welcome to bbc news — i'm mike embley. our top stories: the world is now in ‘uncharted territory‘ say health chiefs as the number of deaths from coronavirus passes 3,000. benjamin netanyahu claims victory in israel's third election in a year — but can he finally form a government? a boost forjoe biden‘s presidential bid as pete buttigieg and amy klobuchar endorse him, ahead of super tuesday. the bbc has uncovered evidence that police stood by as religious violence swept the capital delhi last week. and we talk to british author hilary mantel about the final, long—awaited book in her blockbuster trilogy on the court of king henry viii.

the coronavirus outbreak has taken the world into "uncharted territory," according to the world health organization. globally, deaths have passed 3,000. most are in china, where the outbreak began, but over the past day there were nine times more new infections outside china, than inside. italy, one of the other countries worst affected, saw a jump in its death toll on monday from 3a to 52. laura trevelyan reports. a symbol of how far and wide the coronavirus has spread, the most visited museum in the world, the louvre in paris, has been forced to close its doors to the public. there are four main hotspots for the virus across the globe. china has seen nearly half of all deaths, they have more than 80,000 infected people. south korea has 4,300 cases.

and both italy and iran have both over 1,500 cases each. in the last 2a hours, there were almost nine times more cases reported outside of china than inside china. in the us, three more deaths were reported on monday at a nursing home in washington state. we are now starting to find more covid—i9 cases in washington. they appear to be acquired locally here in washington. and we now know that the virus is actively spreading in some communities here in washington. the majority of confirmed infections in the us so far are people who were passengers on the cruise ship diamond princess. a couple who were quarantined on board and are now at an air force base in texas just learned they cannot leave as somebody in the group has tested positive for coronavirus. 0urfeelings and emotions have been a roller coaster. we are feeling frustrated, we are feeling shocked that we were supposed to go

home and now we are not. we are disappointed. we miss our family. we miss ourfriends. we miss our life. as tensions rise, president trump faces criticism that his administration has been slow to respond to the outbreak. we are talking about a vaccine, maybe a cure is possible. we will see about that. but we are talking about a vaccine. the president has tied his economic fortunes to the stock market. wall street rallied on monday after huge losses last week. amid hope the federal reserve will cut interest rates this month. but as testing for the coronavirus expands here in the us, it is likely more cases will be detected and it is unclear how far the virus is spread already. benjamin netanyahu's likud party appears to have won the most seats in israel's election. results from the central election committee put mr netanyahu's party on 37 seats,

well ahead of the prime minister's chief rival benny gantz, of the blue and white party on 34. the bbc‘s middle east editorjeremy bowen. neta nya hu's followers were waiting for the exit poll outside his election night headquarters. it was the highest turnout since 1999. netanyahu, mobilised his supporters. when the poll came in, it was clear that he had out—campaigned and out—thought his opponent benny gantz. i went to israeli towns within range of palestinian rockets in gaza to understand neta nyahu's political base. this ex—army man, now head of security in his town, drove me to the border. he voted for netanyahu. he showed me the massive project to build an underground shield, a0 to 80 metres deep all along the gaza

border to stop palestinians digging attack tunnels. across the wire, more than 2 million palestinians live in gaza under a blockade since hamas took power there in 2007. this area is poor and working class — neta nyahu territory. she said he'd win big time. 0nly his likud party and its allies had activists at the polling station. the main opposition, blue and white is not represented here — it is just the right wing. a few miles away, adele voted for the opposition, she believes negotiation not confrontation will make her granddaughter safe. her village backs onto the border with gaza, she's had friends killed by palestinian rockets. in tense times, they expect attacks.

last week at this time, we were running back and forth to the safe rooms because of rockets. netanyahu, the prime ministerfor many years, he says he is ‘mr security', he can keep you safe — why don't you want to vote for him? because he has had over a decade to do it and not only has he not kept me safe but my life today is in more danger than it was ten years ago. adele believes only a peace deal with hamas in gaza will keep her family safe. even before the election, it was clear that was a minority view in israel. benjamin netanyahu is israel's longest serving prime minister. he presents himself as israel's essential man. his supporters say he's a political magician. go vote, go vote! it's a proud day, this is a democracy. the opposition leader benny gantz, a retired general, relatively new to politics, has never matched neta nyahu's

