this is the briefing. i'm vitroria fritz. our top stories: chinese authorities take drastic action to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus which has now claimed 25 lives. at 3a, she's the youngest prime minister in the world. we meet finland's leader, sanna marin, who explains why climate change is her biggest priority. we need to set ambitious goals, because if we don't we are losing the future. we are losing hope, so people are expecting us to act now. a crossroads in italy — how the far right is hoping to cause a political earthquake this weekend. no record—equalling title for serena williams. she is knocked out of

the australian open in melbourne. in business, a spent force — cash is in decline but in a world of digital payments, who gets left behind? 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. please dojoin in. by 2028, the percentage of transactions made in cash could fall to less than 10%. how do you feel about society going cashless? tell us what you think, just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing.

the chinese authorities are taking drastic action to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus. they've imposed a travel shutdown on several cities, including wuhan, where the virus was first discovered. 25 people have been killed by the virus in china, but the world health organization believes it's not yet a global health emergency. gareth barlow has the latest. this is wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak. a city on lockdown. from here it is spread to ten countries and territories, while the number of infections are rising, experts say it is too soon to know the impact of what's being called 2019 ncov. there is still a lot we don't know. there is still a lot we don't know. the two main things we need to understand is how infectious is it and how deadly is it? and for those

two things, we're going to need a lot more of the epidemiology, a lot more to tell us what the patterns are. public transport is restricted in wuhan and five other chinese cities have employed similar measures. 20 million people are effectively in quarantine. translation: at present, the epidemic prevention for the outbreak in wuhan has entered a critical stage. we must resolutely curb the spread of the epidemic to other places. at airports across the world, passengers from china are being medically screened to detect people displaying symptoms. possible cases are being investigated in canada and the uk, where“; people have been tested. it's likely we will see more cases in other parts of china, and other countries. china has taken measures it believes appropriate to contain the spread of coronavirus in wuhan and other cities. we hope that they

will be both effective and short in their duration. with a marked rise in the number of deaths and confirmed infections, authorities are closely monitoring the next few weeks. tens of millions of people are crossing china to celebrate lunar new year. the degree to which the virus spreads will dictate if all when an international emergency is declared. gareth barlow, bbc news. let's get the latest from our correspondent, steven mcdonell in beijing. china has effectively quarantined nearly 20 million people, but could it be to late? if you look at the numbers, hundreds of thousands of people would have left wuhan before the transport shutdown. now they've gone on holidays and travel to other cities in china, they've even travelled overseas. the problem is

with that five day incubation period, they may have passed various checkpoints and not registered with the temperature because they didn't know they were sick, and all along the way they have potentially passed it onto other people in and overseas. this is why the world health organization is worried. another reason people have left wuhan, and this is more alarming for china anyway, is that we are getting reports that the hospitals were filling up and people were turning up filling up and people were turning up to these hospitals in wuhan sick and not able to get in for treatment, so they can to shanghai or beijing and olly allen, lots of cities, and they have taken the sickness with them. this is why these drastic measures are being taken. i don't think by shutting down those transport connections in wuhan and the cities around it people think it is going to stop the problem, it's just it will prevent it from getting worse more quickly, if you know what i mean. we've heard

now there's another person dead who hasn't been added to that official count yet, so at least 26 dead probably. more than 800 infected. nobody thinks we are anywhere near the end of this. there's a long way to go. one interesting statistic as well is in the early stages, the proportion of people being released from hospital and being cleared... being cured of the virus was quite high, but that number hasn't really shifted. now where over 800 infected but those let go... it is still persistently low, in the dozens. i don't know if it's because they aren't updating that figure or they aren't updating that figure or they are much less likely to release people from hospitals because they're not quite sure whether or not they really are better and they really ca n not they really are better and they really can or cannot pass on the virus. a lot of concern here at the

