a very warm welcome to bbc news. our top stories: president trump bands or flights from mainland europe for 30 days to try to limit the coronavirus pandemic. to keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from europe to the united states for the next 30 days. the new rules were going to affect friday at midnight. we have a special report from inside one of south korea's super labs where they are processing thousands of samples a day in the fight against the virus. in italy, the restrictions close all shops except food stores and pharmacies.

hello to you. just then the past hour, president trump has announced a ban on all travel from europe to the united states for 30 days. to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus was addressing the nation from the white house, he said the band which comes into effect on friday will not applied to the uk. he also announced plans to provide birds of dollars in loans to small businesses to minimise the outbreaks economic impact. after consulting with the top government help professionals, i decided to take several strong but necessary actions to protect the health and well—being of all americans. to keep new cases from entering oui’ keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from europe to the united states for the next 30 days. the new rules will going to effect friday at

midnight stop these restrictions will be adjusted is subject to conditions on the ground. these two there will be exemptions for americans who have undergone appropriate screenings and these prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of pride and —— trade and cargo, various other things as we get approval. anything coming from europe to the united states is what we are discussing. these restrictions also not apply to the united kingdom. there was much more in the address the matter let's get more from our correspondent. david, this is quite a shift in position from a president whojust quite a shift in position from a president who just a couple of days ago was still describing what he called the china virus is a hoax and no worse than seasonal flu. absolutely, he was indeed. the fa cts absolutely, he was indeed. the facts really are now beyond dispute. they include the fact that more than a thousand people here in united states now known to have the coronavirus and there have been

more than 30 deaths. just silly right though, the president is not that long ago was saying that basically, this would all go away if we stay calm and don't panic. he also the media and democrats for basically trying to play this up. that statement from the oval office of the white house tonight, and acknowledgements i think, that he now believes it's much more serious, this crisis, than he originally had taken it to be. and the fact that we have this travel restriction coming into effect, a 30 day travel restriction, on people coming to the us from europe aside from those coming from the uk, bound to have a very serious impacts on the economy here at a time when a tourism, travelling, is just getting going if you like ahead of the spring holiday and easter. there are questions about how much he can actually do about

this himself by executive order, how much will require congress, whether congress is even sitting given the way the pandemic is progressing. also there are some questions about stopping other people coming into the united states in bringing the virus as he sees it. very little about stopping the spread between americans. that's right, rather the president did refer bleakly to a public gathering, large public gatherings but he didn't zero in on that. just silly right. even in certain parts of this country, one thinks of seattle in washington state for example, in certain counties there, public gatherings are being restricted to no more than 250 people for the simple reason that there has been such an explosion of coronavirus cases there. i think underpinning this amongst other things is the fact that this is a such an economic toll on this country, the stock markets have plunged from their peak in

february, the dow jones plunged from their peak in february, the dowjones losing 20% of its value today. this is one of the things president trump has hailed about his time in office with an election just around the corner in november of this year, his management and the effect that the economic boom has had on the stock market. why was seem that wiped out in recent weeks, or because of this virus. another indication that president trump and his administration clearly does need to take this very seriously. thank you very much for the david. the president did recommend all nursing homes across united states suspender all unnecessary visits to protect elderly residents. of the elderly population must be very, very careful. in particular, we strongly advising that nursing homes for the elderly suspender or medically unnecessary visits. in general, older americans

should avoid non—essential travel in crowded areas. we speak now to lisa campbell, public health nurse in san antonio, texas. i'm so been following this very closely. what did you make of what the president that? i was listening to your clips on the bbc, didn't have an opportunity to listen to it on the television today. i do agree with the president that we... are elderly population needs to be very careful. they are at greater risk for coronavirus, especially if they have chronic diseases, respiratory diseases. ido diseases, respiratory diseases. i do agree that limited exposure to the elderly who might reside in nursing homes oi’ might reside in nursing homes or the community definitely needs to be implemented. under administration is pressing health insurers to help people out. there has been concern about whether there are enough testing kits, what is your experience? yes, there are many

states who are clamouring for more test kits. under the cdc and other agencies and independent testing centres are trying to roll those out as quickly as possible but there aren't enough test kits to test everybody who could potentially be exposed and positive. so we read and have a true number of the case here in the united states. it seems that a lot of the action may come down eventually to individual cities, individual states. eventually to individual cities, individualstates. do you feel you're getting enough in your situation? i believe we need a better system of mobilisation. unfortunately, and this has been addressed as much as it should, our public health system has been woefully underfunded for deco and we really... it's kind of like if you need a fireman, he wants the firemen there when you need him and public health professionals a re him and public health professionals are trained to address issues like the

pandemic and we have been underfunded and understaffed. i would say that if the us government would do anything, it would definitely increase funding to public health. how concerned are you about this virus? officially, pandemic? yes, i'm seriously concerned about it. we all have to take it seriously and we all have two practice measures that will reduce, not only our risk, but the risk of our community and oui’ the risk of our community and our loved ones. i'm sure you're familiar with those measures that we need to be implementing. everybody needs to practice those. thank you for your time. just a little earlier the world health organization for the first time to declare the upper gate pandemic. of who are sure countries to make aggressive effo rts countries to make aggressive efforts to contain a virus. in south korea, a network of