guile and ruthlessness. during the campaign, gantz accused him of lying and cheating his way to victory. at likud election night h0, no—one seemed worried that netanyahu is going on trial in two weeks, charged with bribery, corruption and breach of trust. president trump‘s electoral lifeline, the so—called ‘deal of the century‘, offering a plan for victory over palestinians on israel‘s terms, may well have sealed it for netanyahu. the likud supporters in this hall believe that mr netanyahu has won, that he will be able to end israel‘s political deadlock by forming a majority government that will be able to push through his agenda, including the annexation of territory the palestinians want for a state. if the exit polls are correct, this looks to be a hammer blow for those who still believe in peace by creating

a palestinian state alongside israel, and another victory for the global wave of populism. jeremy bowen, bbc news, tel aviv. the former us vice president, joe biden — who‘s seeking to become the democratic party‘s presidential candidate has been endorsed by his former rival, pete buttigieg, who withdrew from the race on sunday. and on monday amy klobuchar quit the race — the minnesota senator is also expected to endorse mr biden. texa ns, texans, we need to unite our party and our country. and to do with not just party and our country. and to do with notjust with words but with actions. it is a to us, all of us, to put our country back together, to heal this country and then to build something even greater. i believe we can do this together. and that is why today

iam ending together. and that is why today i am ending my campaign and endorsing joe biden for president. let‘s speak to the bbc‘s peter bowes in los angeles. we should say the bernie sanders is still the front runner and there is still a long road to the party‘s national convention. how significant is this? there is still a long road to go but really, mike, the political landscape for the democrats in the last 2a hours has been turned upside down. with these two candidates, pete buttigieg and amy getting out of the race and amy getting out of the race and supporting joe biden. politically they are in the same area in terms of the middle of the party, they are moderate democrats, but it is a huge benefit and a huge push forward for super tuesday for joe biden because he had not been doing well. he did well in south carolina but the early caucuses and primary‘s, many

people had competed with him but now he is seen as the front—runner to battle it out with bernie sanders who, as you say, is still in the lead but has a fight on this hands now. and how does this impact on the others, michael bloomberg and elizabeth warren? bloomberg is the wildcard because this super tuesday will be the first time he has been on the ballot. many people say he has brought himself into this race by spending millions in terms of television advertising but this will be the real test. elizabeth warren also has a fight on her hands because politically she is in the same wind of the party as bernie sanders but he is doing much better. and many people are quite surprised that she has not stepped back either and if and when she does it seems right that her votes would go to bernie sanders. we are keeping an eye here on los angeles where elizabeth warren is about to address the rally.

we should mention a warning from the us secretary of state and the us attorney general that malign actors are trying to interfere in the election. what do you make of that warning itself and the fact that they have chosen to say it now? it is a strong warning and there are a number of agencies coming together, especially and essentially with the same warning, that foreign actors, much as they did in the 2016 election, are attempting to interfere in this election. and, clearly, this is the administration, these are government officials warning that this could happen again. essentially when the focus is ona essentially when the focus is on a raised by the democrats to choose their candidate. i think it shows a tremendous amount of concern at government level, at washington level that this could affect all candidates as the election moves forward. and super tuesday is almost upon us and things should shake out then.

let‘s get some of the day‘s other news. the taliban are to resume attacks on government forces in afghanistan just days after signing an agreement with the us, billed then as a big step towards peace. the deal included a commitment to peace talks with the afghan government. but the taliban‘s spokesman has said this won‘t happen unless 5,000 taliban prisoners are released. president trump has told colombia that it will need to resume aerial spraying to destroy illicit crops of coca, the raw material for cocaine. aerial fumigation was suspended in 2015 after the supreme court ruled that the herbicide used, glyphosate, could cause cancer and poison the land. jack welch, who transformed general electric into america‘s most valuable company, has died at the age of 8a. he ran ge from 1981 until 2001, overseeing a growth in market value from $12 billion to $410 billion. president trump tweeted that

jack welch was a "business legend." the bbc has uncovered evidence that police in the indian capital delhi acted alongside hindu rioters during a wave of attacks on muslims last week. the death toll in the religious violence has now risen to 46 — the deadliest in more than three decades. india‘s hindu nationalist government is coming under increasing pressure as more allegations emerge of police complicity in the clashes. the bbc‘s yogita limaye sent this report. a warning — you may find some of it disturbing. they are meant to protect all of india‘s people but here the police are seen with hindus, throwing stones towards muslims. videos like these have been emerging since the violence last week. we went to the street where the footage was filmed — a predominantly hindu one.

himanshu rathore described how the police helped them. "we didn‘t have enough stones here so the police brought us some and told us to throw them." across the road, we find the burn out house of a muslim man. "i saw the police come in with the rioters, who set the shops on fire in front of them," bura khan told me. we‘ve been able to investigate how events unfolded at this one location, but on several instances now we have been told by people that the police were either complicit with or turned a blind eye to hindu mobs and used excessive force against muslims. this muslim man was beaten to death by the police. faizan was 23.

