this is bbc news. the headlines: the government promises the nhs whatever it needs to tackle the coronavirus — as the uk sees the biggest one—day jump in confirmed cases. 273 people have tested positive here. 16 million people in northern italy are placed in quarantine for a month because of the virus. the number of people to have died in italy has shot up to 366 — the highest figures outside china. the prime minister meets victims of flooding, announces a doubling in flood defences funding and defends not turning up when bewdely was under water.

it is all too easy for a prime minister to come to a place in the middle of an emergency. it is not so easy for the emergency services because what they have to do is then break off. she really is beautiful, innit? the schoolboy who brought the house down with his view of meghan. and he gets a hug from the duchess. and scotland cause a big upset in the six nations rugby as they beat france at murrayfield. sportsday is in half an hour here on bbc news. good evening. the chancellor says the nhs will be

given whatever it needs to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. rishi sunak, who delivers his first budget on wednesday, was speaking as the uk saw it's biggest one day increase in confirmed cases so far. the department of health now says more than 270 people have been diagnosed with covid—19, the disease caused by the virus, and two people have died. more than 23,000 others have tested negative. borisjohnson has urged the public to stay calm and not panic buy, as supermarkets including tesco begin rationing food and household items because some people are stockpiling. this despite widespread assurances they don't need to. here's chris mason. how do we, as a society, take on this coronavirus? what is a rational response to a new threat? doctors say this latest increase in cases is not surprising.

i think they are going to continue to rise and we have to be realistic about that. we are moving on from the containment phase to the delay phase and it is really important that people adhere to the hygienic measures that the government are putting out there. the country's biggest supermarket, tesco, has put limits on the quantity of some items that an individual shopper can buy after some shelves were left bare. the prime minister insists there is absolutely no need to panic buy. 0n the people's responses to the news and buying in shops and so on, we have had no advice from the scientific advisers or the medical officer that there is any need for people to buy stuff. what about food, briefly? how do supermarkets cope in a situation like this? and ultimately... are we going to have food shortages? again, if people are panic buying, you are going to see some short—term shortages come

through onto the shelves. it all depends upon how quickly the retailers pick up on this and, like i say, their systems are good and they will have detected it already. again, different foods have different time they get to the shelves but give it a few days, the system will have adjusted to the new type of demand and you will start to see things improve, i'm pretty sure on that. in the midst of all this, the new chancellor will deliver his first budget on wednesday. we are looking very hard at a range of scenarios and making sure that, in each of those, we can respond appropriately and that means providing support for public services and we have already done that with regard to the nhs. making sure we can support vulnerable people. and also making sure that we can help businesses get through what could be an impact on their businesses which could be significant but for a temporary period of time. labour say there was already a crisis in health and social care before this coronavirus arrived. for the government, for society,

for each of us, covid—i9 is posing big questions. chris mason, bbc news. in italy, there's been a sharp rise in the number of deaths from the coronavirus. more than 360 people have lost their lives. the foreign office has advised against all but essential travel to against all but essential travel to a number of areas in northern italy. the italian government has imposed sweeping restrictions on around a quarter of the population, to try to halt infections, with around 16 million people affected by the quarantine, in the country's wealthiest region, lombardy, and 14 other northern provinces. the foreign and commonwealth office advises against all but essential travel to those areas in northern

italy. you can check the website where they have listed those particular regions. it does say british nationals remain able to depart italy without restriction. italy's second city, bare. milan, the financial capital, now under the most drastic restrictions italy has seen since the second world war, virtually locked down along with 14 provinces. a quarter of the country's population quarantined in a scrabble to contain the coronavirus outbreak. this city usually teeming with life is hushed as residents are told to stay put and access in or out is severely limited. schools and universities are shut until april — cinemas, pools and nightclubs as well. the prime minister

talked of a crisis. translation: we are facing an emergency, a national emergency, taking exceptional precautionary measures and facing it with great awareness. venice is part of the restricted area, one of italy's tourism jewels deserted by a mixture of quarantine and fear. as we drove north from rome, we expected tighter controls but there are none. we are coming into the start of moderna now, part of the new exclusion zone. you can see there is no total lockdown, no police roadblocks for example, it is too big an area to control in that way but people are being asked not to leave or enter and we are going to turn around now because otherwise there is a risk of entering the new quarantine zone. and this is the urgency, cases are still soaring here. this nurse talks of exhaustion in dealing with the numbers, doctors themselves at risk, other medics say corridors are being used for intensive care units. one of europe's top health systems

