it's a this it's a is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm lewis vaughan—jones. the international community expresses horror at the killing of dozens of protestors by the security forces in myanmar. i'm terrified of what is going to happen. i think this could be the beginning of a wave of brutality that is going to be just even more shocking than what we've seen today. fierce fighting is reported in northern mozambique between islamists and government forces near giant gas projects in the north of the country. thousands of women protest in turkey against president erdogan�*s decision to withdraw from a treaty on preventing gender—based violence. the lights on famous buildings around the world are switched off for an hour — as part of a campaign against climate change.

we start with another day of bloodshed on the streets of myanmar. world leaders have expressed outrage at the killing of dozens of protestors, on what was the deadliest day since last month's military coup. the un secretary general antonio guterres said the violence was unacceptable and demanded a resolute international response. 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 on 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. laura bicker, bbc news. charles dunst is an associate with eurasia group's global macro practice, a political risk consultancy. hejoins me now from new york. thank you for coming on the programme. what do we make of china's position in all this? it's a hugely potentially powerful player in the region and yet we have heard relatively little.- and yet we have heard relatively little. sure, my sense is. _ relatively little. sure, my sense is, look, _ relatively little. sure, my sense is, look, china - relatively little. sure, my sense is, look, china is i relatively little. sure, my i sense is, look, china is the high church of real politic today, it has no permanent friends, only permanent interests. that applies in myanmar beyond anywhere else.

the chinese government did not have good ties with the myanmar military, they never have. their most hopeful example is about the previous junto, their most hopeful example is about the previousjunto, it deepened ties with china, they chose not to, and in the obama era, they repeatedly said they would not ally with china. on the other hand, aung san suu kyi's government did not ally with china either, yet she was relatively friendly with beijing. back in the fall of 2019, she was hosting xi jinping in nokia door. —— in the capital. china found them a reasonable partner with which to work. china considers them

incompetent, corrupt and unpredictable, a difficult partner with which to work. but the are partner with which to work. but they are not — partner with which to work. but they are not going to do anything about it?- they are not going to do anything about it? no, and auoin anything about it? no, and going back _ anything about it? no, and going back to _ anything about it? no, and going back to the - anything about it? no, and going back to the thing - anything about it? no, and i going back to the thing about no permanent friends, only permanent interests, china want a stable government in myanmar with which they can negotiate. they are not going to join american sanctions, european sanctions. my sense is china understands that they are essentially going to bide their time and say, look, we want to be friendly with whoever is running myanmar.- be friendly with whoever is running myanmar. 0k, given that stance, running myanmar. 0k, given that stance. do _ running myanmar. 0k, given that stance. do you — running myanmar. 0k, given that stance, do you see _ running myanmar. 0k, given that stance, do you see any _ running myanmar. 0k, given that stance, do you see any way - running myanmar. 0k, given that stance, do you see any way at - stance, do you see any way at this military rule is going to come to an end?— come to an end? i'm not particularly _ come to an end? i'm not particularly optimistic, i come to an end? i'm not| particularly optimistic, to come to an end? i'm not. particularly optimistic, to be honest. my argument is the united states, europe, japan to some extent, needs to go and negotiate with them, engage, as unsavoury as that may be. the

reality is the junta cannot govern myanmar, technology has spread and democratic ideals have spread. mass resistance throughout the country. the myanmar people are not going to bow down and go along. i would prefer if the west and japan, whatever democracies are going tojoin us, basically made whatever democracies are going to join us, basically made a realistic case to the junta and said, you guys are not able to govern, you are going to need power—sharing with aung san suu kyiand power—sharing with aung san suu kyi and her national league for democracy which remains incredibly popular. i am not optimistic that will happen, i think in the west we are based too much on our own values to negotiate with unsavoury partners, even if it is for the greater good. partners, even if it is for the greater good-— greater good. thank you for cominu greater good. thank you for coming on- _ 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 byaruhanga has this update. when the attack began on palma, you had a group of foreign workers, and then even local residents in palma, who all congregated at the amarula hotel. they had been trapped there for two days, and then 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's very hard to verify numbers. i've been speaking to

