full—scale army

operation were strong, and here in myitkyina, repeated bursts of gunfire from the security forces made people think it was already happening. most of the shots, though, were fired into the air. then, an eight—hour, nationwide internet blackout. for what purpose, we still aren't clear. this morning, the military was making itself visible in yangon and other cities. that didn't stop people from protesting again over their power grab, as they have for the past ten days. if anything, the soldiers provoked people to speak out even more over seeing their democracy crashed by the generals. this armoured vehicle found itself surrounded by hostile traffic, the drivers honking their anger. and here at the headquarters of the party led by aung san suu kyi, more anger.

"release our leaders," they shouted at the police surrounding the building. they haven't forgotten that they re—elected her by a landslidejust three months ago. she's still in military custody, her detention extended today for who knows how long. the military�*s plans from now are hard to guess. the soldiers, though, are an ominous sign. these are combat units used to fight armed insurgents on myanmar�*s borders, and in previous unrest and they're back on the streets again. jonathan head, bbc news. yemen is one of the most dangerous places. its population suffering from a civil war that's lasted for six years. but the city of taiz is one of the most dangerous places to be a child. human rights workers say more than a50 children have been

killed or wounded by houthi rebel sniperfire. the houthis deny it. taiz, in yemen's south—west, is home to one of the it's under virtual siege, divided between yemeni government forces, backed by a saudi—led coalition and the iranian—backed houthis, who still control most of the population. our international correspondent orla guerin, cameraman goktay koraltan, and producer claire read sent this report from the so—called �*city of snipers�*. a warning — some of you may find the report distressing. in taiz, city of snipers, a family on the front line. ruwaydah saleh is eight years old. her big brother amri is ten. she probably owes him her life. here she lay last august after she was shot in the head.

who took aim and pulled the trigger, herfamily have no doubt — a houthi sniper. it was amri who dragged her to safety. ruwaydah arrived in hospital unconscious and had to have brain surgery. we reported on her story then, but couldn�*t reach her. now we have. she�*s still trapped in a city at war, and it�*s taking its toll, says herfather, saleh bin saleh.

in front of the family�*s home, right where ruwaydah was shot, kids just want to be kids. her attack caused outrage. since then, snipers have left the children alone on this street. under armed escort, we travelled to another front line area. human rights workers document every attack. they say houthi snipers have killed or injured more than a50

children in taiz. houthi officials say allegations of targeting children are completely false and come from their opponents. the makeshift barricades are to block the snipers�* line of sight. well, we have to move carefully here and take cover in these front line districts. nowhere is safe and no—one is spared — especially, it seems, the children. you can go from building to building here, from family to family, and hear more stories of children that have been deliberately targeted by snipers. one father wanted to tell us his story, so we followed him to his home. he runs this risk every day. so do his children.

this photo of ten—year—old saber was taken last april. days later, he was dead. abdu tells me saber was shot out of a tree after climbing to pick fruit. the bullet passed through his body. saber�*s younger brother mohammed was there and saw him die. he got shot in the stomach. the seven—year—old made it home and hid under a blanket, too scared to tell their mother they had climbed the tree.

while mohammed survived, he�*s deeply traumatised. his mother says when he�*s not happy, he tells her, "i�*ll go to the sniper so he can shoot me again." across yemen, the young are at risk from all sides, and death often comes from the skies. air strikes by the saudi—led coalition, which supports the yemeni government and is backed by the uk, kill many children. human rights workers here in taiz say the difference is, houthi snipers are systematically trying to kill them. back in ruwaydah�*s neighbourhood, a young boy plays dead. hard to watch. too often here, it�*s not a game. orla guerin, bbc news, taiz. the uk�*s prime minister

says he plans to set out for relaxing covid restrictions next monday now that 15 million people in the country have received their vaccines. to stop the spread of coronavirus variants, new quarantine rules have been put in place. caroline davies reports. a different arrival to the uk. some of the first passengers destined for quarantine hotels escorted out of the airport through photographers�* flashes and on to their rooms. coaches have been arriving throughout the course of the morning, bringing passengers from heathrow airport to the quarantine hotels. everybody on board will have declared that they�*ve been in a red list country in the course of the last ten days. guests won�*t leave these walls for 11 nights or ten full days. but for those arriving today, there was some company outside their windows. how�*s the room? good, thanks. it's ok. this man flew from south africa via qatar. he�*s starting a newjob here in march, and his visa only started today. he says that passengers that travelled from red list countries and those that didn�*t were together on the flight and in the airport.

