welcome to bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: more cases of coronavirus outside china — the world health organization warns of a closing window of opportunity to stop it spreading. us intelligence agencies say russia is meddling in this year's presidential election, to help donald trump get re—elected. hello and welcome to bbc news. the world health organisation is warning of a tipping point in the corona virus outbreak. it says that countries must now act quickly to contain

the spread of the disease. rupert wingfield—hayes reports. they have had to wait longer than almost anyone else to get off the diamond princess, but tonight, finally, after 17 days of isolation, the british passages were loaded onto buses and began their long journey home. on board one of the buses, elaine spencer and her husband. before they left their cabin, they recorded this thank you message. thank you to the government for deciding to bring us home. we are coming home, we are seeing our family, and we can't wait, but also in a way it is strange, it feels like it has been our home for all that time. thank you. hopefully we are going to be home and i will see my family or ourfamilies, in the next couple of weeks. bye— bye. bye — bye. nearby in his cabin, alan sanford told me he and his wife are feeling the strain of such a long confinement. we have not stepped out of this cabin since we were quarantined on the fourth of february

and it is now sort of the 21st, even though the quarantine on the ship is over, we're going to go on an aeroplane, get to the wirral, and do another 1a days of quarantine. that's going to make about 31 days altogether. we are going to have to deal with that, i mean, there's a lot of people worse off than that in the world but, wow, the thought we are only halfway through it. it may seem a little unfair that the british passengers leaving the ship tonight, are now going to have to spend another 1a days in quarantine when they get back to the uk, having spent two weeks or more shut in their cabins on board the ship. but what we have seen with the americans, and now the australians, is that some of the passengers who tested negative for the virus when they left the ship, are now testing positive when they got back home. 164 australians flew back to darwin on wednesday. two of them have now tested positive for the virus,

and been sent to hospital. as you know, we carefully screened everybody before they left the ship, before they got on the plane and during the flight but, as people also know, there has been ongoing detection of infection on the diamond princess cruise ship over the last few days, so it is not unexpected that some people might have been incubating the virus. meanwhile, in south korea, the number of cases of the virus has lept by 100 in the last 2a hours, and a second death has been reported. the outbreak is thought to have begun at this church, in the city of daegu. the streets of the city are out empty, and the massive disinfecting operation is under way. as dawn approached the tokyo airport, the big plane sent to pick up the british evacuees were still sitting at the gate. the 35 british evacuees apparently on—board, still waiting a little longer for the last leg of their long journey long to begin.

the democratic party's presidential hopeful, bernie sanders, has told russia to stay out of american elections. he was responding to a washington post report that us officials had told him moscow was trying to help his campaign. here's our north america correspondent chris buckler. the us intelligence officials have been steadfast in their belief that russia interfered in of the 2016 presidential election and now they are saying and briefing members of congress that russia is once again interfering in the 2020 election that is coming. and they say that they are helping both donald trump and bernie sanders. some people say, why would they do that, given that they basically are political polar opposites in us politics terms? but perhaps that is it. maybe it is about trying to sow division in a country that has already been split by mr trump's presidency. he has dismissed this idea as being a hoax, and again being put forward by democratic party members

to try and cause real concerns about his presidency. he says that there is nothing to this and why would vladimir putin support him? however, if you take a look at the statement from bernie sanders, there is something of acknowledgement there that russia might be interfering. here's what he said in his statement... you could take that as an indication that bernie sanders doesn't believe that the president is doing enough to tackle these claims and certainly he has been very vocal about it. reporter: (inaudible). the intelligence community has been very clear about it. whether trump recognises it or not, or acknowledges it or not, they did intefere in 2016. the intelligence community is telling us they are interfering in this campaign right now,

