he welcome to bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: the bbc has obtained disturbing videos which appear to show the massacre of unarmed civilians in northern ethiopia. george floyd's former girlfriend reflects on his life and their battle with addiction on day four of ex—police officer derek chauvin�*s trial. police in belgium clash with thousands of people attending a hoax concert in brussels. and two youtube stars known for carrying out pranks escape long jail terms after a fake bank robbery stunt went wrong.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we start in northern ethiopia and some disturbing videos obtained by the bbc. they appear to show the killing of unarmed civilians by people apparently dressed in ethiopian army uniform. in november the government launched a military campaign in the region of tigray. to have been carried out by the rebel tigray people's liberation front. there have been accusations of serious abuses, by all sides in the conflict. our africa correspondent leila nathoo�*s report contains images that some will find very disturbing. armed men in uniform, leading a group towards a cliff edge.

bodies appear strewn across the ground. a man is urged to throw one off the cliff. these graphic videos and others like it were passed to the bbc and began circulating on social media last month. we have been able to match elements of the landscape shown to features visible on satellite images to identify the location — mahbere dego in ethiopian�*s northern tigray region. in november 2020, following an attack on a military base, the ethiopian army began an offensive in the region against the tigray people's liberation front, or tplf, who are challenging central government rule. troops from eritrea are also involved, backing the ethiopian government. the conflict has largely been hidden from view, as access has been severely limited. the un is currently investigating numerous allegations of atrocities committed by all sides.

we can't say for sure when these videos were filmed, but the armed men are wearing uniforms that match those used by the ethiopian national defence force, or endf. they are heard speaking amharic, one of ethiopian�*s official languages. the victims are dressed in civilian clothing and are heard speaking the language of the tigray region. for those trying to piece together what is happening on the ground, this is more evidence of shocking violence. since the beginning of the conflict in the tigray region we have documented the whole magnitude of very serious abuses, including extrajudicial executions by ethiopian government forces and their allies and this is absolutely an incident which will require further investigation because what we are seeing here in the video could amount to war crimes. we put the videos and claims to the ethiopian government,

who said they were open to independent investigations in the tigray region and said social media posts and claims could not be taken as evidence. they added that investigations into allegations were welcome for remedial action and accountability. after months of darkness, slowly a horrifying picture is beginning to emerge of the bloody events that have occurred there over the past five months. leila nathoo, bbc news, in nairobi. the girlfriend of george floyd, whose death in minneapolis last year sparked protests across the world, took the stand today in the trial of derek chauvin, the police officer accused of murdering him. courtney ross cried as she talked about how she first met mr floyd and described their struggle with opioid addiction. derek chauvin has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one of manslaughter. watching the evidence — and a warning her report contains some disturbing images. a man who enjoyed food,

exercise and taking dad selfies — george floyd's girlfriend of three years painting a picture of the man she loved. she told the court about the life that they'd shared, including their addiction. our story is... it's a classic story of how many people get addicted to opioids. we got addicted and tried really hard to break that addiction, many times. the prosecution wanted to show mr floyd's addiction was not a reflection on his character, but the issue is central to mr chauvin�*s defence. for the majority of the time, mr floyd was clean, right? yes. and it was your belief that mr floyd started using again about two weeks prior to his death, correct? i noticed a change in his behaviour, yes. the court heard that mr floyd

had previously overdosed and that both friends with him on the day he died had sold him drugs before. next on the stand, the paramedics who'd been called out to the scene. both testified that mr floyd was unresponsive when they arrived. in a living person, there should be a pulse there. i did not feel one — i suspected this patient to be dead. and at the moment that you're checking for this carotid pulse, are the officers still positioned on top of mr floyd? yes. for the first time, we heard medical evidence that suggested george floyd died at this spot, and while that was less emotional than the testimony heard at the start of the day, it was no less impactful. lebo diseko, bbc news, minneapolis. we can now speak to matt sepic, a journalist with minnesota public radio, whose team have been covering the trial. thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for coming on the programme-— thank you for coming on the