moment. it does have echoes, doesn't it, of the sars virus in the early 2000s. given the spread of this virus, why is this not being considered a global health emergency? well, i guess that's for the world health organization to decide by their standards. i think it's because they're worried that on an international scale it will have implications, that there are not enough people in other countries yet registered. i mean, i don't want to sound alarmist here, but you could imagine there could people in thailand, for example, you would imagine people have gone there for holidays, not knowing they are sick, they have arrived at a resort or something and they‘ re they have arrived at a resort or something and they're getting a fever a ll something and they're getting a fever all of a sudden. other countries may have a bigger problem on their hands than they really realise. we will leave it there. thank you, stephen mcdonell, in beijing for us. understandbly, the coronavirus is causing concern around the world. we can help you put that risk in context. there's lots of information on our website, including this explainer on how

a city can be put into quarantine. that's all at bbc.com/news, or you can download the bbc news app. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. at least 13 people are now known to have been killed in storms that have ravaged parts of spain. four people are still missing after storm gloria triggered floods and swept away roads. prime minister pedro sanchez flew over some of the worst hit areas and later told reporters that climate change had played a part. us senators have been accused of falling asleep, playing games and breaking other rules during president trump's impeachment trial. the senators are acting as the jury to decide whether the president should be removed from office. the trial has heard that mr trump's alleged abuse of power threatens american democracy.

the us government has ignored the advice of its own scientists and re—written environmental regulations to slash the number of wetlands and waterways covered by pollution controls. critics say the measure is the biggest rollback in clean water protection for almost 50 years. more on that later. africa's richest woman says she's ready to fight what she calls misleading and untrue graft allegations. isabel dos santos is the daughter of angola's former president. prosecutors accuse her of using her father's influence to steal millions of dollars from state companies during his rule. american actress annabella sciorra has told harvey weinstein's trial that he raped her 25 years ago. ms sciorra, who's best known for her role in the sopranos, said the former film producer attacked her afterforcing his way into her apartment in new york. mr weinstein denies any wrongdoing.

let's turn to our top business story, the decline of cash. just over a decade ago almost two thirds of transactions here in the uk were in cash. now it's barely a quarter and in the next decade it's expected to shrink to just1 in 10. today researchers are warning that the rise of digital payments could mean vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, less tech savvy, or less well off, get left behind. and they say a few technology firms could end up with far too much power over the economy. joel kibazo from jk associates joins me now. it seems, doesn't it, a little late that the penny is dropping on the cashless society and what that might mean for us? yes, victoria. this report from the institute of policy

research is actually pointing to a problem that there are those amongst our society not yet ready for the digital age, who still go to the atms and the post office to get cash to be able to carry out their normal daily functions for making payments. i'm afraid that group is eroding very, very quickly. for instance, the report says that by 2028, less than 10% of... less than one in nine of us will be making payments in that way, but there's still a need to protect those who don't have access to digital payments to be able to do things online and be able to carry out their transactions. it is this vicious cycle, isn't it? things like atms are closing down, banks are closing down, post offices are closing down, but without a bank account, for whatever reason if you

don't have a permanent address, therefore you can't open a bank account, therefore it is very difficult to work on cards and be able to pay people via paypal and everything else, so it means it's incredibly difficult for quite a large sector of the population. there is, and there's quite a part of the population not yet there. most of us are doing our shopping, our daily shopping, including our food, clothes and whatever online, but it must be recognised that there are those who are not yet in that position. and, of course, the opposite of this is of course a digital payments are better for security and in fact research has shown therefore productivity. so there are positives but there is this small number of people that must be protected and this is what this report is talking about. we will talk more. lots of papers and great stories today to run through. i will speak to you for the papers

later. thanks, joel. sanna marin is the youngest prime minister in the world, and at the world economic forum this week she's been involved in promoting issues around climate change and gender equality. her coalition government has five female political leaders who are all under a0 years old and she has received a lot of media attention since becoming prime minister last month, but she told sally bundock it's not that unusual in finland. well, actually i'm the third female prime minister in finland. so maybe it's not that unusual in finland that we have a coalition government with five parties, all led by women. but, of course, if you look at it globally, it's not what we are used to, but i hope that in the future we will see more women, more younger generation in the lead of government so maybe it will become normal. so let's look at the future. word

target when it comes to climate, saying finland pledge to be carbon neutral by 2035. that's not far away, some would say very ambitious and brave but perhaps not realistic. how would you pull that off? i think that's realistic but of course a lot of things need to be done. of course we need to lose using fossilfuels, done. of course we need to lose using fossil fuels, but we also need the carbon sink. so we need to do more in raising the carbon sinks. when we look at the emissions reduction targets that we have, we need to do changes in traffic, in housing, in energy consumption and also the production of energy. we've already done a lot. we need to set ambitious goals because if we don't, we are losing the future. we are losing hope, so people are expecting