in another video, he is seen lying unconscious with four other men. some of them are forced to sing india‘s national anthem to prove their patriotism. at the faizan‘s home, preparations for his funeral were being made when we went. "he couldn‘t stand up or sit down. my brother was in so much pain. his whole body had turned black and blue. he was beaten in such places that i can‘t even express it," faizan‘s brother naim told me. rafik was one of those beaten with faizan. there‘s barely any part of his body that hasn‘t been wounded. "i‘m too scared to go and get myself treated. the situation outside is so bad. the government has ruined india," he says. the delhi police did not respond to the allegations. the violence has torn apart a neighbourhood in delhi but its ripples have been

felt around the country. among muslims, there‘s a deep sense of insecurity in an india under hindu nationalist rule. yogita limaye, bbc news, delhi. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we‘ll hear from british author hilary mantel on her long—awaited final book in the blockbuster trilogy. first, the plates slid gently off the restaurant tables. then suddenly, the tables, the chairs and people crashed sideways and downwards, and 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 explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima.

i had heard the news earlier, and so my heart went bang, bang, bang! the constitutional 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 broken and are sent to hospital. this religious controversy — i know you don‘t want to say too much about it — but does it worry you that it‘s going to boil up when you 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, the latest headlines: the head of the world health organization says the outbreak of the new coronavirus has entered uncharted territory, but can still be contained. with official results yet to be announced, israel‘s prime minister

bejamin neta nyahu has claimed victory in the country‘s third election ina year. members of the greek military have been seen pushing boats away from turkey. turkey says it will no longer prevent migrants and refugees leaving from the european union. the key is trying to —— turkey earlier announced that it would no longer stop people trying to enter the european union. in the eastern aegean, human lives are bargaining chips, and cheap. this was filmed by the turkish coast guard and shows greek boats trying to stop a packed dinghy of migrants reaching europe. imagine the fear on board, unwanted by turkey and greece.

those are warning shots being fired at a flimsy inflatable dinghy. not everyone makes it. just this morning, a young boy drowned when his dinghy — a different one — capsized. he is one of a rising number who have, with turkey‘s encouragement, tried to reach the greek islands over the last few days. the direct human consequence of ankara‘s demand that europe come to its aid in syria. 0n land, things are no better. there have been riots at greece‘s border with turkey after thousands of migrants were mobilised to march right up to the fence. and some have got through. greece has changed the rules so that if migrants get caught now, they don‘t get processed here, they get sent straight back.

it means that some of them are hiding, so we havejust seen what looks like a couple of migrants over here. they run off and we eventually find them hiding in some bushes. police? i‘m not the police, 0k? they‘re syrians, from aleppo — hassan and ahmed. tear gas? gas, gas. tired and still shell—shocked from crossing the border. they ask us for help and for a ride in our car. you can‘t come with me. it‘s illegal under greek law. i think someone‘s coming. moments later, we‘re disturbed, and they move off once again. 0n the run in a country that is increasingly hostile to their presence. jonah fisher, bbc news, in northern greece. this crisis is exacerbated by the continued bombing of italy

province in northern syria. the syrian regime backed by russia is putting on, seeking to take full control of the last major rebel held region. in the southern countryside of war—torn interplay, airstrikes demolished the town of albaya. the hits are indiscriminate. 0fficers, hospitals, family homes. in the neighbouring village it is a similar scene. smoke rises above this town, an area once home to more than 6000 people. since the outbreak of the 2011 war, the un says more than half the country was my population has been forced to flee. millions of people and upping camps like this where conditions are inhumane. translation: the situation here is tragic. there are no bathrooms, there are some toilets but not very well maintained. and when it rains the water comes through the

tents. medical staff who remain in italy say the scene that —— they have seen a rise in miscarriages and premature births from mothers in shock. they say they will to carry on is harder than ever. it is so difficult to work in these conditions. we have to work under stress, even we have two give the experience to our people. so we are staying together and anything that will happen to them will happen to us. happen to them will happen to us. until the bomb happen to them will happen to us. untilthe bomb stop happen to them will happen to us. until the bomb stop young families remain in a land of limbo. aid agencies say they are in desperate need of help from anyone who cares. years ago, you might have thought not that many people were interested in the historical detail of the life of thomas cromwell. he was one of the most powerful men in england five centuries ago. but novels about his life by dame hilary mantel have now sold more than 5 million copies around the world.

