this is bbc world news today. our top stories: one of basketball‘s all—time greats, kobe bryant, has been killed in a helicopter crash in southern california. reports say his helicopter went down into a hillside in calabasas in fog. he was 41. if our culture could somehow bottle all of the things that kobe possessed in his character, we would be selling condos on the moon these days. he had that sort of ability to just transform everything. chinese officials warn that the coronavirus‘s ability to spread is getting more effective

and say new measures will be taken to control the disease. after more clashes in iraq, the shia cleric, moqtada al—sadr, tells his supporters to clear the streets to avoid further strife. hello, and welcome to world news today. the former basketball star, kobe bryant, has died in a helicopter crash in southern california. reports say his helicopter went down into a hillside in calabasas in fog. he was 41. kobe bryant is one of basketball‘s all—time greats. he spent his career with the los angeles lakers. this is a live shot from calabasas, in california, where you can still see the aftermath of the crash with smoke still rising. let's get the latest now from our correspondent david willis in los angeles.

shocking news. what do we know at this stage? i can tell you that in the last few minutes, los angeles la kers the last few minutes, los angeles lakers kim of the team that kobe brya nt lakers kim of the team that kobe bryant spent his entire career playing for, have just confirmed this news and news reported by multiple news outlets here. that kobe bryant was one of five people on board that helicopter that crashed in cala basas, on board that helicopter that crashed in calabasas, about 20 miles from downtown los angeles in a remote area. there are people at mountain biking there who actually spotted this crash and reported it to officials. but confirmed here by the team that he was such a star playing for, the los angeles lakers, that kobe bryant has indeed died at the age of 41. at this stage, no details why this helicopter may have gone down? a lot of speculation

already that poor visibility may have played a part in this crash. it has been very foggy here in the last few days. there were reports as well on local media that this helicopter was seen losing altitude before it crashed. in this fairly remote hillside area in calabasas. needless to say, officials he will carry out an investigation and federal officials as well into the precise cause of this disaster. he played his entire 20 year career with the los angeles lakers, a huge global star. what reaction have we heard at this stage in the last hour since this stage in the last hour since this news emerged? a lot of sadness expressed already on the part of the sporting community. i mean, kobe brya nt sporting community. i mean, kobe bryant was let's face it one of the greatest nba players of all time. just look at the statistics during that 20 year career, 18 nba all—star

titles, won the nba five times and he was also somebody who took his career beyond basketball. he won an 0scar career beyond basketball. he won an oscar for a career beyond basketball. he won an 0scarfor a from career beyond basketball. he won an oscar for a from about basketball backin oscar for a from about basketball back in 2018. and was seen as a leading advocate for the game of basketball despite having retired a few years ago. you mentioned reaction, we have already got some from president trump as well who tweeted a short while ago reports that kobe bryant and others have been killed in a crash in california, terrible news and summed up california, terrible news and summed up the sadness quite well by the mayor of los angeles who tweeted a short while ago this is a moment that leaves a struggling to find words that express a man to have shock us we are feeling right now. i am keeping kobe bryant's entire family in his prep —— in my prayers at this time of unimaginable grief. you mentioned an entire family, he leaves behind for daughters one born

only last year. one born in june of last year and another actually who was eight or is a promising basketball star of her own. there have been reports unconfirmed that another member of the family may have been on board that private helicopter. we simply don't have confirmation of those reports at this time. david thank you very much. stay with us, david willis in los angeles and to look at those pictures from calabasas at the crash site where the los angeles sheriff has confirmed all the people on the helicopter have perished with kobe brya nt helicopter have perished with kobe bryant on board. let's bring injoe wilson our sports correspondent. you met him at the olympics. this is one interesting aspect of his career anything to perceive these big stars of the nba as huge individuals and

