now it's time for newswatch.his week, samira ahmed puts the bbc‘s coverage of the coronavirus under scrutiny. hello and welcome to newswatch with me, samira ahmed. does the extensive air time the bbc is devoting to the coronavirus mean it's guilty of scaremongering? and how can reporters provide all the information on the virus that the public needs without encouraging a sense of panic? one subject has led almost all news bulletins this week, and it seems likely to remain top of the agenda for some time to come. here's hugh pym, on thursday's news at ten, reporting on warnings that the coronavirus was likely to spread further in the uk. the warnings today have been on the basis of a worst case scenario. case numbers may be less than expected, but health leaders feel they need to prepare hospitals, their staff and patients for a potentially very tough time ahead. while some viewers have applauded the way the topic‘s been handled — with a twitter user called jonathan posting this... but chris stapleton had a differ

hello and welcome to newswatch with me, samira ahmed.is devoting to the coronavirus mean it's guilty of scaremongering? and how can reporters provide all the information on the virus that the public needs without encouraging a sense of panic? one subject has led almost all news bulletins this week, and it seems likely to remain top of the agenda for some time to come. here's hugh pym on thursday's news at ten, reporting on warnings that the coronavirus was likely to spread further in the uk. the warnings today have been on the basis of a worst—case scenario. case numbers may be less than expected, but health leaders feel they need to prepare hospitals, their staff and patients for a potentially very tough time ahead. while some viewers have applauded the way the topic‘s been handled, with a twitter user called jonathan posting this: but chris stapleton had a different view, asking: as well as the sheer extent of the coverage, including a number of special programmes on radio and television, the frequent references to the daily toll of ne

now in a few minutes it'll be time for newswatch, but first, click.n 1998, the release of first person shooter half—life sent a seismic shock across the world of video games. it featured cinematic storytelling, taut action sequences and some of the creepiest bad guys ever to grace a videogame. well, let's just say your hour has come again. i remember when half—life came out, november 1998, a massive moment in pc gaming. before than it had been doom that defined shooter games. half—life reset the bar. a sequel followed in 200a. fans patiently awaited new half—life content, but its makers, a company called valve, went very quiet on the half—life front. until now, that is. marc cieslak has been to valve's headquarters in the us, where he's got his hands on their latest addition to the franchise, a game which has surprised many by embracing virtual reality. bellevue, washington, is home to valve software, an award—winning games development company. it has plans to reinvigorate virtual reality with half—life's help. a title which changed games forever. hey

hello and welcome to newswatch with me, rebecca jones, standing inforsamira. on the programme: more charges this week that the bbc could be inducing panic over coronavirus with its use of language and images. and how bbc news is reaching out to hear from a section of the audience it's finding hard to appeal to, through its young reporter project. as the significant impact of coronavirus on our lives becomes increasingly apparent, bbc news has this week examined how that's manifesting itself notjust in terms of health and the world economy, but in terms of our shopping habits too. footage like this of supermarket shelves empty of loo roll, hand sanitisers and other household essentials has been aired widely over the past few days, prompting some to question the value of such broadcasts. wendy hemsley wrote to us last sunday: the speed the speed with which the virus has spread in italy and the measures taken as a result by the italian government have been a prominent feature of the week's news agenda, and one word has been widely used to describe the restriction

thank you so much for coming on newswatch.an remember — and i'm sure many viewers can remember — the huge coverage, the anxiety about the sars outbreak back in the early 20005, others such as swine flu, avian flu. how does this situation compare? so i've covered all of those stories. i was in vietnam covering bird flu, which had a death rate of about 50%. sars, 10%. we've had mers, ebola. all of them, actually, with a higher death rate, but this has the biggest potential of any respiratory infectious disease spread through a cough or contaminated surface than we've seen in 50, maybe even 100 years. so that is why this story, the new coronavirus, which only emerged three months ago, is getting such huge coverage because of its potential. now we're putting a huge amount of resources into this from our correspondents. first of all, in china, south korea. but then as it spread to italy, europe, iran and here in the uk. notjust health specialists and but also sport, the economy, business, because this virus is having an extraordina

to share your opinions on bbc news and current affairs or even appear on the programme, do e—mail newswatch can call us. and to have a look at our website. —— and do have a look at our website. that is all from us. samaria will be back to hear your thoughts about bbc news coverage again next week. until the next time, from me and the rest of the team, goodbye. hello again. well, yesterday, what a glorious start to the day it was. most of us did have a lot more in the way of sunshine and some stunning weather which pictures were sent in from scotland. —— and some stunning weather watch pictures were sent in from scotland. you can see the snow glistening under those clear blue skies in the spring sunshine. it wasn't like that everywhere, though. we did have this line of showers that developed from merseyside down towards the midlands. that is where some of the heavier showers were during friday afternoon. and of course the skies looked quite different. this was the scene in tamworth as it turned pretty cloudy through the afternoon. and we had the heavy downpours and of course a few rainbows.

hello and welcome to newswatch with me, rebecca jones,

now in a few minutes it'll be time for newswatch,

thank you so much for coming on newswatch.years. so that is why this story, the new coronavirus, which only emerged three months ago, is getting such huge coverage, because of its potential. now we‘re putting a huge amount of resources into this from our correspondents, first of all, in china, south korea. but then as it spread to italy, europe, iran and here in the uk. notjust health specialists and but also sport, the economy, business, because this virus is having an extraordinary impact for everyone. and yet we, at the moment, have just about 100,000 cases, yet it‘s having this amazing impact. i think some of the anxiety we‘re getting from viewers‘ comments is about the volume of coverage creating a sense of fear, and as the specialist reporter — obviously you do the health medical aspect — how much coverage do you feel we need? you mentioned a huge range of topics there. don‘t shoot the messenger. i mean, this virus and the disease it causes, covid—19, are having a massive impact, and i think it‘s unfair to blame the medi

now it's time for newswatch.ly apparent, bbc news has this week examined how that's manifesting itself notjust in terms of health and the world economy, but in terms of our shopping habits too. footage like this of supermarket shelves empty of loo roll, hand sanitisers and other household essentials has been aired widely over the past few days, prompting some to question the value of such broadcasts. wendy hemsley wrote to us last sunday: the speed with which the virus has spread in italy and the measures taken as a result by the italian government have been a prominent feature of the week's news agenda, and one word has been widely used to describe the restrictions imposed there on travel and movement. up to 16 million people, a quarter of the population, are effectively under lockdown in the north of the country. italy is at war — that's according to one doctor living through a lockdown. the whole of italy is now under a kind of lockdown with movement severely restricted. tonight at 6:00, day one for italy in l