i'm karishma vaswani in singapore, the headlines: planes carrying hundreds of american passengers from the quarantined cruise ship princess diamond have taken off from tokyo and are heading back to the states. in china, streets in hubei province are deserted as sixty million residents are ordered to stay indoors. we'll be discussing if quarantine on this scale works. i'm nuala mcgovern in london. also on the programme: hundreds of flood alerts remain in place across the uk as the second major storm in a week batters britain.

the hug of a killer to the son of his victim we witness indonesia's radical approach to preventing terrorism. good morning. it's 8am in singapore, midnight in london and 9am in tokyo, from where two planes evacuating american citizens and their families from the diamond princess cruise ship have taken off. the ship has been in quarantine because of an outbreak of the coronavirus on board. japanese authorities say 355 people on the ship have now tested positive for the virus. rupert wingfield—hayes reports. announcer: only those american

guests who are disembarking the diamond princess tonight... for the americans at least, this is the moment that for many could not come soon enough. on the dockside, the buses lining up ready to take them to tokyo airport and an evacuation flight home. 355 passengers aboard the diamond princess have now been diagnosed with the new coronavirus. in the last two days, there has been a steady stream of ambulances removing them from the giant ship. 70 cases today alone. when i got through to american gay courter in her cabin, she was busy packing, more than eager to get off the ship. i do not feel safe on this ship. i do not know how more of us who've been sitting here for 12 days are getting contaminated, but something is going wrong. this is a failed quarantine. but i think we have figured that in the first few days when the numbers kept rising. it is very clear from the statement that the us government has made that it is

worried the quarantine on board the ship is not working, and that its citizens are in danger, and that's why it has decided to take them off. several other governments have now followed, including canada, hong kong and taiwan. at tokyo's airport tonight, the plane has touched down. those we spoke to say they prefer that to spending another down the shift —— shipper when they do not feel safe. within the past hour officials in china say the number of new cases and deaths in hubei province, the centre of the outbreak, has once again fallen compared to the previous day. officials say they have diagnosed just under 2,000 new cases and recorded 100 additional fatalities due to covid-i9.

this comes as china's government has further tightened controls on movement in the province. 60 million people have been told to stay at home unless there's an emergency. and the use of private cars has been banned indefinitely. later in newsday we'll be discussing the ethics of putting people into quarantine for prolongued periods of time. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. storm dennis has been battering the uk and other parts of northern europe. it's the second severe weather event in the space of a week. in the uk, south wales was particularly badly hit. heavy rainfall has turned roads into rivers in some places. police say they've also been dealing with multiple landslides. jon kay reports. this a race against time in tenbury wells tonight. the water, still rising. the river teme has burst its banks.

one by one, rescue boats bringing people from their flooded homes. authority is stretched to the limit. we are doing more and more than ever before, protecting more homes then we will have been able to before but we are seeing a higher frequency of these sorts of freak weather events. after dropping a bit this afternoon, the water levels here in tenbury wells are now starting to rise again. it is going to be another anxious night. also making news today: the first step of a partial truce between the afghan taliban and the united states could start as soon as this week. talks on the deal, which would begin with a seven—day reduction in violence, have been taking place at the munich security conference in germany. syrian state media have reported that government forces, backed by russian air—power, have seized most of the rebel—held province of aleppo. with the help of moscow, president bashar al—assad has re—established his control over most of the country after nearly nine

years of civil war. the uk's biggest airport, heathrow, has apologised for disruption to flights — after a computer breakdown meant flight information boards and check in terminals unable to function. staff used whiteboards with handwritten details. 0ne passenger said it had created utter chaos. the airport says the issue is now resolved. hundreds of people in lebanon have been rushing to buy plane tickets after several major airlines said they would only accept payment in us dollars. the change will be imposed from monday and includes the state—owned carrier middle east airlines. lebanon is in the middle of a financial crisis. officials in australia say a benefit concert for people affected by the recent bushfires has raised millions of dollars. thousands of people attended the event in sydney, with olivia newton john, 5 seconds of summer and alice cooper among those performing. us singer adam lambert joined queen to reprise the band's

