this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm mike embley. the violence escalates in myanmar — 38 people have been killed on wednesday, the united nations calls it �*shocking'. police in washington say they have intelligence of a possible plot by a militia group to breach the capitol building on thursday. the international criminal court is opening a formal investigation into war crimes in the palestinian territories. and buckingham palace says it'll investigate claims that the duchess of sussex bullied some members of her staff. we start with a shocking escalation in violence in myanmar, where the united nations says 38 people have

we start with a shocking escalation in violence in myanmar, where the united nations says 38 people have been killed on wednesday alone, marking the worst day of bloodshed since the military coup. security forces opened fire on large crowds in a number of cities and at least two of the victims are believed to be teenagers. mass demonstrations have been taking place across myanmar since the military seized control on one february. a warning that this report from our south east asia correspondent, jonathan head, contains some disturbing scenes. the conflict in myanmar is now a battle for control of individual neighbourhoods. residents and protesters barricading themselves in. police and soldiers sweeping through to get people off the streets. and sometimes shooting at those brave enough to film from their apartments. gunshot.

here, the protest organisers use fire extinguishers to obscure the view, to try to avoid being shot. because that is what the military government is prepared to do to reassert its control. this was 19—year—old ginsen today, in mandalay. her t—shirt reads, "everything will be ok," but she also carried a label with her blood group, in case she was hurt. she was killed when a bullet struck her head. here in the city of monywa, the police were filmed as they dragged away another victim. the security forces are also arresting large numbers of people. in this neighbourhood, it seemed, arresting every resident they caught. and they exercise little restraint. this security camera video shows three medical volunteers being savagely beaten.

if there is a strategy in these shocking scenes, it is perhaps to crush what's now a nationwide rebellion with brute force, in the hope that the rest of the world will in time accept the reality of military rule once more in myanmar. jonathan head, bbc news. the us capitol police say they have obtained intelligence showing there is a possible plot to breach the capitol building again on thursday. the plot is linked to a far—right militia group, and march fourth is the day that some qanon followers believe donald trump will return to take power once again. while extra security measures are being put in place, the house of representatives has decided not to convene on thursday. looking forward we assessed that the violent extremists

thread will continue to pose an elevated threat of violence to the us. we estimate that anti— authority violent extremists will very likely oppose the greatest domestic terrorism threats throughout 2021 and in fact leading into 2022. i'm joined now by former secretary of defence and cia chief, leon panetta. very good to talk to you, thank you very much for your time. what other chances do you think that mr trump is returning to take power on march the fourth? it's not very likely. is the kind of lie that has motivated these domestic terrorists, particularly the ones who are january six attacked the us capital, and actually stopped our democracy. i think we have learned a lot of lessons since january sex and that is the reason this intelligence has

been regarded as an important element to alerting the congress as to his stomach this potential threat, congress as to his stomach this potentialthreat, but congress as to his stomach this potential threat, but i doubt whether we will see a repeat of the events that took place on january six. but how serious a threat do _ january six. but how serious a threat do you _ threat do you think it is? i don't question the nature of the threat, and i think because there are questions about the level of intelligence that was provided prior to the january sex situation, i'm sure they are looking very closely at the credibility of the intelligence that they have, and it properly does indicate that there is an extremist group that regards march four as the legitimate inauguration day, i'm sure that's what they are basing this on, that they regard it as the day when donald trump could

in fact be inaugurated. that is what is driving them, and because of that, rather than taking anything for granted, as we did injanuary sex, but i think it resulted in a failure of security and a failure of action to try to prevent those occurrences, i think there is an overabundance of awareness that we have got to take every bit of intelligence seriously, and protect our capital from any repetition of what happened on january any repetition of what happened onjanuary six. i’m any repetition of what happened on january sim— on january six. i'm sure you don't need _ on january six. i'm sure you don't need reminding - on january six. i'm sure you don't need reminding but. on january six. i'm sure you i don't need reminding but let's recap, there to have been a serious event to overturn by force a democratic election, a serious attempt to ledge the vice president, five people died and many senators in fear of their lives and the president was impeached to. what lessons do you think have been learned from all of that? i think the primary lessons are

that we have got to treat drain yuri sex the same way we treated 9/11. that was a wake—up call, our country was threatened by foreign terrorists, january sex is a wake—up call that the united states is now threatened by domestic terrorists, and because there were feelings that took place in terms of preparation and security, and intelligence on january sex, i intelligence onjanuary sex, i think there are intelligence on january sex, i think there are lessons that have now been learned, that we have now been learned, that we have got to have constant intelligence on domestic terrorists, we have to track their possible efforts to again repeat what happened on january sex, and i repeat what happened onjanuary sex, and i think repeat what happened on january sex, and i think that's what you are seeing now, an abundance of caution to make sure that we are properly prepared to react, if in fact, any group attempts any kind of armed attack again on the united states capital. even if

