BBC News Briefing

24 May, 2024

Jules Darmanin

Hello. Today I'm sharing a striking report from Quentin Sommerville, who spent a month with Myanmar's resistance movements - young fighters, doctors and teachers rallying against the military junta. We're also reporting on UK immigration policy, public health in Africa, and more royal paintings.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Risking their lives for a revolution

Two young Burmese men wearing military equipment and holding weapons are smiling.

Cobra and Sam were national karate champions before joining the resistance movement. Credit: BBC

Myanmar's civil war, a complex conflict in a country with little media access, has largely been forgotten by the rest of the world. But our correspondent Quentin Sommerville has spent a month with insurgents fighting to dislodge the military junta that seized power in a coup in 2021. His video report shows the harsh reality of a lopsided war between resistance forces and a professional army. In the eastern city of Loikaw we follow Cobra and Sam, two friends fighting amid what junta bombs have turned into a ghost town. They are typical of the youngsters joining the resistance, after peaceful protests failed. We also meet those behind the front line: Young surgeons operating despite the tears, and a music teacher – proud but fearful for her young students who will soon join the fight. "This is a struggle of the young against the old, a new generation battling a military elite," Quentin says. Watch his report.

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Read more: Quentin's written report has more background on resistance members both on the front line and behind.

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State of the war: Young insurgents are turning the tide in Karenni state, but ammunition and weapons are in desperately short supply.

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A sign of desperation: Nearly seven years after the Myanmar military killed thousands of Muslim Rohingyas, it is forcibly recruiting them to fight for the junta.

WORLD HEADLINES

In Gaza: The bodies of three more Israeli hostages have been recovered from the northern town of Jabalia, the Israel Defense Forces have said.

Papua New Guinea: A massive landslide is feared to have killed many after it buried 100 homes in six remote villages.

Lucy Letby: The child serial killer has been denied permission to appeal against her convictions for the murder and attempted murder of babies in her care when she worked as a neonatal nurse.

Not fans: Locals in Barcelona clashed with police as they protested against a Louis Vuitton fashion show closing off the city's Park Guell - the famed creation of Antoni Gaudi. Take a look.

A dog for the internet: Kabosu, the shiba inu behind the "doge" meme, has died after 14 years of internet fame, her owner has said.

AT THE SCENE

Immigration removal drills at secret base

If the Conservatives stay in office in the UK after July's general election, thousands of asylum seekers could be on the list for flights sending them to Rwanda. In the meantime, the government has rented a secret training facility for a year to prepare staff for this divisive policy.

Tom Symonds, home affairs correspondent

Inside the hangar are three airliner fuselages, missing their wings and tails, with differing layouts to enable officers to practise getting detainees safely into their seats. We watched as two officers politely introduced themselves to a third, acting as a detainee, securing her arms, and practised escorting her up steps and on to a plane. One immigration officer told me he had been involved in “thousands of removals” but had needed to use restraint in about 5% only. We were not allowed to watch more physical training and the use of cuffs, waist and leg restraints.

Read in full

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

A mosquito to fight malaria

Mosquito offspring are getting out of a box as a woman is watching.

Malaria kills more than 500,000 people in Africa each year. Credit: Oxitec.

Tens of thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes have been released in Djibouti in an effort to stop the spread of an invasive species that transmits malaria. The trial has been successful in other countries, although environmental groups have warned of consequences to ecosystems and existing food chains.

Actress Judithe Godrèche puts a finger to her lips while wearing a white dress and standing in front of a group of women

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Generational shift

Young female film-makers at Cannes Film Festival are breaking the #MeToo taboo.

Read now

And finally...

Another royal painting has divided opinions this week. UK magazine Tatler displayed on the cover of its latest issues a portrait of Catherine, Princess of Wales, by artist Hannah Uzor. Some commentators don't think it does the Princess enough justice.

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– Jules

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