legendary 22 minute 1985 live aid set. and this is the annual carnival in the italian city of venice. the festivities got off to a flying start on sunday as a young venetian performed the flight of the angel. she glided her way into st mark's square as people paraded the city's streets in costume. the carnival season lasts about two weeks. let's get more on our main story. us citizens have been evacuated from the diamond princess cruise ship near tokyo injapan, which was quarantined due to an outbreak of coronavirus on board. but not all american passengers, though, took the opportunity to return home. matthew smith is one of them. he answered some of our questions. there were several reasons but the primary reasons were we we re the primary reasons were we were concerned about the

conditions of the evacuation with the us government believing, apparently, that the quarantine we have been insofar was ineffective, they decided nonetheless to put all the americans being evacuated together onto ten coaches and onto two aeroplanes back to the united states in clearly non— quarantine conditions so if people had acquired the virus, —— whether before or after the quarantine, they are now putting in a very close position of communicating it to others. people seem to be of the impression that we are allowed to just mix freely about the ship. there are some people in interior cabin is you are allowed to go outside on the ship for an hour at a time and are permitted, are able to speak with each other if they maintain two metres distance and wear masks, they are able to communicate. we do not have

that access because we have our own balcony to go out on in a large cabin so that hasn't ever been offered to us so we haven't been in contact with anyone else on board throughout this and while we do see and hear people on the other balconies, we almost always go back inside immediately when there are other people nearby because we want to maintain the isolation. i do not have any complaints against the japanese health officials for their handling of it. i think they did what they believe they needed to do and i think it is naive for people to judge after—the—fact and expect that they were going to be able to put 3700 people into a quarantine situation on land andi quarantine situation on land and i understand that additional cases have come up but i am yet to see in the media from our officials any solid proof or analysis that shows that those infections are necessarily secondary infections following ——

following the quarantine. i think what seeing is a lot of panic and fearand think what seeing is a lot of panic and fear and people are making decisions based on that. we have received word, official word through the captain from the japanese ministry of health, that their plan is to test the remaining people on board over the next couple of days and that if you test negative and complete the 14 days, you will be able to leave the ship for yourfurther quarantine here in japan the ship for yourfurther quarantine here injapan at the same time, if they didn't com plete same time, if they didn't complete the evacuations, we wouldn't be able to return to the us for a period of time which they have subsequently advised us is basically the 14 days. they will count us 14 days. they will count us 14 days from when we leave the ship, we will have to get another negative test and upon satisfaction, we will be

allowed to return, that is the current state of affairs. matthew smith speaking on board the diamond princess. so what are the ethics of keeping people in quarantine, either on a ship, in their homes or in specialist facilities? dr alexandra phelan is a specialist in global health science and security at georgetown university. i asked her how fair she thinks quarantine is. there is a real question here whether these quarantine, where they are they are implemented on cruise ships on arrival to their countries, whether they are, "fair". we see is at the least restrictive measure to achieve a public health goal? in many respects, it comes down to the fact that a quarantine at home, it is a much less restrictive measure and generally people do comply with

this and it is less of an intrusion on individuals' liberty. a number of other factors that we want to consider. you have mentioned quarantining at home. what do you think could have been better methods in this particular outbreak, notjust outside of china but in china as well? the way in which these measures have been implemented do vary quite a bit. in china, it has been termed a quarantine over the number of cities that have been shut down during this outbreak but really they are more like essentially shutting down travel in and out of the city. what that really does, there are a number of concerns about that. the first is you potentially concentrate people in an area where increased transmission can actually occur because there isn't a social distance he —— social distancing an inner city of wuhan with 11 million people, thatis wuhan with 11 million people, that is a concern. articulate if people then rush to

healthcare services and there are not appropriate public health measures put in place like screening and triaging people who may have put themselves in contact or have beenin themselves in contact or have been in contact with people that have been ill. that is one primary concern, you affect transmission in that area. the other thing is there are other constrictive or liberty restrictive measures, it encourages people to avoid, they are worried people will be subjected to being more at risk or not able to get adequate food or porter or medical care so people avoid engaging with public health authorities and what we know is that trust is so critical to a public health response so you don't want to be engaging in matters —— measures that are notjust making it worse but can have that significant impact on increasing transmission.

