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I'm Jackie Leonard, and at 14 hours GMT on Wednesday, the 3rd of February, these are our main stories, two of Myanmar's deposed civilian leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, have been charged by the army generals who seized power in a coup on Monday.

We have a very disturbing report alleging systematic rape of wego women in camps in China and through the smuggling myself out of that train in the mountains, very cold, very long, very dark and very scary.

A British Iranian academic who was sentenced to prison in Iran has told the BBC how he managed to escape the country on foot.

Also in this podcast, one of the world's top singers, Rihanna, has added her voice to the protest campaign by Indian farmers and how another singer has become a star on the Internet at the age of 110.

The military leaders who seized power in a coup in Myanmar on Monday have now charged the de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party, the National League for Democracy, won November's election. Members of the NLD say they're trying to avoid doing anything that might provoke a military crackdown. Your quartet is a local party leader in Yangon.

Not a the army people are celebrating the coup on the streets at the moment. That would be a clash with them. If we take to the streets against a coup, the country would be in chaos. If we did that, then the military would use that as a reason to extend the current legitimize it, saying that we incited violence. That's why we are staying calm and at home to avoid falling into a political trap.

Our South East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head told us more about the charges against Aung San Suu Kyi and her fellow detainees.

Two people have been charged, she and her ally, president, women, both of whom have been incommunicado, detained since the coup, the police say, and the charge sheet that they found during a search of her home where she was confined following the coup, seven unauthorized walkie talkies and that that's sufficient to charge her. We believe they were probably used by her security staff. I think the reason for this is that if they apply a criminal charge to her and there's no doubt they'll be able to get a conviction under current conditions, they can then, under the existing rules, disqualify her from running as an MP.

We've all been wondering what the military's game plan was having launched this dramatic and very risky coup because they are promising another election. At some point, Aung San Suu Kyi has won every election that she's ever contested and by a very wide margin. The last election she won absolutely decisively 80 percent of the seats. So the only way that the military has any hope of its own party doing better than the dismal six percent of seats it got at the last election is by taking Aung San Suu Kyi out of the picture.

And a criminal charge, however absurd it sounds, will be enough to do that.

And how long, then, can the domestic opposition sustain its opposition to the to the military coup?

Well, I don't think we really started to see what opposition there might be to this. I mean, people will be very wary about confronting the military directly on the streets. There's always a risk of bloodshed with the military, with this track record. But, you know, we're seeing the beginnings of social media campaigns, pots and pans being banged in at night across large areas of Yangon. Now, doctors and other people in other states, industries not cooperating.

And I think that will grow. This will be very different from the past. Myanmar has a sad history of military rule and a people trying to resist. But when that was happening, it had almost no modern communications at all. There were no mobile phones in the country. There was no Internet with social media. Younger people in particular can mobilize much more effectively, and the military will have to think of other ways to try to deter them. We don't know what form the opposition will take.

If Aung San Suu Kyi is jailed over this charge that they're throwing at her, then she, of course, won't be able to rally people. But given her popularity and the outrage that is bound to grow, there will be opposition and I think people will find many ways to show it.

That was Jonathan had our South-East Asia correspondent, the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, has asked the former head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, to try to form a new government. The previous ruling coalition, led by Giuseppe Contee, fell apart last month because of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mark reports from Rome after Italy's squabbling politicians failed to piece together a coalition, its star technocrat has been brought in. Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, has accepted the president's request to form the next government. He voiced his confidence that political unity would emerge amidst Italy's challenges. But bringing together warring factions won't be easy. The anti-establishment five star movement, the largest party in parliament, seems divided over whether to back him and some on the right want elections.

That was Mark Lowen. Now a warning because this next feature is disturbing. The BBC has uncovered harrowing first hand evidence that women in China's reeducation camps for wiggers are being systematically raped and tortured. According to independent estimates, more than a million men and women have been detained in hundreds of such camps, which China insists are vocational, educational and training centres to radicalise wigger and other Muslim minorities. Our health correspondent Matthew Hill has been speaking to former detainees and workers in Xinjiang in north west China.

Once again, I stress his report includes graphic descriptions of sexual trauma as.

