this is newsday on the bbc. i am rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: basketball great kobe bryant dies in a helicopter crash aged 41. it is sad to see a basketball great path like that but we will keep his legacy alive. the private helicopter he was travelling in crashed in california and burst into flames, killing nine people, including his 13—year—old daughter. i'm lewis vaughanjones in london. also in the programme: china reveals the coronavirus, which has claims more than 50 lives,

is infectious before symptoms show, making it harder to contend with. after more clashes in iraq, the shia cleric muqtada al—sadr tells his supporters to clear the streets to avoid an escalation. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday. glad you could join us. it's 9:00 in the morning here in singapore, it's 1:00am in london and it is 5:00 in the afternoon in california, where one of the all—time greats of basketball, kobe bryant, has been killed in a helicopter crash. reports say his helicopter went down into a hillside in calabasas in fog, killing nine people in all, including kobe's teenage daughter. this report from our correspondent

chris buckler, in washington. whether they cheered him orfeared him, all basketball fans recognised kobe bryant as one of the sport's greatest players. his entire 20—year career was spent in an la lakersjersey. his death on the outskirts of the city has left people across the united states grieving. he was on board a helicopter with four other people when it crashed in cala basas. the la sheriffs office says no—one survived the accident. one of his daughters, gianna, was travelling with him and also died. his list of achievements is long. on all—star, an nba champion and an olympic gold—medallist. he was unashamedly competitive and was deeply frustrated when his playing career was cut short by injuries. he was bold enough and brave enough to announce and foolish enough to announce that he would be the greatest and he did everything possible, humanly possible,

to deliver on that promise. since his retirement from basketball, he had put his considerable energy into business ventures and charity work, particularly pushing health and education causes for children. president trump and a series of celebrities and sports stars have been paying tribute to a man who worked to overcome inequality and promote women's sport. but nowhere was kobe bryant more inspiring than on the court. when he left basketball, the los angeles lakers retired his jersey. they knew he was irreplaceable. david willis is in los angeles and has been assessing the details of the helicopter crash. well, we learned, lewis, that nine people were — the remains of nine people were found amongst the wreckage of that crash, of course, the sikorsky helicopter. that coming as a surprise, somewhat, particularly to those of us

in the media who have been following the initial reports of five people killed in that helicopter crash. now, officials are not releasing names, but we know that kobe bryant was among those who died, and also his 13—year—old daughter, gianna, who herself was a promising basketball player. indeed, kobe bryant is thought to have been en route from his home in newport beach to the sports centre, the training facility in thousand oaks, that he helped found and opened last year. and it was there that his daughter and some other young basketball players were to have commenced a training session. about 18 miles away from that training centre, the helicopter went down. the sikorsky helicopter went down. no survivors, the officials had to say. and david, just give us a sense of how important he was.

what has been the reaction across the country there today? a huge reaction, lewis. this was one of the finest, greatest basketball players in history. there is no question about that. his list of achievements runs the length of your arm, and he was a man who was known simply by his first name, kobe, and everyone knew who you are talking to, but also an inspiring figure off the court. he had business interests and a variety of other sporting interests since his retirement from full—time basketball, about three years ago, and he was one of the most popular personalities and public figures here in los angeles, a city which has quite a few, of course, very public figures. los angeles of course has quite a few public figures. this is an important story for you,

rico, on a personal level. you interviewed? that's right, i interviewed? that's right, i interviewed him in july interviewed? that's right, i interviewed him injuly 2009 and had a very memorable 15 minutes with the legendary kobe bryant. when he stepped through the door and if the function room, here read it made me feel comfortable. he was smiling at me, he said, hi, rico, then we did they buddy bump and then a feast bump. it was really comfortable and i felt so at home speaking to him. he was so down to as an comfortable. we had a comfortable conversation on that day, let's listen into part of the interview. you won your first nba title without shaquille o'neal, and you said afterwards that it felt like a big old monkey was off your back. how important is this championship for you, kobe — how important? it's very important to me.

