this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories: president trump lays out what he calls a plan for peace in the middle east. after 70 yea rs of little progress, this could be the last opportunity they will ever have. the proposals are roundly rejected by palestinians — by the leaders who had no part in the process and the people who took to the streets. i would like to say to them, trump and netanyahu, thatjerusalem is not for sale and all our rights are not for sale and not for bargaining. deserted cities as the death toll from coronavirus in china exceeds 130.

foreign governments begin to evacuate their citizens. and a special report from antarctica, where a glacier the size of britain is melting at an alarming pace. hello to you. president trump has announced what he's called his ultimate deal for middle east peace. it gives israel sovereignty over all its settlements in the occupied west bank while promising the palestinians an economic bonus and future statehood. the proposal also promises to keepjerusalem as israel's undivided capital. no palestinian officials were involved in the proceedings and they have already rejected the proposals. our middle east editorjeremy bowen was at the white house

announcement, and has this report. in the east room of the white house, it felt more like a party than a press conference. donald trump and benjamin neta nyahu congratulated each other. their entourages clapped and whooped. as everyone knows, i have done a lot for israel, moving the united states embassy to jerusalem, recognising... applause ..recognising the golan heights. applause and, frankly, perhaps most importantly, getting out of the terrible iran nuclear deal. applause and now comes a document that attempts to seal israel's victory in a century—long conflict, which palestinians will read as surrender terms, not a peace proposal. it almost exactly replicates mr netanyahu's deepest beliefs about israel's security and its right to the land most of the rest of the world says is occupied palestinian territory.

for too long, far too long, the very heart of the land of israel, where our patriarchs prayed, our prophets preached and our kings ruled, has been outrageously branded as illegally occupied territory. well, today, mr president, you are puncturing this big lie. in gaza tonight, palestinians demonstrated. their side has been deeply divided. opposition to the trump document could finally unite them. the palestinians were already boycotting the trump administration because of its root and branch support for israel. the palestinian president, mahmoud abbas, wasn't a party to the proposals and rejected them straight away. translation: i say to trump and netanyahu, jerusalem is not for sale.

all our rights are not for sale and are not for bargaining. they are arguing about land captured in israel in the 1967 middle east war. for a generation, the consensus has been no peace is possible without a palestinian state on the land with a capital in jerusalem. today, the land is sliced up by walls, wire and checkpoints. the trump plan wants to throughout the old consensus to offer a sort of state to the palestinians if they agree to restrictions approved by israel. and israel has a chance to get bigger with what looks to be a green light to a territory it wants, like here in thejordan valley. the timing suits the two leaders, a distraction from elections and serious charges. high crimes and misdemeanours for trump, bribery and corruption for netanyahu. this may be the deal of the century for the israeli

government, but it's not for the palestinians. it could create a sense of frustration, anger and hopelessness, which, in such a combustible part of the world, is dangerous. jeremy bowen, bbc news at the white house. as palestinians protested against the plan, at least ten were injured in clashes with israeli forces in the occupied west bank. the palestinian leader, mahmoud abbas, said his response to the trump deal was "1,000 times, no." our international correspondent orla guerin has spent the day in the west bank gauging palestinian opinions. bethlehem before sunrise. palestinians rushing to a day's work in israel, those lucky enough to have permits. movement is tightly controlled. that's life under israeli occupation. and few here today were expecting a new dawn from the white house.

do you have any hope for the peace plan from donald trump? "no, no, no," says ibrahim, a father of seven. "they don't want to give the palestinians their rights. "the plan has failed even before it's announced." a view echoed over coffee in ramallah. that's an hour away or triple that if there are delays at israeli checkpoints. here, we met some of the oslo generation, palestinians who grew up with the peace accords signed in 1993. they say the trump deal ends that era and it's time for a new strategy. it finally spells the death of the peace process that many assumed would lead to a palestinian state, and instead opens the door for us, as a new generation, to begin building a type of resistance movement based on what nelson mandela did. so, this is the end of the peace process

as we know it? this is the end of what i would call the illusion of a peace process. do you think you will still be living under occupation in 10 years' time, 20 years' time? everything, all israeli policies against palestinians, are happening at such high speed that it's terrifying to think of where we're going to be five years from now. and tonight on the streets of ramallah, a vow to return to the intifada, the palestinian uprising. the crowd here was small. chanting sound and fury, perhaps. but also, weariness and resignation. scientists in australia have become the first to recreate the new coronavirus outside china — they're calling it a significant breakthrough in the race for a vaccine. this is a timelapse

of the growth of the virus, taken from an infected patient in australia. it was extracted, then developed in a lab in melbourne. the scientists say they will now share the information with the world health organization. more here from one of the team, dr mike catton. it is the development of vaccines to assess vaccines, animal models are very helpful, so there are colleagues working in australia to develop models to test candidate vaccines on. having the virus is a crucial step to allow them to proceed. doctor mike catton there. the white house is talking of suspending all flights between the us and china, because of the spread of the coronavirus. china's national health commission says the death toll has risen to 132. nearly 1,500 new cases have been confirmed, taking the total number of confirmed cases to nearly 6,000. hong kong has announced stringent new measures. from there, rupert wingfield—hayes.

