china faces growing isolation as the corona virus claims 300 lives and hong kong's health workers call for the border with the mainland to be closed. britain outside the european union. the prime minister prepares to put forward his plans for international trade after brexit. hello, and welcome to bbc news. the number of people infected

with the coronavirus in china has risen steeply, with nearly 2,000 new cases and 45 more people confirmed to have died. russia is the latest country to announce entry restrictions on chinese citizens. it has halted their visa—free travel and also stopped issuing them work visas. james ra nsley reports. wuhan and its surrounding cities remain on lockdown. some are let through if they meet certain criteria, and others have to beg to be let out. translation: i'm very upset because they are treating patients with coronavirus, but my daughter has leukaemia and she also needs to be treated by a doctor. they are eventually let through, but many residents have been denied passage. and now the united states, where there are confirmed cases of the virus, has stepped up its own efforts to contain the outbreak. the president has signed a presidential proclamation temporarily suspending the entry

into the us of foreign nationals who pose a risk of transmitting the 2019 novel coronavirus. china has called the travel ban "unkind" and insists it can contain the virus. there is no reason for measures of unnecessary interfere, with international travel and the trade. australia, russia, japan, pakistan and italy have also announced similar travel bans. as foreign governments continue to evacuate their citizens from wuhan. health officials say that the coronavirus is more contagious than china's sars epidemic in 2003, but it is not as deadly, and they are warning against countries closing their borders. whenever people want to travel, they will, and if the official paths are not open they will find unofficial paths, but the only way to control, to check fever for example, to identify travel is to try to monitor who is coming across your border,

and to see whether they have any signs of infection, is through official border crossing points. as china races to build hospitals for those infected with the virus, it fears further isolation from the rest of the world could make matters worse. britain's prime minister is to address foreign diplomats and business leaders on monday, in a speech on his plans for international trade after brexit. borisjohnson will confirm that he wants to negotiate a free trade deal with brussels. chris mason reports. a winter's day like any other, and yet symbolically, legally, psychologically, everything has changed. for the first full day in 47 years, the uk isn't part of the club of our nearest neighbours, a triumph for those who partied here last night... we should celebrate the fact that, freed from the constraints of the european union,

we once again will be able to find our place in the world! on monday, the prime minister will set out how he plans to do this. he wants a relatively loose arrangement with the eu, similar to the one canada has, and he wants to negotiate deals with countries such as the united states and japan at the same time. but look at this... the european flag still flying on the flagpole outside the scottish parliament. plenty are deeply upset at what's happened. those wanting scottish independence claim brexit proves why breaking away from the uk is necessary. we can look the people of scotland in the eye and say, "look, we really did try to turn this around, but because the people of scotland aren't in charge of events, we're suffering the loss of our european status." what comes next is going to be the challenge, but today is just a sad day. in bristol, those hoping to be labour's next leader also expressed their regret,

but the shadow brexit secretary said brexit had taught him that... but, he added, ease of access to the eu's markets would depend on how many of its rules the uk accepted. i think in a way, none of us are able to take on board the enormity of what has happened, and the words can't describe the uncertainty of the future for both ourselves and the european union, and indeed in the united kingdom. and for that reason, the scaffolding needed to create that new long—term relationship will soon be as visible as the real thing here. chris mason, bbc news. president trump is a step closer to being acquitted in his impeachment trial after the us senate voted against calling witnesses. he has been accused of abusing his power and obstructing congress. 0ne senior democrat accused republicans of being accomplices to a presidential cover—up. from washington, ben wright reports. are there any senators in the chamber wishing to change his or her vote?

if not, the yeas are a9, the nays are 51. and with that vote, the beginning of the end of president trump's impeachment trial. just two republican senators broke ranks with their party, and joined democrats demanding more evidence. it was their last chance to try and trip up a president who left the white house for florida last night more confident than ever that the senate will acquit him of obstructing congress and abusing his power. democrats had been desperate to hear testimony from this man. donald trump's former national security advisor, john bolton. according to the new york times, mr bolton writes in a forthcoming book that president trump instructed him to withhold military aid from ukraine in exchange for dirt on democratic rivals. if the president is acquitted with no witnesses, no documents, the acquittal will have no value. but white house lawyers insist their transcript of phone calls between the president and ukraine's leader,

president zelensky, show the president did nothing wrong. let me read you what our ukrainian ally said. "it was normal. we spoke about many things. "i think, and you read it, that nobody pushed me." only the third presidential impeachment trial in us history will wrap up next week, with closing arguments starting on monday and a final vote on wednesday. the republican—led senate is virtually certain to acquit president trump, who will try and frame this bitterly partisan saga as a washington witch hunt, as he revs up his re—election campaign. this is our moment in history. but democrats campaigning in iowa ahead of monday's caucus, the first poll in this election season, hope voters will pass a different verdict on president trump's fitness for office, come november. ben wright, bbc news, washington.

