i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. the headlines: the world health organization labels the coronavirus a pandemic and calls on governments to take urgent action. inside one of south korea's super labs, where they‘ re processing thousands of samples a day in the fight against coronavirus. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: in italy new restrictions mean that all shops are closed — except food stores and pharmacies. and in new york the victims of the disgraced hollywood film producer, harvey weinstein, celebrate his jail sentence of 23 years for rape and sexual assault.

good morning. it's 8am in singapore and midnight in london. the world health organization has for the first time declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. the number of cases outside china had increased is—fold over the past two weeks. in south korea a network of nearly a hundred laboratories has been set up and tests done on more people per capita than anywhere else in the world. our seoul correspondent laura bicker has had exclusive access to one of the super labs where thousands of tests are being conducted every day. getting critical patients to hospital as a race against time. they have to be tracked

and tested, quickly. so in this battle to contain the contagion, these labs have become the front line. so, because of the safety, we are not going to go into this room. this is where the samples are being opened and prepared. they're testing up to 20,000 people a day, more than any other country in the world. a lesson learned from bitter experience with previous infectious diseases. so is this the busiest you've ever been? yes. this is my busiest day. the computer programme can tell whether the sample is positive or negative for the virus. how long does the process take? the whole process takes about 5—6 hours. so it is quite quick? i think it's quite quick. scientists believe early testing and early treatment could be why fewer people are dying here.

makeshift clinics such as this one are set up to combat mass infections. nearly a hundred staff at this building in seoul contracted covid—i9 — now everyone who works here will be tested. there is no shortage of kits — they were mass produced to prepare for this outbreak. the blood of recovered patients like mr lee is also being monitored in the hope of finding antibodies and potentially a vaccine. lee told me he had almost no symptoms, just a little cough. translation: it's really important to be cautious and safe, but i wish people would have less fear of the virus itself. but i also know those who are older need to be careful. while they appear to be containing this outbreak for now, they know that with coronavirus, there is no room for complacency. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. once again us share prices tumbled over concerns about the economic impact of the virus.

the declines pushed the dowjones index more than 20% below its recent high, a threshold that often accompanies a recession. here in the uk, the chancellor or finance minister, rishi sunak has put aside nearly $40 billion in the budget to get the country through the coronavirus outbreak. he warned of a significant but temporary disruption to the british economy. iam acting i am acting today with a multibillion pound commitment, more money for oui’ multibillion pound commitment, more money for our nhs, more generous sick pay, faster access to benefits if you are self—employed, extra local support for the most vulnerable, tax cuts, loans and gra nts vulnerable, tax cuts, loans and grants for businesses to protect people's jobs. compressive action and if more is needed, i will take it. —— comprehensive. and reports from iran say that the first vice president has contracted the coronavirus. iran reported 63 new deaths, its highest single—day toll which brings the total fatalities to 354.

india has suspended tourist visas until april and said it would quarantine travellers arriving from the seven virus—hit countries in an attempt to contain its spread. the government also advised indians to avoid all non—essential travel abroad. denmark has become the second european country to announce a lockdown following a io—fold surge in coronavirus cases since monday. denmark's prime minister announced that all kindergartens, schools and universities will close for two weeks to slow the spread of the coronavirus. and events attended by more than 100 people will be banned. juventus defender daniele rugani has tested positive. the 25—year—old has been placed in quarantine as the serie a club makes checks on those who have had contact with him. disgraced hollywood film producer, harvey weinstein, has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault.

weinstein — who was long considered one of hollywood's most powerfulfigures — was found guilty in a trial in new york last month. our north america correspondent nick bryant is in new york. there was joy in this moment for the victims of harvey weinstein. that the convicted rapist will spend so long behind bars, that their voices have finally been heard. in courtjessica mann and mimi haley delivered victim statements describing how he ruined their lives and then had to listen to weinstein's rambling remarks, in which he expressed remorse for the women but also the men going through this crisis. then came the sentencing, 23 years. there were gasps in the courtroom as the sentence was read out, not least because it is so severe. most legal analysts had expected 10—15 years. so from this courthouse in manhattan, a punishment that will echo around the world.