sometimes literally cute, these tall strong men who commanded a great presence, great wages and great fame. but in 2008 when the olympics we re fame. but in 2008 when the olympics were in beijing, iwas fame. but in 2008 when the olympics were in beijing, i was based fame. but in 2008 when the olympics were in beijing, iwas based in macau and that is where the us team we re macau and that is where the us team were practising. ithink macau and that is where the us team were practising. i think for memory they called that team the redeem team because they were desperate for a basketball to achieve something on a basketball to achieve something on a national level. for all the stars to come into the us team who had been competing obviously day in and day out with big egos, let's face it, and somebody had to bring these guys together and by general consent i think it was kobe bryant who did that. they won gold in 28 and again in 2012 but i grew up being a sports journalist of the uk where our approach to our stars is quite different than what it is in the us and certainly in basketball. the idea there was he walked onto the court if a player wanted to talk to you, he would talk to you and i re call you, he would talk to you and i recall waiting there as kobe bryant is shaping up his knee and when can i say can we have an interview or

not? it was quite a nerve—racking thing and matthew all players generally did and this is one aspect i think when talking about these big names of us passable, during the 20 years of his fame, i think it has branched out beyond the us and more foreign players are in the nba also the nba has spread out more. play matches in london and there is a matches in london and there is a match this year scheduled and moved to paris. talking about a time when these players became real globalstar is andl these players became real globalstar is and i think the nba has always sought to cart —— carve out its market share with the robbery with baseball and the nfl obviously by making some of its stars really high—profile. —— rivalry. the arc of kobe bryant's high—profile. —— rivalry. the arc of kobe brya nt's life high—profile. —— rivalry. the arc of kobe bryant's life is really quite extraordinary, not least because in the eyes of many people in the us, he had to rebuild his reputation in 2003 and 2004, the sexual assault accusation which was dropped from trial in the end but there was a civil lawsuit after it. i think in

the eyes of many people, after that, kobe bryant's the eyes of many people, after that, kobe brya nt's life the eyes of many people, after that, kobe bryant's life and develop media was one of redemption. and he managed to rid himself of the eyes of the public. everyone has their different perception of her dish and of course but i think of attributes coming in today are a clear sign of the way that kobe bryant did that. such a long career which is not totally unusual for basketball players. but to have that career in one place with one franchise, that is really remarkable. how early did his talent show through? his dad was a very successful basketball player. i think his first professional contract with the los angeles lakers was back in 96, so i'm usually a very young man, 96 or 97, and i think people even before that was to give his incredible drive. and his incredible focus. on basketball, basketball was everything to him.

and that makes it interesting that just recently come up with the poem that became a film, there were signs he was actually basque —— branching out into using basketball as a platform for other things and that is what fascinates me and i suppose is what fascinates me and i suppose is particularly sad that you think what could he have done with that fame in his position that basketball gave him for the next 30 or 40 years he might have had in his life. there is no doubt that basketball players play a particularly unique role i think in broader society in the us. when you were up close to him and wash and play, what was so special about what you saw on that court? he was 66", which seems tall. but is not extraordinarily tall. there was an error in basketball where the idea was he had to have guys who we re well over idea was he had to have guys who were well over seven foot or the famous quote the one thing you cannot coach is hot, if you have hi, you've got it, you cannot make somebody taller. i think fourth and

the all—time nba list with 30,000 points and think about that for a moment. the schedule that those guys play day in and day out, they go on the road and play four matches a week or something, it is incredible. sol week or something, it is incredible. so i think they would call him a shooting guard would have been his position so he was a guy who could do everything on the court. a dynamic player, famous as much for his skill as his sheer height and size. joe, thank you very much, joe wilson our sports correspondent and asjoe wilson our sports correspondent and as joe speaks, we wilson our sports correspondent and asjoe speaks, we are watching this scene 20 miles or so outside los angeles, the town of calabasas in the health of their receipt smoke rising from the scene of a helicopter crash with all five people on board killed in the crash in one of them we know now kobe bryant, one of the all—time greatest basketball players. david willis is following the story from los angeles and david, give us a sense of the reaction we have been hearing and also we might hear more information about what happened. absolutely. i

