this is bbc news, our top stories: the head of myanmar�*s military says the army will strive for peace and protect democracy during an extravagant show of strength for armed forces day. this was the message for protesters. you should learn from the tragedy of earlier ugly deaths, that you could be in danger of getting shot in the head and back. president biden condemns a new electoral law passed by republicans in 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 home in belgium. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. first, the leader of myanmar�*s militaryjunta has repeated a promise to hold elections, following february's coup. general min aung hlaing was speaking at a large parade in the capital, naypyidaw, to mark armed forces day. the display of strength comes almost two months after the army seized power. anti—coup activists have called for a huge show of defiance, but the authorities have warned that protests will be met with deadly force.

the annual military exercise involved hundreds of soldiers, marching in formation with large flags, as well as tanks and other military hardware. the event marks the anniversary of burmese military resistance to japanese occupation in 1945, led by the country's independence leader aung san, the father of aung san suu kyi. our correspondent nick marsh says much of the military general�*s speech was him repeating the lines he's been saying to justify the military takeover. yeah, general min aung 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 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 head if you are protesting and misbehave". 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, all the indiscriminate killings, the horrific violence, the images that we've seen, the indescribable suffering really of 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 it 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 in myanmar but also a lot of 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, of this parade, 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 some military hardware. i know min aung hlaing also referenced the fact that russian forces were present in naypyidaw to view this parade, and russia has just come out and said it's a friend of the burmese army and it will continue to provide financial assistance, furnish it with arms, and we all know, given the international picture and how it is brewing 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 and in the past few weeks and months is that min aung hlaing, the burmese generals, the military leadership is just as divorced from reality of what's happening in the country as it ever was, on a day that we expect to see more huge protests against this coup across the country. our thanks to nick there. 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, told us more about the imposition of these new laws. if anyone wondered if trumpism would outlive 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, wherejoe 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 a0 different states. georgia is the first swing state to have pulled it off and they basically are making

it 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, lewis. and republicans are saying that these changes are common sense. 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�* majority is too slim there. what all this does is it puts the 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. our thanks to david there. let's get some of the day's other news: 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 habyarimana, a hutu. so in 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. arrests have been made

at the third �*kill the bill�* demonstration in bristol, in south—west england. hundreds of people protested against the uk government�*s police, crime, sentencing and courts bill. a large police presence was on duty, including horses and dogs which were used to help move the crowd back. 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. 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 peoplejust 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. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: as bangladesh marks 50 years since its independence, we look at the country�*s evolution in terms of development and democracy. applause lam soup

i am soup out of both of you. -- so— i am soup out of both of you. -- so proud _ let there be no more wars or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. with great regret, the committee have decided that south africa be excluded from the 1970 competition. singing streaking across _ the sky, the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps . from onlookers on fiji. wow! this is bbc world news. iam

i am lewis vaughanjones. the latest headlines: the leader of myanmar�*s military has reiterated a promise to hold elections — following february�*s coup — at an extravagant 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. 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 coronavirus pandemic. the bbc�*s ben hunte reports from dakar on why young people are unhappy. 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 went to the protest, - to fight for the youth of our country. young people here can�*t find work. there is a lack ofjobs. they have lost hope. it was these people he was fighting for, and that�*s why he was there, holding the senegalese flag. the protest kicked off after the arrest of the opposition leader, ousmane sonko. he was accused of rape, but some people are worried that the case is an attempt by president macky sall 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. musician kikiss says she is scared for her future.

