$z/starfeed. this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories: a show of strength — myanmar�*s military celebrates armed forces day with a promise to hold elections, and a warning that protesters will be met with lethal force. president biden condemns an electoral law passed by republicans in georgia as a clear attempt to stop black people voting. coronavirus restrictions are stepped up in parts of europe as a third wave of infections sweeps the continent. 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. the leader of myanmar�*s military 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, as well as tanks and other military hardware.

the event marks the anniverary 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. president biden has criticised republicans in the state of georgia after they passed a new law tightening the rules around voting. while the state's leaders said the changes, which include more requirments on photo id, were to uphold the sanctity and security of elections, the president said they were measures clearly designed to stop black people voting. 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!

in response to the president's comments, georgia's governor brian kemp defended the new law. he said the new law "ensures election integrity." and that "there is nothing �*jim crow�* about requiring a photo or state—issued id to vote by absentee ballot — every georgia voter must already do so when voting in—person." 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, quote, "common sense." what is the justification

for the changes? that's right, they claim that they wil make elections 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. 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 forty 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. the taliban is threatening to resume hostilities against foreign troops in afghanistan if they do not meet the deadline of may 1st to withdraw. this threat came after us presidentjoe biden said it would hard to withdraw the last us troops by the deadline, which was agreed under the trump administration last

year. coronavirus restrictions are being stepped up in parts of europe as a third wave of infections sweeps the continent. eu states have seen some of the deadliest outbreaks of the pandemic, all eyes remaining on the race to vaccinate. tanya dendrinos reports. speeding around to the national velodrome, the french cycling team is training hard for the olympics but if you look closely, you will notice the hive of activity in the heart of the stadium and it has nothing to do with cycling. this track doubles as a vaccination centre. translation: well, we're happy to be vaccinated. i will continue doing the same things because in any case, we will lockdown so we will the safety measures while in lockdown and eagerly await the second dose.

400,000 people were vaccinated in dance on friday as the country continues to battle an increase in cases. 19 areas have been placed in lockdown while close to 5000 patients a being treated in intensive care. in germany, public health experts have warned case numbers could rise to 100 thousand per day. numbers could rise to 100 thousand erda. �* ,, �* thousand per day. translation: at the moment _ thousand per day. translation: at the moment the _ thousand per day. translation: at the moment the numbers - thousand per day. translation: at the moment the numbers are l at the moment the numbers are rising too fast and the variants make the situation particularly dangerous. this continues unchecked, we run the risk that our healthcare system will reach breaking point through the course of april. it's prompted a clampdown on borders. negative tests will be required for airport arrivals from tuesday one from sunday, along with a negative test, travellers from plants going to ten days warranty —— quarantine, within tire country

declared high risk. in poland, restrictions are tightening as well. cases are by 35% from the number reported a week ago. there were more than 35,000 new cases on friday, the third a but adamant are behind the current variants are behind the current surge, is the third wave could be the worst yet. 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, injust100 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". ranslation: 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 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. a reminder of our 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. european nations at the united nations have called for a meeting to discuss north korea days after pyongyang launched a new type of missile. it announced the launch via state media on thursday. military leadership said north korea country had the right to defend itself against threats from south korea and the united states, which have just completed joint military exercises. mr biden said friday's test was a violation of united nations' resolutions, but added that he was still open to diplomacy. jeongmin kim is an analyst for the seoul based nk news.

thank for the seoul based nk news. you very much for ct on thank you very much for coming on the program.— on the program. thank you for havin: on the program. thank you for having me- — on the program. thank you for having me. let's— on the program. thank you for having me. let's start - on the program. thank you for having me. let's start with - on the program. thank you forj having me. let's start with the test we saw. _ having me. let's start with the test we saw, specifically, - having me. let's start with the test we saw, specifically, what do they show about the capabilities still in north korea? it short—range ballistic missiles were paraded during january. january was a big month for north korea. they held one of the biggest political meetings which was party congress. during that party congress, they made it pretty clear with a very long wish list of weapons they want to acquire, that they will keep boasting their military capabilities, and short—range ballistic missiles were included in them. and that was one of the once tested this week.— tested this week. given their intent and — tested this week. given their intent and what _ tested this week. given their intent and what they - tested this week. given their intent and what they have i tested this week. given their- intent and what they have shown that, where do you think it leaves them and the biden administration? it leaves them and the biden administration?— leaves them and the biden administration? , , ., administration? it seems we are lookin: at administration? it seems we are looking at a _ administration? it seems we are looking at a potentially - administration? it seems we are looking at a potentially very - looking at a potentially very long deadlock going forward. in