plenty more on that and lots of other updates on our website. health officials say the risk to staff and students at the university of york is low after it confirmed one of the first two people to test positive for coronavirus in the uk has been studying there. the university said the student hadn't been on the campus or in student accommodation in the period after being exposed to the virus. public health england said it was making "good progress" in tracing people who have come into close contact with the two chinese nationals. 0ur north of england correspondent judith moritz reports. life on campus at york university has carried on as normal today, but amongst the 18,000 students here, some are worried that one of their peers has tested positive for coronavirus. can you tell me why you're wearing a mask? are you worried?

a little. a little nervous because of this. when did you start wearing it here? today! i'm not totally bothered, because i feel like given the number of students at the university, i feel like it might not even spread. i don't think there are many students here compared to bigger universities. the student was taken ill along with one of their relatives while staying at this hotel in york on wednesday. the university says it doesn't believe they came into contact with anyone on campus while they had symptoms, but investigations into this are ongoing. we understand this development will cause concern and anxiety, but i want to reassure our students, staff, and the wider community that we're working closely with the lead agency, public health england, and other agencies to manage this situation.

the university campus is operating as normal, but extra measures have been put in place, like more hand sanitisers in buildings here and a hotline which has been set up so that students can ring in if they have any questions or concerns. the two patients continue to be treated at this hospital in newcastle. today public health england said it was making good progress in tracing people who have been in contact with them and there have been no more confirmed cases of the virus, with 201 people tested negative. we're being looked after to the absolute maximum... meanwhile, at arrowe park hospital in wirral, 83 people have spent their first day 01:14 in quarantine in apartments normally used to house nurses, who have been moved to local hotels. as far as we know, we're all both tickety and boo, in that order. 12,000 cases of the virus have

been confirmed in china and around 100 elsewhere. public health officials say the threat in the uk is moderate. judith moritz, bbc news, york. thousands of nurses, doctors and hospital staff in hong kong have voted in favour of strike action which could start as early as monday. there are currently 12 confirmed cases in the city but there are fears the number could rise as people return from the lunar new year holiday. mariko 0i reports from hong kong. tensions are high. this city feels on edge. almost every one is wearing a face mask. this new epidemic brings back memories of the sars outbreak of 2003, which killed nearly 300 people here. as coronavirus spreads, some medical staff want the government to stop mainlanders from entering the territory.

this union says it represents 18,000 medical staff who work for public hospitals. that is more than a fifth of the total of public health workers. the hospital authority employees alliance is a new union that was formed late last year, during the pro—democracy protests. 60% of the members are young nurses, and it grew rapidly in the last few week, since the outbreak. they've just voted to walk out from monday morning, unless the government gives in to their demands. they will be negotiating with the authorities on sunday, but if the strike goes ahead it would add to the pressure on hong kong's leader carrie lam. the move is highly political. one of the group's leaders says the possible strike is their response to the government's uneffective measures. the whole action or strike is to

prevent, because the government do not do the right thing, to prevent outbreak, and also, that is why, what we would do, we are not repressing for democracy at moment. even this medical emergency has been politicised. in a city that has experienced so much political upheavals in the past year. the israeli military says it's hit a number of targets in the gaza strip belonging to the palestinian militant group, hamas. it said it took the action after a number of rockets were fired from gaza, aimed at israeli civilians. israeli media is reporting that the government has also decided to block the import of cement into the occupied territory — as a punitive measure against rocket attacks. a 19—year—old man has died and a woman is seriously ill in hospital, after they are believed to have taken the

drug mdma. a number of others have also been admitted to hospital, after suffering adverse effects at a nightclub in leamington spa. we're working with our partners at the moment to try and identify any other uses of this drug last night. but i would say is that if anybody has purchased this drug and have it in their possession and haven't taken it, please destroy it as soon as possible. obviously we don't know what we're dealing with at the moment, the necessary is being taken in account, in relation to its toxicology, etc. but that is ongoing, so please just be careful and mindful of what you might be taking, if you have this drug in your possession. emergency crews dealing with a major fire at a bakery in west yorkshire have told people living nearby to keep their doors and windows closed, in case asbestos is escaping. around 140 firefighters have been tackling the blaze in wakefield, which broke out yesterday afternoon. a mother and her son have appeared in court charged in relation to the burglary of entrepreneur and heiress tamara ecclestone.

