this is going to be a new slot for lent the number of cases of the coronavirus in china increases the world health organization says all countries now need to be on alert we find out about the extraordinary steps being taken to prevent the spread of the epidemic. also coming up time to say goodbye to. mr.

tom. tom a rare moment of emotion in the european parliament after lawmakers vote to confirm the u.k.'s departure from the e.u. on track to. toss why brags it is fueling an increasingly heated debate about independence for scotland our correspondent travel to edinburgh to assess the mood . and under america's new plan for mideast peace this village is supposed to be the capital of a future palestinian state we hear from residents who think this idea is a nightmare. i'm simply someone's got to thank you for joining us the world health organization is meeting today to decide whether the spread of the corona virus amounts to a global health emergency 7800 people are now infected worldwide the vast majority of them in china the number killed there by the. has hit 170. in many

parts of china this is the new normal very few people on the streets and the usually crowded public transport system all but empty like here in shanghai. every passenger is stopped. and if we pass and just screened for signs of the coronavirus. high quality i think it's fine temperature was taken both getting on and off the train everyone has a mask on i feel relieved. it might look like a country grinding to a halt but this is china's response to a mass public health emergency. or shanshu like this the government can cure the virus this time though infected cases are increasing these days as well as the number of deaths but i still trust the government. for why this has occurred other . elsewhere a lack of basic necessities and information are eroding confidence in the or

thirty's in hong kong people have been queuing since 2 am hoping to buy face masks warning the hong kong government should do like macos and say every resident can only buy 10 pieces that way every single hong kong person could have a face mask to wear right. as a 2nd plane load of repetitive japanese nationals touchdown in tokyo it caused some to wonder what this type of outbreak could look like if it happened during the olympics in june. we might take it as a wake up call for us to take precautions against an outbreak like this especially towards the olympics. i am like yes to pan is naive i think japan should step up matches. in south korea the government is building a containment facility for those infected people here feel for their safety. or they get voted out the governor and minister should come here and try to find

a point of compromise what are they doing of bringing troops here are we in a battle and this is such nonsense. they're really creating a motive here would be good. in south korea as in many other countries some residents feel the government's response to the crisis has lacked the apparent intensity and clarity of china's. our let's get some analysis on this story now we can speak to just in jones from the university of reading in england good to have you here on d w i would ask you about the raft of measures that we've seen countries take to try to contain this outbreak multiple countries evacuating their citizens from affected areas we see in china shutting down or locking down entire cities is this the right approach to stop this from spreading. it's the right approach at the current time time will tell whether or not it's been effective in either stopping or slowing the

progress of the virus i think us the numbers continue to rise it looks increasingly like keep likely that this will become a pandemic and will eventually spread around the world. we've seen as you said this is spreading and we see in 1st cases reported in the philippines in india these are densely populated countries and how worrying is that to you if we look at our for its now to try to contain the spread of. yes it is worrying for 2 distinct reasons one is as you say these are very dense populations so the opportunity for transmission among people is much higher than it would be in the local population density country but in addition to that these are areas of the world which also have quite a high burden over a spirit tree disease particularly things like tb and until the virus gets there we really don't know what to expect in terms of the severity of the infection in those target populations he said this could become

a pandemic how dangerous is this virus in comparison to other diseases other outbreaks we've seen like sars in 2003 for example. it's certainly less much less in a serious than saws the case fatality rate for saws was around about 10 percent currently this is running around 2 percent that is still pretty high it would up at that number it would be almost like the spanish influenza or the early part of last century however if it's true that there are many more infected people than the confirmed cases then the actual fatality rate is somewhat lower than that and more like a seasonal influenza which perhaps could be coped with more easily by the existing health resources of the world health organization is that to decide today whether they should declare this a global health emergency should they do so i mean what would that change

whether they should do so or not depends on them and the data that they have at hand which i don't have i would guess perhaps that on this occasion they didn't on the last occasion but on this occasion they will consider us a global health emergency this being sufficient spread internationally i think and what that would do is just mobilize morris' all says with alerts various country boundaries and maybe alert health care systems that they need to put mitigation processes in place. all right in jones making to us now from the university of reading in england thank you for your insight. thank you. meanwhile in china domestic football has been suspended on all levels to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus the chinese football association says it will continue to communicate with national authorities to find a safe date for the sport to kick off the virus has already had an impact on other sports in the country including the alpine ski world cup that's been forced to

