this is bbc world news today. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories... could the coronavirus have been in the us state of washington for weeks? scientists say up to fifteen—hundred americans may have been infected. the founder of a religous sect in south korea is facing charges of gross negligence over some of the country's coronavirus deaths. the united nations has urged countries not to use "excessive" force as migrants travel to turkey's border with greece in the hope of reaching europe. a possible early stumbling block for the us—taliban agreement — as afghanistan's president says he won't release thousands of prisoners before peace talks. and new york state brings in a ban on single use plastic bags.

hello and welcome to world news today. scientists believe the number of americans affected by the coronavirus could be much more than previously thought — and that the virus could have been in washington state for six weeks. they suggest that up to one thousand five hundred people could have been infected. the state reported the first death from the virus on saturday — and now — rhode island, on the other side of the continent, has confirmed what they believe to be their first case. earlier, our correspondent in los angeles — peter bowes — gave me more details. we know this is an individual who had recently been travelling in italy and had returned home to rhode island, had significantly not gone back to work, which in terms of the spread of this virus could be very important.

we understand the authorities there are looking at a circle of people of around a0 that this individual may well have come into contact with and this is a familiar story, we are hearing it on the west coast as well, in washington state, here in california, where people are reporting perhaps symptoms and in fact are diagnosed as having the virus at the first thing that the authorities are doing is seeing who they have come into contact with, because that is the major concern for americans right now, this so—called community spread of the disease, where the actual person who has been infected has not travelled abroad or had any connection with those who have been infected. meanwhile in south korea, there are more than 3 thousand 700 confirmed cases the largest outbreak outside of china. prosecuters in south korea are investigating the leader of a sercretive religious sect —

for failing to co—operate with efforts to contain the virus. our seoul correspondent laura bicker reports. the army has been deployed to deal with south korea's latest threat. they're battling this virus with disinfectant, but as more cases are confirmed, it appears this is a war they're not winning. a lot of public anger has been aimed at this secretive religious sect. the infection has spread rapidly among the followers of shincheonji church ofjesus. and as officials raced to trace the outbreak, it's claimed leaders hid the names of members. now they're being accused of murder. in a rare interview, the church denied all charges. translation: we feel very sorry

for causing concern and worry to the people of korea and the world. i understand if people criticise us. but rather than point fingers, we think what's more important is to end this situation and to make sure no more confirmed cases come out. meanwhile, hospitals in daegu have been overwhelmed. at least three people have died while waiting for a bed. doctors believe it's time to free up space for the most serious patients. translation: we can't quarantine and treat all patients. those who have mild symptoms should stay at home and get treated. we should change our end goal strategy to lower death rates. thousands fear they have the virus and are lining up to be tested. these drive—through clinics speed up the process. south korea is using every resource it has and still this infection continues to spread. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul.

the number of people who're reported to have died from the virus in italy has gone up by another five and stands at a total of 34. the civil protection agency now says the number of cases has reached almost seventeen hundred. italy which is the worst—affected country in europe is to introduce a fund to help deal with the economic impact of the virus. france has also seen an increase in cases on sunday, with authorities confirming that 130 people now have the virus. some british tourists quarantined in a tenerife hotel after a coronavirus outbreak there are on their way home. here they are arriving at tenerife north airport. they'd been told by airlines that they could expect to be taken back to the uk if they tested negative for the virus and showed no symptoms at the airport. at least four guests, including an italian doctor, were diagnosed with the coronavirus

at the costa adeja palace hotel. let's get more from professor linda saif from ohio state university in the united states. she's an award—winning virologist, who's speciality is the coronavirus studying it for more than a0 years. you are obviously the best person to explain to usjust you are obviously the best person to explain to us just to begin with what scientists mean when they say that they think this virus may have beenin that they think this virus may have been in washington state for six weeks but undetected. so what scientists did is they studied the sequence scientists did is they studied the sequence of the genome of the virus and that provides like a fingerprint of what the virus looks like as it is spreading in people and they found that the first case in that state and the most recent case was there, so that suggest there was

some kind of possible length, but probably through other community individuals that may have been infected. does that mean that scientists and authorities may have missed the virus essentially, that it has been there for some time? so thatis it has been there for some time? so that is the major question now and fingerprinting the virus by sequencing it is one way to follow the spread of the virus, but another way is using the test kits to confirm positive cases and u nfortu nately, confirm positive cases and unfortunately, until recently, there haven't been enough test kits widely distributed and also the other case was linked to someone who had travelled here major country where there are lots of cases like korea oi’ there are lots of cases like korea or china. now that the definition has changed. just briefly, sorry to interrupt, could this now explain why we see the cases ballooning in other countries, where there were

none and now they're just so many? so, it appears that the is extremely transmissible and it appears possible that some of the people who have the case, just have mild flu—like or cold like symptoms and they are not necessarily detected or not necessarily reporting to medical centres, so if there are a lot of asymptomatic or mild cases, those could be missed and we may be only seen could be missed and we may be only seen the severe could be missed and we may be only seen the severe cases could be missed and we may be only seen the severe cases reporting to the hospitals and medical centres. so, this is the wearing something, if there are a lot of clinical or asymptomatic cases that can still spread the virus among community members. thank you very much for explaining that. greece says it has stopped almost ten thousand migrants crossing over the land border from turkey, which is struggling to deal with the number of people fleeing syria's civil war.

