this the headlines take the chinese leader has said the new strain of coronavirus is accelerating its spread, the country in a grave situation. experts say the human to human transmission is the only plausible explanation for the scale of the epidemic. they estimate more than 50 people have now been killed by the virus in china. lawyers representing donald trump have become the defence in his impeachment trial saying the president has done nothing wrong. i said democrats in the senate have shown he abused his power and in attempting to remove him from office before the election. the turkish president has gone to eastern turkey where rescue workers are searching for survivors of the earthquake. 29 people are known to have died in 1400 people are known to have died in moo have been injured. residents have been wound that make warned not to return to damaged buildings because of possible after—shocks.

last year nearly 7 million of us used by now pay later companies to help spread the cost of online purchases. firms like clear pay allow people to delay payment, spread the car. over a number of months. charities are warning the people are not being given enough information about hidden fees. checking out but paying nothing. millions of us now up to spread the pain ofa millions of us now up to spread the pain of a purchase. some of the biggest online stores now given a choice to delay payment for an extra few weeks. no extra fees and with next to no checking. unsurprisingly it isa next to no checking. unsurprisingly it is a popular click with shoppers. so let's go shopping. i think the scheme is great because you could get stuck for money and didn't really need something for an event but you know you will get paid at the end of the month and you have enough money to stretch. it makes us feel like we get a deal and it rings

them more money. if you are sensible and responsible and keep up with your finances then why not? we found out that payments through the biggest three companies have nearly doubled over the past year. layby have seen a big demand from shops to get the option added to their online checkout. there is an average up list and people are spending more because they can spread the payments? the average order value is significantly higher as a result of pain by layby. most of these companies have been operating for a few years down under so the australian regulator has published this review. they found that 60% of customers are under 34. and that some customers can become financially overcommitted because of it. the financial conduct authority here have told me they do not regulate any firms not charging interest. that they do monitor the market. debt charities are already

concerned that customers are not being given enough information. we wa nt to being given enough information. we want to ensure that the people who use these products know the terms and conditions they are signing up to. if you don't know when the payment terms will kick in or what charges and fees may be associated, you cannot make a wise choice. not keeping up with repayments can damage your credit rating and with numbers growing so quickly it is a problem that could increase. now on bbc news, a look back at the fall of the romanian —— of the romanian dictator in witness history. hello and welcome to witness history with me, razia iqbal, here at the royal academy in london. today, we will hear from five people who have lived through an incredible moments in history. coming up — the woman who defied the salvadoran government over the murder of six priests. the town that was poisoned by asbestos.

and the agricultural scientist who helped save a billion lives. but, first, of all of the revolutions that swept across eastern europe just over 30 years ago, the overthrow of nicolae ceausescu and his wife elena in romania was the bloodiest. the uprising began in the western city of timisoara where a local pastor, laszlo tokes, took a stand against the authorities. the unrest started in timisoara in transylvania following the arrest of pastor laszlo tokes. laszlo tokes, who was an outspoken critic of the government, refused to leave when the secret police came to arrest him. several hundred churchgoers gathered to stop them. i did not want to become a revolutionary. but step by step my attitude was radicalised because we had to speak out. he was a stalinist—type dictator.

the romanian system became more and more cruel. we were under total control by the securitate, the romanian secret service. the church became a centre of peaceful opposition. i did not make politics. i only tried to express that we must obey god rather than men. it wasn't just that he was a gifted preacher. he was the first man they had ever known who was prepared to stand up and challenge the ceausescu dictatorship and its deadly security network. people began to gather around my church. looking out through my windows onto the large crowd, sincerely to say, i was frightened

of the probable consequences of that brave demonstration. i remember people began to sing patriotic songs to shout against the regime. "liberty, liberty! "down with nicolae ceausescu!" the army was very cruel, very violent. about 50 people were killed in a day. that was the bloodiest day in timisoara. in very short time, the demonstrations enlarged into the neighbouring cities. nicolae ceausescu is fighting for his political life in the only way he knows how — the violent suppression of any kind of protest. in the morning of the 17th of december, we were taken by