in 2020, and what i say to mr putin, if elected president, trust me, you are not going to be interfering in american politics. bernie sanders may acknowledge that there are things out there but president trump does not want to do that and all indications are he has become extremely angry at intelligence officials continuing to push this narrative. an agreement on a week—long reduction in hostilities has come into effect in afghanistan. the deal was reached between american and taliban our correspondent secunder kermani explains the terms of the agreement. the exact terms of this reduction in violence have not been made public but from our understanding, over the next seven days, starting from midnight tonight local time, taliban forces, u.s.—led internationalforces, afghan security forces, will not carry out any major offensive attacks against each other and that is what our understanding is but, if this period then passes off

peacefully, what we understand will happen from us officials and afghan officials is that the us and taliban will sign an agreement next saturday and that agreement will set out a timetable for the withdrawal of international forces from afghanistan in exchange for guarantees from taliban that they will break with groups such as al-qaeda and start separate discussions with other afghan political leaders about the future of the country and a longer lasting ceasefire which is of course what many ordinary afghans want. the president of afghanistan, ashraf ghani described this as a useful step to achieving a long lasting ceasefire. a woman who supported the

taliban has supported she planned to blow herself up. in an attack on st paul's cathedral. safiyya shaikh, a 36—year—old muslim convert from hayes in west london, pleaded guilty to preparing an act of terrorism, by asking an undercover police officer, to supply bombs. a 29—year—old man has been charged in connection with the stabbing of a prayer leader at the mosque on thursday. the prayer leader — who's been discharged from hospital — has said he forgives his attacker and feels sorry for him. tens of thousands of people have attended vigils in german city of hanau for the nine victims of a far right extremist who shot them at two shisha bars on wednesday. many of those killed were kurdish immigrants. the german government says the security threat from far right extremists remains very high. gavin lee reports. outside the arena shisha bar

this morning, the raw heartache and grief of families visiting the site where they lost their loved ones. six people died at this bar. six families devastated as they try to understand what happened here. 35—year—old mercedes kierpacz had gone out that night for a pizza with friends when she was shot dead. herfather filip tells me his world has fallen apart. translation: she was a lovely person. a lovely person. she's got two children that she has left behind. now she's dead, i don't really know what to do any more. filip says his family have sinti roma polish roots and moved here a0 years ago, where his daughters have grown up. translation: what goes on in someone's head to do this? to go into the city and shoot people at close range, then come here, shoot two people in the head in the car, then go into this kiosk and shoot some more?

all young people, without any reason. barbara has come to lay flowers for the friends of her son, peter, who survived, after being shot and wounded, she said. translation: he started shooting at everyone. every single one of them. everyone who moved, he shot. he hid on the floor with his friends and the guy kept shooting and shooting. he is the only one who had the chance to survive. all his friends who were next to him are now dead. in an alleyway, one local resident, yousef, shows me some old graffiti on the wall. a sign that the suspect may have long planned an attack here. he tells me the attacker‘s website was up on this wall. police painted over it yesterday. people are continuing to gather here into the night at both sites in the town where the attack took place. german authorities say they are on high alert from the risk from right—wing extremists and have deployed officers at mosques, train stations and airports. and some people here have told us they are reluctant

to leave their homes tonight, as investigators work out whether the suspect acted alone or had support. gavin lee, bbc news, hanau. let's get some of the day's other news: jurors in the sexual assault trial of the former american film producer, harvey weinstein, have ended four days of deliberations, with instructions from the judge to resume on monday. earlier, they asked justice james burke if they could give split decisions on two of the most serious charges, but were asked to continue to seek unanimity. voting has ended in parliamentary elections in iran, after polling was extended several times to allow late—comers to cast their ballots. the field of candidates is dominated by conservatives and ha rdliners loyal to ayatollah khamenei. thousands of moderate would—be candidates were barred from running for not meeting strict election criteria. prince harry, and his wife, meghan, have dropped plans to use the brand name "sussex royal" once they step back from their formal duties in april.

