this is bbc news: i'm philippa thomas with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the international community expresses horror at the killing of dozens of protestors by the security forces in myanmar. fierce fighting is reported in northern mozambique between islamists and government forces near giant gas projects in the north of the country. a huge container ship remains stuck in the suez canal despite hopes that it would be dislodged by the high tide. the country is still shut to visitors but welsh residents make the most of their newfound freedom.

well over one hundred people are reported to have been shot dead in myanmar on the bloodiest day of protests yet against the generals. the crackdown came on armed forces day when the military junta held a parade to show off its strength. our correspondent laura bicker has this report from bangkok. defiant, determined and undaunted. armed with wooden sticks and slingshots. they scream in protest as the bullets continue to fly. street battles sprung up in over a0 towns and cities. some sheltered behind makeshift barriers in their neighbourhoods but the gunfire at times appeared relentless. attempts were made to save as many lives as possible.

the applause here offering hope to these makeshift medics but casualties including children were reported across the country, making it the bloodiest day since the army seized power on the 1st of february. the military turned in its own people on what was supposed to be a national holiday to honour the armed forces. myanmar�*s british ambassador said the security forces have disgraced themselves. as general min aung hlaing inspected the troops in a grand parade, he said he would protect the country from danger. he blames protesters for the violence and a tv message warned they would be shot in the head. translation: violent acts that affect stability - and security in order to make demands are inappropriate. but the people of myanmar appear ready to continue their protest, and fight for democracy to be restored, whatever the cost.

let's have a look back at the events that led to saturday's bloodshed. myanmar held a general election in november, where ms suu kyi's party secured enough seats in parliament to form the next government. on february 1, she was detained along with other officials as the military seized control. in the next few days, protesters took to the streets in the first such protests of their kind, the us imposed sanctions on the military leader and other officials on february 11. nearly a week later, the uk and canada followed with their own sanctions. but on february 26, an election official appointed by the military declared the november election results invalid. and protests have continued since, with march 1a becoming the bloodiest day before saturday — 7a protesters were killed across the country then.

the european union, the united states and the uk have strongly condemned the violence. the us ambassador to myanmar thomas vajda has tweeted "security forces are murdering unarmed civilians, including children, the very people they swore to protect. this bloodshed is horrifying." he added "myanmar�*s people have spoken clearly: they do not want to live under military rule." while the uk's foreign secretary dominic raab said "today's killing of unarmed civilians, including children, marks a new low. we will work with our international partners to end this senseless violence, hold those responsible to account, and secure a path back to democracy." derek mitchell was the us ambassador to myanmar from 2012 to 2016 he says it's necessary for the international community to continue putting pressure on military regime to end the violence.

you will necessary to show that the international community is watching and not ignoring these horrible images. the watching and not ignoring these horrible images.— horrible images. the solidarity ofthe horrible images. the solidarity of the peeple _ horrible images. the solidarity of the people have, _ horrible images. the solidarity of the people have, people - horrible images. the solidarity l of the people have, people need to hear that. but clearly that is not going to be enough to get the military to recalculate the path that it is on which is truly destructive for everyone concerned in the country. what mi . ht concerned in the country. what miaht be concerned in the country. what might be enough? _ there needs to be much more international action and solidarity. different countries may do different things. the united states are imposing sanctions. targeted sanctions. the uk in the eu have followed in turn, that kind of pressure is very important to cut off funds, cut off weapons, access to the family and things that they care about. but i think the neighbours, japan, india, even china, the study brutality and the steady degradation of the conditions on the ground are leading to a potential failed state

in the heart of asia. and that is in no one's interest. it can cross borders, it will be damaging and it can behoof them, all of them to put some further pressure, but also some very urgent engagement, ratchet up the urgency of their engagement to get the generals to think about an alternative path. and just to talk about the failed state in asia, you would notjust be talking about months of standoff, but potentially years with more and more bloodshed.— more bloodshed. bloodshed or not, the military _ more bloodshed. bloodshed or not, the military with - more bloodshed. bloodshed or not, the military with all - more bloodshed. bloodshed or not, the military with all the i not, the military with all the weapons, if they get the students off the streets eventually or whatever, they can feel like, that the stability. people are not going to stand for this. it is going to stand for this. it is going to be resistance, whether on the streets or in the house or in their activities, they cannot run a country where people do not accept the the legitimacy of the rule. what we are seeing is continuing to

