joining me now is robin brant in shanghai. we start with these delays on flights trying to leave the region, floats to the uk and other countries, do we know more about the issues there? it seems to be a bureaucratic issue of the chinese not giving permission for citizens of other countries or dual nationality holders, to leave, in this instance, british citizens. the bbc spoke toa man british citizens. the bbc spoke to a man called magner, his readers who is stuck with his wife who is indonesian does mike called neck. and his children. this is not surprising in chinese bureaucracy. this is a fateful for british nationals organised by the british government and only british citizens are allowed to go. that appears to be the reason why that flight departing wuhan, due earlier this morning, it's going to london, but has not left out. planes from several other countries have been delayed while this bureaucratic issue is addressed. it said in a brief statement, the foreign 0ffice brief statement, the foreign office from london, it

thank you, robin brant in shanghai.ed kingdom leaves the european union after almost half a century. britain will become the first country to leave the bloc. the prime minister says it's the dawn of a new era — not an end, he says, but a beginning. he'll be chairing a special cabinet meeting in sunderland this afternoon — it was the first place to declare in favour of brexit in the referendum of 2016. here's our political correspondent iain watson. the union flag has been raised today over parliament square. not long before it will be lowered in brussels. three and half years after the referendum, the uk will leave the referendum, the uk will leave the european union at 11 o'clock tonight. for some, the end of our 47 year membership or be a matter of regret. for the government, they say it is about renewal. what the british people voted for twice in the referendum in 2016 and the general election just before last christmas is at last coming to pass. the most precious gift britain has given the world as parliamentary dem

our china correspondent robin brant is in shanghai.ing a better understanding now of the scale and impact of this outbreak? yes, we are hearing from senior economists in the chinese government to the last hour, they think three things, this is going to have a more severe impact on the chinese economy than the sars outbreak, very comparable respiratory illness back in 2002. it could shave 1% off economic growth in china in the first quarter of the year. down from six to 5%. they predict it could peak they think by the middle of february and end by the middle of february and end by the end of march, that is very optimistic. one other thing we are given a good idea about is how the government acted early on, there is an interview that has emerged in the last hour, the state—run newspaper here with a very senior medical expert leading the national health commission, the agency charged with trying to contain a solid brick. he has been asked about the government acting slowly early on and he says the government did hesitate, when the governm

robin brant, bbc news, inner mongolia.1881, employs over a thousand people and has 22 stores around the country. our business correspondent simon gompertz is here. this is the latest of several. why are these big department stores under pressure? beals is not a household name everywhere but it is right across england and has a store in scotland, in perth, it's very well known in those 23 towns that you talk about. it calls itself a retail heartbeat and its offering in the same way the bigger department store chains have suffered. a lot of it is to do with people shopping on the internet instead but the administrators, the people brought in to try and find a future for business when it has failed financially, they have just put out a statement, they are called kpmg and they say trading has been incredibly tough, blaming high rents and high business rates, that was a particular complaint of beales and disappointing trading over christmas which they've all been hit by. and if you think debenhams is in the throes of closing 19

joining me now is robin brant in shanghai. bin, it would seem everyone everywhere is trying everything they can to counter this virus. tell us more about these latest developments. yes, completely, both within china, where there is the most substantial efforts, obviously, to try to contain the spread of this type of coronavirus, but also internationally. the biggest concern internationally is air flights, and we are seeing discussions in the united states about the possibility of reducing, even shutting america off, two flights from china. we are seeing off, two flights from china. we are seeing areas off, two flights from china. we are seeing areas of asia, including hong kong, which of course is part of china, really restrict in the ways of travelling from the mainland into hong kong, restricting the number of people who will be able to travel from the mainland to hong kong as well. and this is all about trying to contain the spread and trying to limit the spread. the other side of the coin, so to speak, his foreign countries

