this is bbc news, the headlines. as the lunar new year begins, china has launched a massive campaign to try to stop the spread of the virus that has reportedly killed up to 41 people. europe's first cases have been diagnosed in france. two in paris and one in bordeaux. a powerful earthquake has struck eastern turkey, killing at least 1a people and damaging buildings near the epicentre of the tremor. at least 30 people are believed to be trapped under the rubble. the quake was strong enough to be felt in neighbouring countries. day four of donald trump's impeachment trial in the us senate is under way. democrat prosecutors are arguing the president should be removed from office for abuse of power and for obstructing congress. they say he's used foreign policy for his own personal, political gain. mr trump has dismissed the trial as boring.

now on bbc news, time for brexit cast. well, this is nice. i've got some new friends. it's like a new look brexit cast, but only temporarily, and i've got the massivejob of being adam and chris in one. i'm alex, alex forsyth. polcor, political correspondent at the bbc. but i'm not sure i can live up to the adam and chris reputation. you can have your own reputation,

alex, you are your own person. that's dangerous, i have a reputation, i'm not sure i want to announce that quite now. more about later. on your left. i am matt, the editor at the times can a red box, e—mail, podcast and anything else they get me to do. and sometime standup comedian no less. yeah. you are in charge of the jokes. fine. helen? i'm not sure what i'm in charge of, i'm helen lewes, staff writer at the atlantic. and you are also allowed to tell jokes, by the way, if matt... if matt creeps out, that's fine. if one it creeps out, that's fine. or if matt is rubbish or not funny. but one of my old good best friends is still with us, but she's in... bologna, yes, i'm in bologna, and i was about to say enough of your new friends already... we are just getting what we can. that's all it is. just taking advantage of it. it's very nice to hear you, and i look forward to hearing you, because bologna is meant to be the proper gastronomic hard—core, if you love italian food, that's the place to go and get stuck in, right? may be more of that later.

i wouldn't know any thing about that, laura, nothing at all. it's all news, news only. news only. well, there was news today, wasn't to? news and a bit of a quiet weird way, because the withdrawal bill that we've spent so much time on this programme talking aboutjust has actually become law, finally. how can you miss it? -- if you blinked, you miss it. seriously, all of those years of my life, your life, everyone's life, the wrangling, the pain, agony, the will we ever get there? and it was literally a blink and you miss it. it's all sorted. order, order. royal assent. i have to notify the house in accordance with the royal assent act come in 1967, that her majesty has signified her royal assent to the following act. european union withdrawal agreement, act 2020. order, order. and there you go, nigel evans, my

goodness, of course arch brexiteer. but not even the speaker, it's such a big deal, and it's the deputy speaker who did it amazing. so what is going through your head, met him after all those hours and weeks? almost nothing. i didn't actually notice it happening. i saw it later on. i feel like we sort of went through this anticlimax where the mps voted for the first time. it's just happening now. but her majesty assigned it, you know, after everything, helen, what went through your mind, if anything? no, i agree with matt. i think as soon as that election happened it felt like, well, that's it, it's over, all the formality, really festive it -- it does feel like a new era. feels like a new era, pmq running on time, very strange. short little pmp is as well. a his like we are in completely different era, in the next five years are going to be unchartered. i'm not saying that i'm not relieved, because in some ways, all of this endless knife edge tension has been pretty difficult to cover and to try and do the responsible journalism that you need to do.

