welcome to bbc news, i'm mike embley. our top stories: on the coronavirus front line — a doctor in wuhan tells the bbc the world can't afford to underestimate the threat. in one night, i lost five lives. i should warn the rest of the world that you guys should take care. major falls in global stocks as concern over the economic impact of the virus outbreak grows. at least 33 turkish soldiers are killed in idlib — turkey says it will retaliate against syrian government forces, backed by russia. and we take you back to the volcanic island in the philippines, devastated by last month's eruption. the roof has collapsed in on itself under the weight, and here, another sign of everyday life before the eruption, a satellite dish

completely caked in ash. hello to you. the coronavirus outbreak has reached a "decisive point" and has "pandemic potential" — that's the latest assessment from the world health organization, which is urging governments around the globe to act "swiftly and aggressively" against the virus. coronavirus has now spread to 50 countries and reached every continent except antarctica. worldwide, there have been more than 82,000 cases and 2,800 deaths. almost all of those are in china, but for a second day, more cases have been reported outside china, than inside. injapan, where they're preparing for this summer's 0lympics, all state schools are to close for a month to try to limit the spread of the virus. the vast majority of the deaths in china have been in hubei, the province where the outbreak began. 0ur china correspondent john sudworth has been speaking to one doctor in wuhan.

at the end of a tough shift fighting the virus, a doctor steps out onto the streets of a deserted city. wuhan is still in total lockdown. ringing hello, dr xie. hey. how are you? in a rare officially approved interview with dr xie jiang, as well as in videos provided to us, the bbc has been given unique access to a man on the front line of a war, one he says is being won. i came to wuhan one month ago. patients were pouring into the hospital like a tide. and we cannot — we do not have enough beds available

for everyone. i think things are holding up better right now. wuhan shows what the virus can do to a health system. the thousands of extra beds have begun to make a difference, but there are still major challenges. i'm not satisfactory with the mortality. i still thing the mortality is really too high. for patients with severe symptoms, it is even — the mortality is even higher than sars. that's the thing we should address right now. this is dr xie dealing with one of those severe cases. with the virus attacking the lungs, no city in the world, he says, would have enough specialist ventilators to keep thousands of such patients alive. even doctors have died, including li wenliang, one of the first to try to warn about the dangers of the virus, only to be silenced by the police. you know, i was very sad when i heard this kind of news. it was really a big blow for us, for the whole medical staff. do you think china should

learn lessons as a result of his death? absolutely. information disclosure is really important. i lost five patients in one night. i mean, imagine that. in one night, i lost five lives. i should warn the rest of the world that you guys should take care. don't neglect — neglect this disease. singing at the end of another night shift, this time, dr xie sings a patriotic song. he believes china will win this fight, but it is one the rest of the world may have onlyjust begun. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. well, stock markets around the world have plunged as investors get seriously worried about the possible impact on global economies. it's been the worst week on the markets since the financial crisis of 2008. michelle fleury sent this update from new york. yeah, i mean this was not a day for the fainthearted, certainly if you ask any trader. from the city of london to wall street

we've seen yet again the sharp drops in the prices of stocks stop all of this is being driven by investors who are basically pretty worried about what is happening with the coronavirus. 0ver what is happening with the coronavirus. over £150 billion has been wiped off the value of the ftse in the last four days and here on wall street, you have seen the dowjones industrials of its biggest point lost in history. it also joins other markets slumping into a correction, a drop of more than 10% over a period of days, and the price of oil continues to fall sharply. investors are trying to do what eve ryo ne investors are trying to do what everyone else is, predict what will happen next, how far and how fast with this virus spread? the impact on corporate profits could be severe, if you start to see offices close, people stopped travelling and shopping. we have even had a warning from one of the big wall street banks, goldman sachs, saying it could sit the us intoa sachs, saying it could sit the

us into a recession. —— tip the us. markets in asia have opened. mariko 0i is in singapore for us. what is the latest from it's been a rough week for asian investors as well. japan's nikkei, which is open to .5 hours ago, down 2.5%, is now down more than 3%. hong kong's hang seng index opened 30 minutes ago, it is down by almost 2%. asian markets have been reacting to the coronavirus outbreak were nearly a month now, but initially investors were more worried about china, are all the factory closures may affect the factory closures may affect the global supply chain. now the global supply chain. now the virus has spread well beyond china and in a czar, people are seeing that fall michelle mentioned on wall street and now asian markets are reacting to that as well. and until recently, many experts were saying after the styles outbreak in 2003, the