i was probably about two seats from someone that doesn�*t come from a red list country. we�*re all in the same vicinity, breathing the same air. he split the room with a friend for the 11 nights. we�*re either going to as really good friends or we�*re going to hate each other. so, i guess only time will tell. windows unfortunately don�*t open. it would have been nice to maybe get some fresh air in every now and then. i�*m not particularly looking forward to the next 11 days, but, yeah, just hoping it goes by quickly. there are no international flights into northern ireland or wales at the moment, but those flying into scotland have to quarantine regardless of which international country they started from. this man and his eight—year—old daughter flew in from america this morning to be reunited with his wife after 16 months apart. i got my covid shot already. whatever it takes to make everybody safe, i�*m all for it. they�*ll have to wait another

ten days before all three can be together as a family again. there is a loophole for scottish arrivals. if they fly into england and they haven�*t come from a red list country, they�*re expected to isolate at home, not a hotel. the scottish government want them to be put up in english hotels. negotiations on that are ongoing. early indications suggest that the number of passengers flying into the uk today was low and that the queues were relatively short. but there are concerns that new checks will mean delays, which could be a risk to passengers and staff. every additional check the officer has to do slows up that transaction, increases the risk of infection to the officer and to the traveller from the officer. and as those queues build, of course the different planes mixing with one another, that builds up and increases the risk from traveller to traveller that the virus willjust spread. the government say that every step is taken to reduce risks and to minimise any potential for passenger interaction, and that some airports including heathrow have introduced additional measures to separate passengers from red list destinations

before immigration. the policy doesn�*t have an end date, and the number of countries on the red list could still get longer. so these hotels may well see more passengers through their doors in the next few weeks and months. caroline davies, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: in the grip of a bitter arctic chill. we�*re live in texas as large swathes of southern and central us states are hit by snow and ice. 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. welcome back. very glad to have you with us. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: myanmar�*s military warns anti—coup protestors could face up to 20 years in prison if

they obstruct the armed forces. human rights workers say more than a50 children have been killed or wounded by houthi rebel sniper fire in yemen. canada has launched a global declaration against the detention of foreign nationals for political purposes, calling the practice "immoral". 58 nations have signed up. this initiative doesn�*t specifically target any specific nation, but china and iran have been accused of detaining foreign nationals for leverage, and canada is still in dispute with china over two nationals detained back in 2018. but what can a non—binding initiative actually achieve? let�*s ask sarah leah whitson, executive director of dawn, a non—profit promoting human rights in the middle east and north africa. it's it�*s good to talk to. i know you have been working on dual nationals for some time. what is the point of this move? i

think the point this declaration attempts to make is the arbitrary detention of foreign nationals for the specific purpose of using them as hostages to gain concessions from rival states obviously, arbitrary detention itself is a widespread, sadly global practice, to from authoritarian governments around the world. but we have seen a dramatic escalation off of foreign nationals who may be our own business or scholars or journalists, who are being picked up and literally used as bargaining chips. i picked up and literally used as bargaining chips.— bargaining chips. i couldn't help noticing _ bargaining chips. i couldn't help noticing some - bargaining chips. i couldn't help noticing some of - bargaining chips. i couldn't help noticing some of the l help noticing some of the signatories to this are in fact also guilty of what they are condemning is denmark exactly. —— condemning? the united states accuses iran of holding 30 american dual nationals, some canadians among them as well, but iran accuses the united states of holding 20

iranians for sanctions, and charges that they believe are similarly arbitrary. and in fact, the countries have engaged in hostage swapping, to secure their release. 50. engaged in hostage swapping, to secure their release.— secure their release. so, who is this really _ secure their release. so, who is this really a _ secure their release. so, who is this really a message - secure their release. so, who is this really a message for, i is this really a message for, would you say?— would you say? well, very clearly the _ would you say? well, very clearly the initiative - would you say? well, very clearly the initiative grew l would you say? well, very i clearly the initiative grew out of the arbitrary detention of michael kovrig and michael spavor, canadian citizens who have been arbitrarily detained in china in the wake of the huawei executive meng wanzhou�*s depredation from canada to the united states. that was the immediate initiative —— deportation, it has been almost three years, and that is why canada has been particularly involved in this. the targets are very much china, iran, north sadly, however, the practice of arbitrary detention, including to use them as bargaining chips with

governments is not at all to these countries.— these countries. and the countries _ these countries. and the countries you _ these countries. and the countries you are - these countries. and the | countries you are naming these countries. and the i countries you are naming a pretty resistant, aren�*t they, to outside pressure. what hopes do you have that realistically, this might make a difference? well, i think there is a problem of comments. each government should realise their own nationals are at risk of arbitrary detention. i don�*t really see descending a direct message to china to and the arbitrary detention of two canadian citizens that it is now charged with —— it has now charged with spying. but there is an element of consent recognises we live in a globalised world where nationals need to travel to other countries without fear of being trapped in political games. there may in fact be a hope that this heinous practice is put to rest.— is put to rest. very briefly, i sunpose _ is put to rest. very briefly, i sunpose it _ is put to rest. very briefly, i sunpose it is _ is put to rest. very briefly, i suppose it is quite - is put to rest. very briefly, i | suppose it is quite significant in itself, this number of countries has signed up at all?

