a very warm welcome to bbc news. my name's mike embley. our top stories: italy in lockdown, public gatherings forbidden, tourist sites virtually deserted. and doctors give stark advice to the public. stay at home and be prepared for a kind of war, because we are facing a war here. in the us, a one—mile containment zone is now in place around new york suburb new rochelle, around a large cluster of cases. joe biden deals another blow to bernie sanders in the latest round of the us democratic party's primaries. just

party's primaries. a week ago, pundits were declaring just a week ago, pundits were declaring this campaign was dead. now we are very much alive. and president putin has backed amendments that could see him stay in power until 2036. hello to you. italy has been spending its first night under lockdown, unprecedented measures are being enforced right across the country to try to limit the spread of coronavirus. as the number of cases and deaths rises sharply, italy faces growing isolation, with thousands of flights cancelled and stringent controls on its borders with austria and slovenia. public gatherings and sporting events have been cancelled. mark lowen has the latest. "all residents stay at home", orders the police. from naples in the south

to the supermarkets of rome, to the financial capital up in milan, news of the restrictions spread as fast as the virus. in bologna today, they began to adjust to the toughest limitations since the war. public gatherings banned, bars and restaurants closed from 6pm, tables a metre apart, schools, museums and nightclubs shut. everyone is affected. italians, tourists, and expats living here, staying put as several airlines stop flights. well, obviously we won't be able to travel in the immediate future. we've been told we can only take trains between cities in italy for reasons of work or health orfor some extraordinary emergency and apart from that we must stay put, but that seems sensible. and another thing is they have put this limelight, or spotlight, on age groups and it makes me feel really, really old. but i'm optimistic about it.

moving around requires a form, which we also had to complete, allowing travel for work or health emergencies or to return home. we would have to produce it if asked. it says here that falsifying this document could lead to prosecution. never could people in italy have conceived of the idea that they would need this to be able to move within their own country. as we drove out, traffic seemed quieter. roads are open, though slovenia says it will close its border and austria has banned italians entering unless with medical certificates. we have come out of bologna now and we're on the motorway to rome and we haven't seen any police checks for the documents, so it's still not clear how these restrictions are going to be enforced. we pulled over and got through to a doctor in one of the worst virus—hit areas.

hospitals are near breaking point. we need more beds, more doctors, more nurses, because i think that in one to two weeks we will reach the top so if we will not have more facilities we will not know how to take care of the patients. we are facing a war now here. in rome, deserted tourist sites show the huge economic impact. the government now discussing suspending tax and bill payments to ease pressure. from inside the vatican, the pope led mass, urging priests to have the courage to visit the sick — a risky call. and often it's too late. even funerals are now banned, replaced with a restricted blessing. the virus is killing and taking italy's dignity with it. mark lowen with that report.

new york's governer has declared a one—mile containment zone around the town of new rochelle, thought to have the largest cluster of coronavirus cases in the us. schools and places of worship are to be closed for two weeks and the national guard has been deployed to clean schools and deliver food. president trump has urged americans to remain calm. we're prepared and we're doing a greatjob with it and it will go away. just stay calm, it will go away. we want to protect our shipping industry, our cruise industry, cruise ships. just a while ago i spoke to new rochelle‘s city manager, charles strome. thank you for having me. we have had a long day here in new rochelle and the governor of the state has declared a containment zone of about a mile around about the area where the virus was first affected —

first person infected. what that means it's people will be able to go on with their lives but large gatherings at any schools, synagogues, churches or places like that will not be allowed for two weeks. so we are working with the state to try to implement what they have put in place and our residents are trying to be as cooperative as they can. and how are people dealing with this? well, i think they are a little concerned because people here, when they hear "the national guard", they think of a lot of different things. but as you said earlier, in this case the national guard has been deployed to help deliver food and clean schools, not to be a military force. so hopefully we can manage cooperatively with the states so people in new rochelle understand what is going on. they should be able to live their normal, everyday lives, at least for now, and we hope it stays that way and things get back to normal as soon as possible. on that point, what is your feeling about this? is it your expectation, what's happening now in new rochelle will be happening in other states

in the us pretty soon, quite possibly? it's — and again, i'm not a medical professional but i would say it is likely that there are many, many more cases in the united states than we know. the more people that get tested, the more there will probably be positive cases. all i know is, in new rochelle we have 100 or so cases in our city of about 180,000 people and that is a scary thing for people. we are doing our best to calm everybody and let them know the state and local government, we have a state county here, and the local government are working cooperatively to address this is best we can. i'm going to interrupt you, i'm sorry. why do you think you have what is thought to be the largest cluster in the us? what they call the first person who got the disease, and he happened to belong to a synagogue