jewellery believed to be valued at around 50 million was stolen from the daugher of bernie ecclestone at her london home in december. 47—year—old maria mester and 29—year—old emil—bogdan savastru will appear in court again later this month. this is bbc news, the headlines: china faces growing isolation as countries around the world impose travel bans and suspend flights to stop the coronavirus. britain outside the european union — the prime minister is preparing to outline his plans for international trade after brexit. and now witness history. we go back to the great storm that ravaged the south of england in 1987 — and we tell the story of a remarkable tree that not only survived the hurricane but also changed the way that trees are cared for around the world.

at the time, it was devastating, i was devastated. tracy had been looking that you have grown to recognise and be familiar with were lying on the ground. here we are in kew gardens, the royal botanic gardens just south of london. in the gardens we have about 111,000 trees and an incredible diversity representing all corners of the world. there has not been a storm like this in the south coast counties for as long as anyone can remember. certainly the scale of the devastation hasn't been experienced since the second world war. in 1987 on

the 16th of october, we had a storm that came in from the south—west. very strong winds, that wasn't really predicted. houses and blocks of flats have their roots torn away and people were rescued by firemen from buildings in danger of collapse. in the south-east england alone, we lost 15 million trees in the specimen hour. here at kew, we lost 700. the canopies were like a sale ofa the canopies were like a sale of a tree and the wind hit the canopies and push them over. the turners 0ak was probably the keeping of the whole story. this whole tree had been lifted out of the ground and were talking about a big tree that would have been nearly 200 yea rs would have been nearly 200 years old. the whole tree had been pulled out of the ground and sat back. the whole root plate had come out and it is slightly tipped and leaned over. before that we knew that the tree had been a slightly

u nwell the tree had been a slightly unwell but this was an opportunity to save it and give ita opportunity to save it and give it a last chance. we managed to pushit it a last chance. we managed to push it back and we prop it so the props are still under the tree to stop it from falling over again and we decided that that would be the last tree to cut up. we would clear all of the arboretum and come back. three years later, we can back to that tree and it was a picture of health. we couldn't really understand why. what we realised was that over the yea rs realised was that over the years people walking into that had compacted at the soil around the roots. the root plate was very compacted. i use a wine glass as an example of the tree. the pace at the bottom, the base that sits on the table and stops the wine glass from falling over is the root plate of a tree. the root plate is very shallow so on that night, nature picks the tree up out of the ground, shook the roots back in and then lots of ferocity in the soil saw the oxygen could get

back down to the roots and then it will get water. and what we realised was that every other tree at kew was suffering from the same problem. that was the start of a new era of tree management. not only at kew but in it gardens all across the world today. 0ver in it gardens all across the world today. over the years, companies have developed machinery specifically for soil injection and what we call air cultivation. from that came the ash bed. trees are like people, they are moody and stress but a beautiful when they are happy. the golden rule that i got from the storm was that you have got to copy nature and run with her and then you will succeed. whenever i walked past the turner's 0ak, i always have a smile and a chuckle. i'm getting a bit emotional now. she's put more than a third of

her growth on since the hurricane. i walked her growth on since the hurricane. iwalked past her growth on since the hurricane. i walked past her and patted her and/ a leaf so that she knows i'm there and thank her really. such an interesting story. residence in cambrai and australia have been put on alert over fears that bushfires may spread. as they of emergency was declared on friday and the first in the area since the deadly fires then 2003. the territory's emergency services chief associate scheme to avoid panic but said that evacuations may be necessary. the bushfire south of canberra and the national park behind me has been bought burning for more than a week now. they was meant to be the worst day. it's very ravaged for a 115,000 hectares, about 15% or more of the australian capital territory or the act. the head of the emergency services he has said

that there is no immediate danger to suburbs in canberra but said the situation could change for area south of the capital. in a suburb of banks where i am now, people have been told to clip and close eye on fire activity. you have the combination of sweltering heat. today has been a really hot day. the wind picking up and tinder dry landscape. that is how things can get worse. the fire itself has been behaving a bit erratically, spreading in multiple directions. then of course there are the embers. they jumped way ahead course there are the embers. theyjumped way ahead of course there are the embers. they jumped way ahead of the main front causing their own fires. we understand that embers from this place have caused spot fires in new south wales. it is really what worries people in the southern suburbs, the kind of damage that embers can cause. something else has been weighing heavily on people here and that is the memory of the devastating fire of 2003 when four people were killed and 500 homes were lost. that is why the authorities are not taking any chances. a set of emergency

has been called and there are co nsta nt has been called and there are constant warnings on the radio. we have seen aircraft fly over the place dumping water and fire retardant. the military has been knocking on doors advising them what to do in the case of evacuation. everybody now is watching closely and waiting to see how the fire is going to behave. let's return to brexit now. the uk is now free to negotiate and sign new trade deals with countries like the united states. so what is the view of brexit in the us? jane 0'brien reports from new hampshire. the silver fountain tea parlour in dover... that is dover, new hampshire, is a popular place for ladies who lunch. here in new england they feel close to the old country, and not only because of the familiar names and tradition of tea. the political upheaval of brexit is something they can also relate to. i understand how they may be kind of sick of being part of all the other european nations but that's their strength.

