this is the briefing, i'm sally bundock. our top story: deserted cities as the death toll from coronavirus in china exceeds 130. foreign governments begin to evacuate their citizens. measuring the antarctic ice. we look at the challenges scientists are facing in the name of research. we will be live at the australian open in melbourne, where by the end of today, we will know the women's and men's semi—finalists. focusing on its core business, iphone sales help apple post record profits.

a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. as we've mentioned, apple has revealed its most profitable quarter, making $22.2 billion at the end of 2019. it is making money across the board. are you an apple customer, or do you balk at the cost of its premium offerings? tell us what you think. just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. australian scientists have recreated the new coronovirus in a melbourne laboratory, and say it is a significant breakthrough in the quest for a vaccine. they will now share the details with the world health organization, with the hope it will help diagnose and treat the virus, which has so far killed 132 people in china. several countries have special screenings at airports to stop

the spread of the virus, while countries like hong kong have enforced travel bans in and out of mainland china. joining me now is robin brant in shanghai. robin, it would seem everyone everywhere is trying everything they can to counter this virus. tell us more about these latest developments. yes, completely, both within china, where there is the most substantial efforts, obviously, to try to contain the spread of this type of coronavirus, but also internationally. the biggest concern internationally is air flights, and we are seeing discussions in the united states about the possibility of reducing, even shutting america off, two flights from china. we are seeing off, two flights from china. we are seeing areas off, two flights from china. we are seeing areas of asia, including hong kong, which of

course is part of china, really restrict in the ways of travelling from the mainland into hong kong, restricting the number of people who will be able to travel from the mainland to hong kong as well. and this is all about trying to contain the spread and trying to limit the spread. the other side of the coin, so to speak, his foreign countries trying to help get their people out of wuhan, this is the epicentre city. the japanese, they have arranged one flight, some 200 01’ so arranged one flight, some 200 or so japanese citizens are now on their way back to japan. a further flight will follow. the bbc understands that uk citizens will be taken out on a chartered flight on thursday morning local time. and they are two countries on a growing list of governments who are trying to get their people out. in terms of the death toll and those affected, you know, we talk about these numbers obviously daily. we tracked the percentage change, and at the moment, 132 confirmed deaths. these are official chinese government numbers, important

toa government numbers, important to a tribute to them, 132 confirmed deaths, that is up 26 from yesterday. so an increase of around about 20%. the number of around about 20%. the number of cases affected, that has gone up to almost 6000, and the jump gone up to almost 6000, and the jump there is around 25— 30% mark as well. so the rate of deaths and the rate of infection continues at a fairly significant rate. and robin, detail, i don't know if you have the information on this, those who have died, were vulnerable people anyway? —— do tell. because the concern is if a healthy adult dies from this coronavirus, that is a real problem. well, look, the first thing to say, and the answer to that, is we don't have a list provided by the chinese government of all 106 people, their ages, the state of their health, where they have been. we just health, where they have been. wejust don't health, where they have been. we just don't know. we have anecdotal evidence, for instance, the latest case confirmed in beijing two days ago, the death there was a 50—year—old man. most of the

cases that have been publicly discussed in the media tend to be people who are older and have pre—existing health conditions that makes them vulnerable. all right, that's what i wondered. and just very briefly... i am told we're out of time. thank you for all of that. of course, there is so much more detail on our website, so do have a look at some of the information and detail there. there has been a muted response among world powers to donald trump's plan to forge peace between israelis and palestinians. under the proposals, israel would getjerusalem as its capital, and full sovereignty over west bank settlements. palestinians could get an independent state. but many foreign governments say they need to study the details before commenting or have outright criticised the plan that donald trump has dubbed "the deal of the century. no palestinians or israelis will be uprooted from their

homes. applause israel will work closely with a wonderful person, a wonderful man, the king ofjordan, to ensure that the status quo of the temple mount is preserved, and strong measures are taken to ensure that all muslims who wish to visit peacefully and pray at the al—aqsa mosque will be able to do so. for too long, far too long, the very heart of the land of israel, where our patriots grade, 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. translation: i say to trump and netanyahu, jerusalem is not for sale. our rights are not for bargaining.