january, north korea already made it pretty clear that they don't want to waste any more time in reaching out diplomatically to the other states unless washington comes up states unless washington comes up with a so—called new method of calculation. and it seems we have died and being a more traditional diplomat, less conventional and president trump does make more conventional. it seems that dammit being more aggressive with north korea over human rights violations, which things north korea doesn't admit to, there's not much to go with the biden administration with many people breakthroughs. so biden administration with many people breakthroughs.- people breakthroughs. so you sa there people breakthroughs. so you say there is — people breakthroughs. so you say there is not _ people breakthroughs. so you say there is not much - people breakthroughs. so you say there is not much to - people breakthroughs. so you say there is not much to take | people breakthroughs. so you| say there is not much to take a breakthrough with the biden medication. what about south korea? ,, ., medication. what about south korea? ., ., , ., , korea? south korea is in a very big dilemma — korea? south korea is in a very big dilemma at _ korea? south korea is in a very big dilemma at the _ korea? south korea is in a very big dilemma at the moment. . korea? south korea is in a very i big dilemma at the moment. they have a lot of things to handle, not only with north korea but also on alliance issues with the shared military cost and prisoner transfer as well. they have to be on the same page with washington about north

korea. of course, the south korean president only has a year left on his term and it seems that a complete denuclearisation of north korea would be almost impossible during his term. but it seems he will still try to manage risk and the french coming out of north korea by continuing to extend the olive branch on exchanges and cooperation, et cetera. in trying to mediate between biden and north korea. if kimjong—un between biden and north korea. if kim jong—un are still unwilling to talk to biden, then it seems that kind of reachout would be fruitless, it seems. , , , seems. very briefly, those olive branches _ seems. very briefly, those olive branches and - seems. very briefly, those| olive branches and reaching out, do you think it will have any influences at all or north korea's behaviour? i any influences at all or north korea's behaviour?— korea's behaviour? i don't think s0- _ korea's behaviour? i don't think so. unfortunately. i| think so. unfortunately. i think so. unfortunately. i think the already knows that because korea have already made it clear that they are not interested in a quote unquote, inessential stuff. what they mean by that is referring to thing like inter— region

community economic population and health operation, including covid—19 issues. it has been pitched multiple times but north korea has said, unless you guys talk about more serious stuff like security guarantees orjoint military guarantees or joint military drills guarantees orjoint military drills with united states, then we will not be making any of those. pyongyang is not doing that at all at the moment but moonjae—in has not much to do because the top security guarantees would be a no—no for washington as well. guarantees would be a no-no for washington as well.— washington as well. jeongmin kim, washington as well. jeongmin kim. great — washington as well. jeongmin kim. great to _ washington as well. jeongmin kim, great to have _ washington as well. jeongmin kim, great to have your - kim, great to have your analysis, thank you so much. one of the united states's most loved children's authors, beverly cleary, has died at the age of 104. her first book was published in 1950. while many of her peers wrote about polished schoolchildren, cleary stood out by creating characters she called "grubby kids". there's been an outpouring of emotion at the news of her passing. first lady doctorjill biden tweeted "rest in peace beverly clea ry. millions of girls saw

