this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm samantha simmonds. gunfire. an escalation of violence in myanmar as security forces open fire at protesters. at least two people have been killed. sirens. unrest on the streets of barcelona as thousands of people protest for a fifth night against the jailing of a rapper for controversial tweets. russian opposition leader alexei navalny loses his appeal against a 2.5—year prison sentence. prince charles has visited the hospital in central london where his father, the duke of edinburgh, is being treated. and a 21—year—old briton has become the youngest woman to row solo across the atlantic. jasmin harrison rowed from the canary islands to antigua

injust over 70 days. hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. emergency medical workers in myanmar say at least two people have been killed and several others injured at an anti—coup protest in the city of mandalay. witnesses said police used live ammunition as they tried to disperse the crowd in myanmar�*s second city. it's an escalation in the military�*s response to the daily demonstrations across myanmar. they began when the burmese army seized power on the 1st of february and detained the elected leader aung san suu kyi. our south east asia correspondent jonathan head reports. the military has promised patience with those protesting against its coup, but there was little sign

of it here in mandalay. the police had gone in to disperse striking ship workers and moved quickly from using tear gas and rubber bullets to live rounds. gunfire. the shooting was caught on camera by this terrified bystander. "please don't shoot, don't let it happen," she says. two people were killed. several more sustained gunshot injuries. is this an escalation by the military junta? that isn't clear. in yangon, protesters were mostly left alone by the security forces today as they pressed their demands for the elected government of aung san suu kyi to be released and reinstated. they've been holding memorials, too, for the 20—year—old who was the first protester to die,

adding fuel to a wave of public fury against the military which is still sweeping across myanmar. the coup leaders, though, seem prepared to wait them out, while going in at night to arrest increasing numbers of those organising and funding the movement. "our young people have our dreams," said this 27—year—old. "but everything is gone now. everything we hoped for is being destroyed." they're trying to cripple the military�*s authority with these protests, to show that they cannot govern. but how much longer can they keep this up? jonathan head, bbc news. spanish police have again clashed with supporters of the jailed catalan rapper pablo hasel on a fifth night of demonstrations in the city of barcelona. bottles have been thrown at officers, shops ransacked and vehicles set alight. the authorities say 6000 people took part in the protest.

pablo hasel was jailed for tweets and raps defaming the monarchy and glorifying terrorism. his supporters say his case is an attack on free speech. i've been speaking to the bbc�*s guy hedgecoe in madrid about these growing protests. well, people are gathering for this fifth consecutive night of demonstrations against this sentence against against the rapper pablo hasel. we've seen this since tuesday. the authorities are very concerned about these protests. there have been a lot of violent scenes, a number of police who have been injured over the last few days, a lot of demonstrators who've been injured and several dozen arrests. so there is a great deal of concern. there has been a big deployment of police in the centre of madrid because there is an expectation there are going to be big demonstrations in madrid as well as all these

other catalan cities, which have been sort of the focus of these demonstrations over the last few days. just remind us why these people are out on the streets and what it is pablo hasel has done? well, on tuesday, he began this jail sentence, a very controversialjail sentence, for insulting the spanish crown and glorifying terrorism due to these tweets that he posted online a few years ago, and also due to the content, the lyrical content, of one of his songs which he posted online. and that triggered these protests. people believe that he was simply... he should've been allowed to express himself, this is a case of freedom of expression. the court that found him guilty decided he'd gone beyond that and he was inciting hatred and violence. but it's freedom of expression which is at the heart of these protests. although the authorities say that there are people who are out here at the moment who are just planning to carry out violent acts against the security forces. and it isn'tjust protesters who are very against this ruling

and his jail, is it? it's also causing problems within the ruling coalition? yes, that's right. this is spain's first ever coalition government in the modern era, but with the socialist party of pedro sanchez, the prime minister, and then the junior partner, which is podemos, further to the left. now, the socialists have condemned the violence that we've seen in these protests over the last few days, and the socialists have also backed the security forces very strongly in their attempts to handle these protests. podemos, on the other hand, has taken a very different stance. it's refused to condemn the violence, and it has said that in many cases that these protests have been justified. that seems to have exacerbated existing tensions within this governing coalition, and that has really been making headlines over the last couple of days. alexei navalny has had a disappointing, but perhaps unsurprising, day in court in moscow. first, the ruling to jail the kremlin�*s most prominent