but, you know, the fact that it's notw written in law that we cannot ask for an extension puts another great big ticking clock at the end of this year. so there will still be deadlines when we get to the trade deal, but it is such a new era though, do you feel it's kind of sunk in, because i've had a lot of conversations in westminster this week with people going it must be weird to ms. i think i might be a bit bored. what are we going to do? and itjust starts don't make this not very many people working in westminster involved in politics, and even in brussels as well, let's talk about that and a second, but to have gotten any memory at all of what it's like either covering or being part of a government that doesn't really have to worry about parliament very much. it's been so long, you may have say the last few years have been weird, but it was way before that. because 2010 was coalition territory, was that the coalition agreement, it was a fairly stable think that it is a majority in coalition. you still had all that wrangling between what was the court, and kind of all of that time, that's a massive period, a decade or more of not really having these in backing majority before that the labour

government was all over for a while in terms of power wrangling and what will happen next, and ijust my think this is like a huge period of adjustment where it's learning how to operate in this new territory. part of it for me just to be like all right, ok, you know, we can sort of you know, leave the office midnight. —— before midnight. i can play badminton again on the occasional weekend. those kind of moments. do not i mean? it's like. alex forsyth, badminton? i'm so rubbish, i'm so rubbish. i haven't played in three and half because i've been at work, but that's sense of, i've been all right with her, going it's ok, there's lots that we need to do and go around and look at, there will be stories and important policy, but it doesn't have to be like right now today, and we don't know it's going to happen tomorrow. it's the variety though, that's the thing because i remember the end of last year when i went to look back at the review of the year —type stuff, so much has happened, and yet, nothing had happened. it was constant fever

pitch of big votes come then nothing happened, people resigned, nothing happened. it feels like it was also inconsequential, it was incredibly stressful, i think the entire country became incredibly stressed about it all. and the outcome of the election was just a sort of sense of relief. i think as a journalist, i'm now looking forward to clicking the ties of a few other bits of public policy, welsh a&e tweeting —— waiting time things come out today, some of the bits of the public realm that are really showing strength you may think magistrates' court seems to be really on the brink, and actually come all of that stuff has been crowded out by the news but the latest bit of pungent duty drama, but actually come i think it's not going to be the honeymoon period for boris johnson that you would expect from an 80s seat majority, because there are somethings that have not had the tension that they really should've had for years now. we will have to get a bit more proactive because there has to be a natural sense that you are so tied up in reacting to massive events that happen time and time again,

and others an opportunity to be really proactive and find out about all of that stuff that we had for a while, that's a pretty good opportunity if you are looking at it from that perspective. to think anyone in the continental part of europe is actually noticed? don't forget, there are formalities to come here as well. the european parliament now has to rectify the brexit deal now that our parliament has done that. so that's going to happen on wednesday. meps are gearing up towards that. but, of course, this is also a smug moment for michel barnier, because this is where he says to everybody, you charged me with getting an orderly withdrawal of the united kingdom, just imagine if we were heading into was a no—deal brexit. actually you know no one is going to really noticed much difference that after brexit, because you are in this sort of standstill transition agreement the next day, so he is sort of patting himself on the back. are yyou suggesting that sometimes politicians might be smug? they are none of them investments are at the moment, by the wayjust to be clear, there is no one. none of that at all. none of that smug. none of that posturing or daft ideas, none of that going on. i think on the other side you know,

the eu was very aware that even though it also wanted to get on with it you know, if the uk was going with it, just wanted to go already. you know, the theme is not going to go away from the eu. so you know, brexit is not going to overshadow you business to the same extent you know come after it actually happened, but this trade deal is going to be a big deal. so, even though eu types like to say to now, look, china is a much bigger deal, for example, yes, you know, russia and iran and everything, but then the trade deal is a big dealfor the eu, and because of that time ticking away again, as it will be to the end of december, and you know, it will be a big focus for the eu for the whole of this year. i suppose though you know, there is just a little bit of sigh, next week there will be some ceremony of the legs going up and down an mep british meps packing their boxes and coming back for the last time. but as katya was suggesting the next bit is not going to be straightforward at all. you know, one of team barnier