thank you, robin brant in shanghai.es have begun to recover the bodies of the basketball player kobe bryant, his daughter gianna, and seven others who died in a helicopter crash on sunday. they have described the crash site as "devastating", and say that debris is spread over 200 metres. investigators are expected to focus on the foggy weather conditions. let's talk to cbs correspondent marin austin who's in los angeles now for us, where a vigil is taking place. one of many vigils, an outpouring of emotion that will last for a long time. kobe bryant, a huge figure in american society, notjust in the game of basketball, and the loss of his daughter and those other lives, of course? exactly right, it can be felt across the country in terms of the moods that americans are feeling. it is 1am in los angeles, to put it in perspective, i will step out of the way so you can see some of the fans and mourners in los angeles. this is just some of the fans and mourners in los angeles. this isjust outside some of the fans and mourne

robin brant sent this report from shanghai. was supposed to be the day they got out and away from this. the death toll and the number infected continues to rise here in china. the city of wuhan is the epicentre of the outbreak, but britons are still stuck there because of bureaucracy. we were really worried about the reports of younger and younger children becoming sick. and at the time they said it was fine, but when i received a call the next day they said that only i could go and my son would have to stay, which obviously was very devastating to hear. english teacher natalie‘s son can't go because he has a chinese passport. chris hill has a similar problem. his wife and daughter have dual nationality. would you be willing to leave your family behind to go to safety? it's a very hard and moral question because my daughter is only four years old, so it's a very hard choice to make. other countries have got their people out. japan and the us were the first of several planned flights. india and australia are among those planning

robin brant. had been staying in york when they became unwell. meanwhile, more than 80 britons who were on an evacuation flight from china have arrived back in the uk. they were taken to a specially designated hospital where they're being kept in quarantine. these are the latest pictures of the buses arriving. if they get the all—clear, they can leave in 14 days. the us senate is debating whether to call witnesses in donald trump's impeachment trial. a vote on whether witnesses will be allowed is expected in the next couple of hours. it's now looking unlikely that enough republicans will join democrats to support the measure. that means president trump could be acquitted as early as tonight. democrats say such an outcome would be "the biggest cover—up since watergate". the evidence, the evidence that we know is available will not have been presented. and what that means as its bottom line is that this will not have been a fair trial, and therefore they cannot walk out of this building and allege a

robin brant there.avid, will give his backing to the hs2 rail link later today when senior ministers meet to discuss its future. the project has been criticised after costs almost doubled to more than £100 billion. it's intended to create faster links between london, birmingham and northern england. 0ur political correspondent, chris mason, is with us from westminster. chris, how important is the backing of the chancellor? the chancellor has made his position clear ahead of an important day. this intervention is key from sajid javid. why? because when the chancellor of the exchequer makes it clear that he thinks this project should go ahead, it makes it very difficult for the prime minister, borisjohnson, to then say, "well, actually, no it won't". what's been intriguing about this project since borisjohnson intriguing about this project since boris johnson became prime intriguing about this project since borisjohnson became prime minister and particularly since the general election is the conservatives

robin brant has this report from beijing.upposed to be the day they got out and away from this. the death toll and the number infected continues to rise here in china. the city of wuhan is the epicentre of the outbreak, but britons are still stuck there because of bureaucracy. we were really worried about the reports of younger and younger children becoming sick. and at the time they said it was fine, but when i received a call the next day, they said that only i could go and my son would have to stay, which obviously was very devastating to hear. english teacher natalie‘s son can't go because he has a chinese passport. chris hill has a similar problem. his wife and daughter have dual nationality. would you be willing to leave your family behind to go to safety? it's a very hard and moral question because my daughter is only four years old, so it's a very hard choice to make. other countries have got their people out. japan and the us were the first of several planned flights. india and australia are among those planning othe

