welcome to bbc news, i'm lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: a show of strength — myanmar�*s military celebrates armed forces day amid ongoing protests over february's coup that has left hundreds dead. the head of the junta says the army will foster democracy. president biden condemns a new electoral law passed by georgia as an assault on voting rights. it's nothing but punitive, designed to keep people from voting. you can't provide water for people about to vote? give me a break! rwanda welcomes a report that finds france bore serious responsibilities for the 1994 genocide. one of the most significant artworks of the 15th century

gets a new state—of—the—art housing in belgium. hello and welcome to the programme. we will start in myanmar. the leader of myanmar�*s militaryjunta, min aung hlaing reinterated a pledge to hold elections at large military parade, marking armed forces day. the leader of the regime accused some politcal party leaders of corruption, saying legal action will be taken. we will come back to some of those pacific announcements and words that we heard at a speech at this parade that you are watching right now. these are live pictures, that has been going on for the last couple of hours. we have seen hundreds,

thousands of troops information. this is all too mark armed forces day and there is an extraordinary historical parallel here because this day celebrates myanmar�*s resistance to japanese occupation back in 1945, that was led by aung san suu kyi's father, the defector leader of myanmar until february this year when the military that we can see these pictures had detained her and took power in a military coup. they have said in the last couple of hours that they are committed to holding elections. but there was also a warning from state media warning protesters will be shot in the head and back, this is a confirmation essentially of a shoot to kill policy we have seen on the streets for months. translation: to the youth -

who own the future, you should learn from the tragedy of earlier, ugly deaths that you can be in danger of getting shot to the head and back. convince and prevent your friends before doing something wrong. that was the statement broadcast there on state media in myanmar, that want protesters. our news reporter nick marsh is in singapore. i want to go back to what i was talking about right at the top there, the words from the military leader at those parade. military leader at those arade. . military leader at those parade-— military leader at those arade. . ., ~ ~ parade. yeah, general min aung hlain: parade. yeah, general min aung hlaing came _ parade. yeah, general min aung hlaing came out _ parade. yeah, general min aung hlaing came out with _ hlaing came out with most of the classics, really that we have been hearing over the last couple of months since that military takeover on the first of february. corruption allegations against the national league for democracy, claims of voterfraud national league for democracy, claims of voter fraud in the november election, the idea that the coup, this takeover was to make myanmar more peaceful, somehow more democratic, whatever that means, but you know, these are

things which have been repeated time and time again. he also took a swipe against protesters saying that they were the ones responsible for the violence and the bloodshed that we have been seeing on the streets over the past month or so, which is absolutely staggering, really, when you consider that this man is the head of a professional fighting force which has just come out like you mentioned and said we will shoot you in the headif said we will shoot you in the head if you are protesting and misbehaving. i mean, if you look at this parade, this whole spectacle in the context of what has been happening in the last couple of months, or the indiscriminate killings, the horrific violence, the images that we have seen, the indescribable suffering really so many people in myanmar since the coup was launched, tone deaf, frankly, is an understatement. i have been speaking to lots of people for the last couple of months and they uniformly loathe the army for what it has done, for the

chaos that has unleashed, for the instability that it has brought to the country. i have really struggled to find anyone that doesn't have this opinion. i don't know how many people are currently watching these pictures on live tv, i know it is very early on saturday morning on myanmar but also people arejust morning on myanmar but also people are just not watching it purely out of disgust for what has been happening. now, from the army's point of view, clearly the intentions of this spectacle is to show strength, it is a chance to indulge in a bit of nationalism, for the army to pat itself on the back, show off the military hardware. i know myanmar also i will reference the fact that russian forces were present and russia has just come out and said it is a friend of the burmese army and it will continue to provide financial assistance to furnish it with arms and we will know given the international picture and how it is growing right now, how crucial an ally russia can be. it is a key member of

the un security council, but i think the overriding thing, from everything we have seen today in the past few weeks and months is that min aung hlaing, the burmese generals, the military leadership is just those divorced from reality, —— just as divorced from reality, as it ever was on a day that we expect to see more huge protests against the coup against the country. thanks for the moment. _ against the country. thanks for the moment, we _ against the country. thanks for the moment, we are _ against the country. thanks for the moment, we are going - against the country. thanks for the moment, we are going to l the moment, we are going to keep across these live pictures and we will keep you right up to date when we get any developments. thank you. president biden has condemned a new electoral law passed by republicans in georgia as an assault on voting rights. he said the measure was clearly designed to prevent black people from voting, and compared it to thejim crow laws that once enforced segregation in the south. it's an atrocity. the idea — if you want any indication that it has nothing to do with fairness, nothing to do with decency, they passed a law saying you can't provide water?