I am not just he personally wouldn't want the world so badly about her ordeal at a reeducation camp in Xinjiang that she's waived her right to anonymity. She says she's haunted by one image masked men. Coming down the corridor at midnight, they did whatever evil there might to think, and they didn't spare any part of my body fighting it to the extent that it was disgusting to look at. They didn't just rape. They were barbaric. They had beaten up all over my body, let alone the.

He and other detainees have told me how throughout the camp, CCTV monitored their every movement and sound and they were punished for having private conversations within the concert and the meetings, as I know, former guard has ever spoken before.

Until now, we're protecting his identity and location. But the BBC has seen his Chinese police records. His words are voiced by an actor.

Those who were taken inside were locked in a cell which held eight to 16 inmates. There were cameras watching them all the time. There were books about paying and they must study and memorize them in Chinese. And if they fail, the punishment would be severe.

We know that many former inmates flee here to Istanbul. Some talk of having to choose between punishment or being complicit in these crimes.

Born radical Cuvier, I worked six months as a cleaning worker for the women. Han Chinese men would pay money to have their pick of the pretty young inmates.

Coursera, our canthe, says she was arrested and detained in a reeducation camp while visiting her daughter in Xinjiang. Ethnic Kazakhs like her say they're forced to do jobs in the camps. We can't tell whether rape is approved by the camp's commanders or even further up, but the accounts of the many women I've spoken to include gang rape in public and are similar in brutality. Charles Partan spent years of his diplomatic career working in China.

President Xi Jinping called for a new policy on Xinjiang. And if you look at in September of last year, the main conference on Sunjammer, all the top leadership that signifies that it's a policy from the top. He will certainly be aware that torture's views he may or may not know about. Right. But it's his policy. He knows a lot of what's happening and he's responsible whether he'll be held accountable. That's another matter.

In a statement, the Chinese government said that Xinjiang camps offer vocational and educational training to tackle extremism and terrorism. The statement did not address accusations of rape and torture directly, but added the Chinese government attaches great importance to protecting women's rights. Lies and absurd accusations, including mass detention, do not hold water.

That report was by our health correspondent Matthew Hill. A nationwide coronavirus vaccination campaign is beginning in Pakistan. The authorities in Islamabad received a donation of half a million doses produced by the Chinese state owned company Sino Farm earlier this week. Nearly 12000 people in Pakistan have died in connection with the coronavirus, far fewer than many had feared. Secunda Kamani is our correspondent in Islamabad. So who will be the first people to get the vaccine if there are only half a million doses available?

Yeah, you're right in a way.

I mean, Pakistan is a country with a population of more than 200 million people. Having said that, officials are saying that they're confident that they will get enough vaccines to cover the majority of the population. At the moment, they're starting by just targeting health care workers. Donation of 500000 doses of the sign-off vaccine that's produced by the state owned company in China arrived in Pakistan earlier this week. Pakistan is also, though, expecting to get 17 million doses produced by AstraZeneca in the first half of the year.

That's part of the international Kovács scheme, distributing the vaccine amongst poorer countries. And Pakistan is also pinning its hopes a bit on another Chinese vaccine being worked on by Cansino. We're expecting to get final stage trial results from that in the coming weeks. And if it gets approved, Pakistan is hoping to get around 20 million doses of that.

Of course, getting the doses is one thing and persuading people to have them is another. How do people in Pakistan generally feel about vaccinations?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, polls have suggested that people are quite skeptical. According to one that was conducted recently, nearly half of all those surveyed said that they wouldn't get the vaccine. But the same survey also did go on to say that 81 percent of people say they trust medical experts for advice. So it's not quite clear how this is going to play out. There has been long been a problem with polio vaccine skepticism in parts of Pakistan, but that hasn't always translated into reluctance to accept other vaccines, that this is something that officials are very much concerned about.

I spoke to the planning minister.

I said earlier this morning, I'm actually foreseeing a different problem, that we will have vaccine available for everybody. It is convincing everyone that it is important for them to get vaccinated.

And generally speaking, Sikander, how is the health care system managing?

