you're watching newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. the headlines: possible murder charges for the head of a south korean religious sect over the coronavirus deaths of some of his followers. in the us, there are concerns the virus could have been circulating for weeks — up to 1,500 people may be infected. i'm samantha simmonds in london. also in the programme: in the us election campaign, mayor pete buttigieg pulls out. it could be a boost forjoe biden‘s campaign. after the us—taliban agreement, the qatari mediator tells us that outside countries could still wreck the chances for peace in afghanistan.

life from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news. this is newsday. good morning. it's 9am in singapore, 1am in the morning in london and 10am in the morning in south korea, where the founder of a secretive religious sect is facing possible charges of murder over some of the country's coronavirus deaths. seoul city government has filed a legal complaint with prosecutors against lee man—hee and other leaders of the shincheonji church of jesus. they've been accused of failing to hand over a full list of followers, impeding the authorities‘ attempts to control the outbreak. 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 coronavirus has now infected more than 88,000 people and spread to more than 60 countries around the world, rattling global markets and prompting unprecedented measures from governments. in europe, italy has been the worst hit. the number of cases has spiked

and 3a people have now died. courtney bembridge reports. fears over the virus have pushed italy's economy to the brink of a recession. and looking at these quiet canals in venice, it's not hard to see why. nine days ago, italy knew of just three seemingly isolated cases. there are now more than 1,700 nationwide. in the north, italian soldiers patrol checkpoints outside 11 towns, home to 50,000 people. no one is allowed in or out. the two regions under lockdown generate around a third of italy's economic output, home to everything from warehouses to cheese and dairy processing centres. even parts of the country not affected by the virus are taking a hit.

bookings for march have been cancelled in rome and up to 80% in sicily. tourists did show up to the louvre museum in paris, but they were left waiting outside, after staff refused to go to work. we saw on twitter people have been waiting for three hours, so, yeah, we are not going to do that. if it takes too long, we willjust go somewhere else. eventually, the visitors all left, with the promise of a refund. the closure came after the government cancelled all gatherings of more than 5,000 people in confined spaces. staff argue that's a normal day at the museum. as fear sweeps the continent, facemasks are at a premium, and the health ministers in france and switzerland have urged citizens to forgo the usual greeting of a kiss on each cheek, as well as the customary handshake. this video is being shared online showing an alternate greeting, but still, the disease spreads, and the czech republic has now registered its first three cases. there was some good news

for tourists locked down at a hotel on the spanish island of tenerife. they are now free to leave if they test negative for the virus and promise to continue their period of isolation in their home countries. the us state of washington has declared a state of emergency after its first death from the virus. there are now fears the virus has been in the community undetected for weeks, after scientists found similarities between new coronavirus samples and those from an undiagnosed patient six weeks ago. that could mean up to 1,500 people have been infected. courtney bembridge, bbc news. also making news today: an australian investigation has found evidence that detained chinese uighurs are being used as forced labour in factories that produce global brands. it said this was part of what china calls the re—education of muslim uighurs. the report added that the uighurs were not able to refuse the work placements. greece says it has stopped almost 10,000 migrants

crossing over the land border from turkey, which is struggling to deal with the number of people fleeing syria's civil war. the turkish 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. new research suggests that australian summers are now twice as long as winters — due to climate change. the policy group the australia institute says raised temperatures mean that summers are a—month longer than half a century ago, while winters have contracted by three weeks. a warm winter in 2019 has, for the first time, caused the failure of germany's harvest of ice wine grapes. the drink is produced from grapes that have frozen while still on the vine. none of germany's 13 wine—growing regions reached the required low temperatures to produce the rare wine. the afghan government has

started picking over the details of the deal signed by the taliban and the us on saturday. the historic deal will see thousands of american troops leave afghanistan in return for commitments from the taliban. the focus is now on how the deal will be implemented and if promises will be kept. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet has this report. the first win for afghans, a week of relative calm. what was called a reduction in violence before the signing of a deal. what happens now? the agreement initialed on saturday isn't clear on this, at least not in the public document, but in doha and kabul, they will keep monitoring it. so i asked qatar's special envoy, will this partial truce continue? we hope it will contine.

the parties and the people of afghanistan, so the result of the reduction of violence, how many lives we saved, they saved, and i think they have moral, religious and legal obligations. and if they don't respect them? well, again, we hope they... hope is not a strategy, as the pentagon likes to say. we hope they respect their obligation in accordance with their agreement, but i'm sure if there's a violation from one side, the other side have the right in self—defense to act accordingly, but, again, this is not the solution. what the taliban want to see next is a prisoner release. the deal says up to 5,000 of their men will be freed.