programme. glad to be here. difficult evidence _ programme. glad to be here. difficult evidence to - programme. glad to be here. difficult evidence to listen - programme. glad to be here. difficult evidence to listen to | difficult evidence to listen to today. what did you make of it? the prosecution is really taking a three prong stand here. they are trying to get out in front of defence argument that floyd died of a drug overdose or health problems are not the knee on his neck. you can expect to hear a lot more in the weeks to come from medical expert witnesses. the government is also relying heavily on video. there is plenty of it. body can footage was played yesterday. as well as other footage taken by witnesses.— by witnesses. what was the reaction to _ by witnesses. what was the reaction to george - by witnesses. what was the reaction to george floyd's l reaction to george floyd's

girlfriend? it reaction to george floyd's girlfriend?— reaction to george floyd's airlfriend? , , girlfriend? it is very limited. there are — girlfriend? it is very limited. there are only _ girlfriend? it is very limited. there are only a _ girlfriend? it is very limited. there are only a few - girlfriend? it is very limited. there are only a few seats i girlfriend? it is very limited. | there are only a few seats in court for family members. and george floyd's brother was in one of those seats. our reporter who was in the actual court room, not watching it on television like the rest of us, said he was paying close attention and sometimes hanging his head as courtney was talking about her life, the ups and downs of life with mr floyd and downs of life with mr floyd and his brother told a court reporter after the testimony that all of this has been difficult for the floyd family and it has changed their lives. any other evidence that sticks out to you today? the testimony today from _ out to you today? the testimony today from the _ out to you today? the testimony today from the two _ out to you today? the testimony today from the two paramedics i today from the two paramedics who testified saying that they

arrived on the scene, found floyd showing no signs of life even though the free police officers were still can be doing to pin him down, they tried life—saving efforts. we had from to his former police supervisor who said the officers used far too much force and should have let up as soon as he stopped resisting arrest. it was all quite impactful testimony today. thank you for talking us through it.— thank you for talking us throu~h it. ., . _, myanmar�*s detained civilian leader aung san suu kyi is facing another charge, for violating the nation's official secrets act. this is the most serious charge she now faces, and carries a possible jail term of 14 years. ms suu kyi hasn't been seen in public since she was ousted from power. it's been two months since the military takeover in myanmar. in the past 2a hours, the un and the us has evacuated family members of its staff

because of the worsening security situation. we're also hearing it's become difficult and dangerous for foreign embassy staff, journalists and medical workers on the ground. myanmar authorities have ordered an internet shutdown until further notice. more than 520 people have died in the crackdown since february i. according to the charity, save the children, it's now been revealed 43 of them are children. the youngest being a seven—year—old girl who was shot at her home during protests in mandalay. and this was the funeral for a 13—year—old boy who was reportedly shot in the head as he ran away from the security forces. save the children has called it a nightmare situation. "children have witnessed violence and horror. it is clear that myanmar is no longer a safe place for children", it says. josh kurlantzick a senior fellow from the council on foreign relations and has written about the military in myanmar. hejoins me now.

we have heard some quite difficult details with children being caught up in the fighting. sorry, this protesting an army response. i want to focus on the role of the military because it is so powerful in the country and has been so for such a long time. why is it? it has been so powerful because the military has entrenched itself in virtually every sector of society, the economy, politics, obviously the actual defence. the military has an enormous amount of power and they also have an incredible ability to maintain and control people and enlisted people through propaganda, paranoia and a social system set up.-

propaganda, paranoia and a social system set up. given all those factors, _ social system set up. given all those factors, what _ social system set up. given all those factors, what about - those factors, what about seeing they are not going to give way, is myanmar moving so close to a failed state that it will not be able to govern? parts of myanmar had the civil war and large parts of myanmar had the civil warand large part parts of myanmar had the civil war and large part were ungovernable even before this. my ungovernable even before this. my general view is that the military is so ingrained and so ruthless and has so much to lose that it would rather rule over a failed state than over

and effectively covered state that might force them to give up that might force them to give up some power. for that might force them to give up some power.— that might force them to give up some power. for many hearing that, that would _ up some power. for many hearing that, that would be _ up some power. for many hearing that, that would be a _ that, that would be a thoroughly depressing analysis. what is the end game most likely? what is the end game most likel ? , ., , .,, likely? the protest has surprised _ likely? the protest has surprised military - likely? the protest has surprised military to i likely? the protest has . surprised military to some extent by its fierceness and longevity. the probably expected to get some recognition by some of its neighbours. that has not happened. i think, neighbours. that has not happened. ithink, eithersome of those other actors will apply enough pressure to the military or the military presides over a long period. thank you very much for your analysis. we appreciate stop