is at breaking point. at the vatican, decades of tradition were broken as the pope made his sunday blessing by video stream rather than at the window to a st peter's square usually filled with thousands. faith that this will pass is sorely lacking. mark joins markjoins us live. that advice just coming on here about restricted travel to certain areas of northern italy. clearly a very serious situation there. an immensely serious situation and it is worth pausing to reflect the magnitude of what has happened here in the past two weeks. a fortnight ago italians we re two weeks. a fortnight ago italians were scratching their heads as the number of coronavirus cases rose suddenly from three to over 150 over that weekend. we are now talking about 7300 cases here and the second

highest death toll out of china. 366 deaths in italy from coronavirus and it is something that has hit every sector of society. of course public health but also the economy with major cities like milan and venice very deserted. tourism is crumbling in parts of northern italy. we are also talking about a real fear here of when this is going to pass. do people have confidence in this containment zone? there were cars going in and out. it is not being strictly enforced as such because we are talking about the heart of europe here and it is very hard to just close off a vast region in northern italy and in the heart of europe. this is an unprecedented crisis since the second world war here in italy. you are making the point people were in shock about how

badly parts of italy were affected. presumably scientists trying to work out why coronavirus has taken hold so out why coronavirus has taken hold so strongly. absolutely, but also why it is spreading know the fact that all 22 regions of italy have been infected. you saw the images from italian tv and say that hospital that is really at breaking point. the fact that intensive care units are having to be set up in corridors. they are recalling doctors on leave and the fear, very big fear, is that if cases rise in the south or indeed people travel through this restricted zone from north to south the hospitals in less—developed southern parts of italy would simply not be able to copein italy would simply not be able to cope in the same way as the ones in the north. if the ones in the north are struggling and imagine what ones in sicily and elsewhere would be cupping my fifth cases continue to

rise. italians are sanguine people and approaching this relatively calmly but there is a kind of non—calm to some extent, complete shock at how quickly this has taken hold and what the country needs to do to make this crisis pass. the economic impact being considered pretty seriously because italy is a huge tourist attraction and even beyond the directly affected area we are seeing closures of museums and public events and so on. yeah, i am based in rome usually and i have to say that roam over the last few days has felt quiet in and around the tourist areas. we were filming around the colosseum in st peter's square, these iconic must see sites, and just being seen by silvio. it is very worrying for the tourism industry. the sector says they could lose 7.5 billion euros which is

about £6.6 billion. we are hearing that the national airline has announced that all flights out of milan are going to cease and only national flights will milan are going to cease and only nationalflights will go milan are going to cease and only national flights will go to other parts of the country and down to rome and elsewhere. tourism is really affected. 0ther rome and elsewhere. tourism is really affected. other countries in evacuating nationals. banning airlines flying to italy. very draconian measures countries are taking to italy, to the heart of europe, one of the founding members of the eu, and it is quite extraordinary to conceive of what is happening here. thank you very much indeed. iran's national airline has announced that flights to european destinations are to be suspended until further notice. the destinations are to be suspended untilfurther notice. the number of coronavirus cases has climbed to

more than 6500. the authorities are reporting the virus has claimed more than 200 lives although the real number is thought to be much higher. 45 cases of the virus have been detected in egypt aboard a river cruise ship which remains docked. the country has seen hundreds of egyptians gather and a crowd outside the country's ministry of health to receive tests. egypt has recorded its first virus fatality, a german national. there have been 19 coronavirus —related deaths in the united states. 0fficials coronavirus —related deaths in the united states. officials have decided the grand princess which has been stranded off the coast of california will be allowed to dock at auckland near san francisco on monday. 21 people on board have tested positive.

china has reported its lowest number of reported cases since january. the national health commission said there were 84 new cases on saturday and a further 27 deaths all of them concentrated in wuhan where the outbreak began. here is my colleague with a reminder of some important information about the virus. this is what we all need to know about reducing our risk of catching coronavirus. wash your hands regularly. rub the palm and back of your hands in between the fingers and not forgetting the thumbs. it should take 20 seconds — long enough to sing happy birthday twice. avoid touching yourface with unwashed hands because this can spread disease. the first symptoms of coronavirus are a fever and a cough and you may experience shortness of breath. if you have a cough or high temperature, that does not necessarily mean you have coronavirus but if you think you might don't go to hospital or your gp.

stay at home and call nhs iii, or use their online service. they will be able to tell you what to do next. you can keep up—to—date with the latest developments about the coronavirus outbreak, how to guard against it, and what it means for you on the bbc news app and on our website. the headlines on bbc news: 273 people in the uk have tested positive for coronavirus — that's up from 209 yesterday, according to latest figures. the foreign office is advising against all but essential travel to northern italy. 16 million people have been placed in quarantine for a month. the prime minister has received mixed reactions during a visit to the flood hit region. he has announced extra funding for flood defences.