in the northern end of our city, a synagogue of about 1,000 people. before he was symptomatic he went to a bar mitzvah, a funeral and their regular services and that put him in interaction with up to 1,000 people and that is why it spread in that area as it did. that is the largest area in new york, based on the statistics we have from the state. so we are certainly working with them but that is way we think it's here. what's your feeling about the way the new york governor and the president have been dealing with this? the authorities in general? do you have enough testing kits there? well, i can only tell you that we have been dealing with the state government. we haven't been dealing directly with the federal government. it is clear in the us we need more testing kits, that is coming soon. the more people we get tested the quicker we can figure out who has this. i, as a local official, i'm not going to opine on who is responsible

for the number of tests, but i hope the state and federal government together can come up with enough tests so we can test who we need to in this state, which is obviously one of the largest in the united states. charles strome, thank you very much for your time. passengers have been disembarking from the grand princess which has finally docked in the port of oakland. chris buckler is there for us. it has been a very, very long process. hundreds have now disembarked, including the british holidaymakers who are now making their way back to the uk. afternoon uk time. there will be a flight landing in birmingham wednesday afternoon uk time. it gives you a sense of the scale of what they have been trying to address here. the sickest, and those who have

been diagnosed with, covid—19, have been taken to hospitals in the california area and they are being treated. as for the wider issue of how you deal with the coronavirus, that's something that the american authorities are still grappling with. for example, here in california they have done their best to basically try to ensure there aren't gatherings of 1,000 people or more. it has led to sports events being cancelled, it has led to concerts being cancelled, and on the other side of america, on the east coast, in new york state, in new rochelle, they have put in place a containment zone. they have the national guard cleaning schools, cancelling schools, it gives you a real idea they are trying to tackle this problem. but at the same time, you do get the impression from health officials that it will take something to address this properly. it is a tough, tough issue. they now have got testing kits, they have now got resources, but ultimately, what they can

do to try and stop coronavirus spreading is a real issue for the authorities. chris buckler in oakland for us. nadine dorries, a health minister in the british government has tested positive for coronavirus. she is self—isolating at home while health workers are trying to establish how she came in contact with the disease. on thursday, she attended a downing street reception hosted by the prime minister, borisjohnson. joe biden has taken a big step closer to clinching the democratic nomination. joe biden is now projected to win the biggest prize of the night, michigan. senator sanders had been pinning his comeback on winning michigan, 125 delegates up for grabs there. mr biden addressed his supporters in philadelphia a short while ago. just a week ago, many of the abundance declared this candidacy was dead. now we are very much alive.

(applause) and although there isa (applause) and although there is a way to go, it looks like we're going to have another good night. let's talk to our north american corresponded peter bowes. way to go, says american corresponded peter bowes. way to go, sastoe biden. but there are other states considered to be good for senator sanders? yes. idaho, north dakota and washington state are still to announce their results and it could be a bit ofan their results and it could be a bit of an interesting time. in washington, the worst affected by the coronavirus, the voting system there is by mail only. people would have posted in their ballots, there was no need to go to a community centre or school to cast their vote. but the fact is a mail—in ballot m ea ns vote. but the fact is a mail—in ballot means it may take extra time to get that particular result. that aside, certainly a very good night for the joe

biden and also in that speech he seemed to reach out to bernie sanders was that he said, together we will defeat donald trump, that they had a shared goal. appearing to put the ball in bernie sanders' court, he will do some soul searching of the next few hours and days on whether to stay in this race. what is your feeling about what is going on, peter? for people who lead to the democrats, are they thinking perhaps senator sanders is too easy for president trump to attack as a democratic socialist, calling him a communist. but presumably if joe biden does go forward, we will hear a lot more mentions of ukraine. yeah, it is very, very clear what the train of thought is with these democratic voters. they believe joe biden is indeed the best of the two candidates to challenge and defeat him in the general election in november. and precisely for that reason you

say, bernie sanders has this label, self—imposed level of democratic socialist but donald trump and many others believe that that tag will be a very difficult sell come the general election that americans aren't ready to elect a socialist. so that would have been the key issue for bernie sanders but as you say, if it isjoe biden, we will hear about the issues that we re will hear about the issues that were central to the impeachment trial, ukraine, joe biden‘s son's role in that company in ukraine was up and the fact the president was acquitted in that impeachment trial. so he will use that to his advantage. peter, thank you very much for that. thank you for being with us. meet whiskey, the border collie who recognises the names of her many who recognises the names of her ma ny toys who recognises the names of her many toys dash

the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 2a hours then the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior. we heard these gunshots in the gym. then he came out through a fire exit and started firing at our huts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an eight—car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much do you think? i don't know really. i've never been married before.