opponent was upheld. and then alexei navalny was later found guilty and fined of defaming a world war ii veteran. he denies the charges. mr navalny was arrested in january after recovering from poisoning with a nerve agent. from moscow, steve rosenberg reports. back in court. the kremlin�*s most vocal critic, russia's most famous prisoner. alexei navalny tried to be upbeat. but his appeal was rejected. the result? 2.5 years in prison for fraud and parole violations — charges widely seen as politically motivated. this was mr navalny a month ago, flying home after recovering in germany from being poisoned in siberia. he was arrested on arrival. that sparked nationwide protests, but the russian authorities were in no mood to listen. and there's been a cold response

here to international criticism. this week, the kremlin rejected a ruling by the european court of human rights that mr navalny should be freed. as for talk of more western sanctions, the kremlin has been exploiting that to its own benefit. in vladimir putin's russia, this is how it works. western criticism over the jailing of mr navalny, western pressure, western sanctions, the kremlin takes that and holds it up to the russian people and says, "look, we told you so, the west has got it in for russia." in other words, the authorities try to use this to bolster their claim that this is a country under siege. and that is precisely the message in the russian state media. basically, west is not interested in navalny. west is just willing to see russia destroyed. and that's the major idea that we have in russia. blaming the west is an attempt to distract attention from problems here?

we are not... yes, of course, we have our problems. but they cannot be even compared with the problems that you have. the kremlin will be hoping that this problem of a rival and a challenger has been dealt with once and for all. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. the prince of wales has been to the hospital in london where his father — the duke of edinburgh — is currently being treated after feeling unwell. prince charles arrived this afternoon. his father was admitted to the king edward vii hospital on tuesday evening as a precautionary measure. 0ur correspondent helena wilkinson gave us this update from outside the hospital. he didn't come through that front entrancejust behind us. it was a rear entrance to the hospitaljust around the corner from where we are. he was wearing a face covering. he wasn't with any other members of the royal family. he went inside, and it was a pretty short visit. he spent around half an hour inside the hospital. now, we understand that the prince

of wales travelled by car from highgrove in gloucestershire, the estate there. and that's a journey of more than 100 miles to come and see his father here in hospital. the hospital guidelines, in terms of visitors, on their website, they say that visitors are only considered in exceptional circumstances. in terms of any update from buckingham palace as to how the duke of edinburgh is in hospital, well, there isn't any update, but they have pointed us back to that earlier statement, the one they gave yesterday and earlier in the week, that the duke of edinburgh is here at the hospital, being kept here with an abundance of caution. and he's here for observation and rest. he was brought here, of course, on tuesday night from windsor castle by car. he walked out of the car into the hospital, said to be in good spirits.

but tonight, the duke of edinburgh, at the age of 99 years old, four months off his 100th birthday, is going to be spending a fifth night here in hospital, and we expect him to stay for the rest of the weekend and into next week. president biden has approved a major disaster declaration for texas which will pave the way for more us federal funds to be spent on relief efforts, including assistance for temporary housing, home repairs and low—cost loans, after the state has suffered widespread power blackouts and water shortages caused by a severe freeze over the last week. alvin migues is the emergency disaster services director for the salvation army in texas. he says it could take 18 months for things to return to normal. timing right now has been a huge issue for us. because we've gone through this whole year with the covid crisis, it's created, you know, a lot of challenges for folks,

and theyjust don't have a lot to give right now. so having those federal dollars to come into the state allows us to focus on getting those home repairs done quickly and efficiently so that people can get their houses back to normal and get their lives back where they need to be. i expect that we'll start our casework, our case management work, within the next couple of weeks, but i anticipate it taking up to a year, year and a half before everybody�*s back to normal. since this event started early last week, the salvation army has been working to open up all of ourfacilities so folks have a warm place to at least go and stay. there's a lot of folks that are running out of food, water's definitely becoming a huge issue for us, and we've done everything we can from our main hub to start supplying as many folks as we can with water, food products and then of course blankets, warm coats and that type of thing. we're working diligently right now with all of our vendors to try and secure food boxes, so that we can take those out and start delivering them across the state. we're hoping to receive probably up to 20 truckloads of food boxes in the next week or so that we can get out the folks immediately.

