welcome to newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: it has been confirmed that a chinese doctor who first reported the coronavirus in wuhan has died from the disease. more protective measures are put in place in china. some cities ban public events and put limits on people leaving their homes. donald trump confirms that forces have killed qassim al—raimi, the leader of al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula. i am nuala mcgovern in london. donald trump celebrates his

impeachment acquittal with a long and scathing attack on the democrats. and we look at the flat fit for a parasite. the tiny south korean homes featuring in the oscar—nominated movie. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday. glad you could join us. it's 9:00 in the morning in singapore and 1am in london and we start the day in china where once again the toll of the coronavirus continues to climb. authorities say at least 630 people have lost their lives as the number of cases spikes to more than 30,000. this comes as a chinese doctor, li wenliang, who was the first to publicly warn of the virus, succumbed to the disease in hospital. the 34—year—old has been hailed as a hero on chinese social media.

meanwhile, authorities across the region are scrambling to contain the virus. here's rupert wingfield—hayes. this is what happens when fear takes hold. shops in hong kong today were being cleared of rice and toilet paper as rumours swirled of a complete shutdown of the border with mainland china. out in hong kong harbour, a huge cruise ship, the virus possibly loose on board. several passengers have tested positive and no—one is being allowed off. from his balcony, hinsley lee can look out at his home town but cannot go there. translation: i am nervous but the only thing we can do is stay in our cabins and be careful. hong kong has now at least five cases of people with the coronavirus who have not been to mainland china and have not had any apparent contact with people from mainland china.

also, three of them live in the same place, that is this building behind me here, and that may be the first indication of what is called community transmission. that is the virus passing from one person to another here in hong kong. experts here say they are now not optimistic that the virus can be contained and that a full pandemic may be on the way. not so, according to the chinese ambassador to london, insisting china has the situation under control. it is our hope that the governments of all countries, including the uk, should understand and support chinese efforts. respect the professional advice of who, avoid overreaction, avoid creating panic. but at the same time, from wuhan, pictures the like of which we haven't seen in generations —

stadiums, gymnasiums and conference centres all being turned into fever centres, so desperate is the shortage of beds for the sick. by phone, i managed to talk to a young woman in wuhan who described to me the stress of not knowing what is going on and what to believe. translation: we don't feel safe. this is yards emma translation: we don't feel safe. we don't know how the virus is passed from one person to another. but we can't stay at home all the time, and we don't know when this will end. we don't know when we will be able to return to normal life. that's very stressful. there is some good news. these are patients who have recovered leaving hospital.

tonight we learned the virus killed this man, dr li wenliang. in early december this bravetor doc tried to warn authorities about the spread of a dangerous new virus. his warnings were ignored. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in hong kong. the director—general of the world health organization says the scientists still need to answer a series of questions if they are to defeat the new coronavirus. he's compared the fight against the virus to shadowboxing. there is still a lot we don't know. we don't know the source of the outbreak. we don't know what its natural reservoir is and we don't properly understand its tra nsmissibility or severity. to defeat this outbreak, we need answers to all those questions and there are tools we don't have. we have no vaccine to prevent infections and no therapeutics to treat them. let's take a look at some of the day ‘s other news. donald trump has confirmed us

forces has killed qassim al-rimi, forces has killed qassim al—rimi, the head of al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula. he said qassim al—rimi died during the counterterrorism operation in yemen and his death brings america closer to eliminating threats posed by us security by al-qaeda and other groups. let's speak to peter bowes who is following this. how significant is this? well, potentially this could be very significant. we don't have too many details from the white housein many details from the white house in that statement which as you've said has told us that under the direction of president trump, this counterterrorism operation was carried out in yemen, which resulted in the killing of qassim al—rimi, a very significant figure, the leader of al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula. the significance of this could be that group claimed responsibilityjust a few days ago for the pensacola