a re eat united states capital. even if a repeat of— united states capital. even if a repeat ofjanuary _ united states capital. even if a repeat ofjanuary sex - united states capital. even if a repeat ofjanuary sex is - a repeat of january sex is deterred, we know, or at least it is strongly suggested in the polls that there are millions of people who think that mr trump should be president, that the election was unfair, was only worn by widespread fraud. do you have any sense of how the country can be brought together?— the country can be brought touether? , ., _ ., together? obviously, you would think that the _ together? obviously, you would think that the truth _ together? obviously, you would think that the truth would - together? obviously, you would think that the truth would be . together? obviously, you would think that the truth would be a i think that the truth would be a way to unify the country. and unfortunately we have a former president, donald trump, who has continued to state that somehow the election was stolen and that he really won the election, when all of the facts, the votes, and certainly the electoral account confirm thatjoe biden was elected president, and is president of the united states, so he is operating, and so are these groups, operating on a lie, and

unfortunately, when you look at the history of terrorism, terrorism usually operates because of a lie that people believe, that somehow motivated them to violence, so they are operating on a lie, we have to continue to state the truth, as to what happened in this country, and make clear that our democracy will continue to function, and that we reject any terrorist group that thinks otherwise. fin any terrorist group that thinks otherwise-— otherwise. on the face of it, i su ose otherwise. on the face of it, i sunpose too _ otherwise. on the face of it, i suppose too many _ otherwise. on the face of it, i suppose too many people - otherwise. on the face of it, i l suppose too many people want otherwise. on the face of it, i - suppose too many people want to qanon followers believe is laughable, but you must have seen the background here. how seriously do you take qanon? i don't think any of these terrorist groups ought to be underestimated. there is a lot of craziness associated with qanon, and what they believe, but i think we have to remember

what happened onjanuary six. there was an armed attack on the united states capital, based on a lie, that somehow the election was stolen. so we cannot underestimate the fact that that lie continues to be out there, and there are those who are willing to take violent action in order to make that lie come true for them, so i think it's really important for law enforcement, for the security officials, the fbi, to be very careful about the kind of intelligence we are getting, and to make clear that we are going to take action to protect the united states of america from any event that repeats january six. from any event that repeats january sim— january six. thank you very much for — january six. thank you very much for your _ january six. thank you very much for your time. - the international criminal court is to open a formal investigation into war crimes in the palestinian

territories which will examine both sides of the conflict. the palestinian authority said it was a long—awaited step towards justice and accountability. israel's prime minister said the move was anti—semitic. tom bateman is our correspondent injerusalem the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu was actually announcing tonight, or launching his party's election campaign, and it was just a few moments before that the international criminal court's prosecutor released this statement, which is of course i'm great significance. mr netanyahu has called the decision to launch a formal investigation pure anti—semitism, he said that israel is under attack tonight, and so the court found our brave and moral soldiers were fighting terrorists, and of course there is no decision at all yet, this is simply the decision to launch a formal enquiry, and the prosecution itself has said during the

statement that there would be, or there should be a reasoned discussion about this, this is simply the beginning of what would be a painstaking process, but the israelis will fight the legitimacy of this at every corner, saying the court is biased, and also believes that it is politically motivated, allegations of course that the court itself rejects. let's get some of the day's other news. three people have life threatenng injuries in the south of sweden, in what police are treating as a suspected terrorist attack. the assailant, a man in his 20s, stabbed his victims in the southern town of vetlanda. police shot and wounded the attacker before detaining him. in total, eight people have suffered injuries at least three people have been shot in nigeria as parents were reunited with their kidnapped daughters in the north—western town of jangebe. trouble started after parents were frustrated by the length of time the handover was takimg, and started throwing rocks at government officials. nearly 300 girls were kidnapped last week, but have been

in the custody of the state government since they were freed on tuesday. hundreds of people have clashed with police in senegal�*s capital, dakar, in support of the country's opposition leader. 0usmane sonko was arrested as he made his way to court to face rape charges. mr sonko says the charges are politically motivated. the governor of new york, andrew cuomo, has said he'll cooperate with a sexual harassment investigation, but he won't resign. the democrat said he'd never touched anyone inappropriately, but acknowledged that his habit of hugging and kissing people could make them feel uncomfortable. presidentjoe biden has called the decision by texas and mississippi to drop mask—wearing requirements as "neanderthal thinking". he warned that relaxing rules prematurely would put us advances in the battle against covid—19 at risk. but a number of states are ignoring that warning, and are plouging ahead to re—invigorate their stalling economies. here is president biden speaking at the oval office. i hope everybody�*s realised by now these masks make

