i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: cases of coronavirus infections in china triple, as doctors confirm it can be passed from human to human. the who calls an emergency meeting. a senior huawei executive, and daughter of its founder, appears in a canadian court to fight extradition to the united states. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: all chant: usa! thousands of activists attend a rally against stricter gun laws in the us state of virginia. and filipino superstar lea salonga talks to us about stage, screen and singing. # a whole new world

# but way up here, it's crystal clear that i am in a whole new world with you...# live from our studios in singapore and london. this is bbc world news. its newsday. -- its. good morning. it's 9am in singapore, 1am in london and 9am in wuhan in china, the centre of an outbreak of a newly discovered virus which is spreading across the country. the chinese authorities have now confirmed the virus has passed from person to person. the world health organization

will convene its emergency committee this week to discuss whether it constitutes an international public health emergency. here's our medical correspondent, fergal walsh. it's official. china's mysterious new virus can pass from person to person. health authorities there are urging the public not to panic. most cases have come as a result of direct contact with animals, but human—to—human transmission means this virus is potentially a far bigger threat. the outbreak centres on the city of wuhan, population 11 million, where the source is thought to be a seafood market. 170 people in wuhan are being treated in hospital. several are critically ill and three deaths have been confirmed. there have been a handful of cases of the virus in south korea, thailand and japan, all travellers who had come from wuhan. the infection is a new type of coronavirus, which originated in animals.

although person—to—person transmission has been confirmed, it does not, thankfully, spread easily. signs of infection include breathing problems, fever and cough. it's the height of the flu season, meaning it's hard to know initially what infection patients have. hundreds of millions of chinese are expected to travel over the coming week to celebrate the lunar new year, making further spread inevitable. at train stations and airports, temperature scanners are being used. some airports in the united states, singapore and japan are screening travellers. the outbreak is a reminder of the sars epidemic, also caused by a coronavirus, that killed nearly 800 people worldwide nearly 20 years ago. then, there was an initial cover—up by the authorities. this time, global health officials

say china has learned from past mistakes. it may be weeks or months, though, before we know how big a threat this new virus poses. fergus walsh, bbc news. we will hear from a specialist in infectious diseases later to find out how serious this is. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. a senior huawei executive who was detained in canada is in court for a hearing to decide whether she should be extradited to the united states. mung wan—joe, who is also the daughter of the company's founder, appeared behind bullet proof glass at the court in vancouver. the us wants ms mung to be handed over for fraud and breaching sanctions on iran. she says the charges are politically motivated. the bbc‘s zoe thomas has the background details on this case. mung wan—joe was arrested over a year ago now while on a layover in vancouver and us authorities reached

out to canada and ask to be arrested because they wanted her on charges of bank fraud and violating us sanctions, they say she lied to us banks to help a subsidiary of huawei cell technology to iran violating us sanctions on iran. she's been off on bail in one of her vancouver homes for most of that time. she was held in prison temporarily. now she is having her thursday of the hearing, it has just wrapped up having her thursday of the hearing, it hasjust wrapped up high me, and her lawyers have got their chance to make their case about why she shouldn't be sent to the us. there's a huge amount of interest, not least with the relationship between us and canada and china, what are we hearing for this first day. ? there is no way to separate the case from the political dynamics between china and the us and it has brought canada straight into the middle of that but her lawyers are pretty much arguing she is a political pawn more than a

criminal. their case has been the crimes she is accused of in the us are simply not crimes in canada. they focused on a principle of double criminality, witty much the crime you have been accused of committing in one country has to be a crime in another country for extradition to happen. they say because canada doesn't have sanctions on iran she shouldn't be extradited to the us on charges she violated. the judges focused extradited to the us on charges she violated. thejudges focused hard on that fact. they kept asking if you like to us banks in canada, would it bea crime? like to us banks in canada, would it be a crime? she asked that over and over again and we have several more days of hearings and so we expect her to focus on that or in the days to come. zoe thomas in vancouver, who will be keeping us up—to—date on that in the coming days. also making news today: donald trump's lawyers have been outlining their defence of the us president, whose impeachment trial gets underway in the senate on tuesday. the iio—page legal brief argues that democrats failed to identify an "impeachable offense" and that the inquiry was "irredeemably flawed". the lead—manager of the democrat trial team, adam schiff,