this is whatjustice looks like, 20 plus three years. the model tarale wulff was one of the women to testify during the trial. for the first time i can say i can feel a sense of happiness i guess. because this is not a happy circumstance to be, that we are all here for, but i feel joyous. this is very severe, what is your response? ridiculous, is what it is. harvey weinstein's defence team had sough the minimum sentence of five years in prison. he faces 23. i think that number is a cowardly number to give. i think the judge caved, just as i believe the jury caved and i am not happy. but it is the feelings of weinstein's victims that matter and for the model, amber battila na gutierrez, that number, 23, is especially poignant. i was 23 when he assaulted me. that is the number when my life was ruined, so...

any response to today's sentence? i am super happy. from his limousine to a prison van, from the red carpets of hollywood to the notorious rikers island jail in new york, a metoo message, especially to men of power that wealth and menace offer no immunity from prosecution. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. let's turn to italy, europe's worst affected country by the coronavirus where shops, restau ra nts a nd bars are being closed for two weeks, in an effort to contain the 12,500 infected people there. the death toll has jumped by nearly 200 in the last day alone, to 827. from rome mark lowen reports. connecting the epicentres. a doctor in wuhan and those in europe's equivalent, northern italy. colleagues in crisis. sharing the know—how.

we reached that italian doctor on the right in his hospital. the first to diagnose coronavirus here. it hit like a bomb that has kept on exploding. the first few hours, we received 10, 50, 60, 70, until 200 patients in our emergency department and we had some hours where the oxygen supplies sockets were insufficient to give oxygen to all the patients. so we were in a sort of, let me say, war scenario. but, in his town, it may have peaked. with no cases there, in the past day, it could be a sign of containment working. i think that what we did in this area has demonstrated that we are on the right pathway. so i am quite optimistic, i am quite confident that this could be the right way to go. but the rest of italy is days

behind, and the virus is still surging. rome is quiet. with limits on movement. under new restrictions and ends tonight, companies must close department not needed for productions and all shops apart from food stores or pharmacies will be closed. pharmacies are only allowing customers in one at a time. in the next cafe is, tables must be a metre apart. they will close at 6pm. if you come over here, you can see the children's playground over there is close, as our schools, universities, cinemas and theatres and so many other venues. please have a new target, traffickers of hands gel and facemasks, cracking a ring that tries to make a huge profit like prized drugs in these dystopian times. many of the measures

being taken against coronavirus aim at limiting its reach, trying to reduce the overall number of people it will infect. but experts say limiting the speed at which it spreads may be more important — so that health services can keep going. it's called flattening the curve. ros atkins and the outside source team have been looking at the idea, starting with comments earlier in the week from angela merkel. translation: in a situation like this, the most effective means against the virus is to gain that time, to reduce the pressure on doctors and hospitals. if a lot of people we re hospitals. if a lot of people were to become ill within a very short space of time, the most effective tool against the virus is to slow it down and to stretch out its development. this idea is often called flattening the curve, disorder looks like in a graphic form. this from the new york times adapted from a report from the center for disease control. the red area here is what would

happen with the surgery infections if you have no proper measures in place. you can see it goes across the sublime use signifies healthcare capacity, sublime use signifies healthca re capacity, it sublime use signifies healthcare capacity, it is way above healthcare capacity. if a country can see early on there is going to be large numbers of cases and focuses on slowing the spread, the outbreak takes longer to play out but you never reach the point where a healthcare system cannot cope. there is wonder senior us official. there are a number things one can do in order to wa nt things one can do in order to want to. if you look at the curves of outbreaks, big peaks and they come down. what we need to do is flatten and that's down was that that would have less people infected, and would ultimately have less deaths. you do that by trying to interview with the natural flow of the outbreak. the man who popularised this graph is a man called drew harris who was using this to take his classes but has since gone viral since it was leased to this particular virus was not as drew points out in this tweet, you've got to bear in mind that

