this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. ahead of a further easing of restrictions in england tomorrow, the culture secretary oliver dowden says the country is on track and he hopes lifting of curbs will be irreversible" at the moment, we are on track. so thanks to the work of the british people and the excellent vaccine roll—out, we are confident both in going ahead with the easing is from tomorrow and the next stages. but the national medical director for the nhs in england warns people not to "squander the gains" made against coronavirus , ahead of restrictions easing on monday. the government says lorry drivers arriving in england from outside the uk will need to take a covid test within 48 hours and then one every 72 hours afterwards. prime minister borisjohnson

is urged to "swiftly clarify" how many covid vaccine doses the uk is prepared to donate to poorer countries. the latest efforts to dislodge the ship that's stuck in the suez canal have failed — they'll try again on sunday. 5,000 people attend a trial rock concert in barcelona to test the viability of holding large cultural events during the time of covid. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. the united nations has led international condemnation of myanmar�*s military rulers over the killing of dozens of pro—democracy protesters. the us secretary of state antony blinken said washingon was horrified by what he called the "reign of terror". there were similar statements from britain and the european union. but in a sign of how

difficult it will be to agree international action — its emerged delegations from china and russia were among those attending a military parade. in the past half hour these pictures have arrived in the bbc newsroom. filmed in mandalay on friday — they show the extent of the street to street armed violence in the country. 0ur correspondent in bangkok, laura bicker, is following developments. she said the likelihood of un sanctions is slim due to the security council vetos held by russia and china. when it comes to any kind of action from the united nations

within the security council, it's worth noting that beijing and moscow both have a veto. so if they're trying to push anything like sanctions through, particularly on the oil and gas industry, they will need the votes of russia and china, and that is all but guaranteed. you mentioned the international condemnation there, it has been swift from many parts of the world. one of the most significant i have seen is for a joint statement from 12 countries, the defence chiefs of 12 countries, including the united states, the uk, japan and south korea in which they call on the military to cease this action and remind the military in myanmar they're supposed to be protecting the people, not turning their guns on the people. it is worth emphasising that it's very difficult for us to confirm anything going on within myanmar. a number of freelance journalists are packing up and leaving because it's simply too dangerous for them to operate. but when it comes to the reports coming out from local media, we are seeing still the crackdown continued overnight.

people have two choices — they either hide within their houses and keep their heads down, or they continue to go out into the streets. what we're hearing today, again through local media reports, again i cannot confirm them, but the pictures we have seen appear to be at funerals where the military are attempting to intervene, even in the funerals of protesters who are trying to bury their loved ones. so it doesn't seem that this is going to go away any time soon. the protesters have told the bbc on a number of occasions, they will continue to fight for a return to democracy. we saw them out on the street yesterday armed with slingshots and wooden sticks, up against armed, trained security force who are firing live rounds. but they say they will continue, despite the danger. people should not "squander the gains" made against coronavirus in recent months — that's a warning from the medical director of nhs england.

professor stephen powys said "enormous progress" had been made, but it "does not mean job done". he made the comments ahead of lockdown restrictions in england easing on monday, allowing groups of up to six, or two households, to meet outside and in private gardens. simonjones reports. he's been at the forefront in the fight against coronavirus, but now nhs england's medical director is warning covid remains a clear and present danger. from tomorrow, the stay at home rule is ending in england. groups of up to six people, or two households will be allowed to meet outside. 0utdoor sports facilities will reopen. but this is only another step on the road map to lockdown being fully eased. nonessential shops won't reopen before the 12th of april, holidays are still banned. writing in the sunday telegraph, professor stephen powis says "tomorrow's easing doesn't meanjob done. this virus still has the capacity to wreak more havoc and ill—health on a significant scale. we need to build on and not squander the gains we've made."

the nhs in england is urging people over 50 to book a coronavirus vaccination before an expected shortage of supply next month. a quarter of those aged between 50 and 5a have still not had the jab, but progress overall is being made. this is wonderful, so we have now protected 2.5 million people with their second dose on a background of over 25 million people in england having had their first dose. so it's really quite phenomenal numbers and we will keep going. against the backdrop of the vaccination programme, wales became the first uk nation to lift travel restrictions within its borders yesterday. scotland's stay at home rule becomes stay local on good friday. northern ireland's stay home message is to be relaxed on the 12th of april. but despite the progress, the nhs is warning that we mustn't go too far too fast in our return to normality.

