Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At 9 20200218

But that is impossible under arrest. By storm dennis floods. Hsbc announce plans to cut around anastacia is making the most 35,000 jobs after profits dropped of the new limited freedom. By a third last year. The trial is due soon and activist could be facing up to six years behind bars. Within the next hour, the uk delivers a vital piece of technology to the International Space station sarah rainsford, bbc news. Its first major contribution to the project. And in the premier league a great result for man united, but more var contoversy, as they beat chelsea 2 0 at stamford bridge. The amazon founderjeff bezos says hes committing ten billion dollars to a new fund to tackle climate change. He said the money would be spent on scientists, activists, and non Governmental Organisations to help protect the natural world. Hundreds of amazon staff signed a blog last month, saying the company didnt have enough environmental policies. Our north america correspondent, peter bowes explained what the amazon boss is planning to do. Good morning and welcome this is a prize, this a company that to the bbc news at 9. He can profit from, these are indeed two british tourists on board the quarantined diamond princess gra nts he can profit from, these are indeed grants that will be awarded to cruise ship off the coast of japan say theyve been diagnosed with the coronavirus. Various organisations, starting this summer, activists, scientists, as sally and david abel have been quarantined on the ship you say, non governmental for around two weeks. Organisations who are pursuing the goal of tackling climate change, as some experts are now suggesting the the ships policy of quarantining he put it, the devastating impact of passengers and crew has backfired. Climate change, in his quite social in a Facebook Post this morning media posting, he said we cant say david abel said, there is going to be a time of quiet. The earth but he stresses that we have been proved positive collaboration is needed between all and leaving for hospital soon. Of these various organisations and as of monday, a54 of the the 3000 plus individuals individuals. Amazon has indeed stranded on the ship have tested pledged to purchase many electrical positive for the coronavirus. Vehicles and trucks to deliver those parcels over the coming years, meanwhile the Foreign Office has announced that they are working to organise a flight home pledged to be Carbon Neutral within for the tourists who are two or three decades. But the on board the ship. Criticism continues. Of course, he 0ur correspondent nick beake sent us this update is also part of blue origin, which from hong kong in the last hour. Is also part of blue origin, which is the Rocket Company thats pursuing suborbital Space Tourism and that venture has been criticised for nearly two weeks people have because of its potential carbon been confined to their cabins. Its been a pretty footprint. So while people have grim picture on board. Indeed praised him over the last few and with every day, weve had more people hours for the social media posting, testing positive. The latest statistic outlining these new plans, hes we have from the japanese authorities was that more than a50 still getting quite a lot of people on board have tested positive criticism, people saying he could for the coronavirus and now still do more. The abels saying that, yes, they too have contracted the virus. Now you might think that jetpacks are futuristic pipe dream and, of course, all along theyve been saying that they wanted the British Government but now one team in dubai has to help them get off reached new heights. The boat. They said that it was not sensible for the First Time Ever someone in a jetpack has reached high that people should be kept altitude from a standing start on board when you know reaching nearly 6. 000 there is a virus there. Feet in altitude. And of course there is a certain the equipment which is made with a carbon fibre wing, irony to this, because is capable of reaching almost 250 they announced that they had the coronavirus at the same time that miles per hour. The British Government made the announcement that, yes, finally, friends star David Schwimmer some may say, it was getting a plane will become the latest star to read together and we understand that a bedtime story on cbeebies. Probably not today but in the next 48 or 72 hours, british citizens will be taken off the ship hello. Im david. Im here to read and flown back to the uk. You a bedtime story all about a red of course, yesterday the abels had to watch how more than 300 american citizens were taken off the ship and phone back to the United States. Hell read a tale about a pair of aliens form two rival groups who fall in love. The story comes from the latest book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler titled flown back to the United States. The smeds and the smoos. It will be broadcast this saturday. Theyve arrived back but of course their experience was in contrast to the brits on board. Sally and david abels son steve joined bbc breakfast earlier to talk just before we go to the weather about the situation his parents found themselves in now they appear forecast, some breaking news, the to have contracted coronavirus. I got an e mailfrom my dad saying, budget will still take place on the both your mum and i have tested 11th of march. The chancellor has positive, we are going to let the words are hes going to a