nearly a hundred laboratories has been set up and test on a more people per capita than anywhere else in the world. getting critical patients to hospital is 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's 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. makeshift clinics such as this one are set up to combat 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's no room for complacency. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. just an add—on that, couple of other on the common head of the who did say that the declaration of pandemic was made because of deep concern, he put it, over alarming levels of inaction over the virus. laura has just of inaction over the virus. laura hasjust added of inaction over the virus. laura has just added a of inaction over the virus. laura hasjust added a point too, however fact check, laura hasjust added a point too, howeverfact check, a correction on mr trump's assertion that countries in europe did not restrict travel from china. italy did and all direct travel from china, the first in the eu to do so on january the 31st and it included hong kong, macau, and taiwan. in italy, you have's was affected country, spinning is an increase to help the economy cope. the prime minister has announced tighter restrictions, including the closure of all stores except pharmacies and food shops. tourists and visitors can leave

a present italian residents only allowed to travel for serious work or family residence. i2 serious work or family residence. 12 one half hours and had italy now have the virus ina and had italy now have the virus in a number of deaths have jumped from 200 to 827. 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 beginning tonight, companies must close departments not needed for production and all shops apart from food stores or pharmacies will be closed. pharmacies are only allowing customers in one at a time. at the next—door cafes, tables be one metre apart. they will close at 6pm. if you come over here, you can see a children's playground over there

is closed, as are schools, universities, cinemas, theatres and so many other venues. police have a new target — traffickers of hand gel and face masks, cracking a ring that tried to make a huge profit, like prized drugs, in these dystopian times. airlines have closed many flights in and out, a concern for brenda and simon. i'm worried about the disease, were taking all precautions we can but where worried about going home, whether we will... our flight home, whether we will... our flight was get us home. police have a new target — traffickers of hand gel and face masks, cracking a ring that tried to make a huge profit, like prized drugs, in these dystopian times. mark lowen, bbc news, rounding up the other significant stories and coronavirus. the nba has announced its spending a season

until further notice. then out and arrive shortly after a game between the jazz and oklahoma city finder which abruptly postponed with the news that a player who was not on the pitch at the time had tested positive. india has suspended tourist visas until april, saying it will quarantine travellers arriving from seven virus it countries in an attempt to contain the spread. the government also buses indians to avoid non—essential travel abroad. mark is the second european country to announce a lockdown, is seen a tenfold surgeon cases since monday. kindergarten, schools and universities are too close for two weeks. in events attended by more than what hundred people will be banned. juventus defender tested positive. his 25 and has been placed in quarantine as the syria our club makes checks on those who come into contact with him. as cases of the

coronavirus double in 2a hours, the kingdom has already closed schools unrestricted travel as it moves to halt the spread of covid—i9. much more to come on bbc news, including this: as the who levels the coronavirus a pandemic, more on its impact the world. —— labels. 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. very glad to have you with us and it is in use. the latest headlines this hour: president trump has banned all flights remain an lyrup to the us for 30 days to defeat the coronavirus pandemic —— banned all flights from europe to the us. alljobs except food stores and pharmacies shot in italy —— shops. borisjohnson will chairan italy —— shops. borisjohnson will chair an emergency meeting on thursday. it is expected he will confirm the uk is moving

from the containment phase of the outbreak to delay. there are currently 460 people infected here, eight people have died. our political correspondence jessica have died. our political correspondencejessica parker has more details. we understand is there will be another cobra meeting, what is expected to happen is we will move into the delay phase now. we have kind of been on the borderline between what is known as contain and delay, contain being the focus recently contain being the focus rece ntly o n contain being the focus recently on finding people who may have tested positive for the virus, contact tracing those who they have come into contact with. delay, a further range of measures. what's important is you are necessarily going to see an announcement that schools are going to be shut and sports stadiums will be closed down, there will be no mass gatherings. i think what we are being to do is what chris

whitty outlined as possible social distancing measures at a press co nfe re nce social distancing measures at a press conference earlier this week and this idea that perhaps even showing mild symptoms, respiratory tract infections, might be asked to self isolate for a time. so is the kind of thing we may be looking at. ministers will also be looking ata ministers will also be looking at a range of steps that could be taken over a timeline period over the coming weeks and months. i think the anxiety is from the government's perspective, not to go too fast too soon and to take measured steps as there is outbreak carries on spreading. jessica parkerfor carries on spreading. jessica parker for us carries on spreading. jessica parkerfor us there. tom hanks has been in australia forming an upcoming elvis presley biobank and said he and his wife have been diagnosed with coronavirus —— biopic was that he posted on instagram, saying we'll keep the world posted and updated let's get more from phil mercer in sydney. you have any other

