you're watching bbc news at nine with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines: with over a0 countries infected with coronavirus, saudi arabia is stopping pilgrms from entering the country over fears about the spread of the virus. president trump tries to calm fears about coronavirus, telling his country the risk remains very low. he's put vice—president mike pence in charge of the us response. with over a0 countries infected with coronavirus, a dramatic surge in the number of coronavirus cases in italy. more than 400 people are infected. and 160 british tourists remain quarantined at a hotel in tenerife after a guest tested positive. warnings of another ten days of flooding misery in parts of england already

struggling to cope. the court of appeal will decide this morning if work can begin on the controversial third runway at heathrow airport. the government is to publish its negotiating mandate for the post—brexit trade deal with the eu. and manchester city enjoy one of their greatest european nights, beating real madrid 2—1 in spain. good morning, and welcome to the bbc news at 9. the world health organisation says it's deeply concerned as the coronavirus starts to spread faster outside of china than in the country where the outbreak started. cases have now been recorded in more than a0 countries. the number of coronavirus cases in italy has risen by a quarter

in the last 2a hours, and there are now more than 400 infected people in the north of the country. saudi arabia is suspending visas for foreign pilgrims wanting to visit mecca and medina, as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus. another case of coronavirus has been confirmed in the canary islands, where hundreds of tourists are in quarantine to stop the spread of infection. president trump has said the united states is totally prepared for the risks posed by the new coronavirus, and will do whatever is necessary if the disease spreads. there have been only a handful of infections in the us so far. as part of the us response it has postponed joint military exercises with south korea, which they were due to stage next month. that as authorities in seoul have today reported more than 500 new coronavirus infections in its largest daily increase. 0ur correspondent charlotte rose has this report.

although there's only been 13 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the uk, the number of people being tested for the illness will now be rapidly stepped up. until now, people have only been tested if they return from hotspots in asia, but tests will now be done on anyone with flu—like symptoms in 100 gp surgeries and eight hospitals. it's hoped it will provide an early warning sign if the virus is spreading within the uk. the measures as eight schools in england have shut and others have asked pupils to stay—at—home over fears they may have picked up a virus while on holiday in italy over half term. that's despite advice from public health england and health secretary matt hancock that schools don't need to close unless there's confirmed cases. global companies are also feeling the effects of this outbreak. three firms in london have asked staff to work from home while colleagues reporting flu—like symptoms are tested.

other companies are restricting or limiting business trips to asia and other countries hit by the virus. while italy remains the european hotspot for the almost with 400 confirmed cases and 12 deaths, germany says it's bracing itself after a couple who've been travelling around the country for ten days have tested positive. translation: we are at the beginning of a corona epidemic in germany. the chain of infection is no longer completely traceable. 0vernight, president donald trump announced he was putting his deputy, mike pence, in charge of the government's response to the virus. we are very, very ready for this, for anything, whether it's going to be a breakout of larger proportions or whether or not we are at that very low—level. while the number of cases outside china is now increasing more than those inside, the world health organization says the virus is not yet a pandemic.

here, the government insists it is prepared for whatever course the virus takes. charlotte rose, bbc news. in a moment, will talk tojenny hill in tokyo, and fiona trott in tenerife, but first to bethany bell in milan. what more are the authority saying about trying to stop the spread of disease there? schools, universities across the north of italy are remaining close and the authorities have also kept a small cluster of towns in the north under quarantine. a cluster of towns where it is believed that the outbreak may have stemmed from. that is affecting about 50,000 people and there are still police roadblocks around the area making sure people do not come

out and they face fines if they do. there is a great deal of concern within those communities and here in the big city, in milan, people are going about their work and it's a bit more subdued than usual with cafe is in restaurants more enmity and tourist attractions have been closed, including the cathedral behind me. it's an interesting thing. when you talk to people, some people are saying yes, we have to do as much as we possibly can to stop this and the government perhaps was too slow at the beginning. other people say, is this a bit of an overreaction? italy in general is a safe place to be and that europe health commissioner said it was a case for concern, not panic. the world health organization has said that while people are continuing to die and become infected in china, the situation is improving but that's not the case for the rest of the region. there is much focus on

south korea where the number of cases continues to soar. many of those cases are linked to a religious sect and the authorities are trying to test every member of that church, all 200,000 of them. that has been watched here in tokyo with considerable alarm. fear is growing as is the number of new infections. the picture here has very much focused in the past on the diamond princess cruise ship moored here in the port of yokohama but today the authorities are disembarking several hundred crew members who have been on the ship for well over two weeks. but the authorities are really concerned about separate cases, 175 people now infected in japan about separate cases, 175 people now infected injapan in clusters all over the country and they are particular concerns about a woman who was treated for the virus, discharge from hospital at the start of the month but has now retested positive for the coronavirus. all of this isjust five months before japan is due to host the 2020