because you want to win, and the object of playing a game is to be the last team standing at the end of the year. and there's just so much pressure on us, and in particular to try to get us back to that level. and so it was kind of like — you know, itjust felt so good. what about yao ming? he will be sidelined this season, and basically global basketball is also about yao ming, and not only about kobe bryant or vince carter or lebron james. how important is he to the nba game? i think for yao, he hasjust done so much to open the doors for basketball internationally, particularly. and for him as an individual and as a person, you know, it's about him getting healthy and getting stronger, and being able to come back and have a successful season and a successful career. so kobe, at what point

would you hang up your basketball shoes and call it a career? that's a tough question, really. i look at all the players preceding me, and some of the things that they have tried to go by in terms of when to retire, and i haven't heard, like, one really great response. i guess when you know, you know. kobe bryant, he was 41. the basketball world will miss him and i will personally miss him. moving now to other news, and the chinese government has said it will extend the lunar new year holiday to try to bring the outbreak of the new coronavirus under control. officials have learned that the disease spreading faster than before. they have established that people can pass on the infection before show any symptoms, making it much harder to contain. our correspondent rupert wingfield hayes has this report from hong kong. on the outskirts of wuhan, the race is on to beat the coronavirus.

every bulldozer and excavator that can be found is being used to clear land for a i,000—bed isolation hospital. it must be finished in two weeks. the trouble is, it's needed now. chinese officials today admitted the virus is spreading faster, and that it can be passed on by people who show no symptoms. state television is showing scenes like this, of people being treated in modern intensive care units. but videos like this one uploaded to the internet claim to show a different picture — of hospitals overwhelmed and staff unable to cope. in beijing, reporters mobbed the head of china's cdc as he tried to calm the growing sense of panic. "this virus is not as strong or as dangerous as the sars virus was," he says, "but it's a new virus so we need time to develop treatment." while the chinese government is now

taking decisive measures to try and contain the spread of this virus, many experts think it is already too late. one study suggests that in wuhan city alone by the end of next week, there will be nearly 200,000 infections. and that's why senior doctors in hong kong are calling on the government to close the border with mainland china. the british government, meanwhile, is under pressure to evacuate britons stranded in wuhan, as the americans are doing with their citizens. i think the uk government is aware now that all the transport links are closed. so, ifind it a little bit surprising that we're being told to leave if we can when there is no possible route. across central china, the sense of panic is rising. these pictures and videos posted on the internet appear to show villages and towns putting up their own improvised borders, shutting themselves off, making sure travellers from outside cannot come in. wuhan itself is now a ghost town.

today, this was the centre of a city of 11 million people during the biggest holiday of the year. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in hong kong. the professor of the director of infections at the university of columbia is travelling to china to advise the government on what can be done to control this outbreak. beijing now thank the virus can be spread even before symptoms are detectable. i asked spread even before symptoms are detectable. iasked him how difficult the task to contain it has become. if true, this changes the whole picture. typically, with these infections, people are not infected until they begin to show symptoms and this is how we identify them and this is how we decide who needs to be triaged. you mentioned sars which

you were involved with. what have we learnt? this is quite reminiscent of sars. in the 2003 outbreak, it was beijing rather than who hon city that was implicated. —— wuhan. i do not know that we can conclude that the incubation time is as valuable as we have been told not that the majority of people are contagious, except after they begin to show symptoms. if it is true that the majority of people were infected before they showed symptom and the incubation period can range from one day — two weeks, it is going to be difficult to identify individuals who are infected. very frustrating and difficult to identify those individuals. what you make of china's response so far? it has been much better than it was in 2003. in

2003 we had a great deal of difficulty getting information and the infrastructure required for diagnosis and response was far more primitive than it is now. china has state—of—the—art surveillance and the capacity to make vaccine and drugs and a much better public health system than it did in 2003 but obviously this would be an enormous challenge for any government. are you optimistic at the moment or is this going to get worse before it gets better?|j the moment or is this going to get worse before it gets better? i think it will get worse before it gets better but we have to be optimistic and we have to do the best we can. i am leaving for china myself on tuesday and i hope to contribute in any way that i can to control this outbreak. our thanks to ian lipkin. reports rugs iraq so security forces are fired tear gas and live bullets on protesters who are mostly young iraqis demanding the removal of what

they call a corrupt government and an end to american and iranian interference. security forces in baghdad have once again tried to clear some of the main anti—government protest sites. more demonstrators were injured as they faced tear gas and live ammunition. a violet game of cat and mouse. police are trying to clear protesters away. they have been throwing stones and volatile cocktails and this is a situation that often turns deadly. this policeman was injured but it is protesters bearing the brunt. over 600 killed in months of demonstrations. despite the despair, they are still turning out. they

wa nt they are still turning out. they want a new iraqi, a notion a view of sectarianism and corruption. we're not worried about the violence and killings and assassinations, the kidnapping and everything. —— who is not worried. who was not worried about that but what are we supposed to do? should wejust about that but what are we supposed to do? should we just stay and be kept under slavery? there will be more protests but no winners. in a country coming apart at the seams. you are watching you stay on the bbc, live from singapore and london. still to come: notjust an athlete, but an oscar winner. we will be finding more about kobe bryant's success in hollywood.