recovery was relatively fast, so we recovery was relatively fast, so we would expect a beset recovery — — so we would expect a beset recovery —— after the sars outbreak, now some i doubting that would happen because this is really a global problem, whereas the sars outbreak was pretty much in asia. mariko oi, thank you very much for that. health officials in california have confirmed the first person to person transmission of the coronavirus in the united states that's not related to travel. live now to our correspondent chris buckler. chris, give us the latest on this, first of all, if you would? in california in particular, it is worth pointing out it sets out america's real challenge as far as preparing for any potential spread of the coronavirus in a community. because we were talking about something like 8.5 thousand people being tested for concerns that they could be infected with coronavirus and they have something like 200 test kits. it gives you this idea that

inside the states there is a real concern that perhaps they are not prepared and ready to deal with the dangers of this virus spreading. and certainly 24—hour is ago, you and i sat and listened to the no—trump from a podium in the white house saying he was ready and prepared to deal with this problem. that he was setting up a task force, it hasn't really given the reassurance the american public wanted and there are many questions about how it has been set up and just how it has been set up and just how prepared america is.|j how it has been set up and just how prepared america is. i know it is raising some concern. according to these entities —— the center for disease control, there has also been some blowback on the appointment of mike pence as head of this task force. he was quite resistant to and dismissive of the views of scientists? the concerns about that woman in california,

saying they were not sure how she got the virus and that is one of the things that is worrying them, because it is that fear of community spread. as formike that fear of community spread. as for mike pence, the big concern about him is he is not essentially regarded as an expert in this field and his political opponents would go much further than that, they would say he does not have a good record of dealing with his health emergencies. when he was governor in indiana, he wasn't particularly good in dealing with an outbreak of hiv in particular. he seemed to block a clean needle programme that would have been essential to help that. he didn't like it forever, but long enough to cause real concern among the health community. technically, health community. technically, he is leading the response, but to give you an idea how this works inside the white house, there is also a chair of the task force who is the health secretary, alex azar, so there isa secretary, alex azar, so there is a question of who is really in of this at the moment. president trump says it is his

vice president, but some of the comments coming from donald trump himself i'm not particularly welcome as far as health experts are concerned. i give you one he hasjust given. he says" it is going to disappear one day, it's like a miracle, it will disappear from our shores, we know it could get worse before it gets better. you could maybe go away, we'll see what happens." that is not the kind of information that health experts wa nt information that health experts want going out to the american public, they are saying we can deal with this, but the people need to be aware, particularly if there is a fear of what we are seeing in california, of a community spread. thank you, chris. injapan, the government has asked all schools to close from the start of next week, to try to limit the spread of the virus. it will affect 13 million students and continue until the end of the school year in late march. jenny hill has the latest from tokyo. in what will be widely interpreted as a measure

ofjust how concerned they are, the prime minister, shinzo abe, has called for the closure of all public schools from monday. concern is growing as the number of cases continues to rise. translation: some local governments have already cancelled classes in their areas. as a nation, the next week or two are crucial. the health and well—being of children is of utmost concern. we would like to reduce major risks of infection that school environments could pose, as places where a large number of students and teachers will spend long hours together. for some time, focus was very much on the diamond princess cruise ship, which is moored just down the coast in the port of yokohama. of the 900 or more cases of infection is here injapan, some 700 originated on that ship. but what the authorities are really worried about are the separate cases, nearly 200 of them springing up

in clusters all over the country, many of them concentrated in the northern region of hokkaido. one of the most troubling cases for the japanese authorities is that of a woman in her 40s who was treated for the virus and discharged from hospital at the very beginning of february. it has now emerged that she has tested positive, again, for the virus. so that is of huge concern, and all of this of course happening just five months before tokyo is due to host the 2020 olympics. now, the authorities insist that their preparations are continuing as planned. but we have heard from the chief executive of tokyo's organising committee who says that the torch relay, which is due to begin injust a few weeks' time and then travel all over the country, may well have to be scaled down. jenny hill for us there in tokyo. 33 turkish soldiers have been killed in an attack by syrian government forces, backed by russia, in the idlib region of syria. ambulances have been taking casualties to the turkish border town of hatay.

president erdogan has been holding emergency talks in ankara. he'd had already been threatening military action if syrian forces continued their offensive in idlib. the northern syrian province, the last major opposition stronghold, has been under sustained assault, which has forced almost a million people to flee their homes in the past two months. 0rla guerin sent this report. in the warscape of syria, rebel fighters may be making their last stand. they have retaken this wounded, empty town in idlib province, but the assad regime and its russian backers are determined to retake all of idlib. not if turkey can help it. its troops are supposed to be observing a ceasefire in idlib. instead, its losses are growing. turkey's defence minister told us his battle plans are ready if talks fail to stop the regime. translation: hospitals

are being hit, schools and civilian areas. it's notjust the bodies of children under the rubble. it's the conscience of the international community. you want a ceasefire and you want a negotiated settlement. but are you really saying, sitting here today, that turkey is ready for all—out war with syria, which would drag in russia? first of all, we want these negotiations to come to an end and reach a result. that is what we want, and what we are working for. so the deadline is no longer this weekend? if this is not fulfilled, starting at the weekend, you will see our actions. and, as the clock counts down, this is the only refuge for some in idlib. they had to clear out the livestock and the cockroaches before bringing their children in. nine families live here now.