the young don�*t have opportunity, they don�*t feel part of the system. i�*m really, really, really afraid. from your friends and your friends that you see here, are they in work? do they have jobs? no, most of them don�*t have jobs, they don�*t have anything to do, so they turn to crime and other problems like that. singing this song, 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. next, over the past five decades, bangladesh has

transformed itself from being a country wrecked by fighting, devastating floods and cyclones into one of the fastest growing economies in the world. but while the country celebrates 50 years of independence and the economy continues to grow, democracy is in decline. akbar hossain reports from dhaka. looking back through photographs of his life as a young man living in bangladesh, aqueel choudhury has no regrets. —— she moved to the city eight years ago, leaving herfamily and village behind. years ago, leaving her family and village behind.— years ago, leaving her family and village behind. i came here and village behind. i came here and took a job because my family was in bad condition. she found work in bangladesh�*s number one industry, government manufacture, which accounts for 80% of the country�*s exports —— garment. 80% of the country's exports -- carment. ., ., , ., , garment. nowl am sending money to my village _ garment. nowl am sending money to my village every _ garment. nowl am sending money to my village every month. - garment. nowl am sending money to my village every month. my - to my village every month. my family bought some land and

cows. now they can cultivate crops in the land. her life has been transformed by the garment industry, which has been one of the major catalysts for the country�*s development. the major catalysts for the country's development. against all the odds, _ country's development. against all the odds, the _ country's development. against all the odds, the bangladesh i all the odds, the bangladesh economy has grown. halal all the odds, the bangladesh economy has grown.- all the odds, the bangladesh economy has grown. now is a devel0ping — economy has grown. now is a developing country, - economy has grown. now is a developing country, it - economy has grown. now is a developing country, it means| developing country, it means there is the strength and capacity of the economy, which has improved.— has improved. this leading economist _ has improved. this leading economist says _ has improved. this leading i economist says bangladesh's economist says bangladesh�*s they are nearing macroeconomic schemes have helped lift the poorest out of poverty. —— pioneering. in poorest out of poverty. -- pioneering-— poorest out of poverty. -- pioneering. in terms of child mortality — pioneering. in terms of child mortality and _ pioneering. in terms of child mortality and primary - mortality and primary education, all of these indicators have been done very well and bangladesh has really

outperformed over the peer countries, actually.- outperformed over the peer countries, actually. while the economy _ countries, actually. while the economy has _ countries, actually. while the economy has made _ countries, actually. while the economy has made steady i economy has made steady progress in the 50 years since independence, democracy has proved more difficult. the last two elections were marred by widespread allegations of vote rigging and fraud. and people went missing as well. this man wasn�*t activist —— was an opposition activist. his relatives have not seen or heard anything from him since. i came across many families who lost their relatives. after 50 years of independence, there is no freedom in our country. the government wants to cling to the power at any cost. they have created a situation so that no—one could speak against them. that no-one could speak against them. ~ . , , that no-one could speak against them. . , , ., , them. while many people worry about democracy, _ them. while many people worry about democracy, what - them. while many people worry about democracy, what cannot l them. while many people worry i about democracy, what cannot be overlooked is the growing economy. like, millions of bangladeshi women.

translation: bangladeshi women. tuna/mom- bangladeshi women. translation: ~ , ., bangladeshi women. translation: ~ , translation: me future plan is to set u- translation: me future plan is to set up a _ translation: me future plan is to set up a coal _ translation: me future plan is to set up a coal farm _ translation: me future plan is to set up a coal farm and - to set up a coal farm and provide my daughter with education. —— cow. iam provide my daughter with education. —— cow. i am working in a garment factory but i don�*t want my daughter to do the samejob like me. i want to give her an education so she can get a betterjob. that is all. 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: they were painted 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 were they able to do such a 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, relating a 600—year history. napoleon, the king of prussia and adolf hitler have all coveted this artistic masterpiece. it�*s a miracle that it still exists. otherwise, you only see texts on what has happened with it. 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 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. before we go, there is time to remind you that clocks in europe go forward this weekend. that is a lot of hands that work for this german clock collector. he owns more than 365 clocks, and will be busy changing each of them himself. normally she gets help from friends but the pandemic has put a stop to that. so, that is quite a lot of work for him. bless him. rate. that it. ——

right. that is it. and you can keep in touch me on twitter @lvaughanjones, i�*m lewis vaughan jones. thanks for watching 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 says france bore serious responsibilities for the genocide of 1994. the report found that france hadn�*t been complicit in the mass killings but was closely involved with the regime that encouraged racist massacres. in about ten minutes�* time,

we�*ll have this week�*s edition of the film review.