a very warm welcome to bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. my name is mike embley. president bolsonaro faces a growing crisis over his leadership in brazil after the resignations of his armed forces commanders and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. eyewitnesses at derek chauvin�*s trial describe what they saw and did when the former police officer pressed his knee into george floyd's neck. protests against the coup in myanmar are being met with increasing force. it is reported the military is reported to have killed more than 500 people in less than two months. young activists in the city of myanmar are now learning first—hand what the myanmar military, farfrom defending people, wages war against them

with pitiless savagery, crushing them as enemies. germany is to suspend the use of the astrazeneca vaccine for the under—60s after further concerns about its safety. and as decade of fighting in libya comes to an end, the horrors of those years are now being exposed. we have a special report. hello to you. brazil has registered 3,780 covid—19 deaths, a new record in the latin american nation which now regularly accounts for about a quarter of coronavirus deaths worldwide on any given day, it's more than any other country. meanwhile, brazil's defence ministry has announced the commanders of the army, navy and air force will be replaced — as brazil's president, jair bolsonaro, struggles to head off a crisis over his leadership.

mark lobel reports. getting vaccinated in brazil takes on a new urgency with overcrowded hospitals and record death rates pointing the country right now. translation: it's very difficult, _ translation: it's very difficult, what - translation: it's very difficult, what we - translation: it's very difficult, what we are i translation: it's very - difficult, what we are going through, but god willing we will be all right injesus�* name. will be all right in jesus' name. ~ ~ will be all right in jesus' name. ~ . ., , name. while receiving the 'ab, there is really i name. while receiving the 'ab, there is really for i name. while receiving the 'ab, there is really for some, h name. while receiving the jab, there is really for some, many | there is really for some, many are openly questioning what is going on in the president's name, from his lack of vaccine diplomacy, which has denied the country crucial vaccine supplies, to his fighting of lockdowns in the courts. is chief fernando found it hard to stomach. his surprise sacking on monday makes plain in an unprecedented move, the commanders of the army, navy and air force have all resigned on mouse. their replacements have not been announced yet, but the new defence minister

has, and with it, speculation that this major reshuffle is more to do with politics than the pandemic. translation: ~ the pandemic. translation: ., translation: with the popular former. with the former previous leftist president to challenge bolsonaro in 2022, the president appears to be free to keen to free up posts to install loyalists in anticipation of possibly stormy times ahead. but with hospitals overwhelmed, including these cues for intensive care units, and the death rate up in the country, will the president be able to regain control of his domestic politics amid his country's current struggle to contain the global pandemic? mark lobel, bbc news. let's get more on this now. ernesto londono is the brazil bureau chief for the new york times. hejoins us from rio dejaneiro.

where do you think this is going? it where do you think this is auoin ? , where do you think this is oiiin ? , . ., ~ ., going? it is unclear. what we saw in the capital _ going? it is unclear. what we saw in the capital in - going? it is unclear. what we saw in the capital in recent i saw in the capital in recent days amounts to a political earthquake, but neither the president or the key officials that have been sacked have been replaced. it's unclear what is going on, whether this represents a shift in the approach to the pandemic, but we are seeing an increasingly isolated president who is facing angry questions from constituents, from members of congress and the courts. find congress and the courts. and these kind — congress and the courts. and these kind of— congress and the courts. and these kind of movements in the armed forces could well be significant, couldn't they? he came from the armed forces himself. other concerns of e0? i do not think there are concerns about a conventional coup, but many analysts are looking to next year, where president bolsonaro is expected to run for re—election. they are wondering whether he is trying to shield himself by appointing top leaders in the military who will be loyal to him. so far, members of the

military have been moderating forces in some instances, trying to rein back some of his more questionable impulses. some of the analysts i spoke to today said they were afraid the president may be shopping around for commanders that would obey orders, even if that means crossing legal lines. it means crossing legal lines. it seems far from moderating his seems farfrom moderating his approach to the pandemic, i know he went to court to try to stop regional governors imposing lockdowns. is there any sign out or he may change his approach? the any sign out or he may change his approach?— any sign out or he may change his approach? the approach has been very chaotic _ his approach? the approach has been very chaotic and _ been very chaotic and essentially we are left with a president at war with many elected officials from around the country who are struggling to rein in contagion. resilience are dying in record numbers, and the scenes i have seen that funeral homes, hospitals, a truly appalling. doctors and nurses say these simply cannot cope with the number of patients who need care. people are dying before they can reach icu units, and

