this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories. stranded at sea, the cruise ship passengers infected with coronavirus. the us government reveals its plan of action. all passengers and crew will be tested for the coronavirus. those that need to be quarantined will be quarantined. those that require additional medical attention will receive it. italy announces its biggest daily increase in deaths from covid 19 with nearly 50 more fatalities. a special report from china, the country where the outbreak began, and their fight to continue with life and business as usual. and in other news, why a memoir by oscar—winning film—maker, woody allen won't now be published after protests in new york.

hello and welcome to bbc news. in the last hour the us vice president mike pence has announced plans to deal with a cruise ship that's moored off san francisco with passengers infected with coronavirus. mr pence said 21 passengers and crew have tested positive on board the crown princess and says the vessel will be brought into a non commercial port where all three and a half thousand people will be tested and treated if necessary. this is some of what the vice president had to say. we are taking all measures necessary to see to the health of the americans and those involved on the grand princess, and just as importantly, to protect the health of the american public and prevent

the spread of the disease through communities in this country. we are instituting the strongest testing protocols to ensure that not only those on board receive the treatment that they need, but that the american people can be confident that there will be no erosion in our preventative measures and efforts to keep the coronavirus from spreading throughout our country. i spoke to our correspondent in california, peter bowes, about how us vice president mike pence is reacting to the coronavirus outbreak. well, he really confirmed the worst fears of a lot of people on that ship. almost half those tested indeed, tested positive for the virus, and there is a lot of uncertainty moving forward over the next few days as to exactly what is going to

happen. he explained that those people would be put into quarantine, those tested positive, and that everyone on the vessel, some three and a half thousand people, a about 1100 being crew members, will be tested and those found positive will be put in quarantine. the crew members will stay on board the ship, and at this stage, it's uncertain where passengers will be taken once the vessel is brought into a noncommercial port. there is talk of people possibly going to some sort of military establishment, but it's very clear that these details are still being worked out right now. he also explains that as far as the us administration is concerned, the risk across the country to americans remains low, but he did warn those in the most at risk group, elderly people, to be extra vigilant. can we just touch on these testing kits ain? touch on these testing kits again? and some criticism about

not enough being able to get through, but there was a significant update on that. yes, according to mike pence, he said testing kits will going forward , he said testing kits will going forward, will be available in every state in the us that requires them. as you said, there's been a lot of controversy about that and critics still say that the administration has been slow off the mark here. he also announced that two commercial companies that use medical testing will for monday, also provide a test for that virus. that seems to be moving in the right direction, although still critics are saying that there's been somewhat of a lackluster response from the government in terms of speeding up the availability of these test kits around the country. they think

talking in a noncommercial port but are worried about how long it will be. well, i think it's positive news. knowledge is always good and sitting here with the lack of indecision has not... so now we know 21 unfortunate people have the virus and now we need a plan for that. what about. . .and of course i should say, there is quite a rush for you to get off this ship, isn't there? there is a rush for me to get off the ship. i have stage iv neuroendocrine cancer and my tumours are actively growing, so we almost didn't come on the trip but because of some delay in insurance and such, we were encouraged to go, and we'd been really looking forward to it and really wanted to go. so they got everything done while we were gone. the insurance went through and we got called last friday that we were all set to go, so i have appointments on monday and tuesday to start that process.

and any idea whether you can be helped to get off in time for that? well, i think there's a big question about that at this point. it's not gonna be easy to off—load this ship with 2500 passengers and all their luggage and all the special conditions that exist. we are dealing with more elderly population, even more elderly than us. we like to think we're one of the younger ones on here. obviously it's a huge logistical exercise that given the circumstances, it's incredibly difficult. what's your reaction when mike pence announced the numbers, that so many of the crew tested positive? well, in a way, that didn't surprise me. i mean, those are the people on the ship previous to the gentleman that is deceased. it will be more likely, i would think, that crew would have it.