themselves in ramona ouimby. thank you from all the �*pests' out there. the new yorker's sarah larson, who grew up with beverly cleary�*s books, joins me now to discuss. thank you very much for coming on the program. and the first of all, i wanted to ask what was your reaction when he heard the news?— the news? thank you for having me. i the news? thank you for having me- i cried- _ the news? thank you for having me. icried. i— the news? thank you for having me. icried. ijust_ the news? thank you for having me. i cried. ijust adored - me. i cried. ijust adored beverly cleary and i had written about her a few years ago and ijust was overcome with affection and tears but i am a crayon. with affection and tears but i am a crayon-— with affection and tears but i amacra on. ~ ., ., ., ,. am a crayon. wow, to have such am a crayon. wow, to have such a stron: am a crayon. wow, to have such a strong reaction _ am a crayon. wow, to have such a strong reaction to _ am a crayon. wow, to have such a strong reaction to the - am a crayon. wow, to have such a strong reaction to the news . a strong reaction to the news —— cryer, it means you must have had an incredible connection to the worlds and the characters that she created when you were younger? yes. and certainl , when you were younger? yes. and certainly. i — when you were younger? yes. and certainly. i am _ when you were younger? yes. and certainly, i am not _ when you were younger? yes. and certainly, i am not the _ when you were younger? yes. and certainly, i am not the only - certainly, i am not the only ones. i think that we have so

much affection for the writers and illustrated books writers that we loved in our childhood but beverly clearly for me and a lot of people, you know, reading her books was one of the first time she really felt recognised. she had all of these funny, boisterous kids, but all of these very tender, surprising moments that you would just never think you would just never think you would see on the page. and i think that... i mean, it seems like on twitter and everybody was reacting that way tonight. just feeling a real loss. and she was 104, you know, i mean... laughs it is a very wonderful and impressive age. but ijust wanted to pick up on one of the things you started to talk about their because i think it is so interesting, it is what kids who were reading, and of course adults as well, what they identified with. that vulnerability, that lack of perfection. it was characters going through emotions that we all go through as kids and

adults as well. yes. and the way that _ adults as well. yes. and the way that she _ adults as well. yes. and the way that she made - adults as well. yes. and the way that she made it - adults as well. yes. and the way that she made it so - adults as well. yes. and the | way that she made it so real. she would have, like ramona quimby, one of her best loved characters, was very loud and she would always ride her tricycle into her sister's chequerboard table and be playing a harmonica at the same time. but she would also have her feelings hurt when she was misunderstood and grown—ups would think she was funny. she couldn't quite express the disconnect between her perception and grown—ups. and of course, as a kid, that happens to you all the time. it does hurt your feelings a little, even if you're being cute and hilarious. cleary was very unsentimental writer and she wanted to write about real kids and hated books for kids that tried to teach them anything. they really did teach us lots of things. it is anything. they really did teach us lots of things.— us lots of things. it is a fantastic _ us lots of things. it is a fantastic legacy - us lots of things. it is a fantastic legacy for - us lots of things. it is a . fantastic legacy for anyone us lots of things. it is a - fantastic legacy for anyone to have and it is gorgeous. what about the person? away from the

characters that she created, the person herself, what was she like? ., . . the person herself, what was she like?— the person herself, what was she like? ,, ., , ,, she like? she was... she said that she _ she like? she was... she said that she was _ she like? she was... she said that she was a _ she like? she was... she said that she was a well-behavedl that she was a well—behaved girl who fought like ramona and i think that a lot of observant, writer —type people can relate to that —— thought. she worked as a librarian and there was a boy who complained that there weren't books about kids like him so she started to race them. and the kinds of things that she said, like when she turned a hundred, she said "well, i didn't plan on it". laughs she had a bluntness that was very appealing. it she had a bluntness that was very appealing-— very appealing. it is wonderful, - very appealing. it is wonderful, thank. very appealing. it is l wonderful, thank you very appealing. it is _ wonderful, thank you so much for coming on and reminiscing and talking about your childhood as well as the childhoods of millions of others who had read her work. thank you so much, sarah larsson. 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. that's it from me. i'll be back with the headlines in a moment. a reminder that there's more on the bbc news website. and you can keep in touch me on twitter @lvaughanjones. i'm lewis vaughan jones,

thanks for watching bbc world news. goodbye. 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 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". coronavirus restrictions are being stepped up in parts of europe as a third wave of infections sweeps the continent. germany has classified the whole of france as a high—risk zone, which means travellers need to show a negative covid test and quarantine upon arrival. poland is also tightening its restrictions.