and after an eight—year wait, the third instalment is out. the author has been speaking with our arts correspondent rebecca jones. 480 years ago, thomas cromwell was here at the tower of london awaiting execution. what better place then to discuss the final novel in hilary mantel‘s turbulent tudor history. but at 900 pages and with a vast cast of characters, she acknowledges it‘s a challenging read. i can‘t deny it‘s demanding, but i make no apologies for asking a lot of commitment from my reader. the mirror and the light completes the story of henry viii‘s chief advisor thomas cromwell, begun in wolf hall and bring up the bodies. our case is slander. both were prize—winning novels adapted successfully for stage and screen. and hilary mantel says our relentless scrutiny of the monarchy, especially royal wives, spans the ages.

i think there‘s still an intense concentration on the bodies of royal women. we only have to look at what happens when our royal ladies give birth, they are perceived as public property in the same way that tudor women were perceived. it is simply turning the individual woman back into a breeder. i did wonder what you made of the treatment of the duchess of sussex. do you think she‘s been a victim of racism? it brings me back to this question of the body. it does include the skin, so racism is a factor. i think it‘s more deeply embedded in people‘s consciousness than any of us are willing to admit.

couldn't it have been managed with less bloodshed ? hilary mantel‘s already adapting her new book for the stage and she says she‘d now rather work in the theatre than at home writing novels. i spent enough time sitting in a room by myself and, you know, i‘m not sure i want to die at my desk. so we‘ve got to be sane about this. dame hilary mantel ending that report by rebecca jones. let‘s leave you with these pictures. this is the british designer stella mccartney‘s show at paris fashion week. she sent models in giant animal outfits down the catwalk to promote her animal—free clothing range. her fashion brand has worked without leather, animal fur, skins or feathers since it was launched back in 2001. her message is that the animals we usually see in fashion shows are dead. there is much more on the bbc

website, thank you for watching. hello. i know there‘s still significant flooding around but isn‘t it nice to get away from february‘s relentless grey and of course wet and see something brighter, bluer in the skies, many of us did during monday. there were still some big showers around, no—one is suggesting this week is dry, but there is some texture in the sky for the time being. things are a bit quieter than they have been and we‘ll get a bit of sunshine again in the day ahead but there will also be some showers around. the big picture showing a few disturbances moving around the uk with showers on tuesday but we‘re eyeing up another area of low pressure in the atlantic and this looks like bringing another spell of rain to many of us during wednesday into thursday, as we‘ll see in a moment. tuesday‘s start, cold, frosty for some of us, icy patches where we have had a few showers. one area of showers clearing

away from north—east england, eastern scotland first thing and another pulling away from northern ireland and wales during the morning but then this has to feed around scotland through england. a shower could be heavy and wintry on hills, some hail possible too. behind it, the sun comes back and a lot of it for northern ireland in the afternoon and increasingly so for wales and western parts of england. some of us have temperatures in double figures and most of us will not. it is breezy, quite blustery out there with some of the showers, but it‘s nowhere near as windy as it‘s been. and actually, with mainly light winds and clear skies on tuesday night, that means there‘ll be a widespread frost around but then look at this cloud and some rain heading in towards south—west england, south—west wales. the temperature not going down too far, and actually recovering later in the night. that rain is from that area of low pressure i showed you. some uncertainty as to how far north it will get on wednesday, but every new forecast u nfortu nately takes it further north, so that does mean a spell of rain heading through much of england and wales towards northern ireland, perhaps even southern scotland

as well. not necessarilyjust rain. some hill snow more especially into the pennines for a time, as overnight and into thursday the outbreaks of rain continue through parts of england and wales and then on thursday will slowly clear from the east and south—east of england. behind that, yes, it will be turning drier on thursday. will get a bit brighter too. temperatures pretty much where they are going to be throughout the week. but then there‘s another area of wet weather aiming at us for friday. this weather front has to move through and then low pressure looks to be coming in for the weekend. so what does that mean over the weekend? it means there‘ll be another spell of rain heading our way, unfortunately. and the winds will start to pick up as well. although with that, the temperatures will recover a few degrees but it does mean not as much of that sunshine.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the head of the world health organization has said the outbreak of the new coronavirus has entered uncharted territory. it can still be contained. the number of people killed worldwide is now over 3000. italy has seen a jump in its death toll from 34 52. benjamin netanyahu has claimed injury in israel‘s election. he has been seeking re—election while facing a corruption trial the features —— that happens later this month. joe biden has been endorsed by pete buttigieg and amy clover shah. the endorsement a day before the crucial super tuesday primary vote which will see 14 states decide who they want as the nominee. bernie sanders is still the