degrade the situation on the ground and no country will want to engage or invest in this. what about the rule of russia, russia is one of the big powers represented at that parade. they had their deputy defence minister, the only minister level person there. they have mostly and arms, weapons and military relationship. they trained the military over the years, help them some of their nuclear technology in the past. they care about money, they are not a huge geopolitical issue, though they have a vote in the would veto the security council. but theyjust would veto the security council. but they just want to get money out of this, but it is unlikely that they have any real interest in the way others do. fighting in mozambique is continuing between islamist militants and government forces near giant gas projects in the north of the country. the french news agency quotes

security sources as saying the jihadists have seized the town of palma. the french energy group, total, has suspended plans to resume work at its nearby facility. our correspondent catherine byaru—hanga has this update. well, the latest information we have from palma in northeastern mozambique is that there appear to be a lot of casualties from 3—4 days of this battle over the town. we have heard from eyewitnesses, there have been dead bodies lying on the roadsides, by the beach, so there are real concerns about the fatalities from this attack. catherine, we know there was a group of, what, about 180 local and foreign workers trapped in a hotel that tried to get out. what happened 7 so, when the attack began, you had a group of foreign workers, and then even local residents in palma who were all congregated at the hotel.

they had been trapped there for two days, and finally, on friday, they tried to make a break for it to try to get to the beach and hopefully onto boats that would take them to safety. now, what we understand from people on the ground is that this convoy came under attack twice, at least seven of the vehicles were hit. some of the people tried to run back to the hotel, others we understand did eventually manage to get out of palma. but right now, it is very hard to verify numbers. it sounds as if the government has just lost control there. well, this is what a lot of people are telling us. some are even relatives of those who have been caught up in this attack, and they say, well, a lot of us saw this happening, even though there had been relative calm in this part of mozambique. we didn't expect an attack like this to happen. and the real questions

as to why the mozambique forces weren't prepared to handle such an attack. but there are also questions for the international companies that do send workers to palma and villages and towns like this. there were questions about allies and countries that have citizens in this location, for example, south africa, the uk, zimbabwe, are they doing enough to make sure that the citizens are safe? right now, there are a lot of questions and a lot of anger. let's get some of the day's other news thousands of women have demonstrated in istanbul, calling on the turkish government to reverse its decision to pull out of an treaty designed to protect women from domestic violence. women's rights groups say the istanbul convention saves lives. brazil has recorded three— thousand— six— hundred— and— fifty deaths from covid nineteen in twenty—four hours —— its highest daily figure since the pandemic began. coronavirus infections are spreading rapidly across much of the country, driven by a new variant that is

thought to be more contagious. a nine—storey apartment building in cairo has collapsed, killing at least five people and injuring more than twenty others. rescue workers have been trying to pull people from the rubble. this is the latest in a series of building disasters in recent years in egypt — often caused by safety regulations being flouted. the giant container ship blocking egypt's suez canal remains stuck after high tide on saturday failed to dislodge it. more than 300 ships are waiting on either side of the ever given, which became stranded on tuesday. 0ur correspondent sally nabil was given access to see the work underway to free the ship. the operation to refloat the giant container ship blocking one of the world's busiest waterways, continues into the night in egypt's red sea.

tug boats and dredgers have been operating here around the clock to try and dislodge this giant ship that has been blocking the suez canal for the past few days. we understand that huge amounts of sand have been removed to make room for the ship to move. congestion continues to pile up in this strategic waterway, and the longer this ship is stuck here, the more disruption there will be to global trade. a vast trafficjam continues to build, with more than 300 ships stuck on either side of the vessel, which is holding up £7 billion worth of goods each day. strong wind had been given as the reason for the grounding of the ever given, but today officials suggested other factors could have been to blame. translation: there could be a lot of mistakes but we can'tl say what they are now.