hospital, confirmed. Richey soon added. The but in the last two days ive seen the cracks in the armour, they are coming down. Budget still plaguing place on the my mums. She breaks into tears 11th of march. The new chancellor frequently when we call her. My dads short tempered. Has confirmed, rather unexpectedly, finding himself following the this is all because of the situation they are in and they are not getting any Cabinet Reshuffle last week and we communication from our country, which is terrible. Will bring you more details on that as we get them. Rushi sunak. What do you want to happen now . Lets ta ke as we get them. Rushi sunak. Lets take a look at the weather, heres simon king. Hello. The i think what id like to happen, in an ideal world, somehow to teleport them from impacts of stern dennis are far from japan to england just so they havent got the over, the Environment Agency issuing ordeal of that flight. Another severe flood warning. Ten severe flood warnings in place but i would like them to carry out their quarantine. Across england and wales. The larger the quarantine in rivers still responding to the japans been a failure. Thats obvious. Rainfall moving its way through. So they are obviously going to have this morning we had sunshine around, to go through it again, but thats our weather watcher picture, here in the uk where the food you can see from the satellite is going to be suitable for my dad. Imagery this speckled cloud, which im actually not worried about of moving in across scotland, the the virus, which might seem a bit showers have been wintry. Weve seen ignorant. I think im just looking quite a bit of snow over higher at the recovery stats, its quite successful. Ground, that was the scene in the its more about the stress. Highlands this morning. The risk of some ice here this morning as well. As we go through the rest of today we continue with wintry showers steve abel, son of david and sally. Across government, british i was into northern ireland, some scattered showers for england and storm dennis is continuing to cause havoc, with dozens of people wales before this next band of rain spending the night away from home moves south and east, quite heavy in as severe flood warnings remain places. Could be some hail, thunder in place across parts of the uk. The river wye at monmouth mixed in as well, blustery, but has reached the highest there will be some sunny spells, level ever recorded. The worst affected areas include maximum temperatures 6 11d. Through south wales, herefordshire, worcestershire and shropshire tonight, the band of rain moving to where major incidents were declared. The south east, fairly tricky there are nine severe flood driving conditions in the south east warnings still in place later today. Clear skies, some in england and wales, wintry showers across scotland, the meaning a danger to life. And there are 200 other flood risk of ice into tomorrow morning, warnings where immediate action is required that includes scotland. Temperatures down to 1 3d. Chilly start on wednesday. There will be some brightness initially with this ridge of High Pressure, not lasting simonjones has the latest. That long, this area of low pressure another night anxiously watching and waiting. And weather systems will moving the river wye in hereford has during wednesday. Clouding over reached record levels. Quite quickly, there will be rain the force at which it is coming moving through, that rain through is terrifying. Ive never seen it like this. Particularly heavy over wales, north and south wales, still some concern there is a spot down here, a swan always nests because it never for further flooding as we go through wednesday and into thursday floods, and thats gone. As well. With further heavy rain to storm dennis may now have watch out for. Goodbye for now. Blown through but its effects are still being felt. This is worcester. The warning that lives are in danger proved to be true. Yvonne booth was swept into floodwater at tenbury and her family say they are devastated. And the risks remain. The rate of rise has been exceptional and its a lot of water falling on saturated catchments and rivers that were already full. This is the result of a months worth of rain falling in just two days. With hundreds of properties flooded across the uk, emergency evacuation sadly needed, people forced from their homes but thankful to be safe. Upton upon severn is the latest area where people have been advised to leave the properties. In merthyr tydfil, this house has been left teetering on the edge because of a landslip. When the water finally recedes like here in tenbury wells, the task of cleaning up and counting the cost can begin. Despite these devastating scenes, the Environment Agency hello, its tuesday, says its flood defences its 10 oclock, have helped protect im Victoria Derbyshire. And were live from 80,000 properties this winter new broadcasting house. But the warning is there is more trans patients are waiting up to three years to see a specialist, heavy rain on the way later this week. This programme can reveal today. Simon jones, bbc news. Its why some people are taking matters into their own hands by buying hormones from unregulated 0ur correspondentjohn maguire is in upton on severn. Sources on the internet. John, talk us through what the water level is doing this morning . it basically felt like a choice between suicide and self medication, think, crucially, the most important thing to say is that it has fallen because i did not