so i'm hoping that it's younger and more healthy individuals such that they're able to beat the thing. i, on the other hand, i really want to get off the ship because there is coronavirus on this ship. elsewhere it's been confirmed that a second person has died from coronavirus in the uk. he was an elderly man with underlying health conditions. the number of people here now infected with coronavirus has risen again to 164, up from 116, the biggest increase in a single day so far. italy has announced its largest daily increase in deaths. they've risen by forty nine to just under 200. our medical correspondent fergus walsh has the latest. science is fighting back against the new coronavirus. this lab at imperial college london is developing a vaccine.

the aim, to protect people from getting infected. they know the world is waiting. absolute sense of urgency and wanting to deliver and stepping up to this challenge. so everybody is working as fast as they can. there is also a degree of kind ofjust innovation to make they have been before. the first doses, several hundred of them, are kept in this freezer. but it's far from yet ready yet. this is one of several prototype vaccines against coronavirus which are being developed by teams across the world. all must go through animal and human trials before they can be declared safe and effective. and all of that takes time. things have progressed much more quickly than they would have done in the past and it's not unreasonable to assume that we will end up with a vaccine and we may do

so in a year, 18 months, which is remarkable when you considerjust a few years ago it would have taken 20 years to do that. the prime minister visiting a lab in bedfordshire announced £46 million of government funding to help find a vaccine and develop a rapid test for the disease, as cases in the uk saw their biggest daily increase. there will certainly be a substantial period of disruption when we have to deal with this outbreak. how big that will be, how long that will be, i think is still an open question. at milton keynes hospital, a second death in the uk from coronavirus has just been confirmed. the patient was a man in his early 80s who had underlying health conditions. the number of confirmed cases in the uk is now 164, but that's still way behind italy, by far the worst

outbreak in europe. the vatican, the tiny citystate in rome, has announced its first case of coronavirus. the pope who has had a bad cold, has already reported negative. across italy, mostly in the north, there were nearly 800 new cases today, bringing the total to more than 4500, with 197 deaths. but for most, it is proving a mild illness and more than 500 of those infected have already fully recovered. fergus walsh, bbc news. there are signs that the corona virus in china is being controlled, with new infection figures and the number of deaths beginning to stabilise. outbreak of covid—19, john sudworth has been looking at the impact of china's efforts to deal with the disease across health, education and business. it's a karate class

with something missing. students. they are all online instead. in the fight against the virus, every school and college in china has now been shut for more than two weeks. i think most of us are confident in our country to get through all of this because i think in this very time we found out we are very united, because we just do whatever we can to help the country. we do this by staying at home, which is quite important. the university's internet control centre handles almost 4000 virtual courses a week. it's a sign of china's strengths. discipline, mass mobilisation, high—tech. but the virus has exposed china's weaknesses too, with cover up and delay helping it to spiral out of control. everyone's felt the effects.

here, a woman needing urgent chemotherapy for her cancer waits at a checkpoint while her mother pleads to be allowed through. she was eventually taken to a hospital less inundated with the virus to the relief of her fiance. some patients cannot get treatment. she was the lucky one who found hospital. the wider impact on china's economy offers a warning to other countries. china now faces two huge conflicting challenges. 0n the one hand, the control measures are necessary to contain the virus, but on the other, by blockading villages, closing down transport networks and keeping tens of millions of workers in quarantine, it risks choking off its economy. look what's happened to car sales, for example. falling by 20% injanuary

and more than 80% in february. air travel statistics are just as stark, with the number of departures from china's busiest airports massively reduced. with the infection rate falling, business and transport links are being eased back into life. but this giant economy is still a long way from normality. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... the orphaned elephants being given a feminine touch by africa's first.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines... us vice—president mike pence says 21 people stranded

on a cruise ship off california have tested positive for coronavirus. italy has announced its biggest daily increase in deaths from the coronavirus with nearly 50 more fatalities. a ceasefire in syria's idlib province that has been in force since midnight appears to be holding in most areas. around a million people have fled their homes over the past three months to escape the government offensive. a few hours before the ceasefire began our international correspondent 0rla guerin visited a maternity hospital in idlib where there has been a sharp increase in premature births. and a warning, some of these images are disturbing. born too early in syria's time of war. ten days old and already battling tough odds. he weighs just over 3 lbs, but he's a fighter and getting stronger.

