this is the briefing. our top stories. streets and tourist attractions deserted as italy continues with a nationwide lockdown on its 60 million population. is this the end for bernie sanders as former vice presidentjoe biden comes out on top in the latest round of the us democratic primaries. they call it a coronavirus budget. in the uk, the chancellor is expected to announce big spending commitments. but will it alleviate the economic pain? and the world but like most endangered —— and david thiele get a helping hand as climate change threatens their habitat in finland.

a very warm welcome. this is wednesday's briefing. we will make sure all you need to know in global news and business and sport. you can join in global news and business and sport. you canjoin the conversation as governments and banks around the world try to alleviate the economic cost inflicted by coronavirus. we would like to know what would help you the most. a mortgage holiday perhaps guaranteed syncope? free healthca re. holiday perhaps guaranteed syncope? free healthcare. us what you think. —— tell us what you think. italy has been spending its first night under lockdown, unprecedented messages being involved right across the country to try to limit the spread of coronavirus. as a

number of cases and death rises sharply, italy faces growing isolation with thousands of flights cancelled and stringent controls on its borders with austria and slovenia. italy is at war. that is according to one doctor living through a lockdown. there are more than 10,000 confirmed cases and he fears resources are running low and health workers are growing tired. stay at home and be prepared for a kind of war because we are facing a war now here. the uk public health minister has been diagnosed with the virus. she says it has been pretty rubbish, but i hope i am over the worth of it now. more worried about my 84—year—old mum who is staying with me and began with the cough. covid—19 is highly contagious. the premier league isn't taking any risks and has postponed the

match between manchester city and arsenal. it is after the owner revealed he has also fallen ill, forcing arsenal players into self quarantine after playing his team last round. the music industry is also reeling. california —based coachella, which pulls a crowd of 500,000 people, has been delayed until october. it is just one huge event which can't justify the risk. 0utside just one huge event which can't justify the risk. outside of china, the virus is yet to peak. these new pictures out of around show the extreme efforts to disinfectant the streets after a surge in the death toll. north of new york city, troops are being deployed to a town hit with a large class of confirmed cases. authorities have established a containment zone with high hopes it. the disease before it reaches the capital of more than eight billion people.

so, let's take you to the united states where passengers have been disembarking from the cruise ship grand princess, which has finally docked at california. chris butler is there. —— chris buckler is there for us. they were unable to leave because of an outbreak of the coronavirus. even this isn't the journey by them again. american passengers are taken away to spend 1a days in quarantine on military bases and many from other countries are still to reach home. the british passengers are finding their way back to the uk. but ahead of boarding a flight in auckland, many had lack of information and the time it has taken to get them off the ship. they are treating us like mushrooms, treating us and keeping us in the dark. that is the way i see it. there is no

communication. no—one wants to help you will give you any advice. british passengers on board the ship have been told to stay at home and away from other people for a period of two weeks. after two high profile outbreaks of covid—19 on board ships, cruise line companies are being told that they need to put in place measures to ensure there is not such a spread in the future. that's now update you on what is happening in china. our correspondent in shanghai, as things escalate elsewhere in the world, it would seem we are going in the right direction now in china. i think that is true. things seem to be easing somewhat. investors, they think so. the president think so. the markets here in china today remaining pretty flat after those falls, but then gains last week. the

general secretary of the communist party, president of china, went to wuhan yesterday, the first time he has done that since the outbreak. but that says a lot about his personal confidence and also the government's confidence, in terms of the propaganda if nothing else that they now believe they have this under control. 0ne slight kind of fly in the ointment today, though, a city in hubei province where this all began said yesterday it was hoping to become the first city to relax restrictions on letting people travel around. that has now been reversed. so slightly mysterious as to exactly what is going on there. the other thing as well, further evidence today in terms of new cases of the focus on cases being imported back into china. a slight uptick today. 2a new cases of people being infected, ten of them are coming from abroad. really stringent restrictions in place at

airports in shanghai, and beijing especially. what is interesting, in—state media they say there are cases of people coming from italy or the us and bringing coronavirus back to china. they are not saying if these are foreigners or chinese nationals coming back home. 0k, thank you. that's now brief you on other stories making the news. the afghan president has set out plans to begin releasing taliban prisoners within days are raising the prospect that talks with the militants could then begin. disagreement over the issue has delayed the next phase of a peace process which began last month with a deal between the united states and the taliban. lawyers for the former vatican treasurer cardinal george pell have been making a final attempt in australia's top court to overturn his conviction child sex abuse. george pell is serving a six sentence for assaulting two choirboys in the 1990s. he lost a first appeal in august.