we are beating the virus, professor powis says, but it's not beaten yet. simon jones, bbc news. here in the uk the culture secretary 0liver dowden says the country is on track to deliver the roll—out of the vaccine and the easing of lockdown measures. speaking to andrew marr mr dowden said that the aim of the current road map to ease curbs was that it is "irreversible". for more on that earlier i spoke to our political correspondentjessica parker. borisjohnson in the last few days has also said that looking at the data, he thinks there is no reason to pause the current plan for easing lockdown measures in england. of course, we have these dates and tomorrow is one of those. i beleive it is technically called step 1b. we all have it marked on the calendar. form tomorrow in england you will be able to meet outside, up to six people, outdoor sports can start again and the stay at home rule technically ends, but people are asked to minimise their travel.

we have already had schools open so people keeping close eye on case rates. government ministers this morning saying, 0liver downden, saying things remain on track. he has been speaking to the andrew marr programme. we have chosen to have five—year intervals between each stage. the reason for having five—year intervals, it gives you four weeks to see the effect of the spread from the easing and then a week to prepare the rules. ahead of each easing we will of course analyse the situation. these things could be delayed? of course they could be delayed if the situation deteriorates. but at the moment, we are on track. thanks to the work of the british people and the excellent vaccine rollout, we are confident both in going ahead with the easing is tomorrow and the next stages. interesting this morning we have been hearing from nhs eng'and's stephen powys, urging caution, urging people against complacency, as he puts it. there's concern the weather is rather lovely tomorrow

and they don't want people to go too crazy. but equally you have had, in the last week, a number of conservative mps and conservative rebels saying the government isn't moving fast enough and they think that powers ministers are still holding on to go too far and are too sweeping. the debate we have been hearing for a long time now still continues to some extent. the debate we have been hearing for a long time now still continues to some extent. the government is certainly sounding fairly optimistic and we know they have been accused in the past of being overly optimistic so they are being encouraged by the data. it is interesting, because yesterday we had the start in wales of the easing, significant easing there. people can travel throughout wales if they are already in wales. you cannot travel from england, scotland or northern ireland to wales at the moment. people are now thinking ahead, not just travelling beyond the united kingdom but beyond it and this debate about vaccine passports or some kind of certification looks like it will grow? there are a couple of elements around that. the idea around international travel and what it might look like in the future and if certain countries would demand to see proof that a visitor has had a vaccine. also what happens in domestic settings. borisjohnson last week, talking to a committee of mps,

suggested it may be up to individual pub landlords to decide whether they wanted to ask for proof of somebody�*s vaccine status. they have also said there is a review ongoing in terms of antibodies, so if you have already had the virus, and in terms of testing as well. it is something being looked at across the four nations. mark drakeford, the first minister of wales, was asked about it this morning and talked about how there have been high—level discussions on the issue. preparing to go on to doing this on a four nation basis, i think there are definitely prizes to be won through domestic vaccine certification, but there are some very big practical and ethical challenges to face as well. what about those people who cannot be vaccinated because their health conditions do not allow that to happen, what would happen to them?

you could account for that _ on the app, there could be a system of self certification for that? i think that takes us into the practical issues. if it is a self certification system, then what reliance could be put on the fact that somebody produces a certificate? the certificate would have to mean something and that inevitably means we would have to have a system to make sure that was authentically the case. i don't say these problems cannot be solved, but i am saying we have got to work together to make sure that if we are to introduce such a system, it has to be fair and it has to be reliable. it's interesting listening to mark drakeford and other ministers as well who clearly think there are difficult practical and ethical issues. i was speaking about some conservative mps who were unhappy about the road map out of lockdown. some of them also unhappy about this idea, saying it could create a two tier system. the government say it is something they are looking at as a way of trying to reopen society. as many challenges almost

created by opening up, as they were by shutting down? yes, as they look to opening up, whether it is seeing if people can go to the pub, or the idea of mass gatherings, we don't know when they may happen again, it's trying to balance out the possibilities. the government do expect to see case rates rise as things are reopened, but it is about looking at what might be the level of that and how that can be managed going forward, and professor mark wollhouse, a government adviser, on the spi—m committee he has been speaking this morning. he said he was a little bit nervous about the idea of a so—called big bang injune. i don't think the government would describe their plans fora road map as a big bang, but certainly that is when they hope, towards the end of that month, they can lift all social restrictions.