for people standing in line while they're waiting to vote? you don't need anything else to know that this is nothing but punitive, designed to keep people from voting. can't provide water for people about to vote? give me a break! our north america correspondent david willis, joins me now. we have heard strong condemnation from democrats and strong condemnation from joe biden. can you start by telling us what exactly the changes to the law that they have brought in? —— what are the changes. it in? —— what are the changes. if anyone wondered if trumpism would out live donald trump, this is proof it has. he consistently, of course, has maintained that the outcome of last year's election was fraudulent, particularly in regard to the casting of postal or mail—in ballots, as they are known here, and in places like the state of georgia, thejoe biden won by a fairly slim

majority, donald trump has claimed that he was basically tricked out of victory. even though he is no longer in office, there are many republicans who support him, they have taken up this cause and they are now contesting the election laws and seeking to rewrite the election laws in more than 40 different states. georgia is the first swing state to have pulled it off and they basically are making it harder for people to vote. 0ne harder for people to vote. one particular regulation that is going to be introduced next time around, which is seen as particularly controversial, is that they are going to ban people from handing out food and water to those who are lining up at polling stations. it gets, of course, very hot in the deep south. joe biden has called this an atrocity and donald trump has congratulated those georgia lawmakers and

said that they had learned, clearly, from the travesty, as he called it, of the 2020 election, the west.- election, the west. and republicans _ election, the west. and republicans are - election, the west. and republicans are saying | election, the west. and - republicans are saying that these changes are common sense —— lewis. what is the justification for the changes? that's right, they claim that they will make elections fairer and more secure. democrats say this is a naked abuse of power and, indeed, democrats are seeking to counter this by bringing in federal legislation which would basically strengthen the right to vote. now that legislation has passed the lower chamber, the house of representatives, but it's stuck in the senate and probably going nowhere because the democrats's majority is too slim there. what all this does is it puts states on a collision course with the federal government over election processes here, and that's precisely whatjoe biden

wanted to avoid, that sort of thing. at a time when he is basically trying to heal this country from its divisions. we ma see country from its divisions. we may see similar— country from its divisions. we may see similar scenes of course play out across different states now in the months ahead. we will leave it there. thanks for the moment, david. thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. president biden has invited his russian and chinese counterparts to virtual talks on how to tackle climate change. he hopes vladimir putin and xijinping will be among 40 leaders of major economies to attend the online climate forum next month. at least 32 people have been killed and more than 160 injured when two passenger trains collided in egypt. early reports suggest the emergency brakes were triggered on one of the trains, which led to train carriages derailing and overturning. president al—sisi has vowed to punish those responsible. us first ladyjill biden has led tributes to the american children's author beverly cleary, who's died at the age of 104 in california. working as a librarian, she turned to writing

when a boy asked her where he could find books that reflected lives more like his own. her most famous creation, was the fearless tomboy ramona quimby. rwanda has welcomed a report by a french commission on the role france played in the 1994 genocide. while the expert commission found france was not complicit in the genocide, it pointed to other failures. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri reports. it has been 27 years since the rwanda genocide when, injust 100 days, 800,000 ethnic tutsis and moderate hutus were killed, massacred by hutu extremists. and forcing many to flee. in 1994, when the genocide took place, the hutu elite ruled rwanda and french troops were on the ground on a humanitarian mission.