plans aimed at ending today's throwaway culture are being processed by the european commission. the objectives with job products such as mobile phones and batteries are manufactured so they last and can be easily repaired, helping the environment and wildlife. riot police in venezuela have used teargas to prevent anti—government protesters reaching parliament in caracas. the opposition leader called demonstration to demand presidential elections. now, it would appear thatjoe biden is to have extended his lead in the contest to take on donald trump for the democrats in november's presidential election. of the six states taking part in the latest primaries, the former us vice president is on course to beat bernie sanders it would seem. in mississippi, missouri, and michigan. let's go to our north american correspondence who has got the very latest on this.

but before we speak to peter, let us hear from joe biden. just over a week ago, many of the pundits declared that this candidacy was dead. now, we are very much alive. tonight we are a step closer to restoring decency, dignity and honour to the white house. that is our ultimate goal. that is joe biden. now let's talk to peter who has been across this for us. hasjoe biden has joe biden got hasjoe biden got this in the bag? just about. it looks very difficult for bernie sanders looking forward. we really needed a big win, especially the state of michigan which is somewhere he actually won four yea rs somewhere he actually won four years ago when he was competing against hillary clinton for the nomination. she eventually became the nominee for the democrats but she lost to donald trump, and it was

important that the time to —— catapulted him to the presidency, taking back for the republicans a state that the democrats had held for some time. in november it will be an important battleground stop the fa ct important battleground stop the fact thatjoe biden has done well there certainly bodes well for his candidacy. where do we go from here? this is called many tuesday, but forjoe biden it was the most important tuesday following his big comeback on super tuesday. in terms of delegates and numbers, where are we? they are both still in the hundreds. the finishing line is 1991. they are not quite there yet, but it looks extremely difficult for bernie sanders. there are still three results to come in. washington state is still counting and it is neck and neckin counting and it is neck and neck in that particular state. evenif neck in that particular state. even if it stays a dead heat in washington, it is still good news forjoe biden because bernie sanders would have been

expected to win there, he has won there before, it is a liberal western state. the fact he is not doing well really is quite bad news for bernie sanders and he chose not to make a speech, he went back home to vermont, you can read into that what you will. chances are he will be spending the next few hours and days thinking about his position, talking to his advisers and a lot of political pundits here in the state think that he could be on the verge of pulling out. we shall watch this space. thank you, peter in north america. today is a very important one for the uk economy. will the uk deliver its first budget in over a year? that is full of giveaways to help deal with the coronavirus. many analysts are calling it the coronavirus budget. financial help is expected for those who have through self isolate but can't claim set pay. there is hope there is a lot whenever business is really struggling in its unprecedented times. and all sorts of other ideas. 600

lian pounds to be given over the next five years —— 600 billion pounds. we have henry, good to see you. it is the first ever budget for ricky, he has not been in thejob first ever budget for ricky, he has not been in the job for long. four or five weeks. what a way to start such a high profilejob. but so many a way to start such a high profile job. but so many are hoping for something in this budget to help them through this period of time which is really tricky. already is under pressure to try and deliver the kind of spending, the kind of injection into infrastructure we haven't seen for many years, there was a member would happened a few weeks ago, the conservatives breached the labour redwall and quite a number of people would normally vote labour gave their vote to the conservatives because they expect to see something real from them. massive infrastructure ending to bridge that north—south divide here in this country, huge support for ordinary workers, huge support for the national health service