a difference. we are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because of the way in which we were able to get vaccines in people's arms. we've been able to move that all the way up to the end of may to have enough for every american, to get every adult american to get a shot. and the last thing, the last thing we need is neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, "everything's fine, take "off your mask, forget it." it still matters. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the fight to save these kenyan bearded vultures from extinction. first, the plates slid gently off the restaurant tables. then suddenly, the tables, the chairs and people crashed sideways and downwards, and it was just a matter of seconds as the ferry lurched onto her side.

the hydrogen bomb. on a remote pacific atoll, the americans had successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i had heard the news earlier, and so my heart went bang, bang, bang! the constitutional rights of - these marchers are their rights as citizens of the united i states, and they should be protected even in the right. to test them out, so that they don't get their heads broken and are sent to hospital. - this religious controversy — i know you don't want to say too much about it — but does it worry you that it's going to boil up when you get to the states? well, it worries me, yes, but i hope everything will be all right in the end, as they say. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: escalating violence

in myanmar, following last month's military coup — the un says 38 people were killed on wednesday alone. police in washington say they have intelligence of a possible plot by a militia group to breach the capitol building on thursday. buckingham palace says it's very concerned by reports that the duchess of sussex was accused of bullying her staff during her time at kensington palace. the claims were made by former staff of harry and meghan, and the palace says it will investigate the circumstances. for her part, the duchess was said to be saddened by reports of a bullying complaint, which was seen as the latest attack on her character. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell has more. what is the truth? is meghan, the woman who was warmly welcomed when she married prince harry, now the victim of a calculated smear campaign by the establishment? or was it the case that, as the duchess of sussex, her behaviour became unreasonable and that her staff were driven to distraction?

there were strains within the sussex household. it's a matter of record that staff members left, and now a highly revealing e—mail has been obtained by the times. it was written in late 2018 by jason knauf, the couple's communication secretary, to simon case. he's now the cabinet secretary, no less. in it, knauf is reported to have written... in response, the duchess' spokesman has said: buckingham palace has said it's very concerned about the allegations. it's setting up an inquiry. former members of staff will be invited to participate. the palace statement concluded:

so, why have these allegations emerged just four days before the sussexes�* interview with oprah winfrey is broadcast in america? apparently it's because former members of staff, some of whom i'm told feel very bruised, believe that an incomplete picture of the duchess is being presented. her supporters of course will continue to believe that she is the real victim. nicholas witchell, bbc news, buckingham palace. conservationists are calling for more efforts to save critically endangered vultures across africa. out of 11 vulture species found on the continent, seven are on the verge of extinction. poisoning has been cited as the major cause of the population decline over the past three decades. 0ne species in particular in kenya — the bearded vulture — has seen its population decline to less than

five individuals. anne 0kumu has more. it is feeding time in conservation in central canal. the carcass these vultures are consuming might be safe but the next what might be their last. these birds of prey are facing extinction. they have been poisoned by the locals. the cliff u- poisoned by the locals. the cliff up there, _ poisoned by the locals. the cliff up there, we _ poisoned by the locals. the cliff up there, we still - poisoned by the locals. iie: cliff up there, we still have breeding colonies of bearded vultures, of vultures and rebels vultures. currently there are no breeding vultures that we know of up there. these vultures are _ that we know of up there. these vultures are the _ that we know of up there. these vultures are the victim _ that we know of up there. these vultures are the victim of- that we know of up there. these vultures are the victim of a - vultures are the victim of a vicious never—ending conflict between humans and wildlife, the majority of people who live here are pastoralists and they are forced to go to greater lamps to keep their livestock safe, including poisoning carcasses hoping to kill predators like lions, but more often vultures are caught in the trap. they are dying in droves after eating carcasses laced with deadly pesticides. conservationists say the effect on the ecosystem could be dire. we have done some studies actually to show that when you

lose the vultures, you get a lot more hyenas, dogs. they are not as well adapted to cleaning up not as well adapted to cleaning up the carcasses so basically we are at risk of higher transmission of diseases are some of these carcasses when we lose the vultures.— lose the vultures. here, the majority _ lose the vultures. here, the majority of _ lose the vultures. here, the majority of the _ lose the vultures. here, the majority of the community | majority of the community members live alongside the conservancy, they say they are forced to poison carcasses as one way of protecting the animals. this is one of the areas around here that has been under attack by lions, cheetahs and leopards in recent days. right now, the people living that have gone to look for their camels. around two or three of them escaped last night out of fear from loans hunting around here. the peregrine fund, a non—profit organisation, is trying to teach communities how to protect themselves and their livestock without endangering the vultures. it trains pastoralists on how to dispose of poison carcasses by burning.

