this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top stories: china says more than 170 people have now died from coronavirus, with over 7,000 confirmed cases of infection. president trump accuses his former national security advisor of ‘betrayal‘ and the white house warns him not to publish his book. it's the day before brexit — and we discover a rush of brits buying property in france before the deadline.

and coming up in business briefing: losing friends on wall street. facebook posts its slowest growth ever as antitrust and privacy concerns mount up. 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. do tell us what you think of the stories we're covering today — just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. plans to evacuate foreigners from the chinese city of wuhan have been delayed as special

flights haven't yet been cleared to leave. foreign governments have organised chartered flights to take their citizens out of the city as the numbers infected with the potentially deadly coronavirus continues to rise. authorities there say 170 people have now died — there are another 1,700 confirmed cases. hong kong has halved the number of flights to mainland china and suspended train and ferry services. joining me now is robin brant in shanghai. robin, if we start with these delays on flights trying to leave the region, floats to the uk and other countries, do we know more about the issues there? it seems to be a bureaucratic issue of the chinese not giving permission for citizens of other countries or dual nationality holders, to leave, in this instance, british citizens. the bbc

spoke toa man british citizens. the bbc spoke to a man called magner, his readers who is stuck with his wife who is indonesian does mike called neck. and his children. this is not surprising in chinese bureaucracy. this is a fateful for british nationals organised by the british government and only british citizens are allowed to go. that appears to be the reason why that flight departing wuhan, due earlier this morning, it's going to london, but has not left out. planes from several other countries have been delayed while this bureaucratic issue is addressed. it said in a brief statement, the foreign 0ffice brief statement, the foreign office from london, it is going to urge ntly office from london, it is going to urgently deal with this matter and get the plane up in the hour, back to the uk as soon as possible. the japanese have had success, they are looking at a third plane, possibly, to airlift some of their citizens out. interestingly, in that first light, the japanese performed some examinations on the passengers and discovered two on that flight who were

positive in terms of carrying this type of corona virus, but they weren't showing any symptoms, those people. they continues to be very worrying. thank you, robin brant in shanghai with the very latest. the bbc has been given exclusive access to scientists in the us racing to develop a vaccine for the new coronavirus. they are working at record speed to come up with a vaccine that will protect people against the deadly disease, as the number of people infected in china continues to go up. inovio pharmaceuticals has told the bbc it plans to start human trials by the early summer. the bbc‘s global health correspondent tulip mazumdar reports from their labs in san diego. developing a new vaccine can ta ke yea rs, developing a new vaccine can take years, sometimes decades. but international research facilities all around the world like this one here in san diego are trying to come up with a vaccine for the new coronavirus in record time. let's find out how they're doing it.

so this is doctor k broderick, hello, kate. she has research and development here at inovio pharmaceuticals. you development here at inovio you can tell us about how you even start creating a vaccine? how does it work? what you are looking at here is the actual dna sequence of the virus from the outbreak in china. we received this virus sequence when the chinese authorities put it online. we downloaded it. we started working on it immediately. essentially overnight we designed the vaccine that you can see here. the next step then is to put that into manufacture. so, let's have a look at that now. 0k. let's have a look at that now. ok. so, here we are, tulip in the plasma manufacturing lab. you can see here we have taken the dna medicine, the plasma, and now we have added it to bacteria and the incubators in the back, you can see the bacteria growing. in these fast on the benchtop here you can see them as well. it is a

musty smell, but you get used to it after a while. the next step will be to purify the dna from the bacteria, that will give us a pure product which can be used for preclinical testing which was that this week. we hope to get the final product into human testing by early summer. 0k, kate brodrick from inovio, thank you for telling us inovio, thank you for telling us about that. the hope is to get this into human trials by record signed by the early summer. there are a number of international pharmaceuticals doing similar work. it is unclear how long this outbreak in china is going to continue for, but it is hoped they will have a vaccine in time to help people in this outbreak. tulip mazumdar, bbc news, san diego. the white house has warned the former us national security advisor, john bolton, not to publish a book which it says contains classified information. speculation is growing he may give evidence at the president's impeachment trial after lea ks of his memoirs appeared to contradict

the defence put forward by donald trump's lawyers. they wrapped up their arguments earlier, triggering two days of questioning by senators. 0ur washington correspondent chris buckler has more. for many, many hours, both president trump's alloys in the prosecution team answered a series of questions obscenity senators in this impeachment trial. however, the one question is around once a nswered question is around once answered is whether or not trump osmotic formant national security adviser, john bolton will be called give evidence during the hearings. mr bolton has apparently written a book, and according to leaks of it, he says that mr trump specifically link the holding of military aid to ukraine to his desire and holding an investigation into his potential presidential rival, joe biden. that has been denied by mr trump's lawyers so far, and it is clear the white house