emilia columbo — senior associate at the research organisation the center for strategic and international studies. she was also a senior africa analyst at the cia. as i understand it, on wednesday, the insurgents launched a three—pronged attack against the town. it appears they may have earlier infiltrated the town, either mixed up with other refugees or just slipped in under darkness and found refuge with collaborators in the town. since then, they launched an attack focusing on banks, government infrastructure, medical clinics, schools and eventually other parts of the town. what makes this attack a bit different is the extent to which the ex—patriate community was involved, to the extent they were also victims of the violence, whereaas in the past they had not been. palma was already a very isolated part of the province as a result of insurgent activity along the key access routes to the town.

now with this added mix of violence, the situation has become far worse for civilians, who are surrounded by hostile areas where the humanitarian aid workers cannot go to provide support. the nearest places they will need to go are hundreds of miles away, either by land or by sea. last year we saw an amount of growth in terms of their operational capability, their strategic thinking. what we have seen this week in palma is a continuation of what we saw last year in terms of their growth in capacity and planning. this may speak to an influx of foreign fighters who had previous experience from other parts of africa. early on in this organisation, the government would often report on detentions of members, and they often included people from tanzania, uganda and other nearby places. but unfortunately i think the ultimate solution does rest with the government.

it rests with them developing a comprehensive strategy that incorporates both security measures and socioeconomic programmes that address the underlying causes of this conflict. once they have a comprehensive strategy in place, the international community will be in a much better position to lend support and aid to that strategy, but ultimately the solution lies at home. there's been an explosion outside a catholic church in the indonesian city of makassar, on the island of sulawesi. a police spokesman said some people had been killed and injured. reports suggest the explosion happened while people were inside, attending a palm sunday service. you can see there the police cordon they've put around the area.

there are no details on who was behind the attack. there's been an explosion outside a catholic church in the indonesian city of makassar, on the island of sulawesi. a police spokesman said some people had been killed and injured. we will be keeping across developments for you there. thousands of women have protested in istanbul against the turkish government's decision to leave a pan—european treaty meant to protect women from domestic violence. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri reports. clenched fists and chanting in unison. these women are making sure turkey's president erdogan takes note. following his decree to pull out of an international treaty on domestic abuse, thousands of istanbul's women have taken to the street this weekend, demanding he reversed the decision. the move has shocked those inside and outside turkey, as the country was the first

to sign the treaty which ends legal impunity for perpetrators. it's even called the istanbul convention after the city it was draughted in, ten years ago. now, women are concerned their safety and freedom is injeopardy. translation: as women, we will be here to get ourl freedom and our rights back. we will not give up. we are here until we get our freedom and our convention back, we will not give up on the convention. according to the world health organization, 38% of women in turkey suffer violence from a partner in their lifetime, compared with 25% in europe. and according to turkey's "we will stop femicide" platform, at least 300 women were murdered in 2020, mostly by their partners. the country's conservatives argue these treaties undermine family values, and feeling the pressure, president erdogan insists

there is no going back. translation: we made our decision, we pulled out - just like we signed it, nobody should dig through this. we made the decision to pull out, we notified the council of europe, it is a done deal now. activists disagree. so despite the pushback, they are determined to have their say. rallies in support of the asian—american community have taken place in around 60 cities across the us. it's the second consecutive weekend of nationwide action following the killing of six women of asian descent in the state of georgia earlier this month. the deaths drew attention to a sharp rise in anti—asian sentiment in america over the past year. our north america correspondent david willis told me more. we have seen protests

across the country, including in portland, where more than 1,000 people turned out. the organisers of these rallies say that in the course of the last year, there have been almost 3,800 attacks, hate crimes against asian americans, everything from verbal assaults to physical assaults. and that was before the mass shooting in atlanta just under two weeks ago, in which eight people died, six of them asian—americans. businesses report being robbed and vandalised, and some asian business owners have now started to either hire private security or to buy guns. we have seen the protests across the country. is this a movement that's growing? well, it seems to be. the concern of people in cities such as san francisco, for example, where there is a large asian—american