the shuttle challenger exploded soon after lift—off. there were seven astronauts on board, one of them a woman school teacher. all of them are believed to have been killed. by the evening, tahrir square, the heart of official cairo, was in the hands of the demonstrators. they were using the word ‘revolution‘. the earthquake brought down buildings in seconds. tonight, the search for any survivors has an increasing desperation about it as the hours passed. the government is a family in control of the entire republic of uganda. survivors of auschwitz have been commemorating the 40th anniversary of the liberation. they toured the crematoria and the gas chambers and relived the horrifying experiences.

welcome back. you are watching you stay on the bbc. i'm regular his on in singapore. and i'm lewis vaughan—jones in london. our top stories: american basketball legend kobe bryant has died in a helicopter crash in southern california. he was 41. eight others, including his 13—year—old daughter, were killed alongside him when they have a came down. —— when there helicopter came down. since retiring from basketball, kobe brya nt since retiring from basketball, kobe bryant continued to inspire through many other ventures. in 2018 he won an oscarfor the many other ventures. in 2018 he won an oscar for the animated short film dia basketball, based on his retirement letter, written in the players tribune publication. dear

basketball. you gave a six—year—old boy his la kers basketball. you gave a six—year—old boy his lakers dream. and we both know that whatever i do next, i will a lwa ys know that whatever i do next, i will always be that kid with the rolled up always be that kid with the rolled up socks, five seconds on the clock, ball in my hands. five, four, three, two, one... orchestral music. arenberg and grew up in los angeles and is now a basketball scout. he told us what impact kobe bryant

hard. just like anybody who grew up in los angeles and grew up idolising kobe bryant, this has been really ha rd kobe bryant, this has been really hard for us. i have shed tears over someone i only spent maybe a second within my life. it really has taken an impact, just, you know, on everyone. i mean, you are not going to find so many kobe bryants when you are watching high school herbs, but the one thing that you look for in players is just that competitive desire, that ability to just continue to fight and fight. through any type of adversity. and just from any type of adversity. and just from a personal perspective, you know, kobe meant the world to me, as a kid growing up, and like i said, as a kid growing up in los angeles, i was 15 years old and i had the opportunity to actually asking a question at one of his first events.

it was a one year deal, a basketball contest, and i had a chance. i asked the first question. i asked him about him and his relationship with nick than axel, because at the time, i was nick than axel, because at the time, iwas an nick than axel, because at the time, i was an aspiring sports journalist, asa i was an aspiring sports journalist, as a teenager, and he answered the question and then as he was leaving i had the opportunity to just stop him and tell him that i went to palisade comedy high school where he would actually work out sometimes. and he said, yeah, iworked would actually work out sometimes. and he said, yeah, i worked out there, maybe i'll see you around. and i said, jokingly, sure, i'm going to trust you over, which is a basketball team. and he kind of gave me a look like, be careful what you wish for. and he smiled it off and i smiled it off and went along my way. and it is one of those memories that, as a kid, at that time you didn't realise exactly who he was going to turn out to be. you know, he was in his second year in the mba. you knew he was a special

talent. you look 20, 22 years later, he is one of the best players, if not the best way of our generation, growing up. so losing that... words can't begin to describe the void that i have in my heart, the voids that i have in my heart, the voids that people like me, kids growing up, adults like me feel right now. yeah, i mean, i know people that have been around him on the pro basketball circuit and he is always, you know, autographs assigned, taking pictures, he talks to people, he is giving of himself, you know? and he always seem so accessible. and he always seem so accessible. and i think that is the other part thatis and i think that is the other part that is really hurting everyone, people that grew up, we felt like we knew him. and people who had that opportunity tojust knew him. and people who had that opportunity to just spend minutes with him, you know, you are losing pa rt with him, you know, you are losing part of yourself.