deal with the over night, it peaked during the thought of further masculinisation, middle of the night and has fallen in my case. Since. Even in the amount of time we two british tourists have been here, we had seen the who are on the diamond princess cruise liner quarantined in japan say they have tested positive water levels rise. We are outside for the coronovirus, as the British Government tries this garage, the water has come to sort a plane to bring them home. Down. This road is closed at the moment, you can possibly make out the sign behind my shoulder, it says road. I assume it says closed, underneath the water. Yesterday, when the levels of the severn were coming up, this road was closed on a certain period of time. You can tell whether levels are dropping because you can see these currents washing down. Where these fields and this pa rt down. Where these fields and this part of town have been inundated and saturated, the water is starting, as the river level drops, the floodwater is starting to recede and floodwater is starting to recede and flood into the main river channel. This is another shot of the waterfront, the riverside, just in front of the pubs. This is the new flood defence scheme built here in 2012 as a result of really huge floating we saw in this part of the world in 2007. It is extraordinary, the water level is much higher than the water level is much higher than the road, if it had not been for the flood defences, that pub would have been inundated, as would all of those properties along the front. But it has been so far, so good. Police advice remains that People Living in flood risk areas should seek to go elsewhere, to friends and relatives. They set up a community asa relatives. They set up a community as a respite centre. But it ago overnight, they only had one person. This town is well used to flooding. I spoke to a publican earlier who said that since 1970 his pub has flooded 70 times, it gives you an idea that people are used to coping with not quite this amount perhaps but with great deals of water. Earlier i spoke to a Senior Police officer here and asked him for the latest situation and advice. The levels have fallen, but we are not out of the woods yet, there are still flooded properties and now we start the move to the recovery stage. There is more water, more range you, that could lead to further flooding so the advice is still to heed the warnings and make preparations, particularly for journeys, plan yourjourney, do not drive into flooded rivers. journeys, plan yourjourney, do not drive into flooded rivers. I think the big message from the police, never drive into floodwater. Even here, where it is not that deep, you can feel around with your foot but you are not that sure, it is very problematic to go any further. You might be able to see a car that looks like it got into difficulty and was abandoned. The traffic lights are green, but nowhere to go down this road at the moment. A brief amount of respite for this area here, the officer wejust spoke to from west mercia police, they cover herefordshire, worcestershire and shropshire, the counties hardest hit yesterday. As those river levels drop, people will get a sense of how much damage has been done, to get a sense of what is to come. They will be watching the weather forecast, more rain forecast later in the week, as everybody has told me they are not quite out of the woods yet. Studio thank you, john maguire in upton on severn. Tim muffett is in hereford, we can see the mess left behind on the roads and pavements by the floodwaters. What sort of impact has this had on local people . Good morning, it was a record breaking day in hereford yesterday, the river wye was at its highest ever level since records began, six metres 11 centimetres, around 20 feet, and you can see the damage around. The waters had subsided considerably in the last few hours we have been here, but the clean up operation is under way. Linton and colin both live on this road, this is your house, how are you feeling . Not too bad, we are getting on top of it, we started claiming the place out at 1am, the gas man has put the gas back on, hopefully by tea time we will not be far away. You did not wa nt to will not be far away. You did not want to leave, we came up on a boat, you had animals in the house. Was that the right decision . you had animals in the house. Was that the right decision . I think so, it is notjust putting a couple of dogsin it is notjust putting a couple of dogs ina it is notjust putting a couple of dogs in a boat, i have cats, chickens, you cant leave them in. I would do the same again. We can still live upstairs, no biggie. Then when it is receding again we can start the clean up. When it is receding again we can start the cleanup. Hereford has printed many times but not like this . Last time it was on my property was 98, i was here then. In october we were very lucky, it filled up a pit under the house but we did not lose anything, unlike most around here. When you are told it will peak at five metres six, five metres seven, you cannot legislate for that. Yesterday you gave us legislate for that. Yesterday you gave us a legislate for that. Yesterday you gave us a little on the streets, you are likea gave us a little on the streets, you are like a flood warden, you set up are like a flood warden, you set up a group after the floods in october. How important was it that you did that . It is brilliant, everybody rallied, we had volunteers for help, we need to help each other