there's really no in sight. contagion is rising, space is in increasingly short supply, and the political establishment is fighting with, you know, the president, ministers, mayors and governors, it's a really chaotic and really dispiriting scene. , ., . ., , ., scene. there is a mechanism, of course, scene. there is a mechanism, of course. for— scene. there is a mechanism, of course, for removing _ scene. there is a mechanism, of course, for removing a - scene. there is a mechanism, of course, for removing a leader. course, for removing a leader who has lost all confidence, but the impeachment process for the previous president was extremely traumatic. i doubt many people want to go through that again? i many people want to go through that again?— that again? i think brazilians are still experiencing - that again? i think brazilians are still experiencing a - are still experiencing a hangover from that experience, and i think the bar would be very high for impeaching president bolsonaro. however, he has been seeing many lawmakers, you know, put up impeachment proposals and say it is time to rein him in and it is time to rein him in and it is time to rein him in and it is time to get rid of him. however, getting to the key number of votes that would be needed for that, i think we are quite far away from that. we

really have no good replacement who would step in and assume leadership for this catastrophe thatis leadership for this catastrophe that is unfolding.— that is unfolding. ernesto londono. _ that is unfolding. ernesto londono, thank - that is unfolding. ernesto londono, thank you - that is unfolding. ernesto londono, thank you for i that is unfolding. ernesto - londono, thank you forjoining us and your insights. londono, thank you for “oining us and your insights._ us and your insights. thank ou. a witness to the arrest of george floyd — whose death sparked race protests around the world — has said he believed that what he saw was a murder. donald williams was testifying on the second day of the trial of a white police officer, derek chauvin, who is accused of killing mr floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes. aleem maqbool reports from minneapolis. do you swear or affirm... the first full day of testimony was an emotional one. it started with the playing of an emergency call that was made by an eyewitness. he just pretty much just killed this guy that wasn't resisting arrest. he had his knee on the dude's neck the whole time. donald williams is heard describing how he saw a man handcuffed and on his front, not resisting arrest, having his neck knelt on. so, you were concerned about mr floyd losing his life? correct.

two people walk. in from the left... then cctv footage was shown with the officers and george floyd in the foreground, in the background, from a 17—year—old identified as darnella in the black top, whose testimony was off—camera, is seen taking her young cousin into the shop. was there anything about the scene that you didn't want your cousin to see? yes. and what was that? a man terrified, scared, begging for life. she came back to record the video that went viral around the world, and others gathered, too. it's been nights i've stayed up apologising and apologising to george floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life. darnella's nine—year—old cousin

also came back to the scene. how did it affect you? i was sad and kind of mad. and tell us why- were you sad and mad? because it felt like he was stopping his breathing, and it was kind of, like, hurting him. well, of course, the death of george floyd at this spot had a huge, life—changing impact on so many relatives and close friends, but also now as we've heard, on the lives of those who witnessed what happened. but the question for many is, will it bring out a rare conviction for a police officer and some sense of accountability? aleem maqbool, bbc news, in minneapolis. well, this case is one of many cases involving the deaths of black people at the hands of police in the united states. so for many families, this trial is about much more than just the death of george floyd. for example, this is eric garner in 2014. he died while being arrested and held in a chokehold by an officer in new york.

a video taken by an onlooker was shared widely, showing mr garner repeatedly saying "i can't breathe". like george floyd's death, the footage shocked many and sparked protests around the country. but prosecutors eventually decided not to pursue charges. his mother is in minneapolis, following the trial of derek chauvin. she told our correspondent, larry madowo, she wanted to support the floyd family. even when they met them face—to—face, told them, even though you have a video, just like i did, don't think it is a slamdunk. when you get in the courtroom, they will throw everything at you to make you feel like your brother was the criminal, instead of the man that murdered him. it’s that murdered him. it's interesting _ that murdered him. it's interesting you - that murdered him. it's interesting you say - that murdered him. it's interesting you say that. felonious floyd, his brother, said — felonious floyd, his brother, said this _ felonious floyd, his brother, said this was a slamdunk. the man was seen kneeling on his neck around the world. it�*s man was seen kneeling on his neck around the world. it's not that easy. _ neck around the world. it's not that easy, and _ neck around the world. it's not that easy, and it _ neck around the world. it's not that easy, and it was _ neck around the world. it's not that easy, and it was proven i neck around the world. it's not that easy, and it was proven in my case, they tried to blame my son for his own death, they said because of his size. like