olympics. today we heard from the tokyo olympic organising committee chief executive who said that the torch relay due to take place in a few weeks' time might have to be scaled down. we are up the hotel in tenerife and the foreign office have told us that they have put letters under the doors of all of the british tourists staying here and we understand there are about 160 of them. they have given them a direct telephone number to call and they have encouraged travel companies to do the same because guests were saying to us that they felt frustrated there had been a lack of information and then they were frustrated about how that information was being interpreted, first being told they had to stay in their room and then being told they could go into communal areas with a face mask but some guests told us that people were not wearing face masks and they were concerned that that was putting them at risk and

that was putting them at risk and that they faced further quarantine when they got back to the uk and of course we know that some of them have been told that they have to stay here until march the 10th. the foreign office have also said that the next priority is a focus on fully understanding the current response of the spanish health authorities and reassuring ourselves that they are adequate. we will monitor the situation and keep british nationals updated. the owner in tenerife, jenny hill in tokyo and bethany bell in milan, thank you. —— fiona in tenerife and some breaking news coming from the chief medical officer of england who says that two further patients in england have tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing as you can see, the total number of uk cases to 15. it was at 13, now at 15. we

understand, according to what the chief medical officerfor understand, according to what the chief medical officer for england is saying that the virus was passed on in italy and tenerife and we now know that in the last few seconds that these patients have been transferred to specialist nhs infection centres at the royal liverpool hospital and the royal free hospital in london. so we didn't know until a few seconds ago whether those were britons who had tested positive abroad were not yet backin tested positive abroad were not yet back in the uk but this confirms they are in the uk and the authorities, no doubt, on this news will be working to try and get in touch with all of the contacts they have made on theirjourneys back from italy and from tenerife, so we are going to bring you more on this development as we get it, but the chief medical officerfor development as we get it, but the chief medical officer for england saying that two further patients in england have tested positive for the new coronavirus bringing the total number of cases in the uk to 15.

donald trump has appointed his vice president, mike pence to leave the american response to the coronavirus emergency. both men claimed in a white house news conference that the risk to american people is low and president trump said he would be working with people to get whatever funding needed. he also said that all but one person has made a good recovery. your gown goes on first. in new york, hospitals are finalising action plans and resources are being put in place just action plans and resources are being put in placejust in action plans and resources are being put in place just in case. action plans and resources are being put in placejust in case. america is having to prepare for the potential impact of the coronavirus spreading in this country, and president, who seemed initially dismisses the dangers, is now doing everything it can to show it he and his advisers are taking the threat ofan his advisers are taking the threat of an outbreak significant leave. they've said it could be worse, and i think it could be worse too. i don't think it's inevitable. i think we're doing a really good job in

terms of maintaining borders and in terms of maintaining borders and in terms of maintaining borders and in terms of letting people in and checking people. mr trump has appointed his vice president, mike pence, to oversee his administration's response to co—vid 19. i know the importance of presidential leadership, administration leadership and the vital role of partnerships of state and local governments and health authorities in responding to the potential threat of dangerous and infectious diseases. yetjust hours before on twitter, the president appeared to suggest others were scaremongering, tweeting that the american news networks were doing every thing possible to make the coronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking the stock markets. there have been some falls on wall street. and anything that damages the economy in an election year is a big worry for a precedent, but earlier in congress democrats claimed that mr trump had shown more

concern for share prices than public health. he is trying to show that the panic is as big enemy of the virus. mr secretary, i don't want to panic over this either. the stock market is crashing and he's trying to stop the stock market. he's out right contradicting everything you have alljust said. an outright contradiction. at airports and everywhere else in america, facemask are becoming more common sight on president trump has signalled that more travellers from a growing number of countries are to face screening and greater restrictions. chris butler, bbc news, washington. our health correspondent, nick triggle, joins me now to look at and let's talk about containment, but in the last few seconds as we told our viewers, two more cases of coronavirus in the uk and people who

contracted it in italy and tenerife. we've always been told that we should expect more cases given how it is spreading across the globe. the two cases we had this morning, coupled with the 13 announced in previous weeks, but all cases have actually been transmitted abroad, and we have had no human—to—human transmission in the uk and the government still believes it can contain this. the containment strategy involves tracing the contacts that infected patients have had in the country and then to isolate them, so that is what they will do with these two cases of people on the flight and the nine regional public health teams will coordinate that. they've ordered over 7000 tests and 15 have turned out positive. what happens if containment fails? containment fails when the links in transmission are lost and it starts circulating unbeknown to the authorities. now,

to ensure that is not happening, public health england are working with 100 gp practices and will be testing their patients to see if they have coronavirus, patients coming in with flu—like symptoms. the advantage of containment, even if it fails is that it delays mass outbreaks in the uk and we might get into spring, may be summer when the weather is warmer and there is less intense pressure on the nhs. which brings me to my next question. is the nhs ready to cope with this, if there was to be a wide outbreak? the nhs has detailed plans and it is under intense pressure in the middle of winter and that is a concern but there are plans in place. the patients who have been infected so farare taken to patients who have been infected so far are taken to one of five specialist hospitals but there are another 20 plus across the uk ready to ta ke another 20 plus across the uk ready to take patients if we do see big outbreaks. and on top of that, every hospital across the country, more

