this is the briefing — i'm ben bland. our top story: a respiratory virus in china claims a fourth life, as doctors there confirm it can be transmitted from person to person. controversy over the rules for president trump's impeachment trial — democrats say the proposals amount to a cover—up. hundreds of people from south america trying to get to the us are rounded up by the authorities in mexico. and coming up in buiness briefing: combating climate change is set to take centre stage at davos, but will leaders take the topic seriously or let the issue melt away?

a warm welcome to the programme — briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. tell us what you think — just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. it's been confirmed a new virus spreading across china can be transmitted between humans. more than 200 people have been infected with the virus so far — and a short time ago a fourth

death has been confirmed. cases have also been reported in japan, thailand, and south korea. the world health organization will hold an emergency meeting later this week. rich preston reports. it's now been confirmed, the virus known as 2019 ncov can be passed from person to person. despite early effo rts from person to person. despite early efforts to contain the virus, cases have been reported in shanghai, shands in and beijing. cases have also been reported injapan, south korea, and thailand. this latest development comes as millions prepare to celebrate chinese new year, making journeys of hundreds of miles across the country. it is the largest annual human migration in the world and there are fears over

the world and there are fears over the potential that has to spread the virus. australia has added its name to the list of countries that will screen passengers. singapore, hong kong, andjapan screen passengers. singapore, hong kong, and japan have announced similar measures as well as san francisco, la, and new york. xi jinping has ordered efforts to counter the spread of the virus, saying that safety and health is the top priority. translation: after the outbreak in wuhan, authorities immediately inform the world health organization, relevant countries, regions, and organisations about the epidemic. china has been keeping close touch about them and has been releasing information to the public. we will work along with others to handle the epidemic. in early the chinese government was criticised for covering up the extent of the sars crisis, a virus that went on to

kill 700 people, mostly in asia. the virus is expected to spread further as tens of millions of chinese people travel for the lunar new year holiday. the bbc‘s steve mcdonell is outside beijing's main train station which is already busy, but will get even busier over the next few days. australia is the latest country to join others in testing people coming off flights especially from wuhan. there is a case of someone in brisbane who has been placed in isolation. they are not sure yet if he has the coronavirus, but scientists have joined those in the uk saying that although there are hundreds of people who have been infected, they think in reality it could be thousands, because look how many people are travelling around

china at the moment stopping the virus has not only spread to other chinese cities but other countries and that is why the authorities are not taking any chances and they have put the extra screening measures in place. republican party leaders in the us senate have proposed rules for president trump's impeachment trial that could mean no witnesses are called and no new evidence is discussed. a resolution unveiled by mitch mcconnell, who leads the republican majority in the senate, could see a vote on the timetable as early as thursday. chuck schumer, who leads the democratic minority in the senate, has called the proposals a cover—up and a national disgrace. so what can we expect to happen? the bbc‘s gary o'donoghue reports from washington. will all senators now stand and remain standing, and raise their right—hand. do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trail of the impeachment of donald john trump... yes, these are

100 members of the united states senate, but now they are also jurors and judges be they get to fix the rules of the trail and decide on guilt. we will be sitting there and chairs for about six hours a day starting at 1pm eastern time, six days a week, so this is going to be, i think, kind of a gruelling exercise but also one that will be public. the president faces two charges. the first is that he abused his power by pressuring the president of ukraine to investigate one of his main democratic rivals, former vice presidentjoe biden. the second is that he obstructed congress by trying to stop officials giving evidence and withholding documents. there are almost no rules for a trail like this and immigrants and republicans are completely at odds over whether to call witnesses at all. that all means this trail

could last anything from 2— six weeks. democrats want to hear from john bolton, who reportedly likened the pressure being put on ukraine to a drug deal. but republicans are threatening to retaliate, by insisting joe biden or his son appear too. in the coming days, senate republicans are going to face a choice. will they take their cues from the white house and engage in a cover—up for president trump? 0r will they, in this most sacred of undertakings prescribed by the constitution, vote for a fair trial with witnesses? the president continues to dismiss his impeachment asa continues to dismiss his impeachment as a hoax, instead focusing on his achievements. and what do i get out of it? tell me? i'd get impeached! that's what they get out of it, by these radical left lunatics, that's what they get out of it, by these radical left lu natics, i'd that's what they get out of it, by

these radical left lunatics, i'd get impeached. but that's ok, the farmers are sticking with trump. impeached. but that's ok, the farmers are sticking with trumpm would take a two—thirds majority to convict the president and remove him from office. that is extremely unlikely, nevertheless, these coming weeks will resonate for years to come. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. new figures from the un show that nearly half a billion people work less than they want to or not at all. the international labour organisation also forcasts that unemployment will rise by about two and a half million this year, due to a stagnating global economy. the agency believes this has profound and worrying implications for social cohesion. malaysia has revealed its sent back 150 shipping containers of illegally—imported plastic waste to the developed countries it came from. richer countries have been sending plastic to malaysia since 2018, when china banned most waste imports. but malaysia's government has taken a stand, saying it doesn't want to be the world's garbage dump. canadian lawyers representing the huawei executive meng wanzhou at her extradition hearing have argued that the crimes the united states has accused her off would not be