the bbc�*s lebo diseko has been meeting some of the volunteers who have been helping their communities in dallas. after days battling to find power, texans are now struggling to get clean water. 13 million people, that's around half the state, are being told to boil what comes out of their taps. some are even resorting to heating snow to drink. whoo! awesome! but in any crisis, there are helpers like allen. he's bought hundreds of bottles of water for his local community. super important, it really is. this takes the burden off of me having to get out and drive around. so i appreciate this, i really, really do. it's been a gruelling few days for allen, who's dealt with power outages and now has no food at home. i was very cold, and every time i would get out of my car and go back injust to have somewhere to lay down, i had to decide,

do i want to be uncomfortable in my car in the warmth or go into a cold home and lay in a comfortable bed? today, i'm going to do this water, and then after the water, i'm going to check and see what type of food people lost and see what i can do to replace their food. honey, this is more than enough! thank you. it's clear allen's making a huge difference to his community, bringing supplies like water and even electricity generators. but temperatures here are expected to triple in the coming days, and that could bring new problems. melted ice coming through already damaged pipes could cause flooding. that could see precious supply dwindle even further. officials say some areas in the state could completely run out in the coming days. residents are being asked to ration the little utilities they already have. it's been a long, cold week in the us. several states in this country have been brought to their knees by the severe winter storms.

it's too early to definitively link this weather to global warming, but what is clear is that the us needs to be better prepared for a changing climate. lebo diseko, bbc news, dallas, texas. meanwhile, united airlines has launched an investigation into who leaked information about senator ted cruz�*s travel plans. the republican senator for texas was criticised for taking his family on a beach holiday to cancun in mexico while other texans endured freezing conditions. a source from within united airlines reportedly told a travel reporter that mr cruz originally planned to return on saturday, but had rebooked his flight to thursday after his constituents condemned the move. although tens of thousands of united employees have access to customer flight data, leaks about flight plans are rare in the industry. care home residents in england will be allowed to choose one person to visit them regularly from march the 8th in the first confirmed easing of lockdown. they'll be able to meet indoors

and be allowed to hold hands, but visitors must wear personal protective equipment and be tested before entering the home. the announcement comes ahead of the prime minister revealing his "road map" for easing lockdown on monday. 0ur health correspondent anna collinson has more. a moment of relief during a dark year for 83—year—old barbara abrams. this is the closest her family have been allowed to get to her while visiting her care home in stockport because of covid restrictions. that lack of physical contact has been really difficult for us. my poor mum. her health, both physically and mentally, has really deteriorated, particularly in the last... since christmas. i think it was, like, the straw that broke the camel's back. but now, a sign of hope. from the 8th of march, care home residents in england will be allowed to pick one person to visit them regularly indoors. with the government preparing to reveal its road map for easing lockdown on monday, this announcement has been called the first step to getting back to where we want to be. there are some rules.

it has to be the same visitor every time, holding hands is allowed, but there can be no kissing or hugging. the visitor must be tested before entering the home, and they must wear ppe while inside. it's welcome news for many families, but too late for those who've lost loved ones during the pandemic. we have tried everything we possibly can, and what you have to remember is people in our services have very complex health care needs. and so, therefore, our primary duty has always been, through all the guidance we get, to keep them safe and to keep our staff safe. from early march, residents in scottish care homes will be allowed two visitors. in northern ireland and wales, the advice varies between individual homes. scientists say a slow and steady approach is needed. there are some families who haven't seen their loved ones _ in care homes since march. so i really welcome i that announcement. i would say we still. have to be cautious. i let's not forget the the nhs has|