borisjohnson has been visiting the flood—affected town of bewdley in worcestershire this afternoon. in a town at risk of flooding for generations, any message of reassurance from westminster is welcome. residents are still counting the cost of the winter storms finally had a chance to put their case. the highest river levels since 1947 saw over 1000 homes and businesses flooded in the severn valley, a continuing threat while the water table at remained saturated. mrjohnson was criticised for his failure to appear at the time. today at a residents meeting, he brought news of increased investment and a promise that things would change.

i want to see some work done, so i think we are at the beginning. this visit did give the prime minister a chance to inspect the temporary flood barriers that sprung up here and in all areas most at risk. they were largely successful but he acknowledged that with any increase in spending should come a change in tactics. the thing we have to look at is the rules which currently say that you cannot put in permanent defences when you only have a small number of households potentially affected. edward is still living in chaos after filthy river water and sewage poured through his home. he said mrjohnson‘s visit had lifted spirits. it is positive to see the local mp and boris johnson, which was a real surprise, and it feels positive and the overriding slogan by the end was get bewdley done. mrjohnson‘s short stay was accompanied by smiles and blue skies but along the banks

of the uk's rivers communities know full well that long—term plans cannot protect them from the next spell of bad weather. robert hall, bbc news, bewdley. the government is promising money to help struggling high streets in order to help reduce regional inequalities. retailers say business rates are one of their biggest problems. this is one of the best retail streets in blackpool and this unit is one of the best units in the street. ten or 15 years ago we would have been fighting the retailers off, the demand would have been strong. no longer. this used to be a topshop, but it has just handed back the keys. now, paul moran's company is struggling to find somebody to fill the gap because the business rates bill is too big. the rates bill on this shop is dramatically higher than its rental value. it is the first thing they will look it, it is the first

question they will ask, "what is the rate bill?" and it is deterring tenants from taking this unit. this town is feeling the impact of the huge upheaval in retail, driven by the rise in online shopping. the market is changing fast, but business rates are not keeping up. business rates are a tax based on how much a property is worth in rent. now, if rents fall, so should rates. if they go up, so will the rates bill. it sounds reasonable, but changes to rates are gradually phased in to help businesses adjust. too gradually, though, for towns like this one — where bills are not coming down fast enough. that's the problem. take this poundland store round the corner. rents fell dramatically in 2017 when the government last revalued property. its rates bill should have gone down by 46%, but, by the end of next year, it will only have dropped

in real terms by 13%. this one shop is effectively paying £167,000 in extra tax through the system known as transitional relief. i call it comic relief, in fairness. we are a business that is thriving, but transitional relief costs us millions of pounds. the boss of poundland says it needs to be scrapped. i could open more shops, i could employ more colleagues, i could create better products for existing customers. itjust holds the business back from investing and driving growth. the government is promising a fundamental review of business rates and is halving them for small shops at the budget. but that will not be much help to the big chains which are trying to steer through turbulent times in the towns in need of the most support. emma simpson, bbc news, blackpool. a woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder

after the body of a baby was found woodland. the newborn boy was found in hythe, near southampton, on thursday. hampshire constabulary said a 36—year—old woman was in police custody, calling the investigation into the baby's death "difficult and complex". today is international women's day, a worldwide event which celebrates women's achievements while also calling for gender equality. this year's theme is each for equal which aims to challenge stereotypes, fight bias and broaden perceptions. 0ur correspondent charlotte gallagher has been in whitehall. thousands of people are at parliament square today to mark gender equality around the world. this year feminists have teamed up with climate change activists because organisers say they want women and girls to have more say in the plans to tackle global warming in different countries across the world.

they say at the moment that just isn't happening. there are lots of celebrities here today as you would expect, bianca jagger, the game of thrones actress natalie dormer, ricky wilson from the kaiser chiefs and george mackay from 1917. also people from across the uk that have come down here. i spoke to a family from ireland and they have made the journey over because they wanted to show their two young daughters the feeling that you get at these events and they have made signs saying the future is female, so there is a real strong feeling here that there is still a lot to be done. i was speaking to helen pankhurst, of course the great granddaughter and granddaughter of two key leaders in the suffragette movement. she says she thought her ancestors would say, yes there is a lot to celebrate, but isn't there still more to be done especially political representation of women around the world ? there have been events across the world. we have seen some where there have been abuse of women, in kurdistan today, dozens of women were arrested when their march was attacked by men, so still a lot to be done