what this graph represents is the difference between finding an intensive care unit. later or being treated in the parking lot tent. i spoke to drew earlier from philadelphia on what governments can do to flatten the curve. they certainly can begin to isolate and treat the sick, to quarantine the people who have been contacted. close the schools, prevent the spread of disease among children. and encourage social distancing, keeping people apart both in time and place which means a folks staggering work hours that i don't go to work at the same time or you make sure that when you are in the same place that you're not as close to each other. and of course, we need to protect ourselves individually by making sure we wash our hands and using hand sanitiser. that was ross atkins and the outside source team. much more about the coronavirus outbreak on our website. there's a guide from our medical correspondent

on what you need to do if you are told to self—isolate. just log on to bbc.com/news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: what exactly is a pandemic? we look at the definition and other pandemics in recent history. also on the programme: how a bbc report helped reunite an indonesian migrant worker with the family he hadn't seen for 15 years. 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. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: the world health organization labels the coronavirus a pandemic and calls on governments to take urgent action.

and in italy, new government restrictions shut all shops except food stores and pharmacies. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world, which again are dominated by stories about the coronavirus. we can start with the japan times there which notes that events to commemorate the 2011 tsunami and earthquake, which killed more than 15,000, have been scaled down because of the spread of the virus. a state—sponsored memorial that has been held every year in tokyo since 2012 was cancelled for the first time ever. the new york times focuses on the shincheonji church ofjesus in south korea which was at the centre of the outbreak there. it says more the 1.2 million citizens have called for it to be disbanded.

and more upbeat news — if you can call it such — on the same subject in the china daily which pictures three highly—qualified medics on its front page. they include a nurse, a respiratory expert and a university lecturer, all from sichuan province, who are heading to italy to help fight the coronavirus outbreak in europe's worst—hit country. that brings you up—to—date with some of the papers. thank you, sharanjit. so, what is a pandemic? as we've heard, that's what the world health organization is now officially calling the coronavirus outbreak. the change in definition came after the number of infections outside china increased thirteenfold over the past two weeks. well, a pandemic is a disease spreading in multiple countries around the world at the same time. the bbc‘s vincent knee explains. the coronavirus or covid—19 originated in the chinese city of wuhan late last year. it is

now spreading and after weeks of speculation, the world health organization has declared the outbreak to be a global pandemic. so, what is a pandemic? well, it's an outbreak of a disease that occurs over wide geographic areas and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population. now, pandemics are more likely to occur if a virus is new and can easily spread from person to person. and the crucial thing, all it takes is one person to start an outbreak. pandemics are nothing new. in fact, in 1918, spanish flu killed an estimated 15 million people around the world. people aged 15-34 around the world. people aged 15—34 years old were particularly affected. asian flu was first reported in singapore in 1957, it killed 1.1 million people worldwide. hong kong flu appeared in 1968, it affected half a million people in hong kong. it then

spread across asia and europe. american soldiers returning from vietnam carried the virus home, where tens of thousands died. swine flu killed up to 200,000 people in 2009, it was first identified in mexico. it was cold swine flu because it is similarto was cold swine flu because it is similar to flu viruses that affect pigs. viruses such as hiv and polio can be more deadly. hiv/aids was first reported in 1981 in the united states. 75 million people have been infected and 32 million people have died. so far, covid—19 has killed over 4000 people and has spread to at least 100 countries. the pandemic declaration means that governments must now update their strategies to cope with their strategies to cope with the spread of the virus. vincent knee, bbc news. thanks to vincent there. lots more information

available for you on our website, including this article from our reality check team. it looks specifically at what measures countries are taking to stop the virus, from airport screening to cancelling events. just head to bbc.com/news. let's ta ke let's take a slight break from the coronavirus. in other news, australia's high court is set to conclude its hearing of former vatican treasurer george pell‘s final appeal against his conviction for child sex abuse. he's serving a six—year sentence for sexually assaulting two choirboys. our correspondent in sydney, phil mercer, has been following the cardinal‘s appeal. his lawyers have told the high court in canberra that a jury later in the appeal court in the state of victoria were wrong to rely on the testimony ofa wrong to rely on the testimony of a single witness, one of those boys that cardinal george pell was convicted of abusing in melbourne in the 1990s, was