it also teaches them how to build shades as well as a wreck dim lights to scare away wild animals. i, animals. there are three weaknesses _ animals. there are three weaknesses they - animals. there are three weaknesses they need . animals. there are three | weaknesses they need to animals. there are three - weaknesses they need to cover to protect livestock enclosures. usually it is the door, what you can see here is very sturdy and strong wooden door. the other thing is the top part. usually, many walls, especially those are made of vegetation are easy to depress any predator to claimant. the other weakness is usually the bottom bet. hyenas will not climb, they will bury underneath and gets into the enclosure. underneath and gets into the enclosure-— enclosure. for martin and d'ar , enclosure. for martin and d"arcy. the _ enclosure. for martin and d'arcy, the quest - enclosure. for martin and d'arcy, the quest to - enclosure. for martin and d'arcy, the quest to save | enclosure. for martin and i d'arcy, the quest to save the declining vulture population in can you remains undeterred. their only hope that the vulture population will not be lost in its entirety. anne 0kumu, bbc africa. now to manhattan, where the streets have come alive with the sound of music, not from the concert halls but, unusually, from abandoned shops. it's part of a programme

where storefronts have been transformed into performance spaces, giving some of the city's top musicians the opportunity to perform live for the first time in months. the bbc�*s tom brook has the story. from his home in upstate new york, 33—year—old violinist sean has spent the most of past years stuck indoors practising alone. it has been tough. fist alone. it has been tough. at the alone. it has been tough. git the amount of deprivation really, you know, to spend so much time without contact, i just love that whole energy of the concert stage. but recently. _ the concert stage. but recently, sean - the concert stage. but recently, sean lee - the concert stage. but recently, sean lee travelled the 150 miles down to new york city to finally perform live before an audience at a unique showcase organised by the musical storefront�*s program. inside and abounded women's clothing store on broadway manhattan, sean performed from paganini 2a caprices. 0n the

other side of the shop window, passers—by stopped, transfixed. they watched and listened to his music relayed by loudspeakers placed on the street stop it was definitely a covid—19 safe set up. sean was a bit worried about the prospect of performing. having not performed _ prospect of performing. having not performed for _ prospect of performing. having not performed for a _ prospect of performing. having not performed for a handful- prospect of performing. having not performed for a handful of| not performed for a handful of months, i was a bit nervous, you know, how was i going to feel to have eyes on me again? at the minute i started playing, all of that disappeared, which was just a joy- disappeared, which was 'ust a 'o . , disappeared, which was 'ust a 'o. .,�*, joy. the musical storefront's - ro . ram joy. the musical storefront's program has _ joy. the musical storefront's program has been _ joy. the musical storefront's program has been mounting| joy. the musical storefront's i program has been mounting 60 concerts featuring more than a hundred established emerging classicaljazz and theatre musicians. i emerging classical “azz and theatre musicians._ emerging classical “azz and theatre musicians. i think it is very covid-safe _ theatre musicians. i think it is very covid-safe and - theatre musicians. i think it is very covid-safe and also | is very covid—safe and also very, very creative. i is very covid-safe and also very, very creative.- is very covid-safe and also very, very creative. i think it is something _ very, very creative. i think it is something wonderful, - very, very creative. i think it is something wonderful, a i very, very creative. i think it. is something wonderful, a ray of sunshine, especially these days — of sunshine, especially these days it— of sunshine, especially these da s. , ., , of sunshine, especially these das. , ., days. it is really important that artists _ days. it is really important that artists have _ days. it is really important that artists have work - days. it is really important| that artists have work right

