i'm rico hizon in singapore, the headlines: forced medical care and people held down to be sprayed with disinfectant, china adopts extreme measures to tackle new coronavirus. seems like those now can be found right across social media, and they are really feeling a sense of anxiety and peer about the coronavirus which is spreading right around the world. the democrats‘ race for the white house gets real, with the iowa caucuses set to be the first formal test for the remaining candidates. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: a setback in the fight against aids, as scientists say an experimental vaccine

against hiv does not work. and, we have a special report from the himalayas, on how vital these yaks are to life in the mountains. good morning. it's midnight in london, 8:00am in singapore, and in beijing where president xijinping has told his most senior team that stopping the new coronavirus from spreading is the country's most serious task. he spoke as shanghai's stock market crashed and the us closed its doors to any new visitors from china. a short time ago it's been confirmed that 425 people have

died from the virus, and there are over 2a,000 confirmed cases. from hong kong, rupert wingfield hayes sent this report. in a wuhan virus ward, a group of nurses and patients are singing a famous patriotic anthem. "my motherland and i," they sing, "are never apart." the propaganda message is not difficult to understand. in china's state media, the focus is now on uniting the country to fight the virus. hundreds of military doctors and nurses have been arriving in wuhan to join the battle. "when our country is in difficulty," this female soldier says, "it is our duty to be on the front line." china's logistical capabilities are beyond dispute. which other country could complete a 1000 bed hospital in less than two weeks? today, that is exactly what happened as the first patients arrived.

but there is an ugly side to this all—out fight against the virus. in this unverified footage, the man pinned on the ground was caught without a face mask. "spray him with disinfectant," the official shouts. in much of china, wearing a mask is now compulsory, despite doubts about their effectiveness. in this video, a whole family is being forcibly removed from their home, to a waiting ambulance. lots of videos like these are being shared to foreign websites. they show police locking an old man suspected of having the virus in his home. "do you have enough rice," the policeman says. "0k, we're chaining the door." here the policemen are warning a resident who has posted something about the virus on social media. "sharing any information about the virus is illegal," he tells her. scenes like those now can be found right across social media and they are really fuelling the sense of anxiety and fear

about the coronavirus that is spreading right around the world, but nowhere more so than here in hong kong. people here simply do not believe they are getting a realistic picture of what is happening in wuhan and central china, and that is why there is now a crescendo of demands that hong kong close its border with the mainland completely. hong kong's chief executive today ordered more border crossings closed but said some must remain open. there were indeed more hong kong people crossing the border, almost on a daily basis and then they have to come back. that was not good enough for these hospital workers who have now voted to strike until the border is shut. fear is even more contagious than the virus. this is the centre of shanghai, china's biggest city and economic heart. when the bill comes in for all of this, it is going to be huge. rupert wingfield—hayes,

bbc news, in hong kong. we'll have more on the coronavirus later. first some of the day's other news: the british government has promised fundamental changes to the way convicted terrorists are handled following sunday's knife attack in south london. sudesh amman was shot dead by police after he stabbed two people. he'd just been freed from prison, after serving half of his sentence for terrorism offences. here's the british justice secretary. a known risk to innocent members of the public is released early by automatic process of law without any oversight by the parole board. we will be doing everything we can to protect the public. that is our primary duty. and we will therefore introduce emergency legislation to ensure an end to terrorist offenders getting released automatically, having served half of their sentence with no check or

review. also making news today, seven critically ill children in war—torn yemen have flown out of the country for medical treatment. the life or death mission took two years to organise and is a rare moment of cooperation between the warring factions. 23 others will follow on a second plane. the un says it's a temporary solution to reduce the suffering of yemeni people. here's the bbc‘s chief international correspondent lyse doucet. saying goodbye after months of waiting ina saying goodbye after months of waiting in a hotel, critically ill children and their parents, now at last heading to the airport to take them for the life—saving treatment they so badly need. it's taken two yea rs of badly need. it's taken two years of tough negotiations to reach this point. this airfield is controlled by the houthis,

and in the midst of these warring sides, a. house managers say senators have a duty to remove president trump from office in their closing arguments of his impeachment trial. mr trump's defence team have responded, saying that voters should decide his fate in this year's election. the trial is expected to end wednesday with an acquittal. malawi's constitutional court has annulled the results of may's presidential election, which was narrowly won by the incumbent, peter mutharika. it ordered a fresh poll be held within the next 150 days. thejudge said there were widespread, systematic and grave irregularities. there's been widespread disruption in nigeria's commercial capital, lagos, after a government ban on motorcycle and tricycle taxis came into force. long queues of angry commuters formed while drivers of the traditional taxis staged protests, in some areas blocking roads and burning tyres.