was in london this week on a stuff casters will no, it's a critical part of barnier steam, some of whom listen to this podcast. he was in london this week think the next bit is going to be more complicated, but also coming outwith, because it's brexit, some a new very helpful metaphors. now, last week. food related metaphors with brexit, please, make them stop, if nothing else, come on it, people. we started with cake and now we are to salami or ravioli. wasn't there a cherry in there as well? i'm pretty sure there was a cherry. yes, yes, there was a cherry. i'm allover. i am all over ravioli, because... laughing. ravioli from bologna. i got it for you and only the best will do, laura. this is packaged supermarket ravioli, straight from the airport supermarket, so only glamour

here on brexit cast. is it tinned,it's got to be fresh, surely. it's not tinned. when i lived in brussels and i lived on tend ravioli. it's environmentally friendly plastic. how big is it? are they individual? ravioli as an individual... please, please direct ravioli is individual. you get that one massive ravioli. i was a raviolo. i was lunching with chris mason, and a cabinet minister, and we went to a restaurant, there was raviolio on the menu. the minister did not know what it was, when it came to him it's basically a massive, a single big parcel. that's the posh ravioli. that's what we are talking about here. this is what the eu wants, they want to ravioli oh, and not a ravioli. what does that mean though?

is basically saying, we have been talking but that's the last couple of podcasts, laura, the idea that the uk was think look, ok, we have got a short timetable, but what we will do, we will sort of rack up some wins you know? we will make an agreement over security, we will make an agreement over financial services, the uk hopes. and we will knock off all those agreements as we go along, and the eu is saying, no we have got this ambitious political declaration, we want a fully comprehensive trade deal, or we are going to pack all of that, you know, sort of content into our raviolio and you know, coat it with a little bit of, you know, sort of pasta around the edges, but we want to stop it all in that one bag, -- stufflt. not to have lots of little raviolis. that's it. this is absolutely exhilarating and marvellous, because we can see —— can't see. the ravioli it, if you are watching until he, you are lucky, you can see the ravioli that she's talking about, we can see it in the studio here,

which is a terrible disappointment. we will let you go, ciao bella. ciao. bye— bye, bye— bye. it's this other very important fact, i checked with stephan, this important part of team barnier about the ravioli idea. raviolo, let's get it right, come on now. now, he said he did not use the word ravioli. i saw that, where did it come from? he's been misquoted. it was not me. it was politco? it was politico. trying to find the source of the ravioli. he's said i prefer this kind of pasta where everything is integrated as a main course. exactly, pasta with sauce, this is another report, we will talk about serious things in a second, i promise, but as we always say, just because it's a serious object, doesn't mean you have to take itself seriously before people start shouting at me, not that they ever do, of course. i asked stefan what his favourite type of ravioli was and he said

truffle, or ricotta and spinach. so there you go. whereas everyone else is like... just plain tomato sauce, please. but to make a serious point, as the eu has been clear now, even though the commission president was talking about priorities and giving the impression from it they could be maybe this phased approach, we know behind closed doors that there are lots of conversations and cabinet and in government at the moment about what their mandate, what they will set out, so what are you hearing about when they set out, which we expect quite soon to match with them until we? —— don't we? think the fascinating one, this is not a hipster choice at all, it's a fisheries right? uk waters account for 42% of eu catches, and although it's a small industry, about 180,000 people in europe it is nonetheless kind of titanic in terms of who gets leverage over who. norway, which has got a looser range than the eu negotiates its fishing quarters every or committee think that's what britain wants as well, but that's a big chip for europe to give away. and you've got to remember,

think back, all of these things might feel quite a processy and people of process and tech on brexit cast, but those early battles of the last stage of the negotiation of at the timetable and about how important that proved to be at the end of the process, so all of this kind of early positioning is absolutely crucial. i think that's why you we are hearing messages from government about the direction of travel that they are going to go down, like we heard from the chancellor, who has been in davos when he was talking about their expectation of how closely tied to eu rules the uk is prepared to be, as we get further down the line. it's interesting isnt it? at the weekend, it was fair to say that sajid javid put the will is up some businesses. i probably shouldn't have said that. laughing. tell me more. what an elegant turn of phrase. cat amongst the pigeons. thank you very much, matt. when he said we are going to diverge from the question of divergence is of course how different will things be? and businesses as we know talked about it a lot over the years, really worried about how much they will have to change