but in kabul, the president made it clear that's up to his government — the taliban had been refusing to talk to them. we need to engage the parties to have a proper discussion about the way forward, and i think they should compromise and i hope the parties move forward. this is the beginning of the talks, should start today, and i hope we can do something in the coming days. if you had to choose one thing that worries you, that could cause this deal to unravel, what would it be? the spoilers. the spoilers, i think. the spoilers is a major obstacle in the past, and i'm afraid it might be, this obstacle might... you know, remain. but i hope with this momentum and with the pressure from certain major powers, the spoilers should back off. the spoilers are in afghanistan or in neighbouring countries? mostly i would say in neighbouring countries.

pakistan, iran? i'm not going to comment on this. i willjust... you can ask the taliban, and they will tell you. a lasting cease—fire, a peace deal are on the agenda for afghan talks. they are expected to start this month, if all goes as planned. lyse doucet, bbc news, doha. let's just bring you some breaking news now. within the last hours, us media has been reporting that pete buttigieg — the former indiana mayor — is pulling out of the race to become the democratic party's presidential candidate. the 38—year—old became the first openly gay contender when he announced he was running for the democratic nomination. he narrowly won the iowa caucuses early last month and came in a strong second place in the new hampshire primary, but faltered badly in saturday's south carolina vote, which was won by former us vice president, joe biden.

0ur north america correspondent peter bowesjoins me now. peter, welcome to you. he has not formally announced that he is standing down yet we are checking to hear from is standing down yet we are checking to hearfrom him shortly, aren't we? yes, he is going to make a speech. he has gone back to his home area, south bend, indiana, where he is expected to speak within the hour. we assume to make this decision formal and to pursue mobley explain the background to what has happened. —— presumably explain. what people assume is going on is he and his people have been looking at the numbers closely before super tuesday, when 1a states around the country go to the polls, and what it seems is it isa polls, and what it seems is it is a recognition of the fact that it is a recognition of the fact thatitis is a recognition of the fact that it is going to be very difficult for him to win perhaps in any of the states and really pose a major challenge to the front runners, certainly bernie sanders and alsojoe biden,

certainly bernie sanders and also joe biden, the certainly bernie sanders and alsojoe biden, the former vice president who did so well in south carolina. interestingly, joe biden and pete buttigieg occu py joe biden and pete buttigieg occupy roughly the same ground in the party, in the centre, and the speculation is those people therefore who may have voted for mayor pete may well turn tojoe biden in the future. yeah, he did garner a lot of support and surprise a lot of support and surprise a lot of support and surprise a lot of people, not least by the amount of money he raised during this campaign. how vital will his now for another candidate possibly be? it would be usually important if indeed he comes forward immediately and says he is backing another of the candidates. he may be leave it a while before he does that. what is clear, he is heading to think things at some point in the future, and he may well have his eye on a strategy in terms of his own political

career. in terms of his own political career. what he says at this news c0 nfe re nce career. what he says at this news conference could have quite a significant bearing if he decides to put himself firmly behind one candidate or another. it could have repercussions in the future. watching his strategy moving forward i think is going to be very interesting. meanwhile, a crucial few days ahead for the democratic presidential hopefuls. super tuesday coming up. now really ought to play for. joe biden has had a good david bernie sanders still hopeful he can push through. and the signs are bernie sanders is still set to do extremely well on tuesday. i am in los angeles, california at the moment. california is the most populous state, the biggest prize of the night. about a quarter of all the delegates the candidates need. bernie sanders seems to be well ahead in the big state two states, texas, around the country. crucially important

for all the candidates but especially forjoe biden muh bernie sanders to perhaps establish a clear front runner. 0k, acro two in los angeles. for -- 0k, —— 0k, peter bowes in los angeles. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme, we'll hearfrom asia bibi, the pakistani christian woman who spent years on death row. she reveals how her faith helped her through her ordeal. first, the plate slipped gently off the restaurant tables. then suddenly, the tables, the chairs and the 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 atoll, the americans had successfully tested a weapon whose force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima.

