from berlin. the coronavirus outbreak is now a global health emergency. the world health organization making that declaration just moments ago in geneva. the viruruis now in n every regn pof mainland china. greece planning a new border fence. and this is it.

a floating barrier to s stop migrants from crossing the sea from turkey to greece. the question, will it work? the countdown to brexit, the u.k. finally leaves the european union on friday night. how are ordinary brits feeling? our correspondent and london went out and about getting the mood on the streets. and why y brexit is fueling a heated debate about t independee for scotland. scots favoring independence. we will take the local temperature in the capital, denver -- edinburgh. ♪ to our viewers, welcome. we begin tonight with the deadly

coronavirus. it is now a global health emergency. the who making that announcement at a press conference moments ago in geneva, switzerland. it is a call on cocountries to coordinate their response to the virus. the majority of those infected are in china. every province of mainland china now has at least one confirmed case of the virus. it was who's third meeting in a week over whether to label it a global health crisis. it declined to do so twice last week. let's hear more from that press coconference. >> the main reason for this declaration is not because of what is happening in china, but because of what is happening in

other countries. our greatest concern is the virurus to spread to countries with weaker health systems which are ill-prepared to deal with it. anchor: i am joined by a doctor who is a molecular biologist. he joins me from newcastle. the world health organization says this is now a global health emergency. what does that mean in practical terms? >> the global response will be correlated. every country in the west can assist nations that have underdeveloped health care systems. they will work together to make sure the spread of this virus is contained as fast as possible. anchor: we know that china has

implemented strict measures. we have multiple countries evacuating their cities -- citizens out of china. is this the right approach to stop this virus? >> i think the chinese did the correct actions when it was still unclear how severe and dangerous this virus is. both in terms of transmission and impact on the health care system. in the beginning of the year, we had literally no clue how easy this would spread or how damaging it would be. the chinese did the best thing possible. with regards to local communication. i am not a chinese anthropology expert. others are better handled to say whether they handled it

properly. it will be a mix of monetary assistance, skill sets, diagnostic skills, treatment centers, and communication to make sure people who have been exposed to the virus are informed what is happening with the local people engaging in the process. this is critical in every previous outbreak. anchor: how dangerous is this virus? if we compare it to the common flu virus? what level of health threat are we talking about? >> the flu virus right now, this year's strain, has been lethal to about 7% of people who have been hospitalized in the united states. if we contrast this with the lethality of the coronavirus in china, this is only 3%. we have half as much danger of loss-of-life from this virus.

on the other hand, about one in five people who will contract coronavirus will develop severe breathing difficulties. that is not just a little bit of angst in your chest. we are talking about severe breathing difficulties which will require hospitalization. to the health care systems in the world have the capacity to take large numbers of individuals who require expert care to treat and allow the recovery of these individuals? in the west, maybe. in developing nions, i am not so convied. anchor: a molecular biologist joining us from newcastle. we appreciate your insights. thank you. here are some of the other stories making headlines around the world. the united states has imposed sanctions on iran's nuclear

agency and itsts top officicial. washington says it breached uranium limits. iran say the sanctions show washington's despair, bowing there will be no impact on its nuclear program. a nurse has been arrested in southern germany on suspicion of poisoning five premature babies with morphine. investigators found an oral syringe in the women's locker. she has denied the charges. doctors say they do not expect the babies to suffer any lasting harm. the human rights group amnesty international has criticized plans by greece to deploy a floating barrier to prevent migrants from swimming and reaching greek islands from turkey. they described the plan as an alarming escalation in the greek

government's attempt to make it as hard as possible for migrants to arrive on their shores. reporter: the ministry of defense has announced new plans to protect the border so no more refugees from turkey can get into greek. floating barriers are there solution. the contract is up for bids. >> they had a good idea when they suggested buying floating barriers. after we install them,m, we w wl see if they y have the desesired effect. reporter: the barriers might look similar to this. right now, these serve as storm protection between the greek islands and the turkish mainland. they are being used in many places, including off the coast of lesbos. this would b be a a barrierer mechananism in the a aegean sea.

human rights organizations are worried about the greek government's p plans. >> the establishment of a fence at sea could prevent asylum-seekers from reaching greek. it is not really realistic. people have problems and their countries of origin. reporter: the greek government has decided to deploy more border police and speed up asylum procedures. anchor: for more on this, i am joined by an associate from a german think tank. we have heard time and time again from greek authorities that they simply cannot cope with the amount of people coming to their islands looking for asylum.

