this is news coming to you live from berlin china takes drastic steps to curb a deadly viral alberich work begins on a hospital to house people infected with a new virus authorities found to have it ready in 6 days 30000000 people are under lockdown in hopes of containing its spread also coming up german chancellor i'm going back will is in istanbul for what's likely to be tense talks with turkey's president russia time around one we'll speak to our correspondent there what's at stake and preparing for the worst organizers of the tokyo olympics trained staff

how to respond should disaster strike at this year's summer games. so i'm terry barton good to have you with us china is expanding its efforts to contain a deadly new coronavirus putting 10 cities on lockdown they center around the outbreaks epicenter will han in a province the lockdowns now affecting more than 30000000 people comes as china heads into the lunar new year when millions of people travel to take part in celebrations many of those abets have now been canceled with more than 800 infections reported in over 25 deaths authorities are not taking any chances. a city of 11000000 people with almost no one on the streets trains planes buses

cars almost nothing leave so enters with han. hospitals and the epicenter of the outbreak are overwhelmed with patients so overwhelmed that authorities have now decided to build a new dedicated hospital from scratch hoping to complete construction in just 6 days. in existing hospitals health workers are working tirelessly against the virus. knows includes it would of course we're worried and so are our relatives. but we're nurses and will do our job as long as we wear the uniform just by the rising number of cases the world health organization has refrained from declaring a global health emergency and the question was whether this event constitutes a public of emergency of international concern. voiced to the d.g. which is provided by the emergency committee is that no. but

china isn't taking any chances transport links within and to a number of nearby cities have been cut and the fear of contagion has produced dramatic scenes like here at physio airport where a man suspected of carrying the virus was confined to a quarantine container. the lockdown now covers more than 30000000 people and it's putting a serious damper on the union your holiday. our correspondent poppy on crutches is covering the story from beijing and joins us now on chinese authorities have taken drastic measures to contain this fire risk do they believe they're getting it under control. you know that's the official message that the poppy is also conveying if you watch the official news in the evening in the states he then they acknowledge yes it's a severe crisis but it's on

a control and on social media yes you know it will be another picture because people are sharing a message short videos. from the epicenter of the virus of overcrowded hospitals that have to reject patients also a hospital that has to install temporary tents outside their buildings because they cannot cope with the demands and also the needs of all the patients so it really depends also on what kind of information you're accessing whether you're really poor eat the young people who share information on social media they have the people reach they are all where face masks well the older generation is somewhat yeah. also concerned but less than the youth and they are more also in a festive mood because right now that's also good news and actually it's supposed to be a celebration so many people in who han are all be asleep worried you're in beijing what's the situation like there. in beijing is really common it's normal because

during the lunar new year season many people have left the city they visit their relatives and families the provinces what is not normal however is that many of the tourist attractions for example the forbidden city are shut down also the public events to celebrate who gets moral they've also been cancer so i would say it's really not a normal media celebration this time. aside from putting infected people and hotspots under quarantine what options do authorities have fabienne for fighting this. i mean. it's the people nuts who gather and you know public places where we have mosques are so in order not for the virus to spread also there are lots of health checks and train stations also it after lots and maybe most importantly. in the city who. are really struggling very hard to cope with the patients they're billing

a new hospital they have with 1000 beds and this is supposed to be in operation and roughly a week so that's really kind of on a massive scale. you mentioned the lunar new year holiday there in china that's the most important holiday of the year millions of people are generally traveling at this time how is this outbreak affecting that. not by now we already know that basically all of china's affected by the virus aeonium just a very few regions who have not confirmed by risk cases and of course people are. because beijing for example is several train hours away from from the still also there are many cases also in beijing but those are the still only individual cases however that could be dangerous because the incubation period of the virus is roughly 10 days so many people might be affected without showing any song symptoms yet tony and thank you very much for bringing us up to date correspondent on the

inquest for that in beijing. now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world today and anti-government protest has taken place in the iraqi capital baghdad and it's part of a campaign to focus people's attention back on domestic issues the tension caused by the killing of iranian general custom solo money and a senior iraqi militia leader by the united states. president has said it's likely he'll launch his long awaited middle east peace plan early next week travelling back from washington to the world economic forum. to washington from the world economic forum trump told reporters he believed it was a great plan that really would work it's expected to be pro israeli. actors annabella shora who appeared in the t.v. series the sopranos has accused former producer harvey weinstein of violently raping her she was the 1st accuser to give evidence at his trial in new york he

pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting 2 women saying all his sexual encounters were consensual. and at least 7 people have been killed in a fierce winter storm that has battered spain for several days it's caused major flooding and brought extreme temperatures the regions of catalonia and the valley eric islands have been the worst affected. swarms of locusts are eating their way across large parts of east africa in the worst outbreak some regions have you see for 70 years researchers say they pose a potentially severe threat to food supplies locusts reproduce rapidly and if left unchecked population could balloon to 500 times its current size by june. german chancellor angela merkel has arrived in istanbul for talks with turkey's president recha type out of one their discussions are expected to focus on the

future of a migration deal between turkey and the e.u. that help curb flows of migrants to europe but the visit comes at a time of strained relations between berlin and ankara. chancellor angela merkel's 1st stop in istanbul was the opening ceremony of the new campus of a turkish german university and korea and berlin have extensive cultural and economic ties but the 2 nations are looking for a fresh start in a new decade and their leaders could be hoping 2020 brings about progress on some prickly issues for starters there's libya's complex civil war turkish president richard typed out a one took part in a peace conference in berlin earlier this month having to ploy troops to libya turkey has become one of the key players there. that he used 2016 refugee deal with turkey will most likely be up for discussion 2 under that agreement turkey must stop migrants from crossing into e.u.

territory in exchange for billions of euros to help look after the refugees it hosts. are one has warned he can't uphold his end of the deal if fighting in syria as it led province causes more people to flee. merkel though is likely to emerge out of one to stick with the pact. finally germany will probably seek answers over the issue of german nationals detained in turkish prisons or banned from leaving the country some mudgal turkish nationals and have suffered under the government's crackdown on dissent following the failed military coup 3 and a half years ago. reports what's likely to be the most pressing issue in today's talks between the german and turkish leaders. well in breeze india's whenever chancellor merkel and president met one to one the so-called migrant crisis was high on the agenda and i think it will be again today because the number of migrants trying to cross into the

european union illegally from turkey has gone up sharply in recent months and there are fear is that the war in syria is a province could send many more people fleeing now the migration deal signed in 2016 between and the european union looks more fragile the longer it is in place prison edwin has repeatedly threatened to open the gates for migrants to europe as he put it and his foreign minister just yesterday accused the un germany of failing to honor this deal among others he accused the e.u. of not sending the promised 6000000000 euros he said they have only sent hols the money that something the e.u. says is not true chancellor merkel on the other hand has made this agreement the center of her migration policy so i think she's here in istanbul today to make sure

also turkey still stands behind that deal is committed to it. correspondent yulia han they're reporting from istanbul they are preparing for a disaster that's an issue on the minds of organizers of this year's olympic games in tokyo with a little more than 6 months ago preparations are entering their final stages and they include holding emergency response drills in the event of an earthquake. preparing for the worst but hoping they won't have to do it for real in this trailer rescue team from the tokyo fire department has just rushed into action victims are treated on the spot or taken away on stretches to have their injuries assessed these are the 1st 15 minutes of a hypothetical 7.3 magnitude earthquake in a country is quite prime minister pan tokyo 2020 organizes and leaving nothing to

chance. but if i could be. you're going to conduct a survey from the participants of this drill including people with disabilities to collect ideas and suggestions for us to review our operations. this trail involved more than 500 volunteers they played the role of evacuees with instructions relayed in both japanese and english organizes acknowledge though that their linguistic capabilities mustn't stop there i don't. think. we are aware that among foreigners some people do not speak english. so what will be necessary to take measures to be able to deal with several languages. to the outside this might all of quite scary but the message to visit is is don't be afraid if any city in the world is prepared for an earthquake it's tokyo.

for one. women from hamburg have completed the atlantic challenge in $42.00 days it's considered one of the toughest rowing races in the world the team left in the canary islands in the middle of december and made the 5000 kilometer journey across the atlantic arriving in until on thursday. and although the red in question and as they're known weren't the quickest they are the very 1st german all women's team to complete that grueling race c c. and just a reminder of the top story we're following for you here today on d w news china has begun work on a hospital to house people infected with a deadly new virus they hope to have a hospital ready in 6 days 30000000 people are under lockdown in hopes of

containing the buyer says red. you're watching news from berlin coming up next we've got a documentary for you on germany's problem with plastic i'm sorry march and you'll follow me on twitter tim news stream face watch. how. it's all happening to children in africa. your link to news from africa the world to your link to exceptional stories and discussions can you one word comes after doing program tonight from one germany it's easy to our website deputed comes next africa join us on facebook and t.w. africa.