france's president at the time, francois mitterand, had close ties to rwandan president juvenal habyarimana, a hutu. soon rwanda, as in france, questions hovered around the memories of these vicious crimes — was france complicit? after two years of digging through a trove of official files, an expert commission has said the answer is no, there is no evidence that the french government wilfully associated itself with the genocide. the charges the report does make, however, are damning. the report says france bears heavy and overwhelming responsibilities over the genocide and that it was "blind to its preparations". translation: the french | authorities pursued a policy that was totally disconnected from reality, a policy that bore the stigma of colonisation, that did not actually see that rwanda could get out of it and basically

exacerbated the ethnic crisis, aligned itself with the regime. for victims' families and advocacy groups, the report is an important step. translation: it changes a lot because there is a lot - of denial, particularly in france, due to the presence of genocide perpetrators in the territory. the fact politicians are taking these words into account is a good thing because it weakens the feeling of impunity. after years of secrecy over what transpired, the search for answers is not over yet. the rwandan government has said it will release results of its own investigation soon. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. this is bbc news: the headlines. the lead of myanmar�*s metairie has reiterated a promise to hold elections following february coup at a parade to celebrate armed forces day. president biden has condemned

a new electoral law passed by republicans in georgia as an assault on voting rights. fresh attempts to refloat the ship blocking the suez canal have ended in failure. the vessel, the mv ever given, has been wedged across the canal since wednesday, causing major congestion and costly delays in the delivery of goods and oil. 0ur science editor david shukman has been looking at what needs to be done to get the ship moving again. how on earth do you try to budge something that weighs 200,000 tonnes? what about tug boats, shoving against the side? well, that was tried and it didn't work. the bow is jammed too deep into a bank of the canal. so this huge vessel, with its towering load of containers, still looms over the egyptian desert, paralysing a key artery in the network of global trade. so, what can be done? well, having another go with the tug boats

while digging out the bank to free the bow, or using dredgers to clear away sand from under the ship to deepen the canal. that has now started. but if that doesn't do the job, the next and most extreme option is to remove some containers to lighten the load, in the hope that the ship rises. this kind of thing has been done before, but it's never quick. a similar—sized vessel also ran aground in sand and they successfully refloated her after excavating and with the support of tugs. it took six days. what's extraordinary is how one ship can cause such a massive trafficjam. more than 230 vessels are now stuck, and all this reveals how much depends on this vital link. about £7 billion worth of goods travel through it every day and in all, it carries something like 12% of global trade, and all that hinges on getting one ship moving again. and as the waiting drags on there are other routes,

much longer and much more expensive. so might the shipping industry have to go for them? to do so, of course, involves somewhere between seven, eight to 12 days extra steaming, extra fuel consumption and so forth, but it is definitely an option. one of the other disadvantages is the weather conditions around the cape of good hope are very often quite severe and, of course, the ships then would have to pass through the gulf of guinea area which has been plagued by a very worrying level of piracy in recent years. all this will hold up deliveries to british ports like felixstowe, which might eventually affect consumers — a reminder of a trading system that we all just take for granted. it's a huge supply chain, right from the manufacture in china right through to the shelf, and people just expect it to be there. and this has reallyjust highlighted just how fragile that supply chain is. there is one hope —

a spring tide this weekend may raise the water level enough to free the ship, but no—one is banking on that. david shukman, bbc news. president biden has said that democratic countries should have a plan to rival china's �*belt and road initiative'. his announcement comes after dozens of western brands faced a backlash by chinese consumers, and the chinese government, after they criticised china's action in xinjiang. brands including h&m, nike and burberry have said they won't buy their cotton from xinjiang due to human rights abuses against the region's uighur population. china is accused of detaining up to a million uighurs in so called re—education camps in xinjiang. authorities in beijing have dismissed the claims, as a plot to destablise the chinese economy. david sacks is a fellow at the council on foreign relations, he told me what exactly the belt and road intiative is, and why president biden wants to create a rival.

