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.

there's been a lot of hype, ahead of what's being billed as the most anticipated heavyweight boxing re—match, in almost 20 years. in the early hours of sunday morning, the american fighter, deontay wilder, will take on britain's tyson fury, in their long—awaited second fight. 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. 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. 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. now on bbc news — the travel show. this week on the travel show... carmen's chilling in northern japan, despite a lack of snow. i'm in brazilfor despite a lack of snow. i'm in brazil for the countdown to carnival. i don't know what i'm doing! and we hit the road in america, with one man and his very devoted dog.

this week we are kicking off on japan's northern ireland, hokkaido. it's a country's winter playground. it's a country's winter playground. it is also home to one of the world's famous winter events, the sapporo snow festival. but, sadly, milder temperatures and drier conditions have led to problems for organisers this year. so carmen has pulled on her snowbirds and headed north to see how they are coping. the wide open spaces of hokkaido. at any time of year people come here to be outdoors, but especially in january and february, the height of the ski season. the resorts on

hokkaido are globally renowned, partly because of the quality of the snow. but also there's a real diversity the landscape which provides fast black runs, gentle nursery slopes, and loads of backcountry off—piste skiing. but this year there's been a problem. it's the lowest snowfall on record injapan since it's the lowest snowfall on record in japan since 1961 it's the lowest snowfall on record in japan since 196! stop it's the lowest snowfall on record injapan since 196! stop and at this resort here they had to delay their opening eye one month because they just wasn't enough snow. so do you think skiing is a pastime, a winter pastime might be in danger?

all of this is difficult to hear if this is the highlight of your sporting year. but the weather's had an even bigger impact at the bottom of the hill. this is the sapporo snow festival, held every february, right in the heart of hokkaido‘s capital. laughter. music plays. it's a big deal and famous internationally. about 2 million visitors come every year. most people come for the incredible snow sculptures. it started in 1950

asa snow sculptures. it started in 1950 as a way for high school students to publicly display their sculptures, but now it's grown into something quite different. teams come from all over the world to compete and, for me, watching them sweat is just as much fun as seeing the final result. gosh, this is serious business. look at this man here, he's even got a sculpture, a mini version. hi. hi. what's it going to be? it's going to be the legend of the fire goddess on the big island, the volcano killer whale. they say that when the flames go to the heavens she would do a bhullar to the gods. her spirit would be inside the fire —— hula.

bhullar to the gods. her spirit would be inside the fire -- hula. so this is the australian entry. and it is going to be, eventually, a waratah. the indigenous bushveld. because we have had the fires over the summer, it is going to regenerate after the fires. so we're going do this bootable flower with a beautiful flower head and it will regenerate and it is an ode to the bushfires in summer and our country, australia. great. this is our team up australia. great. this is our team up on the top. hi, guys. 22 well, from japan. tell us about the logistics of this no competition. we are all given the same amount of tools and we have four days. we work from nine o'clock in the morning until nine at night and can have brea ks until nine at night and can have breaks whenever we want. basically today we are marking out and progressively each day we will remove the snow and put in the detail and finish of the beautiful flower of the waratah. so what are conditions like this year compared to last year? there is a lack of

snow this year. it's been reported that the snowfall is a0 days late, they said. so there should be a lot more snow. and in past years we have been standing against the signing snow has been up to the bottom of that sign. so it is really low. and the good quality snow, it is really easy to cut and cover. this no quality is a bit less that we have, but it is snowing now, which is great. —— snow quality. but it is snowing now, which is great. -- snow quality. as this yea r‘s festival great. -- snow quality. as this year's festival opens, the hills around the city were measuring a ciman —— snowfall of about 60 centimetres. normally it's close to a metre. so where do all the materials come from? well, a massive logistics operation sprung into action. thousands of lorries scooped up action. thousands of lorries scooped up snow from around the island and brought it into sapporo snow festival.

music plays. let's hope next year doesn't show a further decline. and, by the way, if you're interested in how the australian entry turned out, here it is. he waratah flower, symbol of the country's resilience following those forest fires. and the winners, well, for the third yearin the winners, well, for the third year ina the winners, well, for the third year in a row, first place went to thailand for this mother and baby see total. —— see total. well, if you're still keen to hit