if carrie lam was aiming to calm fears in hong kong about the coronavirus, her face mask sent a different message. mrs lam is under huge pressure now to shut the border with china, and, today, she partially capitulated. "intercity services to china will be suspended," she said. "flights will be cut by half. ferries will also be stopped." by thursday morning, the number of people crossing into hong kong from mainland china behind me here should be dramatically reduced. there will be no more ferries, no more trains and no more mainland tourists. it is a very dramatic move that is being made by the hong kong government, but people here have very painful memories of what happened with the sars virus back in 2003 and they now fear the same, or something worse happening again. doctors are leading the cause here for a complete border shutdown. they fear hong kong's hospitals

could be quickly overwhelmed. we have to do this now and we have to do this in a very decisive manner, before we have more knowledge about the disease, more knowledge about the virus, how long is the incubation period, what can we do to treat these patients? from the epicentre of the viral outbreak, more extraordinary pictures today. wuhan is the seventh—largest city in china with a population larger than london. it is not the government that has done this, it is fear. britain today advised against all but essential travel to mainland china and the foreign office is now finalising plans to evacuate the more than 200 britons who are trapped inside wuhan city. america has become the first country to begin evacuating its citizens. for the lucky few, it's a huge relief. it's been pretty scary. i mean, it's...we have basically been under house

arrest. you can't really go anywhere. most places are just closed down. there are now signs of panic buying in other parts of china. these pictures are from beijing. with many new cases of infection being confirmed outside wuhan, anxiety about the virus is spreading too. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in hong kong. let's get some of the day's other news: republican senators have met to discuss how to prevent witnesses testifying in president trump's impeachment trial. they could include his former national security adviser, john bolton, whose new book, it's reported, directly links the president to the withholding of military aid to ukraine, to help his own re—election campaign. mr trump's defence team wrapped up their legal arguments with an appeal for an acquittal. the american public—service radio network, npr, has protested to the state department over the banning of one of its reporters from travelling with the secretary

of state on his trip to europe. mike pompeo was angered by an interview with npr in which he was closely questioned about relations with ukraine. it's reported that after the interview he shouted and swore at the presenter. thousands have been fleeing the syrian town of maarat al—numan, as pro—government forces attack on three fronts. it is a strategically important town in the mainly rebel—held idlib province. from the start of the syrian conflict, it's been a major centre of opposition to president assad. french firefighters demonstrating in paris to demand better working conditions have clashed with police. it's the latest protest to hit the french capital in recent weeks as unions battle government pension reforms. police used tear gas and water cannon. two people have been arrested. homes and office buildings in miami and in mexico have been evacuated after a powerful earthquake hit the caribbean. the quake, magnitude 7.7, was centred out at sea betweenjamaica and cuba. there was a tsunami warning, briefly, but no reports

of injuries. the chinese technology firm, huawei, has been granted a limited role in the uk's ultra—fast 56 mobile phone network. that decision came despite pressure from the trump administration to block huawei's involvement, alleging that it could make the uk vulnerable to surveillance or sabotage by chinese authorities. huawei denies any involvement in espionage. ...is definitely not the truth. huawei is a company over the past 30 years, we — there are not any cybersecurity accidents, so we serve the one—third of the world population. we have the very strong track record. the risk of what we're giving up by adopting huawei as any part of our telecommunications infrastructure or, even worse, allowing huawei to control the 5g networks in countries like the uk or in the united states of america,

is a dangerous path forward. much more to come for you on bbc news. still to come: the end of the road — lagos plans to ban motorbike and tricycle taxis. the shuttle challenger exploded soon after lift—off. there were seven astronauts on board, one of them a woman schoolteacher. 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 singled out buildings and brought them down in seconds. tonight, the search for any survivors has an increasing desperation about it as the hours passed. the new government is firmly in control of the entire

republic of uganda. survivors of the auschwitz concentration camp have been commemorating the 40th anniversary of their liberation. they toured the huts, gas chambers and crematoria, and relived their horrifying experiences. roles you this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: president trump has announced what he's called his ultimate deal for middle east peace, giving israel sovereignty over all its settlements in the occupied west bank while promising the palestinians an economic bonus and future statehood. in a televised address from ramallah, the palestinian president mahmoud abbas rejected the proposal, calling it "a conspiracy which will not pass". well let's look at reaction to the plan now and the international response has been mixed. egypt is among the countries to welcome

