welcome to bbc news. i'm james reynolds. our top stories: security forces in thailand storm a shopping mall as they search for a soldier who went on a rampage, killing 21 people. the new coronavirus is now more deadly than sars, as the death toll passes 800. hello, and welcome to bbc news. the security forces in thailand have stormed a shopping mall in the city of nakhon ratchasima, where a soldier is holed up after killing at least 21 people in a shooting spree. 30 people have been injured, 10 of whom of are in a critical condition.

the violence started on saturday when the soldier is reported to have killed his commanding officer before stealing weapons from a military camp. he then continued his attack at the terminal 21 mall in the city centre. panicked shoppers scatter in a city centre shopping mall as they hear news that a gunman is inside, shooting people. outside, the sound of repeated shots stuns passing motorists. some of them are struck by the flying bullets. this is the start of what was to be a long and terrifying day in nakhon ratchasima. security cameras picked up the chilling image of a well—armed assailant, a serving soldier, walking calmly through the mall. the gunman has been identified as an army sergeant major. earlier, he had killed his commanding officer and stolen

weapons and ammunition from an army base, before moving on to the mall. his motive for this attack is still unclear. police and army units surrounded the mall for five hours before officers from a special police squad moved in, allowing hundreds of trapped bystanders to run out to safety. gun crimes are not uncommon in thailand, but a shooting on this scale by one man is something horribly new. the number of people who have died from the new coronavirus has now passed 800, overtaking the total death toll from the sars outbreak in 2003. at the same time, cases in the worst affected region of china appear to have stabilised slightly in the past four days. mike ryan from the world health 0rganisation said the virus remained concentrated in hubei province. we are in a four day period where the disease, the number of reported cases, hasn't advanced.

and that is good news, and may reflect the impact of the control measures we have put in place. we would hope that the same stabilisation that appears to be occurring in wuhan also happens outside. but again, it's very, very early to make any predictions about numbers in this outbreak. this is still a very intense disease outbreak in wuhan and hubei, and there are still great risks in practically all of the other provinces. china has introduced strict new rules to try to control the outbreak. in beijing, there's a ban on group dining, while other cities are limiting how many family members can leave home each day. 0ur correspondent stephen mcdonell has the latest from beijing. wuhan, the city at the heart of china's coronavirus emergency, is struggling to cope with the size

of this crisis. there are not enough beds. there is not enough equipment. hospitals have been swamped by the sick, who need to be placed in isolation. faced with an explosion of infections, two massive quarantine centres were constructed, each in less than two weeks. days ago, the 1,000—bed mountain fire god facility was opened. now, patients are also being brought to the new mountain thunder god hospital, adding another 1,300 beds. translation: what we're measuring is the net pressure difference in the room. it can make sure the wind outside is blowing into the ward, to prevent the infection source from going out. across the world, there is considerable concern this outbreak has a long way to go before being stabilised. chinese cities are introducing ever more harsh measures to try and control the spread of the disease. in hong kong, residents returning from mainland china are to spend two weeks in quarantine.

foreigners must remain inside hotels or special government—run facilities. those who don't comply are being threatened with prison time. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, beijing. polls have closed in the irish general election. the prime minister, leo varadkar, has been trying to win a third term for his party in government. an exit poll commissioned by rte and the irish times indicates that mr varadkar‘s fine gael party secured 22.4% of first preference votes, closely followed by sinn fein on 22.3% and fianna fail on 22.2%. 0ur correspondent emma vardy is in dublin. well, the exit polls suggest things are looking very tight indeed. it predicts that leo varadkar‘s fine gael party are tied with their opponents fianna fail, and it is impossible to say at the moment who will form the next government. now, counting takes place the following day, and it is highly likely after that that coalition

negotiations will begin between the parties, and that will be where things really get down to the nitty—gritty. coalitions are the norm here in ireland. now, the current taoiseach, leo varadkar, he has had a very high international profile over the past three years as ireland's youngest ever prime minister. he has had huge influence in the brexit negotiations. if it is his opponents, fianna fail, who form the next government, then it will be their leader, micheal martin, who becomes the next irish prime minister. now, the other big story of the night is there looks to be some major breakthroughs for sinn fein, major gains for them. a big, successful night for them, if that exit poll is to be proved correct. now, this is the first time that a general election in ireland has been held on a saturday. leo varadkar said he wanted it on a saturday to prevent there being school closures, and to give more people the chance to get out and vote. people have had to brave the weather of storm ciara to go and cast their ballots. but now all eyes will be on those negotiations, after the results are counted tomorrow. let's get some of