should point out that the los angeles lakers a short while ago since we have been on air in fact this ever have confirmed that kobe brya nt this ever have confirmed that kobe bryant was one of five people who died in this crash at calabasas. there are unconfirmed reports that one of his four daughters, known as gg, was on board that helicopter but i stress that those are unconfirmed reports at this time. we are getting reports at this time. we are getting reports as well that this helicopter was carrying kobe bryant and others toa was carrying kobe bryant and others to a basketball practice at a place called thousand oaks, which is not farfrom called thousand oaks, which is not far from los angeles. called thousand oaks, which is not farfrom los angeles. you mentioned their reaction and we have had reaction of course from president trump saying this is terrible news andi trump saying this is terrible news and i think really capturing the local mood here. because he was a

son of los angeles, kobe bryant. the los angeles mayor intuiting a short while ago this is a moment that leaves a struggling to find words to express and magnitude of a shock and sorrow. express and magnitude of a shock and sorrow. that we are all feeling right now. david, thank you very much, reporting live from los angeles as you look at that scene not far away from los angeles, calabasas, the hillside there where after 12 minutes after 1pm local time and we thought this happened around 10am local time. all five people on board have died with the tmc website the first to show —— break the news. and in the hour or two since the news came out it has been confirmed that kobe bryant was on that helicopter. tmz reported he was travelling with four others on

his private helicopter when it went down and a fire broke out. there was a quick response or emergency personnel, but nobody however on board survived. five people confirmed dead according to los angeles county sheriff. and kobe brya nt angeles county sheriff. and kobe bryant famously has used a helicopter to travel for years. it dates back to when he played for the los angeles lakers where he spent his 20 year career. he was known for commuting from newport beach california to the staples centre in his helicopter and he is survived by his helicopter and he is survived by his wife vanessa. they have four daughters. and they have a daughter a few months old. he leaves behind four daughters. let's get some of the tributes and some of the sense of shock that has come from the exporting world and beyond. they have been paying their tributes to kobe bryant.

the football club ac milan also tweeting. sam neter is a journalist and creator of the basketball website hoopsfix. your thoughts on this news. your thoughts on this newslj your thoughts on this news. i am as shocked as anyone else. somebody 41 years old and recently retired four years old and recently retired four years ago. he transcends sports and is one of the few global sporting superstars the average person on the street who does not know about

sports would care who he is. i have seen sports would care who he is. i have seen other attributes coming in and just how many lives he has touched over his career. the face of the nba for pretty much the past two decades and it was just 18 for pretty much the past two decades and it wasjust 18 hours for pretty much the past two decades and it was just 18 hours ago that he was congratulating lebron james for passing them on the all—time scoring list and to imagine where we are now in sucha list and to imagine where we are now in such a short period of time is so tragic. i think that so many players in the nba today and all over the world will be —— will be play basketball if it was not for kobe bryant. he was idolised by many and somebody looked up to because of what he did on the court. you name it, he has done it. holds some records, 15 titles, two—time olympian, all—star, mvp, regular—season mvp, finals mvp, has done it all and to lose his life is such a tragic way is just so sad and so such a tragic way is just so sad and so hard to put into words. what was it about him that turned him into

one of the greatest basketball players of all time? just the work ethic. and people, they really were attached to that. someone that just was not rely onjust his god—given abilities and talent. somebody that there are just countless stories of 3m workouts, staying after a game and shooting for hours and hours. so sorry to interrupt ballistic alive news c0 nfe re nce sorry to interrupt ballistic alive news conference from calabasas. let's listen in. mr donner said he is currently shocked and devastated today on peering the news, adding that aces nation has lost its heartbeat. the entire school district as its deepest condolences to the bryant family. our basketball teams no doubt will pay tribute to mr bryant as our season continues but at this time as a district, we

will concentrate on supporting those in our community, including coach down or an english teacher, whom mr brya nt down or an english teacher, whom mr bryant credited with his working his love of writing. thank you for being here. will you be taking questions? i don't have a lot of information to add. can you give us a sort of feeling from the upper levels of the administration? we heard about it on the news i guess like most of this afternoon so obviously it was very sudden. standing in for the gymnasium that bears his name. this is the kobe bryant gymnasium and where our team places passed ball games and where our kids have gym class going forward every day. what is the school schedule going to be? we are still meeting with the school administration and trying to decide what to do and we will support our