robin brant, thank you very much.astketball star kobe bryant, we can talk now to michelle medina from cbs news, who is in calabasas in california, near the scene of the helicopter crash, there's a lot of police in the area, what have they been saying? right now, they are remaining very tight—lipped. there were two news conferences that were scheduled yesterday where we got very little information. but i can tell you, investigators with the ntsb will be at the scene later this morning. fans here and around the world are mourning the loss of a lakers legend. this all started yesterday when the helicopter went down at around ten o'clock local time. one thing investigators will be looking closely at, the weather conditions. one factor in this, there was fog yesterday. they will be looking into that to see if that was one of the causes of this crash. as for those fans, when we were driving in this particular location, you saw fans out in theirjerseys, in their gear. so many people still struggling to come to grips with the

let's talk to our correspondent robin brant who joins me now from shanghai. 0bviously, announcement overnightt impact does it have on china? the chinese did not want it. the head of the world health 0rganization was here a couple of days ago meeting senior officials including the president and he was full of fulsome praise for the chinese effort to try to contain the spread of the disease notjust in china but beyond. he agreed with chinese officials and saying he did not think foreign governments should be trying to get people out like the british are doing. nonetheless, two days later, we have the declaration from the who that it is indeed a global emergency now and they were at pains to stress it wasn't about criticising what china is doing, the who believes there is more concerned about this virus spreading countries may be in the developing world and parts of africa they do not think have the medical infrastructure to deal with it. last half an hour, we have heard from carrie lam, most senior politician in hong kong, an insight into how they regard the virus, how concerned they are. schoo

in a moment will talk to shaima khalil in sydney but first let's get the latest from robin brant in shanghai. as we mentioned in the introduction, the chinese now sharing information with the world health organization in the hope that it will lead to treatments for the coronavirus. but authorities saying it could be ten days until this virus peaks. it could be ten days until this virus pea ks. give it could be ten days until this virus peaks. give us more detail on that? yes, the efforts to stop the spread and develop some kind of vaccination is an international development. we have heard developments about the lab in australia and it is an international effort. but at the same time we have an international reaction where countries are taking their people out from wuhan. you have detailed that in that report earlier and we have companies like british airways who are now suspending flights in and out of this country with immediate effect. i suspect we will see a domino effect on that. we have heard the president of china using their words, this is a devil. i think there are some people who wo

robin brant sent this report from shanghai.upposed to be the day they got out and away from this. the death toll and the number infected continues to rise here in china. the city of wuhan is the epicentre of the outbreak, but britons are still stuck there because of bureaucracy. we were really worried about the reports of younger and younger children becoming sick. and at the time, they said it was fine, but when i received a call the next day, they said that only i could go and my son would have to stay, which obviously was very devastating to hear. english teacher natalie‘s son can't go because he has a chinese passport. chris hill has a similar problem. his wife and daughter have dual nationality. would you be willing to leave your family behind to go to safety? it's a very hard and moral question because my daughter is only four years old, so it's a very hard choice to make. other countries have got their people out. japan and the us were the first of several planned flights. india and australia are among those planning oth

in a minute, we'llspeak to mariko 0i in hong kong, but first let's cross to our correpsondent robin brantai. what's the issue causing evacuation flights to be delayed? it isa it is a bureaucratic hurdle regarding the citizenship and status of the people who plan to be on board. it's not unusual in china when it comes to people who have dual nationality or people who hold foreign citizenship and are married to brits, so britain wants to bring home around 200 british nationals on the flight and for some people, the bbc speaking to one man called nick and his indonesian wife, for some people their partners are not british and this presents a problem for the chinese who think the british government should be responsible for removing british people. the foreign office is optimistic it can overcome this administrative issue and says it is working urgently on getting the plane in the air and it does think that both british nationals and their partners will be able to accompany them. the bbc understands in the last half an hour that the mod are sending a small team of military medics who will com