Well, look, I mean, overall, Pakistan has not been anywhere near as badly affected by this. Because many had feared no one's quite clear why. I mean, it's quite possibly because it's got a very young population. The average age is just 22. Nevertheless, you know, there has been a strain on the health care system, which was already overburdened, already under resourced, as many developing world countries are in a similar kind of situation. So doctors are certainly welcomed.

The arrival of the vaccine, that was Secunda Kamani in Islamabad. A British Iranian academic who was sentenced to prison in Iran has told the BBC how he managed to escape the country on foot. Karmiel Ahmadi, an anthropologist, was convicted two months ago of collaborating with a hostile government, a charge he denies. He told our diplomatic correspondent James Landale about his escape while he was out on bail from Tehran's notorious Evin prison as he appealed against his conviction.

Camela Ahmadi was born in Iran, but as a student in the UK became a British citizen as well. For many years, he's worked in Iran as an anthropologist. But in 2019, he was arrested by Revolutionary Guards and thrown in prison for three months. He was targeted, he said, because he's a dual national in Iran, wanted to retaliate after Britain seized an Iranian oil tanker off Gibraltar. He was convicted in December of collaborating with a hostile government, something he denies and sentenced to more than nine years in jail.

But while out on bail, he fled in secret, travelling high over the mountains on foot to escape.

I just simply left. I packed my bag with a shaving kit, a few books of mine and a laptop and a warm clothes. Because I knew this, I had to smuggle myself out of there, trained in the mountain, very cold, very long, very dark and very scary.

Mr Ahmadi now faces an uncertain future in Britain, where he'll have to rebuild his life. The question is how Tehran might respond and what impact may be felt by other British Iranian dual nationals.

Our diplomatic correspondent James Landale. Still to come in this edition of our podcast, the EU is responsible, the French government is responsible, the vaccine companies responsible.

The vice president of a French doctors union tells us who he blames for delays in starting the country's covid vaccinations. The International Olympic Committee has banned singing and chanting at the Tokyo Games as part of new rules designed to allow the competition to go ahead safely in July despite the pandemic. Rupert Wingfield Hayes reports from the Japanese capital.

The publication of this so-called playbook by the IOC today is in part a guide for athletes coming to Tokyo this summer and part a display of intent that Tokyo is determined to go ahead with the games, even though the covid pandemic is not over. Athletes are being told they must have a valid covid test 72 hours prior to their arrival in Japan. They will then be tested again on arrival. And every four days while they are here during competition, teams will be confined to the Olympic Village and only allowed to travel to venues on special buses.

At venues. There will be no singing or cheering allowed, only clapping.

Rupert Wingfield Hayes, the health authority in France, has recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine not be used for people over 65 years old, saying that more studies are needed before the job is used in older age groups. French government figures, including President Merkel, have cast doubt on the UK's vaccination strategy as pressure grows over the slow pace of France's own domestic rollout. Around one and a half million people have been vaccinated there so far. In the UK, the figure is 10 million.

Our correspondent Lucy Williamson sent this report from Partya in the west of France.

The risk isn't just a matter for vaccine regulators, but also for vaccine patients like 72 year old Daniel Vallon.

He and his wife haven't been out together since she was vaccinated last month.

Michael Punya desire to vaccinate, she couldn't bear the thought that she might survive the virus, and I would not be said. Daniel was lucky.

He could have been waiting much longer for a date with his wife at this hospital clinic in Poitiers, saw its supply of Fizer and Moderna vaccines dropped by half last month. Demand in the area is high, but appointments are now closed to anyone who hasn't already had their first jab. Christophe Boulter is the center's director, complained us and what?

We can potentially triple the numbers in this centre. We have three reception desks for the three doctors for consultations with nurses for injections who have no problem meeting demand and quality when these extra vaccines arrive.

We have the capacity, but not the vaccines.

I asked him exactly what exactly the new AstraZeneca vaccine is due to arrive in France by next week. But major supply problems have hit. This vaccine to France has scaled back its vaccination targets in the face of these delays, as questions grow over who's to blame for the slow pace of its programme.

The EU is responsible. The French government is responsible, the vaccine companies responsible.