welcome back. good to have you with us on bbc news. the latest headlines: the number of cases of coronavirus in italy are still rising, with the country effectively on lockdown. in the united states, new york's governor has announced a containment zone around the town of new rochelle, which is —— which has what is thought to be the largest cluster in the us. this month marks five years since the conflict in yemen, civil war which has become a proxy war involving major world powers, the us, uk, saudi arabia and iran. fighting has intensified lately, and tai in the south—west is at the centre of one of the longest—running battles. —— taiz. the city is split between government forces and houthi rebels. the bbc was

given rare access to the government on side of the city. sneaking through shadows. slipping behind walls... 0ne street, one lane is safe, the other is not. that's the nature of this shifting front line in taiz, dividing streets, dividing homes, shattering lives. this side of the wall in government hands. the other, houthi fighters. both sides shooting. the face of the front line drained of life. 0ther streets shot through with danger. a short drive away, the first neighbourhood reduced to rubble when this war began. it's lasted longer in taiz

than almost anywhere else in yemen. but in the safe spaces, life explodes. children ambush the ice cream man. but they carefully keep to this road. they all know it's the safest route on their way home from school. gone from the skies for now, the rumble of saudi warplanes. taiz was one of the most heavily bombed areas, causing the most civilian casualties. often with british or american made bombs. this is my home. marwan remembers this air strike as if it was yesterday. ten members of his family perished as they slept

in these rooms. eight neighbours died, too. life is still shattered five years on. stuck in this stalemate. see the green scar slashing taiz in two? the houthis control the heights beyond there, a third of this city. the roads running through taiz, once bustling, are now blocked. to get from one side to the other you need to drive around the city, a perilous journey of six to eight hours. it used to take five minutes.

ghalya nasa, blinded in one eye by a sniper, belongs to a women's group lobbying to end the siege. there's still a pulse in this city. the pride taizes still feel in a place once prized for its culture. but it's a life lived on the edge. taiz, a symbol of yemen's conflict. it's torn a whole country apart. liz doucet, bbc news, taiz. and we will keep across that story in yemen, of story in yemen, and we will keep across that story in yemen, of course. two

extremely rare white giraffes have been killed by poachers in north—eastern kenya. rangers found the bodies of the female and her calf in a village in garissa county. a third white giraffe is now still alive. conservationists believe it is now the only one in the world. russia's president has endorsed a plan which could see him in the topjob for life a plan which could see him in the top job for life if it gets final approval. the proposal, introduced into parliament by an mp who is a close ally, as pa rt an mp who is a close ally, as part of sweeping changes to the kremlin aimed at keeping mr putin in power. in two years time, vladimir putin should be walking out of parliament. instead, he is backing a constitutional amendment which would allow him to stay well beyond his 2024 term. translation: in principle, this option would be possible, but on one condition. if the constitutional court gives an official ruling that such an

amendment would not contradict the principles and main provisions of the constitution. six weeks ago the president announced sweeping changes to parliament. he said, for the good of russia. the proposal still needs a tick of approval from court and the public, but given his influence, it's set to cement his longevity in the topjob. mr putin, who is now 67, has been in powerfor 20 yea rs. here he is about to cast his vote in the presidential election back in 2000. a vote he clearly won. in 2008, he took a hiatus as president and served as prime minister for five years — by doing this, he avoided violating the current 2—term rule. the proposed changes, which are likely to pass, would mean he could serve for another 16 years at least. making him russia's longest serving and oldest leader. but not everyone in russia agrees. some lawmakers say it is illegal and a small crowd of protesters also expressed concerns.

translation: the person who brought russia into chaos and disaster will remain in power for the rest of his life, given that he is in good health, it may be for a very long time. putin, until 2036, is just unthinkable. but as unthinkable as it may be for some, for the man in charge, it is the only way forward. we are taking you to bergen in norway now, to meet whiskey, the border collie. this is whiskey, a six—year—old border collie. according to her owners, she is a genius. it is a bit like those parents who are convinced that children are geniuses. but perhaps helga is right. whiskey is able to identify the words for all of her 100 toys and fetch them