turkey's president has said he will break his country's deal with brussels — to prevent migrants entering the eu — unless he gets greater support for his intervention in syria. orla guerin reports from pazarkule on the border between turkey and greece. at first light, they joined the migrant trail from turkey. heading for the river meric, all that separates them from europe. this small group manages to cross, reaching the shores of greece, which fears a new flood of refugees. at border crossings with turkey, it's been pushing them back. greece doesn't want a repeat of 2015. caught up in the chaos this afternoon, reza, an iranian we met who hopes to reach london. they're pushing us by water.

tear gas. it's not fair. and the young have been in the firing line, like one—year—old yashar, whose family is from afghanistan. "the greeks shot at us and threw tear gas at him," says his father, zaman. "he could have died." but for turkey, which has been sheltering almost 4 million syrians, the refugees are now human bargaining chips being used to put pressure on europe. well, families are still arriving here, and they're not coming by accident. they are being encouraged to travel by the turkish authorities, led to believe that they can enter europe. instead, they're stuck here with no way to cross into greece,

and they and their children are having to camp out in the cold. and this is what awaits them now at the border. a battleground. greece says it won't allow a free for all. turkey says it's overwhelmed by refugees. it is determined that europe will share the fallout from syria's long and brutal war. 0rla guerin, bbc news, on the turkey—greece border. joining me now is massimo moratti, deputy director of amnesty international‘s european 0ffice. how much do we know about who these migrants are, have they recently escaped syria or have they been in turkey for some time? these are people who have been in turkey for some time. these are people who have beenin some time. these are people who have been in turkey for a number of yea rs, been in turkey for a number of years, since 2016, when the turkey deal was concluded. there is clearly

political brinkmanship going on between turkey and the eu. what do you think should happen so that those migrants who are stuck in the middle of this politics are looked after? there are some clear international standards that should be applied, people should be allowed to seek asylum. we have recently learned that the great government has suspended the right to asylum but this is another problematic aspect. so these are some clear standards, that should be applied. clearly the situation has already been difficult, before these events, since last summer, we recorded a hike in the arrivals in the greek islands. 0n the greek islands there is as many as six times more people than the actual capacity of the centres there. this is the real issue isn't it that the greek government are struggling with? that

they have more refugees, more migrants than they can handle and it has become a politically very difficult issue for the government. indeed. it is a politically very difficult issue for the government and it is somehow pushing the government to pass harsher measures that are in fact violating, potentially violating the rights of asylu m potentially violating the rights of asylum seekers. that is why it is the moment for europe to step in and support the great government and to push for the relocation of those persons to find safe and legal pathways to europe. there is honestly so much more to discuss with this but unfortunately we are out of time. thank you so much for your time. you're welcome. good evening. the afghan president, ashraf ghani, says last week's partial truce with the taliban will potentially continue until his government negotiates a full ceasefire with the militants. on saturday the us signed a historic deal with the taliban — which included a commitment to release thousands of taliban prisoners as a pre—condition for future negotiations. but ashraf ghani says his government

has made no such commitment. there was a request regarding the release of the taliban prisoners, but it can only be part of the future negotiations. it cannot be a pre—condition for talks, because the afghan nation has to be assured that whoever is going to be released will not stand against it one day. the president's national security advisor has been talking to the bbc‘s secunder kermani. from this point forward, not only will the taliban sustain this reduced violence but actually reduce it further until we reach a total zero. there is no need to continue violence in afghanistan and kill afghan people. has that been agreed then? because there seems to be some mixed messages coming out of the taliban about whether that happens or not. i don't think it has been

agreed in black—and—white, but i think it is an understood agreement that that would go and be the de facto from now on. so your afghan forces, they are on the defensive at the moment, they're not going to be launching any kind of offensive attacks on the taliban? well, not right now, not against the taliban. but, if we see activity that we think is suspicious and is going to lead to casualties in the future or in attack being launched, we will definitely defend ourselves and our people. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: a thing of the past? as of now, plastic bags like these are now banned in new york state. first the plates slid gently off of the restaurant tables, then suddenly the tables, the chairs and people crashed sideways and downwards.