in mozambique, a ship carrying more than a thousand survivors of a deadly insurgent attack has arrived at the port of pemba. armed isis—linked militants raided the coastal town of palma last week — a hub for the country's natural gas industry. islamist insurgents have been increasingly active in the northern province of cabo delgado since 2017, although it remains unclear what specifically they are fighting for. mark lobel has this report, which contains distressing stories. finally safe. 250 kilometres south of where the attacks began over a week ago, escapees could solve one another, but their pain is farfrom over. translation: their pain is far from over. translation:— their pain is far from over. translation: i'm so tired, it was seven _ translation: i'm so tired, it was seven days _ translation: i'm so tired, it was seven days in _ translation: i'm so tired, it was seven days in the - translation: i'm so tired, itj was seven days in the bushes. i'm so tired, we crossed paths several times with evildoers stopping the situation was really bad. many dead, many

did. ,, , ~ ., did. still in shock and searching _ did. still in shock and searching for - did. still in shock and searching for her - did. still in shock and| searching for her son, did. still in shock and - searching for her son, this survivor says she heard the attackers were targeting the military. translation: some of them were cutting the throats i them were cutting the throats of people from their.- of people from their. been a traumatic — of people from their. been a traumatic journey _ of people from their. been a traumatic journey for - of people from their. been a traumatic journey for many i of people from their. been a l traumatic journey for many of traumaticjourney for many of the over 8000 the un estimates are displaced, including thousands of children, fleeing an enemy with unclear intentions, as yet undefeated by the army. journalists visited the town of 75,000 people with operations still under way, witnessing troops battle to secure it. tuna/mom- battle to secure it. translation: ~ ., ., , ., translation: we are in a stage of exploration _ translation: we are in a stage of exploration and _ of exploration and consolidating the main areas. we are setting up our troops to control the perimeter of the village. control the perimeter of the

villaae. ~ ., control the perimeter of the villaae. ~ . . ,, ., village. meanwhile, back at the ort, the village. meanwhile, back at the port, the nervous _ village. meanwhile, back at the port, the nervous weight - village. meanwhile, back at the port, the nervous weight for . port, the nervous weight for relatives continues. mark lobel relatives continues. mark lobel, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: find out how in april fools' day hoax turned into a riot in belgium. the accident that happened here was of the sort that can, at worst, 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 been 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 tower's birthday is being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. welcome back. police in belgium have dispersed a group of young people who turned out for a non—existent concert. it started as a joke on social media but this april fools' prank quickly gained traction, striking a nerve with a young crowd demanding freedom. all chant. translation: too many rules are imposed on us that really l deprive us of our freedom, even though we are aware

of the problem. we don't deny the existence of covid, we are careful, but we just need to be allowed to live a little. around 2,000 people attended the event in the belgian capital, ignoring warnings from police and prosecutors. those who showed up and violated health measures could face charges with outdoor gatherings limited to four people. police arrived on foot and on horseback. translation: | wasn't - here to protest or anything. i came here to say that we have the right to be here in a public place and we get gassed for absolutely no reason. we stayed in front, we made a chain. there were people behind who threw beer bottles. 0k, we said "stop doing it" but "police, you are with us. protect, serve. you're not here to punish us. stop." but scenes quickly descended into chaos. water cannons and tear gas were

used to disperse the crowd. arrests were made and people injured, including a number of police officers. investigations are under way to uncover those behind the event — a hoax invitation turned defiant mass gathering. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. the dutch prime minister has narrowly survived a vote of no—confidence in parliament. the oppostion had accused mark rutte of lying when he denied trying to silence an mp who has been highly critical of the government, by offering him a "job elsewhere" and then lying about his role in the scheme. chile has closed its borders for the whole of april as it seeks to slow the spread of coronavirus. health officials said a second wave of the pandemic had left hospitals close to collapse. chile has one of the world's fastest rates of vaccination but has seen cases spike following the southern hemisphere summer holidays. major oil producing countries are increasing output in an attempt to stop

fuel prices rising. the group 0pec plus said there had been improvements in the market because of global vaccination programmes and stimulus packages. levels. two american youtube stars known for carrying out online pranks have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from two fake bank robberies they staged in california. the videos show the pair wearing black and running with bags stuffed with bank notes before getting into an uber. the incident led to police drawing their guns on the uber driver after being alerted by a member of the public. known on youtube as the "the stokes twins" they have over six million subscribers who follow their pranks on their youtube channel. this latest stunt however could have cost them a maximum of five years in prison had their sentences not been reduced to probation and community service after they both made guilty pleas.