so let's hear from professor mark woolhouse from the university of edinburgh. he is on the government's advisory body that models the pandemic. he told andrew marr earlier that some activities would need restrictions to continue beyond june. we have to now start thinking about, 0k, how do we make those activities safe? now, we've already made them a lot safer, for a lot of people, by the roll—out of the vaccine. but we may also need to have additional measures in place, as i said, social distancing, screens and so on, for those activities that can be made safe. a lot of workplaces can be made safer. a lot of retail, a lot of hospitality can be made safer. for those sort of activities it's difficult to make really safe, i'm thinking of things like nightclubs, large concerts, mass gatherings and so on, that's where the passports come in. whether it's vaccine passports, testing, test negative passports, or even immunity passports that we were talking about a year ago. so, all of this is part of a package of measures designed to make activities safe, as an alternative to stopping us doing them altogether.

a group of charities is urging borisjohnson to clarify how many does the uk is prepared to donate to poorer countries. in a letter to the prime minister, they warn that britain is in danger of hoarding supplies whilst health workers and the most vulnerable in developing countries don't get access. the group urges the uk to immediately begin donating doses through the covax initiative. dr ifani sofo is the director of policy and advocacy at nigeria health watch and is a senior fellow at the aspen institute. he joins us from the capital, abuja. thank you very much for being with us on bbc news. what is the picture, first of all, in nigeria, in terms of distribution of vaccines? does the country receive any doses at the

moment? , . ~ the country receive any doses at the moment? , ., ~ , ., ., ., moment? yes, thank you, we have our first batch at — moment? yes, thank you, we have our first batch at the _ moment? yes, thank you, we have our first batch at the facility. _ moment? yes, thank you, we have our first batch at the facility. we _ moment? yes, thank you, we have our first batch at the facility. we had - first batch at the facility. we had about 3.9 billion doses. they have been distributed around the country, to people within the domain. 500,000 nigerians have been vaccinated so far. 50 nigerians have been vaccinated so far. nigerians have been vaccinated so far, , ., nigerians have been vaccinated so far. , ., ., ., far. so there is a roll-out happening. _ far. so there is a roll-out happening, but _ far. so there is a roll-out i happening, but presumably far. so there is a roll-out - happening, but presumably the far. so there is a roll-out _ happening, but presumably the issue is longer term, maintaining the supply for long enough to give the required two jabs. presumably there is no point in giving the first dose if nokia can get a second dose in time, because you might as well have not given the first dose? yes. not given the first dose? yes, absolutely- — not given the first dose? yes, absolutely. even _ not given the first dose? yes, absolutely. even the - not given the first dose? yes, absolutely. even the 3.9 - not given the first dose? yes, l absolutely. even the 3.9 million doses we have got, for a country of 200 million people, that is like a drop in the ocean. that is why,

first of all, we are grateful to the prime ministerfor first of all, we are grateful to the prime minister for thinking about that. also, the uk commitment towards that initiative. the question is, how did we get here in the first place, that the vaccinations are being selfish, in dealing with a global pandemic? there is a problem, i suppose, because a lot of countries, and you can understand why, we want to be vaccinated too and people will say, look, britain helped support the developing of these vaccines, they have paid money to get them and it is in a position to do it because it has the money, but even so, you understand how we get to a situation where people say, well, it should be us first. on the other hand, from where you are sitting, it is a realisation that if you don't vaccinate everybody everywhere, then this virus will keep coming back, and it doesn't care where it comes back to? and it doesn't care where it comes

backto? ~ , �* and it doesn't care where it comes backto? , �*, , back to? absolutely. a selfish approach. _ back to? absolutely. a selfish approach. the _ back to? absolutely. a selfish approach, the end _ back to? absolutely. a selfish approach, the end of- back to? absolutely. a selfish approach, the end of the - back to? absolutely. a selfish approach, the end of the day, j back to? absolutely. a selfish l approach, the end of the day, is back to? absolutely. a selfish - approach, the end of the day, is not wise. because there is the risk of infection anywhere in the world. no matter where you are. that is why i think even when the vaccines were still in development, a lot more global effort, coalition, you know, having different leaders, from the developed world, coming together and having discussions about the best way to ensure that everybody, everywhere, at least has a chance of being vaccinated at the same time. we heard on dateline, those watching on bbc news in the uk, they will see it on bbc world, some of our experts making the point that everybody is kind of worrying about connections, because the supplies are quite complicated. you get a bit from here, a bit from there. if one country says they are not going to export, you lose that bit and can't

export, you lose that bit and can't export it to your country. presumably the key thing would be to get vaccination production in major countries like nigeria, so you are not dependent on other people giving it to you, or indeed just importing it to you, or indeed just importing it at a time when it is difficult to get? i it at a time when it is difficult to net? . it at a time when it is difficult to et? ., , ., it at a time when it is difficult to net? ., , ., ., get? i agree with you. for me, i thinkthat _ get? i agree with you. for me, i think that at — get? i agree with you. for me, i think that at this _ get? i agree with you. for me, i think that at this point _ get? i agree with you. for me, i think that at this point in - get? i agree with you. for me, i think that at this point in time, | get? i agree with you. for me, i l think that at this point in time, in as much as we want the vaccine to come here as quickly as possible, i suspect that african leadership in thinking about the future. this will not be the last pandemic, you know? we have to get to a position where we are no longer so dependent on the west were vaccinating our people. having said that, i am aware that they are about to do clinical trials for the chinese vaccine, and hopefully when we have african countries doing that, we will gradually move toward self—sufficiency, with other commodities for health.