this woman says the only mercy they receive is from god. like many in idlib, she feels forgotten by the world. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: after a landmark ruling for europe's last indigenous population — the sami of sweden get to say who can hunt on their land. all prince charles has chosen his bride. the prince proposed to lady diana spencer three weeks ago. she accepted, she says, without hesitation. as revolutions go, this had its fair share of bullets. a climax in the night outside the gates of mr marcos's sanctuary, malaca nang, the name itself symbolising one of the cruellest regimes of modern asia. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal.

scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly using a cell from another sheep. warren beatty and faye dunaway announced to the world that the winner of best film was la la land. the only trouble was, it wasn't. the mistake was only put right in the middle of gushing speeches by the team behind the modern musical. not for 20 years have locusts been seen in such numbers in this part of africa. some of the swarms have been ten miles long. this is the last time the public will see this pope. very soon, for the sake of the credibility and authority of the next pope, benedict xvi will, in his own words, "be hidden from the world for the rest of his life." this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a doctor tackling the coronavirus outbreak in the chinese city of wuhan has told the bbc that no city in the world would have been able to cope with the epidemic.

and concerns over the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak have caused significant falls in global stock markets. let's get more on our top story now: the coronavirus outbreak has reached a "decisive point" and has " pandemic potential" —that‘s the latest assessment from the world health 0rganization. kelly hills is a bio—ethicist who consults on ethical issues including on bio—security. she joins us from lowell in massachusetts. it is good to talk to you. i suppose there are wider considerations about quarantining people, considerations about quara ntining people, there considerations about quarantining people, there are also ethical considerations. thank you for having me. i have i guess you could say a unpopular opinion in that i don't think quarantining is ethically justified in don't think quarantining is ethicallyjustified in the 21st century. it is a mood of managing disease that stems from the 14th century and there are very few things now in the zist are very few things now in the 21st century that we want to have that are actually from the

14th. you would not go have your blood let in order to cure coronavirus and likewise we should not use quarantining as a tool. it is not effective and it does very little other than undermine public trust which we desperately need. surely there may be occasions where scientific and medical considerations override ethical considerations. as a tactic, as a strategy it seems to have worked in china. did it? it has spread outside china's borders and it has spread... but in china the outbreak has peaked, we are told. it has but there is absolutely no evidence that quarantining had anything to do with slowing it down. when you look at were hand, it was quarantining first and then hubei was. and when we know them when people know they are going to go under quarantining they tend to leave. we have that information from the sars

epidemic in 2003 and we have that information from what happened in west african countries such as sierra leone and guinea and liberia during the ebola epidemic. people feel it isa the ebola epidemic. people feel it is a violation of their rights and they will do what they can to get around it. they go underground and that erodes any other option. furthermore, there is nothing to indicate it is medically necessary here. there are absolutely some cases where i would argue for quarantining. iam known where i would argue for quarantining. i am known for saying that if you have a plane full of infant babies who may have ebola, you should quarantining them. in more realistic settings you should probably think about quarantining potential probably think about quara ntining potential measles cases in cities that have a very low vaccination record. because measles has a high

contagious nurse, and —— high level of contagion and it can be very harmful knife fatal to people who have not been vaccinated. but there are many people who would take issue with what you are saying. for the moment we will leave it there. thank you very much. now, a landmark court ruling for europe's last indigenous population. the sami people of northern sweden have been granted the right to decide who hunt and fish on their land — raising questions about similar possible moves elsewhere. rich preston has the story. northern sweden. 150 kilometres above the arctic circle. home to the sami people. a court said they have been using this land from time immemorial and it is thought they arrived in the region at the end of the last ice age. the sami won

their landmark court case in january, giving their community exclusive rights to decide who hunts and features on their land. it was the end of what had been a ten year legal battle. the ruling applies to a district south of the town of kiruna. they said there way of life was being threatened by other hunting and fishing activities. it is our lounge so we must decide. in that case we keep nature as it is not destroyed, but others are unhappy and say gives the sami people too much control over an area they must share with others full of i think there is space enough for all of us.|j do not think it is a group of entrepreneurs only who get to decide over this big area. but there is a concern that the ruling will give the sami power