when commanded. she attracted worldwide attention when an italian researcher reported that published a report about her skills in a scientific journal. whiskey's skills, of course, are the result of training. translation: when whiskey was eight weeks old, i bought her a toy mouse and a small ball. i threw the toy mouse onto the floor and told whiskey, fetch the mouse, fetch the mouse. after a couple of times she understood what to do. but that shouldn't detract from a remarkable skill. following the academic report, whiskey featured in media all over the world. translation: whiskey featured in media all over the world. translatiosz is great fun and quite odd to see pictures of whiskey and myself a chinese newspaper. i never thought that would happen. helga is sure there are many other dogs like whiskey. happen. helga is sure there are many other dogs like whiskeylj think many other dogs like whiskey.” think there may be many dog geniuses out there, with potential, but have not been discovered yet. at the very

least they could do what your children never do. put away their own toys. maybe not such a surprise to any border collie owner. i plead guilty. peter bowes also has a border collie. do look at the instagram account as well. still in animal corner, two men and their labrador walked away unharmed after their small plane crashed into a tree in florida. the plane was heading for a small airport when it had engine problems that brought it down near houses. as you can see, it managed to avoid the houses. a father and son were heading to florida for spring break and police have praised the pilot for avoiding the houses. just briefly, that may news again, national guard have been deployed in a suburb of new york in response to one of the biggest outbreaks of the coronavirus in the united states. schools and places of worship will be closed for two weeks in new rochelle. the national guard will help clean public spaces and deliver food to people who are self

isolating. the containment zone announced by the authorities is centred on a synagogue close last week by health officials. that's it for now. thank you for watching. hello there. tuesday was the warmest day of the year so far, we had temperatures of 16 degrees, the air originated all the way from here, hence a bit of warmth, but there is cool into the north and that is going to win out in the next few days. we have these cloud clusters bringing downpours into the north—west of the uk and this band of cloud, all that's left of the earlier rain and drizzle edging its way southward where it will linger through the english channel. lots of downpours coming into scotland and northern ireland on wednesday, showers and longer spells rain, some snow over the higher ground in scotland and the wind will blow some showers into northern england and wales. further south—east, you may get away with a dry day with some sunshine, it's not as windy here. the strongest of the winds are likely to be in the north—west of scotland, gusts of 50 or 60 miles an hour. it is not quite as mild

on wednesday but for many of us those temperatures are above average and still 14 or 15 across some eastern parts of england, but it will get colder everywhere behind this weather front here that is bringing some rain on wednesday night to england and wales, and then really colder air starts to arrive behind that, and we start to see the snow levels falling overnight across scotland and northern england, some icy conditions here as there could be for a while in northern ireland. but the snow levels will tend to rise on thursday as we keep that wetter weather going in scotland and northern ireland, the winds really picking up through the day as well, blowing some rain into the north—west of england. some fleeting showers further south and some sunshine, but those temperatures are lower everywhere, near normalfor this time of the year. we have got an area of low pressure bringing that wet and windy area across parts of the uk, that will gradually retreat during thursday night and we get a ridge of high pressure arriving just briefly, so a dry start for the most part, the winds will have eased by friday morning and we have got some sunshine around after a chilly start but think the cloud will tend to build up and spread out a bit so it will ultimately turn more and more cloudy, and we could see some rain approaching northern ireland, western wales and the south—west later

in the afternoon, temperatures still a healthy 8—12 degrees. that rain will push its way eastwards during friday night and then we will start to see another band of rain coming into the north—west of the uk on saturday. that will ease its way down into england and wales on sunday followed by some blustery winds and some sunshine and showers in the north—west. that rain will push its way eastwards during friday night and then we will start to see another band of rain coming into the north—west of the uk on saturday. that will ease its way down into england and wales on sunday followed by some blustery winds and some sunshine and showers in the north—west.

a very warm welcome to bbc news. my name's mike embley. our top stories: italy is still in lockdown. 10,000 cases and more than 500 deaths, the highest in anywhere but china. it has self—isolate good. —— self isolated. in the us, a one—mile containment zone is in place around new york suburb new rochelle, around a large cluster of cases. the national guard has been deployed to clean up public spaces and deliver food. early indications in the united states and suggest former vice presidentjoe biden has extended his lead in the contest to become the democratic party candidate to take on president trump in the

presidential election in november. he's on course to beat senator bernie sanders in mississippi, missouri and the biggest prize of the night, michigan. it's about 3:30am in the morning. you are up—to—date on the headlines. tonight on panorama: disability discrimination at the heart of the department for work and pensions. the dwp managers who have done this to me have ruined my health, ruined my career, i won't be able to work again. the department meant to help disabled people into work. he was really nasty to me and i went back to my desk and cried for about half—an—hour. to my desk and cried for about half-an-hour. has lost more disability discrimination tribunal is than any other employer in britain. there is a fear amongst disabled people and the dwp. there's no two