we report from the desert town of mitzpe ramon.pace rock from the dawn of the solar system visible as a major asteroid passes planet earth. hello and welcome to the programme. a year ago, the world was shutting down — in that time, some two and a half million people have died from coronavirus — but if governments had been better prepared, things could have been very different. that's the view of one of the world's leading experts in infectious diseases, professor dale fisher, who was part of a team sent by the world health organisation to the epicentre of the outbreak, in china. in an exclusive interview with the bbc�*s panorama programme, professor fisher says that it was countries in the far east, where they'd had two outbreaks of similar viruses in the past 20 years — that were best prepared. jane corbin reports. across the world, coronavirus has given governments the same challenges, but they have responded in very different ways. in south korea, the prime minister introduced strict rules even before there was a confirmed case.

tom bateman, bbc news, mitzpe ramon in the negev desert.n as polls close tomorrow night. torrential downpours lashed australia's eastern coast on monday, forcing thousands to flee the worst flooding that the country has seen in decades. around 18,000 people were told to evacuate their homes, rivers in australia's most populated state, new south wales, rose to their highest levels in decades. emergency warnings are in place across the area — and heavy rains are expected to continue. the bbc�*s shaimaa khalil has visited the flood stricken areas and sent this report. this is what days of relentless downpour looks like. a deluge not seen in five decades here in new south wales. emergency services have been inundated with nearly 10,000 calls and have conducted more than 500 rescues so far. and this is what they are up against — water so high and forceful, a three—bedroom cottage was seen floating through. crews have also been called into get stranded cattle to safety. one team even managed to ferry 20 dogs on inflatable boats. in the town of wi

our middle east correspondent tom bateman reports from the desert town of mitzpe ramon.anyahu is courting the arab israeli vote. he used to warn his own base against them. this woman�*s job involves speaking for the community in this town. and she doesn�*t trust the pm�*s change of tack. we all know that he is lying to people. we know very well that that he was the worst one for us, for the arab community. and i think that he will not change himself. mr netanyahu is a political veteran, surveying the scene now with a new opponent from his right—wing. but the polls again suggest deadlock. plenty of people see all this just eroding their politics. they feel worn down by it. many israelis are asking how many times can you keep having elections with no real winner? back at the crater the local circus school tries new tricks. and at this election israelis watch another uncertain outcome. many israelis are asking how many times can you keep having elections with no real winner? back at the crater the local circus school tries new tricks. and at this election israelis watch ano