well, to discuss this prank gone wrong we're joined by rebecca jennings, a senior reporter at vox who regularly covers youtube internet culture. thank you very much for coming on the programme.— on the programme. absolutely, thanks for _ on the programme. absolutely, thanks for having _ on the programme. absolutely, thanks for having me. - on the programme. absolutely, thanks for having me. without i thanks for having me. without wantin: thanks for having me. without wanting to _ thanks for having me. without wanting to sound _ thanks for having me. without wanting to sound old - thanks for having me. without wanting to sound old here, . thanks for having me. without l wanting to sound old here, what were they thinking? great question. i think what - were they thinking? great question. i think what you were they thinking? great - question. i think what you are seeing in the stokes twins video was just one manifestation of this much wider culture of drinking people on youtube, whether they are willing participants or not, because that is just part of youtube to culture. there is this very much, do anything for views because that's what the platform rewards, it rewards engagement and that is what it get. engagement and that is what it net. �* engagement and that is what it et, �* , , , ., , engagement and that is what it net. , ., , get. and i suppose with youtube by definition. _ get. and i suppose with youtube by definition, lots _ get. and i suppose with youtube by definition, lots of— get. and i suppose with youtube by definition, lots of them - get. and i suppose with youtube by definition, lots of them are i by definition, lots of them are young and perhaps an experienced and are going to make mistakes like we all do, but we didn't all make mistakes with 6 million viewers watching.— with 6 million viewers watching. with 6 million viewers watchinu. , , watching. exactly. the stakes are much. — watching. exactly. the stakes are much, much _

watching. exactly. the stakes are much, much higher- watching. exactly. the stakes are much, much higher and i | are much, much higher and i think young people especially, young creators who happen to stumble upon a following like this or build one over the years had to learn really, really fast and they have the whole world watching them when they mess up so that's unfortunately what you get. and unfortunately what you get. and if we rive unfortunately what you get. and if we give them _ unfortunately what you get. and if we give them obviously the understanding that we all make mistakes and we are all young and things like that, but we have to do something and draw a line somewhere and say actually, if we are fermenting actually, if we are fermenting a culture of pushing people and doing further and further tricks, more and more extreme, thatis tricks, more and more extreme, that is a dangerous precedent but how does youtube or someone else step in and stop that? i totally agree, it is such a tricky situation but i think ultimately, you give the company is simply never going to have enough human moderators to have enough human moderators to keep track of every minute of content uploaded to their site. i think the real change does have to be cultural and this behaviour that ranking ordinary people for your own klout or attention is unacceptable and if anything at

the case of law enforcement needing to understand online culture because it is only going to be more relevant in what people do and their off—line lives. what people do and their off-line lives.— what people do and their off-line lives. that is really interesting. _ off-line lives. that is really interesting. in _ off-line lives. that is really interesting. in what - off-line lives. that is really interesting. in what has i off-line lives. that is really| interesting. in what has the reaction they're been to this case and the sentencing? yeah, i mean, case and the sentencing? yeah, i mean. the _ case and the sentencing? yeah, i mean, the reaction _ case and the sentencing? yeah, i mean, the reaction to - case and the sentencing? yeah, i mean, the reaction to the i i mean, the reaction to the sentencing, i don't necessarily think two boys who were doing this, you could point to so many creators who do things that are very similar to this, but it definitely needs to be punished to the full extent of the law by hope that this will set a precedent that this is no longer acceptable, this is not even cool. no—one should really aspire to this because it's really embarrassing, frankly. and just lastly, the youtube apology video is now a big out form in itself, isn't it? have we heard anything from these two or should we expect that later? i two or should we expect that later? ., two or should we expect that later? ~ , ., , . later? i think we should expect that later- _ later? i think we should expect that iater- i _ later? i think we should expect that later. | think _ later? i think we should expect that later. i think this - later? i think we should expect that later. i think this is i that later. i think this is just a cycle that we have seen time and time again, youtube is mess up and then they

apologised and then people ultimately forget about it. i think a lot of youtube is our sort of uncancellable and it is just part of celebrity now. great to have you want, thank you. great to have you want, thank ou. . ~' great to have you want, thank ou. . ~ , ., great to have you want, thank ou. . ~ i. great to have you want, thank ou. . ~ . the eurovision song contest has been given permission by the dutch government to allow fans to watch. it will be staged at an arena in rotterdam in mid—may and everyone attending will need a negative covid—i9 test. the event could be scaled down if there is a surge in coronavirus infections. the announcement follows a similar trial involving 1500 fans at a music interval in amsterdam in march. ajudge in new york has ordered a brooklyn—based company to temporarily stop selling �*satan shoes' which it produced in collaboration with the rapper lil nas x.