staff here are struggling to save a growing number of premature babies, born to mothers traumatised by air strikes and barrel bombs. doctor ikram wants these tiny babies to be seen, in all their suffering. she is eight months pregnant herself and can't understand why the outside world has stood idly by. many times i ask myself, there is no one can help us or no one can stop this war, there is no humanity. where is the humanity of these people? if you see every day the miserable condition here, why cannot do anything? how you are...?

then, suddenly, we heard the conflict coming closer, just hours before the ceasefire began. time to go. in syria, hospitals are not spared. they've been repeatedly targeted by russian and syrian warplanes. we've just heard a very loud explosion nearby. there's obviously been an air strike and the alarm is sounding here at the hospital, telling people that there are jets in the air and people are now starting to come out. but this is an everyday reality in idlib. people have become accustomed to living with this risk. and many have died from it. this was the town of binnish on february the 25th. anas hoping against hope to find his loved ones after a massive air strike on his neighbourhood. instead, he faced unbearable losses.

his baby son. his wife, his mother and his brother. ten days on, he is cloaked in sorrow and pain. his son tarik survived because anas took him to the pharmacy five minutes before the air strike. do you see any future now for yourself? do you see any future for syria? translation: may god give us strength, but for syria there is no future. as long as bashar is around, not for children, for man or for women. who do you blame for what has happened to your family? translation: first of all i blame the russians and the regime, but the main

reason is the international community which has no compassion for us. his life is a shadow of what it was. he believes the ceasefire won't last and no one can replace what was taken from anas. 0rla guerin, bbc news, idlib. the french publisher hachette has cancelled plans to publish a memoir by the oscar—winning film—maker, woody allen after dozens of employees of its new york subsidiary staged a walk—out in protest at its plans. the director of "annie hall" and "manhattan" has long been accused of molesting his adoptive daughter in the nineties when she was seven. lengthy investigations have cleared woody allen who has always denied the abuse. sharareh drury is an associate editor with the hollywood reporter and shejoins us not from los angeles.

—— from los angeles. what's the reaction to the fact that this memoir will be published? i think the general reaction from the book publishing community has been pretty overwhelmingly positive. from the publishing group itself, speaking to sources there, we learned that it was a mixture of surprise over this, but also relief, especially coming after the walk out which could have resulted in it still publishing the book. there's been surprise and relief over it, and offices today, when that announcement was made there was clapping and cheering over it. again, i think... general sense of relief that it will be published. what is a general reputation of woody allen in hollywood ? general reputation of woody allen in hollywood? in some senses, it feels that he's faced so much scrutiny,

especially in this me to movement. since his last, it wasn't release tears, just overseas. many actors have come out, but just like we've overseas. many actors have come out, butjust like we've seen with roman polanski, there are some who still stand by woody allen. i think they will still stand by him today with it not being published because there's a lwa ys being published because there's always the option that he could self publish this book. but i think it's a mixture in hollywood as we've seen with some cases. i use roman polanski as an example because he just polanski as an example because hejust won a polanski as an example because he just won a best director award at a french festival. despite allegations coming at someone, he might still be honoured both in hollywood and overseas. interesting at that festival in france. lots of the actors got up and walked out when polanski was given the award. this is something that

we're going to see more and more, i assume. it's possible because of the #metoo movement. i hired the —— i hardly think it's over. i think that's really the big thing here is that for so long, victims have not been heard or supported and they're starting to feel that more now and empowered by those who believe their stories. today as we saw with dylan, she felt that support with that publishing company not publishing company not publishing his books. thank you very much for your thoughts. now, to east africa's first community—owned elephant sanctuary. it's in northern kenya and is one of the few reserves to employ women as keepers, helping to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned elephants. rich preston has the story.