because we need to help each other because we do not get a great deal of help from the services. We dont want them now, we can look after ourselves. They have bigger things to do. The plans we have put in, the car parking passes were organised, the boat which the rowing club letters have, a great safety boat, we evacuated all the people nice and safely, we are proud of for the residents. Is nothing done . You cant stop the storm happening, is nothing done to stop the river wye from breaking its bank . We had lots of engineers after the 1998 floods, the nature of the beast where we are, we are on the riverbed, it is full of sand and gravel, water comes up full of sand and gravel, water comes up as well as over, i think it would be very difficult to put a barrier around the avenue. How far do you ta ke around the avenue. How far do you take it . I think it is unpreventable that we as residents have to be more prepared, which is what we have tried to set up this last couple of months. You are pumping water out at the moment . That should be turning the moment . That should be turning the next two hours, put the pumps back in, start drying. That is about as much as you can do. Lets look at your furniture. It is a as much as you can do. Lets look at yourfurniture. It is a bit depressing. There is nothing that you can do, if you are told it will bea you can do, if you are told it will be a certain height and it comes in half a metre more, there is nothing you can do. Dare i ask about insurance . I have not got any. 2500 success, what is the point . No point at all. We willjust get on with it. I wont spend £2500 on a new 3 piece suite and debate of paint, ijust dont bother. I hope your head straight out, i appreciate your time. There is a real sense of people coming together. M time. There is a real sense of people coming together. It has been great, the residents have pulled together, we have had a lot of help. We need more help. We can look after ourselves in the water, it isjust this mess now, we need skips, we need cleaners, that is why the council and the government needs to step in, the after effects. We hope we will get some more help. Thank you both very much indeed. Waters are subsiding all the time, lower water levels but the disruption is widespread and there is a lot of drying out to be done. Studio thank you. We will keep even up to date with the situation regarding the flooding. More rain forecast later in the week. We will bring you updates on the bbc news channel and on our network of bbc local radio stations. An update on coronavirus, japans Health Ministry is saying a further 88 people from the diamond princess cruise ship birthed off yokohama have been diagnosed with coronavirus. As of yesterday, we we re coronavirus. As of yesterday, we were told a54 coronavirus. As of yesterday, we were told a5a of the 3000 plus passengers and crew on board had tested positive, add another 88 people diagnosed with coronavirus and you are talking more than a sixth of those on board now diagnosed with coronavirus, as questions have been raised whether this policy of keeping people quarantined on board the ship was the right one to begin with. Japans Health Ministry says 88 more people on board the diamond princess cruise ship off the coast ofjapan on board the diamond princess cruise ship off the coast of japan now diagnosed with coronavirus, bringing the total number of people on board with the virus to more than 500. Europes biggest bank, hsbc, has announced its to cut 35,000 jobs globally over the next three years as part of a widespread overhaul. The bank said it was targeting £3. 5 billion of cost cuts by 2022 while scaling back £70 billion of assets. 33 fall in annual pre tax profit, massivly below expectations. Lets talk to our Business Correspondent dharshini david, shejoins me now. Why have the profits not been what hsbc was expecting . The market was looking for about 20 billion of profits, in event got 13. 3. What has gone so badly wrong . Hsbc survived the financial crisis in not bad shape, then it was affected by things like major Money Laundering crises and in this latest year we have seen a problem coming out of essentially the European Investment and commercial banking arm. Bankers are never known for their glamorous and exciting language but they are talking about historical goodwill. In plain english they were too optimistic about the path of the Global Economy and what it would mean for their earning so they have adjusted expectations and they are not doing so well. This all underlines why they are shifting focus on going through a massive restructuring, what hsbc is saying is it needs to move back towards its back red. It was said about the hong kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and now they are saying that most of their profits come from asia and they had to concentrate on that and focus on cutting some of the loss making arms. That and focus on cutting some of the lossmaking arms. Do we know anything about what the job losses will be in the uk . The bank is saying we dont know. When you talk about 35,000 job losses, i spoke to the chief executive and he said we need to reduce our headcount closer to 200,000, it is currently 235,000 across the globe, to be consistent with saving that money. Their heads they have given us are things like they have given us are things like the investment bank, the big tower in canary wharf and east london which has been a major centre for hsbc, it is the group headquarters. The us banking branches