than 150, have been asked to set up isolation pods not to just treat patients, but if patients come in they can isolate them in the pods so they can isolate them in the pods so they don't mix with the general hospital population. we can see all those details on the screen now, so there are five specialist hospitals, 20 regional units and these isolation pods which we hope you don't have to be used, but honestly the nhs has to be prepared. what sort of special measures could be taken if there are mass outbreaks to try and contain this, to try to stop further spread, nick? the government and public health bosses have drastic powers at their disposal if need be. the government's cobra committee would coordinate this and there would be 43 local resilience —— resilience forum set up across england and wales and these draw together the emergency services, the nhs and local authorities. they could, in theory, close schools en masse, stop mass gatherings of the

public, curb the use of public transport but the authorities have been talking about a proportionate response, not overreacting. of italy any of those measures have a big social and economic impact. if you close schools, children's exams can be disrupted and parents might have to ta ke be disrupted and parents might have to take time off work. so they are talking about proportional responses and at the moment, for the majority of people, the buyer —— the virus has mild consequences. 0k, nick, thank you very much for that. we can speak to doctor lindsay broadbent who is a virology list at queen's university and good to have you with us university and good to have you with us this morning. much to discuss. you described coronavirus, this new form of it, as a social virus. presumably you mean because of the way it is passed from person to person. yes, of course. this virus

is passed through small droplets, so coughs and sneezes and through close contact it with infected people so it's very much a virus that you need to be in social settings with infected people to catch. there is no evidence currently that the virus is airborne. there is also some evidence that it could pass through the digestive tract, so good hygiene is incredibly important, regular hand washing, tissues when you sneeze, throwing tissues away straight after you sneeze are incredibly important measures to contain this virus. so those simple hygiene measures, how do they compare to the idea of wearing face masks? this is something lots of people have been asking about. yes, of course. hygiene measures are essentially the gold standard in stopping the spread of this virus. the masks you see people wearing are actually incredibly ineffective at stopping the spread of this virus. the only masks that provide any kind of protection are the ones that have respirators in them, however, they

need to be professionally fitted and if they are poorly fitted, they provide little to no protection against the virus. and we all think we know how to wash our hands, but we're talking about more than a quick splash under the tap, aren't we? it must be hot water, soap and a good 30 seconds to one minute and make sure you get between your fingers, the back of your hands and your wrists. we have some interesting lines coming out of china today with chinese health officials saying that approximately 1496 officials saying that approximately 14% of patients who had the coronavirus but recovered and were discharged from hospital have tested positive for the virus again. a p pa re ntly positive for the virus again. apparently the same sort of phenomenon has been reported in japan. is that possible with this virus? yes, absolutely. they affect people and they cause the common cold and we do not have lifelong

immunity against viruses and it's very likely that this new emerging virus could end up being a seasonal virus, very much like the colds and flu is we have every winter. we had sars in 2003, the middle east respiratory syndrome in 2012, and now this new form of coronavirus in 2020, which is three outbreaks in two decades. is this something, living in such an interconnected world, that we should become accustomed to? yes. these emerging viruses could happen at any point and there is a massive amount of viruses that are resident in animal species such as bats and there are groups of virologists known as virus hunters that go out and try to predict what the next virus could be two species jump and maybe affect humans, so they‘ re two species jump and maybe affect humans, so they're currently working to try and predict the next epidemic 01’ to try and predict the next epidemic or pandemic to see if we can get

ahead of the game. so there is a lot of research being done in this area. it's not something we need to panic about. the majority of the time they tend to be incredibly mild or isolated cases but it is something within the research community that we are very cognisant of. we have been reporting on the last two minutes the news of further patients in the uk testing positive for coronavirus. one from tenerife, who travelled from tenerife and one who travelled from tenerife and one who travelled from tenerife and one who travelled from italy. knowing what you know, is it inevitable that we get a much wider outbreak in the uk? yes, at this point, complete containment is very unlikely. with the number of european cases there are and with the travel through europe being so common on a daily basis, it's very likely we will see a much greater increase in numbers within the uk within the coming

months. however, the vast majority of these cases are incredibly mild and people will only experience mild cold like symptoms and the vast, vast minority of these cases are serious and could result in hospitalisation, so we do not need to panic at the minute, however the containment measures in place are very important to buy —— buy us time. it allows the nhs and gp surgeries to put procedures in place and develop treatments and vaccines ina timely and develop treatments and vaccines in a timely manner and if we can slow down this part of the virus it means that the treatments and vaccines will be more effective when developed. is the government doing enoughin developed. is the government doing enough in terms of public information? we understand there will be more by way of public information campaigns coming in the next few days, but do you think more information needs to be out there right now? i think the response so far has been good, but i do think it

would be beneficial to highlight the fa ct would be beneficial to highlight the fact that for the majority of people, this is not a serious virus and if people are concerned, the best thing they can do is to stay at home for a few days. they do not wa nt to home for a few days. they do not want to go into crowded areas but if anyone is concerned, ring their gp. as mentioned in the routine testing we will get more pictures of how current the cases will be. i don't think we need to panic until we get those figures. moving on to some of the days of the main stories. people in flood—hit parts of the midlands are being warned they could face a further ten days of what the police are calling