David Schapiro is vice president of a doctors union here for us on the field. It is terrible because we see people dying. So, yes, Brexit. Yes, AstraZeneca outside EU. It's a leverage. Of course, politics are a point of this, but it shouldn't be a problem on the field and that we have a shortage of vaccines in the Europe.

Minister Kleman Bowen was asked on French radio this week whether the UK's much faster rollout was an advert for Brexit. He replied that the UK was taking more risks than France was prepared to take by using the job for older people and by spacing the two doses so widely.

France has taken a cautious approach to its vaccination program, but there's also the question of whether the EU slower centralised system of buying and approving vaccines has held France back. Bruno Bernau is an MP with President Macron's Party.

They think that Brexit help UK to go faster in their decision process. Maybe, but at the same time, it's a worldwide disease. And just playing solo in this global fight is probably not the wise decision long term. So Europe has decided to be united against the virus. It was a political decision, no doubt, and I'm very proud of it.

And then President Macron ended the day yesterday by meeting vaccine producers here to discuss ways of boosting supply for new sites would begin making vaccines this month, he said by the summer. He promised everyone who wanted a vaccine would have one with presidential elections 15 months away. Mr Macron is well aware that in a country of vaccine sceptics and vaccine shortages, political risks follow close behind the medical ones.

Lucy Williamson in. Now it's short, sharp and to the point. Why aren't we talking about this hashtag? Farmers protest, it reads and it certainly has got the world talking. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, since the source of that tweet is the singer Rihanna and what she wants people talking about is Indian agricultural reforms. Our South Asia regional editor, Electra Naismith, told us more about what Rehaan has been saying.

OK, well, short, sharp and to the point indeed, Jacqui, why aren't we talking about it? And importantly, what she's done is linked to an article from CNN that was talking about the blocking of Internet access in parts of Haryana, which is a state bordering the Indian capital, and also talking about clashes between protesting farmers and police. Now, a quick reminder why this is all so contentious. The Indian government introduced three laws in September reforming the country's agricultural sector.

It says these will expand market access and offer greater flexibility to farmers and pave the way for sustainable farmers. But that's bitterly opposed by farmers themselves who've been protesting since November. And those protests have at times got ugly, as illustrated by that CNN article.

And what sort of reaction has there been to Rihanna's getting involved?

Well, Rihanna has over 100 million followers, so this has snowballed. As you can imagine, quite a few high profile names have jumped in Grétar Tamberg, the climate activist Mina Harris. She's the niece of Kamala Harris, the new US vice president, releasing a whole host of names, all with their own followers, of course, thanking Vanessa, highlighting the issue and expressing solidarity with the farmers. And it hasn't gone down well either with the Indian government for whom this is an incredibly sensitive issue.

It's intervened with a statement saying that the protests have to be seen in the context of India's democratic ethos. As it puts it, it's emphasised that there's been a lot of debate and discussion about these reforms. It's defended the police for handling the protests with restraint, and it's criticized what it says is sensationalist social media comments and hashtags, which it suggests are inaccurate and irresponsible. And the government is pointing the finger at what it says are vested interest groups, which it says are trying to mobilise international support against India.

And just briefly, do we have any idea how she got interested in the farmer's campaign in the first place? I've got no idea is to announce that she's not necessarily someone you'd expect to be tweeting about this. But as well as being a singer and actress, she's a pretty astute businesswoman. Yes, she's a best selling music artist. You might also have spotted her incredibly successful fancy fashion and beauty line, but she tweets about other stuff occasionally. She's been tweeting about Monday's coup in Myanmar.

And a couple of years ago, Time magazine included her as one of its 100 most influential people in the world. So I guess that extends to political commentary. There's more to Rianna than meets the eye.

That was Electronic Smith, our South Asia regional editor. There's more to her than meets the eye as well. Scientists in the U.S. have discovered that the sound of passing traffic can seriously impair the ability of birds to find food. The findings, reported in the journal Proceedings Bee, suggest that noise pollution is negatively affecting wildlife and causing harm to the environment, as our science correspondent Victoria Gill explains.

Rather than studying birds in the wild, these researchers brought recordings of traffic noise from the nearby road into their lab and put captive zebra finches to the test. The scientists designed tasks to mimic the problem solving the birds have to do to find food flipping over leaf like leads to reveal a treat and working out how to reach a food reward that's hidden inside a cylinder.