all its flights to and from mainland china because of the coronavirus. 0ur china correspondent, robin branthe last couple of hours. give us an idea of the conversations happening in china at the moment about the coronavirus and the way the government is dealing with it and how it has been reacted to outside the country as well? how long have you got? in wuhan, the epicentre city, population of 10 million, you got? in wuhan, the epicentre city, population of10 million, it is essentially on lockdown. people in enforced quarantine or self—imposed quarantine. severe restrictions in place in terms of trying to travel in hubei province and beyond. even on the east coast of china, it is 1000 kilometres away andi of china, it is 1000 kilometres away and i had my temperature taken by someone and i had my temperature taken by someone from building management this money. it is a lot more quiet outside. trying to get hand disinfectant and gloves, that kind of thing is a significant challenge. 0therforeign of thing is a significant challenge. other foreign governments are doing what the british governme

our china correspondent robin brant has been following the efforts by the foreign office to rescue ukl an urgent desire to get out. i feel the brits who feel an urgent desire to get out. ifeel the issue is twofold. there are some reports hear that the beijing authorities, chinese government authorities are not being as cooperative with the british as they are with the americans. the other issue, as you just heard from, there are already severe restrictions in place in wuhan preventing people moving around. the vast majority people subjected to chinese citizens who live and work in wuhan. the british people are also subject to that, so evenif people are also subject to that, so even if the uk government was to arrange some kind of playing or transport out, it is doubtful it would appear at the moment that some of those brits would be able to get to the airport. here — more than 50 people have now been tested for coronavirus — all the tests have come back negative. the government says the risk to the public remains low but said there was a ‘fair chance' the virus would reach the uk. ear

the world now stands atjust under 6000 and the number of countries 0ur correspondent in shanghai, robin branttop the spread and develop some kind of vaccination is now an international effort. as you say, the russians are involved in that, the world health organization as well. we have heard about the developments in that lab in australia. so, it truly is an international effort. but at the same time, we have an international reaction, where countries are taking their people out from wuhan. you have detailed that in that report earlier. we have companies like british airways who are now suspending with immediate effect flights in and out of this country. i suspect we're going to see a bit of a domino effect of that. you know, the future... well, we have heard president xijinping describe this as a devil, using those words, yesterday. at the same time, he was saying he believed his government had been open and transparent. i think there are some people who would call that into question, because we have had senior communist party officials in wuhan, the epicentre city, already admitting they di

robin brant is in shanghai for us and sent us the latest on the situation.s the case that he's been airlifted out by the american government. a bit of a nightmare to first of all get approvals from the us government to get on this flight. then i had to get on this flight. then i had to get approvals to drive from my location to the airport. because the whole road system out here is locked down and close down. so i had to have my passport in letter with me to be able to get through the checks. 0n the way here i went through to medical checks just to get to the airport. i have just gone through a thermal scan, which is the first part, and as you can see now this is the line—up for the medical scan to go for the medical check for the us. so you are coming out with the us. so you are coming out with the us. so you are coming out with the us teams because you have got this dual citizenship. yes. just this dual citizenship. yes. just this morning here the foreign 0ffice, this morning here the foreign office, we are hearing from the prime minister's official spokes

davies in brize norton in just a minute, but first let's get the latest from our china correspondent robin brant. we now know who has declared this a global emergency. bring us the latest news from china itself. despite heaping much praise under the chinese leadership during a meeting between the head of the who and senior chinese officials two days ago, the organisation has declared this not just days ago, the organisation has declared this notjust a chinese emergency but a global medical emergency. the death toll and of those factors continues to rise. 213 people have died from coronavirus. the number of confirmed infected cases, almost 10,000, up the number of confirmed infected cases, almost10,000, up 20% the number of confirmed infected cases, almost 10,000, up 20% on yesterday's number. that is according to both official chinese numbers. the trend is a steady rise day—to—day. our reporter caroline davies is in brize norton, where the plane is due to land later. caroline, what will happen to passengers when they arrive? under the passengers, we anticipated 150 british nationals and around 5