"difficult conditions". homes across shropshire and worcestershire were evacuated yesterday after barriers holding back the river severn began to give way. our reporterjohn maguire is in ironbridge, in shropshire, where a severe flood warning remains in place. the river still looks very full, moving pretty quickly as well. the prospect of ten more days of poor weather, how are people they're going to cope? they willjust have to but the emergency services at full stretch and have been for the past ten days and are now planning for ten days in the future. the river seven was pushing through about 500 tonnes of water per second. and it gives you an idea of the flow rate. the world—famous ironbridge, the first of its kind in the world, built 250 years ago and built of iron because previous bridges made of stone and wood had washed away, so i suppose that gives you an idea of the history and geography of the gorge at

ironbridge. looking down at the flood barriers, this is what we were talking about earlier on and these are temporary barriers put in place. you should see the blue plastic on the left, the triangular shape. look on the road surface there. the horizontal bar that goes across. you should be able to walk behind those flood barriers, but if you can see they have been pushed back, and the furthest horizontal bar is just catching some sunlight and that is where it has been shoved back by the force of the water and actually bashed into the curb in front of the shops and residents and the environment agency were telling me that they heard of the barriers being pushed back and crashed against the curb. they thought it was a clap of thunder, such was the weight, the force, the strength of the water. emergency services still here very much in evidence with properties and businesses evacuated and you can see all the rescue boats

have been on standby. let's have a chat to richard, mourning again to you. a business owner here, born and bred in ironbridge and we had a little run through the history before. has the town seen anything like this before? ironbridge has flooded historically so the town is used to this kind of stuff. the barriers have done theirjob and they did breach slightly and water came in behind and most of the businesses that we have spoken to we re businesses that we have spoken to were happy they were there. didn't quite make a record here and has dropped about half a metre overnight but of course, we look as if we might have more poor weather and rain in the next few days. these are sustained levels that have not been seen before and it's really devastating for the properties and the businesses that have flooded on the businesses that have flooded on the whole of the town. you have decided to stay open despite the roads being closed and really it is just a slot on the emergency

services. we are perfectly positioned to be just out of the floods but in the middle of it as well. the town has been pretty much cut off from everybody so we want to see that once we get back open there isa see that once we get back open there is a great community spirit here and that people can come down and there is ironbridge for people to visit. you hear that despite what nature is probing at people at this part in the midlands there is a real stoic approach and communities are rallying around. it's real great community support and a lot of the businesses down there have really supported the community and its the community that are now supporting them and it's great to see.|j community that are now supporting them and it's great to see. i hope them and it's great to see. i hope the next ten days are not as taxing as the last ten and we willjust leave you with some images there and it is an oppressive and awesome site and we have had a peak in worcester downstrea m and we have had a peak in worcester downstream and the levels are starting to drop but that was a record, record levels recorded in

worcester a bove record, record levels recorded in worcester above 2000 which was the highest blood level in modern history ever recorded, but everybody once again preparing for perhaps at least another ten days of having to try and cope with these conditions. mother nature making herself well fell. thanks for bringing us up to date, john maguire. opponents of a third runway at heathrow airport will hear this morning whether a court will overrule the expansion plan. the challenge has been brought by a number of environmental groups who say the plans don't take climate change policies into account. the new runway was approved by the government in 2018. our business correspondent theo leggett is here. of course, the government is now led bya of course, the government is now led by a prime minister who is extremely lu kewa rm by a prime minister who is extremely lukewarm about the idea of a third ru nway lukewarm about the idea of a third runway affecting his constituency as it does. we're going to hear from him in the next hour. yes, from the

court of appeal, and borisjohnson said he would lie down in front of the bulldozers to prevent it happening and missed a vote in the commons in 2018 when as foreign secretary he went to afghanistan on a foreign mission rather than face the commons on this one. there's a lot riding on it. the government has a lwa ys lot riding on it. the government has always indicated that the expansion of heathrow is necessary from an economic point of view, but opponents say it cannot be justified if britain is to meet its paris agreement commitments of keeping temperature increases down to 1.5 degrees and it's also not compatible, they say with the objective of being carbon neutral by 2050, so if the ruling goes against the government in this case, it will energise opponents of heathrow expansion and it might provide an opportunity for the government, should it wanted, to back down on the plan but alternatively could

continue fighting. is today's ruling the end of it or could there be further appeals? there could be further appeals? there could be further appeals. the government could decide to look back at its appraisal process and reappraise the plan but then it would have to argue that it was in line with climate change commitments and that's a tricky hoop to jump through. alternatively it could decide that now is the time to back away from the project, which is going to cost a lot of money and take a lot of time and yes, it's a private—sector project, but it's also hugely political, so maybe the government might use that to weaken its support for the plan and move around gently. theo, thank you very much. and a reminder we expect the ruling in the next hour. before we go to the weather, let's take a peek outside from some of our cameras and we can see some snow in london this morning, snow falling, although it wasn't when i was coming into work, but you can see it certainly is now in central london, in common with