the couple announced last month that they wished to pursue a life outside of britain — they'll stop representing queen elizabeth and become financially independent in april. archaeologists in italy say they've uncovered a sarcophagus in the remains of an ancient temple in rome, which may belong to city's legendary found, romulus. the stone tomb, along with its circular altar, dates from the 6th century bc. rich preston has the story. it isa it is a 2500 —year—old mystery that might, might have been sold. beneath rome's heinz field, is this the tomb of the once great romulus, father of rome? translation: romulus is a person who founded rome. he

gave life to the city. it is thanks to him that the roman people were formed. the tomb was first found inside the old roman forum at the start of the last century but was then lost. translation: we have got the place and the precise location and therefore thought we could not find it. for us to find it was a great discovery, to find it exactly has described. legend says, romulus, son of the god mars, founded rome in 753 bc but it came at a cost. in the battle for the city he killed his twin brother. but experts say we might be getting ahead of ourselves. no bones we re ahead of ourselves. no bones were found inside. translation: we cannot say it is the tomb of romulus. we did not have any scientific evidence. we only

have a room is so that has been preserved. the fact that it has been preserved makes us understand that this is an important place. and depending on your beliefs, romulus was either transported up to heaven 01’ either transported up to heaven or turned to pieces by his senators, jealous of his powers. translation: romulus's but is not there. we have to imagine this is a place of memory, a cenotaph. for nearly 3000 years, nothing more than a legend with a cult following, 110w legend with a cult following, now a physical memorial at last to this ancient city's beloved if not possibly mythical founder. this is bbc news, the headlines: more coronavirus infections have been detected outside china, notably in the middle east. the world health organisation has warned the window of opportunity to contain

the virus is narrowing. the frontrunner for the democratic party's presidential nomination, bernie sanders, has told russia to stay out of american elections. it follows reports that moscow was trying to help his campaign. democratic party voters in the state of nevada are to decide on saturday who they'd prefer to be the candidate to take on donald trump in november's presidential election. and after a spirited debate this week in las vegas, the candidates are competing for every last vote, as sophie long reports. 20 years ago i sold tacos on the streets. i was looking for a better life. so you've come a long way? yeah, after 20 years, this is my dream, you know? mauricio now co—owns two restaurants and has created around a0 jobs. but he says he and people like him get no support from the current president. what do you think about the guy

who owns that tower? i want a different president to him, because we are looking for a better life not only for the mexican community, but for all the races, you know? he wants a different president but hasn't decided who that should be. autie is unsure as well. i don't watch too much politics, but i think the next president, he has to do a betterjob, you know? to save our country, to make a better place for everybody. the number of latinx voters in las vegas, nevada and across the united states is growing significantly. about 4 million have turned 18 since 2016, and will have the opportunity to vote in a presidential election for the first time. the impact they could have on november's election could be extraordinary, if candidates could get them to vote. how do they do that? well, not totally ignoring them is a good start.

2018, 43% of all eligible latino voters received no communication from a campaign or political party. when campaigns and candidates elect to not communicate at all with our community — about anything, even about the things that they think we care about — it makes it harder for us to evaluate which candidate to support, to show up and vote at all, right? well, this time, campaigns have spent thousands on spanish—language tv ads. bernie sanders' campaign has spent millions on its latino outreach programme in nevada alone. but are they making an impact? i like bernie a lot. i think he's the best, for me, the best candidate. so which candidate do you like? bernie sanders! because? because i think he has better ideas for spanish people. saturday's caucus will be the first indication of what people think in this racially diverse state. trump can't be that

bad to me... he is, though! he doesn't know how to put his stuff in words the right way, he's politically incorrect, but he's about business. he's about money! at the end of the day, he is about business... crosstalk. sophie long, bbc news, las vegas. there's been a lot of hype ahead of what's being billed as the most anticipated heavyweight boxing match in almost twenty years. in the early hours of sunday morning, the american fighter, deontay wilder, will take on britain's tyson fury, in a long—awaited rematch. after their press conference earlier this week turned violent, they'll be weighing in separately. our sports editor dan roan has more from las vegas. cheering. it wouldn't be fight week in vegas without the posturing, the posing and the promotion. but, when push comes to shove, in a city built on hype, there's a real sense that tyson fury‘s rematch against deontay wilder could just live up to the billing.