treated over 100,000 severely ill patients in the last month, and we still have almost i 20,000 people in hospital. jill has two siblings and says it's unlikely she'll be the chosen visitor because she lives the furthest away, but she doesn't mind. it's wonderful that one of us will be able to go in and hold her hand, and that will make a whole difference to us as a whole family. anna collinson, bbc news. student unions in france are urging the government to do more to help their classmates who were hit hard by the pandemic. with the curfew extended across the entire country, most of them have lost their temporaryjobs. last year, three in four university students said they were struggling financially. thousands are now relying on food banks. sara monetta has this report. they are france's future doctors, engineers, teachers, managers, and they're queuing for food. at this association in the heart of paris, volunteers now distribute 25,000 meals and hygiene

kits each week. translation: this is really good. they have sanitary pads. it's really useful because they're expensive. whenjulien began delivering food parcels at the start of the pandemic, he couldn't imagine these would be the people needing his help the most. translation: it's not possible that food is an issue for students. - it's not possible that they have to ask themselves, "am i finishing my studies or am i going to eat?" first the lockdown, then the curfew. the temp jobs that students did to support themselves were wiped out. in her tiny studio, irfaq follows classes online all week, a business student from morocco. the worry about making ends meet is always at the back of her mind. translation: ifi had ajob, i wouldn't need food aid, - but right now, us students are in a situation in- which we really need the ngos' help. and it's notjust about money,

it's also the loneliness. translation: i was imagining a different student life, - more open and more social. instead, i find myself in this 20—square—metre—room - withjust my computer and me, far from my family and friends. j sometimes i regret coming here, but it's ok. - these initiatives have multiplied across france, with ngos and student groups working hard to help their classmates in need. but that might not be enough. the government should be doing more. a lot of concerns just a few pockets of students. there is a lot of gaps. we see that in our grocery shop. we have more and more students who comes. as the government shows no intention of easing the restrictions, the queue here keeps getting longer. sara monetta, bbc news.

new zealand has begun its vaccine roll—out, with 70 border workers among the first to receive the pfizer/biontech jab. staff working in the country's quarantine hotels have been given priority, and it's expected to take a year to vaccinate the country's population of 5 million. new zealand's health minister says that while it's the start of a new chapter in the fight against the coronavirus, there was still a long way to go. here's what one of the first people to receive the vaccine had to say. to be honest, i didn't even feel it. i was expecting something, like, maybe like tension, but i was like, "oh, is it over now?" that's brilliant. if that's what it's like, then there should be no complaints. we should be rolling it out so easy. let's look at some of the day's other news. the top official from the international atomic energy agency is visiting iran today in a diplomatic effort to get tehran to return to an international nuclear deal. it comes amid threats from iran to restrict the activities of un nuclear inspectors if the us doesn't

lift sanctions imposed by president trump by sunday. hundreds of protesters gathered outside thailand's parliament after the country's prime minister survived a no—confidence vote. a student—led protest movement has campaigned since last year for the government to step down. they want the constitution to be amended to make it more democratic and for the monarchy to be reformed to make it more accountable. more than 1000 people have been forced to leave their homes in indonesia's capital, jakarta, due to severe flooding. in the south and eastern areas of the sprawling mega—city, home to more than 10 million people, residents were forced to flee after floodwaters reached up to 1.8 metres high in some areas. they're one of the most recognisable couples in the world, but it seems the seven—year marriage of kim kardashian and kanye west is over. the reality tv star is reported to have filed for divorce from her rapper husband. 0ur north america correspondent david willis has the latest from los angeles, and his report

contains some flashing images. it was a made—for—tv marriage, the rapper and the reality star, the union of two people uniquely gifted in the art of self—promotion. kim kardashian—west! both destined to strike an improbable alliance with another star of reality television, although politics was, it's thought, just one source of disagreement. she, a democrat... i love this guy right here! he, an increasingly vocal conservative, seen here sporting a make america great again hat in the oval office before going on to announce an ill—fated run for president. that led, in july last year, to a barrage of worrisome tweets, including one in which kanye west likened his mother—in—law to the north korean dictator kim jong—un and even accused herfamily of