the only mistake we can be sure of now is the wind and the sandstorm. this is not the main one, like i said, but the rest will become clearer in the investigation. tonight, the ship's manager said initial investigations suggested strong winds led to its grounding. more tug boats will arrive on sunday to help, with all efforts focused on freeing up the canal as soon as possible. sally nabil, bbc news, suez. sal mercogliano is an expert in maritime history at campbell university, north carolina. i asked him what are the best options for freeing the grounded ship. i think the salvage work is the elite force and marine salvage. they are the best of the best. they are the best of the best. the problem of salvage of a vessel of the sizes we have never experienced a vessel of

this size doing what it has done. ram its bow into asia and leave it stern in africa. this leaves in a very precarious on the hall, the hall, the whole cracking in the department and the operator and a salvage operation like this requires time and very methodical work and unfortunately, egypt is putting a lot of pressure to move the vessel very quickly, but i could have catastrophic results if they not careful. there's been some talk about using helicopters to get some containers of the vessel. what you think of that is a strategy?— you think of that is a strategy? you think of that is a strate: ? , ,, , you think of that is a strate ? , ,, , strategy? this vessel is coming from asia and _ strategy? this vessel is coming from asia and so, _ strategy? this vessel is coming from asia and so, all— strategy? this vessel is coming from asia and so, all of- strategy? this vessel is coming from asia and so, all of those l from asia and so, all of those containers are fully loaded, a lot of the within this containers may be beyond the capacity of most helicopters. and cell guides within the containers, when they're loaded, the ship has to be perfectly level so that it does not rub against the cell guides, the vessels not in the position. they may be able to get some of the top ones off, will be very difficult to do

that and pledge of a problem with containers being stable underneath the helicopter. find underneath the helicopter. and if ou underneath the helicopter. and if you think _ underneath the helicopter. and if you think about all the boats that are delayed on their journeys and all of the orders that are made, especially online during pandemics. a lot of the worlds trade is there and it is not all inert material, there is also lifestyle, isn't there? livestock, perishables come up potentially medicinal medicine, vaccines for covid—i9. we operate the global economy underjust injust out operate the global economy underjust in just out economy for all of our goods arrived just as we need them and we can consume them so we don't have to keep the all in stores, when you live that kind of supply system, it is very susceptible to interruptions and damaged and in this case, you literally have a ship that is across the jugular vein of the trade routes between europe and asia. what about the future of the jugular vein? the viability of

the suez canal.— jugular vein? the viability of the suez canal. the suez canal can always _ the suez canal. the suez canal can always be _ the suez canal. the suez canal can always be the _ the suez canal. the suez canal can always be the suez - the suez canal. the suez canal can always be the suez canal, | can always be the suez canal, you will always see trade go through there. there may be differences in this, but these huge massive ultra large container ships that you're right now are a result of the suez canal closing for eight years from and from a long route around africa, they made their vessels bigger because there was more economical to put goods in a larger vessel than sale many small vessels and we are reaping that now in 2015 when egypt expanded the canal, we are able to handle those ultra large container vessels. there is a lot of blame to be focused on here due to the ship operator, the pilots were navigating this vessel and there is a lot of issue at play here. we will not know until a full investigation is done. the headlines on bbc news.

the international community has expressed horror at the killing of dozens of protestors by the security forces in myanmar — on what was the deadliest day since last month's military coup. diplomatic sources in mozambique say fighting is continuing between islamist militants and government forces near giant gas projects in the north of the country. wales has become to the first nation in the uk to relax the covid lockdown measures which have been in place since december. which have been in the �*stay local�* rule has been scrapped in favour of unlimited travel within wales and groups of six people from two households can meet up outdoors in private gardens. next week will see some rules change in england and scotland too. 0ur wales correspondent tomas morgan has this report. things are beginning to look a little brighter in wales today. as beaches across the nation are open once again. travel is allowed, much to the delight of these visitors to barry island. breath of fresh air. the kids love being out here, ice—cream and chips. it feels amazing.