it was just a matter of seconds as the ferry lurched onto her side. the hydrogen bomb, on a remote pacific atom, the americans had successfully tested a weapon his explosive force to that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i had heard the news earlier and they said it went bang and bang. the constitutional rights of these marchers and their rights as citizens of the united states and they should be protected, even in the right to test them out, so that if they do not get their heads broken and sent to hospital. this religious controversy, i know you don't want to say too much about it, but do worry there's going be fallout when you get get to the states? well, it worries me yes, but i hope everything will be all right in the end, as they say.

this is bbc world news today. the latest headlines: could the coronavirus have been in the us state of washington for weeks? scientists say up to 1,500 americans may have been infected. the united nations has urged countries not to use "excessive" force as migrants travel to turkey's border with greece in the hope of reaching europe. joe biden has resurrected his struggling campaign to become president of the united states with a dominant win in the south carolina primaries. he was helped to his resounding victory by strong support from the african—american community. the front—runner, bernie sanders, came in second place. here's our north america editor, jon sopel. so it would seem reports ofjoe biden's imminent demise were much exaggerated. the former vice president's southern firewall proved to be rock solid and flame retardant.

his first victory tasted sweet. now, thanks to all of you, the heart of the democratic party, we just won, and we won big because of you. cheering and applause. and we are very much alive. what made the difference was that this was the first state to vote with a significant african—american population. their support for him was almost as enormous as the food portions in this spartanburg diner. joe biden. biden. you're biden? yeah, i like biden. because he's an honest man. biden is probably my top choice. bernie sanders is the standard bearer for the left in this gruelling contest. he came in second last night, but is expected to return to frontrunner status on super tuesday, in a couple of days' time, when 1a states vote.

you cannot win them all. there's a lot of states out there, and tonight we did not win in south carolina. at this college, they are getting ready for the new baseball season. and among young people, bernie sanders is the runaway favourite. for all that, there is a clear majority supporting a centrist like joe biden. the trouble is, that vote is being split by another of other candidates who are also moderates. or to put it in baseball terms, there seems no—one capable of knocking it out of the park. jon sopel, bbc news, spa rtanburg, south carolina. holly has all the sport. hello and thanks forjoining us. we start with football with the first el classico of 2020 under way in madrid, as real and barcelona go head—to—head at the bernabeu with a two—point difference between them.

with the la liga title race proving to be one of the closest in recent years, the hosts can move back above the catalan giants back into top spot with a win tonight. cristiano ronaldo is in the stands to watch his former club. it's been entertaining so far but no goals. there are around 30 minutes left. we are into the second half and it is goalless. all the results today from spain on the bbc sport website. two games in the premier league today and a contraversial draw at goodison park between everton and manchester united. it had been an entertaining game from the off after a david de gea blunder gifted everton an early lead. united equalized but everton thought they'd won it in injury time only to have it ruled off for offside by var, a decision not appreciated by the everton manager,

carlo ancelotti, who was sent off for remonstrating with the referee. i asked for an explanation. they sent me off. after that i had a conversation with him. i want to keep this conversation private and ifelt like they are going to take a decision but when you have to take a decision, sometimes it could be right, sometimes it could be wrong. any complaint of this, we are satisfied with the performance. and because this performance gives us more confidence that we can compete with these teams. it is a bad start, but then a great reaction, a fantastic reaction by everyone. we took the ball, we wanted the ball, we took the game to them, played in their half, created chances and got the goal we deserved. you're a fan of var tonight? i don't know. it's hard to say. i wouldn't mind living with the human errors. rauljimenez struck the winner for wolves as they came

from behind twice to beat spurs 3—2 at tottenham hotspur stadium. the win sends wolves sixth in the table and three points behind fourth—placed chelsea. manchester city has won the league cup for a third straight season, beating aston villa 2—1 at wembley. who else but sergio aguero opened the scoring? his 10th goal in his last six starts against villa. rodri doubled city's lead from a corner. villa's tanzanian striker mbwana samatta got a goal back on the stroke of half—time, but an equalizer proved elusive. the opening race of the motogp season in qatar has been cancelled because of travel restrictions imposed on passengers from italy due to the coronavirus. moto gp issued a statement this evening referring to italy's crucial role in the competition, both on track and off. the moto2 and moto3 categories will still race due to those teams and riders already being in qatar

for testing there last week. despite being kept in isolation for 3h hours as a precaution over coronavirus, denmark's michael morkov has won world championship madison gold in berlin. morkov and his partner, lasse norman hansen, gained a lap on the rest of the field to claim the title. he was only cleared to complete by cycling's governing body on saturday after taking part in the first four days of the uae tour before it was cancelled because of two suspected cases of coronavirus. after the race he spoke tojill douglas. two days ago, i was doubting if i could even get allowed to start this race, so from being not even able to race to become world champion in my absolute favourite discipline is hard to describe. and you're feeling fine? i'm feeling very fine. i feel on top of the world now. that's all the sport for now.