if they want to keep selling into the european union. but he was talking today in davos and basically saying, look, we do want things to be different, the disruption has to be worth it, i suppose, for this government. they have to show why brexit was worth it, even though a lot of people are unhappy about it. but that is kind of a question about how far they go, matt, what are you hearing? i thank you are right, there is definitely a shift in the sajid javid language. when he was in davos, he said we will manattain high not because we were told to but because we want to, it is shifting to basically, nothing is going to change, but we are choosing that nothing is changing as an independent sovereign country. i think that's a big shift. from people who think that britain is going to be radically different come january next year, they are going to be disappointed. the fact that we are personally opting back into everything again, as an independent country, will try to sell that as a win. it's interesting, it will be essential question and in the light of the talks come as we go forward, to diverge or not to diverge, because in the chapters

in english today is well, —— and the chancellors language as well, we will notjust do it for the sake of it, but for a political point of view, if you take fishing as an example, i was talking to someone as an example, i was talking to someone today who is really involved in that, who perfectly admitted really openly, if privately, that economically i'm a it's a tiny part of the economy, but politically, it's like this giant pig told him, and if boris johnson it's like this giant pig told him, and if borisjohnson can say, hey, look, we have taken control of our waters and by this time in two years time, we catch more fish! us time, we catch more fish! us totally about the broader picture about where they won in the election, and some of those fishing communities who perhaps in the past had a labour tradition, who this time voted for the conservatives because of the brexit argument. if you do, if you like, if they view this as being sold out, you know, i was at the market when boris johnson was at the market when boris johnson was waving around his fish with a week before polling day. where were you when boris johnson week before polling day. where were you when borisjohnson waved his fish? i stunk for a week, honestly, i know, i know.

he loved in the fishermen, they loved him. is that when he said let slip the cod of war? i'm sure it was a whole shakespearean riff. anyway... i thank you are right, while you are talking about, you know, notjust doing things for the sake of it, but for image, but dealing with people who are obsessed with big ben. doing things for the sake of it and how things look is quite a lot of the case for doing this. i suppose showing and proving politically that you have done something is always politics, isn't it? you could argue that that was the heart of the referendum result, the sovereign aspect, perhaps not expressed in those terms, but that we can do what we want is a country, that speaks to a lot of people who voted to leave the european union. it's going to be part of what evolves, as does also what's going to happen with the opposition, do you see what i did the? great segue, wasn't it

i tried a couple times before, but it didn't work, so i really clumsy one. i feel like i'm learning from the master. amazing. well, this week, as last week, if you are watching or listening last week, we talked to kier starmer. who would, of course, is one of the front runners in the labour leadership race, but so is rebecca long bailey. we sat down with her yesterday to talk about the election, to talk about what she thought about brexit come to talk about why she wanted to be leader my end, you know, like most people in this race, this consensus that oh, welcome our brexit policy was confusing to me it was a bit —— while our brexit policy was confusing, it was a bit tricky to explain to people at the doorstep, and it was part of the problem, but it was really striking to me about how much shejust it was really striking to me about how much she just wanted to stick to what's been said. she kept using the word aspiration, which is not a very good corbyn word, that's a change of tone, but she did say she had a great set of policies, the right answers on the right solutions, and i went, and i'm not making anyjudgement on the labour manifesto whatsoever, but when you have had a strikingly enormous defeat, it's quite surreal,