the slopes, here's the travel show guide to some places other than japan you might want to think about. two of scandinavia's biggest resorts are now much easier to get to. scandinavian mountains airport openedin scandinavian mountains airport opened in december and serves norway's biggest resort. it is only a ten minute drive, but you can book a ten minute drive, but you can book a transfer by dogsled. the airport is served by london, copenhagen, and elbow. if you are in europe and would rather not fly, there are plenty of seasonal train options to the resorts in austria. there's another month left on the alpine express , another month left on the alpine express, forex —— references was obviously between the runs from the netherlands, through germany, and a number of stations that serve about 100 different resorts. 0ne number of stations that serve about 100 different resorts. one way to shave a substantial amount of the carbon footprint of your trip. and if you can't get your act together before the end of the season in the northern hemisphere, there's always

the danish capital, open all year round. it's an artificial slope built onto the side of what they say is the cleanest waste energy power plant in the world. once you are don was skiing, you can trade tobogganing, climbing, or hiking. —— done. and if you book ahead you can have a peak of the incinerator inside. still to come on the travel show... i'm getting ready for this yea r‘s show... i'm getting ready for this year's carnival here in rio. and we meet and easy writing duo taking on an incredible journey across the usa together —— ryding. so don't go away. this week we are in rio dejaneiro. a city certainly not lacking in colour. this graffiti, there is music, but nothing quite prepared me for this. this is the celeron

staircase, first created 30 years ago byjuliana artistjorge celeron isa ago byjuliana artistjorge celeron is a way to brighten up his local neighbourhood. there are more than 200 of these kaleidoscopic steps. it's a bit like a giant i spy. photos, little mosaic tiles of princess diana, bob marley, kazakhstan, right in the middle. as its fame grew, people from all over the world contributed tiles to the project. for celeron it was an accumulation of his life ‘s work. he died in 2013. his body found at the foot of the stairs. but his creation lives on. today it's a big tourist attraction in a largely safe section of the city. get here after 10am and you will probably be jostling for space. this is jorge

you will probably be jostling for space. this isjorge celeron‘s legacy. tiles were sent here from all of the world to created and our tourists come here from all over the world to enjoy it. it really is a special spot here in rio dejaneiro. up up next it's time for another of our incredible journeys. up next it's time for another of our incrediblejourneys. michael up next it's time for another of our incredible journeys. michael and his best buddy, a siberian husky called socks, are through a truly amazing roadtrip through america. their aim is to take on all 50 states and 61 national parks and, as you can imagine, they are turning quite a few heads as they do it. we caught up few heads as they do it. we caught up with them as they arrived in florida. my name's michael and this is my dog, socks and we are currently travelling all over the country. we are trying to visit every single state and every single

national park in the country all on a motorcycle. this all started when i actually went on a trip abroad and i wasn't able to bring socks with me and when i got back the greeting that he gave me, it was really heartwarming, but it also made me feel kind of bad because a new that he was really upset that i was gone for so long. so why kind of rearrange my bucket list to do all the things they could do with socks. his safety is my absolute most important thing. i know that my eyes are on the road at all times, that i fully attentive to what's going on —— i am. at this point in time, he's now got almost 3000 hours on a motorcycle. and so i'm not concerned with socks falling off, because he knows how to shift his weight, he knows how to hold onto me.

every national park has blown me away, just the cosmetic beauty of it, looking across a landscape that you see nothing that looks like that in your life. it's really impressive. and then of course the fa ct impressive. and then of course the fact that every single time i'm there and i'm enjoying some sort of view a look down and my dog is doing the exact same thing, he's taking in the exact same thing, he's taking in the just as the exact same thing, he's taking in thejust as much the exact same thing, he's taking in the just as much as i. the exact same thing, he's taking in thejust as much as i. —— i am. my best memories with him was when we were actually in big bend national park in texas and we were driving on a highway and a deer actually ran across the road. i saw the deer run across the road. i saw the deer run across and then run into the woods. but when i actually looked back on his go—pro you could see that he watched the deer run interview and

then traced it as it was running off in the woods. i'm enjoying all these moments, but when i'd look at film like that and see that he was seeing the same thing that i was, to me that's really special. i get a lot of people who say, well, you should strap him down so he is secured to the bike. but it's a common misconception. truly, the safest thing for a motorcyclist is to be able to get away from the bike, so god forbid if anything ever did happen, the best case scenario is for us to be away from the motorcycle, away from the accident. don't go in there! buddy, you are going to be cold tonight. i doing

this because there's too many people that say, "i wish i did" in their lives. and i don't want to be one of those people. i want to say i did the things i wanted to do and i don't want to wait until i much older to say, ok, don't want to wait until i much olderto say, ok, now don't want to wait until i much older to say, ok, now i can go live life. to me, you don't know how long your life is going to be so you should just live it, and i have to include him, because he's living it to. socks!