details for us on this, phil? yes, he did release that online saying he and his wife rita wilson had eggs and codes and did a test on those tests confirmed that they were suffering from covid—i9. they say they will stay in isolation for as long as it takes, tom hanks adding in that statement, my, that they would be taking it one step at a time. —— mike. they are in isolation in hospital on the gold coast in queensland in eastern australia filming that biopic about elvis presley, filming due to start next monday. difficult to gauge the mood of tom hanks in this statement but it seemed he was in reasonably good spirits, given the fact he and his wife have been confirmed to have the coronavirus. he is pretty active on social media, isn't he? there will be a lot of people worried about getting it

watching his feed. and for information on how he deals with having it? yes, and the australian government is spending millions of dollars on a public awareness campaign here to try to urge australians follow the official advice. this advertising campaign is meant to thwart some of the information and inaccuracies found on social media around the coronavirus. and you are right, tom hanks is pretty prolific online and his statement is very sensible. he said he felt ill, he was tested and now doing what medical authorities are advising him to do. he is in isolation in isolation in a hospital here in eastern australia and he says he will stay there as long as it takes. phil, thank you very much for that. lots more information available for you on our website, including this from our reality

check team. it looks at what measures countries are taking to do with the coronavirus ranging from airport screening to counselling events. other news, in new york the former hollywood producer harvey weinstein has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault. our north america correspondence nick brya nt america correspondence nick bryant was in court. —— correspondent. 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's 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 who testified 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. vut 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, ambra battilana gutierrez, that number, 23, is especially poignant. i was 23 when he assaulted me. that is the number when my life was ruined, so... and your 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. just briefly, an ancient town in turkey thought to be more than 12,000 years old has been engulfed by floodwaters from a new dam. vehicle reports. 12,000 years ago this town rested by the shores of the

sivrice river. now the village centre with scores of ancient architecture is surrounded by water and it's not going away. -- tigris water and it's not going away. —— tigris river river. water and it's not going away. -- tigris river river. it work in the tourism industry, told the story story of this place but unfortunately in the last few months no—one has come here —— i work in the tourism industry. the government started feeling the hydroelectric dam mid last year. 3000 residents were forced to relocate to a government built village on the other side of the river. but some residents are standing by the justification. translation: above all, it's good for the energy sector, for power generation, but it will also be useful and beneficial for agriculture. the full extent of the damage caused by the swollen river is yet to be known. a court battle to save the ancient town was last, only some cultural artefacts have been salvaged. so now all

residents can do is sit and watch while their homes slowly go under. freya cole, bbc news. that is it for now. thank you so much for watching. hello. meteorologically speaking, it is now the start of spring. but of course, winter is not that far behind us and i think we will get a reminder of that through the next couple of days. cold air flooding into the uk around an area of low pressure will bring us quite a few showers actually, on thursday, the most frequent closest to the low centre, so across the northern half of the uk. but can't rule out some pretty sharp ones whipping through on that strong wind further south, either. and as you can see, the blue has flooded its way right across the uk for today, but all sitting in the polar air. so it will add a definite chill to proceedings, even where we see some sunshine. but after showers overnight

and plunging temperatures, snow and ice are a possible hazard as we start our morning commute. there could be some further falling snow through the earlier part of the day as well for scotland, for the higher ground of northern england and for northern ireland. we should see the snow levels rising as the day progresses, however. some showers to the south, though, could have a little bit of hail mixed in with them from time to time. there'll be quite squally winds here, too. but the showers should be more scattered, they'll tend to come in more persistent bands to the north of the uk, across northern ireland, parts of northern england and scotland. it will feel chilly and the wind, while the strongest across southern scotland, northern england, northern ireland and to the north—west of wales, gusts could touch up to 60 miles per hour here but gusts of a0 miles per hour quite widely. through 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 length of the north sea, that will feed some showers into eastern counties the uk, temperatures fall away across the northern half of the uk and in particular again into the small hours of friday. so ice a risk for the north of the uk for first thing on friday once again but our showers will tend to shift offshore quite quickly through friday morning as high pressure starts to build just a little ridge — a brief ridge of high pressure starts to buil for friday daytime. so the early showers clear, the northerly wind eases, there'll be pleasant sunshine the majority for a time at least before our next low starts to approach from the south—west as we get into friday afternoon. the wind will begin to pick up once again and we'll see the arrival of some further rainfall. and then it's another weekend, another area of low pressure. saturday the wettest of the weather to the north—west of the uk. for sunday, this front needs to make its way through so i suspect all of us will see some rain at some stage. so quite a bit of cloud around widely around the uk on saturday, rainfall fairly limited. sunday definitely looks like soggier prospects across the board.

welcome to bbc news. our top stories: president trump bans all flights from mainland europe for 30 days to try to limit the coronavirus pandemic. ex- ex— basques have confirmed that the coronavirus outbreak is now a pandemic. donald trump said the 30 day ban will start on friday but won't apply to the uk. he also announced plans to provide a billions of dollars in loans to small businesses. in italy, new restrictions close all shops except food stores and pharmacies. it is estimated 12,500 people are infected with the death tolljumping by over 200 and last day alone to 827. harvey weinstein is sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault. he was found guilty ata sexual assault. he was found guilty at a trial in new york last month.