staff in coming days we have not made decisions yet. what was your personal interaction with mr bryant? i never met him. i am a graduate here but ijoined a district long after he graduated. on the door behind us, from your involvement in this community from being from here ona this community from being from here on a personal level, how important is this, him to his community? mr brya nt is this, him to his community? mr bryant if the person most identified with this high school and school district throughout the world. my own children have been travelling in foreign countries wearing their high school t—shirts or jackets foreign countries wearing their high school t—shirts orjackets and people all over the world have walked up to them and said kobe bryant. he is that we are identified around the world. this is a difficult time for our community. when is the last time he was here at the school? i would have to look that up, i don't know. if members of

the news media want to come in to the news media want to come in to the gym, we have some euros on the wall and a display case of the memorabilia of his, so... that is a neat but men from the high school that kobe bryant went to giving tribute to him and their reaction standing rock and for the gymnasium that bears his name in his honour, saying that he was the most famous student of course from that school, none all around the world. sam is still listening in and sam, remind us still listening in and sam, remind us how young kobe bryant was when he was spotted as a real talent.|j mean, as you hear, he was drafted straight to the nba out of high school before the lee put in a ruler stipulates that now players have to do at least one year of college. the world has grown up with him. he was drafted when he was 17 and in the league when he was 18 years old he we nt league when he was 18 years old he went to the growing pains with him as sort of quite a famous first

playoff series against utah where he air balled three shots down the stretch in the clutch and that was on the world stage. the nisi and rebound from that and over the rest of his career became one of the clutch players in nba history people could rely on every time the needed a bucket. he always rose to the occasion. and he was one of those players that when the lights were on was when he was at his best. so the world has grown up with him. i grew up world has grown up with him. i grew up with him. so many of the current generation of players in the nba and around the world owe so much to him and his career. just so tragic and so and his career. just so tragic and so sad. that was where he began. how much did hit paying him to have to retire eventually? what sort of plans that he have for his future? watching the transition from athlete

to all the things that he has been doing since. he has written books and honestly won an academy award for his short film that was released which was kind of his owed to basketball talking about the impact that it has had on his life and his love for it. involved in various investments and to think of all the things that he was doing and could have done after basketball and for that to be cut short makes it all the more tragic. i think that he would've continued to be a spokesperson for the nba and for basketball and one of the faces of it. so again for him to lose his life so young isjust unbelievable, ha rd life so young isjust unbelievable, hard to put into words. sam, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this new some of the tragic news of the death of kobe brya nt tragic news of the death of kobe bryant the basketball legend at the age of 41. let's show you the scene live from the hillside in calabasas,

20 miles or so from los angeles in one of the shots were looking at. the smoke rising steel from the helicopter crash which took place just a few hours ago. reported by the los angeles county sheriff department that five people were confirmed dead, no survivors at all from that crash involving a helicopter and then it was confirmed after initial reports on the tmz website, that kobe bryant, one of the all—time greatest baseball players was on board the helicopter, his private helicopter we believe. let's go over to singapore and talk to my colleague. a massive basketball fan. he interviewed kobe when he interviewed —— visited asia. your thoughts on hearing the terrible news. it was so sad and

very devastating when i learned about the news about kobe bryant, who has won five nba championships. he was on 16 all—star teams. he was the nba finals mvp twice. and this year, he could have been on the nba basketball hall of fame, definitely he isa basketball hall of fame, definitely he is a unanimous vote to be among the greatest basketball players of all time. i interviewed kobe bryant about ten years ago when he was on his mamba tour. he is known as the mamba. he is such a kind and down—to—earth gentleman. when he entered the room, the first thing he said to meet was high, how are you?