the proposals, its foreign ministry said it "appreciates the continued efforts made to reach a comprehensive and just peace for the palestinian cause. the eu says it will "study and assess the proposals on the basis of commitment to a negotiated and viable two—state solution. "the united states' so—called peace plan is stillborn," turkey's foreign ministry said in a statement, adding "this is an annexation plan aimed at killing a two—state solution". iran put it even more bluntly: "the shameful peace plan imposed by america on the palestinians is the treason of the century and doomed to fail". and contrasting with the eu's lukewarm response, the uk foreign secretary welcomed the deal for both sides, saying "we encourage them to give these plans genuine and fair consideration and explore whether they might prove a first step on the road back to negotiations. the former british prime minister tony blair — who was middle east envoy to the us, russia, the un

and the eu for eight years — has been talking to the bbc, he says the palestinians should engage with the plan rather than simply dismiss it. one of the things of this administration as they will do what they do and it's a different form of diplomacy in one sense but on the other, or they will say is, look, we offer the palestinian president a chance to engage and we're just going to do it like this. i think just going to do it like this. ithinki just going to do it like this. i think i completely understand other palestinians will view that and look at it but they've got to think strategically at this moment in time. what their options are and what is the right way to put this on the agenda with all the concerns that they have and to mobilise support from frankly the only people who are really going to help them hear are going to be the arab nations and the united states of america itself and of

course, the british and other europeans, they can intervene in savings but in the end, it's going to be the americans, the israelis, the arabs and the palestinians and i think that's why, when i look at this now and you see this plan and obviously as i say, there are all sorts of inks that have got to be bolted down, take it, argue about what is wrong or unacceptable about it and mobilise support in favour of your position but there is i think a real commitment on the pa rt think a real commitment on the part of the united states on the part of this administration, despite what eve ryo ne administration, despite what everyone might think, if the palestinians do engage, i think from the conversations i've had in this administration, they will be more supportive than the palestinians think. a major scientific project has confirmed fears

that a glacier in western antarctica — the size of great britain — is disappearing more quickly than previously thought — because of the way the oceans are warming. our chief environment correspondent justin rowlatt — and camera operatorjemma cox — travelled across west antarctica with a team of scientists, trying to understand how the thwaites glacier is changing. they call this the doomsday glacier. the chaos of broken ice at the front is almost 100 miles wide. hundreds of billions of tons of melt water is pouring into the sea. thwaites sits at the heart of the vast basin of ice that is west antarctica. it is the size of britain. scientists need to map the ground beneath it. next interval. thwaites contains enough water to raise world sea levels by half a metre.

the west antarctic ice sheet contains three metres more, enough to swamp many of the great cities of the world. this ice here is very accessible to change, so if we are thinking about what the sea levels will be like in ten years, this glacier is the place to be and this is the location to be asking the questions at. we are standing right on it. but it is one of the most remote places on earth, the stormiest part of the stormiest continent. only four people have ever been here before. hello! it takes five weeks just to get the science teams and their equipment to the front of the glacier. this is an historic moment, the first time anyone has tried to drill down through this glacier. beneath the 600 metres of ice below me is the most important point of all, the point at which the ice meets the ocean water. it is difficult work, but deploying instruments under the ice is the only

way to begin to understand the processes at work here and to make accurate predictions of how sea levels will rise in the future. this is a world first, the first time anyone has seen the place where this glacier goes afloat, the point where it begins to melt. i was yelling and screaming, like, "oh, my god, we're there, we're there!" you can see the water, the water column narrowing and the ice coming down at you and the sea floor coming out at you, and there is this huge rush of energy. the bed of a glacier is a place we have never been, particularly here, where it starts to go afloat. and thwaites really matters, because it's so vulnerable. strip away the ice and most of this part of the continent would be under water. this year's work has already confirmed the scientists' worst fears. the deep, warm ocean water circling antarctica is flowing to the coast here. because the sea bed slopes downwards, as the ice melts, it will expose more and more ice to that water. that means the glacier could begin to retreat increasingly rapidly, but how quickly?

antarctica is the big unknown and has so little understanding about the future contribution the ice sheet will make to the sea level that it's sometimes actually left out of estimates going into the future. it takes huge resources to do science at the end of the earth, but we need to understand what is happening here if we are to protect ourselves as the world's oceans rise in the decades to come. justin rowlatt, bbc news, west antarctica. nigeria's business capital, lagos, plans to ban motorbike and tricycle taxis from its major roads. the motorbikes known locally as "okadas"are the city's most common form of transport, but cause many fatal accidents. rich preston reports. these are the offending kekes and okadas which as of next month will be banned

on the streets of lagos. this bustling city of 20 million people whose reputation for terrible traffic precedes it. officials say there a menace and play a big part in scary figures forfatal road accidents and drivers often flouting the law. but the bikes are a lifeline for thousands of people here, giving them a vital source of income. and for many ordinary people, they are the only way to get around the city's clogged streets.