what a fascinating guest karishma, dr phelan brings up a lot of issues that i hadn't thought about before when it comes to covid—i9 or the corona virus. i'm in london but you are in singapore, how would you say karishma, it has affected daily life there? frankly, it has affected pretty much every aspect of our lives out here. simple things like when i come to the office every morning, i temperature is taken by automatic thermal scanner at home. i have to fill out a little slip every day i'm checking the temperature of my two little children before they head off to school and if they have the flu or runny nose symptoms, they have got to stay home forfive symptoms, they have got to stay home for five days. that is the same rule that governments have put into place for employees across the country. self regulate, self monitor, let us try to see if we can control this virus together in singapore. life must go on, as must newsday. you're watching newsday on the bbc.

still to come on the programme: we witness indonesia's radical approach to preventing terrorism with rare access to a meeting between a bali bomber and his victim's son. also on the programme: how one english town is attempting to break down barriers between its white and asian communities. nine years and 15,000 deaths after going into afghanistan, the last soviet troops were finally coming home. the withdrawal completed in good order, but the army defeated in the task it had been sent to perform. malcolm has been murdered. that has a terrible effect on the morale of the people. i am terrified of the repercussions on the streets. one wonders who is next. as the airlift got under way,

there was no let—up in the eruption itself. lava streams from an event low in the crater flow into the sea on the east of the island, away from the town for the time being, but could start flowing again at any time. the russians heralded a new—generation space station with a spectacular night launch. they called it mir, the russian for peace. this is newsday, on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani, in singapore. i'm nuala mcgovern, in london. our top stories: 400 americans who were quarantined on the diamond princess cruise ship have left japan, on two charter planes bound for the us. in the last few minutes, it's been confirmed that the number of new cases and deaths in china's hubei province — the centre of the outbreak — has risen, ending a 3—day fall, with just under 2000 new cases and 100 additional deaths.

let's take a look at some front pages from around the world: the south china morning post features the story of chinese students who have been left stranded by australia's coronavirus travel ban. there are about 100,000 chinese students enrolled in australian universities and they are now exploring other options to get back. the new york times carries a striking image of the australian bushfires. it's a picture from the ouskirts of bredbo in new south wales — an example of how the fires have turned forests into ashen moonscapes. and the japan times is telling its readers about an orangutan, named sandra, who was granted legal personhood by a judge in argentina. sandra had lived alone in a buenos aires zoo and laterfound a new home in the center for great apes, in florida.

she celebrated her 34th birthday on valentine's day. in 2002, more than 200 people from around the world were killed in bombings on the holiday island of bali. the string of attacks was carried out by a local militant group with links to al-qaeda. in an attempt to stop future attacks, indonesia has taken a radical approach that includes making bombers meet their victims. the bbc‘s rebecca henschke gained rare access to witness one such meeting. this girl ‘s father was a taxi driver waiting in the heart of bali's tourist district when a huge bomb exploded. this his car afterwards.

now, with his mother, he is about to meet one of the men responsible for killing his father. the man is serving a life sentence. his brothers we re life sentence. his brothers were executed for the bali bombings.

they talk for over an hour and something extraordinary happens.

rebecca henschke, bbc news. what an inside with that meeting. thanks to rebecca. almost two years ago blackburn, in the north of england, was selected for a social cohesion pilot by the government, to try to break down ethnic and religious divisions. now, there are signs that different communities are beginning to come together. as part of a new bbc season, crossing divides, our home editor mark easton reports now from blackburn. blackburn's white british and muslim asian communities are said to live parallel lives. neighbourhoods, schools and workplaces are deeply segregated here.

but with government backing, blackburn has been testing ideas to reduce racial tensions and form friendships across the traditions. did you watch the documentary? this person mixes paint and paper and passion to emphasise what unites rather than divides. shared feelings, common humanity. we have had so many people getting involved from so many different communities, and it is so relatable, and creativity is a fantastic tool to bring people together. the council is exploring the idea of a new bus routes to encourage more mixing between white and asian communities, working class neighbourhoods which share the struggle to make ends meet in a deprived town. blackburn was once regarded as a northern powerhouse. but the end of the cotton mills and the long decline of the local economy opened up some community divides. now, government promises to revive england's northern powerhouse are seen as key to preventing the social fabric from