and your deal, the conspiracy, will not pass. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news: the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, is meeting britain's foreign secretary, dominic raab, amid concerns huawei could pose a risk to national security. boris johnson announced on tuesday that the chinese tech giant would be allowed to play a limited role in building the uk's 5g network, despite pressure from the us to resist the deal. peru's opposition leader, keiko fujimori, has been returned to jail while prosecutors continue their investigation into allegations of corruption and money laundering. she was released in november after spending 13 months in jail, but that decision has now been overturned on appeal. the home of manchester united executive vice chairman ed woodward has been attacked by flares and graffiti by fans. he has been blamed by sections of the united fanbase for the club's slump in fortune. the club called the incident unwarranted, and threatened anyone found guilty

with a ban for life. mr woodward was not at home at the time of the attack. surging sales of the iphone have helped apple achieve record quarterly profits of more than $22 billion. and it is not alljust about the iphone. other services, like apple music and apple pay, are also helping its fortunes. but could there be a cloud on the horizon in the form of the coronavirus in china? james hughes, chief market analyst at the brokerage axitrader, joins me now. good to see you, james. $22.2 billion in profits in three months. yes, it is a fairly impressive number, we would say. that's massive, of course, and this comes after they haven't been performing as well as they have done in the past.

and what's interesting about this is previously apple has a lwa ys this is previously apple has always been about the iphone, for however many years we have been talking about it. the one trick pony is what the concern was. absolutely, and of course, last year the new models failed to sell in the record numbers that they had expect it. this year really has seen a return to form. the iphone 11 models really flying off the shelves. so that has really helped. but it is not just so that has really helped. but it is notjust those which have helped. because with iphones and their products, there is this issue with the enormous price that you have to pay for them. whether you pay through an operator or whether you pay apple directly. but what has been really positive for their sales is the smaller accessories, the air pods, the various different charging portals, the apple watch, the wea ra ble portals, the apple watch, the wearable tech is the stuff that has really helped. apple music, apple plus, apple tv, but you

are right, the coronavirus is starting to be an issue and thatis starting to be an issue and that is why the share price hasn't really rocketed in after hours trading, because tim cook came out and said, look, our expectations for the next year, we have had to put those a lot wider because we just don't know what the impact is going to look like on manufacturing. do you think, as well, he has manufacturing expectations to a great degree? absolutely. he canjust great degree? absolutely. he can just put out this statement and low expectations for the next quarter, because you come up next quarter, because you come up with numbers as strong as this, how do you keep that going? absolutely, so a very easy win for them is to say, look, we don't know how this is going to be, we expect to see a slowdown, and if we don't see that slowdown, absolute bumper numbers for the next quarter. see you very soon. yesterday, at around this time, we heard about the giant glacier in the middle of the west antarctic ice sheet that scientists fear could be beginnng a process of catastrophic collapse. this collapse could be enough to swamp many of the great

cities of the world. as part of the bbc‘s our planet matters series, our chief environment correspondentjustin rowlatt is travelling with a team of scientists trying to work out how fast the ice is vanishing. but what does it take to do science in a place as hostile and remote as antarctica? antarctica is the stormy is continent on earth, and west antarctica is the most remote and stormy part of it all. so we've been out here for, like, i don't know, an hour and a half, and this. it's the result, and it gives you an idea of why it is so difficult to operate here. all the planes are grounded. they are saying we won't fly anywhere for at least three days. this is what happened next. got to get in. so we just happened next. got to get in. so wejust got happened next. got to get in. so we just got in from filming, and this is the result. check the snotsicles on this. i know, disgusting. but it does show

why doing scientific research here is so challenging. it has taken here is so challenging. it has ta ke n yea rs here is so challenging. it has ta ken years of here is so challenging. it has taken years of preparation to get the scientists out here. last year, get the scientists out here. last yea r, two get the scientists out here. last year, two strengthened british ships brought hundreds of tons of fuel and cargo to a remote ice shelf. then a team of specialists no vehicles dragged at 1000 miles over the ice, across some of the toughest terrain and toughest weather imaginable. and all at a maximum speed ofjust ten mph. six people can do a huge amount, but we just truck along, day through day. nobody really knows where we are, and then we suddenlyjust turn up, delivering a bounty. the us provided air muscle, flying in the scientists and their equipment, and ferrying everything down to the camps at the front of the glacier. in the front of the glacier. in the really hard work began, digging snow and lots of it. the scientists need ten tons of

the stuff to feel this, a water container the size of a small swimming pool. this will be the most southerly jacuzzi in the world. a bank of boilers heats the water to just below boiling point. it is sprayed onto the ice to melt a whole almost half a mile down to where the ocean water meets the glacier. only 110w water meets the glacier. only now can the scientists deploy their instruments. the whole of this region is below sea level, which is why the so—called doomsday glacier is so vulnerable. the water can just keep on melting it. only by taking measurements here can we hope to get accurate predictions of how sea level is going to rise in future, even if it means arousing the curiosity of some of the creatures that live here. this yea r‘s creatures that live here. this year's work has confirmed the scientists' fears. warm sea is melting the ice of west antarctica increasingly rapidly, raising sea levels worldwide. the challenge now is

