tv BBC News BBC News February 28, 2020 11:00pm-11:31pm GMT
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this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 11: the latest person to test positive for coronavirus in the uk, at a gp surgery in surrey, is the first to get it here, not abroad. the issue of coronavirus is something that is now the government's top priority. alarm over the outbreak has sent global stock markets into a steep dive — with the ftse 100 dropping nearly 13% this week. fears of a major international military confrontation, after an attack by government forces in syria leaves 33 turkish soldiers dead. the flooding misery continues for some — residents in parts of east yorkshire are evacuated as water levels rise.
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and the teenage activist greta thunberg marches with thousands of young people in bristol against climate change. and at half past 11 we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, ft‘s david bond and michael booker who's the deputy editor of the daily express — stay with us for that. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the latest uk case of coronavirus is the first to be contracted within the country rather than abroad. the man walked into a gp surgery in surrey feeling unwell. it came as another patient, who'd been quarantined on a cruise ship injapan, became the first briton to die from the illness.
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the respiratory disease, which causes pneumonia—like symptoms has infected almost 84,000 people in more than 50 countries. and although the vast majority of cases remain in china, the virus is now spreading faster outside the country. the world health organization says most, if not all countries, should expect outbreaks. here in the uk, 20 people now have coronavirus, with wales reporting its first patient. in a moment we'll look at the effect of coronavirus on the global economy, but first our health editor hugh pym has this report, which does contain flashing images. tonight, this gp surgery in surrey was being deep cleaned after being closed to patients. a man who had been in to see a doctor tested positive for the coronavirus. it is potentially significant, as he hadn't been abroad. officials are trying
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to find out if he was in contact with anyone recently back from the affected countries. injapan, the first british fatality, a man who was a tourist on the diamond princess cruise ship. after contracting the virus, he was said to be very poorly. five japanese people who were on the ship have also died and almost 700 cases were diagnosed. two more people are being treated in london's royal free hospital. a man from swansea contracted the virus after returning from italy. the first case in wales. there has been a surge in calls to the nhs 111 helpline. some have told the bbc of delays. a nhs spokesman said people may have to wait longer. the government have sought to reassure the public. the issue of coronavirus
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is something that is now the government's top priority. i have had a meeting with the chief medical officer and others talking about the preparations we need to make. the world health organization said the risk of a global spread of the virus was high. around the world countries are facing up to the challenge. japan's prime minister has asked for schools to close. in iran the number of cases has gone up 50% in 2a hours. 3a people have died from the disease. the main friday prayers were cancelled for the first time in decades. new zealand's health minister has confirmed his country's first case today and more worryingly the first case in africa. this is the most worrying moment.
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the former health secretary said school closures might be needed. if we look at fellow democracies like italy and japan and you can see dramatic things are happening and we have to make choices and i think the government is right to start to prepare us for some of those choices that we might want to make. if we want to contain the virus at very low levels of penetration in the population. to try to limit the virus spread, some italian football is being played behind closed doors. the visiting bulgarian team last night wore facemasks. the international footballers‘ union said it is concerned for the safety of players, as football is a global game and this is a global health problem.