self-sufficiency, with other commodities for health. senior fellow at the _ commodities for health. senior fellow at the aspen _ commodities for health. senior fellow at the aspen institute, | commodities for health. senior - fellow at the aspen institute, thank you so much forjoining us. the transport secretary grant shapps has confirmed that from the 6th of april, lorries visiting england from outside the uk for more than two days will need to take a covid test. drivers will have to take a test within 48hrs of arrival and then one every 72hrs after. mr shapps says this is to make sure the uk can keep track of any future variants of the virus of concern. let's get reaction to this from rod mckenzie, managing director of policy at the road haulage association. it's good to speak to you again. we have spoken rather a lot over the last few months, ever since all of those cues just before christmas. this question about covid tests has come up before. presumably, this is partly because of the big outbreak of fresh cases in continental europe? of fresh cases in continental euro e? . �* , of fresh cases in continental euroe? ., �*, , europe? that's absolutely right. if ou cast europe? that's absolutely right. if you cast your— europe? that's absolutely right. if

you cast your mind _ europe? that's absolutely right. if you cast your mind back— europe? that's absolutely right. if you cast your mind back to - europe? that's absolutely right. if you cast your mind back to the - europe? that's absolutely right. if. you cast your mind back to the days when we were talking about the big queues at dover over christmas, when we had the kent variant, and the french were very worried about that, so they imposed these tests on lorry drivers returning from france, and there was chaos to begin with because we didn't have an infrastructure yet. we have now got an infrastructure, those tests have continued up to now and it works well. what has happened is it is the french now that have got the problem, and, as a result, the british wanted to track all lorry drivers coming in. we are going to use the same infrastructure that is used the other way round, if you like. foryouraverage used the other way round, if you like. for your average lorry driver who is doing international work, this isn't anything new. he or she was having a test on the outbound journey, for the benefit of france, and that stopped. instead, they are having a test inbound for the benefit of the uk government. in terms of how the behaviour of lorry drivers has had to change, and other

haulage stuff, because of this, can you talk us through a bit? presumably, they have changed the way they operate anyway, so it is different now if a lorry driver arrives here than how it might have been 18 months ago? it arrives here than how it might have been 18 months ago?— arrives here than how it might have been 18 months ago? it was chaotic at christmas- _ been 18 months ago? it was chaotic at christmas. certainly _ been 18 months ago? it was chaotic at christmas. certainly a _ been 18 months ago? it was chaotic at christmas. certainly a few - been 18 months ago? it was chaoticl at christmas. certainly a few months ago, we were used to completely frictionless travel for reasons to do with brexit. the frictionless travel for reasons to do with brexit.— frictionless travel for reasons to do with brexit. , do with brexit. the six letter where we don't use _ do with brexit. the six letter where we don't use much _ do with brexit. the six letter where we don't use much nowadays. - do with brexit. the six letter where we don't use much nowadays. the | we don't use much nowadays. the world has we don't use much nowadays. tue: world has changed we don't use much nowadays. tte: world has changed in we don't use much nowadays. t"t;a: world has changed in so we don't use much nowadays. the: world has changed in so many we don't use much nowadays. t“t;a: world has changed in so many ways. it lorry drivers are very adaptable, haulage is very adaptable. they have got used to this. it is a pain, they would rather not have things stuck up would rather not have things stuck up their nose and these lateral flow tests. but they have got used to the fact that they have to do it. really, it hasjust fact that they have to do it. really, it has just switched to the british asking for it from the 6th of april. so, in terms of what we are worried about, which is the supply chain, when we get stuff