lots of other parts of the uk as well. matt can get us up to date. the first snowfall of the season in london and meteorological spring sta rts london and meteorological spring starts on sunday. some snow in gloucestershire about the sunshine is back out here and it will be out for more of us in the afternoon. snow falling across parts of western scotla nd snow falling across parts of western scotland and northern ireland. still further south is mainly on the hills and it will be clearing in the next few hours if you want a covering of snow you have to head up to higher ground. just about anywhere across east anglia. then sunny spells for the vast majority through the afternoon with a few showers in scotla nd afternoon with a few showers in scotland and northern ireland. temperature is around five to 10 degrees and a bit colder in the breeze and it will be windy for the time across east anglia. tonight clear skies and later winds and it is going to turn cold with showers

continuing in western scotland. temperatures close to freezing in many areas but as we start tomorrow morning temperatures will be lifting but outbreaks of rain spreading into wales and the south and it is going to rainfor wales and the south and it is going to rain for almost 24 hours into saturday. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: with more than 40 countries infected with coronavirus — saudi arabia stops pilgrims from entering the country over fears about the spread of the virus. president trump tries to calm fears about coronavirus — telling his country the risk remains very low. he's put vice—president mike pence in charge of the us response. there's a dramatic surge in the number of cases in italy — more than 400 people are infected. and one thousand tourists remain quarantined

at a hotel in tenerife — 160 of them british. warnings of another ten days of flooding misery for homes along the river severn — who are already struggling to cope. the court of appeal will decide this morning if work can begin on the controversial 3rd runway at heathrow airport. the government is to publish its negotiating mandate for the post—brexit trade deal with the eu. time now for the morning briefing, where we bring you up to speed on the stories people are watching, reading and sharing. the news that us vice president mike pence is to lead america's response to the coronavirus outbreak is trending worldwide on twitter. jason miller, who's a former communications adviser to donald trump, welcomes the move saying that the vice president isn't wasting any time — he'll be leading a taskforce meeting on the issue today. but dr dena grayson, who worked on treatments for ebola and is a former democratic candidate for congress, is one of many expressing scepticism over whether mr pence is the right person for thejob.

after highlighting a tweet of donald trump's from 2014 where he criticises barack obama for appointing an ebola czar with no medical experience, she says she fears that "mike pence is not capable of leading the sort of comprehensive, science—based response to the coronavirus pandemic that we need." another critic tweeted: "trump fired the actual experts in pandemic response two years ago and doesn't trust anyone with actual expertise so now mike pence, who wrote columns doubting that cigarettes caused cancer, is in charge of the coronavirus." here newspaper headlines focus on warnings from ministers that schools and offices should not panic over the virus. several schools have shut amid fears that pupils may have been exposed during half—term trips to italy. that's despite the health secretary saying schools should not close unless they have a confirmed case. eithne hughes is from the association of school and college leaders and spoke to bbc breakfast about their advice to schools.

the decisions are very difficult and the decisions, the advice from the association of school and college leaders, is that head teachers and governors together are taking decisions based on public health guidance, which is laid down by government. we see that guidance to be proportionate. we see it to be very sensible and we would expect that schools would have regard to that advice because ultimately head teachers and governors are not health experts, so it is important we have a look at that guidance and keep up—to—date with it as it develops. another issue attracting attention on social media is the expansion of heathrow airport. the court of appeal is due to rule shortly on whether the plans are illegal, because of an argument that they don't take climate change policies into account. extinction rebellion — whose supporters are currently gathered outside the court — are tweeting. they say that: "plan b,

one of several parties bringing legal challenges, argued that the proposed expansion of heathrow is illegal because it failed to take into account paris agreement temperature limit of 1.5dc and "well below" 2dc. a ruling in plan b's favour would be groundbreaking." but your heathrow — which is heathrow airport's official feed — has tweeted this calculator this morning about what it says are the benefits of expansion for different areas. and we'll, of course, have lots more on that decision throughout that morning. we're expecting the ruling at 10 o'clock. the hashtag uksnow is the top trend on twitter this morning as people in many parts of the country woke up to a covering — orjust a dusting — of the white stuff. david allison tweeted that snow in the scottish borders had his dog wanting to do some snowboarding. diane c tweeted this picture of a covering of snow in lydgate near oldham. and lou smith posted this picture of snow falling over gardens in northampton.