you saw how large george floyd was, my son was a large man, and they said because his heart was too large. they tried to blame the murder on the people who they murdered. —— philonise floyd. but no matter what you are saying about them, with these conditions they had, if you didn't step on his neck, if you didn't step on his neck, if you didn't step on his neck, if you didn't choke my son to death, he would not have died that day. and that is what we must remember. thousands of people are fleeing across the borderfrom myanmar into thailand following air strikes by the regime. most are from the ethnic karen group. the attacks are the latest escalation in the increasingly violent crackdown by myanmar�*s military government against opponents of its february coup. more than 500 people have died since then. our correspondentjonathan head reports from the border. taking a wearily familiar route that their parents and grandparents took

many times before them. ethnic karen villagers flee burmese bombing raids to seek shelter across the salween river in thailand. translation: starting i on saturday, the burmese military aircraft were flying over. they went round twice, then the shooting started. very loud. lots of guns shooting. after arriving earlier on the thai side of the border, kai, not her real name, received images and videos of the journey made by her family, following her to thailand to escape the bombing. translation: the burmese army is living all around us. _ we don't want this any more. the soldiers live close by and give us trouble all the time. those wounded in the air raids were picked up by thai soldiers and taken to hospital here for treatment.

"i can still hear the air strike," said this man. "i keep hearing it. and i can't sleep." but the thai authorities are being less hospitable to the rest of the refugees. they were forced to go back across the river. they included kai's family. thailand is trying to stop a trickle from becoming a flood. well, the number of armed men we're seeing here tells you that this is now a very tense border with myanmar. and the karen people who've been coming in here — many of them injured — of course, for years have known something that young activists in the cities of myanmar are now learning at firsthand — that the myanmar military, farfrom defending people, wages war against them with pitiless savagery, crushing them as enemies. in what's now the world's longest civil war, thousands

of karen civilians have been displaced, beaten, raped and murdered by burmese soldiers. in thailand, they're bracing themselves for a much larger wave of refugees. they have seen it before here from the war—torn karen areas of myanmar. this time, though, the refugees may come from all parts of the country. jonathan head, bbc news, on the thai—burmese border. do stay with us on bbc news if you can. still to come: germany will suspend use of the astrazeneca vaccine for those under 60. the accident that happened here was of the sort that can produce a meltdown. in this case, the precautions worked, but they didn't work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the safety features of these stations

from resurfacing. the republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone lighting up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel where he had in addressing a trade union conference. a small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become - a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many parisians| wished it had never been built. the eiffel towers's- birthday is being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. - welcome back. very good to have you with us

president bolsonaro faces a growing crisis over his leadership in brazil after the resignations of his armed forces commanders and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. eyewitnesses at derek chauvin�*s trial have been describing what they saw and did when the former police officer pressed his knee into george floyd's neck. for the first time in years, libya has a single unified government. it follows last year's ceasefire, which brought an end to its civil war when the eastern forces tried to unseat the internationally recognised government. the end of fighting means the horrors of those years are now being exposed. our middle east correspondent quentin sommerville reports from the town of tarhuna. some viewers may find the images in his report disturbing. in tarhuna, they are unburying the dead. here, libya's ceasefire is revealing the horror of its civil war. some of the bodies were dumped here only last year. many bound, blindfolded, and tortured. in these graves they have found

men, women, and children. 140 bodies and counting. a tally of the war�*s brutality carved in the desert sand. this is a town of ghosts where the dead are buried twice. today it's ismail�*s turn. this number might match his body to his family's dna. it's one of 13 burials today. abdul has lost everything. ismail was his brother, the fourth member of his family he has brought to this cemetery. translation: they took my family from their homes. - they were just civilian. in october 2020, al—kani militia came in cars that belonged to the state. they took them away from their

homes and killed them. and others are still searching for relatives who fell foul of the local militia. translation: if you | have money, you die. you get into discussion with me, you die. you don't support me, you die. you die for nothing. this is what happens when a state collapses. when militia men and warlords hold a gun to a country's head and a knife to its throat. libya, for the first time in years, has a unified government, but the question here is, will the gunmen who committed atrocities across this country still rule here? the seven al—kani brothers, that's mohsen on the right, terrorised tarhuna. they played both sides in the civil war. they were the law here.