naval base shooting at the end of last year which resulted in the deaths of three american sailors. in his statement, president trump makes no mention of that but he does say the leader of this jihadist group, this wing of al-qaeda globally in yemen were responsible for unconscionable violence against civilians in yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the united states and its forces. it's quite a week for president trump. we talked about the strikes against the iranian leaders before but he said the iowa caucus, which some are considering a win, along with impeachment acquittal. what you think the reaction will be? the timing is fascinating for all the reasons you mention, it's been an

extraordinary week this president and just watching him earlier in the day speaking at the white house, he certainly seems to be buoyant, emboldened by being acquitted of those impeachment charges, and reaction to that has been positive from his supporters. we need to learn more about the precise details. the statement from the white house doesn't tell us when this occurred. there were reports there was a drone strike a week ago but if true and this pans out to be the case, it will be welcomed by supporters and generally welcomed across the country. in terms of international terrorism, you often find there is cross—party support for that kind of action. let's take a look at some

of the day ‘s other news. the head of the democratic party, tom perez, has called for a recount of the disputed caucus in iowa. three days later, there is still confusion over the results due to the app they were using. at last count, pete buttigieg was in a virtual tie with bernie sanders. several hundres migrants stuck in serbia for weeks are holding a protest at the hungarian borderfence. they are asking hungarian authorities to let them into the european union and promising not stay in hungary. scientists have produced further evidence that climate change is causing a sharp decline in bumblebee numbers in europe and north america. the creatures are key pollinators, playing a vital role in agriculture, but with current trends, there could be a mass extinction of bumblebees within a few decades. the man charged with clearing 737 max8 planes to fly, steve dixon, the head of the us faa, or federal aviation administration, said

he would not set up a timeframe for allowing the planes back into the air. you might remember the plane was banned from flying after separate crashes killed 346 people. president trump has been celebrating his acquittal by the us senate, saying he went through hell during his impeachment process. the president claimed vindication and expressed resentment over the way he was treated. before holding forward at the white house for over one hour, he began his day on fighting form. laura trevelyan reports. at the national prayer breakfast, the newly acquitted donald trump was in no mood for brotherly love or turning the other cheek. as everybody knows, my family, our great country, and your president have been put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt people.

the president set about the business of score—settling, reserving particular scorn for senator mitt romney, the lone republican who voted to convict him, citing faith as a factor. i don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. house speaker nancy pelosi, who tops the president's list of enemies, fired back. i thought what he said about senator romney was particularly without class. later, at the white house, the music was the same and the president used his victory lap to drive home the message. we went through hell, unfairly — did nothing wrong, did nothing wrong — but this is what the end result is.

and mr trump listed his grievances, portraying his impeachment as a continuation of the scrutiny he has endured and mr trump listed his grievances, portraying his impeachment as a continuation of the scrutiny he has endured for three years. it was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops, it was leakers and liars and this should never, ever happen to another president ever. thank you very much, everybody. no contrition from president trump today but he faces re—election election in november and sees his acquittal as a powerful tool in mobilising his supporters. you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come in the programme: the last of our series of special reports on the islamic state group follows them to their new strongholds in the jungles of southeast asia. also on the programme,

automation nation. how even the bartenders injapan are being replaced by robots. 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. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents 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. welcome back. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. our top stories: it has been confirmed that the chinese doctor who first reported the coronavirus in wuhan has died from the disease. donald trump has confirmed us forces have killed the leader of the al-qaeda group in the arabian peninsula. let's have a look now at some of the front pages from around the world whereas can be expected the coronavirus continues to dominate the front pages. the japan times focuses on the plight of thousands of passengers on a cruise

ship in yokohama. it says the number of coronavirus cases now has doubled to 20. we have just received reports that another 41 passengers have also been tested positive. shifting our attention to the international edition of the new york times. reports on conditions within the chinese city of wuhan. it mentions the eerie quiet inside the city as the residents endure their quarantine process. and in singapore, the newspaper has a story on the city's first case of a patient with no former history of travel to china. authorities are trying to work at other 41 you contracted the virus. —— iii—year—old. and those are the papers. in australia, researchers have found that short—term exposure to air pollution increases a person's risk of cardiac arrest. this comes as firefighters

continue to battle against dozens of bushfires in the region. it analysed air quality and health data from japan and found that even the presence of the smallest particles, those smaller than the width of a human hair, increased the likelihood of a heart attack. i short while ago i spoke to one of the authors of the report. there are several mechanisms known, but one is that the particles are very tiny and it can travel into our bloodstream and trigger an event such as a heart attack. that is the main mechanism of it. and who is most at risk with these cardiac arrest cases in australia and why? yes, we looked at every age group and we identified the elderly, especially those over 65 years old. so, should we be worried about this?