1a months ago, the first meeting produced an epic. fury, out—boxing his opponent and then somehow surviving a ferocious 12th round knock—down, before a controversial draw. now these two unbeaten heavyweights have got it on again. i think this is the biggest fight in the last 50 years. i've got his number, because he put me down and he couldn't keep me down. and that must be playing on his mind. because everybody else, he's knocked out, apart from the gypsy king. so, yeah, i'm coming for you, baby. but the bronze bomber is known as one of the hardest hitters in boxing history, remarkably, 41 of the american‘s 43 victories coming by way of knockout. and now wilder wants to cement his status as the dominant force in the division. this is the moment in time that we have all been waiting for. the biggest fight of both of our lives. unfinished business, as i call it. and i can't wait. not since the great lennox lewis beat evander holyfield here in vegas, some 21 years ago, has there been such anticipation ahead of a heavyweight rematch.

and now another british fighter will hope he can deliver on the grandest stage of all. i think it's going to be an unbelievable fight. i think if tyson fury comes out there and says he wants to try and knock him out in the first couple of rounds, he will probably try it. you know, he's that type of guy to do that. but if that doesn't work for him, then he will resort back to his boxing, and then we'll see, you know, tyson fury moving around, doing all kinds of different things. and may be leading with the jab a bit more. here in the boxing capital of the world, there are hopes fury—wilder two could break all pay—per—view records, and return this division to the status it enjoyed during its glory days. this, a rivalry breathing new life into the sport. dan roan reporting from las vegas. as liverpool continue to dominate the english premier league, one young manchester united fan has decided to take matters into his own hands. 10—year—old darragh cu rley wrote to the liverpool manager jurgen klopp, asking if it would be possible for his team to lose a few games. emma vardy reports.

dearjurgen klopp, my name is daragh. during a letter writing project, most of the daragh's class were composing fanmail. but his tactics were different. i support man united and the reason i'm writing is to complain. liverpool are winning too many games. channelling the frustrations of millions of fans, he had a sincere request. the next time liverpool play, please make them lose. you should just let the other team score. i hope i have convinced you to not win the league or a match, ever again. i thought if i wrote to ole gunner solskjaer, that wouldn't really make a difference. so, i thought i had a better chance of writing tojurgen klopp to stop him winning. the plea was received by liverpool boss, jurgen klopp, a man who's transformed the club's fortunes. now unbeaten in 43 premier league games.

at his press conference today, he said he liked daragh's letter, even though daragh was not on his side. it wasjust nice. it was nice, it was cheeky. i was happy we had time that day. so, i read the letter and i replied. "unfortu nately, on this occasion," he wrote, "i cannot grant your request, not through choice anyway." we have lost games in the past and we will lose games in the future. the problem is, when you are ten years old, you think that things will always be as they are now, but there is one thing you can tell you at 52 years old, this is most definitely isn't the case. before i opened it, i was like, "oh, might bejurgen klopp, because it had royal mail on the stamp." and mammy‘s like "no, it's not." and then i opened it and it wasjurgen klopp! but all to daragh's disappointment, liverpool are still on course for premier league glory. he has probably done more interviews today than mr klopp himself which, like football, shows you how unpredictable things can be. emma vardy, bbc news.