population, is that this is growing, fuelled by the remarks of the former president donald trump, who of course took to referring to the coronavirus as the china virus. but we saw some people at the rallies today wielding placards which said things like, "i am not a virus". but the feeling of protesters in places like san francisco is that, finally, their message is now starting to get through. i think it's a start. i think our voice is starting to be heard and we are getting the visibility we have lacked for so long. yeah, i think this isjust the beginning, there's so much more to go. asians are finally getting the platform we need to stop asian hate, but also to stop racism in general. we heard talk of platform and voices being heard. what about potential legislation? well, president biden has signed some executive

orders condemning attacks against asian americans, but calls are growing for the passing of legislation, in particular legislation that would focus on tracking these sort of hate crimes, clamping down on them. such legislation has yet to be introduced, but activists say that now is the time for that. they have not done enough, and there's a lot of things to be done. especially in congress, two bills, the no hate act and the covid hate crime bill. we need to show support and take real action to protect our asian and pacific island communities. this is of course a nation of immigrants, some 22 million asian—americans in this country. they wield considerable political influence, but they have been scapegoated before of course, in times of economic downturn

and in times of pandemic. this time, though, they say things are very serious and certain action needs to be taken. you are watching bbc news, the main story this hour. 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. let's talk more about the situation in myanmar. tom andrews is the un's special rapporteur on human rights and he's been briefing the un's human rights council. he says the international condemnation is ringing hollow without concrete action. the brutality and the horror of this military seems to know no bounds whatsoever. it is just completely outrageous, what's going on in myanmar as we speak. we have had international condemnation, but to be honest, we have had that for quite a while now. nothing seems to be happening.

well, that's right, that's a fair statement. it seems particularly if you are in myanmar, words of condemnation are beginning to ring hollow. what the people of myanmar would like and desperately need is for the international community not to just condemn, but also to take action and to hold this brutal military fully accountable. there are many things that can be done that have not been done and should be done. let's get down to some specifics, what are some of the concrete things you think could and should be done? let's start with the united nations security council — that is why the security council exists, to deal with just such crises. this has not come before the security council for a debate and a resolution and a vote, it should, that is what they are there for. if they can't act for whatever reason, it is important for those countries willing to take action to work together

to co—ordinate a full range of options including tough focused sanctions that working together can have a cumulative impact, a power punch to the junta. you talk about like minded countries coming together and agreeing sanctions, that is what you think should happen? well, that's right, it has to be an emergency summit of countries willing to take action if the security council can't take action. there are dozens of various sanctions on regimes around the world. we need to co—ordinate them into a whole and focus them together so they will have the strongest possible punishment. to direct themselves to the source of revenue flowing into the pockets of this regime and empowering its brutality. and to be clear, part of the reason you think the united nations security council may not be the route is because of the positions

of china and russia? well, that's right. people expect and predict that if it comes to a vote, russia and china would veto. first of all, china has been making some statements, they have condemned the violence at least, they have called for the release of political prisoners. so i'm not sure how they would vote if it happened. and i don't know how russia would vote, but that is the point, it has not been before the security council, i think it should and that china, russia and all of the other members should stand up and be counted one way or another. let's get a bit more clarity on the economic sanctions you were talking about. are you confident that if the international community got together to try to cut off international funding to any institutions and organisations funding the myanmar government, and the funds going to prop up the militaryjunta, would that work, would it be enough? i think it would be a very,

very important step. i think the key is the people in myanmar, it's extraordinary what they are doing, the civil disobedience movement is powerful, it's growing, tenacious, creative. that ultimately is where success is to come, but they are reliant on the support of the international community. $1 billion alone each year going to the pockets of the generals from the oil and gas industry. if we stop that flow of oil and gas revenue into their pockets, that would make a big difference, as well as cutting off revenue in the various businesses and conglomerates they have control over. by itself, it's not going to end this brutality, but taken together, we have a real shot at making a big dent in what is going on and changing the trajectory of this horrible nightmare. at least sixteen people are now known to have died after a nine—storey building collapsed in the egyptian