i had heard the news earlier. i saw it went back, back, back... the rights of these marchers are their rights as citizens of the united states, and they should be protected even in the right to test them out so that they don't get their heads and sent to hospital. this religious controversy, i know you don't want to say too much about it. worry you? it worries me, yes, but i hope everything will be all right in the end of the day. welcome back. you're watching newsday on the bbc. and thanks for staying with us. iam i am samantha simmonds in london. our top stories... the founder of a secretive

religious sect in south korea is facing possible murder charges over the coronavirus deaths of some of his followers. american media are reporting that the democratic party presidential contender, pete buttigieg, is pulling out of the white house race. let's get more on the coronavirus outbreak. dr sarah borwein is a family doctor in hong kong. she told me how it compared to the sars outbreak, way back in 2003. in beijing, for a long time, there was denial that there was even an epidemic, and it was really the scariest thing at the time. i think there is some similarities. i even wrote at the time that china was a paradox because freedom of speech was still a work in progress and yet their ability to take effective action had to command respect, and to some extent, that is still the case now. we really have to respect the effective action... dr borwein, you're saying china is taking some strides.

let's look at the sars outbreak. it happened at a similar time of year, during the winter sessions, so do you see the same timeline with sars? sars dissipated in the summer months. did it dissipate or did we manage to control it through very intensive public health measures? i do think that is something we don't know. while it is tempting to speculate it might go away in the summer months, i don't think we can afford to make that assumption. right. and what is your professional opinion on how the world is coping with this particular outbreak? are you seeing asia has learned some lessons from sars and is therefore dealing with this somewhat better than europe for instance? i think it remains to be seen exactly how europe will deal with this, but i do think that there is a sense of prepared, mental preparedness, in asia, that people have been through this before, that the public knows how to react.

and what will happen in europe is still to be seen. it is untested. you of course are seeing a lot of patients worried about this particular outbreak. tell us about the mental health of some of the patients you have encountered. it's interesting. i am sure, like singapore in a way but even more in hong kong, the people who were here in 2003, the population is a bit traumatised by what happened during sars. i really thought that that would play out and that people would be very anxious about the disease. actually, most people take a sensible middle ground here. they understand for them personally, the risk is not great. they also understand that the public health risk is very large. iam seeing i am seeing less anxiety as the weeks go on about the disease.

but we do see is the mental health aspect of the social isolation measures that have been going on since january. the schools have been out since then, people are home—schooling, many people are working from home. many ma ny eve nts many events have been cancelled. so it is not much fun. that was dr sarah borwein in hong kong. and those fears continue about the impact of the global coronavirus outbreak on markets around the world. let's ta ke let's take a look at how they are performing. asian markets open here and we take a look at japan's nikkei. it is down near 196. japan's nikkei. it is down near 1%. it continues to lurk around six lows. we know the, all of this, has been dennis are in for a second we now from the coronavirus concerns. we saw the impact of latest figures on the impact of latest figures on the weekend on manufacturing in china will stub bets on a plunge in activity as the country deals of the —— that saw a plunge in activity. that

is impacting sentiment here in asia. let's take a look at last week. last week, we saw some $5 trillion wiped off global markets. this was really the worst performance in a lot of global markets since 2008, the height of the global crisis. we saw. . . height of the global crisis. we saw... really dramatic declines as, of course, investors taking all of these worries around the coronavirus. thank you. nearly ten years ago, a christian woman from pakistan's punjabi province was sentenced to death for blasphemy. it was a case that sparked international asia bibi, the pakistani christian woman who spent years on death row after being convicted of blasphemy, has said she hopes to be able to return to pakistan one day. she was in paris for the release of her memoir, finally free, in which she recounts her time in

jail — and her brutal treatment by guards. in the second part of an interview with the bbc‘s mishal husain, ms bibi says her faith helped her through the ordeal. nearly ten years ago, a christian woman from pakistan's punjabi province was sentenced to death for blasphemy. it was a case that sparked international attention and outrage. and even after asia bibi was finally acquitted by pakistan's highest court, huge protests prevented her immediate release. she now has a new life — and here in paris, she has been telling me her story. translation: i suffered a lot inside the jail. i cannot even tell you what happened to me. i lived through all of this misery, but god gave me patience and i got a lot of strength. you cannot imagine, but i have witnessed miracles. it's difficult for you to talk about because you write in the book about how you were held by the neck and how difficult that time was for you. what was it that gave you hope in this period? translation: my strength came from my faith, and i learned that you should be courageous, and you should be strong in your faith and you should never lose your faith.