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let's cross to westminster and speak to our political correspondent jessica parker. we have learnt this evening that the government is expected to publish emergency legislation in the coming week to deal with the coronavirus situation. we are light on detail as to what that legislation may involve at the moment but i am told it will be there to allow the public sector schools, nhs, greater flexibility should that become necessary to respond to coronavirus. 0ne should that become necessary to respond to coronavirus. one example cited to me is about class sizes so where limits apply, teachers may be allowed to take a bigger class in the event that there are a large number of staff absences. 0f the event that there are a large number of staff absences. of course this follows some criticism from certain people, including opposition parties, about the government's response. labour saying today that borisjohnson response. labour saying today that boris johnson needs response. labour saying today that borisjohnson needs to get a grip on the situation and while they thought
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the situation and while they thought the broad approach was the right one in terms of containing the virus, the shadow health secretary was critical of borisjohnson the shadow health secretary was critical of boris johnson for waiting until monday to call and share a cobra meeting. they have been taking place but they have been shared are the health secretary. as we heard on that package there, the government is keen to suggest it is getting a grip on the situation and that it does have a grip on the situation, borisjohnson that it does have a grip on the situation, boris johnson insisting that tackling coronavirus is now the top priority of his administration. there've been sharp falls in global stock markets because of concerns over coronavirus — the total cost of this week's plunge in values has been more than $5 trillion. in the uk, the ftse 100 closed the week 13% down — the biggest fall since 2011. the governor of the bank of england said it could mean the uk's forecasts for economic growth being downgraded, and some fear there could be a global recession. 0ur global trade correspondent
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dharshini david reports. don't be deceived by the cheers. that's just the traditional way to mark the opening of stock markets on wall street. the truth is shares have lost the equivalent of two years of the entire uk economy in value. reality has hit. coronavirus isn't just a problem for china's economy, but for all of our fortunes. we would expect that world growth would be lower than it otherwise would be. we are not picking it up yet at all in the uk economic indicators. but if the world's slower than it otherwise would be, the uk's open economy has an impact. as outbreaks have multiplied aroudn
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the globe, it is clear that the economic disruption will be equally hit. from car makers to electronic giants, global supply chains are being hit by factory shut downs in china. demand is affected. efforts to contain the disease has hit travel and tourism. british airways says it can't predict its profits after flights to china and italy have been disrupted. consumer spending has been damaged. starbucks and diageo are among those who have seen sales fall. the problem is all this comes at what is already a difficult time for the world economy. china, japan and the uk are countries where growth has been faultering. —— been faltering. some economists warn billions could be knocked off global markets. a hit that would be hundreds of times greater than that of sars.
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it isn't all gloom. there are several threads to the tale of this knitwear manufacturer in leicester who has picked up orders. more new inquiries are coming through, but is there a concern about the raw materials and making sure we won't run out of them. what can be done to support businesses? central bankers, including those in the us have tried to calm markets by saying they are ready to cut interest rates. but they are already very low and the anxiety is set to continue. crisis talks have been taking place to prevent a major international escalation of the civil war in northern syria — after a surge in fighting between turkish and syrian forces. 33 turkish soldiers were killed in an airstrike, and turkey has responded by targeting hundreds of syrian government sites. syrian government troops, which are backed by russian forces, are conducting a massive offensive in idlib province.
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it's the last opposition—held stronghold in the north of the country. turkey, which supports the anti—government rebels, has sent thousands of troops across its border to assist them. 0ur international correspondent 0rla guerin has sent this report. payback. in syria today, the turkish military were hitting hard. striking more than 200 syrian government targets. retaliation for yesterday's killing of 33 turkish troops. at the scene today in idlib province, resting in the dirt, the uniform of one of turkey's fallen soldiers. pictures filmed for the bbc show the impact of the massive air strikes. turkey has blamed the assad regime but moscow, syria's ally, controls the airspace.