for the rest of us. reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for the rising oceans we will face in the decades to come. you can find out more about the ground—breaking science taking place at thwaites glacier at bbc.com/news, or on the bbc news app stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we meet the chilean scientists who are trying to save the loa water frog from extinction. 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. you're watching the briefing. our headlines: the total number of cases of a new respiratory virus in mainland china has jumped to almost to 6,000, with more than 130 confirmed dead. president trump has unveiled

his middle east peace plan to applause from israel, but condemnation from the palestinians. the european parliament is set to approve the terms of the uk's departure from the european union in an historic vote later. the 751 representatives in brussels are expected overwhelmingly to back ratification of the withdrawal agreement, paving the way for the uk to leave with a deal in place on friday. meps from the uk are already clearing their offices and packing to leave, as adam fleming reports. the work goes on in the european parliament, as thrilling as ever, but look at those empty seats. the brits are checking out already. those empty seats. the brits are checking out alreadylj never are checking out already.”

never really unpacked because i never really unpacked because i never knew if we were leaving 01’ never knew if we were leaving or staying or what we were doing. doctor david bowl is exiting from an office, a job, a lifestyle. this is the piece de resistance, my brexit hat. into the box back six months ago, we thought this was really a lost cause because there was an extension, another extension, we thought there would be another one and then things have finally come to fruition back and think what we've really achieved, it's extraordinary and i know we are leaving because they've changed the date on my badge. have they, what does it say? it used to say until 202a. brexit will mean changes here in the european parliament. some of the empty british seats have been saved up for new countries that join. have been saved up for new countries thatjoin. 27 of them are being reallocated to existing member states, and they will go to people elected in the european parliament elections last may, who have been waiting months and months and months for the brits to

finally leave. what's that? this we bought at the beginning, but it stopped over a year ago, so beginning, but it stopped over a year ago, so it's been in a box. metaphor! as the clock takes on the next phase of negotiations, this labour mep says we will have to pay more attention to this place when we are out than we did when we were in. we've totally underestimated the power of this parliament. u nfortu nately the power of this parliament. unfortunately that is to our cost. we a re unfortunately that is to our cost. we are going to learn the ha rd cost. we are going to learn the hard way. because we still have to pay attention to what happens here? either way we move from being a rule maker to a rule taker. companies in the uk who want to trade with our biggest neighbour will be complying with the rules made in this house. they will probably be spending a lot of money trying to lobby those rules from outside. so how will the momentous moment be marked? it's especially designed for polska five had made.

others have organised farewell events. i've heard rumours of bagpipes. but the rest of the eu is keeping it low—key. not even a little whiskey at midnight on the 31st? you mean to celebrate? to market. i don't belong to the people who celebrate things. i celebrate for things that cheer me up and this is not going to cheer me up. i wonder what i'll be doing on february the first and it is the morning after the night before where we will be aware of what's happened and how we move on. and everyone wants to know what will happen to the british flag that flutters outside. it will be lowered on brexit night and put into a museum. the uk... history. adam fleming, bbc news, brussels. let's talk tennis because by the end of today we'll know the four ladies and four men who will contest the

semi—finals at the australian open. the bbc‘sjohn watson is in melbourne. sojohn, we knew half the semi—finalists yesterday, who do we know? a very important day ahead?m isa a very important day ahead?m is a hugely important day on another gloriously sunny day in melbourne park, sally, and you just wonder, have we seen the performance of this year's grand slam champion potentially in the women's singles? the reigning wimbledon champion, simona halep, put in a brilliant performance in her match to come through in straight sets, beating anett kontaveit. well, you just wonder whether or not that straight sets win has set her up straight sets win has set her upfora run straight sets win has set her up for a run to the final. a really impressive run so far from her at the tournament this year, where she will play garbine muguruza, who despite being a grand slam champion, is unseeded. her match was meant to be tougher against anastasia pavlyuchenkova, when you consider she has knocked out angelique kerber and another former grand slam champion as well. you just felt perhaps