actually to hear people kind of talk like that. like, actually, everything was brilliant, there were just problems over brexit and a bit of leadership and the issue of anti—semitism. do you think helen, because he followed it quite closely come and you think they're really confronting what actually happened in this race? i don't think she was, i thought that that interview was very assured from tone and manner where i enormous. she started off a campaign by writing an article for the guardian which was very vague and platitudinous, and then wrote something for tribute, because there are people for whom the guardian isn't left—wing enough, so she had to say no, no, i'm properly corbyn here. but it's interesting, as you say, she talked about aspiration, which you never hearjerk jeanette jimmy corbyn do ——which you never hearjeremy corbyn do that, that is definitely a break. but it does still very much feel like she hopes to be mantle, and actually, she hasn't managed hasn't managed to break free, and also come she knows there's a huge constituency who basically wants more jeremy corbyn. there was a permanent member

sang would you think is the best labour leader, and they said jeremy corbyn for stuff and last was tony blair, and you kind of think is the best labour leader, and they said jeremy corbyn for stuff and last was tony blair, and you kind of think from a welcome hang on want from what do you want from a labour leader? you want to question defeat, or you want it's interesting, she's also showing coming of them a bit more of who she is, should we have a listen to what she had to say? do you consider to have any tory friends? i'm sure have. i have got a group of friends who aren't political, we don't talk about politics, because you don't talk about politics when you are with nonpolitical trends. they probably voted for all sorts of different people. i don't know is the question. they wouldn't tell me if they did, because i would be angry. do you think that's right? do you have any tory friends and parliaments? not really, no. iam tory friends and parliaments? not really, no. i am friendly to everyone. you are putting yourself forward as labour leader, but of course, is also a potential prime minister. how do you thank you would handle that? i mean, you said like millions of us, one of your favourite things to do on a friday night, you get to take away, sit down with the family, can you imagine doing that in number ten? you come in the way of my netflix

and chinese take away on a friday night, probably wasn't excited enough when i said that them i don't know what they expect me to do, power gliding on a friday night or something like that. when you have a little seven—year—old boy and all you want to do is chill out in your pyjamas and watch netflix and have chinese, that's good enough for me. it's the netflix and she'll come you keep thinking it's going to end with chill. naturally, chinese, completely. have you ever been power gliding on a friday night? no, not any day of the week, but i quite like chinese. i don't know if we would eat chinese with rebecca long bailey, i thought the whole thing, i think is a performance, it was good, but the message was strange, but it speaks to the problem of this campaign, they have gone straight into trying to win over the people who twice chose someone who lost the election, they haven't yet come to terms with they haven't yet come to terms with the fact that there is this talk about who can win over tory voters, they are trying to win over corbyn voters. isa voters. is a point you talk to the party to get elected, then the electorate, who can marry the two, and she

pulled out because she was thinking i can't get past the gate of the labour movement before after talk to the country, its who can do both sides of it from at the moment, it feels like some of the candidates are getting through that party but first, because you have to come obviously. you have to, it's how the race works. i will be unfair and asked not alex, but ask the two of oui’ asked not alex, but ask the two of our special guest brexit casters who they think will win. i'm going to go with the consensus choice of care starmer, mind you, last time i think i went with yvette cooper, so... don't listen to helen if you are having about. mapped ?|j don't listen to helen if you are having about. mapped? ithink don't listen to helen if you are having about. mapped? i think all evidence suggests dear carmer. that's how they would say it in an american film. he is not the most interesting man in the world. he sort of coming through by not being overly interesting. he is being more interesting. he is being more interesting —— lisa nandy as being more interesting, it is trying to liven up a dull campaign. whether or not there is enough time left for

her. we don't have enough time, but i cannot help but ask you, talking of being interesting, so you go for your lunches with chris mason, don't you? i do. this is a practice in westminster, the awful cosy club we are always accused of being, people have lunch partners, which means you can novel at politicians two at a time, so to speak. what is chris like having lunch? that and wheelies, i tell you. absolute feel. maps, you go around with politicians, what is chris like? the one thing which i think is guaranteed is that chris will always have a putting. i can always tell which putting it's going to be, it was poached pears today. it's quite often a crumble or something. if there's anything on the menu that mentions yorkshire, he will always get that. quite often, the minister leaves as they did today. so chris