which we all depend on, we are really proud of within this country. now with the coronavirus it is really making waves all over the world and thatis waves all over the world and that is really going to increase the presence in this country. we will a business is really struggling and people are expecting the chancellor to do something meaningful and changeable for those businesses. and even what is a normal routine for the budget, data we get from the office of budget responsibility, which is an independent organisation that monitors government spending and the money going m, spending and the money going in, money coming out, etc, even their predictions are said to be out of date. this is a problem with coronavirus in terms of its impact on businesses, uk economy and the global economy. we are in unprecedented waters and all those predictions that tell us what the finances are like. they are getting out of date by the day. they are. remember what the formal charges that a few weeks ago when he stood out in the house of commons and gave his resignation speech, talk about himself still being

conservative, urging his successor to maintain the fiscal rules. but that has been blown out of the water now because the chancellor is going to be under incredible pressure to be under incredible pressure to really splash the cash and to really splash the cash and to show that this government is different, but particularly now that this disease is going to see the economy in certain areas of the country grind to a halt of something really serious isn't done. businesses are not able to see money coming in or going out really cash—strapped are going to need tax holidays for example. the end of the financial year coming up soon, businesses will not be able to meet the demands. all right. thank you for now. henry is heading back to the green loan. he has a lot of reading to do between now and when we see him next. also asking for you to tell us what you need to see through the situation with coronavirus in terms of financial help from government or banks. get in touch. still to come here on the programme, we have all the sport including a birthday to

remember with the very in the champion hurdle for the owner mcmanus at the cheltenham festival. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 24 hours then, the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years hisjunior. 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 a1, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an 8—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. the latest headlines: the number of cases of coronavirus in italy are still rising, with the country effectively on lockdown. the virus has killed more than 600 people in italy with more than 10,000 affected —— infected. former vice president joe biden has extended his lead in the contest to become the democratic residential candidate. disgraced movie mogul harvey once dean is due to be sentenced in new york today after being convicted of two sexual assault charges. ——

harvey weinstein. while he denied all charges, he was convicted of sexual assault and rape at his trial in february 25. he could face up to 25 yea rs 25. he could face up to 25 years in prison. harvey weinstein's reputation of mistreating women was an open secret in some hollywood circles, a throwback to the casting couch culture that prevailed in the past. his guilty verdict in manhattan made official what his victims already knew. that's the disgraced producer was a rapist and a sexual predator. weinstein was shocked to be convicted of two of the five charges against him. for decades, his power shielded him from the consequences of his crimes. social justice campaigners believed the jury's decision will forever reshape our sex crimes are prosecuted and victims‘ willingness to speak out. prosecutors have asked thejudge for a speak out. prosecutors have asked the judge for a lengthy sentence to reflect what they call weinstein‘s lack of

remorse and lifetime of abuse towards others. he faces a 5-29 yea rs towards others. he faces a 5-29 years in prison here in new york. then it is off to los angeles, where he will have to defend himself against allegations there. now let‘s bring you up—to—date on all the latest sports stories. i‘m tulsen tollett and this is your wednesday sport briefing. we start with the news that rb leipzig are through to the first ever champions league quarter—final after a 4—0 aggregate win over tottenham. the germans held a 1—0 lead heading into the second leg and theircaptain, heading into the second leg and their captain, marcel spencer, made sure of the result with a double in the first half before his replacement scored a third late on. but since last year‘s finalists out of the competition. —— that sends. finalists out of the competition. -- that sends. we received only one big chance in the second half. but we defended all the other things very good and at the end i think it is totally deserved,

to go to the next round, but i don‘t want to say that this was easy. it is kind of arrogant. josep ilychich scored 44 ata la nta josep ilychich scored 44 atalanta in a much behind closed doors due to coronavirus concerns. the italians progress with an 8—11 aggregate win and have now scored four more goals than six of their last 12 matches. the favourite provided training mickey henderson with a record eighth victory in the champion hurdle on the opening day of the cheltenham festival. written by barry geratty, the jp mcmanus owned mare crossed the line and easy winner. it was the perfect present forjp mcmanus on his 69th birthday. level managerjurgen klopp said after his side‘s 1—0 first league defeat to atletico