the day's other news. turkey has sent hundreds of military vehicles across its border to strengthen its presence in the north west syrian province of idlib. it follows clashes earlier this week between turkish and russian—backed syrian government forces. the long—serving president of the french ice skating federation, didier gailhaguet, has resigned over allegations of historic sexual abuse in the sport. mr gailhaguet said he was leaving with his head held high. he'd previously resisted calls to resign, after the former french pair skating champion sarah abitbol alleged in her autobiography that her coach, gilles beyer, had repeatedly raped her from the age of 15. there's no suggestion that mr gailhaguet himself committed sexual abuse. the amount of rainforest cleared in brazil's amazon region doubled last month, compared with january last year. environmentalists blame the polices of presidentjair bolsanaro, who this week said he wanted more rainforest to be cut down for mining, farming and power projects. the amazon is the world's largest rainforest and a crucial means of absorbing the gases that contribute to global warming.

kenyans have been lining up to view the body of the country's longest—serving president, daniel arap moi, as it lies in state in the capital, nairobi. mr moi, who led the country from 1978 to 2002, died on tuesday at the age of 95. the current president, uhuru kenyatta, paid his last respects, describing mr moi as an iconic leader. more now on our top story, the shootings at a shopping mall in north—east thailand. 0ur reporter aaron safir is with me now. it is 8:08am in thailand. what are you able to piece together? we are now in a stand—up situation in thailand. we believe the gunman is still inside the shopping mall. we are not sure how many other people are in there with him. we do not know if they are simply hiding out or if they are being held hostage with him. so the pictures that we have been seeing out of security forces surrounding the shopping centre. a few hours ago there seem to be another attempt by the security forces to break in and sort of flushing out. that appears to

have been unsuccessful. the reports we have suggest that he might have been in there for 12,13,14 might have been in there for 12, 13, 1a hours now. that is a substantial time for a government to be held up in a place, if that is correct. it is, but bear in mind it is a multi—storey shopping centre. there are a lot of places where he could be hiding out. and we believe he is quite well armed, having helped himself to weapons and ammunition at an army barracks earlier in his rampage. clearly, obviously, thatis rampage. clearly, obviously, that is something for the authorities to consider. are they used to dealing with these kinds of mass shootings? not really. this is quite an unusual event for thailand. there is a high rate of gun ownership, the military is entrenched in daily life, and there have been, locally, a number of high—profile shootings. but they have been quite small—scale. they have not really been anything like the scale that we have seen here, with one man apparently ona here, with one man apparently on a rampage across a number of locations and killing, you

know, at least 20 people. do we know, at least 20 people. do we know anything more about him, or his possible motives? we do not have a sense of what is authorities might be. one spokesman for the authorities said perhaps he has gone mad. there was a hint from some of his social media posts earlier on, fora his social media posts earlier on, for a while, he was posting, it seemed, while this rampage went on, saying "death is inevitable for everyone", and later asking on his facebook page, "should i give 1.7 facebook page, "should i give t facebook page, "should i give up"? but those posts were quickly taken down by facebook. has facebook commented at all? because of course they were a major issue in previous shootings in different parts of the world. facebook has expressed sympathy for the victims, the families and the communities affected, and has gone on to say that there is no place on facebook for people who commit this kind of atrocity, nor do we allow people to praise or support this attack. rn, i know you will keep us up—to—date in the coming hours as this story develops. —— aaron. heavy rain and strong winds have started to batter the uk