but the decision has been made and as of saturday, these drivers and their passengers will have to find a new way to get around. it is the end of the road for the kekes and okadas of lagos. the atacama desert is one of the driest places on earth — but it's amazing what life can still be found there. one of those inhabitants is the loa water frog — an incredibly rare amphibian that is facing possible exctinction. now — a team of scientists in chile is racing against time to preserve them. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. this isn'tjust a frog — it's practically a miracle of nature. the loa water frog is a survivor. it's a survivor that may not survive for much longer. their numbers are dwindling at a speed that is almost unprecedented. translation: unfortunately, the levels are on par with the mass extinction of dinosaurs from many years ago.

the difference now is that we are because of it the most affected animals are amphibians. they are becoming extinct as the days go by. this is just about the only place the frogs can be found. a handful of them were discovered in a rapidly drying riverbed in northern chile. these animals may be small but their contribution to the habitat is vast. translation: amphibians are very important for the environment. they are part of the ecosystem like a food chain. if a link is lost, there is a complete imbalance and amphibians feast on insects. if such a species disappears, the population of insects will increase. the amphibians were transported to santiago for further research. the hope is they will be able to burst population numbers

and safeguard this endangered species. it has been described as the last hope for the loa water frog. tim allman, bbc news. let's hope. thank you for watching. hello there. temperatures are set to climb over the next few days, after what has been for some of us a brief taste of winter. there's still enough snow and indeed moisture lying on the ground to give the potentialfor some icy stretches through wednesday morning, which could cause some travel problems. temperatures as we start the day around about freezing, dropping below freezing across parts of scotland. probably not quite as cold as it was on tuesday morning, but still cold enough for some frost and some ice. we start wednesday under the influence of a weak ridge of high pressure, so there will be some dry weather around. this frontal system, though, will introduce rain into the northern half of the uk as we go through the day. in fact, northern england, northern ireland and scotland, we'll start off

with some showers. still wintry over the highest ground here, and then the wet weather works its way in, scraping across the north of northern ireland, working into a good part of scotland, with some snow over high ground. in fact, before the day is done, parts of highland scotland could see a further 10 cm of snow. perhaps something a little bit brighter across the far north of scotland. some very heavy rain developing across central and southern parts of scotland, and it will be quite windy here. some rain into northern ireland at times, certainly some of that rain getting down into northern england. more cloud into wales in the south—west, producing maybe the odd spot of rain and drizzle. but further east, through the east midlands, east anglia, the south—east, holding onto some sunshine. and it's going to be milder than it has been. highs of ten or 11 degrees. now, as we go through wednesday night, this rain will pull its way northwards across scotland. further south, a lot of dry weather, yes, but an awful lot of cloud to roll its way in. could turn a little bit murky in places, damp and drizzly, but much, much milder. those are the temperatures as we start thursday morning. a bit of rain into the far

south—west as well, you will notice, but all of that cloud coming up from the south—west. very moist and very mild airflow. see these orange colours spreading right across the chart, pushing the cold air away. so, as we go through thursday, rain moving across scotland, some of it heavy, with some brisk winds. down towards the south, we keep a lot of cloud, the odd spot of drizzle, some slightly more persistent rain perhaps for a time for the far south of england and the channel islands. but look at the afternoon temperatures — double digits for most of us. 10 degrees in glasgow, 12, 13 easily down towards the south. as we going into friday, we could see some outbreaks of rain pushing south—eastwards, and some more rain later in the day as well into the north—west of scotland. it is another mild day, particularly down towards the south. it may be that temperatures drop a little bit in northern areas later in the day.

this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump's new peace plan for the middle east has been embraced by israel but condemned as a conspiracy by the palestinians, who had no part in the process. his proposals offer israeljerusalem as its capital and recognition of its settlements on occupied west bank land. palestinians are offered cash and a truncated territory threaded between settlements. authorities in hubei, the chinese province at the centre of the outbreak of a new respiratory virus, have reported another 25 deaths. there are now nearly 6,000 infections across china. the world health organization says stopping the virus spreading is its top priority. the us government has officially expressed disappointment at britain's decision to give the chinese tech company huawei a role in developing its 5g mobile network. the government in london says huawei will be excluded from sensitive sites, including military bases

and critical infrastructure. you are pretty much up—to—date on the headlines. it's time now for hardtalk. hello and welcome to hardtalk, i'm shaun ley. so much smoke has been generated by australia's bushfires, it's created a plume the size of the continental united states. nasa tracked it as it circumnavigated the globe. drought and record temperatures have created a giant tinderbox, yet australia's government insists it's too simplistic to blame climate change. patrick suckling spent three years as australia's ambassador for the environment. he believes the threat is all too real. but with politicians and exporters committed to exporting masses of coal, is hejust wasting his time?