in different parts of the world and in the uk. that is what organisers are saying. across spain thousands of women have been marching. a very upbeat mood. many people turning out with flags and banners denouncing gender bias. 0ne sign saying that mechanism kills more than coronavirus. spain's women's rights movement is a formidable force since five women we re formidable force since five women were jailed in 2016 for sexual abuse after gang raping a young women at the bill running festival. many people in spain turning out to celebrate international women's day and raise the plight of some of the things they see as dishes for women

still in the modern day. across pakistan hundreds of women have been taking part in rallies marking international women's day. islamist politicians had threatened to stop the marches taking place — accusing the organisers of promoting anti islamic slogans. whilst the day passed off largely peacefully — in islamabad, four people were injured when supporters of a hardline group threw stones at those attending a rally in the city. secunder kermani reports. this is the third year that the aurat women's march is taking place in pakistan and it is increasingly becoming a symbol for the cultural divides within society here. pakistan is overall a deeply conservative and patriarchal country and the women here are talking about issues such as so—called honour killings, sexual harassment, a lack of public space for women, but they face a lot of opposition, particularly from right wing religious groups who have threatened to stop the marches, even at times hinting at using force to do so. they have been particularly enraged

by the use of one phrase — in urdu, it's "mera jism meri marzi." it means in english, "my body, my choice." it is a fairly common feminist slogan referencing reproductive rights, but for the critics of this march they see it as having some kind of subversive sexualised connotation. those religious groups have been holding their own demonstrations today. 0ne just across the street, and as the crowds were leaving some of them it seems began throwing sticks and stones at those taking part in this rally. it is a sign of how heated debate over this day has become. the duchess of sussex has used one of her last appearances as a senior royal to urge men to do more to respect women. she was speaking during a surprise visit to a school in east london on friday. the details have been today to mark international women's day. nicholas witchell reports.

this report contains flash photography. take a good look because we won't be seeing much more of this for a while. the duke and duchess of sussex, last night, at the royal albert hall, still introduced as "their royal highnesses" and still very much looking the part. harry was making a final appearance as captain general of the royal marines — complete with gold braid, medals and honours. for her part, meghan is leaving formal royal life with a strong endorsement of a cause about which she feels deeply — the rights of women. a couple of days ago, she visited a school in dagenham to make a speech timed for international women's day today. these were issues — she said — which were relevant every day and to every person, and she had a particular message for men. ijust encourage and empower each of you to really stand in your truth — to stand for what is right — to continue to respect each other — for you young men to continue to value and appreciate the women

in your lives and also set the example for some men who are not seeing it that same way, right? you have your mothers, sisters, girlfriends, friends in your life — protect them — make sure they are feeling valued and safe. the speech went down well — the speaker was appreciated. she really is beautiful, innit? tomorrow, harry and meghan will make their final this appearance for now — with the queen at westminster abbey. after that, the great experiment of their new supposedly non—royal life will begin in canada. nicholas witchell, bbc news. returning to coronavirus because the foreign office has issued advice

advising against all but essential travel to a number of areas in northern italy. 16 million people are being placed in quarantine for a month because of the virus. we can speak to someone who owns an english language school in the south of italy, outside of the quarantine region, but no doubt you are following this pretty closely. yes, iam following this pretty closely. yes, i am following it pretty much every minute, to be honest. luckily it hasn't arrived here yet. there's a big feeling it is going to arrive here. in the city where i am we have i think three confirmed cases but of course the big fear is obviously what happened last night when i was just falling asleep and i liked on facebook before i went to bed and i saw that the train stations in the north were filling with people, lots of stu d e nts north were filling with people, lots of students from the south, all rushing back home. this was because of the league, somebody leaked the

plan to put to the northern parts into quarantine. it is very nerve—racking here. there's a lot of rules. people are staying distant, keeping a distance from each other. some other english schools have closed. i haven't yet. the law hasn't told me i have two. that is a lot of confusion and fear but at the same time italians are sticking together as well and getting through this. how clear is the advice that you are getting from the government? it is very clear. they are being super organised about theirs. the only slip—up which wasn't the government's felt was the leek last night about the plan to shut down areas they are but actually things areas they are but actually things are very clear here and there is lots of testing going on here as well. in the city there are 30 or 40 people being tested. that has been

the key to italy so far. they have done so many tests. i feel like they are communicating pretty well what is going on but this is a difficult thing to control and obviously it is changing very quickly. i know you are not in the quarantine area but i know the mayor where you area but i know the mayor where you are has put steps in place a bet museums and restaurants, what's the situation? where we are right now, like the rest of italy, all the public schools are closed, many public offices are closed. my accountant is closed, the pharmacies and public shops like that, they are having policy is what you can only go in one at a time. the mayor are shut down places like the wedding reception venues and also the cinemas as well. there is