say they could say some cuts, no word on what it could mean for branches here, hsbc has been closing a handful also over the last few years, but this is not a target, it is a very broad figure. The interim chief executive said hsbc loses 25,000 staff every year around the globe to natural causes, so to speak. He is saying the cuts some brutal, it may not be that bad when it comes to consult compulsory cuts. Thank you. The headlines on bbc news. Two british passengers aboard the diamond princess cruise ship in japan say theyve tested positive for coronavirus. Their son says the experience has been stressful. The uk Foreign Office say theyre working to fly the british citizens on board home. More than 200 flood warnings are in place across england, wales and scotland, including nine severe or danger to life warnings. And coming up, well be speaking to a family whose cafe only opened in november and has now been destroyed by storm dennis floods. In sport, there is a big battle for the Champions League spots, Manchester United are just three points off fourth placed chelsea after beating them 2 0 at stamford bridge. Tyson fury says the key to beating Deontay Wilder is to stand up beating Deontay Wilder is to stand up to him. He says he believes the american will fold in their rematch in las vegas. Lewis hamilton andrea masi and lionel messi have been named jointly as the world sportsman of the year. Gymnast simone biles won the womens title. Lets return to one of our main stories the flooding thats hit some parts of the uk very badly indeed, including south wales. Lets talk to darren and emma hughes in the vale of neath in south wales. They run a cafe in resolven which has been utterly devastated by storm dennis. Thank you both so much forjoining us thank you both so much forjoining us today. You must be feeling devastated, you only opened your business in november . November the 22nd, thats right. It has not been long, really. Tell us exactly what has happened as a result of this flooding. How bad is the damage . Has happened as a result of this flooding. How bad is the damage7m is terrible, it is just merge everywhere and we cant do anything at the moment because we are waiting for the insurance before we can start trying to clean and salvage what we can. We are showing viewers some pictures of your cafe, we have just seen an exterior shot. You can see what has been left behind by the flooding outside the canal view cafe, we saw the muddy brown water, presumably your catering equipment, the electrics, this is all damage . Everything, yes. The water came up about a foot and a half inside. It has gone over the cooking equipment. Some of it is salvageable but there are lots of cookers and fryers that will need replacing after the flood. It is just cleaning it all up, seeing the extent of the damage once we can get in and get everything out and start cleaning it up. Give us an idea of how long your business had beenin idea of how long your business had been in the planning, putting it together and getting to the point of opening in november . We run a catering trade at the car park since la st catering trade at the car park since last february, it was in the plans for as to get a small cafe and it took us most of the year of 2019, we got under way took us most of the year of 2019, we got underway in took us most of the year of 2019, we got under way in september, october, it literally took around two months to build, it is two shipping containers converted into a cafe. We had a team of boys and girls here to finish off all the work. We did it all ourselves. We did most of it ourselves. Just devastating to see it now. Heartbreaking. We are finally getting going, we know what we are doing now and we have lots of lovely loyal customers that come daily and on a weekend, it is such a shame, heartbreaking. daily and on a weekend, it is such a shame, heartbreaking. I am sure those loyal customers will return. You mentioned you have insurance, you are planning to start again . Yes, we have a visit today at one oclock, it has been a bit frustrating because you just want to get in and get it sorted, but insurance has advised us not to touch anything. We have limited insurance, not Business Interruption or anything like that. We are a lot luckier than others, we have heard sad stories, people not being insured. We dont have a lot of earnings or anything like that but we can get in here, get the jobs done and hopefully get back to work as soon done and hopefully get back to work as soon as possible. Do you have a date in mind . The insurance come in at one oclock, then we will have more accurate timing and no more. Hopefully we can get it all turn in three or four weeks if we can get a team to do all the work needed, hopefully three to four weeks is the plan. Darren and emma, we wish you all the best, i hope you get back up and running very soon and thank you for talking to us. Darren and emma hughes in south wales. A downing street adviser has resigned after he faced criticism for comments he allegedly made several years ago on race and teenage pregnancy. Labour had called for Andrew Sabisky to go for reportedly saying black people had lower average iqs than white people. Our assistant Political Editor norman smith is at westminster for us. This all caused considerable disquiet among mps and cabinet ministers . Yes, a growing number of tory mps are deeply unhappy at the appointment of Andrew Sabisky, who announced he was quitting in a series of tweets in which he seems