the authorities say they've outlawed the taxis because of criminality in the sector and high casualty figures. back to our top story now, the spread of the new coronavirus as chinese leadership admits shortcomings in fighting the outbreak. so what more could be done to stop the spread of the virus? dr emma miller is from the college of medicine and public health at flinders university in adelaide in southern australia. think that in a very real sense, the world needs to consider that it can't actually be stopped reading, and in fact the world health organization wouldn't have declared an emergency of international concern if it hadn't already gone beyond china and into other countries. i think that we do have to be careful that the efforts we are taking to

try to address the issue are not actually exacerbating some of the problems that are going to be associated with the virus. what about putting a whole city in quarantine? is this the answer? i really don't think that it is, and that is not necessarily what the world health organization is proposing. one other difficulty is, if the door had shut two seconds after the first few cases had arisen and one particular group of people had been stopped from contacting other people, then maybe there is something to be said for closing off whole areas, but the problem is that this virus was probably happily spreading in mild form for quite some time before serious cases started arising. what about your doctor? what would you propose, what should be done?” think that mainly we need to be very vigilant. i think it a very vigilant. i think it a very good thing that the world

health organisation has declared, is engaging the world in this way under its declaration. this is a novel virus which means, by definition, that we don't have any immunity to it in the population, but mostly that the infection will cause only mild to moderate symptoms, but in a small percentage it will cause very serious injury, very serious illness. what we need is to calmly make sure that we are monitoring the disease, understanding the way that it spreads, treating those that need it, and most importantly, helping lower income countries to manage those serious cases that are occurring in its borders. doctor emma miller, thank you. we got much more on the coronavirus on our website. lets go to the united states where in the midwestern state

of iowa, candidates vying for the democratic nomination to oppose donald trump in november's presidential election, face the first test of their campaigns. it's called the iowa caucus, thousands of gatherings throughout the state where voters pick and choose their preferred candidate. the bbc‘s chris buckler is in des moines in iowa. one of those precincts whether voting is taking place in. before we talk about the runners and the riders, took us through how this works? because the iowa caucus, it is quite a quirky voting mechanism in health? yeah, people are gathering now, they are going out in the snow—covered streets, they are going to schools, halls, members of the democratic party. and in those small groups they will essentially go into smaller groups to support the

candidates that they want to see challenge donald trump in the 2020 presidential election here in the united states. and it is quirky, because this isn't a secret ballot, this isn't a secret ballot, this isn't like a normal election where you put your preference into a box. instead, it is like a town hall meeting. they gather into groups that they wa nt to gather into groups that they want to see the candidates go forward and challenge donald trump. it is a very public event and quite an unusual event and quite an unusual event but it gives a sense to the democrats who are the leading contenders in this battle to become president, or the presidential candidate for the presidential candidate for the party, and it is a tight one at the moment. we have at least four candidates who are doing particularly well in the polls and it could be a pretty tight one. took us through the runners and riders are. how strong is joe biden? runners and riders are. how strong isjoe biden? he's the one that everyone is talking about the moment. of course, a former us vice president, and somebody who hopes he will do well out of iowa. what is see

from each of these candidates including joe biden is that they have been here for months, putting in dozens of days of campaigning in order to try to persuade iowa that they will be ina persuade iowa that they will be in a position to vote for them, but he is not the only one. bernie sanders is also here, there were 3000 supporters supported by the band vampire weekend. he has a very young supportive fan base who may well come up for him and he could be another big contender. the others are pete buttigieg who of course is a small town near from south bend who of course is a small town nearfrom south bend indiana but has also ended up being a real potential candidate in this and he hopes to do well here as well as elizabath warren. senator fort massachusetts who has been one of president drum's pose, and that vitriol from the president sometimes gives you media attention. amy culpitt cha, another senator from not that farfrom here. every sense another senator from not that far from here. every sense we get at the moment is that this

