cnn's paula hancocks joins me live from bangkok. good to see you.ollout has been slow across asia despite the new waves of infections. what is the latest on this? >> reporter: well, rosemary, really many of those countries in the asia-pacific region that were praised in 2020 for their ability to contain the pandemic, they are now struggling with a slow rollout of vaccinations. the likes of thailand also new zealand, taiwan, the vaccination rates in those countries is particularly low. we've heard from the lowrie institute they believe the asia-pacific region on average was the best prepared and dealt with the pandemic the best. there was sort of a difference in the way they dealt with the vaccinations. when you look at the likes of thailand, for example, the death rate here is remarkably low when you compare to others. it's still below 100 people since the pandemic began. compare it to the united states where it's well over half a million people. so clearly the level of urgency when it came to having to roll out the vaccination is very different. no

cnn's paula hancock is in thailand tracking the developments in india and skwro joins us live. fifth consecutive day with more than 200,000 new covid infections, and the prime minister holding super spreader events in the midst of the surge, so what is going on? >> reporter: quite simply, r rosemary, it's mixed messaging from the government, and you have the prime minister saying one of the biggest religious festivals, saying people should be following that festival and following traditional symbolically and not physically, so disbanding it and not congregating by the river, and at the same time he's speaking at a rally. you can see many people not socially distancing, and many do wear mask and most are not, and it's complete mixed messaging from the indian government and there's been criticism, not surprisingly, on social media, and there's confusion as to what exactly should be done. the situation on the ground in india is getting worse and worse. i have spoken to our colleagues on the ground in new delhi and they point out at this point those that have relatives that need he

paula hancocks is tracking these developments from bangkok. a, what does this actually mean? take us through how this would work and what effect, if any, it might have on the situation there. >> well, kim, the last question, first. really, what impact does it have on the ground? and -- and the reality is it will have very little impact, in the short-term. it doesn't make any difference, to the military. it doesn't change the bloody crackdown that is going on within that country, at the moment. but what we have seen, certainly via social media, listening to -- to protestors and activists. they welcome the creation of this national-unity government. so potentially, it could give hope to those who are fighting, back, against the military coup, which happened on february 1st. so, what we understand, at this point, is that some of the positions have been listed. we know that aung san suu kyi, the ousted leader, will be state counselor. but, of course, she is detained. we know that she is currently going through a -- a court case from the -- the mili

our paula hancocks is tracking all of this for us, joins us now from bangkok. tell us what's expected and also how much pressure is on asean leaders to reject the junta or, you know, push strongly for them to change direction. >> reporter: well, michael, the very fact that this summit is happening is fairly unprecedented for asean. they don't usually get involved in a member state's political situation. but clearly what is happening in myanmar is such a degeneration that they have been pushed by the u.n. and by others to get involved. now, the most controversial part of this is the fact that that junta leader, min aung hlaing, who instigated this february 1st coup and is really the face of this bloody crackdown against people in myanmar has attended or will be attending the summit. he has landed in jakarta, in indonesia, and was greeted on the tarmac there. it has caused controversy. activists are saying he should not be legitimized in this way. the national unity government made up of the ousted parliamentarians and some of the civil disobedience movement lead

paula hancocks has the details live from bangkok. paula, tell us what this agreement means.to the military junta? if. >> well, robyn, what this means is they have agreed on a five-step plan at this point, which is a little more than some were expecting them to do. but what it does not do according to malaysia's ministers is put the blame on the military junta for the violence. the prime minister told reporters that in fact the violence must stop but didn't point out it was the military's fault, saying the leader of the coup believes that the protesters were causing the violence, which clearly is not the case. but what they did do is agree on this five-step plan, which is to end the violence, constructive dialogue. they'll have an envoy for as the other southeast asian nations who will be allowed into myanmar, at least on paper, and also the acceptance of aid. what it doesn't do as well is mention the prisoners. there are well over 3300 people who have been arrested, sentenced, or in prison already according to the group aapp, included the ousted leader aung san suu kyi and t