residents in an upmarket californian community have received a somewhat unwelcome guest — a wild black bear. the animal, weighing nearly 200 kilos, could be seen wandering around the streets and gardens of monrovia — a town near los angeles. the bbc‘s tim allman takes up the story. believe it or not, this isn't exactly believe it or not, this isn't exa ctly a n believe it or not, this isn't exactly an uncommon site around these parts. monrovia backs onto the angelus national forest, so black bears to occasionally take a stroll through the neighbourhood. stroll being the operative word. this particular animal, described by wildlife officials as an old lady seemed to be in no particular hurry. from driveways to gardens, she sauntered very much at her own speed copy that laid—back attitude seemed to be infectious. it no—one seemed to perturbed. capturing the moment on camera seemed to be the

priority for some. and it was ha rd to priority for some. and it was hard to work out who was the more ferocious. a big black bear, or some slightly smaller animals. the local police were alerted and said they were monitoring the situation, adding that the california department of fish and wildlife we re department of fish and wildlife were on their way. eventually they arrived and the bear was tranquilized and ta ken they arrived and the bear was tranquilized and taken away for a checkup. assuming she is ok, she will be returned to the wild. in the meantime, someone may need to buy a new sign. that's just about it from me, remember there is plenty more on our top story, the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, on our website. you can always download our bbc news app. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones thanks very much for your

company, now let's check out the weather. hello there. some of us should see some sunshine this weekend but it's looking decidedly unsettled again. we'll have plenty of showers around and some of these will be heavy. snow across the north of the country and for most of us, particularly today, it's going to be very windy, with pretty widespread gales. you can see why. the pressure chart shows lots of isobars on the charts right across the country. a couple of weather fronts working their way south across england and wales, lots of showers packing into the north and west of the uk. so it could start quite grey on saturday with the bands of rain spreading south—east. most of them should clear away by the afternoon and we should see sunshine and showers, most of these showers across western areas, the odd heavy one, and plenty of snow showers across scotland. the winds featuring 40, 50—mile—an—hour gusts quite widely, 60 miles an hour for northern england and northern ireland, up to 70 miles an hour in exposure in the north and west of scotland. heavy snow showers will continue to pile through significant accumulations on the hills, and there will be blizzards as well when you factor in the strength of the winds.

cold in the north but mild in the south, 10—13 in the afternoon. saturday evening and overnight, we continue with the snow showers in the north. further accumulations on the hills and we see a ripple in that weather front, which will push some rain back northwards to parts of northern ireland. quite a bit into england and wales, especially across western areas. milder in the south, cold in the north with the risk of ice. sunday, this weather front will be slow to clear from england and wales through the day, eventually it will do, so it's a slow improvement, quite a wet morning, i think, for many parts of england and wales. slowly, though, the skies will brighten up and cloud will come back across southern counties of england towards the channel. also, sunshine developing on further showers across scotland also begin. these will be wintry over the high ground, as it will be another chilly day in the north, mild across southern counties of england. that brief ridge of high pressure will settle things down for a while later

on sunday and early into monday, but its short lived. this next deep area of low pressure will hurtle in on monday and bring a spell of severe gales and snow. some snow could be disruptive across the far north of england and the central belt of scotland on the monday morning rush. it will transfer north and revert back. widespread gales and severe gales in the north, further south, a belt of a rain sweeping east across england and wales, with sunshine following on behind, maybe one or two showers. temperatures 10—12 in the south, feeling cold in the north.

this is bbc news, the headlines: there's been a growing number of coronavirus infections outside china, notably in the middle east. there's been a sudden spike in cases in italy, linked to a bar. the head of the world health organisation has warned that the window of opportunity to contain the virus is narrowing. the frontrunner for the democratic party's presidential nomination, bernie sanders, has told russia to stay out of american elections. earlier president trump dismissed as a hoax reports of warnings by us intelligence that moscow was helping mrsanders' campaign — in an effort to get mr trump re—elected. a tentative 7—day reduction in hostilities has come into effect in afghanistan, after an agreement between american and taliban negotiators.

if the agreement holds, the two sides will sign a further deal on security guarantees next saturday. that could pave the way for new talks among afghan representatives. now on bbc news, click. this week, making water out of thin air. cyber security in saudi arabia. and fake frocks of the