could be tight and they are going to be watching the numbers extremely closely. from each of those, they are going to gather all of the votes on the big board and we get a sense of who will be a front runner as it goes from iowa to the others as the democrats go through the state—by—state basis. although iowa actually shows, historically, who then ends up as the democratic nominee, at least for the past four terms, it doesn't... nominee, at least for the past fourterms, it doesn't... it's not necessarily as clear—cut as that, is it? you are quite right! being a front runner here is great because it means you have momentum going into these other states, it also means you are in a position where you can basically get more money which is very important for campaigns, but actually, iowa is just important for campaigns, but actually, iowa isjust a important for campaigns, but actually, iowa is just a start and it is going from these different states, new hampshire is going to be next and of course super is going to be next and of course super tuesday can be a big moment at the start of next

month, and it could be even more important for the democrats, because although he is not taking part in the particular caucus, mike bloomberg who is a billionaire and another flow of donald trump is someone who is already advertising. he has chosen to stay out of these early contests but he will come in on super tuesday when a lot of votes are available, when you can get these delegates to really push the idea that they can potentially be democratic candidates doubly so mike bloomberg is in here but he is overshadowing, to some extent, this campaign and you do get the idea that it is not going to be one in iowa this year, but as i say, it is so important for momentum and that is why they are here and a d roves. is why they are here and a droves. they have spent so many days campaigning in the school lunch halls and sports halls just trying to get people on the sides copy iowa frankly matters. and that is why we will be back with you in about 45 minute, and the whole team there and iowa. thanks so much.

you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: scientists say they are deeply disappointed that an experimental anti—hiv vaccine does not work. we will find out what that means in the battle to stamp out aids. also on the programme: it's a hard life for yaks. we report on how the tough mountain creatures are struggling to survive in india. this is the moment that millions in iran had been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid. the ban on the african national congress is lifted immediately, and the anc leader, nelson mandela, is to be set free unconditionally. ..four, three, two, one... a countdown to a critical moment. the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27

of its engines at once. and apart from its power, it's this recycling of the rocket, slashing the cost of a launch, that makes this a breakthrough in the business of space travel. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it a piece of cake. thousands of people have given the yachtswoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth after she smashed the world record for sailing solo around the world non—stop. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. and i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: the number of people who have died from the new coronavirus in china has now risen to 425, as the government admits shortcomings in its response to the outbreak.

voting is about to start in the iowa caucuses, the first clear indication of who is leading the way in the race to be the democrats' presidential candidate. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the philippine star leads on one of our ongoing stories, the coronavirus. investors are worried, as more than $400 billion have been wiped from china's stock market in its first trading session after the lunar break. the strait times also looks at the coronavirus outbreak. singapore's health minister, gan kim yong, told parliament they have already begun developing a portable testing kit for the virus. but in the uk, the focus is on sunday's knife attack on the streets of london. the guardian reports on the government's plans to change the time convicted terrorists serve in jail. the proposal could mean prisoners currently due for release halfway through their sentence could now spend

longer time injail. those other papers. —— those are the papers. hopes that an experimental vaccine could protect people against hiv, the virus that causes aids, have been dashed. the trial of more than 5,000 people in south africa was stopped as it found the jab did not prevent the disease. dr carl dieffenbach is the director of the division of aids at the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases in the united states, who sponsored this study, and explains why it was stopped. so, by stopping the study, an independent group outside of the trial took a look at the information that has been generated to date, and based on rules that were set before beginning the study, said this

trial can never demonstrate any level of activity for this vaccine. so it's just level of activity for this vaccine. so it'sjust — it's highly appropriate to stop the vaccinations and then start a year of follow—up just to make sure that everybody who received the vaccine is basically fine. so how was the vaccine supposed to work, then? so the vaccine is supposed to go into your body, like any other vaccine, and make an antibody or an other vaccine, and make an antibody oran immune other vaccine, and make an antibody or an immune response that will then fight the virus. and while we know the vaccine went in and made an immune response, it clearly was not able to fight the virus. so it's almost... from the five... just over 5000 people that took pa rt just over 5000 people that took part in this, nearly as many people became infected with hiv as didn't, is that my understanding? so why did this fail? that is the most important question. it's a very