really hot. being out with our family. tourism has also partially re—opened. a welcome relief for the mcleer family, who have travelled to saundersfoot after being in lockdown in merthyr tydfil since 19th december. we started off this morning at 8:15, the traffic was very good, weather was very good. we got down here at about quarter to ten. we were saying, you know, "we've escaped, we've escaped." there is that feeling. although travel within wales is permitted, crossing the border either way is still not allowed, other than for work, childcare or emergencies. some holiday premises rely heavy on the english coming here. however, the prospect of any tourists coming back is good news for those in the industry. getting the owners back today will really help bring the park back to life. we only have a handful of local owners, of people within the county, but even so, that is a start to the season

where we can start looking forward to getting back to some sort of normality. last year when restrictions began to lift, beauty spots across wales were flooded. today, people were more cautious, planning their visits carefully. i was here five in the morning and i think there was only two other cars here. but i think it's more of a shock, knowing everyone's still in the phase of kind of going, "is it real? "are we allowed out now? is it ok to go out?" national parks and natural resources wales have asked people to be sensible. along with travel, six people from two households are also able to meet outside from this weekend and organised outdoor activities and sports for under 18s can resume. any travel further afield will be discussed at the welsh government's next three weekly review on thursday. but for now, an ice—cream on the sand will do in this glorious welsh sunshine. tomos morgan, bbc news, south wales. while wales is relaxing controls, the german

health minister has said he would like the country to enter an immediate and complete lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus. 0ur correspondent in berlin, damian mcguinness says the call from jens spahn has galvanised support for a new national shutdown. lots of countries want the health minister, they say we need a lot done, that tends to build happens. germany, bit more complicated because the political system the federal system here, you the federal system here, you have to co—ordinate an awful lot of political actors to make something like this happen. so it may not necessarily happen, but the fact that he has now quite clearly stated or put his support towards a complete shutdown of the country for at least for up to two weeks, it is his proposal over easter, that really adds the momentum, because we were seeing because we are seeing in germany since this past week a confusion over whether germany is going to

lockdown over easter and over what form of what restrictions we've got, different regions do different things and people who are confused and since the come up on one hand, increasing irritation from voters over the restrictions, growing calls for a proper lockdown and from a brief period last year, for most of the past year, germany has not really seen the sort of restrictions that we have seen in the uk or parts of europe. so what people are saying now is with this exponential rise in new infections that a complete lockdown of some form is looking increasingly unavoidable and the fact that the health minister is also of that opinion does make it more likely than it was even this morning. jailed kremlin critic alexei navalny has said that being woken up by a guard every hour during the night amounts to torture and that his appeals for medical attention have been

refused in a deliberate attempt to wear him down. the opposition politician — perhaps the most prominent critic of president putin — has been jailed for two and a half years in connection with a case he says was fabricated. vladimir ah—sure—kov is navalny�*s friend and runs his anti—corru ption foundation. from what we know, his health has deteriorated with pain in his back and limited movement in one of his legs. and he has been subjected to torture in the form of sleep deprivation, every hour during the night, he is woken up by a guard. according to regulations and russian prisons, the prisoners should get on interrupted eight the prisoners should get uninterrupted eight hours sleep. we have announced in protests, and we are collecting

peoples signatures. the goal is to get 500,000 people to sign up to this mass protest that will take place all over russia and once we get to that number, which will be unprecedented in the history of the region, this protest in russia, we will announce the date for this demonstration. a reminder — that if you're watching us in northern europe — the clocks go forward — which for many is the sign that winter is over. one of the great traditions of the cold season is seeing the northern lights. and the good news is they're becoming more visible due to increased magnetic activity on the sun. the bbc�*s weather presenter simon king —— with the help of an aurora chaser —— explains. as you can see, we are having a really good show with the sky. equinox is an amazing time to see the northern lights. we are not supposed to see any of the