now — that artists have work right now and _ that artists have work right now and this _ that artists have work right now and this is _ that artists have work right now and this is one - that artists have work right now and this is one of- that artists have work right now and this is one of the. that artists have work right - now and this is one of the ways we are — now and this is one of the ways we are able _ now and this is one of the ways we are able to _ now and this is one of the ways we are able to provide - now and this is one of the ways we are able to provide it- now and this is one of the ways we are able to provide it so - we are able to provide it so that— we are able to provide it so that is_ we are able to provide it so that is a _ we are able to provide it so that is a really— we are able to provide it so that is a really important. we are able to provide it so . that is a really important part but it— that is a really important part but it is— that is a really important part but it is also _ that is a really important part but it is also fulfilling - that is a really important part but it is also fulfilling for - but it is also fulfilling for their— but it is also fulfilling for their souls. _ but it is also fulfilling for their souls.— but it is also fulfilling for their souls. ., ,, ., their souls. for sean lee, the sean musical— their souls. for sean lee, the sean musical storefronts - sean musical storefronts program left him knowing how important lime engagement and live performances can be. knowing that the desire to hear music is out there and maybe it's even stronger than before, does inspire me to keep going and get ready to play again. the program is making a big difference to musicians and is such a success, it may be duplicated elsewhere. and elements of it may even become a permanent fixture of urban life in america in post— pandemic times. , brooks, bbc news new york. the latest test flight of an unmanned spacex rocket has had a successful take—off in south texas.

the rocket reached a predetermined height of ten kilometres before landing again. a spacex commentator called it a �*beautiful soft landing". however the test ended in a fiery explosion a few minutes later. the rocket was thrown into the air and crashed back to the ground. it was the third rocket to explode in as many months. the company's owner, elon musk, is hoping that the rockets will be able to take humans to mars. it doesn't get much better than this. if you are an antiques hunter, it is the sort of thing you dream about trawling through yard sales and offbeat shops. this white porcelain bowl was bought for $35 in connecticut. turns out it is from the 15th century ming dynasty. experts looked at a very closely and it was immediately apparent that it was very special. it is to be auctioned by sotheby�*s later this month. it is estimated to

be valued between 300 and $500,000. that is it for now, thank you very much for watching. hello there. wednesday was a cloudy day and over the next few days, sunshine is going to be at a premium. now, we've still got colder air sitting across the uk. for most of the time, it is going to be dry but there will be a lot of cloud, and the cloud was thick enough on wednesday to give quite a few showers for england and wales, some heavy bursts of rain for a time as well. now at the moment, those showers are becoming confined more to the south east of england and east anglia on that weather front there. at the same time we have another weak weather front moving down into scotland. now, behind that we're going to pick up more of a north—easterly breeze. that will push its way down across the uk and just continue to feed in that chilly airfrom the north. now, there's a lot of cloud around at the moment. misty weather, too. not as much fog, mind you. and temperatures by the morning should be just a few degrees

the right side of freezing. but there's some showers to clear away from the south east and east anglia in the morning. we've got on that weather front in the north some light rain or drizzle. and in scotland, perhaps even a bit of snow over the highest ground. that damp weather moves down into northern england in the afternoon allowing something a bit brighter in scotland, some sunshine in the west. for many parts of the uk, it's going to be cloudy again, particularly dull towards the south west. temperature's not quite as high here on thursday. and generally, those temperatures will be around 6—7 celsius. as we head into the evening, a little bit of drizzle for a while for northern ireland moving into wales, the midlands, down towards the south east. as that moves through, so the cloud will tend to break up a little bit more overnight. we've got high pressure moving down — this time, coming down from iceland bringing with it that colder air but bringing with it a lot of dry weather and the winds will be lighter on friday, as well. could start a bit chilly, though, with some clearer so, a risk of frost in the morning and whilst there could be some sunshine at times on friday, we'll tend to find the cloud tending to build and spread out a bit

more through the day. that's not going to help the temperatures, of course. and again, those temperatures will be around 6—8 celsius. now, let's head into the weekend and for many, it's more of this quiet, dry, fairly cloudy sort of weather. we may find temperatures sneaking up a degree or so as the weekend goes on. and by sunday, there's more of a west to south—westerly wind picking up. over the weekend, there's still the chance of seeing some rain across northern ireland and western scotland, particularly on sunday as weather fronts start to come in from the atlantic, and that's a sign of something more unsettled but not quite as cold as we head into next week.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the united nations says 38 people have been killed in myanmar on wednesday, in the worst day of violence since protests began against the military coup. deaths have been reported in several cities. the violence comes a day after the regional bloc, asean, called on all sides to show restraint. police in washington say they have intelligence showing there is a possible plot by a militia group to breach the capitol building on thursday. extra security measures are being put in place and the house of representatives will not convene. the prosecutor of the international criminal court says she's opening a formal investigation into war crimes in the palestinian territories which will examine both sides of the conflict. the palestinian authority called the move a long awaited step towards justice. the israeli prime minister described it as the essence of anti—semitism and hypocrisy.

now on bbc news, the sporting l word.