coronavirus dominating what you are reading and watching. it is top on the most red and most watched. number one, the news that we brought you, two more coronavirus cases confirmed in england, people who had contracted the virus in tenerife and italy were told by the chief medical officerfor england. italy were told by the chief medical officer for england. number three italy were told by the chief medical officerfor england. number three is how is the uk getting ready for coronavirus? most watched, the muck number one most watched as a british guest who was staying at the whole tale in tenerife at the centre of a corona outbreak, this guest talking about how horrified she has been at what she says are people feeling to

follow basic hygiene measures. lots of people gathering together for dinner, not necessarily wearing masks. she is speaking about that, an interview she did with bbc newsnight. something a little bit different, number three, tasmania snow concludes australia's some of extremes. snow falling in mountainous parts of tasmania after the bushfires and the rainfall, no snow. tasmania's mountain still gets snow. tasmania's mountain still gets snow at various parts of the year but not usually in the australian summer. that's it for today's morning briefing. sport now and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good morning. we start with a brilliant performance from manchester city, arguably their greatest ever night in europe. with the prospect of a two year champions league ban hanging over their heads, they beat real madrid 2—1 at the bernabeu, in the first leg of their last—16 tie. andy swiss was there.

madrid had a new tourist attraction — city fans venting their anger at uefa on the day the club formally appealed against its european ban. and on the pitch, another challenge — real madrid — and they were soon causing city problems. only a brilliant save from edison denying karim benzema. on the hour mark, real finally struck. city dithered, isco didn't, and the hosts were definitely ahead. then, a quite stunning turnaround. first, gabriel jesus headed home a crucial injury, equaliser, and then a clumsy challenge on raheem sterling allowed kevin de bruyne to make it 2—1 from the penalty spot. city's first—ever win over real and some welcome relief after a difficult few weeks. a memorable night here then for city. still the second leg to come but their european hopes, this season at least, are still very much alive. andy swiss, bbc news, madrid. there was also a red card last night for the real madrid

captain sergio ramos — the 26th of his career. he's third on the all time list of bad boys, still way short of the man at number one. a guy called geraldo bedoya, a columbian with 46. manchester city's smash and grab is all over the back pages this morning. more european football to come tonight — celtic, arsenal, wolves and manchester united all playing in the europa league. rangers are already through to the last—16 of the competition. they beat the portugese side braga 1—0 last night, winning the tie 4—2 on aggregate. it's the first time rangers have reached this stage of a european competition since 2011. the other big story this morning is coronavirus, and the big impact it's having on sport. the six nations is the latest event to be affected. ireland's men and women were both supposed to be playing italy in dublin next weekend,

but those matches have now been postponed. 11 towns in nothern italy are in lockdown, because of the spread of the virus. england are supposed to be playing in rome in the middle of next month, so how long before that game is pushed back too? iam very i am very surprised that they haven't made a quick decision like ireland have. i cannot imagine 10,000 supporters going over to italy in a few weeks but it is very ha rd italy in a few weeks but it is very hard from a player perspective. we remember what happened in the world cup with the typhoon and the council match against france but at the moment if france beat scotland and ireland they are the grants one champion so perhaps it may not be imported much of scotland beat france the six nations could be won by three different teams so that it isa by three different teams so that it is a bit ofa by three different teams so that it is a bit of a catastrophe. the players, as eddie jones is a bit of a catastrophe. the players, as eddiejones has said, you can only control the co ntrolla ble you can only control the controllable is and this is out of

their control. i am sad that this has not been cancelled by the rfu and the government. staying with coronavirus, the greek olympic committee says it's looking at alternative plans for the olympic flame lighting ceremony that's scheduled for next month. the relay is supposed to pass through 37 cities on its way to tokyo, but there are also reports this morning that might be downsized because of the outbreak. maria sharapova has retired from tennis at the age of 32. she shot to fame in 2004 when she won wimbledon at the age of 17, and went on to win four more grand slam titles. she's 32 now, and has struggled with form and injury since serving a drugs ban in 2016. sharapova says she's quitting because her body "had become a distraction". novak djokovic is amongst those paying tribute. great britain have won their first medal of the track cycling world championships. the men's team sprint team, of jason kenny, jack carlin and ryan owens, took silver in berlin, finishing behind the netherlands.

there was a great performance too, from laura kenny. just a month after breaking her shoulder, she returned and only missed out on a medal in the women's scratch race by the finest of margins. even so she said 4th is the worst place you can finish. and there is live coverage of the second day of the track cycling world championships on the bbc sport website from 5:25 this evening. that's all the sport for now. the government will set out its aims for trade talks with the eu today. the document is expected to show key areas of disagreement on how closely the uk should stick to existing rules. each side is accusing the other of going back on commitments made in the political declaration reached just four months ago. let's speak to our assistant political editor norman smith. no surprise that they are accusing one another of not sticking to what they said previously. we have had that all through this process. how

farapartare the that all through this process. how far apart are the positions given that the eu published its negotiating mandate a couple of days ago? on the face of that they are very far apart because we pretty much know i think what borisjohnson wa nts. much know i think what borisjohnson wants. he has been clearfrom the outset he wants a straightforward free trade deal similar to that which the eu negotiated with canada. that means we would well meaning cheques and tariffs at the border and that has been borisjohnson's position from the off and part of the reason that the british government has set out this clear narrative is because they want to differentiate themselves from teresa may and that made it difficult to reach an agreement so the argument is this is what we want, it is pretty simple, can you give it to us? the answer from the