considered against the law in canada. they say that ms meng should not be extradited to the us to face charges of fraud and violating american sanctions on iran. more on that in business briefing. the head of google has called for artificial intelligence to be regulated. writing in the financial times, sundar pichai said it was "too important not to" impose regulation but argued for "a sensible approach". last week it was revealed that the european commission is considering a five—year ban on facial recognition. priya lakhani is the founder and ceo of century tech,

she's with me now. it seems that the head of a big tech company, trying to seize the initiative and suggest elation before regulation is imposed. there are some states in the us that have banned facial recognition and there isa banned facial recognition and there is a general public perception that business technology safe unregulated? business technology safe unregulated ? we business technology safe unregulated? we have the story only a few weeks ago how some of them had been taken to these alleged training camps but actually been spotted on the streets and they used facial recognition technology. but we are talking about facial recognition, and isa talking about facial recognition, and is a bigger point here. the ability to use technology to identify someone to correlate data, and then to use machine learning... actually, there is lots of technology we should look at. being

able to identify someone a distance using the heartbeat. cameras are so good now that from a distance you can spot someone's fingerprint, broadcasting very specific codes where you can identify an individual through that particular code. if we ban facial recognition technology thatis ban facial recognition technology that is one step, and if they are regulating against it, actually you have got to look into the wider issue which is, all of these technologies, when data is being collected, google is buying health data, the fitbit for a reason. how using that technology to discriminate? on the other side of this is, the microsoft president said this idea of regulation and banning facial recognition technology is taking a sledgehammer toa technology is taking a sledgehammer to a nut stopper he's talking about the fact that it is you really effectively with ngos who are finding missing children and then reuniting them with their families stopping his talking about using

technology and essentially learning more about it, but that comes with its risks. it is a huge issue for technology, we are always trying to keep up with the pace of change and we will have to see where it goes but he has come up saying what he is saying and talking in davos but i don't think it is a new issue. we often talk about the authorities being slow to keep up with the pace of technological change and put down regulations that are suitable. even when they do, with the share amounts of data, some people will know they can go to a data commissioner in uk and complain if they feel their data has been misused, but the amount of time it takes and the delay, sometimes you can have the regulations in place but the wheels turned so slowly to render the regulation ineffective? that might

be consumers, but tech companies, businesses, if they are behaving in a way and collecting data that is against regulation, there are huge implications for those companies. i've run an ai implications for those companies. i've run an a! company and it is not just about complying with gdpr, you wa nt to just about complying with gdpr, you want to go beyond that and show your customers how they should trust us with their data, but companies take it very seriously because the implications of preaching regulations is incredibly high, so i am not so sure about the wheels turning slowly, there are lots that consumers can do. we can do a lot in the uk, we can do a lot in europe, we can do a fair amount in the us although they have been very slow to respond, which is why i think it is quite a big deal that it's google saying this. we are talking about the european commission but the us

has been very slow to move on this. but countries like china, there are terrifying stories about how data can be used statewide, and when we talk about consumers, i'd just worry that there are certain consumers, certain citizens that ought to be worried about this and others with a fairamount of worried about this and others with a fair amount of trust can be created. really interesting thoughts there, and we will go through some of the other stories in the papers later. don't go away, plenty more to come on the briefing. 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. you're watching the briefing. our headlines: doctors confirm that a new virus in china can be transmitted from human to human, as the outbreak continues to spread, and a fourth person dies. republican leaders in the us senate outline proposals for president trump's impeachment trial that would give lawyers from each side just 2a hours

to present their arguments. hundreds of people, mainly from honduras, who are trying to reach the united states, have waded into a river on mexico's border with guatamala. mexican national guard troops with riot shields have been trying to stop them climbing the river bank. mexico has cut off migration routes to the us under pressure from president trump. rich preston reports. on mexico's southern border, men, women, and children wading through the suchiate river, many of them eventually reaching mexican territory. they were met by mexico's national guard. they used shields and teargas to push the people back. the migrants hurled stones and rocks at the police lines. many of the migrants were thought to have originally been from honduras. guatemala says several thousand migrants have crossed into its territory from honduras since wednesday.

these migrants had been camped out in the town of tecun uman on the guatemalan side of the border, and wanted to cross to the town of ciudad hidalgo in mexico. when they were refused permission, they took to the water. those crossing the river are part of a larger group of between 2000 and 3500 people, which has been called 2020 caravan. many of whom are ultimately trying to reach the united states. translation: i'm a mother, i left my daughter there, i have to support her and i'm a single mother. we only want to work. please, i am just scared and i don't want to return to my country. there is no work there, there is nothing. my daughter and i go hungry. mexican officials say they have already taken in over 1000 people and that many will be

allowed to stay and work, but will not be given free passage to america. amid tense relations with its northern neighbour, mexico is under increasing pressure to help stem the flow of migrants to the us. but despite the firm response on the border, many say they are so desperate, they will keep trying anyway. representatives of australia's tourism industries say the country's recent bushfires have already cost them almost $700 million, with that number likely to increase further in the coming months. many international visitors are expected to stay away — even though most of the fires are now out or under control. tourism is estimated to account for more than 3% of australia's annual economic output and one in every 13 of itsjobs. the bbc‘s phil mercer reports from kangaroo valley in new south wales.