lights but thanks to their effect on the equinox, we are seeing this amazing show behind me. seeing this amazing show behind me, ., ., ., seeing this amazing show behind me. ., ., ., ., , seeing this amazing show behind me. ., ., ., ., me. the aurora borealis or northern _ me. the aurora borealis or northern lights _ me. the aurora borealis or northern lights as - me. the aurora borealis or northern lights as most i me. the aurora borealis or northern lights as most of| me. the aurora borealis or i northern lights as most of us call them have been lighting up the skies of the last few months. this winter is been amazing as we are slowly re—emerging from the solar minimum into the solar maximum. and now this the best time to see them. and now this the best time to see them-— and now this the best time to see them. ., ., , ~ ., ., see them. that was the aurora enthusiast _ see them. that was the aurora enthusiast who _ see them. that was the aurora enthusiast who spoke - see them. that was the aurora enthusiast who spoke to - see them. that was the aurora enthusiast who spoke to me i see them. that was the aurora i enthusiast who spoke to me from the frozen lake in northern finland. the green and purple lights have been dancing in the night sky, bringing one of natures greatest light shows. the most intense is during the solar maximum.— the most intense is during the solar maximum. you have lots of this on the _ solar maximum. you have lots of this on the sun, _ solar maximum. you have lots of this on the sun, releasing - this on the sun, releasing charged particles towards the earth. but then it's 11 year cycle chemicals to acquire academic a quieter minimum spots. it is getting out of the minimum period somehow forgot such without those sunspots? there is a different process on

the sun which can lead to aurora. he's what we get from these are a solar wind that releases charged particles which are pushed out from the sun all the time. we get faster solar winds and these interact with the sphere, the atmosphere and we can see some geomagnetic and we can see some geomagnetic and aurora from these polls. these are more frequent at a solar minimum, they arejust not as strong as we see on the other sunspots.— other sunspots. north from here, other sunspots. north from here. the — other sunspots. north from here, the northern - here, the northern scandinavian, norway, sweden and finland where they can be seen more often than anywhere else in the world. this is where they are born and even if the activity is very low, you can still see some action. we are now to a new solar cycle and with the sun waking up, they'll be more parts of activity is for the rest of the solar maximum 2025 and therefore, a greater chance of

seeing more intense aurora. whether convincing of course. you can reach me on twitter. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ philippabbc hello there. as the clocks spring forward the temperatures prepare to spring upwards. some warm weather on the way for the next few days although if you're in the northwest of scotland prepare for some heavy and persistent rain which could cause some localised flooding. the rain has already arrived. a band of rain to start sunday across parts of northern england, wales and northern ireland and that will be working north in the day. so across scotland sunshine and showers will be replaced by cloud and persistent rain for the top especially heavy across high ground in the west. some brightness for northeast scotland. further south and east will see a little bit brightness, the cloud should break up across some parts of eastern england. it will be windy with gusts of a0 to 50 mph may be a little stronger in places but mild even warm in places with temperatures may be up to 16 degrees across parts

of york shire and lincolnshire. as we head through sunday evening we will see further rain up towards the northwest. remember the sunset will be later. maybe eight o'clock across parts of northern ireland. 7:47 in the evening in west cornwall. as we head through sunday night we will see further outbreaks of rain but coming focused across those western part for the that's what we could see flooding. an exceptionally mild night and particularly across the central swath. temperatures for some staying in double digits. into monday wriggling frontal system will continue to bring rain up towards the north but to the south of that weather front where we will be importing some very warm air for the time of year. monday looks like this, cloud and rain through northern ireland yes but most especially across western scotland for the eastern scotland seeningsome brightness and for england and wales to be some cells of sunshine, cloud breaking up and if you do see sunny skies temperatures could get to 19 maybe 20 even 21 degrees. but those temperatures have

further to climb through tuesday yes rain will still be plaguing northwest scotland over the next few days we could see over 200 mm of rain. further south with the sunshine tuesday is when temperatures could get up to 23 degrees. but don't get too used to it. from mid week onwards this frontal system will push southwards opening the door to some colder air to question from the north in time for the end of the week. look at london for example, 23 on tuesdayjust 10 degrees for good friday.

this is bbc news: i'm philippa thomas with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the international community expresses horror at the killing of dozens of protestors by the security forces in myanmar. and what was the deadliest days for the military coup. the us and the un has condemned the violence is horrifying and violence is fierce fighting is reported in northern unacceptable. mozambique between islamists and government forces near giant gas projects in the north of the country. the french news agency quotes news sources and saying she had a and sees the town of palma. the french energy group has now suspended plans to resume work at its nearby facility. resume work at its nearby facility. a huge container ship remains stuck in the suez canal despite hopes that it would be dislodged by the high tide. local authorities are hopeful that it could be afloat before monday.