will these barriers help ancho?: >> it is extremely unlnlikely. we are talking about an idea for a three kilometer fence. that is a tiny stretch of the aegean sea. it is meant to be a signal, a visible deterrent rather than a practical deterrent. it is more about the symbolic schism -- symymbolism. anchoror: isnsn't this athens screaming r h help? we have for the government many times that greece has beeeen let alone and the european union is not doing what it can to help them. >> this is a lot of improvisation. they believe they have to do something. they are scrambling for ideas. it may also be a signal to turkey. greece and turury have always

had difficult relatations. anchor: isn''t turkey supposed o be stopping any influx of migrants coming across? >> the turkish coast guard is doing this job. but greece does not want to be fully dependent on turkey. they are looking to go for a new confrontation. this will show to turkey, we can do this on our own. there is a signal to the rest of europe. we cannot cope anymore. anchor: is there an alternative to strengthening eu borders? it does not look like this trend of migrants trying to get to europe will stop. >> the security situation in northern syria is not helping. the solutions are pretty clear.

faster and more fair procedures. more efficient handling of asylum cases. all of these things have been on the table for years. implementation is sadly not coming forward. anchor: as always, we appreciate your insights. thank you. tomorrow, friday, the u.k. will fit -- officially leave the european union. that begins an 11 month transition that will include some very hard trade talks. tehe two sides try to hash out a trade deal. the eu says this time span is simply too short. it fears a chaotic, no deal exit. our correspondent has been asking ordinary brits in london

about how they feel about their company's imminent departure from the eu. >> we will get sovereignty back and have a lot more control. >> at the moment we are very disappointed. the country is being misled inio this decision. it is a sad time. >> there is nothing we can control. it is done. we need to try to move forward and see what happens and do our best. >> i think it would be better to ststay in than to isolate ourselves. >> it has been a long time and it has been very bitter. you have to move on. everyone is going to try to do that, from the government to all sorts of institutions. fingers crossed. anchor: as the u.k. begins its

future outside of the european union, one challenge to face is the possibility of scotland breaking away from the u.k. the scots have not shown much appetite for independence in recent years, but a new opinion poll shows that 51%, a majority, now believe the country should become independent. our u.k. correspondent went to edinburg to get the local temperature. reporter: most scots are pro-european. more than 70% voted to remain in the eu. as did most members of the wild ones. theyey are staunch supporters of europe. they are furious that scotland is being dragged out of the eu. >> we feel annoyed and beingg

torn out of the eu without our consent. it is horrible. >> give us our independence. we can look after ourselves. reporter: this is scotland's leading political party. it is calling for open borders with englaland, scotland's top trading partntner, as well a asn indepependent scotlandnd rejoing ththe eu. >> we have had a lot of extremely generous and friendly overtures from other european governments saying, if things papan out that brbritain leav te europeanan unionon and scotland takes politicical controlol of s ownn affairs, scotland would be welcomed in the european union. reporter: 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 event. it happened only five years ago. rather than spending all of o or time as politicians having referendum after referendum. reporter: the scottish nationalists are not about to back down.n. proteststs in glasgow have rened calls for independence. >> the conservativive government may have a majority of the union parliament in westminster, but its mandate stops at the scottish border.r. it is a challenenge for the prie minister and the conservative government. every time they say no, a a few more people in scotltland say y. reporter:: with h strong will ad plenty of stamina, that is what they need to push their cause forward. perhaps these winter swimmers can provide some inspiration. anchor: i think it will be a

cold winter. it looks like brexit has may be moved to goal posts here when we talk about scottish independence. why has it had such a big impact? >> i don't think we would be talking about scottish independence again so soon if brexit had not happened. it is happening tomorrow. 62% of scots voted to stay within the european union. many of them voted to remain in the eu -- many of them voted no to independence. anchor: they assumed there would be no brexit? >> obviously that did not happen. this poll shows a shift in opinion.

voters who backed independence -- who did not back independence in 2014 but they wanted to stay in the eu in 2016. the people who said no to independence have shifted. one in five would now back independence and a new vote. anchor: that is a big deal. this poll, we see independence taking a slim lead. for the first time in more than five years. do you think there is any chance this could become a reality? >> at the last boat, there were two big issues that prevented people from moving toward independence. the big one was the economy. the anti-independence campaign said, if you go alone, this will be damaging to scotland. they also argued that the only way to stay in the eu was to remain with the u.k..