thank you. from today, single—use plastic bags are banned across new york state. any retailers failing to comply can be fined up to $500, as janey mitchell reports. the norm for new yorkers, free plastic bags, with an estimated 23 billion used in the state alone every year. now it plans to get a handle on its throwaway culture. shoppers will be expected to bring their own reusable bags, or pay 5 cents for every paper one, with some of the revenue going towards environmental protection. most are in favour. when i was growing up, we were bringing our own bags. i'm highly in favour of this ban. i remember going to staten island once and there were a million bags floating around that landfill. it was a horrible sight. i've never forgotten it. just walk along a beach, you know, there isjust so much debris that is washed up, and it's a great majority

of it that is plastic. environmentalists welcomed the ban, but are critical of exemptions, including bags for prescription drugs and takeaway food. some small businesses worry about the impact on profits. paper bags cost about twice as much as plastic, and paper is not everyone's bag. customers are very happy this is happening. most. and other customers are upset that they can't use these plastic bags as their garbage bags, because a lot of people, that's what their garbage bags are, these bags. new yorkers like to pride themselves on being at the forefront of efforts to save the environment. it's the third us state to introduce a ban on plastic bags after oregon and california. but there's a long way to go before these become an endangered species in america. janey mitchell, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. more

coming up and all the top stories on oui’ coming up and all the top stories on our website. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ reged ahmad. good evening. with rivers still running high and many a waterlogged field out there, a bit of weather news would go a long way at the moment and there is some to look forward to in this week's forecast in that it won't be quite as wet or as windy. a mixture of sunshine and showers through much of the week, but what we will notice, it will feel that little bit chilly, particularly by night, widespread frosts through much of the week. and that will be the case out there tonight. to go with that, we still have some showers around,

close to the low pressure in the north, but this onejust running across southern counties overnight will produce some longer spells of rain and mixed in amongst that, across the moors, the cotswolds, the chilterns, for instance, we could see some wet snow, even a temporary covering to take us into tomorrow morning, the rain spreading its way up in towards east anglia. away from that, there will be clearer skies and those showers around, and temperatures close to if not below freezing. this is where we are most likely to see a frost and some icy conditions to start your monday morning commute. a fair bit of sunshine for many, away from east anglia and the south—east where we have got that rain and perhaps a few flakes of wet snow mixed in first thing. that will gradually clear through to allow the sunshine to develop. only a few showers, western scotland, northern ireland and north—west england to begin with. rain, sleet, hailand snow, but more showers developing a bit more widely across western areas through the day. many, though, will spend the bulk of day dry and some eastern areas completely dry throughout. temperatures around 8—10 celsius, winds lighter, not as cold, perhaps, as we saw earlier in the weekend, but winds will pick up through monday night and into tuesday across scotland, northern ireland, they could touch gale force at times. some further rain, sleet and snow, a covering of snow in places.

the weather system just pushing down into france, a bit of a near—miss for us more than anything, but devon, cornwall, the channel islands could see some rain around on tuesday, but for the rest of the country, it looks like there will be a shield of cloud making the sunshine hazy across the south, maybe a few spots of rain but elsewhere, sunshine and showers the name of the game again and after a frosty start, temperatures around levels they should be for the time of year. now sunshine and showers also sees us through into wednesday and thursday across the country. a cold start, some frost, some ice around and temperatures by and large sitting in single figures as we go through the afternoon but changes towards the end of the week. through thursday night into friday, we will see a weather front bringing rain across most parts. it should push through quite quickly, but of course, every drop of rain we don't need, and then into the start of the weekend, more weather fronts and a strengthening breeze. the rain won't be as much as we have seen, but don't forget, rivers still running high. they will still respond, of course, to what we've seen over the past few days. all the latest flood warnings are on the bbc weather website. bye for now.

this is bbc world news. the headlines: officials in washington state on the us west coast have declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus. reports have quoted epidemiologists suggesting the virus may have been spreading there for several weeks. the founder of a religous sect in south korea is facing charges of gross negligence over some of the country's coronavirus deaths. the infection has spread rapidly among the followers of the shin—chun—jee church ofjesus. the united nations has urged countries not to use "excessive" force as thousands of migrants travel to turkey's border with greece in the hope of reaching europe. greece says it has stopped almost ten thousand migrants crossing over the land border from turkey. there's a potential early stumbling block for the us—taliban agreement that was signed in doha on saturday.