he knew my name! we did a buddy bump and even a fist bump. i said wow, this guy is one of the best basketball players of all—time and he not have any ego. he was such a simple man. we talked about his basketball career up until that time in 2010. he had just wanted nba championship with shaquille o'neal, that was a second championship with the shaq full sum i asking what is next? he said i want to win more championships and i want to retire asa championships and i want to retire as a los angeles lakers. he retired backin as a los angeles lakers. he retired back in 2016 after a legendary and very memorable 20 year career with the los angeles lakers. and i will never forget that time that i spent

with him. it was about 50 minutes and even after the interview, i bought a jersey and i was asking him to sign it. and then he had some assistance around him and they said no, no, no, you cannot have your jersey signed by kobe bryant and he said forget about them, rico, come here let me sign yourjersey. he said to rico, love, kobe bryant. ella never really forget that minutes that i had with the legendary kobe bryant. around ten yea rs legendary kobe bryant. around ten years ago. it really makes me so sad that we have lost one of the greatest basketball players of all time. and to you as such an avid basketball fan, what was it about kobe bryant in particular that made him so special? there are many

things about kobe bryant that made him so special. i mean, he was very accommodating. he lived a great basketball career on and off the court. he was very down to earth. he was very court. he was very down to earth. he was very genuine as a person. court. he was very down to earth. he was very genuine as a person. and i think that is what he will be remembered for throughout his basketball career. and of course winning all of those most valuable player awards and of course just recently there was a tribute to kobe brya nt recently there was a tribute to kobe bryant because lebron james, recently there was a tribute to kobe bryant because lebronjames, who i also interviewed about five years ago, surpassed kobe bryant as the number three basketball score in the nba of all time. so he will be a lwa ys nba of all time. so he will be always remembered for his kindness, for his generosity and for being a

great shooter. someone who came straight out of high school to make an impact in the world of basketball. and he will also be rendered particularly here in asia. he grew the game here in asia. maybe about 22 years ago, nobody really was a big fan of the nba, but he went out of his way to visit asia, singapore, the philippines, china, which are big basketball meccas, and he promoted the sport. he was a great ambassador for the nba, he promoted the sport. he was a great ambassadorfor the nba, not only in the united states, but here in asia where it is now a huge support. and has a huge following. in asia where it is now a huge support. and has a huge followinglj was support. and has a huge following.” was going to ask you that as asia wa kes was going to ask you that as asia wakes up to this news just coming up to 5:30am or you are. how much of an impact given that basketball and

kobe bryant had become so popular in recent years? very popular. he is a very popular basketball figure in china, in the philippines, which these countries are where basketball isa these countries are where basketball is a religion. he is basically —— has spread the popularity of the nba across many countries here in the region. that is why the nba is such an important part of everyone's basketball lives here in asia, particularly for myself. i have a lwa ys particularly for myself. i have always tried to watch three or four nba gamesa always tried to watch three or four nba games a week after work. and when i see it kobe bryant at staples

centre watching any of the massive ball games i would always tell my son i interviewed that guy. i interviewed kobe bryant. i will never, ever forget that moment that i spoke to him ten years ago and i am always so proud to tell so many people that i met kobe bryant, i interviewed him and it would be one of the most memorable interviews that i have had in my whole broadcasting career. because he was just so accommodating, so down to earth and whatever i asked her whatever question i threw at him, he would always return it with a great a nswer would always return it with a great answer and a smile. he would always smile ear to ear. i would always member the smile that he had on his face. it is always a very positive and very energetic and happy man. a true gentleman of the sport. and very energetic and happy man. a true gentleman of the sportm and very energetic and happy man. a true gentleman of the sport. it is very emotional to hear this, rico, and we have talked so much about his poor and what he brought to the

game. there is another aspect of this which is very tragic as wealth, his family life. he is left behind $4. one he was born only last summer. “— $4. one he was born only last summer. —— four daughters. $4. one he was born only last summer. -- four daughters. they are also reports that one of his daughters was in that helicopter crash. and that daughter is a great basketball player herself. she is a teenager. and she has really excelled in basketball and most probably was one who would follow his to —— footsteps. in high school, in college and may be in the wnba. it is really sad that we have lost a gentleman and a great man in this poor and a great ambassador of basketball. thank you very much. joining us very early on