reschedule and chinese athletes abroad have felt the effects as well china's olympic women's football team has been quarantined in australia ahead of a qualifying tournament. let's check in now on some other stories making news around the world the white house is seeking to block the publication of a book by former u.s. national security advisor john bolton saying it contains top secret information the book reportedly alleges that u.s. president trump demanded that ukraine investigate a political rival in exchange for military aid and that could undermine trump's defense in his impeachment trial. germany's biggest lender deutsche bank has posted a loss of 5700000000 euros 420198 is the bank's 5th annual loss in a row and its 2nd worst result ever bank says the loss was driven by the costs of a massive restructuring program. and authorities in the u.s. say they have discovered the longest ever drug smuggling tunnel at the border with

mexico the tunnel ran for more than a kilometer and contained an elevator a rail track and a ventilation system it will now be filled with concrete as required by u.s. law. tomorrow the u.k. will officially leave the european union and that will kick off an 11 month a transition period of tough trade talks britain will stay in the e.u.'s economic framework until the end of this year while the 2 sides try to thrash out a trade deal but the e.u. says that time span is too short and fears there will be a chaotic exit if no agreement is in place when the transition period ends well the european parliament voted yesterday to confirm the u.k.'s departure from the e.u. . the final vote after nearly 4 years european lawmakers overwhelmingly back breaks that happening this coming friday for the architects of the u.k.'s departure from the e.u. it can't come soon enough i mean well it's no accent like i'm very you're going to search i know you want to go national but we're going to wave goodbye i will look

forward in the future to working with you so every. if you disobey the room you get cut off could we please remove the flags. thank you thank you. but not all the british a b.p.'s in the chamber are happy to be leaving. i hold in my heart the knowledge that one day i will be back in this chamber celebrating our return to the house of europe thank you for. what was a sad day for many here oppose brags that the european commission president reiterated that the u.k. e.u. relationship is far from over i want to use the words of the famous british poet george eliot she said. only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love we will always love you and we will never be

far long live europe look the the. the. the. i. was the. the an emotional day in the european parliament before breaks it comes into force that and the beginning of the transition period with the many more negotiations that lie ahead. let's go right to london. is standing by for us there. so the u.k. is set to leave the european union finally tomorrow what are some of the reactions that you've been hearing there. well literary actions are very divided here in the u.k. of course this is cause for celebration including the government who will project

a countdown clock on the walls of downing street counting down to the time when the u.k. is leaving the european union and it will be. held in parliament square around parliament by those that wanted to leave the european union all along a commemorative coin is even issued to celebrate that momentous occasion the u.k. being the 1st country to leave the european union and of course on the other hand you have those that have been very invested in the european project all along in the european union and that are really really devastated that this is finally about to happen and i've also talked to people here on the streets which i know who i had to remind. was actually happening so i think some of the country have already moved on from this. well it's definitely not the end of the braggs because this is not the start of what will be tough trade talks with the european union and the u.k. so what are some of the biggest hurdles that lie ahead. well boris

johnson and his government are painting this picture of a global prosperous britain after breck's it and in reality nobody really knows what's in store for those country because tomorrow is just a symbolic day the u.k. yes leaving the european union but then a transition period will follow so legally everything stays the same pretty much until the end of 2020 and this is the biggest problem that the u.k. and the e.u. will be facing in those negotiations the tough time table they only have a year to negotiate a renegotiate decades of relationships between the countries on all the number of issues the financial sector for example just being one of them and that will be really really tough to make it happen in time and if they can't find an agreement by the end of 2020 well then the u.k. is facing a nother so-called cliff. leaving on w t o terms is so really time is ticking for both sides well there's another hurdle at

home in the u.k. a break that's also sparked renewed calls for in scotland for independence let's take a look at that now do they're going to find out how strongly scott seal about leaving the e.u. . here in the capital that number more than 70 percent voted to remain in the e.u. . as did most members of the wild once. these hockey winter i'll to a swimmer a staunch supporters of europe and the furious that scotland is being dragged out of the e.u. . nerds feeling we're being torn out of the e.u. . without her consent treat and it's horrible and says i don't so much oh. yes give us our it