pretty defiant, accusing the media of what he called a giant character assassination and suggesting the media had selectively misquoted him and created mass hysteria about some of his comments on twitter and on blogs. I had to say, the man who appointed him this morning seems equally defiant and there was no suggestion of a contract or repentant mood from Dominic Cummings, the Prime Ministers chief adviser, when he emerged from his house this morning. Reporter have you got any more weirdos . Read Philip Tetlock, superforecasters. Instead of political pundits who dont know what theyre talking about. Reporter do you regret his appointment . Reporter does number ten condemn his views . If you dont know, Philip Tetlock is a political scientist in america who has written a lot about predictions in politics and clearly someone Dominic Cummings admires. I had to say, many tory mps were deeply uneasy about the appointment of this individual, but i think perhaps a significant was the fact that a yesterdays lobby briefing, the Prime Ministers Deputy Spokesman declined to distance the Prime Minister from declined to distance the Prime Ministerfrom many declined to distance the Prime Minister from many of Andrew Sabiskys comments, which fuelled stories about borisjohnson not condemning eugenics and so on and so forth, in other words dragging the Prime Minister directly into the row. Business minister kwasi kwa rteng row. Business minister Kwasi Kwarteng today suggested there needed to be a review of how these appointments were being made. I think we should prevent racists from coming into number ten, or wherever he was working. I think we do need to look at these processes. But the fact is his remarks have been identified and now hes very quickly been pushed out. I dont know whether he resigned, i dont know the details, but hes left the government and we can move on. Norman, Dominic Cummings clearly a very influential individual in government right now, but does this damage him . In the eyes of some, yes, but it seems to me his position is so strong at the moment that he probably will continue to dominate the mindset in number ten, and certainly listening to his comments as he left home this morning, he seems pretty much determined to carry on recruiting, if you like, outsiders, people who think out with the box, but the problem is that carries immense risks, as we have seen with Andrew Sabisky, but it is clear that Dominic Cummings, and to some extent the Prime Minister, want to do things differently and part of thatis to do things differently and part of that is in the personnel they recruit, and we have seen that in the way they want to shake up, if you like, what they perceive as the westminster establishment, namely the westminster lobby group of journalists, the bbc, the house of lords. Inevitably it results in pretty ferocious battles on your doorstep and maybe taking yawayawa off the ball, the bigger issues that the public want outwith. Off the ball, the bigger issues that the public want out with. Taking yawayawa off the ball. In a moment the weather forecast, but first what Victoria Derbyshire has coming up. Good morning. This programme can reveal that trans patients are waiting up to three years to see specialists and for every gender Identity Clinic in the uk apart from one, you could end up waiting for over a year to see someone. Some patients are taking matters into their own hands and buying hormones off unregulated internet sources. Their own hands and buying hormones off unregulated internet sourcesm basically felt like a choice between suicide and self medicating, because i could not deal with the thought of further masking vascular night and, in my case. The father of Julian Assange says his father would face effectively a death sentence had said to the United States to face trial. Next week and somes controversial extradition hearing begins. Chinas attorney on bbc two, the bbc news channel and online. Join us at10am. The bbc news channel and online. Join us at 10am. Carol has the weather now. Good morning. Im going to start with some severe flood Warnings Issued by the Environment Agency and Natural Resources wales, nine in force, meaning danger to life. Please follow the advice from the emergency services. Please follow the advice from the emergency services. Cold day today, blustery showers, some of them wintry on the higher rates in scotland and northern england. Through the afternoon, more organised band are showers pushing south, gusty winds around this, some of those heavy as they merge, you could also have some hail, thunder and lightning embedded in them. Temperatures, five in the north, 11 as we push towards the south. Through this evening, they care away onto the near continent, temporary ridge of High Pressure building, that will kill many of the showers. Some of them will be wintry and its going to be a cold night, the risk of ice on untreated services but towards the west, we have this new syste m towards the west, we have this new system coming our way introducing thicker cloud and some rain. Going to remain unsettled for the rest of the week. Hello, this is bbc news with annita mcveigh. The headlines. Two british passengers aboard the diamond princess cruise ship in japan say theyve tested positive for coronavirus their son says they dont know what will happen next. In the last two days ive seen the cracks in the armour, they are coming down. My mum breaks into tears frequently, when we call her, my dad is short tempered. The uk Foreign