the securitate in a very brutal way. it was clear for us that we are to be executed or imprisoned. my wife was pregnant with our second child, which later on was born, i think was our angel in that time and protected us when we were prepared for the worst. romanians went on anti—ceausescu rampage as the army joined the revolution. thanks to god, we had a little radio apparatus and were informed that the ceausescu couple were on the run. translation: romanian brothers, we come here to the romanian broadcast company to tell you that the dictator has fallen! to let you know that the country is free! with an angry rooftop mob closing in on them,

the ceausescus panicked and made their escape by helicopter. it was a wonder, and we considered it a gift from god on christmas for the people. that was the most joyful day in our full life. laszlo tokes on the romanian revolution of 1989. next, a story of identity, loyalty, and betrayal. in the 1950s and ‘60s, the french colony in algeria in north africa was battling for independence. but some algerian chose to fight on the side of france — they were called the harkis. when france lost the war in 1962,

it abandoned its former colony. in post—independent algeria, thousands of harkis faced brutal prosecution for siding with the former colonial ruler. surge carol was one, and he has been telling witness history about his ordeal. translation: the harki were local forces on the side of the french army in algeria's independence war. we gave everything for france but what we didn't know was that france would abandon us. newsreel: as tensions rise in french north africa, france arms her algerian supporters for defence against rebel raids. the prefect of this province personally hands out weapons to recruits where hundreds are being enrolled daily.

translation: i was about 17 and a half, 18 years old at the time. you had to choose between france and the fln rebels. my father had been in the french army and fought in world war i. my brothers were also in the french army. so i chose france. i was proud of what we did. proud of serving france. we were always sent out in front of the french troops. if there was an attack, the harki would be the first to die. we had to get rid of the fighters

who were terrorising the population. we always knew at that one day algeria would gain its independence. what general de gaulle should have done was take all the harki and theirfamilies to safety in france. but when independence was declared in 1962, they french disarmed the harki and left us defenseless. the fln took advantage of this and rounded us all up. they took me to a barracks where there were 50 other harki prisoners. there was blood everywhere. they stripped me naked and started torturing me with electric shocks.

each time a new group of soldiers came on shift, they began again. the same thing every day. the fln even made us dig our own graves. some people were thrown in alive, some were thrown into the river and the jackals did the rest. i was arrested onjuly the 8th 1962. and i escaped on september the 10th 1962. it took me a long time to feel welcome here in france. i decided to change my name and convert to catholicism. i wanted to make a fresh start. i could say that i was born under

a lucky star and that i am lucky. but not all of them were so lucky. and that is the fault of france. surge carol, an algerian muslim who fought on the side of the colonial power france in the war for algerian independence. now to australia and a tail of environmental devastation. the town of wittenoom in western australia emerged in the 1940s and ‘50s around a profitable blue asbestos mine. asbestos, a natural fire retardant was in high demand. but in wittenoom, people were unaware that raw asbestos could be lethal. thousands died and the town is now almost completely abandoned. bronwyn duke grew up there. people were warned but they did not take it seriously until people started to die.

i lost both parents, both grandparents, my brother, three uncles, about four cousins that i can think of, and that is just the immediate family in my world. i was born in 1958 in the far north of western australia in a little town called wittenoom. the blue asbestos mine was the genesis of the town. asbestos is a naturalfibre that is encased in rocks. they would extract the asbestos out of the mine and the mill would actually then bag it ready for shipment and it was sent to places around the world for the various things that they use asbestos for. newsreel: this is fire insulating product known as asbestos. it is a piece of rock. the practical uses are very numerous. at least 18,000 articles are made of it, ranging from steam engines

to bulkheads for aeroplanes. there were a lot of immigrants that came to australia after the second world war. a lot of them were looking forjobs and there were jobs to be had in wittenoom. my dad was one of them. he was the jack of all trades, he drove the bus to take the people from town to the mine every day. my mum and sisters all met their husbands there. they had all the elements of a normal country town. they had race days and social activities that everyone was involved in. but my parents were not aware of the dangers. i don't think a lot of the people in town were aware of the dangers. asbestos fibres get into the lungs and those fibres can cause asbestos or mesothelioma. it encases the lung in cancer and prevents it from breathing.