depends. 2nd we can look after ourselves one solution for scotland would be to leave the united kingdom and then rejoin the e.u.'s a separate nation but scots have been favored independence in the past. the last independence referendum in scotland so the remain side when comfortably with a vote share of 55 percent and even today opinion polls don't show a sustained majority for independence the nationalists hope that this will change once britain least the e.u. and that will persuade a majority of scots to go their own way. the s.n.p. is scotland's leading political party it's calling for open borders with england scotland's top trading partner as well as an independent scotland rejoining the e.u. . we have had a lot of extremely generous and friendly overtures from other european governments saying that if things pile britain leaves the european union and scotland takes

political control of the sort of affairs then scotland would be welcome in the european union but that would require a new referendum on scottish independence something the conservative government in london is keen to avoid. that referendum was a once in a lifetime once in a generation of it happened only 5 years ago rather than spending all our time as politicians going over and over having referendum after a from them after referendum well i don't see any but the scottish nationalists are not about to back down the protesters in glasgow have renewed calls for independence. from. the conservative government may have a majority in the union parliament in westminster but its mandate stops at the scottish border it's a challenge for the prime minister and the challenge for the conservative government every time they say no

a few more people of scotland say yes. a strong will and plenty of stamina that's what the scottish nationalists need to push their course forward perhaps the winter swimming can provide some inspiration. are at such a letter we saw there are a lot of voices of frustration in scotland so how much of a threat does briggs it pose to u.k. unity. well very much so i believe i've been talking to people all over the country in different regions such as northern ireland and wales and scotland people but you get the sense that those calls for independence are really simmering among. each of these regions by where the population parts of the population just want to stay a part of the european union so this issue doesn't seem to be resolved any time soon just because the u.k. is now finally leaving and boris johnson knows himself that this is right he will

hold a speech tomorrow night mocking the brics a day also calling for unity those moonset breck's that has caused and he will call for an end to these divisions but one thing is for certain he will have a very tough job at hand in the next months and years to come as these calls for independence especially in scotland will grow stronger we believe all right thank you. reporting there for us from london now israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has arrived in moscow for talks with russian president vladimir putin the 2 leaders are expected to discuss u.s. president controversial peace plan for israelis and palestinians the plan would give israel the green light to annex parts of the contentious west bank it also grants israel virtually all of east jerusalem which palestinians want to claim as the capital of any future state the u.s.

is that widely seen as supportive of israeli goals in the region while ignoring the key demands of palestinians. all right let's go to moscow bureau chief chief during a shuttle is standing by for us there hi yuriy what indication do we have of how russia sees this peace plan. also mia moscow has repeatedly expressed concerns that the washington spies' deal my to blow up of the original especially given the fact that the united states is doing everything unilaterally but ever since mr trump's plan was published these statements from russian politicians have become more cautious on the one hand russian foreign minister sergey lavrov for example has expressed his traditional feel that the united states as usual were trying to solve all problems in one fell swoop on the other when he offered to wait for the publication of the american proposals he sat he also south of that it would be necessary to consider the reaction of what he called palestine

as arab friends of the arab league principle and he also emphasized that the international mediators of the conflict like russia the e.u. has the you and the you should look into the details of the deal so it sounds like russia is prepared for dialogue and even corporation and pushing for peace in the middle east but how much influence does a president who can actually have on the israeli prime minister. well so far russian diplomacy has essentially back to the palestinian side of the conflict in fact it has done so since august times so many about in official statements that russia traditionalist sits on the fence between the israelis and palestinians and claiming to be a good friend not only of jewish people but of the palestinians as well of course mr netanyahu and also this but he's probably hoping that moscow will be generous and going back transplants deal despite the fact that the dns categorically rejected from moscow the visit of mr netanyahu is a chance to once again remark

a bunch again reminds of the vault of russia's crucial role in the middle east that israel is prime minister is a specific specifically coming to moscow to to share his point of view with use russian friends like me putin as you said but after all you don't yaas meeting with putin today i think is more of a symbolic step it will likely not actually changing to the house oppose policies in any way but the meeting will be a nice political bonus for an attorney out to show off to his voters as well as to the united states. yuri resettle in moscow thank you very much. all right let's have a closer look now at one of the controversial suggestions that is outlined in the middle east plan and the future of jerusalem it's a city with many names known as here and hebrew in arabic and for many simply as the holy city of jerusalem hosts religious sites that are key to islam to judaism