is trying to stop the publication of this book. they say it is full of confidential information which cannot be published. although, that is denied by mr bolton's lawyers. whether or not he is called to the senate floor to ask questions there, that is up to a strict vote of senators. at this stage is not clear that democrats have one over another public —— enough republicans was not the vote itself will ta ke was not the vote itself will take place on friday. that was chris buckler in washington. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news: police in mexico have begun a huge man—hunt for a leading member of the country's biggest drug gang, who's escaped a top security prison, with two others. extra police have been deployed in mexico city, along with helicopters, to search for victor felix beltran. he and is family have links to the former leader of the sinaloa cartel, joaquin guzman, known as el chapo. two decommissioned satellites,

travelling at more than 48 kilometres an hour, seemed to have had a near—miss. organisations tracking space objects recorded them coming within metres of each other, above pennsylvania. they plan to release full data in the coming hours. astronomers have revealed never—before—seen images of the sun — and they've got closer than ever before. the striking, high—resolution images of the sun's surface were captured by a solar telescope in hawaii. this is one image, looking a lot like a collection of gold nuggets. actually, each one of these nuggets is roughly the size of texas. fascinating, isn't it? let's turn to our top business story now — facebook — because shares in the social media giant were down sharply after its fourth—quarter results. that's despite another set of mind—boggling numbers. facebook made revenues of

$21 billion in the three months to december — up 25% on the same time last year. but that was the slowest growth in the company's history. profits were also hit by soaring expenses. jane foley, senior fx strategist at rabobank joins me now. it's nice to see you, jane. good morning. it's interesting. these big numbers, the market has gone one way and given it a thumbs down, or a dislike, however you want to describe that but 2.9 billion people are now using facebook. that's right. jane foley that's a big number. that is their monthly uses, including ups like what's up, messenger, instagram as well. so 2.5 billion people every month use facebook alone —— including whatsapp and instagram. but what caught people off guard this time was

the rising costs. a lot of regulation is coming into had companies like facebook. analysts thought because their investment in extra previously had begun to slow, the costs would slow. actually the costs and expenses for the last quarter were 34%. so that is what really hit shares. but what really hit shares. but what we have to really say is even though shares were down 7.296 even though shares were down 7.2% on the back of this news, over the last year they have been up 50%. in terms of those soaring costs for policing itself, that is to prevent regulation, isn't it? that's facebook showing they are serious about countering misinformation, about privacy, how david is used, etc, etc. yes, so this is self—regulation, if you like. that's interesting in this context because there is a lot more better from the context because there is a lot more betterfrom the eu, for insta nce more betterfrom the eu, for instance about regulation. and companies such as facebook want to show they can self believes this. but their investment in

this. but their investment in this has slowed, —— self believes this —— self—police this. growth in the last quarter was only 25% — only 25% —we quarter was only 25% — only 25% — we have to remember this is a mature company and it's only natural. we have so much to discuss later on in the business briefing. new figures from france suggest that the number of british people owning property there has fallen since the brexit referendum in 2016 but in some pockets of the country, estate agents have reported a ‘brexit boost‘, with uk buyers in a race to find a home there before britain leaves the eu. 0ur paris correspondent, lucy williamson, reports from eymet in the dordogne. karen and her husband came to europe to find a lifestyle they say britain has lost. the kennels they run in dordogne have been home for the family

since april. now they say they will remain here no matter what happens following brexit, even if it means becoming friends. quite a change for a couple backin quite a change for a couple back in 8016 voted to leave the eu. ifia back in 8016 voted to leave the eu. ifi a crystal ball and i could see in three years' time, suddenly we are in france? that is going to happen? from our own personal thing now, if it wasjust myself, it would be staged. but for the wasjust myself, it would be staged. but forthe uk, i still think leave could be beneficial for the uk. —— think leave could be beneficial forthe uk. —— if it wasjust my self, i would choose stay. terry simpson owns nine estate agents in the region, after an initial dip agents in the region, after an initialdip in agents in the region, after an initial dip in interest, she says brexit has been good for business. as time has gone on a

thing people have become either used to it was stressed rated —— frustrated with it or have bought despite it. a lot of people have tried to work to the deadlines around brexit, so last year was the busiest year we ever had. now, i have a big picture that will go... this woman has moved here from scotla nd woman has moved here from scotland at the age of 80 to be closer to her daughter, joanne. planning where to hang her paintings is the easy part. planning for her healthcare and residency rates after brexit is much harder. though, little will change until the transition period and is. there is no way that we would go home if france didn't want us, we would look for another european country to go to. i voted to remain, i love free travel. i feel sorry that that's been taken away. but we'll make the best of it. uncertainty over brexit has become part of daily life here. the weak pound has