the other question is sovereignty. will we still use the british sterling for currency? these were all addressed in a document in 2014. it looks like we have to have another document. the economy, it was argued, it would be damaging for scotland. this poll says 42% of scots believe the country would be worse off. anchor: we will definitely see what happens. tomorrow, brexit becomes a reality. the next year will mean a lot not only for the u.k. and the eu but also what happens within the eu -- u.k. with scotland. let's take a look at some other stories making headlines. a leading figure in the german far-right party is being investigated for tax evasion. this after law markers --

lawmkakers lifted his immunity. he was coleader of the party until late last year. in sweden, thieves have broken into a stockholm museum and stolen 10 sculptures from salvador dali. they were on loan from switzerland. documents that would help the thieves still -- sell the stolen items were not taken. footage of what is the longest ever tunnel used by smugglers from mexico to the u.s.. it is 1330 meters long. the new tunnel was first discovered last august. the catholic church in germany has officially begun progress --

a process of reform prompted by the child abuse scandals that have embroiled the church over the past decade. leaders are meeting in frankfurt to discuss the priestly way of life, how power should be shared, and the role of women in the church. many catholics say confronting this issue is long overdue. reporter: this is st. mark's catholic church. the congregation is celebrating mass. the father talks about reforms being proposed and says they are very important for the future of the church. >> god knows we are at a critical juncture. only 14% of the population in germany think the catholic church is credible. reporter: the scandals about

sexual abuse in the church have raised the pressure to make major changes to catholic teachings. congregants have a number of complaints and proposals. >> there can be no progress without change. the church needs to question many of its dogmas and perhaps abandon them. >> celibacy should be abolished. christ never required that. it is nowhere in the bible. >> hostility to sex, for generations people have been robbed of happiness and there you -- their youth. >> women must play a greater role in the church. reporter: she says women should be allowed to perform all o of e functions that men do in the church establishment. she says it is a matter of fairness inn a way t to transfom the male view w of the world tht

prevails among catholic clclergyman. >> they are living in a bubble because they often only register what they as men experience. they have no idea how women see things. they are all unmarried, celibate. that means they are living in a world t that is very remotote fm my world, the world of women. reporter: the debate about change pits modernizer's against those who feel they have to do and orthodoxy. -- defend orthodoxy. >> they must not just pretend to deal with the issues. we have had so many events over the years and decades where many have said we talked a lot but did not achieve anything. this must be different. reporter: the congregants we spoke to our eager for change. they said the church must acknowledge what lives ordinary

catholics actually lead and adapt accordingly. anchor: u.s. president donald trump's recently revealed middle east peace plan includes many contentious points. that includes the future of jerusalem. the plan hands control of the entire city to israel. what would be left for the palestinians? it is basically a village. our next report from that village on the eastern outskirts of jerusalem. reporter: this concrete wall blocks the view of the real dome of the rock for people living behind it. israel built the wall in the early 2000 at the height of the second palestinian intifada. it has been cut off from jerusalem. this is one of the few spots

wheree resididts can see jerusam's old city. the mayor is proud of his village, but he dismisses the proposal to make it the capital of a future palestinian state. >> it is far from jerusalem. jerusalem is still the capital of palestine. reporter: the mayor says the village was discussed as a possible capital back in the 1990's when there was peace and no walls. today, it is poor. there are few jobs for young people. the only bright spot is this university. the school has a solid reputation. 14,000 young people from across the west bank study here. these students are both studying

medicine. exams are coming up, but right now it is the peace plan that is in everyone's minds. >> there is always the possibility of a compromise, even in this conflict. but it should not be the palestinians who are always having to make concessions. this has been our land for generations. we cannot give it up. reporter: these students are also critical of their own leaders. they say of course trump is only concerned about israel's well-being. they say it is also not right that there have not been any direct talks between israel and the palestinians since 2014. >> there is only one path to peace and that is negotiations. reporter: welcome to the new capital of palestine. that is the tongue and -- to ngue-in-cheek greeting at this kebab shop.

they say humor is the only hope. >> it is important that peace talks take place on the basis of international law. reporter: this border wallll wod separate the two capitals. the u.s. president calls it a vision. people here call it a nightmare. anchor: after a short break, i will be back to take you through "the day." britain and europe on the eve of brexit. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

. twenty four france twenty four .com. and a very warm welcome difference anti for you watching live from paris with me sometime chante and the team at ten pm. and the french capital share the headlines. the world health organization de class coronavirus a global health emergency. en el someone comes as media hundred cases have been spotted in countries outside of china. including the first case of human to human transmission the united states. and brings it needs the us secretary of state might pay as in london on the cusp of britain's departure from the european union. folks the focus on the post bragst