madrid three weeks ago that the fa ns madrid three weeks ago that the fans at anfield could make all the difference in the second leg of their last 16 champions league match. he will be happy that again later is not being played behind closed doors, but he is aware that such restrictions could be implement it in the uk in the near future. the problem with football games is if you are not in the stadium, then you are enclosed rooms and watching it there, maybe together. i am not sure what is better in this case, to be honest. i need us. but whatever will be decided, we will respect. because we all have families, we are all pa rents, have families, we are all parents, we have families, we are all pa rents, we have have families, we are all parents, we have kids, we have pa rents parents, we have kids, we have parents and friends which we wa nt to parents and friends which we want to do well and format it is clear that we will accept that. i don‘t know how much senseit that. i don‘t know how much sense it will make. wednesday's other champions league match between paris st—germain and borussia dortmund will be played behind closed doors in the french capital. the germans are currently second in the bundesliga. they arrived on tuesday with a 2—0 lead over the french champions from the

first leg. germany‘s max shackman remains the overall leader heading into stage four of the paris—nice late on wednesday. the race is being held behind closed doors because of the coronavirus outbreak. after leading sprinters caleb ewan and sam bennett were caught up in a crush on a finishing straight on tuesday it was spain‘s even garcia cortina who claimed a shock when in the sprint finish. -- shock when in the sprint finish. —— shock win. boston celtics fans favourite stucco fall has been on the road, not so much shopping consider coaching clinics, but stopping them from scoring. in 24—year—old from senegal was doing his utmost to stop these youngsters, albert would usual big smile he wears. try as they did, they will need to grow a bit before getting past his seven foot four frame. you can get all the latest sports news on our website. but from me, tulsen tollett, and the rest of

the team, that is your wednesday sport briefing. thank you to tulsen tollett and the team. now, this winter has been the warmest ever recorded in europe. that is a problem for a species of seal facing extinction. the sima ringed seal need snow and ice to survive, but temperatures have been up to 10 celsius above the winter average. can conservationists save the species from the effects of climate change? it is the warmest winter ever recorded in finland and it is really, really concerning. r ringed seal —— simar is 400 kilometre is cross. it is one of the most endangered seals in the world.

there are only 410 individuals left. the seal needs snow and ice. it gives birth to its pubs ina layer ice. it gives birth to its pubs in a layer that he digs into the snow bank and if there are not any snowbanks, the pups will be born on open ice and up to half of the pups could die. there this snow is giving safety against the cold weather and against the predators like the red fox. this year we don't have snow in for seals, so we have snow in for seals, so we have to pile drifts so there is enough snow for the females to give birth to the pups.

probably every ten, 20, 30 yea rs probably every ten, 20, 30 years there is no ice at all on that part of saimar, so we have to do something. we put some snow inside the house, so hopefully the seal feels that it is home. the worst case scenario, if we have to do more like this, i don't like to do it. in addition to climate change, net fishing is the biggest threat to this seal because the pups can get entangled in fishing nets and drowned. thanks to the bloodstream, we have been able to reach a huge number of people, including many professional fishermen, and hundreds have made a pledge to stop using fishing nets and switch to seal friendly fishing equipment. so we are seeing concrete results. the

population of the saimaa seals in recent years has increased, because less than 200 —— 30 yea rs because less than 200 —— 30 years ago, and now it has increased, more than double. we can get more and buy these measures we can get the population numbers increasing, but with climate change what can we do? so we are asking you, what you, can we do? so we are asking you, what do you need to see you, what do you need to see you through coronavirus, in terms of financial help from the government or banks. it is budget day today, so it is very much on the minds of those in the uk. ryan makes a good point, his is the most vulnerable rent, so any mortgage holiday must be conditional on a rent holiday for buy to let too much, otherwise the middle classes get protection under vulnerable don‘t. he also says, not a good point, paid sick leave in 14

days for employees and government payments for zero holidays needed as well. many of you have pointed out for people working in the gig economy, freelancers, what protection do they have? we will discuss these issues late in the programme. i‘ll see you soon. 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.

time now for the business briefing. they call it the coronavirus budget. in the uk, the chancellor is expected to announce big spending commitments. will it alleviate the economic pain? why learning chinese is seen as essential across africa. we have a special report from zambia. and we are keeping a close eye on financial markets. in asia at the moment, they look like this. read yet again. declines despite a big jump on wall street the night before. we will be live to singapore in a moment to explain all.