with significant disruption expected tomorrow. storm ciara is forecast to bring wind speeds of up to 130 kilometres an hour. british airways say they have already cancelled dozens of flights coming into heathrow and gatwick on sunday. rail passengers are being asked to travel only if absolutely necessary. 0ur correspondent richard galpin says it will cause a lot of disruption. at heathrow, at gatwick, at london city airport, dozens of flights are going to be cancelled for safety reasons. and this is particularly affecting short—haul flights and essentially what they are doing is when you have got, for example, flights going to spain, if there are several flights going, they will cut the numbers of flights so it is still possible to fly but people will be pushed into a smaller number of planes. british airways has also offered the chance for people who have booked to change the date on which they fly so they can fly at a different time to escape the storm itself. edinburgh airport, they say they haven't got any disruption so far but they, like a lot of other airports around

the country, are keeping a very careful eye on what is happening. ferries, we know that seven ferries have been cancelled, these are p&0, on routes going across the irish sea from liverpool to dublin. and on the trains also, there is some disruption there on the networks, speed reductions, reductions of timetables and actually on routes in the west highlands in scotland, they are saying they had suspended their services because they are so worried, they are talking about winds which could be in excess of 80mph, so they are saying it is not safe to run. bridges also, humber bridge, for example, is probably going to be closed, not definitively yet, and other bridges in scotland. and if you want to find out more about how storm ciara is affecting your area, tune into your local bbc radio station, or head to our website, bbc.co.uk/weather.

a group of senior conservatives is urging fellow tory mps, to challenge borisjohnson‘s decision to give the chinese technology firm huawei a role in building the uk's 5g mobile networks. in a letter, several former cabinet ministers say there are alternative options which would not compromise national security. the government insists the decision was taken following a "rigorous" review, and huawei's involvement in 5g would be limited. sir iain duncan smith explained why he's concerned about the decision. we are at a point where we need now to make a decision, and the decision is a long—term decision, notjust on 5g but on 6g, which uses the big breakthrough, about weather or not you have an organisation from a country which is an aggressor, in terms cyber warfare, and a company which is clearly, totally and utterly in the hands of the chinese government, who demand absolute obedience on these matters.

the foreign secretary says he is seeking an "ambitious" trade deal with japan as britain begins free trade talks with major economies. dominic raab met his japanese counterpart on his first overseas trip following britain's departure from the eu last month. mr raab said he wanted a trade agreement at least as good as the eu's. i have discussed how we can deliver new bilateral arrangements at least as high standard, if not higher, and at least as ambitious as the eu— japan economic agreement, which would send a very powerful signal of our shared commitment to free and rules based trade. the minister and i also discussed the uk's interest in membership of the comprehensive and progressive agreement on the tra ns—pacific partnership, and we very much welcome the advice and support from japan in that this is bbc news. the headlines: a member of the thai security forces has died during a raid on a shopping mall where a soldier killed at least 20 people in a shooting spree.

the gunman is still at large. the number of deaths caused by the new coronavirus outbreak has exceeded 800, surpassing the number killed by sars 17 years ago. five british people, including a nine—year—old child, have been diagnosed with coronavirus in the french alps. they were all staying in the same chalet at a ski resort in the savoie region. meanwhile, a final evacuation flight of british people has left china and will land in the uk early on sunday morning. here's our medical correspondent fergus walsh. it is a long way from wuhan, yet the contamines—montjoie ski resort in france now has a cluster of coronavirus cases. it appears the source was a british man who been in singapore, and while in the area, visited the chalets of 11 other britons. five were infected, including a nine—year—old child. all are in hospital, none seriously ill. translation: we are trying to chase where the 11 people from the chalets have been throughout their stay, and above all, find the people they have been in close contact with.

tracing close contacts of those infected with coronavirus is vital if the outbreak is to be controlled. the british man, who is from brighton, was diagnosed on thursday and is in isolation in st thomas's hospital in london. after getting his travel history, health officials contacted the ski resort where he had been staying. prior to that, he had attended a business conference in singapore, where he was infected with the virus. singapore now has a0 reported cases. it has raised its alert level to orange, the same as in the sars outbreak in 2003, indicating the virus is spreading there between people. it now has the second—highest number cases of outside china. there are nearly 80 britons on board this cruise ship which remains quarantined off yokohama in japan, after dozens of passengers tested positive for the coronavirus, among them alan steele, on his honeymoon. he is doing well in hospital.