i think brexit is a very sad situation and it will be tragic for england. why? i feel that england is going to be ostracising themselves from the rest of the world at a time when it is more important for us to be global and i think this isjust a backward move, similar to the us. new england's relationship with the uk has had its up and downs over the last four centuries. great britain is america's fifth largest trading partner. international business expert peter lane says the us is vital to the british economy. but brexit has created uncertainty. as we look forward over the next years these trade relationships evolve, we need to remember that it is a rubiks cube. as the eu and the uk negotiate, that is one side, the uk and the us, another side. but then each group has other relationships that will be impacted.

so it's notjust straightening out one side, it will take several yea rs before this settles and we know what the world will look like. tourism is another important link. british visitors spent $141 million in new england every year. brexit should not affect that. but despite the uncertainty, some things never change. a nice cup of tea, for instance, on either side of the atlantic, can always be counted on to soothe the nerves. a scientific expedition to the galapagos islands has discovered two species of the galapagos tortoise — which were previously believed to be extinct. it's an exciting find for scientists who say one of the young female tortoises could be related to lonesome george — a gentle giant who died almost eight years ago and was thought to be the last of his kind. freya cole reports.

nestled into the crevices of this volcano, the highest peak of the galapagos islands are 30 prehistoric giants. until this moment, scientists thought they ceased to exist. translation: 29 have genetic ancestry of the extinct tortuous. and once femalejuvenile torts extinct tortuous. and once female juvenile torts this is of genetic ancestry of the extinct pinto taught us. the last remaining pinto tortas died eight years ago. his name was lonesome george. he was 100 yea rs old was lonesome george. he was 100 years old and didn't produce any offspring other sciences tried for years. this new discovery could help track down a direct descendant. scientists also hope to facilitate reading of both the pinta and florrie arnott taught us is to help grow numbers of the fragile species. translation: hopefully

in the very near future, we cannot bring back two species that were extinct and with captive breeding and scientific work we can recover them. it's an exciting opportunity to rebuild the ecosystem, just might be slow going. here's the weather with tomasz. the second half of the weekend is looking changeable across the uk with rain on the way, that should sweep across the uk through the morning with a bit of sunshine in the forecast as well. looking at the forecast through the early hours and rain already across the south—west of the uk and through the night making its journey towards the north of the country but never reaching scotland, in fact most of scotland, that is, at five in the morning is clear and there is also a touch of frost. it is a different story in the south where it is mild and wet and you can see where the heavy rain is, at five or six in the morning.

by that time the weather will have improved already across the far south—west of the country and then by mid—morning we have some sunshine in the midlands and by late morning even some sunshine reaching parts of yorkshire. but the far north of england and scotland are in for a wet morning and afternoon and the possibility of a bit of snow falling across the scottish hills. a mild afternoon in the south, around 1a degrees. we also have showers in the forecast in the west of the country and those will continue into the evening hours on sunday. the forecast for monday and a nasty area of low pressure is forecast to sweep across scotland meaning severe gales on the way and the wind will pick up early on monday across the western isles of scotland, touching gale force very soon in the morning and basically through the morning into the afternoon those winds will build and we will see heavy rain sweeping through, possibly some snow across the mountains and to the south of that it is dry and bright and maybe the southern counties getting a little dose

of snow to that we will focus the wind, very strong indeed, reaching 80 miles an hour in gusts around the western isles of scotland and then monday evening into early tuesday we expect the worst of the weather to transfer to eastern parts of scotland and here you can see gusts of around 70 miles an hour for murray and aberdeenshire and it is expected to be windy inland and these winds could cause some delays and structural damage in places as well. on thursday in the wake of the weather system again some nasty when possible affecting eastern parts. that high pressure will build not until the following day on wednesday. some very windy weather to come through monday and tuesday and then coming down across the uk on wednesday.

this is bbc news, the headlines: more countries have imposed travel bans on china because of the new coronavirus. over 300 people have now been killed, with 45 new deaths confirmed in the last few hours. health workers in hong kong are to go on strike until the border with the mainland is closed. britain's prime minister is to address foreign diplomats and business leaders to set out his plans for international trade after brexit. the french president said the level of access to the eu's single market would depend on how many of its rules britain accepts. president trump is a step closer to being acquitted in his impeachment trial, after the us senate voted against calling witnesses. he has been accused of abusing his power and obstructing congress. one senior democrat accused republicans of being accomplices to a presidential cover—up.