in wittenoom, asbestos was not confined to the mines. in wittenoom, the asbestos wasn't confined to the mine. asbestos was used on driveways and gardens, on the roads as well. it was literally everywhere. if you went out to play, as all children do, you were playing in asbestos. one of the flying doctors flew into town and said as soon as he got there, we have to close this, this has to stop. the mine was very profitable, so it was decided that that was not the case. it was 1966 before they actually closed the mine. people had started to die. we left when my dad got sick. we now know that he had asbestosis. it's almost like an asthma attack where you can't breathe and you're fighting to catch your breath.

my mum and my brother died from mesothelioma. hundreds of people that i know of have died. the allele asbestosis. everyone in this photo is gone. there is no compensation for taking away your parents. oryourfamily. there is nojustice at all, nothing. money does not bring them back. money doesn't compensate for their death, or what you miss. bronwyn duke on the devastating legacy of asbestos and one western australian town. remember that you can watch witness history every month on the bbc news channel or you can catch up on all films along with over a thousand radio programmes on act online programmes. search online for bbc witness history. now, the civil war in el salvador. throughout the 1980s, rebels were fighting the us backed government. 1989, the government soldiers

dragged six jesuit priests from their beds and murdered them. it changed the course of the war. the salvadoran government blamed for killings on rebels. a brave woman stood up to the authorities providing important testimony that contradicted the official version. she told her story to witness history. the funeral took place at the university. they were leading intellectuals. thousands came to mourn. not just for the dead men, but because they symbolise for the hope that el salvador might once again become a country where power came from the ballot box and not from the barrel of a gun.

translation: the priests were always on the side of the poor. it still hurts to remember them and to remember what happened. i will keep telling the story until my dying days. i can never forget it. the government are fighting the biggest guerilla offensive since 1981. the rebels have moved into the capital enforcement have held their positions for more than 12 hours. translation: there were rebels and soldiers shooting all over the place. we couldn't go out and food and water were running low. i was very nervous. i worked as a cleaner at the jesuit university. i called one of the priests and ask if we could come and shelter with my husband and daughter.

he said yes of course, come. it all happened just after midnight. we were woken up by the sound of gunfire near the entrance to the university. i got up and went to an open window to look out. i could see the shadows of men, near the entrance to the room they were soldiers. i heard one of the priests it was an injustice, a disgrace. then i heard shouting and more shooting. after that there was just silence. the killing that has caused the most outrage is the killing of six priests shot yesterday morning.

translation: the government said it was the guerrillas that killed them. i said no it was the army i had seen the soldiers. they did not like me saying that. after that, i was taken with my husband and daughter to the airport and put on a plane. thejesuits said they could not protect me in el salvador. i guess that i was there for a reason that night. another person might have kept quiet and not spoken out. but as god says, you have to do something in this life and i did something. lucia on speaking out against the salvadoran government. ourfinal story is about a man his work is said to help us save a billion people

from hunger and famine. in 1970 the american scientist norman borlog was awarded nobel peace prize for his pioneering work developing disease resistant crops. at the time, famine and malnutrition were claiming millions of lives the world. his work meant countries like india were able to become self—sufficient. witness history hears from his friend. if the field is uniform you get a general picture of what it is likely to yield. the man who fed the world. norman borlog praised saving more lives than anyone in history. we were in the field hard at work and looked up and saw a car. he said, whoa, that looks like margaret. margaret was his wife, she says, norman, you won the nobel prize. he didn't believe that, he comes