after everything you have been through, how would you describe your emotions today? do you feel bitterness? do you feel anger? translation: no. i am not angry at all. i have forgiven everyone from my heart and there is no hardness for me. there is patience. i learned how to be patient after having to leave my children behind. it surprises me even. how have i learned to be so patient? how can any mother be patient after leaving her children? but god made me patient and i survived the hardships thrown my way through my patience. there are people today in jail facing blasphemy charges. what would you say to them? translation: i can give them hope. i am now free. i am outside. i want to request all media

that they should work so she is also freed and i can tell her that there will be a day when she will also be free. asia bibi's long ordeal is now over, but the issue of blasphemy in pakistan is not. there are still christians and muslims being targeted by the law today. the question is whether the country will take action to prevent abuses and to protect its citizens, whatever their religion. we put allegations about misuse of blasphemy laws to the authorities in pakistan. they said pakistan has taken considerable steps to prevent its possible misuse and constantly reviews its implementation. the cases of blasphemy are brought before the court and follow due process of the law. the acquittal of asia bibi is a testimony of pakistan's resolve to protect its citizens as per its constitution. about the allegations of abuse in prison, they responded...

thanks very much for being with us. you have been watching newsday. i'm samantha simmonds in london. and i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. stay with us. we will be looking at the impact the coronavirus outbreak is having on india's manufacturing industries as disruptions to the supply chain from china continue. and before we go, we'd like to leave you with pictures of russians bidding farewell to winter and welcoming spring. this is russia's pre—lent festival known as maslenitsa — better known as pancake week. it has its roots in pagan traditions, when people marked the end of winter and the beginning of spring with massive bonfires. the festival eventually became part of russian orthodox christian tradition and it is now a week of folk celebration and plenty of feasting on blini, the traditional russian pancake

that symbolizes the sun. that's all for now. stay with us on bbc world news. hello. with rivers running high and many fields still underwater, we could do with a little bit of better weather news and to a certain degree, we'll get that this week. and to a certain degree, we will get that this week. no, it's not going to be completely dry, but certainly compared with recent weeks, it won't be anywhere near as wet or as windy. the jet stream is taking a more southerly track but what that does mean is we are into slightly cooler air. it will certainly be chillier, particularly by night, with frost more likely. and that is how we start the monday morning commute, with more in the way of frost and even some ice around where showers continue

in the north and west through the night. not quite as frosty toward southern counties of england. outbreaks of rain here and a bit of sleet and wet snow first thing in the morning, clearing away from east anglia and the southeast quite smartly but then brightening up. showers in the west. a mixture of rain, hail, sleet and snow. few in number to begin with, becoming a bit more abundant during the afternoon, but not as many as we saw through the weekend. more of you on monday will spend the day completely dry, with just one or two showers passing your way. temperatures around 7—10 degrees at their highest. winds will overall be lighter. not going to feel quite as cold during the afternoon as it has done, but the breeze will be picking up across the northwest later. we could see gales for a time during monday night into tuesday. more in the way of showers starting to develop through the night and they will push their way eastwards. snow across parts of scotland, even in the hills of northern ireland and northern england later on. now, temperatures will still be close to freezing in many areas. frost and ice, the greatest risk. coldest of the weather first thing on tuesday morning towards the east. this is the set up for tuesday. that weather front taking showers eastwards initially. more rain bearing weather fronts diverted down towards france and iberia

thanks to that southern track in jet stream, but they could be close enough to produce some rain across southern most counties of england and more especially the channel islands. more showers around, by and large, to start tuesday morning. a wintry mix. those will clear away. then it's back to sunshine and showers for many into the afternoon. showers mainly across some western areas. temperatures similar to those on monday. then, as we head into the middle part of the week, it looks like many will still stay largely dry. still some showers around here and there. chance of some rain close to the south coast on wednesday but overall, we continue with that largely dry story. it changes a little bit towards the end of the week. thursday night into friday, we'll see a weather front push its way eastwards, bringing us all a spell of rain briefly. showers follow in its wake. and then the chance of some more wet and windy weather towards the end of the week and into next weekend. but by and large, still the rivers responding to the rain we saw for the last few days. and with some rain forecasted towards the end of the week, never to stay too far away from our flood warnings. they're there for you online.

i'm samantha with bbc world news. our top story. the founder of a secretive religious sect in south korea is facing possible murder charges over some of the country's coronavirus deaths. the infection has spread rapidly among the sect‘s followers, and the authorities say its leaders concealed the names of members. the democratic party presidential contender pete buttigieg is to end his bid for the white house. despite a promising start, he polled badly in the latest primaries in south carolina. and this story is trending on bbc.com australia's summers have become twice as long as its winters with increasing temperatures driven by climate change, according to new weather analysis. the australia institute found that summer across most of the country over the past 20 years was about a month longer than in the mid—20th century, while winters had become shorter.