this weekend, millions of people across brazil are preparing for the world's biggest party, carnivale. the main celebration in rio de janeiro lasts five days, but the action does not stop there. 0ver janeiro lasts five days, but the action does not stop there. over 500 parties lined the streets of rio during carnival season, and this year you are during carnival season, and this yearyou are in during carnival season, and this year you are in luck, because the mayor has more than doubled the celebration, from 23 days to 50. so in 2020, there is plenty of time to join the fun. carnival began here almost 300 years ago as a ball for the portuguese elite. but since then, it's opened up to everyone. local groups called samba schools plan all year round for the event,

designing floats and costumes and planning epic dance routines. these schools are often located in poor neighbourhoods, which beyond carnival preparations also provide havens for local children, teaching them vital skills to help them later in life. this is you in the photo? yes! it's got to be, right? this one! the smile is the same. king benefited first time from the social outreach provided by her samba school. you know, when you grow up ina school. you know, when you grow up in a favela you do not have a lot of opportunities, so when you get the chance to have an opportunity, you just grab it. so i started at the social project when i was about nine. and then i got a chance to learn english, that's why i'm communicating with you, because i got a course for free through the social project. so this is the part that most people don't know, the way that most people don't know, the way that people can be part of the samba

school clinic. so the party is good, the social idea, it is much more important. patchy public funding means the samba schools have to find clever ways to support themselves. king's school has turned to tourism. they have opened the doors of their workshop to those who want to catch a glimpse of the monumental effort that goes into favela —— carnival‘s centrepiece parade. along with other ex— samba school students, king is now one of the tour guides here. this is the backstage of the carnival. this is the most fun i have ever seen in a warehouse.” think so. we have six floats in here. six! inside this warehouse, only six. i guess i assumed this was a float, but was a float, but they are the size of city blocks, almost? they are massive. yes, yes. you can

really see the scale of the operation. the parade is a serious business. the samba schools or compete against each other for a big cash prize. each school keeps their plans and designs top—secret. so much of the school's workshop is strictly off—limits to tourists. but i have been allowed a rare behind—the—scenes look. i am having a hard time understanding this. this is all for your parade? it is, this is all for your parade? it is, this is all for our samba school. all the welding committee sewing committee machines? everybody is working on one show, your parade? yes, everything. you can have about 3000 costu mes, everything. you can have about 3000 costumes, easily. so this is one show out of thousands, because it looks as though these hairdressers have five or six workers. the last timei have five or six workers. the last time i did arts and craft i was probably in grade five. i have not worked in sparkles in a long time. this is what i'm good at. ready? 0k!

not bad for a first one, eh? you think so? he said it is amazing. it's amazing! somehow i don't believe him. grande rio has been running for more than 30 years. the school's current leader, camilla, grew up with it. we have an educational programme called the sports carnival and we have many courses, or through here, forfree. when you meet the families and the kids and you understand the passion that they have, why not, to get this and transform it for education? especially in brazil, a place that needs a lot of effort to make people's lives better. of course the

parade is amazing in itself and all the kids love it, but all year long, you need something more. camilla's school gives these kids hope and three times a week they all come together to rehearse for the highlight of the year of the carnival parade. moments like these are why i travel. i don't exactly know what is going on, but it is a rehearsal? yes, as you can see, it is an enormous place. we can get involved, apparently! i have no idea what i'm doing! maybe that's half the fun.

behind me in this building a whole new generation is finding the best life through drums, dance and a whole lot of fun. i think if you learn something today, it is that carnival is much more than a party in brazil. it is part of its soul. well, that's all for this week. but coming up next week... i'm continuing my journey through coming up next week... i'm continuing myjourney through south america by heading across the border into argentina. to find out how one of the continent's most fearsome predators might just hold of the continent's most fearsome predators mightjust hold the key to saving some of its most stunning scenery. saving some of its most stunning scenery. 0h, saving some of its most stunning scenery. oh, my... guys, when you make eye contact with a beast of this size, your heartjust goes...

so make sure not to miss it. but for now, from me and the rest of the travel show here in beautiful brazil, it's goodbye. 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 a0, 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. as we head through 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. elsewhere, 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 it's 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.

good morning, welcome to breakfast, with rachel burden and jon kay. 0ur headlines today: on their way home — the britons quarantined on a cruise ship at the cente of a coranavirus outbreak have finally left japan. "royals" no more — prince harry and meghan agree not to use the word "royal" as a brand name. it's almost time for the talking to stop, as tyson fury and deontay wilder weigh in ahead of their hugely anticipated world heavyweight title rematch in las vegas, world heavyweight title rematch in las vegas, early tomorrow morning. it may not be storming out that but

blustery wind and heavy