according to the appeal court judge, a very compelling witness. now, lawyers for george pell say that it's wrong that the guilty verdict against him was relying on the testimony from the sole witness. his lawyers do conclude that the man's testimony was compelling, but they do insist it was uncorroborated. so the high court in canberra, going fore nsically court in canberra, going forensically through these details and as you say, this is george pell‘s very last opportunity to overturn his six—year conviction for abusing two choirboys. and, feel, this is the second day of two days of arguments. when can we expect a ruling —— phil? of arguments. when can we expect a ruling -- phil? judges could hand down their decision today. it is more likely their decision will be reserved, so we may have to wait a few weeks or even if you months or more for this decision to be handed down to —— a few. so there has

been a small crowd outside of the high court in canberra, inside it has been extremely packed. george pell isn't there, he is serving, as you say, a six year prison sentence and he is in maximum security in the state of victoria awaiting the outcome of this high court hearing. that was phil mercer speaking to kasia a little earlier. no names have yet been released, 12 people were injured in the attack on the taji military camp north of baghdad. engines have been high since the us killed the senior iranian figure calcium soleimani in a drone strike. 15 years after he lost contact with his family, an indonesian migrant worker has been reunited with his mother thanks to a bbc report.

iwan lost contact with his parents after they separated and found himself as an adult in malaysia unable to get a passport to go home. bbc indonesia's rohmatin bonasir has his story.

such a touching, touching story. you have been watching newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. an i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. stay with us. i'll be back with the markets. they are opening up here in asia after wall street officially entered a bear

market and those markets are already lower. i can tell you japan and australian markets are currently trading down at the moment. lots of volatility. stay with us. hello. metre are logically speaking, it is now the start of spring. but of course, winter is not far behind us —— meteorological, and we will get a reminder of that in the next couple of days. flooding will bring us quite a few showers actually —— low pressure will bring us but it is on thursday, the most frequent closest to the most frequent closest to the low centre, so across the northern half of the uk. but not ruling out some pretty sharp ones on that strong wind further south, either. and you can see the blue has flooded its way right across the uk for today but i'll sitting in the polar air. so it will add a chill to proceedings even where we see some sunshine. after showers overnight and lunging

temperatures, snow and ice a possible hazard as we start our morning commute. there could be some further falling snow through the earlier part of the day for scotland, the high ground of northern england and for northern ireland. we should see the snow level is rising as the day progresses. some showers to the sargood have hailed mixed in with them from time to time, squally winds here, too. so as to be most gutted, they will come in persistent bands across the north of the uk, northern england and ireland and scotland. it will feel chilly under wind and the strongest across southern scotland, northern england and northern ireland and to the north—west of wales, just good touch 60 miles an hour but hear gusts 40 miles an hour but hear gusts 40 miles an hour quite widely. thursday evening, still a lot of showers around, then we move into the small hours of friday and things start to become quieter. we pick up a northerly wind on the north sea, that will fit into showers and two eastern counties the uk, and pictures fall away across the northern half of the uk and in particular again into the small

hours of friday. an icy risk for the north of the uk on friday but our showers will shift offshore quite quickly through friday morning as high pressure starts to build a little brief ridge in the daytime. so early so is clear, the northerly wind eases and there will be pleasant sunshine there will be pleasant sunshine the majority for a time at least before our next low start to approach from the south—west as we get into friday afternoon. the wind will begin to pick up once again and we will see the arrival of some further rainfall. then it's another weekend, another area of low pressure. but today, the wettest of the weather to the north, this front needs to make its way through so i suspect all of us will see some rain at some stage. quite a bit of cloud around widely around the uk on saturday and rainfall is fairly limited. sunday definitely looks like a soggy prospect across the board.

i'm kasia madera

with bbc world news. our top story: for the first time the world health organization has declared the coronavirus a pandemic. the head of the who urged all countries to make aggressive attempts to contain the spread of covid—19 and criticised alarming levels of inaction. the number of cases are expected to climb even higher. the italian government has announced that all shops, restau ra nts a nd bars are being closed as the country tries to contain the virus. only food stores and pharmacies will remain open. and away from the coronavirus: the disgraced film producer harvey weinstein has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault. he was found guilty in a trial in new york last month. that's all. stay with bbc world news.