made everything more expensive, but in this british heartland of france, panic over brexit has largely faded into stoicism, denial and determination to stay. frieda is already a regular at the weekly market in eymet, where local goods next with favourites from back home. president macron is fond of saying the bitters will always be neighbours. here in eymet, anglo—french relations don't span the channel, but the width ofa span the channel, but the width of a garden while. lucy williamson, bbc news, eymet. 0n the eve of the uk's departure from the european union, former commission presidentjean—claude juncker has told bbc hardtalk the negotiations on the future trading relationship between britain and europe would be "very tough" — especially when it comes to the fishing industry. i think it is up to the negotiators to sort out what can be done in favour of britain and what has to be

kept alive as far as european rules are concerned. we will have negotiations. this will be very tough. but we knew this before. and so don't be surprised that these negotiations will be tough. when emmanuel macron says that if there is not continued european access to british fishing there is no chance of a comprehensive trade deal are we to take him seriously? yes. because it's a huge concern in the french port ‘s and other regions... huge concern in the french port 's and other regions... but the vast majority of eu nations are not even fishing states. but this doesn't take away the importance of fishing for france, belgium, the netherlands, denmark, and for others. it seems to me that there is a danger in talking

tough in this way the eu is misreading the politics in the uk, because the whole point of exit is to take back control and if you listen to some of the british fishermen's leaders as they have been doing in recent days, they have said that what they see from the eu isa that what they see from the eu is a cynical attempt to continue deeply unfair fishing practices which have disadvantaged british fishermen which they will no longer tolerate. yes, but this was pa rt tolerate. yes, but this was part of the treating is and the negotiations we had over the decades with britain. the fact that the european union was to stick with these arrangements is not surprising. forma european commission presidentjean—claude juncker there speaking to my colleague. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: france is to outlaw the culling of unwanted male chicks by the end of next year — as part of new animal welfare measures.

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. 0ur headlines: the white house has warned president trump's former national security advisor that his controversial new book can't be published unless he deletes classified information. the world health organisation is to meet later — amid warnings that the entire world needs to take action to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. let's discuss this in more detail now. joining me from university of california is professor anne rimoin, an epidemiologist with the ucla fielding school of public health. professor rimoin has been working in the democratic republic of congo on research into infectious diseases including ebola. welcome to the briefing. you worked in the democratic republic of congo on research

into infectious diseases including ebola. what did you learn there that you think can be applied to what's happening now with coronavirus?” be applied to what's happening now with coronavirus? i think we have learned a lot from the recent ebola outbreak that has occurred in drc, the outbreaks that occurred in west africa, and also many other outbreaks that have happened over the past several years, including theaker, mers, and the sars outbreak. we have learned it is very important to work with communities, it's very important to diagnose people as quickly as possible with rapid tests a nd quickly as possible with rapid tests and communication is very, very important. all of these things are played major roles in stopping other outbreaks that have occurred recently. and from what you have heard about coronavirus, how dangerous is this compared to others such as ebola, sars, mers, et cetera? well, this coronavirus, we still have a

lot of information that has yet to come to light. we have a lot to come to light. we have a lot to learn. we still don't know how transmissible it is or how it affects otherwise healthy individuals. and i think those are two individuals. and i think those a re two key individuals. and i think those are two key things that we really need to understand before we can determine how dangerous this really is a. and in terms of how this is being managed by the chinese authorities, but also a reaction from other governments in the us, uk, et cetera, do you feel this is the right action they are taking to try to contain this? yes. i think the chinese government are taking steps to be able to control the virus in china and the screening in airports around the world is an excellent step. and i think there have been a loss of —— has been a lot of money out effort put into preparedness around the world and i think that's really going to

pay off today as we are dealing with another outbreak. we have got to live there, but we appreciate you your expertise with us, professor anne rimoin, an epidemiologist based in the united states. france is to outlaw the culling of unwanted male chicks by the year 2021, as part of wider animal welfare reforms. currently, male chicks are killed on an industrial scale because they don't lay eggs and are often not wanted for meat. this report from rich preston. you may find some of it upsetting. about 7 billion male chicks are killed around the world each year. it's common practice in the food industry. male chicks don't grow as quickly as female ones, so aren't considered useful for their meat and, of course, they don't lay eggs. they're sorted shortly after being born and either gassed or sent to high—speed grinders. now france says it will