coming in, we are not seeing this as a problem. also, there is good infrastructure now for dealing with positive tests. 0bviously infrastructure now for dealing with positive tests. obviously there is a lateral flow test to start with, a second test if they are positive, and then a period of isolation during which time their load is picked up and taken to its destination by a different tractor unit, the front end of a lorry. can i ask you — unit, the front end of a lorry. can i ask you briefly, _ unit, the front end of a lorry. can i ask you briefly, when we talk about every 72 hours, in truth, what kind of proportional drivers coming to the uk would be here that long? well, a lot of them, you're quite right, they do straight in and out. it very quick. but some of them will be longerjourneys. 0ne it very quick. but some of them will be longerjourneys. one of the things we have to do keep an eye on, we will have to see how it works. we

can't see why it wouldn't work and why there would be disruption. we understand the viewpoint on this. what we need to do is keep an eye on the practicalities, day—to—day, and see if there are unforeseen issues which crop up which we need to flag up which crop up which we need to flag up and complained about. the suez canal authority says attempts to refloat the giant container ship blocking the waterway will continue around the clock. more tugs are expected to arrive in the coming hours at the egyptian canal. more than 300 ships are stuck on either side of the vessel, which became stranded on tuesday. 0ur correspondent sally nabil reports. more than 300 ships are stuck on either side of the vessel, which became stranded on tuesday. 0ur correspondent sally nabil reports. 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 officials suggested other factors could have been to blame. translation: there could be a lot

of mistakes but we can't _ 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. 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. there's been an explosion outside a catholic cathedral in the indonesian city of makassar, on the island of sulawesi. a priest from the church said ten people were wounded after security guards tackled people he described as suicide bombers. he said the attackers arrived by motorbike and tried to enter the church. the explosion occurred as worshippers were leaving after a palm sunday service. police said two people were suspected of carrying out the attack experts in germany have demolished a power plant this morning.

to remove 80 year old power plant in lunen experts detonated 420 kilos of explosives to raise the coal—fired power plant's cooling tower, now it's time for a look at the weather with darren hello, there. much warmer weather on the way for many parts of the country. today, temperatures are higher than yesterday. as we have seen already, a lot of cloud around, some areas seeing rain and drizzle. it has been very wet in the cumbrian hills. the rain in wales should be using way through the afternoon, still some rain continues in northern ireland and rain pushes northwards further into scotland. for many parts of england and wales, away from the north—west it should muggy may become dry and writer, may be some sunshine towards the south—east. windy, wherever you are, particularly gusty wind over snowdonia in the pennines. temperatures a few degrees higher than yesterday, picking up 15 or 16, where it brightens up across

lincolnshire and east anglia. into this evening and overnight, we have some more rain for a while across north wales, north—west england, especially heavy over the hills. the rain continues to work its way into northern ireland and it gets much wetter over the higher ground in western areas of scotland. a mild, windy night for many places. the lowest temperatures in the north of scotland and the south of england, where we will have clearer skies later on. the rain will be a problem in the north—west of scotland. very wet weather over the next few days. the weather front doesn't move very far. away from here, we are closer to higher pressure and we are drawing warmer airfrom to higher pressure and we are drawing warmer air from the south or south—west, so temperatures will be rising. the wetter weather should be moving away from northern ireland during monday, continuing to rain across many areas of scotland, turning sunnier from the south across england and wales, gradually the wind does tend to ease as well. temperatures will be rising, even across eastern parts of northern ireland, north—eastern scotland, where we get the sunshine and england and wales could be hitting 19 or 20 degrees. moving quickly to

tuesday, still more rain in the north—west of scotland. more cloud in scotland and northern ireland, rain threatening to push back. sunny skies, light a wind for england and wales and it continues to warm up. temperatures widely 20 or 21 degrees, could hit 23 or 2a in the south—east of england. for the early part of the new week, we are going to be tapping into some tropical air coming from a long way south. by the time we get to the end of the week we are drawing in some arctic air, so temperatures are set to plunge. whilst it is still warm in the far south on wednesday, we have a band of cloud and rain moving down from the north on wednesday. higher pressure, but northerly wind. it's going to be dry and cold by the end of the week.

hello, this is bbc news with shaun ley. the headlines: the un demands international action to stop what it calls a shocking wave of brutality against civilians in myanmar. ahead of a further easing of restrictions in england tomorrow, the culture secretary 0liver dowden

says the country is on track and he hopes lifting of curbs will be "irreversible". but the national medical director for the nhs in england warns people not to "squander the gains" made against coronavirus ahead of restrictions easing on monday. the government says lorry drivers arriving in england from outside the uk will need to take a covid test within 48 hours and then one every 72 hours afterwards. prime minister borisjohnson is urged to "swiftly clarify" how many covid vaccine doses the uk is prepared to donate to poorer countries. the latest efforts to dislodge the ship that's stuck in the suez canal have failed — they'll try again on sunday. will bejoining viewers