and christianity and it carries huge religious emotional and political significance for israelis and palestinians both sides claim the city as their capital and many analysts believe that solving the jerusalem question is a key to any future peace deal in the region well previous plans have called for a shared city with east jerusalem becoming the capital of a future palestinian state but trump has a different version he already recognized as the capital of israel in 2007 and his plan effectively hands over control of the whole city to israel so what would be left for the palestinians is a potential capital on the eastern outskirts of jerusalem likely in a village called. this concrete wall blocks the view of the real dome of the rock for people living behind it in. israel built the wall in the early 2000 at the height of the 2nd palestinian intifada. since

then has been cut off from jerusalem. this is one of the few spots in a dense can see jerusalem's old city just 2 kilometers away. this part of his village but he dismisses trumps proposal to make it the capital of a future palestinian state. the mayor says was discussed as a possible capital back in the 1990 s. when there was hope of peace and no walls yasser arafat's even commissioned this building for a future parliament. today i would use his poor. there are few jobs for young people. the only bright spot is the hour could university. the school has a solid reputation and some 14000 young people from across the west bank study here

mahmoud in amar are both studying medicine exams are coming up but right now it's trumps peace plan that's on everyone's mind. and i think there's always the possibility of a compromise even in this conflict. but it shouldn't be the palestinians who are always having to make concessions. this is being al that generation it's. just keep it up you know. but the students are also critical of their own leaders they say of course trump is only concerned about israel's well being but they say it's also not right that there haven't been any direct talks between israel and the palestinians since 2014 that there is only one or 2 pieces fall in that is negotiations and. welcome to the new capital of palestine that's the tongue in cheek greeting at. shop they say here that humor is more useful than hope

and that no palestinian was really expecting peace from a plan put forward by donald trump. be given it's only one basis for legitimate peace talks an independent international committee. under trump's plan this border wall would separate the 2 capitals the u.s. president calls it a vision people here call it a nightmare. let's look at some more stories now that are making headlines of the australian state of new south wales has announced an inquiry into the bush fires that are still raging across the country new south wales has been the worst affected by the blazes the inquiry will look at the state's response to the fires and whether climate change played a role. and the official in the democratic republic of congo says $36.00 people have been killed in a suspected islamist attack it's understood the people were hacked to death during a raid on villages in the country's eastern in the region the attack is being

blamed on the ugandan islamist group. now anticipation is already growing for this year's the 70th edition of the film festival it all starts on february 20th and preparations are well underway in the german capital it'll be the 1st festival under the direction of new heads carlos and maria teresa hundreds of movies from around the world will be screened including the italian drama hit in a way the film is one of 18 eligible to win the coveted golden bear all. right let's get a reminder now of our top story here on g.w. the world health organization will decide today whether the corona virus outbreak amounts to a global health emergency some of the 7800 people are now infected with the virus worldwide the vast majority of them and china 170 people have died there from the us. coming up next here on

a virus isn't the only health concern for germany on focus on europe a look at the fight against swine fever currently spreading along germany's eastern border that's our show focus on europe in just a few minutes or indeed if you stay tuned.

greenland is melting and the buying craze has already begun the melting of the ice sheet in the country has exposed a valuable land china and the u.s. are already there and new companies are being set up for the welcome times is this consequence of climate change

a threat or an opportunity. only a. last next on d.w.i. . conflicts. right pharmacist to respect the law nigeria's government stands accused by the international community of serious human rights abuses i guess this week here in london is alive mohammad the country's information minister how does he defend against the country's many critics let me evidence of wrongdoing is so compelling. to me. this for me. is for you to. be chosen for health. beethoven just for. beethoven

just for the. beethoven is for. be told it is for. beethoven 2020 the 250th anniversary year. hello and welcome to focus on europe with me lara babalola a single case could bring the pork industry to a grinding halt and caused billions of euros in losses health authorities in eastern europe are trying to fight the spread of african swine fever and are taking

drastic measures to do so sometimes even against the will of the farmers it's just one.