to block economic development including train lines, wind farm or mining. the court case has sought set a precedent in europe, turning back the clock on population shifts and giving autonomy to a group who can prove it was there first, raising the question over whether similar decisions could follow elsewhere. let's take you to the philippines now, where people living around the taal volcano are slowly returning to their homes after it errupted earlier this year. —— erupted earlier this year. 0ur correspondent howard johnson went with some of them, you may find parts of his report distressing. this is how taal island looked before the volcanic eruption, and here is how it looks now, the once—verdant philippine jungle now so heavily laden with volcanic ash that it resembles the surface of the moon. we are travelling across taal lake towards the island here. you can see some gusts

in the background emanating from the main crater. the alert level has been reduced here, which means some residents are returning to the island to see the damage caused by this eruption. and this is what we saw. here, a once vibrant community church now looks like an archaeological site, building after building buried under sulphurous ash. you see this house is completely covered in ash. the roof has collapsed in on itself under the weight. and here, another sign of everyday life before the eruption, a satellite dish completely ca ked in volcanic ash. nearby, we meet a group of neighbours digging out ash from a buried house. they returned to the island to look for a man who has been missing since the volcano erupted. translation: please reveal yourself. fighting back tears, the man's

wife says she won't rest until she has found him. we saw his mosquito net and mattress. nothing. we dug in the living room area. we also saw our dog here, dead. more than 4,000 people like gloria remain in evacuation centres away from taal. the island itself has been declared a permanent danger zone, with residents forbidden to return to their homes. islanders once made a living from tourism, fishing and farming. but many, like renz greco, have lost crucial livestock. translation: the boats were buried, the fishes died. 0ur plastic sack business all gone. the total damage is $us20,000. both renz and gloria said they have received food and shelter from authorities, but as yet are not sure they will receive aid

to rebuild their lives. the family of an australian boy who was filmed crying after being bullied have turned down a crowdfunded trip to disneyland. the video of quaden bayles went viral after he was targeted at school for his dwarfism. an online campaign raised more than $308,000. the nine—year—old's aunt said the family was touched by the gesture, but would donate the money to charity instead. and bts have cancelled four concerts in seoul because of the outbreak of coronavirus in south korea. the cancellation was announced on twitter after the band promoted their new album to an empty hall on monday because of the virus. and that out break has reached a decisive point and has

pandemic potential, the latest assessment from the world health organization. hello once again. just as i was beginning to think about climatological spring at the end of the week, so thursday brought a taste of winter to some areas, and yet much of the rest of february is going to be all about some really quite heavy rain, some very strong winds. details, of course, on all of the warnings associated with this weather are to be found on the bbc weather website. friday itself starts off dry enough across eastern spots. it's a complete contrast, though, to fortunes towards the west. because here, having had a fairly cool start to the night, so with the cloud pushing in, relatively speaking, i think it will hold up the temperatures. five or six degrees to start off your day. but you've got the cloud and the wind and the rain right from the word go, and it's that regime that wins out

across those drier sections in the east, because the movement of that frontjust drags that cloud and rain ever further towards the north and east during the course of the day. an increasingly mild day for central and southern spots. it stays pretty chilly, though, across much of scotland. and that's not the whole story, because what is driving our weather through the course of the weekend isjorge, a named storm, throwing another weather front during the course of saturday across many parts of the british isles, quite early on across the greater part of england and wales. it lingers with intent across the north of scotland, and then another portion of that weather front just peps up the showers. so long spells of rain, which of course is across the high ground across northern britain. so that's a miserable day. four, five, six degrees, something of that order, and the strength of the wind a real concern from about midday on saturday right through sunday. we're looking at gusts of wind 60—70 mph. when i show you the pressure chart, that's no great surprise, because you see the squeeze on those isobars

there widely across the british isles. this is notjust a feature for the north of scotland, but i think somewhere across the north could well in exposure see 70 mph. further south, it's going to be a blustery day, with some sunshine. it's not all doom and gloom by any means at all, but the feeling of the day will be tempered by the strength of that wind, which persists on sunday, simply becausejorge is very close by to the north of scotland. so you may not feel every bit of that eight or nine or ten, if you're not stuck closer to five or six or seven further north, where the showers will be wintry. and it's not really until monday that we begin to see the ease in the winds, and there will be some sunshine, fewer showers, a relief after the weekend. keep an eye on the forecast. take care, bye—bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: asian stock markets have opened sharply down because of fears that coronavirus will damage economies around the world. earlier, the main new york indices lost more than 4% of their value. the international monetary fund has said it's likely to downgrade its global growth forecast for the year. health officials in california have confirmed the first person—to—person transmission of coronavirus in the united states, not related to travel. according to the centers for disease control, the woman had been active for several days before diagnosis. the state has only around 200 test kits for the virus. turkey says it is retaliating against syrian government forces after at least 33 of its soldiers were killed by air strikes in the province of idlib. the developments mark a serious escalation in the conflict between turkey, which supports rebel forces and the syrian government, which is backed by russia.