this is bbc world news. i'm james reynolds. 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 attempting to interfere in this year's presidential election. a 7—day reduction in hostilities begins in afghanistan, paving the way for further talks between the us and the taliban. and has rome's founder been found? some italian archaeologists think this could be his grave.

the world health organization says we could be heading towards a tipping point in the coronavirus outbreak. it's warned countries to act quickly as more cases are found in people who cannot be linked to any travel to china. the latest developments have seen the first cases reported in israel and lebanon and the first death in europe as cases in italy rose. there was also a warning from iran that the virus could be in all its major cities. but most concern is focussed on south korea where there are 346 confirmed cases so far. 142 of them announced in just the last 2a hours. most of them from people treated at one hospital in cheongdo and others in nearby daegu. the emergence of these clusters of cases has lead to the who warning the window to contain the virus is narrowing. although the window of opportunity is narrowing to contain the outbreak, we still have a chance to contain it.

but while doing that, we have to prepare at the same time, for any eventualities because this outbreak could go any direction. it could even be messy. it's in our hands now. if we do well within the narrow window of opportunity, we can reverse oi’ avert any serious crisis. meanwhile, a plane carrying around half of the britons who had been trapped on a cruise ship struck by the virus is on its way to the uk. the foreign office says 32 british and european tourists are being brought back after testing negative for the virus and spending more than two weeks stuck on the boat in a port injapan from where 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 passengers

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 4 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 14 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 14 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've tested negative for the virus when they left the ship, are now testing positive when they've 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 leapt 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 now empty, and a massive disinfecting operation is under way. us senator and democratic presidential front—runner bernie sanders has told russia to stay out bernie sanders has told russia to stay out of bernie sanders has told russia to stay out of american bernie sanders has told russia to stay out of american elect since. mr sanders was responding to reports that us officials... earlier, president trump dismissed russian interference claims as a hoax. chris buckler told me more about how this alleged interference has been described. that russia tried to interfere and meddle and the us presidential election in 2016 and in a briefing last week

to members of congress, they warned that russia was doing the same thing again in 2020. they haven't been specific about exactly how this is happening but it seems to be a disinformation campaign, essentially getting involved on the internet and trying to sow division, which might be why they are actually trying to help the campaigns of two people who are political polar opposites in terms of american politics — the very conservative donald trump and the very liberal and progressive senator bernie sanders. as you mentioned donald trump has been very dismissive of this whole idea, in fact so dismissive that he got rid of the acting director of national intelligence, such apparently was his fury at this being handed out and information being given to members of the democratic party as part of those congress who were consulted about this. on the other hand we had a very different response from bernie sanders. the senator has released a statement saying he acknowledges some russian interference. he says:

he also went on to talk about the fact that some of what he described as "ugly stuff" on the internet that's been attributed to his campaign has not come from him. instead he says it's likely to have come from russia and more specifically, vladimir putin. let me just say a word about russia. mr putin is a thug, he is an autocrat, he may be a friend of donald trump but is not a friend of mine. let me tell mr putin. the american people, whether republicans, democrats or independents are sick and tired of seeing russia and other countries interfering in our elections. the intelligence community has been very clear about it, whether trump recognises it or not or acknowledges it or not, they did interfere 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 elections.

chris, in 2016, russia was accused of interfering in order to favour donald trump. now in 2020, it's been accused of interfering to favour trump's potential opponent bernie sanders. how does that work? i understand some people are going to be a bit confused by this, but actually what seems to have been suggested is that they are interfering to try and support both bernie sanders and donald trump. and if you think about it, in america, this country has been split by this presidency, it's caused a great deal of division. it is actually pretty much split down the middle between those who are fans of donald trump and those who are against him. and the suggestion from the intelligence services here is actually what is happening is russia is involving itself in both campaigns, trying to really cause more division,

really trying to sow yet more discord as this country prepares for an election. in the argument potentially coming forward is that as far as they are concerned, that could be good for russia, it could create more destabilising influences in america. we should say russia deny this entirely and beyond that, donald trump continues to make an argument that actually there is no way they would be supporting him, although he did seem to suggest earlier at a rally in las vegas that perhaps they might want to support bernie sanders given that he had honeymooned in the soviet union. chris buckler there. an agreement on a week—long reduction in hostilities has come into effect in afghanistan. the deal was reached between american and taliban negotiators after more than a year of talks. the bbc‘s secunder kermani joins me from kabul. of course this is only a partial truth, as you have explained before. what are the chances of this progressing