they picked the wrong side and were run out of town. libya's had a vicious ten years. the country was split in two and extremists thrived. rapid gunfire finally, a ceasefire was called last october. that has allowed a respite of sorts, for funerals old and new. it's at least given the town time to recover its dead. but elsewhere in libya, the killings haven't stopped. despite a ceasefire, the men with guns haven't relinquished power and are still adding to the country's body count. quentin sommerville, bbc news, tarhuna, libya. germany has announced it is restricting the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine to people over the age of 60. the decision comes after more than 30 people

developed a rare blood clot in the brain after receiving the jab. around 2.7 million people have had the astrazeneca vaccine in germany. jenny hill has the latest details from berlin. germany concerns focus around what i now 31 cases. these are cases that 4—16 days after they received an astrazeneca jab developed a very rare form a blood clot on the brain. there have been five such cases in uk. here in germany nine people have died. and the vast majority of those affected were either or middle—aged women. now, we don't know whether that's significant. it mayjust be that younger women are disproportionately recognised in the —— represented. angela merkel announced the decision tonight. she said this is all about trust. she didn't want, she said, to sweep these very rare, very serious cases under the carpet. nevertheless, this

does present the german chancellor with a problem. germany's vaccination rollout is extremely slow, just 11% of the population have received a first dose. and she has half acknowledge that this will further erode public confidence in the astrazeneca vaccine. that is a concern likely shared by other governments, including the british government, who tonight have said what the world health organization say, this vaccine is safe. the european medicines agency, it's worth adding, are aware of the german cases and others around the world, they are investigating them, even so they insist the very, very low risks of taking this vaccine are far, far outweighed by the benefits. . , benefits. jenny hill here in berlin. this _ benefits. jenny hill here in berlin. this goes - benefits. jenny hill here in berlin. this goes beyond l berlin. this goes beyond germany. live now to winnipeg to speak to drjoss reimer who's the medical lead on manitoba's vaccine taskforce. dr reimer, i know you were one

of the main canadian health officials who decided to pause the rollout of the astrazenaca vaccine. can you detail why? it was a really difficult _ can you detail why? it was a really difficult decision. - can you detail why? it was a really difficult decision. we l really difficult decision. we heard about the cases in germany and in the uk they are starting to notice a view cases will not came down to the fact it was occurring in people who were younger and therefore at lower risk of severe outcomes related to covid. and we wanted a bit more time to understand what the situation was in germany and the uk well we continued with our rollout with older canadians at the same time. if older canadians at the same time. , ., �* time. ifi understand, we're not talking _ time. ifi understand, we're not talking about _ time. ifi understand, we're not talking about blood - time. ifi understand, we're l not talking about blood clots, but a rare and very serious side effect. but i think it has only been seen in between one in 100,000 people to one in1 million. given the risks of covid, did it seem a risk worth taking? it

taking? it came down to the fact it was affecting the - fact it was affecting the younger population. 0ne fact it was affecting the younger population. one of the things that made us want to pour significant leak as we met with some of the german scientist who had done a lot of the research into what was going on and found out it was specifically an immune reaction that appeared to be triggering these blood clots, which is different from what we see with blood clots more generally. and so while we did think we wanted to pause, we do also want to reassure people that we think probably this vaccine safe for everyone, we're just not comfortable right now with probably. and we want more time to understand what characteristics there might be in all of the folks who are experiencing this in other countries, so we can tailor our response here going forward. typically, it is not what you know that's making you so wary, it is what you don't know —— to be clear. i it is what you don't know -- to be clear-— be clear. i think that is exactly _ be clear. i think that is exactly right. - be clear. i think that is exactly right. right - be clear. i think that is | exactly right. right now be clear. i think that is - exactly right. right now we still don't have enough vaccine to cover everybody we want to give it to. so it was a reasonable decision for us to shift the vaccine availability