called the idea that abuse of power isn't impeachable arrant nonsense. there've been skirmishes at mexico's border with guatemala, as mexican forces stopped a huge caravan of central american migrants hoping to travel to the united states. president trump has put heavy pressure on guatemala and mexico to do more to stop the influx of migrants and asylum seekers before they reach the us border. prince harry has carried out what could be some of his last engagements as a senior royal. he is now reported to have flown to canada to be reunited with his wife and baby son. the duke of sussex left the uk after meeting prime minister boris johnson and world leaders at the uk—africa investment summit in london. this long—disputed self—portrait of vincent van gogh has now been confirmed as the real thing by experts in the netherlands. the 1889 painting is the only known artwork which shows the dutch artist in a depressed mental state

while he was in an asylum in france. let's get more on our top story, the outbreak of a newly discovered virus in the chinese city of wuhan. a leading chinese scientist who led the battle against the sars virus confirmed the new infection has been transmitted from person to person. translation: we considered risks of this before, but now, evidence has confirmed that it is contagious amongst humans. there is such evidence collected in wuhan. meanwhile, there are two patients in guangdong who have not been to wuhan, but caught the virus after their family members came back from wuhan. thus as of now, we can confirm the cases of the coronavirus being passed from person to person definitely exist.

so the disease can spread from humans to humans. should this worry us? professor raina macintyre is an infectious diseases expert at the university of new south wales. it's always a concern when a virus can be transmitted between people, because that means it can spread much more easily than if it's just going from animal to human. and ms mcintyre, this basically revives memories of the sars virus from 2002—04, which was also a coronavirus that killed more than 700 people. from your point of view, could this morph into sars, or even worse? well, the genetic sequencing of this new virus shows that it is most closely related to sars, as opposed to any other coronavirus.

however, when we look at the death rate, the death rate from sars was in the order of i2%. and so far, there's only been three confirmed deaths from over 200 cases. so the death rate seems to be lower than with sars, which is reassuring. but it is a similar virus and it is causing a similar syndrome, which is a severe pneumonia. and to what extent does this outbreak demonstrate the need for a vaccine to treat new coronaviruses? well, having a vaccine always helps with infectious diseases, because you can protect people before they get infected. there is a vaccine that's being developed for this coronavirus, and i don't know how much cross protection it may have against this new virus. but there's a lot we can do without drugs or vaccines to control an epidemic, including identifying cases really rapidly, isolating them, tracing all the contacts and monitoring those contacts in case they become sick, and using personal protective

equipment and other infection control measures, which singapore has had a lot of experience with in 2003 with the sars outbreak. do you think, at this point, countries and governments that have been affected so far by this coronavirus are doing whatever they can from it spreading to a wider community? yes, i think different countries chosen different measures. singapore and the united states for exa m ple are using airport screening and i think for a country where there is a lot of travel of fights directly from wuhan, that is a reasonable measure to take. other countries that do not have as much direct travel from the effective area could use measures like giving travellers a card to alert them, to report any symptoms and also

hospitals and health facilities need to be on high alert for any patients presenting with pneumonia or respiratory illness and always ask about a travel history because time and time again, we see outbreaks happening because the diagnosis is just missed in the emergency department. an infectious disease expert, raina mcintyre, who spoke to us earlier from sydney. you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we meet the filipino superstar who gave voice to princess jasmine from disney's aladdin. met from disney's aladdin. and sang with her as well! also on the programme: changing social attitudes. japan's environment minister does something that very few salarymen do. he goes on paternity leave. donald trump is now the 45th president of the united states. he was sworn in before several hundred thousand people on the steps of capitol hill in washington.

it's going to be only america first. america first. demonstrators waiting for mike gatting and his rebel cricket team were attacked with tear gas and set up on by police dogs. anti—apartheid campaigners say they will carry on the protests throughout the tour. they called him ‘the butcher of lyon'. klaus altmann is being held on a fraud charge in bolivia. the west germans want to extradite him for crimes committed in wartime france. there, he was the gestapo chief klaus barbie. millions came to bathe as close as possible to this spot. a tide of humanity that is believed by officials to have broken all records.

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: doctors have confirmed that a new virus in china can be transmitted from human to human, as the outbreak continues to spread from wuhan to other major cities. a court in canada has begun hearing the united states' request for the extradition of meng wanzhou, huawei's chief financial officer and the daughter of the compa ny‘s founder. and this story is the elephant in the room, literally. hotel guests in sri lanka got a surprise when they saw this huge animal in the corridors. it apparently took up residence there several years ago, and is generally friendly, despite sometimes stealing food supplies from the kitchen. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the straits times here puts china's

mystery sars—like virus on the front page. it reports that, from tomorrow, all passengers arriving in singapore will undergo temperature screening. until now it says this was only being done for flights arriving from wuhan, the centre of the outbreak. germany's frankfurter allgemeine gives even greater prominence to the story of china's coronavirus. the paper reports that it has spread really fast, and is confirmed to be transmitting from person to person. a natural threat of another kind is on the front page of the philippines star — the taal volcano. the paper reports that seismologists are saying magma or molten rock is rising to the surface, which is an indication that a further eruption may be imminent. the island volcano last exploded on 12 january.