towards a proper deal with yellow well, i've been on the streets of cable this morning speaking to people and there does seem to be a mood of cautious optimism here, with many people, as you say, expressing the hope that what happens over the next week here could eventually lead to a longer lasting peace. 50 could eventually lead to a longer lasting peace. so far, though, it seems that this reduction in violence is holding. the terms of which haven't been made fully public, but from our understanding, over the next week the taliban, afg ha n over the next week the taliban, afghan security forces, and u.s. —led security afghan security forces, and u.s.—led security forces will not carry out any major attack against each other. if this continues over the next seven days then next weekend the us and taliban will sign an agreement. that agreement will set out a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces from afghanistan in exchange for guarantees from the taliban that they will cut links with groups like al-qaeda and begin separate discussions with other

afg ha n separate discussions with other afghan political figures. but something they have not done yet ina something they have not done yet in a formal setting, at least. and during those discussions, that is when we will get talk of whether there will get talk of whether there will be a longer lasting ceasefire established and discussion of what kind of political system there could be in the future in afghanistan. at the moment is not yet clear though whether this reduction in violence will extend throughout those negotiations underlying, i think, throughout those negotiations underlying, ithink, really, the need for peace in afghanistan. the un today said last year more than 3000 afghan civilians lost their lives as a result of the conflict. to outsiders it may seem strange that taliban is choosing to speak to america and not to their fellow afghans who run their fellow afghans who run the afghan government. can you explain why that is? yes, this has been the taliban position for a long time. they've always said that we do not consider the afghan government legitimate and we will, initially at least, only hold

discussions with the united states, because the united states, because the united states, as the leader of kind of the international forces in the country, they say is the primary power play in afghanistan. so the taliban position has been that once an agreement is reached on the withdrawal of foreign forces from afghanistan with the united states that's been the primary demand, only after that can there be discussions with other afghan political figures. but during those discussions, really, that we will get into the more meaty topics about not just a ceasefire, but what role there could be for parliamentary democracy in the future of afghanistan. what safeguarding there will be of women's rights in the country. these are big, big topics and i expect there could be very lengthy negotiations to follow them. we get any sense that the taliban would be willing to enter a power—sharing agreement, a long—term agreement, a long—term agreement like that all they wa nt to ta ke agreement like that all they want to take full control of the country to get them back to where they were in 2001?

whenever i've had discussions oi’ whenever i've had discussions or interviews with taliban officials they have always been pretty vague about what the vision is for the future of the country. it does seem that they acknowledged that they would have to be one of a number of players in kind of ruling the country. but how exactly that would work, really they haven't been clear on. they haven't even said whether they would accept parliamentary democracy, some analysts suggest they are quite nervous about the prospect of that because they suspect they might not get that many suspect they might not get that ma ny votes suspect they might not get that many votes stop at the same time, they haven't said they are insisting on the resurrection of the islamic emirates, which is what they established in the 1990s, the last time they were in power. these are all issues that will come out during these discussions with other afghan political figures, if we get to that stage following first a successful reduction in violence this week and then a signing of the us taliban agreement next weekend. secunder kermani, thank you so

much forjoining us. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: placing their bets on the rival contenders — nevada gets its say in the democratic party presidential contest. rinse charles has chosen his bride. he proposed to lady diana spencer three weeks ago. she accepted, she says, without reservation. this had its fair share of bullets. a climax in the night outside the gates of the night outside the gates of the century. the name itself symbolising one of the cruellest regimes of modern asia. the well's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. sainters in scotland produced a ship called dolly using a cell from another. warren beatty and faye dunaway announced to the world that the win or bust phil moss la la land, the only problem was it wasn't. —— best film. it was only put right in the middle of

gushing speeches. not for 20 yea rs have locusts gushing speeches. not for 20 years have locusts been seen in such numbers in this part of africa. some of these forms have been ten miles long. this is the last time the public will see this vote. very soon, for the sake of the credibility and authority for the next open, benedict xvi will come in his own words, be hidden from the world for the rest of his life. this is bbc news. the latest 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. staying with the spread of the coronavirus, a group of evacuees from china were met with hostility when they arrived at a quarantine centre in ukraine. calm has now been restored, but protestors clashed with police and threw missiles at buses carrying the evacuees. rich preston has this report. a night of violence, as this

busload of evacuees from china arrived in the ukrainian town where they will be held in quarantine. some locals are worried to these evacuees will bring the virus with them, blocking roads to try to stop the bosses getting through. fights broke out. as police went into remove the barriers and people by force. ukraine's security service warned of a hoax email claiming some eva cu ees hoax email claiming some evacuees had contracted the virus. in fact, evacuees had contracted the virus. infact, no evacuees had contracted the virus. in fact, no cases had been confirmed in ukraine. ukraine's president took to television to set the record straight. translation: we know that some people deliberately spread panic and provoked the savagery. those that organised it will be held responsible. do not trust because headlines and fa ke not trust because headlines and fake news, but trust logical thinking and common sense. remember that the most fearsome

virus is the hate virus. there is now a permanent guard at the military medical centre, and to counter the demonstrations, some have been volunteering to bring food supplies to those inside. 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. sophie long reports. 20 years ago, i sell tacos on the streets. looking for the better life. so you've come a long way, right? 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 than him, because we're looking for a better life for — not only for the mexican community, just for all the races, you know?