us losing hope, so people are expecting us to act now, and we need to act. it's very good we have ambitious goals and we wish all the countries in the world are also feeling that this is their responsibility to act now to make it happen, and the future is sustainable in every way. do you think the fact you grew up in what has been described as a relatively poor household, your pa rents relatively poor household, your parents divorced, you were the first one in yourfamily to go to university, all that kind of thing, does that not play into your ambition, desires, thoughts about how you can better finland in the future? because, my background affects the way i see the world. for me, gender equality is very important, also human rights issues. the quality of human rights issues. the quality of human life for everybody. my background shows what a great success story finland is, that anyone but can become anything. this is the lesson learned about my story. sanna marin there.

stay with us on bbc news. still to come: serena williams is knocked out of the australian open in the third round, in a stunning defeat by china's wang qiang. 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 upon 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's believed by officials to have broken all records. you are watching the briefing. our headlines: chinese authorities are taking drastic action to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which has now claimed 25 lives. finland's prime minister has told the bbc why climate change and gender equality are her top priorities. italy's far—right leader matteo salvini is hoping to cause a political shock on sunday by winning control of emilia—romagna, the stronghold of the left since the second world war. if his league party wrests control of the region, it could prompt the italian government to fall, and elections which polls say mr salvini,

a populist known for his anti—migrant policies, would almost certainly win. our italy correspondent mark lowen reports from emilia romagna. security, migration, urban decay. a city's challenges become political tools when elections loom. in ferrara, stronghold of italy's left since the second world war, it is the key to the far right league party meaning the membership —— winning the mayorship last year. the deputy mayor has just told me that people here are dealing drugs.

and they've just gone into the building. they've gone away. and they've gone. for migrants living here, the new hard—line administration is sewing fear. it makes me feel intimidated. maybe they don't want the foreigners. sometimes my child is to ask me, mummy, why is it that the police always come? i say i don't know. the league is hoping success in ferrara will spur victory in the regional election on sunday, resting control from the left up 75 years. that could topple the government and sweep the populist far—right matteo salvini to power. campaigning nearby, the rockstar of italian politics drives home his message.

if the far—right wins here, in this area, it's a complete political earthquake. it means if he wins here, he could win anywhere in italy. loved, but feared too, in a region where some feel the echoes of past battles against fascism. what he stands for, like, hate and discrimination, it's not what we want. we passed this, these kind of

thoughts, 70 years ago when the war ended. this is one of italy's richest regions, but stagnant growth and an ageing population has fed hungerfor change. and an ageing population has fed hunger for change. laid out and an ageing population has fed hungerfor change. laid out here is the fight for italy's, for europe's, political identity. tennis now, and day five at the australian open in melbourne has seen significant wins and one shock early exit. let's speak to the bbc‘s john watson, who is in melbourne. hello, john. tell us what has been going on. a bit of a shock exit. let's do that one first. yes, the big news, victoria, serena williams is out. this is her earliest exit from the australian open in 13 yea rs. from the australian open in 13 years. remember, everyone coming into this was saying, will she win that elusive 24th grand slam title? that's what has been sparing her on

ever since she won her last grand slam title, back in 2017. but she was beaten by wang qiang of china, ranked way lower than her, and she was really up against it throughout a really tough match. serena williams fought back to level it in the second set but she was broken in the second set but she was broken in the last game of the third set, and she is out. so a big disappointment, the big talking point here on day 5. no problems, though, for ash barty, who is the world number one in the women's singles. as you can imagine, eve ryo ne women's singles. as you can imagine, everyone here, this huge australian support willing her on to go and win the title this year. she, though, is safely through to the last 16. good, iam glad safely through to the last 16. good, i am glad to hear it. and the world's eyes will be on the teenage sensation coco gauff. yes, she is a box office star now, isn't she, coco gauff. ever since she announced herself to the world with that amazing run, we were all going loco for coco at the wimbledon championship last year when she beat venus williams. and what a match—up