away from younger populations where we just want assure at this point. we couldn't confidently say that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks in that age group. but we were certainly hopeful that as we learn more we're going to be able to open it back to younger populations because alcohol is the same as every other country, we want to immunise every adult in canada as quickly as we can.- every adult in canada as quickly as we can. but until then, quickly as we can. but until then. of— quickly as we can. but until then, of course, _ quickly as we can. but until then, of course, you - quickly as we can. but until then, of course, you mustl quickly as we can. but until - then, of course, you must know thatis then, of course, you must know that is likely to make anyone who is in the tiniest bit vaccine hesitant even more vaccine hesitant even more vaccine hesitant. absolutely. that is what _ vaccine hesitant. absolutely. that is what we _ vaccine hesitant. absolutely. that is what we are - vaccine hesitant. absolutely. that is what we are the - vaccine hesitant. absolutely. that is what we are the most worried about. astrazeneca has faced a few hurdles throughout this rollout in the last thing we want to do is contribute any sort of hesitancy around the back then. that's what keeps me “p back then. that's what keeps me up at night. but at the same time, if i can't confidently tell someone that i know the benefits outweigh the risks because of their age, because of their risk of covid, i can't give them that medication. why do also like to tell people

that this is an example of the system working well, if this were any other medication or a naturopath or product, or over—the—counter medication, we wouldn't know about these rare side effects because we don't have monitoring systems for any other medical intervention. we have such a good monitoring system here that we picked up, you know, 30 cases amongst millions of doses given. so this is where the sizes working really well to try to learn and make sure we the absolute safest product that we can. dr joss reimer, thank you so much for talking to us.— for talking to us. thank you so much for _ for talking to us. thank you so much for having _ for talking to us. thank you so much for having me. - and finally, an amazing story from some vets in turkey who got a surprise visitor over the weekend. a stray cat walked into their clinic with one of her kittens in her mouth. she meowed for a while, and then the next day brought in yet another kitten. at first, the vets didn't know what to make of this feline intrusion. but after an examination they found that both kittens were suffering from eye infections. the stray cat and her kittens

were treated, of course, then put up for adoption. that set finau. thank you so much for watching. —— that's it for now. hello. the uk saw some exceptional warmth on tuesday, and if your day ended looking something like this with a sunset with a pinkish tinge, you were not mistaken. that is saharan dust affecting the way our skies look and that is because we've pulled air all the way up from the sahara to import the warmth. it's travelled across western europe, and on tuesday, it made its way right the way into the north of scotland, that warm air. the warmest spot was at 24.5 celsius and that was at kew gardens in west london. there is the possibility on wednesday we could see a similar high, somewhere probably across central or eastern england but a little bit more cloud as possible, too. there could be the odd light shower and that could just peg the temperatures back by a degree or so, but still very warm for england and wales.

further to the north though, a front beginning to push south across scotland and northern ireland, weakening as it does so, it won't bring too much in the way of rain. it's drier for western scotland but cooler air moves in to the north and then, that weakening weather front and the cooler air continue to try and make theirjourney south as we look to thursday. basically, the front nothing more than cloud by thursday, but the colder air already starting to make itself felt out to the north and east of the uk. the high pressure will keep things pretty quiet as we head into the easter weekend. largely light winds, a lot of fine weather, but the big difference will be where you have the sunshine it won't feel anywhere near as warm as it has done on tuesday particularly if you, for example, compare aberdeen from tuesday where temperatures got up to 18 celsius. we'll be lucky to get eight on thursday. still, 18 or 19 possible though across south wales and the south—west of england. by friday, that colder air though has worked its way further westwards. we could see some quite stubborn cloud across eastern counties of england as well and quite a chilly northerly or north—easterly breeze. i say "chilly".

the temperatures, well, about where we'd expect them for the time of year. look out for a frost particularly to the north on friday night. easter weekend, it stays chilly but look at this for easter monday. it is a plunge of arctic air, raw—feeling air, strong northerly winds, and this is the weather chart at the moment for easter monday. it may change a little but that signal is pretty clear there. there is a risk of snow showers, even a good way south, across the uk at the end of the easter weekend.

the headlines: the heads of brazil's army, navy and air force have resigned, as president bolsonaro struggles to contain a crisis over his leadership — and the worsening pandemic. earlier this week, mr bolsonaro was forced to reshuffle his cabinet, after his foreign and defence ministers both resigned. a witness has told the trial of the white police officer accused of killing george floyd that what he saw amounted to murder. 0n the second day of the trial of derek chauvin in minneapolis, the court also heard from a teenager who filmed mr floyd being pinned down for more than nine minutes. germany is to suspend the use of the astrazeneca vaccine for the under—60s after further concerns about its safety. 31 cases of a rare type of blood clot have been reported among more than 2.7 million vaccinations given so far. most of the cases involved women under 60.