he wants a different president, but hasn't decided who that should be. autie is unsure too. i don't watch too much politics. but i think the next president, he has to do a betterjob, you know, to serve our country, and have 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 the election in november could be extraordinary, if candidates could get them to vote. how do they do that? well, not totally ignoring them is a good start. in 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 that 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‘s 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 — you know, i think he is the best, for me, the best candidate. so which candidate do you like? bernie sanders. ok, 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 ain't that bad to me. he is, though! he is bad. i mean, 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. he's bought it — he's

bought the election. at the end of the day, he's about business. sophie long, bbc news, las vegas. bollywood's first film featuring a gay lead character has been released in cinemas. donald trump called the news "g reat". the president retweeted the news about the film. upon seeing the president's endorsement, the film's director, hitesh kewalya, responded "wow!" the film, which translates to "be extra careful about marriage", tells the story of an openly gay man who clashes with his conservative parents. homosexual relationships were decriminalised by india's supreme court in 2018. queen elizabeth's grandson, prince harry, and his wife, meghan, have dropped plans to use the brand name "sussex royal" once they step back from theirformal duties at the start of april. the couple announced last month that they wished to pursue a life outside of britain. they've also said they will work towards financial independence. archaeologists in italy

say they've uncovered a sarcophagus in the remains of an ancient temple in rome which may belong to romulus, the figure who's said to have founded the city along with his twin brother, remus. the stone tomb, along with its circular altar, dates from the sixth century bc. bill hayton has the story. it is a 2,500—year—old mystery that might — might — have been solved. beneath rome's highest hill, is this the tomb of the once—great romulus, father of rome? translation: romulus is the person who founded rome. he gave life to the city. it's thanks to him that the roman people were formed. the tomb was first found under the capitoline hill inside the old roman forum at the start of the last century, but was then lost. translation: we forgot the place and the precise location during these 120 years, and therefore thought we would not find it intact. so for us to find it was a great discovery, to find it exactly

as described. legend says romulus, son of the god mars, founded the city of rome in the year 753 bc. but it came at a cost. in the battle for the city, he killed his twin brother, remus. but experts say we might be getting ahead of ourselves. no bones were found inside. translation: we can't say it's the tomb of romulus. we don't have any scientific evidence. we only have a room inside that has been preserved in front of the curia, so the fact that it's been preserved makes us understand that this is an important place. and, depending on your beliefs, romulus was either transported up to heaven or torn to pieces by his own senators, jealous of his power. translation: romulus's body is not there. we have to imagine. this is a place of memory, a cenotaph.

the city's first king — for nearly 3,000 years, nothing more than a legend with a cult following. now, maybe, a physical memorial at last to this ancient city's beloved, if not possibly mythical, founder. 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. 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." 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. a reminder of our top story. 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.

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. some of these will be heavy, they'll be of 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. and 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 southwards across england and wales. lots of showers packing into the north and the west of the uk. so it could start quite grey on saturday, with bands of rain spreading south—eastwards. most of them should clear away by the afternoon.

and then we should see sunshine and showers, most of these showers across western areas, the odd heavy one, and plenty of snow showers across scotland. now, the winds a feature, 40—50 mph widely, up to 60 mph for northern england and into northern ireland, up to 70 mph in exposure across the north and the west of scotland. and these 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 wind. cold in the north but mild in the south, 10—13 degrees there through the the afternoon. as we head through saturday evening and overnight, we continue with the snow showers in the north. further accumulations down the hills, and we see a ripple in that weather front, which will push some rain back northwards to parts of northern ireland, but quite a bit into england and wales, particularly

across western areas. again, it'll be milder in the south, cold in the north, with the risk of some ice. on into 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, though quite a wet morning, i think, for many parts of england and wales. slowly, though, the skies will brighten up. that rain and cloud will hang back across southern counties of england towards the channel. but elsewhere, some sunshine developing. further showers across scotland. again, these will be wintry over the higher ground. this is going to be another chilly day in the north, mild across southern counties of england. so that brief ridge of high pressure, which settles things down for a while later on sunday, early into monday, is short—lived. this next deep area of low pressure will hurtle in for monday, bring a spell of severe gales, heavy rain and some snow.

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. the head of the world health organization 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 of russian interference. 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. us forces have been in afghanistan since 2001.