we have in store against naomi osaka, who is the defending champion here. huge respect from these two. a sucker in her early twenties, coco at just 15. you wonder sucker in her early twenties, coco atjust15. you wonder how many grand slam title of these two are going to win in their careers. they will be out on the rod laver arena behind me, that is the first match in tonight's evening session. i have been speaking to three—time doubles grand slam champion ai sugiyama, and she told me she is expecting a different kind of match this time around. it was a tough match for coco, i think. she lost 3—0 and wanted to leave the court. but naomi tried to talk to her, and they had an interview together. something i have never seen. but this time it is going to be a different story. i think coco also will get used to it, to her, and also dealing with the pressure. so this third round is really interesting, and looking

forward to watching it. 0k, ok, so that looks like that is happening in a few hours' time, but iamon happening in a few hours' time, but i am on the website and i can see that the big men's match is already under way. yes, we have novak djokovic, he is last up on the rod laver arena behind me, 5— three up against nishioka of japan. laver arena behind me, 5— three up against nishioka ofjapan. novak djokovic, the defending champion in the men's singles. we have roger federer to come a little later on againstjohn millman, who is an australian, so there will be a packed house in rod laver arena behind me, around 15,000 crowding in for the last match in the evening session on the main show court here. it is so hard to pick. we have seen serena williams go today, but you have roger federer, rafael nadal and novak djokovic still in the men's draw. will anyone pipped them to the title this year? we keep saying when

will the young players breakthrough? we can see why, because novak djokovic has been really impressive once again in the opening set of his third round match. i am very jealous, you have the weather with you, great tennis to watch for the rest of the day. enjoy it and have a good weekend. thank you. and tell me what you think about our talking point today. the cashless society. one in ten transactions will be cashless... one in ten will be cash by 2028. it is disappearing from society. how do you feel about that? does that worry you feel about that? does that worry you at all? people getting in contact with me on twitter. the further people move away from physical cash, the less attachment they have to their money, and a detachment from money leads to poor management of finances and debt. that is quite interesting. another one from mark, the law of unintended consequences. what a cashless society would effectively do is handle total —— hand total and

absolute control of the economy to the tech companies and private institutions like the banks. get in touch with me. use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. stay with us here on bbc news. so much more to come. hello. six hours of sunshine in sheffield on thursday, whereas much of the uk couldn't even manage six seconds of blue sky, with scenes like this. weather changes at the end of the weekend but until then it is as you were with plenty of cloud in places. high pressure over the weekend eventually will give way to this weather front which on sunday is going to bring rain south across the uk for the colder brighter showers following behind. looking at how friday start and we have the cloud and with the cloud for the most part we are frost—free. there is mist and fog, particularly in parts of england and wales. it is damp and drizzly in places with some outbreaks of rain close to the north coast of ireland which will run north across the western side of scotland during the day. increasing cloud after early

brightness in north—east scotland, still some sunny spells in north—east england, brightening a bit in northern ireland with glimmers of lightening that make brightness in the channel islands. we are talking about the exceptions and what is overall a cloudy story. that continues over night into saturday morning, drizzly in places, still some area is of poor visibility with temperatures still not going down overnight with the blanket of cloud. the weather front is just slowly getting closer to north—west scotland on saturday but ahead of that still another day of cloud drizzle. there is a sign we may see something brighter running of the eastern side of england during the day, the same time a few showers running towards western england and wales, northern ireland and rain heading into the western isles. maybe it brighter, breezy on saturday ahead of this weather front which finally starts to move southwards going into sunday. a cold air mass following behind but within that, bright skies. you only get those if you see

the rain clear on sunday and that will not be across the eastern side of uk. it is moving south—east, the rain, so it is early on towards the north—west that you brighten up later on in the far south—east so you stay great cloudy and down for the afternoon. a breezy day across the uk, turning colder behind the rain. a few showers arriving as well, wintry on hills in scotland. a big change in the weather at the start of next week dominated by low pressure.

this is the business briefing. i'm victoria fritz. a spent force — cash is in decline, but in a world of digital payments who gets left behind? plus, called to account. the former boss of wells fargo is banned from banking for life and hit with a record $17 million fine over a massive sales scandal.