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turkey's defence minister hulusi akar says russia has no excuse. translation: even though we told russia in advance the location of our troops, the attack happened. after the first strike, we warned them again, but it continued. even ambulances were hit. here, the two leaders at the centre of this dangerous escalation. president putin and president erdogan who leads a nato nation. so far, nato isn't rushing to turkey's aid, just calling for russia and syria to end their assault on idlib. i call on them to stop their offensive, to respect international law, and to back un efforts for a peaceful solution. and this is what western leaders may be most worried about. refugees heading
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from turkey to europe. already today, a trickle, since word went out here the authorities would no longer try to stop them. they are turkey's leverage with the international community. in istanbul today, a clamour for the border. in the past, refugees would have been refused. not today. this man is hoping to get his family to belgium. it is too late for us, he said, we are leaving now for the sake of our children. turkey hopes they and others like them can be its passport to international help with idlib. 0rla guerin, bbc news. our correspondentjonah fisher is near the border between greece and turkey. greece responded immediately to the movement of people inside turkey by
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closing the border, the land border between both countries. i am standing at one of those closed crossings now. but it does not appear to be entirely watertight, certainly. as we arrived in the area this evening on a number of occasions on the roads near this order area we came across groups of afg ha n refugees order area we came across groups of afghan refugees who we spoke to. they said they had crossed the border so not only at the official crossing point but at illegal land crossing point but at illegal land crossing points. it is a reminder that if turkey really does want to move on the nearly 4 million people in host on its soil that it will be extremely difficult for greece and the european union to stop them. as i speak to you this evening there are several hundred refugees and people who were encouraged into no man's land in that area behind me, a couple hundred metres away from they are spending a miserable night
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there, encouraged in their by the turkish authorities but being blocked from leaving on this side by the greeks. this crisis may be entering a very, very difficult new phase. a man convicted of murdering a pensioner with a crossbow in north wales has beenjailed for life, and told he'll spend at least 31 years behind bars. 74—year—old gerald corrigan, a retired lecturer, was killed in anglesey in april last year. his killer, terence whall, carried out what the police described as a "medieval—style execution." the 39—year—old has refused to say why he did it. the headlines on bbc news: the latest person to test positive for coronavirus in the uk at a gp surgery in surrey is the first to get it here and not abroad. alarm over the outbreak has sent global stock markets into a steep dive. the
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ftse 100 stock markets into a steep dive. the ftse100 has dropped nearly 13% this week. fears of a major international military confrontation, after an attack by government forces in syria leaves dozens of turkish soldiers dead. heavy downpours are expected to bring more flooding across england and wales as another weekend storm is due tomorrow. up to 80mm of rain is expected to fall when storm jorge arrives, delivering another heavy blow for communities who've already been hit by floods. danny savage reports from the east yorkshire village of east cowik. in the village of east cowick, numerous houses are now flooded. the east yorkshire flood plains have overflowed into settlements. why have they flooded us? why haven't they done something about it? never underestimate the misery flooding can cause when your home is ruined. i'm absolutely devastated. devastated.
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we've been here 20 years, we've got a beautiful home and just look at it. the emotional impact is far worse than the actual impact of the work that you've got to do. people were so desperate to get back in, they were taking risks. the water is still rising, so sandbags are in front of nearly every door. villagers have been told to move out. the drains have finally started backing up and we have had to move sharpish. the firemen came, didn't they, and said really advise you get out. on the river severn at iron bridge in shropshire, the temporary flood defences which were battered and broken by the highest waters here are being repaired. people who live and work here recall with alarm the point at which they failed. it was horrific, to see them
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go back to three foot, your breathjust like... inhales sharply. and then everything was all right, luckily. christine is back in her shop, but things are a long way from returning to normal. the most severe warnings have been lifted for now, but emergency workers remain. for us, we haven't really paused yet, we are still in response, we haven't got to recovery, so we haven't been able to do a lessons learned or a review of what happened. there will inevitably be things we want to learn. dozens of flood warnings remain along the length of the severn, but, with more rain to come, the worry has to be that levels will shoot up again. back in yorkshire the flood plains of rivers ouse and aire now stretch for miles. one area is nearly the size of windermere in the lake district. the problem is they are brimming — water is running off into villages and homes that these washlands are supposed to protect. the last thing needed
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is another storm. greta thunberg has warned global leaders she will "not be silenced when the world is on fire." the teenage climate change activist addressed a crowd of more than 15,000 people in bristol, at the start of a climate march in the city. jon kay reports. greta thunberg! cheering. even she seemed overwhelmed by the size of this crowd. thank you so much — every single one of you — for being here. in the middle of the school day, thousands of pupils walked out of lessons to be here. i will not be silenced while the world is on fire. will you? cheering. world leaders are behaving like children, so it falls on us to be the adults in the room. the things she says are so impactful and so emotional. yeah, i feel like it is