let's now get more in the investigation into the crash. the los angeles county sheriff has confirmed the federal aviation authority has begun an investigation. the faa authority has begun an investigation. the fm is already on scene and is assisting. we are waiting on the coroner ‘s office to recover the remains. as the chief indicated, there were no survivors. the manifest indicates they were nine people aboard the aircraft, the pilot plus eight individuals. there is wide speculation of who their identities are, however, it would be entirely inappropriate now to identify anybody by name. at the crash site, eyewitnesses and fans have gathered. drinking coffee in the church parking lot, i have some noise, i mean, helicopter noise. it was very low flying. it was a foggy day, i couldn't tell what kind of helicopter it was, what colour. but it was a very low, and

struggling majorly. i mean, you can't see, but you can tell it was not really running the right way, you know what i mean? and, 20 seconds, and had some explosion. i see some smoke coming up. but after 15 seconds, all the sheriff cars, sirens going. 45 years of living and i have not felt this much grief and love for one man that has passed for a city, and my city, he was an idol, he was an icon. the mentality got me through college, through grad school. he did a lot for me, man, just watching those videos, it was more than basketball, it wasjust just watching those videos, it was more than basketball, it was just a mentality to go through life and he has got me through so many struggles in my life and it is one of the hottest losses i've ever dealt with, andl hottest losses i've ever dealt with, and i never even that amount. people in the sporting world have

been paying tribute. nba hall of famer dennis rodman said he was devastated to hear the news of kobe brya nt‘s devastated to hear the news of kobe bryant's passing. nba fans were given the chance to pay their respects to kobe bryant out of the game between the houston rockets and the denver nuggets. ladies and gentlemen, basketball fans... a tragedy has befallen the world of basketball. earlier today, at the age of 41, kobe bryant was

killed in a helicopter crash. in 20 seasons with the lakers, kobe was a 17 time all—star, two—time nba finals mvp, two—time olympic gold—medallist, and five—time nba champion. the nba and the game of basketball will mourn this loss together. please join us basketball will mourn this loss together. pleasejoin us in basketball will mourn this loss together. please join us in a basketball will mourn this loss together. pleasejoin us in a moment of silence for kobe bryant. rest in peace, mamba. so, tributes from the sounds of air. and we want to leave you with these images of the man himself, one of basketball‘s all—time greats. he died in a helicopter crash in the us state of california. he was 41 years old. his 13—year—old daughter as well as believed to be one of eight others that were on board the aircraft at the time. bryant was a five—time nba

champion and a two—time olympic gold—medallist. hello. after a largely dry and settled week last week, things are now changing. we had some rain on many parts on sunday which cleared. clear skies during sunset. this was a stunning picture from the shetland on sunday evening. things will be turning colder over the next day or so because of the blue colours on the map showing a westerly influence. the mild area is being pushed away towards the east. a chilly start to monday morning with temperatures below freezing on the northern half of the uk, cold and rural spots with sleet and snow showers around as well. likely to bring some icy stretches to monday morning across parts of scotland, northern ireland and northern england as well. a sharp frost, watch out for some ice around first thing with sleet and snow showers. not only on the hills but down to relatively lower levels as well. further south across england and wales as well rain showers here with some sleepiness over

high ground in wales. some hail and thunder the with the heaviest of the showers. a bit of dry weather around on monday for parts of east anglia, northern england to eastern scotland as well but further south and west that is where you see the bulk of the showers and once again they will be wintry across parts of northern ireland and scotland as well. colder than recent days with temperatures around 4—9 degrees on monday and quite blustery as well. that breeze picks up during monday evening, blustery through the english channel, the bristol channel for instance as well with more heavy showers rattling through as we had three monday night and on into tuesday morning. simply spells will bring us to another cold night, widespread frost and a risk of eisinger‘s for almost anywhere on tuesday, particularly for scotland, northern ireland, northern england and north wales as well. tuesday dawns on a cold night with wintry showers again in the north. sunny spells through the day. eastern scotland much of central and east england see dry weather but more showers rattling in from the west elsewhere and a little colder once again, eight degrees on tuesday. then we have a ridge of high pressure working in from the atlantic as we head on into wednesday. that will quieten the weather down for a day or so, especially in the south. a dry day for england and wales and northern ireland tending to dry out as well.

the rain until snow will put across scotland the day on wednesday. still relatively cool at this stage in the week, 7— 10 degrees but things will then turn mild and we return to double figures more widely towards the end of the week. a chilly start with snow and ice, dry through the middle of the week and then things once again turn mild and unsettled later in the week.

this is a bbc world news. us basketball star, kobe bryant, one of the game's legends has died in a helicopter crash. he was 41. he had a glittering 20 year career. the private helicopter he was travelling and crashed in california and burst into flames. his 13—year—old daughter was among the eight other victims. the lunar new year holiday will be extended to the second of february to help control the new coronavirus. an amazing story of survival amongst the tragedy of the earthquake in turkey. this baby was born just as the quake struck and the hospital doctor said both mother and baby are healthy. —— a hospital