put an end to the practice. translation: certain practices today may be considered shocking to our fellow citizens. 0ur farmers do not do these things out of pleasure. we're going to publish the regulations in the next few weeks to ban all painful practices in animal husbandry. the move will make france one of the first countries to ban the culling of male chicks. it's already banned in switzerland and germany's only allowing it to continue temporarily until a new measure is found. it's hoped techniques will be developed to allow the sex of a chick to be determined before it hatches — making culling no longer necessary. but animal rights activists say the moves don't go far enough, highlighting that there have been no promises to improve slaughterhouse conditions or move away from intensive animalfarming. rich preston, bbc news. tennis now and it's women's semi—final day — and the home favourite ashleigh barty has been on

court. the bbc'sjohn watson is in melbourne. ashleigh barty is the very popular favourite. how ashleigh barty is the very popularfavourite. how has ashleigh barty is the very popular favourite. how has she got on? well, i can tell you, sally, that the barty party is over. this wasn't in the script, was it, she was hoping to become the first australian woman to reach the australian 0pen final in a0 years. she was beaten by sofia kenin in what was a really close mat, in sweltering conditions here. they would you do have a ten minute break after the second set, such is the norm here when temperatures reach a certain level, but it never got to a third that because kenin up and straight sets. it is worth pointing out that ash barty did have two set points in each of those respect sets, but kenin, such a fighter out on court, came through to win and straight sets. and i guess, really, it is a huge amount of disappointment, not least because it felt like it was the

narrative to this year's tournament, the performances of ash barty and carrying the hopes and expectations of an entire country on her shoulders. and she has looked so cool and calm the way she has negotiated our way through to the semifinals. at that run ended by a impressive performance by kenin at the united states. she really found some form last year with the five title she won and she certainly carried it into this year. so she is into herfirst grand slam vinyl. who she plays, of course, we will find out in the next few hours. with simona halep and the arena must deliver on court now. both formal wendle —— wimbledon champions. it should bring a step closer to achieving a grandson. something very few at the elite level of women's tennis managed to achieve. and semi—final to come. novak djokovic against roger federer. a match that needs no introduction. absolutely not. we will see you

again soon. that is the first half of today's briefing. we will have a lot more detail on facebook ‘s numbers, which were out after the closing bell on wall street late yesterday. they will see you soon. —— i will see you soon. hello there. wednesday was a day of contrasts across the country. for england and wales there we re for england and wales there were decent sunny spells around and it was a little milder. however, a different story in the far north in scotland, we had some persistent rain, it brought a couple of inches of rain to western scotland in 2a hours. this low pressure is going to be an issue into tomorrow. but one unifying factor right across the uk is the south—westerly flow will dry milder and right across

the country through the end of this week. so what a difference a day makes. wednesday morning, pretty much all of us were treated by temperatures hovering around the freezing mark. thursday morning we are going to see temperatures around 7—8d. so is going to be around 7—8d. so is going to be a mild start, it will be murky. a lot of bowed around, the canalfor a spot a lot of bowed around, the canal for a spot of drizzle, misty conditions, showers in the south—west and may be some fog as well. rain still continues into scotland. although it drifts steadily north, allowing for brighter conditions later in the afternoon. still pretty windy with the rain, but mild for all. temperatures will be widely into double digits by the middle of the afternoon. highs ranging from 10— 1a degrees. as we move out of thursday into friday is more wet weather to come. is this weather front here, plenty of isobars with it winds again strengthening and some of the rain could be quite heavy, particularly on west facing

those. we start off with an pretty windy weather. that rain will drift its way eastwards and then we can into a band of showers. by the end of the afternoon we will see more persistent rain clinging on to the north—west of the great glen. the temperature is very respectable for this time of year, 8— 1a degrees the overall high. | year, 8— 1a degrees the overall high. i was eye could see the trend for the weekend brightens down, but unfortunately it's not going too. low pressure never too far away. plenty of fringes moving in across the uk. as one clears away it will be replaced by another —— fronts. you get the gist of the weather for the weekend stop basically wherever you live it will be showers along the spells of rain through saturday and sunday. there will be grey interludes from time to time. and when that happens it will be hinting —— rate will continue to feel mild.

this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. losing friends on wall street. facebook posts its slowest growth ever as antitrust and privacy concerns mount up. plus — two days to go. will brexit put the squeeze on britain's winemakers, or uncork their potential? and on the financial markets — the coronavirus outbreak continuing to

weigh on stock markets. fed chiefjerome powell warning it is adding to global uncertainty as he kept us interest rates on hold. let's start with facebook, because shares in the social media giant were down sharply after its fourth—quarter results. that's despite another set of mind—boggling numbers — let's show them to you. revenues for the three months to december were just over $21 billion — up by around a quarter on the same time last year. more than a third of that was profit. investors, though, are used to much faster growth from facebook — 25% is the slowest growth rate