a rally by thousands of american gun rights activists in richmond, virginia has ended peacefully. most of the protestors came armed and security was tight. they claim the second amendement of the constitution, the right to bear arms, would be violated by a new firearms law proposed by the state's democrat—controlled legislature. aleem macqbool reports from virginia. all chant: usa, usa, usa! they came from all over the country, bearing arms, after this state, virginia decided it is going to try to push through what are very limited gun—control measures. well, we're just on a regular street in downtown richmond, virginia, and yet almost everyone around us is carrying a handgun or a rifle, and that is all perfectly legal.

but they're out here to say they won't allow that right to ever be taken away from them. no—one is even talking about that happening, though. politicians here just want to introduce rules that would, for example, only allow people to buy one weapon a month, and allow guns to be banned at some public events. that is too much for everyone here. if this saves one life, is it worth it? i mean, not if it's going to impede on my right to defend me and my family. that person who lost their life should have had a gun in their hand and should have taken their responsibility and had their second amendment exercised, and it would have saved their life. you don't just get to say there is mass shootings. i think it accounts for less than 0.001% of the population, but we're going to make it a nationwide... tens of thousands die as a result of, you know, gun violence. hundreds of thousands die of heart failure. like, come on. for all the arms on the streets and all the fears of violence,

the protest did pass off peacefully, but with the promise that, if any other states try to introduce even the smallest of measures to curb gun ownership, more shows of strength are to come. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in richmond, virginia. in 1989, the filipino singer and actress lea salonga burst onto the scene with her lead performance in the west end hit miss saigon. since then, she has starred in some of the world's most loved musicals, as well as providing the singing voice for iconic disney characters like mulan and princess jasmine. most recently, she has been in singapore playing the part of the infamous mrs lovett in a stage production of sweeney todd. i went to meet her to find out what it's like to go from disney princess to gruesome villain. i don't know if there's necessarily a shift in focus, because they're all about portraying the human experience,

just from different perspectives. ‘cause myjob as an actor is to be — is to have empathy even for the most vile of creatures, when you have to play them. you have also sang the theme song from the animated film mulan, reflections. now there is a live action version. what do you feel that there's no singing parts in the movie? so? that's my reaction. are you looking forward to it? i actually am. i have a couple of friends in the film. and it's going to be a mulan for this generation. and i love that there won't be any singing. at the end of the day, it's all about making something good, making something that portrays women of colour in positions of strength and power. i like that. as an asian woman, i like that very much. i just want to talk to you, lea, about one of your advocacies

which you are so passionate about, and that is basically supporting gay rights. the president of your country, the philippines, made some recent statements, homophobic remarks. oh, no. how does it make you feel? disappointed. because, i mean, in his campaign, he was even saying that there was going to be — that he would say yes to same—sex marriage in his administration. and it made me feel, oh, my gosh, then a lot of my friends can get married, in this seemingly conservative country. and i was happy. and then there's this, so i'm like — i'm disappointed. yes. lea, to a certain generation of parents and kids, you'll always be known as princess jasmine of aladdin. how much pleasure does it give

you to know that many people still watch and sing your songs to this very day? it's — there's an expression back home. literally it means that your heart gets fat. but there really is no translation for it, but itjust means that my heart feels full. maybe that's the best way to say it. and i still get to sing in concert. i pull somebody up from the audience to come up on stage and sing it with me. most of the time, it's fantastic. some of the time, not so much. i mean, it's always fun, it's always fun, but we get different levels of musical talent that actually come up. lea, can we have that kind of fun in this bbc interview? laughter because i have to admit, i love your iconic songs, particularly... thank you.