important question. it's a very important question. it's a very important question. but what we saw, and that's why we do randomised controlled trials, where half the people get the vaccine and half the people don't, and if the infection level is the same in both groups, the vaccine's not working. so it fundamentally failed to do what it was designed to do. but what is interesting is that this is based on a previous vaccine study that ended in 2009, in thailand. that worked, so why is this one not working? well, that's a really interesting question. and most likely, and this will be a lot of speculation, but my personal feeling is there's something unique about the virus in south africa that's different than the virus that circulating in thailand. that said, that is just one idea. there were a number of changes we made between the vaccine we used in thailand and the vaccine were used in the republic of south

africa, but that was required because of the differences in the virus, so we have a chicken and egg situation here. we don't know if the chicken is at fault or if the egg is at fault. hundreds of yaks starved to death during an unusually severe winter last year in the north—eastern indian state of sikkim. now, herders and officials are concerned about the fate of the remaining population. only 76,000 yaks are left in india.

the serious plight of the yak. you have been watching newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us. coming up in business news: we will bring you the latest market reaction to the coronavirus outbreak. and let's end newsday with a discovery about basking sharks.

they apparently like to enjoy feasts with their relatives in familiar feeding spots, in contrast to other sharks, which tend to travel alone or in random groups to find a chance meal. hello. we've got some fairly chilly and windy conditions out there at the moment, with low pressure very much in charge of the weather at the moment, it is an unsettled story. quite lively whether, in fact. early tuesday we are likely to see a bit of travel disruption, particularly for scotland and northern england, with a combination of some severe gales and also some icy stretches. and wintry showers around too. now, we got an area of low pressure that moving south through the north sea. quite a lot of isobars on the map, so it is going to be a windy picture first thing tuesday morning, and quite a chilly morning too. temperature is just about above freezing for most of us, but a little below freezing, i think, for most of us, but a little below freezing, ithink, in for most of us, but a little below freezing, i think, in the countryside first thing. and if we ta ke countryside first thing. and if we take a look at the wind gusts we are likely to see tuesday morning, up to around

about 40—50 mph quite widely across much of scotland, perhaps even 55 mph across the pennines. windy to for northern ireland, down towards the midlands, and even along the south coast we could see gusts of wind reaching around 45 mph. so tuesday, blustery showers really wherever you are. also a bit of sunshine on offer, but do watch out for those icy stretches first thing, particularly across the pennines, southern upland and highland scotland as well. most of the showers should gradually ease away, though, tuesday, so it will be a gradually improving picture. some sunshine developing, a bit of patchy cloud here and there, and those strong gusty winds slowly starting to ease on into the afternoon. but temperatures only around about eight to 10 degrees, and with a windchill, with a brisk northerly wind, it will feel a bit colder than that. and then as we move through tuesday night and then on into wednesday, eventually we will start to see this area of high pressure building in from the west. so that will quieten things down. we're going to be seeing largely dry, clear conditions through tuesday evening and overnight into wednesday as well. that's a little bit more across the north—west of scotland, with a

few showers here. elsewhere, clear spells, if you mist and fog patches, and a touch of frost. so first wednesday, temperatures quite widely down to around about freezing, perhaps two or three above in more rural spots, but a chilly wednesday. a little bit of mist and fog around, especially further south across england and wales. that should lift into low cloud. but more sunshine developing during the afternoon. a little bit cloudier across the north—west of scotland. fairly cool temperatures, somewhere between about seven to nine degrees for most of us. looking ahead was the end of the working week, that area of high pressure stays with us. to not only dry on wednesday, but also for thursday and into friday too, with a bit of sunshine, but also look out for frost, mist and fog. and then, as we look towards the weekend, late on friday toward saturday, the first weather front moves across the uk, bringing outbreaks of rain at times. so it isa outbreaks of rain at times. so it is a bit of an unsettled story as we look towards the weekend. particular by sunday, things turn wet and windy once again. goodbye for now.

i'm kasia madera with bbc news. our top story: xi jinping says stopping the spread of the coronavirus is the most serious task facing china. the leadership admitted shortcomings in its response, as the number of people killed in the outbreak there rises to 425. some 20,000 people have been infected worldwide,the vast majority in china. the first formal test in the race to the white house is under way in iowa, with democratic candidates contesting the caucuses. president trump is expected to secure the republican nomination with ease. and on our website, scientists say they are deeply disappointed after trials involving an experimental vaccine against hiv proved ineffective. it had been hoped the jab would work against a southern african strain of the virus which causes aids. other research will now be prioritised instead. that's all. stay with bbc world news.