In quiet laboratory, birds were twice as likely to succeed and to find the food. And when the traffic recordings were being played, the discovery adds to mounting evidence that the sound we put into the environment has unexpected negative impacts on wildlife. Studies have shown that noise can affect insect behavior, and noise pollution in the ocean has even been linked with whale surroundings. But these researchers say that with clever engineering of tires and road surfaces, there is scope to insulate the natural world from at least some of our noise.

That was Victoria Gill, our science correspondent. Now here's a new Internet sensation. Well, Peter.

So let's just go ahead. It's a long, long way to Tipperary and my heart lies there.

That's the old Music Hall classic It's A Long Way to Tipperary, sung by Amy Hawkins, a 110 year old great grandmother from Wales here in the UK. And she has become an overnight sensation on tick tock thanks to her 14 year old great grandson, Sasha Freeman, who posted a video of her singing. Claire MacDonell caught up with Amy and Hannah, her granddaughter, and Sasha. First, she asked Sasha why he shared this video of Amy singing.

Well, I thought we could talk about her singing because she's older. Ten is very old. So if we like videos of her, it'll be nice.

And tell us the response that you had on tick tock because normally tick tock on 110 year olds don't mix today.

Well, responses I had were incredible. They were pretty much all of them positive. Everyone loved and all lovely and bless her, everything like that.

It's totally inspiring to watch. Now, I know we've got your mum, Hannah, with us as well. And Hannah, you're going to put the questions to Amy because Amy's a little hard of hearing.

But first of all, describe for us, if you will, there's this four generations of your family living in the same house, aren't there? Yes, there is.

There's obviously my grandma. There's my mum and dad, me and my husband and my son. And it's been so lovely. And you're in lockdown because so many people haven't been afforded that privilege. And we've just been really blessed here to be able to spend time with all our family on all our birthdays over the last year. Now, I know you've got Amy with you.

Can you ask for us how she felt to be asked to sing in this way and then she ever heard of Tick Tock?

How did you feel to be on the Internet when Sasha posted the video? I don't know.

Did you enjoy the response?

Well, it was lovely to know that people thought what people thought of you.

Well, can you ask Hannah how Amy came up with the song, how she chose to sing that one?

Why did you choose? It's a long way to Tipperary who reminded me of the old days. Can you tell us a little bit about the old days?

Because 110 is such a fantastic age to reach.

And Amy was a dancer, wasn't she? You were a dancer. Could you tell me a little bit about that? I don't know, man. Clip-On to mind when I was quite young. I've danced and all my life really I did window dressing for a while, so I'm going through quite a time and well, I've been busy all my life, you know. And what does she enjoy so much about singing and dancing?

I think I mean, she comes from a big family and they are all very musical. So I think we've always had the family had a pretty big connection to music. And her sister, who is still alive and she's 101, also was a singer and dancer.

And ask her this one if you can, then just your tribute, singing and dancing and staying active to to reaching 110 years old. What does she put her her long life down to? Why do you think you've got to 110, 130 good queen life? I'm not sure.

I believe that that was a bit of a dirty chuckle at the number. And also, I understand, Hannah, if she's never been to the doctors, she didn't actually go to doctors till she was well in the 90s.

She has had a couple of occasions since when she because she's had a couple of falls in the last few years. But, yes, she's she's never been never been one for the doctors.

Amy's lived through two world wars. What advice could she give for someone who's seen so much and lived through pretty hard times as well? What advice would you give to our listeners about how they get through these very difficult times we're living in?

What can I say? Well, I'm always kept busy.

I'm getting old.

Amy Hawkings, who's now an Internet star at the age of 110. And earlier we heard from her grand daughter, Hannah, and her great grandson, Sasha. They were speaking to Clamato.

And that's it from us for now, but there will be an updated version of the Global News podcast later, if you'd like to comment on this edition or the topics we've covered it, do, please send us an email. The address is global podcast at BBK dot com dot UK. This podcast was mixed by Chris Cazares. The producer was Rajel Sonique. The editor is Karen Martin, who isn't 110. I'm Jackie Leonard. And until next time, goodbye.