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a very emotional event. to see her here is amazing. she is so small. to hear her voice actually gets me. the crowd isjust amazing. the rally and march that followed were organised by teenagers injust one week after greta thunberg got in touch. police had warned that safety may not be adequate, with no idea how many young people would turn out. this is what is known as the "greta effect", and the organisers, the authorities, this whole city, seem overwhelmed by the protest. sasha is ten. are you frightened 7 erm, a bit. i'm frightened that i will lose my dad and i am frightened that the planet is going to die soon because of some people who just won't really care that much. ijust had a little cry... the sixth formers who organised the event say its success is proof that this should be taken seriously. it has been manic. it has been a lot, but we pulled off
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so much in the eight days we have had. itjust goes to show that individuals — when they get together for a cause — a good cause — amazing things can happen. but — with roads closed and buses cancelled — some questioned if a school strike should be encouraged. how much difference does it make? nothing. it isn't going to do nothing. whatever they're doing today, nothing can happen. but her fans say this is what education should be about. greta thunberg has certainly left her mark here. jon kay, bbc news, bristol. in 2010 a christian woman from pakistan, asia bibi, was sentenced to death after being convicted for blasphemy after an argument with neighbours. she spent eight years in jail before her conviction was overturned. her case drew international attention to pakistan's blasphemy laws, and to the question of religious tolerance in this predominantly muslim country. fears for her safety led asia bibi to flee pakistan,
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and today she's in france. she spoke to my colleague mishal husain, and called on the government of prime minister imran khan to free those in a similar plight. the fury in pakistan just over a year ago as a woman sentenced to death for blasphemy was acquitted. asia bibi had been convicted on the flimsiest of evidence. now, she has broken her silence about the nightmare that began when she was accused of insulting the prophet muhammad. translation: i was very scared. i couldn't even imagine something like this would happen to me. for a year and a half i kept going to court, not once did the judge hear my side of the story.
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they sentenced me to death without letting me speak. asia bibi told me she was working in the fields near her home in punjab province when the mob came to drag her away. her daughters, then aged eight and nine, saw it happen. they have since been reunited with their mother. translation: it was so strange to see my husband and children after so long. i couldn't make sense of my emotions. but when i think about my daughters' childhood... i see them crying at being separated from me. that i cannot forget. after international campaigns and eight years on death row, pakistan's supreme court dismissed the charges but there are still christians and muslims being targeted by the blasphemy law.
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what would your message be to the government of pakistan? translation: to prime minister imran khan i say, whenever something like this happens, it should be properly investigated. innocence should not be punished and innocent people jailed for this should be freed. in a statement, the government of pakistan told us it had taken considerable steps to prevent misuse of the blasphemy law and that minorities are treated as equal citizens. this afternoon asia bibi went to meet president macron. she may be granted asylum here in france or in canada, but this period is one of huge adjustment for her. she told us she isn't sure yet what the future holds. mishal husain, bbc news, paris. prince harry has been visiting abbey road studios in london, wherejon bonjovi has been recording a charity single for the prince's invictus games foundation. it comes as canada confirmed that it won't pay for harry and meghan‘s
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security once they officially step down from royal duties next month. nick witchell‘s report contains flash photography. he's packing as much as possible into these remaining days when he is on royal duty. this morning, harry was at the abbey road studios in london, to see the recording of an anthem for his creation, the invictus games. all the usual paraphernalia of a royal visit was there — a grateful host waiting on the doorstep, in this case the singerjon bonjovi, and not far away, as is customary, harry's security detail, the metropolitan police protection officers who are a necessary but discrete part of the lives of all the senior members of the royal family. for harry, they've always been there, the watchful presence in the background — here, on the first public walkabout that harry and meghan did together shortly after their engagement. but how things have changed. harry is walking away from royal duties and walking away to a very large extent from britain. it is canada that he and meghan now seem to regard as home, but the government ofjustin trudeau has said that, once the couple step
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back from their royal role, canada will no longer fund the cost of their protection. if the canadians won't pay for their security, that leaves either the british taxpayer or, of course, the couple themselves. ken wharf was protection officer to harry's mother, diana. he thinks the annual cost would be considerable. my estimates are that the protection package currently to look after them safely, the duke and duchess of sussex and canada, would be in excess of 1.5 billion —— {1.5 million, possibly reaching to £2 million. that's a conservative estimate. at abbey road, harry recreated the famous image of the beatles crossing the road outside the studio. he listens to an anthem called unbroken, in support of his creation, the invictus games, and he tried a song with bonnejohn bowie ——jon tried a song with bonnejohn bowie —— jon bon jovi. it tried a song with bonnejohn bowie —— jon bonjovi. it was carefree enough, but for hurry, to stretch the musical metaphor, there is a long, winding and somewhat uncertain road ahead.