capital, cairo, in the early hours of saturday. the city's governor has called for surrounding buildings to be inspected in case they, too, are at risk. some local residents have suggested building work being carried out on the ground floor may have caused the collapse. lights have been switched off for an hour in landmark buildings across the world — as part of an annual event to encourage action on climate change. earth hour began in sydney in 2007, and it's now observed in 7,000 cities. gail maclellan reports. three, two, one... earth hour! lights go off all around the world. starting in asia, well—known landmarks going dark, all in the cause of climate change. for a very brief moment, energy consumption drops around the globe. translation: global warming is very serious now, _ and it affects all the people on earth, as we are

all part of the earth. if doing such a simple thing can help the earth, i think it's great. this year, the world wildlife fund, organisers of the event, want to make the link between the destruction of the natural world, deforestation and the loss of animal habitats, and the increasing incidence of diseases which make the leap from animals to humans. the message is that we face more pandemics if nothing is done. one hour is not enough for us to remember that climate change is actually a problem. while an hour might be fleeting, the sudden darkness where once there was an abundance of light certainly makes an impact and gives pause for thought. bell for more than a week now, a volcano near the icelandic capital of reyjkavik has been throwing lava and gas

into the air. it's the first eruption of its kind there in over 800 years. this unusual volcanic activity continues to attract thousands of visitors, as the bbc�*s tim allman explains. mother nature can provide the most astonishing of spectacles. but for there to truly be a spectacle, you have to have spectators. this audience, rapt with attention, marvelling at the jaw—dropping sight on display. it seems more like woodstock or glastonbury than a geological event. it feels so nice! it feels like a music festival here, to have so many people around. yeah, i love it, i love how many people are here. amazing, like incredible. i've been here, this is my third time, and it's changing so severely, every single time i come. they literally queued

up to see this. a line of cars parked nearby now a common sight. the authorities have set up a hiking trail, and are patrolling the area to prevent people from straying too close to dangerous volcanic gases. all this, quite the diversion after a year of viruses and lockdowns. i think for myself and so many other people, it's like a really nice experience to have this social vibe, really, to get out. it really makes you forget about the whole pandemic and everything that's been going on. volcanologists say they've no idea how long this eruption will last. it could be over in days, or it may go on for decades. only mother nature knows. that's it. you can reach me on twitter — @lvaughanjones. this is bbc news.

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 are in the north—west of scotland, prepare for heavy 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. that will move north through the day, so sunshine and showers will be replaced by cloud and persistent rain, across scotland, especially heavy across high ground in the west. some brightness for north—east scotland. further south and east, a bit of brightness, the cloud should break up across eastern england, it will be windy with gusts of 40—50 mph, maybe even stronger in places, but mild even warm in places with temperatures up to 16

degrees across parts of yorkshire and lincolnshire. as we head through sunday evening, further rain up towards the north—west. remember, the sunset will be later, nearly eight o'clock across parts of northern ireland. 7:47pm in penzance, west cornwall. through sunday night, we will see further rain, becoming focused across those western parts of scotland. that is where we could see flooding. exceptionally mild night across the central areas, temperatures for some staying in double digits. monday, the wriggling frontal system will continue to bring rain towards the north, but to the south of the weather front, we will import some very warm air for the time of year. monday, cloud and rain in northern ireland, but especially across western scotland. eastern scotland, some brightness. england and wales, spells of sunshine, cloud broken up, and if you see sunny skies, temperatures could reach 21 degrees. temperatures have

further to climb. tuesday, rain still in north—west scotland. over the next few days, we could see 200 millimetres. but further south, with the sunshine, tuesday is when temperatures could reach 23 degrees. but don't get used to it. from midweek, this frontal system will push southwards, opening the door to some colder air to push in from the north, in time for the end of the week. so london, 23 on tuesday, just 10 degrees on good friday.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: 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. the us and the eu have condemned the violence as "horrifying" and "indefensible". diplomatic sources in mozambique say fighting 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. there's been an explosion outside a catholic church in the indonesian city of makassar, on the island of sulawesi. a police spokesman said some people had been killed and injured. reports suggest the explosion happened while people were attending a palm sunday service. now on bbc news... the week in parliament.