at this stage, no extra worry is needed. we wouldn't want you to have any we wouldn't want you to have a ny extra we wouldn't want you to have any extra worries from this. but what we are going to try to do is encourage the government, policymakers and industry to try and continue their effort to make the air quality better. and what are air quality ratings saying right now? how do they reflect the bushfires in australia? luckily, since last night, we had good rainfall in sydney, so the air is very, very good. but even this level of quality, every ten—unit increase in fine particulate matter increases the risk of cardiac arrest by about 44%. thank you very much for to our guests. let us turn now

to islamic state. the caliphate has been destroyed and many fighters killed or captured. but the threat from the group isn't gone. this week we have had reports about the families of is fighters. quentin somerville report from the philippines where local islamist insurgents are stepping up their brutal campaign of violence. 0n sulu, the philippine army has been out in force and in numbers never seen here before. here, a local insurgency has been upgraded. the islamic state group has made them more vicious and broadened their ambition. sulu is an island under siege. soldiers flooded here after is struck at its heart and brought carnage to the island's catholic congregation

last january. 23 christians died in their attack when they detonated their suicide vests inside and outside a cathedral during morning mass. one year later, the cathedral has been patched up and repaired, but the christian community here still lies in pieces. for victoriana and her friends, this was their sanctuary. she's been too scared to return until now. translation: when i turned my head, i saw a lot of dead people near me. the wounded were screaming "help!" but i was thinking, who would help us? is have more thanjust a foothold here. local militants have sworn allegiance to them and firmly planted the black flag in the philippinejungle.

a small army of soldiers are now deployed here, searching for the islamic state group's affiliate. but they have not been able to stop more attacks and they admit that no—one knows these jungles better than their enemy. the men are moving pretty fast on this patrol. because they know somewhere in this jungle the new self—declared leader of the islamic state in the region. he has hundreds of his own men, filipino, but he has more. he has arab fighters here, they've come from iraq and syria, they've brought family members with them and he has already shown he is willing to do the bidding of the islamic state. we obtained this footage of fighters in battle. in their ranks, farfrom home, an egyptian fighter. he died in another suicide bombing on the island late last year.

in the jungles, the islamic state group roam wild and terrors lie in wait here. the film parasite by a renowned korean director has won critical acclaim and commercial success around the world, even tipped for the oscars best picture this year. parts of the film were shot in semi—basement flats in seoul. in real—life, that is where young korean people live in such places while they work hard and hope for a better future. the film parasite is up for six 0scars and has won praise across the world. it tells the story of a poor south korean family living in a tiny, dark semi—basement and a wealthy family living in a glamorous home in seoul. while the film is a work of

fiction, the apartment is not. 28—year—old gita has lived in one for two years. when people come in, they always where they can sit, and there is no place to sit. i heard you can survive in the desert but you cannot survive in my house. the bathroom is half a metre above the floor and there is no sink. in the summer, he suffers from unbearable humidity and battles with rapidly growing mould. 0ut here, people can peer into the apartment through the windows. they are notjust a quirk of seoul architecture, but a product of history. these tiny spaces actually trace their roots back decades. in the late 1960s,

armed north korean agents infiltrated south korea. fearing an escalation, the south korean government required all new apartment buildings to have basements to serve as bunkers. but now, as house prices grow, basement apartments are an affordable alternative. basically, everything is good, but sometimes i meet my friends and i tell my friends i live here, they think i am poor. but i am not. i choose to live here because it is much cheaper than other places. he's saving up to buy his own place. by living in a semi—basement, he and his cat hope to realise their dreams much sooner. for decades, we have been warned about the potential perils of automation, rapid technical advances leading to many people being replaced. we hear about robots in the workforce. but if you think it