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scientists have detected evidence of a colossal explosion in space, five times bigger than anything observed before. the huge release of energy is thought to have emanated from a supermassive black hole some 390 million light years from earth. nina nanji reports. we know about the big bang, which scientists say was the start of the expansion of the universe. now comes evidence of a slightly smaller bank, but colossal nonetheless. in fact, the blast is thought to be five times bigger than anything astronomers have previously observed. it came from a supermassive black hole hundreds of millions of light—years away, leaving a giant dent in the author you because alex acosta. researchers say it is hard to put the scale of the explosion into human terms. say it is hard to put the scale of the explosion into human termsm this explosion continued to occur over the a0 million years of the outburst, which it probably wouldn't have done, but anyway, it would be like setting off 20 billion billion
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megaton explosions of tnt every 1000th of a second for the entire 2a0 trillion years. 1000th of a second for the entire 240 trillion years. big, comprehensively big. initially, scientists started the black hole explanation, because the cavity was just so big. but new low—frequency telescope data from australia and india seems to confirm the theory. if you think about the scales in terms of how big the cavity was that the black hole blew out from this, if for example uri were to burp right now in the uk, we would blow out a cavity in the earth's atmosphere that goes all the way from canada to the middle east. that would be the equivalent of the size that you would blow out if you could give out the same amount of energy that this blackhole did. now scientists are hoping that giving the advancement of technology, this could be the first of many amazing discoveries from the universe. now, have you noticed yet that it's a leap year? that means that people born on february 29th — they're apparently called
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"leaplings" or "leapers" — only get to mark their actual birthday every four years. and a 100—year—old lady from portsmouth will this weekend get to enjoy what's offically her twenty—fifth birthday. tom hepworth reports. this surprise party was planned with military precision. applause. this surprise party was planned with military precision. applausei didn't know i was so popular! she's lovely, very independent, very lovely. she is... she fits in so well at brunel. she has got a real twinkle in her eye, doesn't she? definitely, she has a lot of character. there aren't many 25 —year—olds with two great great grandchildren. you don't look a day over 25! 0h, grandchildren. you don't look a day over 25! oh, thank you! i know, i
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mean, you don't have to tell me. doris cleife is actually 100 tomorrow. when she was 25, the second world war was in its final months. the raf hasjust second world war was in its final months. the raf has just bombed dresden, and churchill, roosevelt and stalin met to discuss how to carve up and stalin met to discuss how to carve up germany at the yalta conference. doris worked as an electrician at the sp factory on to havilland aircraft and has vivid memories of that time. you know, we will bombed three times. i was walking along one saturday with my baby in the pram and a plane came over the roof, and it was a nazi, and this pilot looked at me and i looked at him, and this is true, and he just swooped off, looked at him, and this is true, and hejust swooped off, and i thought hejust swooped off, and i thought he was going to shoot me or something. doris has lived in portsmouth all her life. she was a
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