pretty simple, can you give it to us? the answerfrom the eu pretty simple, can you give it to us? the answer from the eu at the moment seems to be no because you are not canada, and actually you are so close to us in such a big economy we most certainly do want you to stick by existing eu rules and regulations, otherwise we feel you are going to become a singapore on the thames, in other words you are going to undercut competitively undercut eu businesses. but some people in the know think this is all a bit of positioning, a bit of bluff and bluster, and really at the end of the day clever language will find a way around that. one of those who seems to believe that is liam fox, speaking today. i don't think the positions are 1 million miles apart. it may be a matter of interpretation. europe is looking for guarantees britain will not suddenly deregulate positions, but we don't have today. what i

think is unacceptable is dynamic alignment. the non—regression is probably a good mood point in that it is already established in global trade and it is in the eu canada agreement so it should not be impossible to replicate it for the uk. we will get the exact details at about three quarters of an error from michael gove in the house of commons. we are not really expecting any surprises. my take is they will be an almighty fistfight in the next few weeks and everyone will get very angry and shouting at each other and once they have got that out of their system everyone will calm down and we will get down to the serious business of trying to negotiate a compromise, and there probably will bea compromise, and there probably will be a compromise. how so? because it is on both sides' interest to have some sort of a deal and bear in mind borisjohnson some sort of a deal and bear in mind boris johnson that compromise some sort of a deal and bear in mind borisjohnson that compromise over the divorce agreement and did agree

toa the divorce agreement and did agree to a border in the irish sea, so behind all the tough talk, behind today we will not give no surrender language, at the end of the day deals tend to be done. the headlines on bbc news: with over 40 countries infected with coronavirus, saudi arabia is stopping pilgrims from entering the country over fears about the spread of the virus. warnings of another ten days of flooding misery for homes along the river severn — who are already struggling to cope. the court of appeal will decide this morning if work can begin on the controversial third runway at heathrow airport. at least 32 people have now been killed in sectarian clashes in delhi. the violence first broke out between people for and against the controversial new citizenship law. muslim residents have been fleeing their homes and businesses. so, how is the prime minister trying

to calm the situation? here's bbc‘s pratiksha ghildial in delhi. over 200 people remain in hospital in germany, many of them seriously, and still the situation in north—eastern delhi remains tense, which is where the violence has been unfolding for the last few days. the neighbourhoods are eerily empty. like you are saying, muslims have been fleeing mixed neighbourhoods to try to go to safer neighbourhoods. a lot of concern about what turn it could eventually take. india is not a stranger to communal violence, sadly. we have had some pretty ugly incidents in the last few decades. and hindus and muslims have lived together in peace in this country since independence, but from time to time it has taken this ugly turn and particularly in the last five years or so the hindu nationalist

government is accused of stalking and deliberately polarising these communities and there is a lot of concern that this could again take an ugly turn. five people have been killed in milwaukee by a gunman who opened fire at the headquarters of a brewery before apparently killing himself. local media in the us said the gunman was a former employee of the molson coors brewing company, who'd been sacked. freya cole reports. armed and ready, the milwaukee sheriff department prepares its tactical response after a mass shooting at a local institution. a 51—year—old man, still dressed in his work uniform, went on a rampage through the molson coors campus, killing five of his former colleagues before turning the gun on himself. there were five individuals who went to work today, just like everybody goes to work, and they thought they were

going to go to work, finish their day and return to theirfamilies. they didn't, and tragically they never will. known locally as the old miller brewery, it is home to at least a thousand workers. when the shooting started in the afternoon they were told to stay indoors. many remained in lockdown late into the night while police secured the ground and carried out a thorough investigation. once the scene had been secured local officials gathered to address the media. they each paid a solemn tribute to the victims and their loved ones but the press conference didn't escape an urgent call for reform on america's second amendment. we are here at the scene of another american tragedy, a senseless american tragedy, one that shouldn't have to happen and unfortunately it's in our backyard, and i hate to say that it's in our backyard once again. this is the 11th mass shooting in our state since 2004, but i also want to issue a challenge because we shouldn't accept this. this is not the way

that things should be. we should never grow comfortable in the face of these repeated tragedies all across america. police stressed that their investigations have only just begun and made a vow to rally around a community forced to come to terms with yet another senseless tragedy. the us house of representatives has approved legislation that would make lynching a federal hate crime, after more than a century of failed attempts. the senate passed a similar bill last year. once the two bills are reconciled they will be sent to president trump to be signed into law. here, the government has announced an extra £236 million to tackle rough sleeping in england. the money will fund accommodation for 6000 people. the latest official figures, released later this morning, are expected to show a fall in the number of people sleeping on the streets. we've seen some extreme weather conditions recently —

and the various storms to batter the uk have caused all sorts of challenges. one of them is the tricky task of landing an aeroplane in high winds. it's a job which requires skill, strong nerves and special training, as tim muffett has been finding out. how on earth do pilots land in strong crosswinds? with gusts of 50 miles an hour or more, landings can look alarming. we are lined up, we have got the wind from the right. peter hodgdon is showing me how it is done. it is about a 40 mile an hour crosswind. we are approaching gatwick. it is very, very windy, and, oh yes, we are in a simulator. crosswinds are a part of the daily life of being a commercial pilot. geography and weather, when they combine, can create some challenges in approaching. when landing in a crosswind, it can look like the aircraft