tourism has been badly affected. this is a place at at this time of the year should be full of visitors but people are staying away because of the fires and this is a story that has been repeated in many parts of the country. everyone is devastated, their livelihoods are at risk and people are being laid off and people are closing their businesses. return of one today that had to close because they can't afford to pay the rent. it's devastating and very trying to scramble to get out from the government, help welfare, whatever we can. but that is proving difficult and a long process and frustrating for people before coming

in in tears and it's been devastating. the trade minister, simon birmingham says the bushfires have inflicted enormous damage on australia's international tourism reputation, the government is due spend millions of dollars trying to rehabilitate australia's image both overseas and also with travellers from australia. many visitors are deciding not to come. this is a country that has paid an enormous price during this bushfire crisis. vast areas of bushland have a scorched, many properties have been destroyed and lives in love the goods have been lost. —— lives and livelihoods have been lost. the 12th european space conference gets under way in brussels, with a focus on growth, climate, security and defence. swedish climate activist greta thunberg joins the world economic forum summit

in switzerland to discuss forging a sustainable path towards a common future. and german chancellor angela merkel is in berlin this evening to be awarded the henry—kissinger—prize by the american academy. americans have really tube protest against gunfire laws. security was tied to violence. 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 it 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 tooken their responsibility and had their second amendment exercised, and it would have saved their life. you don't just get to say there's 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... we have only begun to fight... ..more shows of strength are to come. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in richmond, virginia. in tennis, britain's top ranked female player, johanna konta, has been knocked out of the australian open. she lost her first round match in straight sets. in the men's draw, fellow brit kyle edmund was also beaten. let's speak to the bbc‘s john watson, who's in melbourne. it's not been a good day for britain? or british hopes of resting on konta, the 12th seed, she has had relative success here reaching the semifinals, atop much. it was i was going to be difficult so we got to

be honest because she has struggled with an injury at the back end of last year and that has affected things. is only played one tournament coming into this season. she is fairly realistic at her chance this year but we know her pedigree and officer when it comes to british hopes you always pin them on the likes of konta now and the absence of andy murray in the men's signal —— singles. and of course, now with no andy murray as i was saying it would all hinge on dan eva ns, saying it would all hinge on dan evans, the only british player and the second round, there was the rain which came down which meant his match could only be concluded today. whoever struggled as he went on to lose in straight sets. great atmosphere as you can imagine, lots of people, turning out to see the number one —— mafia on the dell. ——

rafael nadal. a lot of excitement. what about the rest of the women's draw? it's quite down a bit but that is the fun of the australian open. a great atmosphere, very different to wimbledon where it is a lot straighter bouts part of this place. we have kerber n. it said running up for those big names once again. serena williams perhaps into the second brand as well. introduction as we had to divestment. —— plenty of action as we head into the first

week. thank you for watching, were back with the business briefing in a few remits. —— moments. hello, my neighbour blue skies to the uk, the story for the next few daysis the uk, the story for the next few days is a distinctly clay one — a great one. one reason or another. a lot of low cloud drifting across the uk or dense patches of fog. high pressure stays with us throughout the week ahead but it was not to rotate itself. that plumbs us into some moist airfrom rotate itself. that plumbs us into some moist air from that at the dead. but the first thing tuesday, fog is a definite concern across a large swathe of southern britain. the m4 corridor across madden southern counties as far north as the m5 and into a good part of east

anglia. patchy fog as well which is all the more dangerous. for tuesday, asi all the more dangerous. for tuesday, as i said it's a pretty great prospect for the majority of us. the best of brightness across east scotla nd best of brightness across east scotland with shelter and to the east of the pennines. brain heading into argyle. my eldest brother to the north of the uk, temperature and double figures, and sevens further south and colder weather fog sticks. overnight tuesday into wednesday start to impart more moisture across the uk so rainfall files of scotland, thick cloud moving further south, we should be largely frost free into wednesday morning, isolated pockets to the south that's what it looks like on a pressure chart, but i further away toward southwest and around the top of the higher, bringing the atlantic at that lashes its way south of the day i went there. plenty of cloud around

but fairly gloomy prospect around. males in the south with warm air fighting its way south up to ten or 11 degrees. as for the rest of the week, the high still with us and gloom still with us, the front tries to push into the north of scotland. it's fronted that with such a transitional once again opening our doors to low pressure systems coming from the planting at the high slides away and for that weekend things are looking much more mobile once again, doesn't change return but there would be punchy showers.

this is the business briefing. i'm ben bland. combating climate change is set to take centre stage at davos, but will leaders take the topic seriously or let the issue melt away? and all eyes on vancouver, as huawei's meng wanzhou arrives in court for her extradition hearing. and on the markets, asian shares took a sudden lurch lower amid mounting concerns about a new strain of pneumonia in china, and hong kong's credit rating was cut by the agency