earlier this week nike sued the company, mschf product studio, claiming that the black—and—red, devil—themed sneakers, which carry the nike swoosh logo, infringed its trademarks. the sports shoes are customized versions of the nike air max 97 sneakers that have been modified to contain one drop of human blood in the soles. they were priced at more than $1,000 and reportedly sold out within minutes. and finally before we go it seems easter has come early for a couple of on monkeys and meerkats here in london. the zoo animals rushed to find treats hidden for them in easter eggs hanging from branches in their enclosures. it's part of an annual easter tradition at london zoo, although no guests were there to see it. zoos in the uk have been closed to visitors due to lockdown restrictions, but are currently scheduled to reopen on april 12, when many outdoor attractions are set to reopen.

that's it from me. i'm lewis vaughanjones and this is bbc news. hello there. temperatures have been coming down day by day and it's going to stay chilly now into the easter period but with high pressure nearby, we should see quite a bit of sunshine around, though it'll be cold with overnight frost so gardeners and growers, beware. and then as we head on into easter monday, a significant cold, arctic blast will bring us a mixture of sunshine and also wintry showers. so for good friday, we've got high pressure building in, some slightly cooler air around it, and it will be breezier across northern and eastern areas. here's where we'll see most of the cloud — northern—eastern scotland, eastern england, maybe the odd light shower around through the morning. through the day, it looks like eastern air in parts of england will stay rather cloudy and breezy and cool. further west, the best of the sunshine, and it's here from northern ireland down through wales and the south west where we could make 13 or iii degrees, otherwise, a lot cooler across northern

and eastern areas. as we head through good friday night and into saturday morning, it'll stay quite breezy and cloudy across the eastern half of the country. clearer skies and lighter winds further north and west so here, we'll see a widespread frost versus lows of 3—5 degrees further east. 0ur area of high pressure still with us then as we head through saturday and, indeed, into sunday but it starts to retreat away and that's where we start to see the floodgates open to the arctic through sunday night into easter monday. saturday then, another dry day, thanks to high pressure. best of the sunshine across northern and western areas with lighter winds. more cloud, though, for central and eastern england, more of a breeze, so quite chilly here. temperatures reaching highs of around 12 or 13 degrees in the sunnier spots, so not too bad — pretty much temperatures what we should be looking at for early april. for easter sunday, it looks like we'll have another fine day but as our area of high

pressure retreats away, it'll allow wetter and windier weather and colder weather to arrive across the north of the uk. but further south, england and wales dry with some sunshine but quite mild with highs of 1a or 15 degrees. then it's all change through sunday into easter monday — we open the floodgates to the arctic, weather front sinks southwards, lots of isobars on the charts, so it's going to be very windy. a cold and strong northerly wind feeding in plenty of hail, sleet and snow showers pretty much anywhere. there will be some sunshine in between but we could see some significant accumulations of snow over the hills across northern scotland. so with that cold arctic wind, it's going to feel much colder than what we expect at 4—8 degrees.

sefovic $:/startfeed. this is bbc news. the headlines:

a series of disturbing videos have been obtained by the bbc which appear to show the killing of unarmed civilians in ethiopia's northern tigray region by people wearing ethiopian army uniforms. ethiopia's government says it's open to independent investigations, but added that social media posts and claims cannot be taken as evidence. george floyd's girlfriend has described how they both struggled with opioid addiction. her testimony came as the murder trial of former police officer derek chauvin entered its fourth day. he denies charges of murder and manslaughter. chauvin's defence team say mr floyd died because of ill—health and drug overuse. belgian police on horses and using water cannon charged a crowd of up to 2,000 people gathered in a brussels park. the revellers had descended on the park for a fake concert announced on social media as an april fools' day prank now on bbc news, talking movies reports on the forthcoming 0scars ceremony which because

of the pandemic will be radically different from anything that's come before.