the belt and road initiative is really xijinping's signature foreign—policy undertaking and what it does is it seeks to build both hard infrastructure, roads, ports, power plants, as well as digital infrastructure, 5g, surveillance technologies, et cetera, in the developing world and right now there are 139 countries that have signed on to the belt and road and their projects are in dozens of countries. and many western countries view that as a threat increasing china's sphere of influence and power around the world. calls, then, for a response to it, how do you respond to it if you are a western democratic country, what are your options? i think that we need to recognise that actually china was filling the void that the west left. the world bank got away from infrastructure financing, united dates, britain, traditional lenders have really pulled back on funding infrastructure and the world bank estimates that there is an $18 trillion gap

between commitments to fund infrastructure and what is actually needed. so china was filling this void and we need to offer an alternative to the belt and road, we can't beat something with nothing. so really what we need to do is get a much more sustainable version. china is building over 200 coal—fired power plants through belt and road so we need to look at providing renewable energy to these countries. china is offering loans at close to commercial rates, it is contributing to a lot of indebtedness in the developing world, we need to offer more concessionalfinancing and more generous financing to these countries, and i also think that we need to push for high standards. there's a lot of risks in the belt and road and the united states need to work with its allies and partners to mitigate those risks. ok, you have laid that out really clearly and that seems to make intuitive sense but is there a worry here that actually this is just too late?

i think the belt and road is over seven plus years into its life cycle, so china has gotten ahead of us so to speak but i don't think it is too late. there is a huge gap that exists and china, even though the belt and road is so ambitious, it can't fill the entire gap so what we've heard from countries, they say we want alternatives, we want choices and right now china is the only option it can go to, so countries still need infrastructure and we need to be there offering an alternative to belt and road. senegal is going through its worst civil unrest in more than a decade. thousands of young people have taken to the streets, in anti—government protests. the west african nation is usually seen as a model of stability and democracy, but the economy has suffered during the pandemic. the bbc�*s ben hunte reports from dakaar on why the young have had enough.

afamily in a family in mourning. devastated by the sudden loss of their loved one. this 32—year—old man was shot dead in senegal�*s recent protest. according to amnesty international he was one of 12 who died. it was his first protest. translation: my brother protest. translation: ij�*i brother went protest. translation: ij�*i: brother went to protest. translation: m; brother went to the protest, most people here can't find work. they have lost hope. he was there holding the senegalese flags of either protest kicked off after the arrest of the opposition leader, accused of rape in. but some peeple — leader, accused of rape in. but some people are worried that the case is an attempt by the president to silence the opposition, something the government denies. it's the worst violence seen in the country in nearly a decade. two—thirds of the country are under the age of 25. senegal is

seen as a beacon of democracy and stability in africa and the economy here has grown in recent years, but young people say that wealth is not being shared with them and they have had enough. unemployment is a huge issue here. around one in three are out of work or underemployed, and the pandemic has made life here even tougher. this musician says she is scared for her future. the ounu is scared for her future. the young don't _ is scared for her future. the young don't have _ is scared for her future. tue: young don't have opportunity, they don't feel part of the system i'm really, really afraid. ., , ., afraid. from your friends and our afraid. from your friends and your friends _ afraid. from your friends and your friends that _ afraid. from your friends and your friends that you - afraid. from your friends and your friends that you see - afraid. from your friends and i your friends that you see here, do they have jobs? ida. your friends that you see here, do they have jobs?— do they have jobs? no, most of them don't havejobs, they don't have anything to do, so they turn to crime and other problems like that.- they turn to crime and other problems like that. this song, which she _

problems like that. this song, which she wrote _ problems like that. this song, which she wrote herself, - problems like that. this song, which she wrote herself, is - which she wrote herself, is about the loss of hope and feeling undervalued. it sums up how a lot of her generation feels. ben hunt, bbc news, dakar. arrests have been made at the third �*kill the bill�* demonstration in bristol, in south—west england. hundreds of people protested in the city centre to rally against the uk government's police, crime, sentencing and courts bill. a large police presence was on duty during the demonstration, including horses and dogs which were used to help move the crowd back. belarus has once again been disqualified from the eurovision song contest, and won't take part in the competition in may. two weeks ago, the country was asked to change its song entry, "i will teach you", over concerns its content was overly political. the new song, by the same artists, has also been deemed too political and in breach of competition rules. it's considered one of the most