is only devoted to heavy industry, think about again. in japan, robots are getting everywhere. when it comes to bartenders, this is probably the sort of thing you have in mind. smartly dressed, skilful and attention to detail. expert in libation and lubrication. but this is a bartender on the 21st century. a repurposed industrial robot ready to take —— take your order. translation: there is a labour shortage problem in the restau ra nt shortage problem in the restaurant sector. we install this to solve the issue. in addition to that, we are hoping to create a system where humans and robots can work together. this particular robot is nothing if not a versatile stoppered pour you a beer in a0 seconds, it's your cocktail inside a minute and it can also chat about the weather. reading its customers expressions using

artificial intelligence software. for some, it artificial intelligence software. forsome, it is artificial intelligence software. for some, it is even better than the real thing. translation: dealing with people can be a hassle. with this, you can just people can be a hassle. with this, you canjust come, get drunk and go home. each robot cost around $18,000, roughly equivalent to the annual salary of three human bartenders. so come in, take a seat. let mr robot for you one for your baby and one more for your road. that is quite something. you have been watching newsday. you have been watching newsday. you have some developments on the diamond princess. as we bring up some of these pictures, we talk about yokohama, the quarantine cruise ship has been docked off the coast of japan. we are hearing another a1 people on board have been tested positive for the

new strain of the coronavirus. that is 61 now on board. thank you for watching here on newsday. hello there. we have some very windy weather on the way and over the next few days the wind will pick up day by day. on friday afternoon, we could see gusts reaching 50 or 60mph over western areas of scotland, but the wind becomes much more widespread on saturday for both scotland and northern ireland and the wind will get stronger as well. gusts reaching 60 or 70mph, intentionally disrupting gusts of wind. worse is to come. on sunday, the storm arrives bringing strong winds across all of the uk but the strongest reaching in excess of 80mph, damaging winds are on the way. for the time being, although there are pictures

of frost around at the moment, the breeze picks up across western areas that will increasingly lift the frost. as we head into friday morning, the frost walk and become confined to central and eastern parts of the uk. a cold start to the day with a fair bit of sunshine around. northern ireland will see thick cloud in the afternoon and patches of rain and then we get the wind starting to ramp up in the west of scotland as we head through friday afternoon and on towards the evening. in fact, as we had through friday night, it looks like being a blowing and blustery night as a band of rain pushes eastwards, all of us will notice those wind increasing in strength. but because it will be a windy night, it will also be relatively mild with temperatures potentially no lower than 10 degrees or so. that takes us on into the weekend and windy weather is forecast. look how tightly packed the isobars are as the weather front approaches off the atlantic. saturday, many of us will have a dry bright start to the day with wind strengthening through the game and becoming very strong for northern ireland,

scotland and potentially disruptive. rain and some hill snow in the forecast for scotland, so we could have some weather impacts around as we start the weekend. on sunday, storm ciara arrives. here it is and on and ahead of this cold front we will get some very squally winds indeed and then we will get another swathe of strong winds, tucking around the southern flank of the area of low pressure. so there are multiple zones of strong winds that are forecast for sunday across the whole of the uk. quite widely, inland gust of the windiest areas could get costs in excess of 80mph. these are damaging, disruptive gusts of wind so we are likely to see disruption and we could also see some power cuts as well so stay tuned with our latest weather forecasts over the next few days.

iam i am nuala mcgovern with bbc news. 0ur i am nuala mcgovern with bbc news. our top story. it has been confirmed that the chinese doctor who first reported the coronavirus outbreak has died in hospital did li wenliang sent out a warning to other dock is working in wuhan at the end of december but was told by police to stop making false claims. president trump has confirmed that us forces have killed the leader of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. qassim al—rimi who has led jihad as group since 2015 was killed in a us operation in yemen. this video is trending on bbc .com. it shows christina returning to earth after spending more consecutive days in orbit than any other woman. her trip to the iss lasted over 300 days. these are your headlines on bbc news.