# a whole new world. # a new fantastic point of view... keep going, you're in the right key. # no—one to tell us no or where to go. # 0r say we're only dreaming... # a whole new world. # a dazzling place i never knew. # but when i'm way up here, it's crystal clear. # that now i'm in a whole new world with you...# this is amazing, i sang with lea salonga. on the bbc. on the bbc. i mean, that does not happen every day. you need to get yourself on broadway. and for her to say i am on the right key, that is good for me. we are going to move on. japan's environment minister, shinjiro koizumi, is raising eyebrows by taking time off to take care of his newborn son. it is not only because he is the first minister and mp to do so, but also because very few dads in japan actually take paternity leave. the bbc‘s mariko 0i explains why.

this dad is who everyone in japan has been talking about the past week, all because he is about to go on leave to take care of his newborn son. it is notjust because shinjiro koizumi is the first minister and the first male mp to do this, but also because hardly anyone injapan expects a father to take parental leave. it is nearly always mothers doing it. japan actually has one of the most generous paternity weave in the world. dads can take up to a year off. but the thing is, hardly anyone takes it. only 6% of working dads did in 2018.

basically, young fathers are scared to go up to their bosses and say, hey, can i take paternity leave, because they fear that may kill their career. there have been claims of fathers being sidelined after taking paternity leave. that sounds pretty familiar to us working mums, doesn't it? this is a society where men rank as one of the least helpful in the world when it comes to housework. but there have been some political and business leaders who have taken paternity leave, and they say their male staff have followed suit. koizumi is by far the most high—profile person to do this, and he says he too wants to change mindsets. but there are sceptics. koizumi is a rising star in japanese politics.

in recent months, he has faced some controversies where he was criticised for being inexperienced, or too arrogant. critics say he is just trying to boost his popularity. but, even if it is just a stunt, this could send a message to other japanese dads—to—be that they too shouldn't be afraid to ask for some time off. you have been watching newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us. the world economic forum kicks off today at the davos swiss ski resort. presidents, prime ministers, businessmen and billionaires are attending the summit, which is set to be dominated by talks on climate change. and rico, let's end the programe with video of some unusual neighbours. some 20 emus have been wandering the streets of nannup,

south of perth, since late last year, not always to the delight of the town's residents. authorities have decided not to take action, and say the community must instead learn to live with them. hello. monday brought some beautiful winter sunshine to large swathes of the uk. unfortunately, the prospects for the rest of this week are distinctly dull for one reason or another. be it a lot of low cloud lurking about, or this morning, some pretty stubborn fog. the high pressure that's keeping things dry is going to be staying with us, but it's just going to re—orient itself a little through the next few days, eventually shifting away south—westwards and pulling in more moisture from the atlantic. that's what will help to thicken our cloud. for this morning, the densest of fog is likely to be an issue across the southern counties

of england and into south wales. a lot of our major motorways, of course, in this area. please do bear in mind when you take to the roads that the fog could be patchy, so you could be in it one minute, out for the next, then back in. tthat is particularly dangerous. and tuesday, as promised, a pretty grey affair. best of any breaks probably near the higher ground east of the pennines, sheltered spots to the east of scotland. further west, some rain actually for argyll and bute. topsy—turvy temperatures, actually, our mildest weather to the north of the uk, with that atlantic feed to the north of the high. to the south, just 6—7 celsius, colder if you get stuck by the fog. 0vernight tuesday into wednesday, plenty of cloud across the uk, plenty of moisture, generally very murky. and because of all that cloud around, our temperatures will be held up. so frost limited possibly to a few pockets across southernmost counties of england first thing on wednesday. and you can see the high here, as promised, sitting a little bit further south—westwards. and i've put the colour on behind me here to show you the air mass, to show

you the atlantic air tipping over the high and spilling its way south into england and wales for wednesday. things on the ground not looking too different, unfortunately. how many ways can you say cloudy and grey? best of any breaks are in the east. but the temperatures do just nudge up a little, about 10—12 degrees typically across the uk, certainly the biggest increase to the south. and for the rest of the week, same old, same old, the high still with us, always slightly milder to the north. a little cooler to the south. some signs of more rainfall perhaps across scotland for a time, as a front works its way in. but by the end of the week, the high wind does start to break down. and friday into saturday, it looks like we will get an area of low pressure sweeping across the uk. that gets rid of a lot of the murk. we should see the return of some sunny spells, but they'll also be accompanied by showers. and look out — it will turn windier once again, as well.

i'm kasia madera with bbc world news.

our top story: the world health organization calls an emergency meeting after chinese experts confirmed that a new virus that emerged in the city of wuhan can pass from human to human. the outbreak has now spread to more cities in china and the wider region, with more than 200 cases confirmed. meng wanzhou, a top huawei executive, has appeared in court to fight an attempt to extradite her from canada to the us. she's wanted there on charges including fraud and breaching sanctions against iran. and video from a part of the new south wales coastline is doing well on our website. it's glowing bright blue in a natural phenomenon caused by algae. they light up when they're disturbed, creating this beautiful effect. that's all. stay with bbc world news. and the top story in the uk: the cost of high speed rail link