andl leaves as they did today. so chris and i sat and had a pudding and had and i sat and had a pudding and had a nice chat afterwards. how does he have time for putting?|j a nice chat afterwards. how does he have time for putting? i don't know, he does about 20 jobs and on the bbc, because they have no one left. that's better than him leaving his unpeeled have to eat and carrots around the newsroom, so i'm going to tell him off even more about that, because he does that. honestly, he really does do that, carrots are the words, but it's not just carrots. just bring them in peeled. or just don't just carrots. just bring them in peeled. orjust don't leave them on the desk. if he has had a pudding at lunchtime, he does not... he need them. he is in big trouble when he comes back next week, he is in big trouble next week when we are live at the radio theatre in london which is very exciting for an eve of brexit days special breakfast cast photo neck show. so if you can come along to that, marvellous, if not, it will be on the telly as usual, but that's all we've got time for tonight, but it's been lovely having you guys. helen, matt, thank you so very much indeed. that is it. goodbye. goodbye.

hello. high pressure may well have kept much of the uk drive for the past week, but for the second half of the week, it's kept much of the uk cloudy, misty and murky. it's all set to change though, but that change will come first with a spell of rain, spreading east across the uk on sunday, then after that, colder, brighter, but showery and some wintry showers and places as well. so here is what is happening. higher pressure is on the way out during saturday, by sunday, this weather friend sweeps east with its rain, and it's behind that that we pick up the breeze, bring back some sunshine, but bring showers in that will give some snow in places. particularly sunday night into monday morning, as we will see in a moment. for the start of the

weekend, for saturday morning, the chilly side towards the far south of england, may be a hint of frost in the colder spots, but mostly frost free, plenty of cloud, drizzly misty murky in places, something a bit brighter that migrates northward to crest england and wales during the day, but even behind that, thicker cloud comes back with some patchy rain and drizzle, could see a bit of fat towards parts of northern ireland and certainly to scavenge, especially in the west. quite windy towards northwest scotland, brain training was persistent in the western aisles to end the day, and thatis western aisles to end the day, and that is the weather friend we saw earlier. this is the rain from its, pushing it and of an island overnight morning and into western scotla nd overnight morning and into western scotland as well. another frost free start to the day on sunday. so, sunday than is all about the rain moving east, but also that change to colder conditions behind, a mark change in colour here showing up, that's the colder air moving in, it's within that that there will be brighter skies for early next week, but also these showers had a chance of seeing some snow showers in

places. so, as we go on through sunday, we will see that rain pushing east through all areas, clearing quite quickly from northern ireland, later in the day, reaching the far southeast of england. a bit behind the ring to its western parts of england and wales, but the best of england and wales, but the best of the sunshine on sunday will be in northern ireland and scotland, although there may be the odd shower following him behind. take a look at the temperatures, a much older feel two things once that rain has moved on through. but windier day across the board as well. rain clears the southeast on sunday night, but then this next system comes in overnight and into monday morning, and there isa and into monday morning, and there is a chance that northern ireland, northern england, scotland seeing snow to relatively low levels early oni snow to relatively low levels early on i see in places that don't get caught out by that, on monday, for the show is coming in towards the south and west, wintry on hills, in the north and another breezy day. it will be a colder start to next week, but then by the end of the week, turning milder again.

welcome to bbc news — i'm lewis vaughan james. our top stories: china confirms another 15 deaths from the respiratory coronavirus as the first cases in europe are confirmed. at least 11; people are dead after a powerful earthquake strikes eastern turkey. the search for survivors continues. hello and welcome to bbc news. china is celebrating the lunar new year holiday, but the festive spirit is being dampened by drastic measures to prevent the spread

of the virus that has reportedly killed up to 41 people, and infected almost 1300.