tearing still further. i've not seen you for ages. i know! chloe and shabnam represent a story of hope. local blackburn girl meets afghan asylum seeker and become best friends. you look very sweet. they met training to be community ambassadors, with an inspiring commitment to bring their town together. me and shab, we are a similar age, we have a lot of common interests, so, literally, when she came along, we kind of clicked. yeah, we talk on social media and, yeah, we go for nando's! the challenge is significant. far right groups have been active in blackburn. this club, though, uses martial arts to fight prejudice. not one of these people on here, on social media, will put anything extreme. if they are from a certain background, they won't share any of tommy robinson's stuff, because they've got to come and train with them on a monday. i was excluded for being aggressively racist and violent

to two young muslim lads. like, the majority of my best mates are now muslim lads. you're not really mixed where i'm from, and coming here, everyone's altogether and everyone is mixed and that is the nice thing about it. what do you reckon to him? he's a good lad. and what do you reckon to him? he's a good lad, he is a good mate of mine now. there is no easy win, but perhaps this once great mill town can take the strands of different traditions and weave them together to create a strong and durable future. mark easton, bbc news, blackburn. you have been watching newsday. i'm nuala mcgovern in london. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore stay with us. we take a look at how the coronavirus and travel restrictions are affecting tourist numbers at some of the uk's most popular attractions

from historic palaces to shopping outlets. a real drop—off to many places and that is really affecting the economy. what is it looking from your end? very few cases. eight of the nine tested positive have been discharged but i am broadcasting not far from chinatown and they have been many reports of people not going to chinatown, the restau ra nts going to chinatown, the restaurants being empty. not with good reason, more fear factor. some also feeling public transportation has a lighter number. it is a concern but perhaps not manifested in the way it is in singapore. and before we go, we'd like to leave you with this — elton john who was forced to cut short his concert in new zealand after being diagnosed with a form of pneumonia. this was the moment he had

to stop which was captured by one of the fans who was there. later he posted on social media that he was ‘deeply upset and sorry‘ for his performance and thanked them for their support. that's all for now. the very heavy rain that stomped dennis brought us, over a month worth over the hills of southern wells, left flooding conditions. it was only thanks to this temporary flood defences put up by the environment agency that these properties stayed away from the floodwaters. the river seven just about being held back. —— river seven. it will get worse before it gets better. talking of rain, more of that to come

over the next few hours, particularly in scotland. stomped dennis passes quite close to the north. very windy for a time. not the only place to see strong winds. along the irish sea and the coast of southern england 60 miles an hour gusts for a time. a blowy, blustery start to monday. showers the most frequent across western areas and with hailand across western areas and with hail and thunder. a day where no—one is immune from seeing an odd heavy downpour. the temperature is feeling colder giving the strength of the wind. areas of low pressure across the atlantic so we will get cool days. the weather turns milder, then cooler, then milder. it will stay windy and u nsettled. milder. it will stay windy and unsettled. 0n milder. it will stay windy and unsettled. on tuesday, a trust, this line of rain, pushing eastwards a cross this line of rain, pushing eastwards across the country. heavy downpours with the risk of thunder. as that clears,

colder air follows. of thunder. as that clears, colder airfollows. in scotland, northern ireland and northern england, it will start to get colder. 0ver northern england, it will start to get colder. over the hills of scotland, showers following and turning to snow. when it comes down for a time as this ridge of high pressure builds in ahead of the next weather system coming through for wednesday. wednesday starting ona wednesday. wednesday starting on a quiet note with bright and sunny spells, especially in eastern areas. more rain on the way. western parts of scotland, northern ireland, england and wales as well. temperatures rising through the day and possibly through the night in western areas as the milder and continues to push in. the rest of the week, thursday further showers, turning cooler. friday, more outbreaks of rain and it will get windier with gales or even a severe gales. flooding is a major concern for the next day or two.

this is bbc world news. our top story: about 400 american passengers have been taken off a quarantined cruise ship docked in japan, after a major outbreak of the new coronavirus. 355 people on the ship have now tested positive for covid—19. most americans have departed for the us on two government—chartered aircraft. but around a0 of them who have contracted the virus will remain injapan. in china, the numbers of new cases and deaths in hubei province, the centre of the outbreak, has risen compared to the previous day. 60 million residents have been ordered to stay indoors to help prevent the virus spreading. and trending on bbc.com: sir eltonjohn has been forced to cut short a concert in new zealand afterfalling ill with a form of pneumonia. he lost his voice mid—way through his set at auckland's mount smart stadium on sunday. that's all.