i think 56 is a good starting number is. only assume there would be much more, you can imagine in china, if they were to sign this, from its perspective it is not arbitrarily detaining these men, it has accused them of spying. similarly, every time a government with fabricated charges arrests a foreign national, it typically has some paper claims to make about their wrongdoing. paper claims to make about theirwrongdoing. egypt paper claims to make about their wrongdoing. egypt is notorious for detaining americans, and claiming that they are responsible for joining terrorist groups and so forth. and then offering them up as concessions when the united states routinely demands reforms. saudi arabia just released two american nationals detained arbitrarily, really, as a bargaining chip, a warming gift to the new incoming biden administration. i think to the extent that governments realise that their own citizens are at

risk, that no—one is safe. that really will be the best way to end this practice.— end this practice. sarah leah whitson of — end this practice. sarah leah whitson of dawn, _ end this practice. sarah leah whitson of dawn, thank - end this practice. sarah leah whitson of dawn, thank you end this practice. sarah leah - whitson of dawn, thank you very much. the world health organization has given emergency approval to use astrazeneca covid—i9 vaccines produced in india and south korea. the decision will help distribute the vaccine to poorer countries through the global programme known as covax. these jabs will make up most of the initial 330 million doses of covax�*s first rollout, which begins at the end of the month. we now have all the pieces in place to have a solution of vaccines. but we still need to scale up production. and we continue to call on vaccine developers to submit their doses to the who for review at the same time, at least admit them to regulators in high income countries.

meanwhile, the newly appointed head of the world trade organisation has told the bbc that when it comes to coronavirus vaccines, protectionism is not the answer to ending the pandemic. in one of herfirst interviews since getting one of the top jobs in global trade, nigeria�*s dr ngozi 0konjo—iweala told correspondent nancy kacungira her organisation could help accelerate vaccine rollouts. protectionism, with regards to vaccines, which is something we go vaccine nationalism, is not something that really works with the pandemic and its many variants, it makes it such that no—one country can feel safe until every country has taken precautions to vaccinate its population. so, with respect to that, the wto can do two things, number one: some wto rules exist that can be looked at to see, how can you flexibly allow countries to manufacture more vaccines, developed countries feel that this might impinge on intellectual property. ifeel that impinge on intellectual property. i feel that within wto rules we can find what a

call a third way, in which we can license manufacturing to countries so that you can have adequate supplies while still making sure that intellectual property issues are taken care. and it is in play right now. —— intellectual property issues are dealt with. large swathes of the us are gripped in a bitter arctic chill after a powerful winter storm brought snow and ice to several south—central states. millions of people have been left without power — the national weather service says the situation is unprecedented. jeremy goodwin is chief meteorologist at the television station wibw—tv in topeka, kansas. thank you very much for your time. i am sure you are very busy. would you make of this? how does it compare?- busy. would you make of this? how does it compare? thank you for our how does it compare? thank you for your time _ how does it compare? thank you for your time tonight. _ how does it compare? thank you for your time tonight. i _ for your time tonight. i haven�*t seen anything like this professionally. i have been a broadcast meteorologist for 25 years now. tonight was the coldest day we have had in

topeka, kansas, since before christmas, 1989. it is not record—breaking, records go back to the 1880s, but we�*re talking about three decades. certainly does notable. we�*re looking at low temperatures here in topeka, about —27.7 c, or minus 18 fahrenheit, you have to go back 30 years to find a number that low. what ou find a number that low. what you think _ find a number that low. what you think is _ find a number that low. what you think is going _ find a number that low. what you think is going on? - find a number that low. what you think is going on? the i you think is going on? the polar vortex does not normally get down so far, does it? sure, it typically _ get down so far, does it? sure, it typically does _ get down so far, does it? sure, it typically does not _ get down so far, does it? sure, it typically does not out - get down so far, does it? sure, it typically does not out what. l it typically does not out what. this area, we hadn�*t seen a temperature below 0 c since early 2019, and i really had to go back and look, had we done this recently? no. fora go back and look, had we done this recently? no. for a couple of years the temperature is did stay up. the polar vortex if you will, will roll across southern canada into saskatchewan, manitoba, near winnipeg, and to give us a shout of cold air that will last a day, maybe two days, we