important pieces of early renaissance art — the adoration of the mystic lamb — or the ghent altarpiece. painted by brothers jan and hubert van eyck — it dates back to the early fifteenth century. recently restored — it's gone on display in a new state—of—the—art setting — as the bbc�*s tim allman explains. this isn't so much a painting, more an overwhelming visual spectacle. 12 canvases, works of exquisite detail. a depiction of veneration, devotion and sacrifice. translation: devotion and sacrifice. tuna/mom- devotion and sacrifice. translation: , ,., translation: they were painted very meticulously, _ translation: they were painted very meticulously, down - translation: they were painted very meticulously, down to - translation: they were painted very meticulously, down to the i very meticulously, down to the smallest details. if you look closely you can see that in the buildings, there are people in the windows, horses in the street. everything is painted so meticulously you wonder how are they able to do such a thing in 1432?— are they able to do such a thing in 1432? the altarpiece

was undoubtedly _ thing in 1432? the altarpiece. was undoubtedly magnificent. its location, less so. officials at the cathedral along with the local government spent more than $35 million to spruce things up. virtual reality headsets will allow you to step back in time, releasing a 600 year history. napoleon, the king of prussia and adolf hitler have all coveted this artistic masterpiece. it’s hitler have all coveted this artistic masterpiece.- artistic masterpiece. it's a miracle that _ artistic masterpiece. it's a miracle that it _ artistic masterpiece. it's a miracle that it still - artistic masterpiece. it's a miracle that it still exists. | miracle that it still exists. otherwise, you only see texts on what has happened with that. with this augmented reality we can really bring visitors to this past so they can experience themselves with their eyes what has happened. the covid—19 pandemic means that for now visitor numbers will be limited, but soon enough the ghent altarpiece will be on display for everyone, in all its glory. tim allman, bbc news. and you can keep in touch me

on twitter @lvaughanjones, i'm lewis vaughanjones, and this is bbc world news. hello there. friday marked a change to our weather. we saw some much colder air move down from the northwest right across the country. so that means we are starting the weekend off on a chilly note but bright with some sunshine, then it will turn wetter and windier, particularly across northern and western areas. and gradually, it will be turning milder. it's looking very mild indeed as we head on into next week. so for saturday, then, we're in the cold air mass, as you can see. this is the milder air mass which will be making inroads saturday night and into sunday. we start this morning off with a bit of an ice risk across northern areas where we had overnight showers. it is a chilly start but bright, plenty of sunshine around, but into the afternoon, cloud will be thickening out west with some rain pushing into northern ireland, western scotland along with strengthening winds. now, temperatures after that chilly start should reach 10—11

celsius for most. still, though, single figure values across scotland, 7—9 celsius. now into saturday evening and saturday night, it turns very wet and windy across the northern half of the country, some gales and exposure across the northwest, heavy rain for many, all but the southeast, which mayjust see one or two showers around, otherwise some drier interludes here. you'll notice a milder night to come for saturday night across the board, 6—8 celsius. part two of the weekend looks somewhat more unsettled. lots of isobars on the charts, so it's going to be windy. this weather front will straddle central—northern areas of the country to bring quite a bit of rainfall at times. so pretty wet through the morning for wales, northwest england, northern ireland, that rain begins to move a little bit further northwards affecting southern and also western scotland. it really will be piling into western scotland over the next few days. a gusty, windy day to come for most, generally dry with a little bit of brightness, though, across southern and eastern areas. that will allow temperatures to reach 14—15 celsius with this slightly milder air mass and a double figure values starting to push in across scotland. into next week, it stays very wet across parts of scotland, windy here, too. but high pressure over the near continent will build, and that will settle things down, particularly so for england and wales. it's also going to usher

in some very mild air across all areas, but it will be very noticeable across more southern parts, particularly where we have lighter winds and more sunshine around. so it could be very wet across the north and west of scotland, certainly through monday and tuesday. milderfor all, and it will turn warm in fact across southern areas, temperatures into the mid—twenties.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the leader of myanmar�*s military administration has reiterated a promise to hold elections following february's coup. general min aung hlaing's comments came at a military display for armed forces day in the nation's capital. more than 300 people have been killed in ongoing anti—coup protests. the republican governor of the us state of georgia has signed a law restricting voting access, tightening voter identification requirements and making it harder to register. it also means people can't be given food or water while they wait to vote. presidentjoe biden has called the law atrocious. rwanda has welcomed a report that has found that france bore serious responsibilities for the genocide of 1994. the report found that while france hadn't been complicit in the mass killings, the government at the time was closely involved with a regime that encouraged racist massacres.

now on bbc news — the week in parliament.