trying to lock him up. kim kardashian responded with a lengthy statement on instagram. you know, it's being reported that kim had been over- the marriage for a long - time, but she felt that last year was not the right time to file for divorce, because kanye,| in her mind and in that of a lot of the public, was struggling. i both are said to be worth more than $1 billion — he through music and fashion lines, she as a tv star and entrepreneur. it's thought the couple has a prenuptial agreement which neither side plans to contest. whilst heat recently vowed to distance himself from politics, she has called for criminaljustice reform and is currently training to

become a lawyer. i reform and is currently training to become a lawyer.— reform and is currently training to become a lawyer. i believe that i'm reall 'ust become a lawyer. i believe that i'm really just curious _ become a lawyer. i believe that i'm reallyjust curious and _ become a lawyer. i believe that i'm reallyjust curious and the - become a lawyer. i believe that i'm reallyjust curious and the more - reallyjust curious and the more that i know about in the fields i really want to know about some of the more things i can do to help. neither side has commented on the divorce, but kim kardashian is expected to discuss it later this year, where else than on her own reality tv show? david willis, bbc news, los angeles. it's just a bit more than your lockdown run. it tookjasmine harrison 70 days, three hours and 48 minutes to row solo across the atlantic ocean. this makes the 21—year—old swimming teacher the youngest woman to row solo across the atlantic. originally from thirsk in north yorkshire, she set off on herjourney from la gomera in the canary islands in december. she docked in antigua, earlier today. now, ijust have one little word of warning if anyone is thinking about trying to get around local regulations to get a coronavirus vaccine. these two women in florida were caught after they dressed up as grannies to try to dupe health

authorities into giving them a coronavirus vaccine. the state's department of health said the pair confused their dates of birth. they were given a trespassing warning and thrown out of the vaccination centre with a warning not to return. you are watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. hello, there. we have seen flooding across western part of wales chemist of and northern ireland and westerns: raining a lot recently so those flood warnings have been increasing in number. this is the rainfall radarfrom the in number. this is the rainfall radar from the last 2a hours. you can see initially very heavy into

whales and recently very wet indeed across parts of southern and western scotland. that ray should tend to clear away northwards and it turns very windy with a chance of gales across northwest tonight and winds up across northwest tonight and winds up to 70 mph. for the south the front brings clouds and patchy rain to the southeast and in between clear skies. a very mild not to come for the time of year, ranging between 5—11 in east anglia and the southeast. into part two of the weekend, we had this week whether front still straddling part of the country, affecting central in the southeast. low pressure to the northwest so quite breezy with some showers to start here but plenty of sunshine a ramp and this front will bring some patchy light rain to central into the eastern areas and they willfully work its way west through the day and perhaps having up through the day and perhaps having up again for parts of wales in the southwest are not quite as heavy as what we have through today. the session i will emerge again for the southeast and that will lift up 15

and belts where you can see the temperature is very mild for the time of year. into monday our weather front is still with us bringing outbreaks of rain through central and eastern parts of england and stays quite breezy with a few showers across the northwest but in between a good deal of dry and bright with her. temperatures a degree or so down across much of the uk and perhaps in the single figures for many but still very mild in the southeast. into tuesday we see a new area of low pressure pushing to the west of the country and that will bring another weather front and some strong winds again to the north and west of the uk. to the southeast, that front drawing up some extremely mild airfrom that front drawing up some extremely mild air from the that front drawing up some extremely mild airfrom the near continent that front drawing up some extremely mild air from the near continent and with high—pressure beginning to build by the end of the week it will turn drier and brighter as well. could be very mild indeed across a southeast or in the middle of the week and some rain in the north and west and turning drier for all by the end of the week.

hello, this is bbc news with samantha simmonds. the headlines... care home residents in england will be allowed to have one person visit them regularly from the 8th of march, as easing of lockdown measures start to be revealed. number ten says reuniting families and allowing people to have more social contact will be an "absolute priority" in easing lockdown after schools reopen. prince charles has visited the king edward the seventh hospital in central london where his father the duke of edinburgh is being treated. a court in russia upholds a decision to jail opposition leader alexei navalny forjust over two—and—a—half years,