is flying sideways. this is deliberate and is called crabbing. if you want to go towards the end of the runway, you have to land the aeroplane to drift, as it were, the nose into wind. we are offsetting to the wind, and we are going in a straight line towards the end of the runway. people see it and it looks like you are flying sideways, but it is all part of the plan and the best way to land in a crosswind. the severity of recent storms may have taken some by surprise but not airline pilots. the weather that you encounter has been discussed before that aeroplane gets off the ground. if in any doubt, pilots are trained to abort the landing, or go around, as it is known. this can feel alarming for passengers, but is quite common. during storm ciara and storm dennis, there were about 250 go—arounds at london's five airports alone. it is a bit nerve racking, it gets the adrenaline flowing. peter mccann is a long haul pilot,

who previously worked for thomas cook. he believes pilots who fly longer journeys often find crosswind landings more daunting. short—haul pilots might do four landings a day, four days a week. i probably average about three a month, and therefore the exposure of a long—haul pilot to those kind of conditions is minimal. have there been times when you thought that was close? yes. you learn from that, and that is the experience that you take to make better decisions in the future. a chance to experience a little of the challenges pilots face. sorry, passengers, it might be a bumpy landing. we can go from a bright sunny day with no wind to the worst tornado you can expect. pilots are much more prepared because we have those facilities to recreate real scenarios.

the end of the runway is rapidly approaching! yeah, that's fine. some comforting words if you are about to fly in strong wind. british holidaymakers stranded in tenerife because of a sandstorm say they feel "forgotten" by the airline jet two. passengers hoping to return to east midlands airport had their flights cancelled on sunday. footage shows travellers on a re—routed flight to malaga and being informed their bags were not on board just before take—off. we will not be going to the east midlands. we are going to fly the airport to malaga where there will bea airport to malaga where there will be a hotel for a year. cheering.

this is going better than i thought. you haven't heard part two. you haven't got your bags. jet two said it had been "working tirelessly to get everyone to their intended destination". we have snow in central london. i know there is no one lots of other places but it is pretty unusual to see it in central london. definitely a dusting here in central london. let's check out what is happening with the snow situation and the rest of the weather. lots of excitement for that snow. disappointing snow for many parts but over higher ground we have had quite a bit more snow. that was in staffordshi re quite a bit more snow. that was in staffordshire this morning. a good covering and over the higher ground of the pennines and the cotswolds and the chill turns a bit more snow than that. this low pressure is slipping away to the east while we

have some of those slushy conditions around the south—east of england elsewhere it is cleaning up quite nicely with sunshine across many parts of england and wales. the chance of the odd wintry showers. heavy snow showers across western scotla nd heavy snow showers across western scotland and northern ireland and a maximum temperatures getting up to about six to nine celsius. tonight we will have clear skies toward northern and eastern parts which means temperatures will drop away. wintry showers in western scotland before further cloud and rain into the south west which will bring temperatures up. three or 4 degrees and further east temperatures at or below freezing. into friday this will not be good news for areas that are flooded already, further rain moving from the south—west linked to this complex area of low pressure which is going to spread north—eastward throughout which is going to spread north—eastwa rd throughout friday. which is going to spread north—eastward throughout friday. a bit of snow for a short time across the pennines and the hills of scotland. the rain moves further

north and eastward. maximum temperature is rising. milder air moving in. chilly are the further north and east you are. this rain is linked to the weather systems moving further north and is stored throughout friday night. that rain continues to pile on across wales, north—western parts of england into scotla nd north—western parts of england into scotland and it is in these areas as we go into saturday we could see a lot of rainfall. 15 to 30 millimetres over lower ground. that could lead to extra flooding issues. the rain moves towards the east on saturday but it is linked to this low pressure which becomes deeper as we head into sunday so late saturday to sunday strengthening winds developing. there could be gusts of 60 or 70 developing. there could be gusts of 60 or70 mph developing. there could be gusts of 60 or 70 mph in parts of north—west england into southern scotland and northern ireland so very windy late saturday and into sunday and we will also see that rain clearing away

eastwards but they will be then some sunny spells and showers. blustery winds associated with that and temperatures will drop away as we go through the weekend. lots going on. stay tuned.

hello, it's thursday, it's 10 o'clock, i'mjoanna gosling, and we're live from new broadcasting house. two more cases of coronavirus are confirmed in the uk. they've been taken to specialist centres here at the royal free hospital in london and the royal liverpool hospital. we'll look at what we need to do to try to stop the spread of the virus here. the containment measures in place are very the containment measures in place are very important to buy us time, and it allows the nhs and gp surgeries and biotech companies to put procedures in place and to develop treatments and vaccines in a timely manner. new figures just released show the number of rough sleepers