those on board are mostly confined to their cabins. all passengers are allowed on deck, 50 at a time, deck by deck. so it's about once every three days we get about an hour or 90 minutes to stretch our legs on deck. in wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, a second new hospital has opened, built in just two weeks. this is wuhan airport, where more than 200 passengers, mainly british, boarded the final uk repatriation flight. it is due to arrive at raf brize norton in 0xfordshire early tomorrow, and then the britons will be taken to a conference centre in milton keynes to be quarantined for 1h days.

the australian state of new south wales is braced for more severe wet weather this weekend as downpours ease the bushfire crisis in the region. australia's bureau of meteorology warned of "dangerous conditions" on saturday and sunday. there has already been flooding in sydney and other areas along the coast. 0livia crellin has more. first came the fires, then the floods. so far this year, australia has faced weather conditions of biblical proportions. after months of destructive wildfires razed millions of hectares of land and killed 33 people and billions of animals, australia has experienced severe hailstorms and flash floods. despite the country receiving the heaviest rainfall in almost 20 years, many of the fires in the east of the country are still burning. we actually have 723 firefighters still in the field of operations. they are dealing with 38 fires, 19 uncontained, but the rainfall is obviously providing some welcome relief to many of the bushfires that have been raging.

a welcome relief, but a challenge in its own right. there have been 13 rescues, flood rescues, which u nfortu nately has doubled since yesterday. i would appeal to the community to be very conscious of the fact that drains, rivers and any number of pieces of infrastructure will be challenged over the course of this flood activity. still, for much of new south wales, which had been in drought for over three years, providing the conditions that fuelled the intensity of the recent fires, the rain is a salve. with 20 of about 60 fires in the state already put out by the downpour in the past day, australians hope that after the rain comes the sun. 0livia crellin, bbc news. women now hold a third of board positions in the uk's hundred biggest public companies. the figure is up from just 12% a decade ago. but a government—backed review, still highlights a lack of women in senior and executive roles. katy austin reports.

my my name is francesca. i'd sit on the boards of several companies, including air france, an investment trust. even with francesca's background as a successful business leader, getting her first boardroom position was tough. it's an area where often men still hugely outnumber women. change is painful. there isa women. change is painful. there is a huge value attributed to chemistry on the board. and, of course, chemistry, you have mainly with people like you. she says boards that don't have enough women are putting themselves at a disadvantage. basically, doesn't reflect your customer base, it doesn't reflect the society at large, it doesn't reflect your staff stop by the government has back volu nta ry stop by the government has back voluntary targets to increase the representation of women on the representation of women on the boards of the biggest listed companies in the country to 30%, or one in three by the

end of the year. it's february, and that target has now been achieved for the top 100 companies, but not yet for the next 250. in its fight from job done. i think 33% is next 250. in its fight from job done. i think 3396 is a very good start. but as we can see and we know, there are still many issues in the workplace to address. and we have a lot of father to go before we see, really, a good gender balance in the leadership of british business. francesca welcomes the latest boardroom target being hit, but she worries getting enough women at the top table remains a long way off. katie austin, bbc news. more than a thousand people have protested at the british museum in london this afternoon, over the energy company bp's sponsorship of an exhibition about ancient troy. climate activists wheeled a 13—foot—high trojan horse into the grounds of the museum yesterday — and two campaigners spent the night inside the horse. as part of the demonstration the group, called bp or not bp? staged a "sit—in" inside the great hall for 15 minutes, singing and chanting

"bp must fall". it's the biggest night in hollywood on sunday where the stars will be gearing up for the oscars. the list of nominees has once again come under criticism from some for being too white and, for some categories, too male. the film director spike lee will present one of the awards. he sat down with our arts editor will gompertz to talk about hollywood, diversity and female directors. the 0scars. what you make of the line—up this year? not like last year. and i said this last year, to not expect six african—americans to win 0scars next year. it is feast to famine. and it will be a struggle and the struggle continues. why does it continue to be a struggle? because power does not give up power easily. it goes to the studios. the gatekeepers and we have seen more diversity amongst the gatekeepers then

have a great effect amongst the oscars. a greater effect. is it happening at the moment? the gatekeepers? no, no. this is a business. hollywood is a business. art does not always come ahead of business. and what is that hollywood business like at the moment? post #metoo? is it changing or the same old same old? same old thing. perhaps dressed up differently. many women are making good movies. a lot more than there was. they're still not up to parity. but even this year there have been notable movies made by women but no recognition. what is going on?