things were opening up but it was comfortable for garbine muguruza as well, and they will meet in the semifinals while we will see sophia kenyon against ash barty. the headline match coming up, rafa nadalagainst dominic thiem. before that we will see the conclusion of alex perez and stan wawrinka, he is looking to take a 2—1 lead at the moment, but the nadal team match offer something interesting because we talk about the established order in the men's game, the big three, the men's game, the big three, the austrian could perhaps rival those for the title this year. it will be interesting when they meet for the semi—final place later. i've been getting the thoughts of chris, a former olympic semifinalist in the doubles, working here for austrian tv, andi working here for austrian tv, and i got a sense of what he thought. he'sa he's a better player now and he has a few tools, rafa depends heavily on the backhand with a

high ball, dominic can attack this now and that will be important and this match will be one from the baseline, directly on the baseline, not three metres behind. this is important, court position, aggressive shotmaking and that is where i see dominic peaking because he played so good against gael monfils. that is his prediction. he feels you have to take the game to rafa nadal, and that is what dominic thiem will attempt to do later and it's interesting for dominic team because he had a patchy run. his mum came up with the theory if you win a tournament, i will get a tattooed. he won a few tournaments last year, she has a view tattooed from that, so if he wins here she will get another one. wonder what she might get, may be an australian symbol, a kangaroo or a koala. that might act as inspiration for dominic thiem if he is going to win the tournament this year. we will be keeping a

close eye on that's for sure. looks glorious where you are, very different to london. 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 the cause of it. the most affected animals are amphibians. they're 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 their 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.

we asked you at the beginning of this programme to tell us what you think about apple, given it has made a huge amount in the last few months of 2019. we will have a view in business briefing but you haven't held back, as ever. christian humphrey says, "when the premium price came with premium hardware and features, i was a apple customer and fan but that hasn't been the case for many yea rs hasn't been the case for many years and it is profit over customer experience and product innovation". john smith says apple isn't that expensive when compared with samsung and huawei, high—end ducts are quite cheap. les says vastly overpriced products, including desktop computers, stupid prices. jess o'brien says she has been an apple customer for many years, it is generally more stable and there hasn't been anything innovative since the iphone 4 years ago. a view of you have mentioned it is making so much money but is it paying any tax? that is a very

good point. we will talk more about apple in a moment. stay with us, see you soon. hello. temperatures are set to climb over the next few days after what for some has been a brief taste of winter. still some snow lying around over some snow lying around over some high ground and moisture at lower levels, so still the potential for ice at lower levels, so still the potentialfor ice on at lower levels, so still the potential for ice on wednesday morning, which could cause travel problems. temperatures starting around freezing or below freezing in some parts of scotland. we start the day under the influence of a very wea k under the influence of a very weak ridge of high pressure, you can see the bump in the isobars, so some dry weather to be had and this frontal system introducing rain in the northern half of the uk. we start with some showers for northern england and scotland, some wintry over high ground, and then the rain pushes in,

scraping across the north of northern ireland and setting in across a good part of scotland and there will be some further snow at least for a time over high ground in scotland. some of the mountains could see a further ten centimetres. the far north of perhaps holding onto something brighter southern scotland turning very wet through the afternoon. some of the rain moving through northern ireland and into northern ireland and into northern ireland and into northern ireland ‘s. cloud increasing into northern ireland and the north—west, brighter skies further used and milder. ten or 11 degrees. quite windy, particularly across northern areas. through wednesday night, we push this rain everfurther wednesday night, we push this rain ever further north in scotla nd rain ever further north in scotland and behind it we feed in an awful lot of cloud in the south—west with the odd spot of drizzle. turning murky but very mild, certainly compared with the last couple of mornings. because of this feed of moist, mild from the south—west. the orange colours wafting across

all parts. the cold air moving away north—east. thursday will bring wet and windy weather across scotland and further south, a fair across scotland and further south, afairamount across scotland and further south, a fair amount of dry weather, yes, but lots of cloud and the odd spot of drizzle and more persistent rain perhaps for a time more persistent rain perhaps fora time in more persistent rain perhaps for a time in the far south of england but look at the temperatures: for friday, we will see various outbreaks of rain, some rain moving south—east in england and wales and more rain into northeast. then later with some brighter spells in between. may be turning cooler late in the day in northern areas but in the south, highs of 1a.

this is the business briefing, i'm sally bundock. lifting the lid on record—breaking profits, apple sees earnings soar as iphone sales surge. countdown to brexit. how the drinks industry is working to make sure it doesn't suffer a hangover after britain leaves the eu. and on the markets: there is a very mixed picture developing in asia. you can see japan is steady, however, markets in hong kong and in china are being hit extremely hard. concerns about the coronavirus and its impact is affecting financial