280 km north of the capital nairobi, welcome to the red elephant sanctuary. meet naomi, one of the many female keepers here. elephant sanctuaries are normally run by the state, but this one is owned and run by the community. amongst can you's second largest elephant population. it's not easy for an elephant to abandon a baby, but sometimes it already become sick and is not able to work with the mother —— walk with mother. so the mother decides to leave the baby behind. sometimes they are eaten by predators and the community sees happening. that's where

naomi and her fellow keepers come in. raising, feeding and nurturing the babies. then... we return them back to the wild after. being owned by the community means they can bond between the locals and the animals and what's not always been an easy relationship. years back, it was challenging. now we inform people not to use harmful instruments to scare the wildlife away. poaching has gone down. as well as being community owned, this actually says it's the first one to employ women as keepers. giving them an empowering role in the community and the care of these special animals. an example its

hopes will be followed elsewhere, meaning people like naomi and her colleagues are doing their bits notjust for the elephants, not just doing their bits notjust for the elephants, notjust for their community, but for women across africa. rich preston, bbc news. let us grown entirely in space is as nutritious and safe to eat as let us grown on earth. that's according to a nasa report. astronauts at the international space station succeeded in growing the vegetable samples while orbiting 400 km above earth's surface. nasa richards found space grown lettuce was similar to earth ground samples —— nasa research. it's believe the ability to successfully grow food in space could be crucial for our long—duration space missions. i don't know what nest, but that looks like that's the tip of the iceberg. you can reach me anytime on twitter. i'm @ l vaughanjones.

this is bbc news. hello. on the plus side the weather won't be as bad as it's been on summary can we fit —— recent weekends. it will still be windy and it will be wet at times. this area of low pressure will feed in these weather fronts over the weekend, especially during saturday, saturday night. behind this cold front on sunday, it will feel a bit colder, but some sunshine again and some heavy showers. for the weekend, it will be wet at times. certainly not all the time. gotta be blustery throughout but we will also see some sunshine on sunday. temperatures are on the up after an early frost by the time to get to saturday morning, particularly wavy got some cloud and some outbreaks of rain. the early sunshine

will be short lived. eastern parts of the uk will get patchy rain at times, but the afternoon stays largely dry. there will be some outbreaks of rain towards wales, western england, but it will turn heavy and more persistent especially across southern and western parts of scotland through the afternoon. it is going to be windy, to scale through the irish sea. gusts around 50 to my —— 50 mph. we will see misty and ricky conditions of developing. —— misty and murky conditions. it's cloudier and windier, and for some of us, it's wetter. overnight saturday night, sunday morning, the rain does move south. before it clears from southern and western scotland, there could be some problems where high rain falls be some problems where high rainfalls up be some problems where high rain falls up to 70 mm. that could bring some flooding in places. a much milder start to sunday, but with outbreaks of rain around that clearing the

southeast quite early on sunday morning. behind that, lots of showers moving through. not a wash—out of a day because there will be some sunshine. shower on sunday should —— could be heavy. still very gusty winds as well. it is going to feel a bit cold on sunday, because there has been a cold front that moved on through. just to give you a flavour of things into the start of next week, the detail not set in stone, but it doesn't like an area of low pressure. another one coming into the uk, and that does mean more wind and rain. a few locations there to give a flavour of things. it starts wet and then it turns shower e. it will turn cooler as well as the week goes on. that's your forecast.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the us vice president mike pence says 21 people aboard a cruise ship denied entry to san francisco have tested positivefor coronavirus. the ship will be brought to a non—commercial port this weekend. italy has announced its largest daily increase in fatalities from covid 19. they've risen by 49 to 197. it's the second highest number of deaths — after china. in other news: there's been a sharp rise in the number of premature babies born in syria's war—torn province of idlib. a million people have fled their homes over the past three months to escape the government offensive. the french publisher hachette has decided not to publish a memoir by oscar—winning film—maker, woody alan — after protests from employees of its new york subsidiary. he's faced allegations of molesting his adoptive daughter in the 90's, which he's always denied.