paula hancocks following all of this for us, from neighboring thailand. death toll clkeeps climbing. and yet, still the protestors, continue to come out. >> that's right, michael. i mean, this particular occasion on friday in this -- this city, about 60 kilometers away from yangon, the most populous city. and what we are hearing from local media and from aapp, that's that burmese ngo, that as you say, more than 80 people were killed, in just that one day. now, we are hearing that there was attacks on protestors, and on houses, from early in the morning, until late at night. aapp says that the -- the military was trying to turn it into a battlefield. and clearly, when you use something like the heavy machinery, like rocket-propelled grenades. that is what you would use on a battlefield. but the ngo's saying that it was more like a killing field. now, we hear from -- from a news agency quoting eyewitnesses that the military was seen putting a number of bodies onto the back of trucks. and then, driving them away. this is something that we have consistently he

cnn's paula hancocks is following the story for us, from neighboring, thailand. d, paula, thanks for being with us. i know how closely you are following this. and when you look at the killings by the military, they are allegedly indiscriminate. and described, now, really, as a reign of terror. they are so young, they are not backing down. what is the risk that an armed resistance now, will take hold in the streets? >> well, paula, the vast majority of these protests are, and have always been, from day one, peaceful. this is a civil-disobedience movement, from the protestors, themselves. and certainly, it is not even com -- comparable when you consider what both sides have in order to protect themselves. now, we heard, from the military, accusations that it was actually the protestors in bago. a city, just about-60 kilometers from yangon, that were attacking the military. and simply, unbelievable, at this point. now, you say that, that advocacy group, aapp, described the heavy armory and the heavy machinery and weaponry that the military was using. for example, roc

paula hancocks, cnn, bangkok. >>> it's hard to imagine cuba without a castro in charge, but we are justours away from seeing exactly that. 89-year-old raul castro, fidel's brother, plans to step down on friday this his role as head of the country's communist party. it will mark an end of 60 years of castro rule. the hand-picked successor will take over as communist party secretary, the most powerful position in the country. >>> the world will bid a final farewell to britain's prince philip this weekend. after the break we will go live to windsor for details on the funeral and a possible sign of tension between prince harry and some members of the royal family. rely on the experts at 1800petmeds for the same medications as the vet, but for less with fast free shipping. visit petmeds.com today. >>> buckingham palace has released new details about the funeral arrangements for britain's prince philip. prince charles, william and harry will be among the family members who will follow the coffin in a procession in windsor on saturday. now, you're watching pictures there from a thursday rehear

our paula hancocks is tracking this and joins ug s live from ban bangkok.ill the military chief get attending the meeting? >> reporter: the fact the meetings are happening at all is markable. they usually don't have summits talking about an individual member state's political situation. but the fact of what we see on the ground in myanmar is of such a concern to many myanmar's neighbors that this summit was necessary. the fact that met online, this is the general who led that february queue, the face of the bloody crackdown in myanmar and left that country and now sitting with the head of the states is significant and it's listen slammed by many activists and many saying he shouldn't be sitting with the other leaders because it gives legitimacy to the coup he carried out. also pointing out the national unity government 'cha is formed of the ousted leaders and some of the civil disobedience movements and other ethnic leaders saying that unity government should have a seat to the table as well. i spoke to one former high ranking official in thailand saying yo

paula hancocks there in thailand for us. thank you.d the 23rd anniversary of the landmark good friday peace agreement in northern ireland, but it came with violence on the rise again and warnings against sliding back into sectarian conflict. some protests by pro british loyalists were postponed after the death of prince philip. they're angry about brexit, but angry about other things, as well. all right, let's go back 23 years now to remember what was. the good friday agreement ended decades of deadly conflict known as the troubles that pitted loyalists against pro-irish nationalists. fast forward back to this week and riots that began in loyalist areas spilled across to so-called peace line boundaries in belfast along the nationalist side. let's get some perspective on all of this. i want to bring in writer and commentator sarah crichton, live from belfast. thank you for being with us. so, first of all, how much of what we are seeing is about brexit and the northern ireland p protocol, and how much that is a spark to other grievances?

paula hancocks, thanks.reciate the update. >>> still to come, how one union territory is trying to turn things around and drop the case numbers of covid. >>> plus, canada is in its third coronavirus wave, and it's not looking good. when we return, why experts say the worst is yet to come. are cared for? ♪ ♪ it shows! our new dove advanced care formula is effective... and kind to skin, leaving underarms cared for and you... more confident and carefree. nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. you get advice like: try hypnosis... or... quit cold turkey. kidding me?! instead, start small. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette managing type 2 diabetes? you're on it. you may think you're doing all you can to manage type 2 diabetes and heart disease but could your medication do more to lower your heart risk? jardiance can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults who also have known heart disease. so, it could help save your life from a heart attack or s