complain very minute, and it normally goes on its way. but in this case we�*re looking at staying below 0 c for two straight weeks. that has not in about a0 years. it�*s not that the temperature is one of the temperature it�*s an eight is especially extreme —— the temperatures tonight are especially extreme but we haven�*t seen something as cold as that since 1983 where it was this cold for as long and it was much worse. how much longer are ou was much worse. how much longer are you exoecting _ was much worse. how much longer are you expecting it's _ was much worse. how much longer are you expecting it's a _ was much worse. how much longer are you expecting it's a last - are you expecting it�*s a last and how would people coping with this? it and how would people coping with this? , , ., with this? it is unusual, microscopic _ with this? it is unusual, microscopic we - with this? it is unusual, microscopic we are - with this? it is unusual, i microscopic we are looking at the temperature finally getting above 0 c here in topeka on friday, at this point, we will have gone 1a straight days, around two weeks, near freezing. it has been almost a0 years since that is up in. the local power companies have been

using what is called a rolling blackout, what that means is that they choose to shut off the power were for some small groups to keep the system from becoming overwhelmed. so you are kind of on a lottery system for bad luck if they shut off your power for a for bad luck if they shut off your powerfor a while. i have been recommending on television folks have basically a go bag ready for your family folks have basically a go bag ready for yourfamily in folks have basically a go bag ready for your family in case they shut it off, they choose to, or if the system is overwhelmed, you have a real shutdown because the system cannot take it. if that happens that the re—a a. m. cannot take it. if that happens that the re—a a.m. in the morning, you are waking up, it is cold, where are the clothes for the kids? where is my phone? 0ther for the kids? where is my phone? other stuff ready to go because you do not want to be in the dark when it is minus 27 point seven celsius, so have that plan ready. people are staying home because of the virus, obviously, either working at home since last march, but i came into the office myself today because if i had a power blackout at home,

i had a power blackout at home, i can�*t broadcast the weather without power at all. i can't broadcast the weather without power at all. everyone is impacted — without power at all. everyone is impacted here. _ without power at all. everyone is impacted here. jeremy i is impacted here. jeremy goodwin, i have to leave it there. really interesting study take care. thanks to you for watching. hello. well, it�*s frost—free out there again, second night in a row. it�*s certainly turned very mild across the uk. monday was a mild day and tuesday is going to be every bit as mild. but the mild south—westerly winds have also brought some rain. this is where our weather is coming from, all the way, in fact, from the south almost. last week, it was all coming out of eastern europe, those cold easterly winds, but a complete reversal in the weather patterns. in fact, over the next few days, not only is the weather going to be coming in from the south—west, these passes of mild air, towards the weekend, it looks like a dip in thejet stream will make the air come right from the south. so that means that those temperatures will shoot up to quite possibly 17 celsius.

but at the moment, we have the mild south—westerly winds, and they are strong. off the coast of scotland, gusting to 65 mph. on top of that, we�*ve got plenty of rain splashing its way through the country during the early hours. these are the morning temperatures between 5—10 celsius. so, on tuesday, the low pressure is sweeping just to the northwest of scotland. gale force winds there in the hebrides, gusting again to 65 mph and frequent heavy showers. now, this is a weather front here. it�*s just clearing east anglia and the south—east in the afternoon. it may take time before it clears away completely, and then behind it, it�*s a mixture of sunny spells and showers, and the temperature is between 10—12 celsius. so even for february, quite a mild day. and as i say, that rain will take time to clear away from the southeast. here�*s a look at wednesday�*s weather forecast. 0ne low pressure moves away — in fact, it�*s over iceland — and another one replaces it. in fact, we are going to see

a series of low pressure coming our way, bringing spells of rain, weatherfronts, this is the beginning of that really unsettled spell of weather, which will then turn very mild weather as we head into the weekend. but look at wednesday, lots of showers, outbreaks of rain heading toward some southern parts of the country. temperatures, again, fairly similar around 10—12 celsius. now, the rise in the temperature will be very that�*s the day where in some southern and eastern areas, it could hit 17 celsius. they called it �*mir�* — the russian for peace.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the leader of myanmar�*s military coup, general min aung hlaing, says he will try to handle nationwide civilian protests softly, although he didn�*t clarify details. protestors have been threatened with long jail terms if they obstruct the armed forces or incite hatred towards the coup leaders. the united nations has said it�*s alarmed by the escalation of the conflict in yemen around the northern city of marib. more than a50 children have been killed or wounded by snipers. the un�*s humanitarian chief, mark lowcock, said an assault on marib itself could have unimaginable consequences. new quarantine restrictions have come into effect in britain, with people arriving at airports having to pay for ten—day stays in hotels. it affects arrivals to england, from 33 countries including portugal, brazil, and south africa. fifteen million people across the uk have received their vaccines so far.