get in line. i am not saying that to make light of it. it is obvious that there is work that still needs to be done. we'll have full coverage of the oscars on sunday, here on bbc news. it's also worth checking out our website, there lots of background and analysis. that's all at bbc.com/news — or you can download the bbc news app. dancers and artists on floating structures have delighted revellers attending the venice carnival. during the two week event, the city fills with thousands of tourists from across italy and the world. masked balls are held in ancient venetian palaces and gondola parades are organised in the piazzas and canals. carnival first began in the 11th century as a period of excess before the rigours of lent, the a0 days of fasting that traditionally precede easter.

and an update on the story we have been covering. the shootings in thailand. earlier we heard that the gunman continued to be holed up in the shopping centre in the city. we understand that reuters new weight —— newsagency is now reporting that the gunmen is in a basement area of the shopping centre and they suggest that there are no hostages with the gunman. we will continue to bring you updates on that story as we get them. we were hearing, of course, a little earlier on about effects of storm ciara. here's helen willetts with a full weather forecast. hello. storm ciara will batter the uk today. it is powerful and dangerous and brings exceptionally windy weather. it is unusual because it will affect such a widespread area. very few places will escape the severe gales that are forecast and hence the met office have got amber warnings in place notjust for the wind but also for rain. starting with the wind,

that will affect most parts of the uk. the amber warnings for england and wales, we expect damage and disruption, potentially a danger to life as well but it will be equally windy for scotland and for northern ireland. a stormy day across the board. as i say, a double—edged sword because there is wet weather. the rain has been coming down through the night and the amber warning is potentially for some rivers that will fill quickly across southern scotland. but many places will have a lot of rain, a0 or 50 millimetres leading to flash flooding as well. either way away from northern scotland it will be a mild start and a mild day but inconsequential because it will be very windy. these are the speeds we are talking about. for scotland and northern ireland it is quite windy as well. 80 mile an hour inland for england and wales is an unusual occurrence, once or twice a decade, hence the concern this is a powerful storm. the detail across the northern half of the country. the main wrinkle is and then there is a lot of showers coming in, hail and sleet and snow across the hills and the escalation in the wind, potentially reaching above 80

miles an hour for the central belts. that needs watching. don't concern yourself because the amber warning may be extended. a stormy day and a stormy day for england and wales with bands of rain and squally wind moving through and the wind escalate with some very powerful gusts of wind that could bring down power lines and trees, rip off roof tiles and generally cause some dangerous conditions as well. if that were not enough, it is also going to coincide with the spring tide which means we already have large waves and wind but coinciding there could be coastal flooding as well as inland flooding because of the sheer intensity of the rain as it comes along. that storm does blow away and you can still seem to keep a strong wind crosses on monday and it is a north—westerly so it will feel colder with increasing amounts of snow over the hills but we will notice a difference in the weather. as i say will remain windy but not as stormy as the day ahead. the warnings are all on the website including the details. take care.

this is bbc news, the headlines: a soldier has killed 21 people and injured dozens more in a gun rampage in the thai city of nakhon ratchasima. jakraphanth thomma killed his commanding officer before stealing weapons from a military camp. the suspect continued his attack in a shopping centre, where he is now believed to be holed up in the basement. the number of people who have died from the new coronavirus has now passed 800, overtaking the total death toll from the sars outbreak in 2003. cases in the worst affected region of china appear to have stabilised slightly.

the three main political parties fin uh gayl, sinn fein and fee uh nah foyl have tied in first preference votes, according to an exit poll for the republic of ireland's general election. none are expected to reach the 80 seat threshold needed for a majority making a coalition government likely. four rare mountain gorillas have died in uganda. they were found in a national park. the area was hit by a huge store on monday and one of those caught in the storm was our journalist, who has told us more about what happened. the storm was intense, i had been checking to see the iconic mountain gorillas of uganda the previous day and we got backin uganda the previous day and we got back in its huge electrical storm and the thunder was dramatic. the downpour of rain was like nothing i had seen before and tragically,