back and we go back to work. obviously, lam personally honoured beyond all dreams. by this election. but the obligations in post not are far greater _by —— by the owners are far greater than honour to cell. —— honours impulsed. he grew up in the great depression. he saw a lot of bloodlines, a lot of people out of work. a lot of people in poverty. he wa nted work. a lot of people in poverty. he wanted to do something to benefit people. he started his work in mexico in the 1960s, developing high—yielding disease resistant wheat that boosted harvest and became known as the green revolution. he was trained as a plant pathologist. he was trying to protect plants from diseases and specifically,

to do something about the rust disease that was wiping out the crop in mexico. what is rust disease? it's a fungus, it's carried in the wind. it is the worst plant disease in the world, so he set about to develop rust resistant wheat varieties. i was iwas in i was in my 20s, he was in his 50s, but i had trouble keeping up with him. they say food is not the problem, i say it will be a continuing problem. india is especially concerned. over half its population are extremely vulnerable to famine. india didn't have a chance of feeding their population. tens of millions of people were dying from hunger and malnutrition so it was considered at the time i hopeless situation. the green revolution essentially eliminated famine.

this did not necessarily solve all of the problems of hunger but it gave india a chance. his techniques did attract critics. the plants, it was said, were too reliant on chemicals, the farming too intensive. but just imagine what would have happened in the absence of this green revolution. an environmental disaster and hungry people. the figure that was always used was that dr borlaug saved a billion lives, and i think it was probably true. dr borlaug and his revolutionary work to create new grains. that is all from us this week. we will be back next month with more first—hand accounts of extraordinary moments in history. but now, from me, goodbye.

hello, sunny skies are on the way back but it's going to feel colder. there will be showers and it will be windy. it all follows a spell of rain on sunday, low pressure making things very changeable again after high pressure, which may have kept us dry but certainly recently it has given us these grey, gloomy skies, and it did again on saturday. sunday starts without a frost, dry across the east except for the odd shower. wet in the west. the rain from this weather front moving west to east across the uk on sunday. behind that wet weather we're in the blue. this is the colder air coming in.

within that there will be sunny skies to start the new week, also showers, cold enough for those to be wintry in places, as we will see in a moment. let's follow the progress of sunday's rain. quickly out of northern ireland, pushing through scotland in the morning. the sunshine comes after the rain. it should clear northern england, wales, the west of england into the afternoon. turns a bit brighter there. still there to end the afternoon across east anglia and south—west england. wintry on hills in scotland. a windy day. with the rain it turns colder, so that combined with the wind will make a chillier feeling to things during sunday afternoon, despite the fact the sunshine reappears in places. with that cold our showers move east on sunday night. we focus on northern ireland, northern england and scotland, because here some of those showers will fall as snow on hills, relatively modest hills, and quite low levels across some parts of scotland. a few centimetres in places possible. ice on untreated services going into monday morning, so don't get caught out by that. monday, yes, there is some sunshine around, the eastern spots will stay dry.

showers pushing into the south and west will be happy, possibly thundery, maybe some hail. wintry across northern hills. a bright but blustery day for many of us. again, that wind is a factor in making for a colder feeling to things compared to recently. low pressure stays in charge of our weather for the rest of the week, initially anchored towards the north—west here, and bringing in the showers, especially towards the south and the west of the uk. so the week will start with a colder feeling to things compared to recently. some frosty nights around as well. there will be some sunshine, but we have noticed some showers, cold enough for some of these to be wintry, especially across northern hills. windy through the week with low pressure close by, but by the end of the week it will start to feel different again and temperatures are on the up. unsettled, yes, dominated by low pressure and changeable, but later in the week, although it's still windy and wet at times,

it does look milder.

this is bbc news. china's president, xijinping, has said the new coronavirus is spreading faster, putting the country in a grave situation. it is known to have killed at least 56 people. our china correspondent stephen mcdonell has been to hubei, in central china. the approaches to hubei province are like scenes from an apocalyptic movie. only after a temperature scan can you pass these checkpoints.