Office say theyre working to fly the british citizens on board home. More than 200 flood warnings are in place across england, wales and scotland, including nine severe or danger to life warnings. Hsbc announce plans to cut around 35,000 jobs, after profits dropped by a third last year. And in the next ten minutes, the uk will deliver a vital piece of technology to the International Space station its first major contribution to the project. Time now for the morning briefing, where we bring you up to speed on the stories people are watching, reading and sharing. Well return to our top story, because david and sally abel are currently trending, after they confirmed that theyve tested positive for coronavirus on board that cruise ship injapan. They re currently one of the hightest trending news story in the uk. Mr abel posted on his Facebook Page earlier that he was being sent to a hostel, rather than a hosptial. However, speaking to bbc breakfast earlier, another passenger on board the ship said that he was told that anyone who tests positive would remain quarantined on board. As part of what was delivered today was detailing, the details of what you needed to get off. If you tested positive in the last round of tests they are going to keep you quarantined here on the ship. If you get a negative test then they will notify you and give you details about disembarking and they are starting to get prepared for a follow up quarantine of the crew members. Meanwhile in china, state media are reporting that a hospital director in wuhan has died. Liu zhiming was the director of wuchang hospital in wuhan, died on tuesday morning. The virus is believed to have started in the city. Last week china said that six medical workers had died since the outbreak began. One story thats sure to generate more traffic on social media as the day goes on is the brit awards, which are taking place in london tonight. Bbc newsbeat have gone behind the scenes and spoken to the people given the job of planning the shows afterparty to find out how you go about creating a memorable night for some of the worlds biggest pop stars. You can find that article on the bbc website. Well, one person performing at the ceremony tonight is billie eilish, the 18 year old who swept the grammies and has become the youngest person to record a bond theme. Shes been speaking to bbc breakfast alongside her brother and producer finneas, where they explained the writing process went through when creating the song. Once we were sort of really sitting down to write it we did go relisten to everything, as much to know what had already been done and what to avoid. Not to copy. Yeah, we really wanted to make sure we didnt feel like we were copying other great songs so it was helpful to listen to the songs. The lyrics, how much did you know the story before you wrote the lyrics . We had a meeting with Barbara Broccoli in ireland in the beginning of september, she came to a show and she basically gave us a little hint of what the first scene, whats happening. How long did it take to write the song . Once you got past the Writers Block . From the real start of, the first thing that actually ended up making it on the song, three days. Its very quick. Thats really quick for us. And looking at what is most watched, you can see billy eilish and her brother talking on bbc breakfast, the number one story on the most watched at the moment. Going back to the most read. Number one, the news that the queen s nephew the earl of snowdon is to divorce. He and his wife serena, the countess of snowdon have been married for 26 years. A spokesman for the couple say they are amicably agreeing to divorce. The earl of snowdon of course the sun of the late princess margaret. At two, its the flood warnings, number three hsbc cutting up to 35,000 jobs it says, globally. Thats it for todays morning briefing. Just before we go to the sport, some jobs and wage figures outcome unemployment we are told decreased by 16,000 thats down to 1. 29 million down to three months, some official figures million down to three months, some officialfigures on million down to three months, some official figures on average earnings which grew at 2. 9 in december, down from 3. 2 in the previous month. Those figures from the office for national statistics. Sport now and time for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. Heres sally. Good morning. Its got even tighter in the battle for Champions League places. Manchester united are just three points off fourth placed chelsea after beating them two nil at stamford bridge. United had already beaten chelsea twice this season and Anthony Martial put them ahead just before half time. The hosts thought they had equalised through kurt zouma but for var to rule it out because of a push. Harry maguire got the second but according to Frank Lampard he should have been sent off before he got his goal. Wrong decisions because decisions, i suppose they are crucial. Thats the reason it was brought in. Its confusing to say the least. All the different angles still bring up the different angles still bring up the decision which is universally a wrong decision, it could be my opinion but i think everyone else ive spoken to, notjust in the dressing room but neutrals, have said the same. With 12 games to go, three points behind, chelsea, it was a massive win for us tonight, a defeat, and i dont think you can realistically claw back nine points but we will have a go. We are improving, we are working on things. And this mornings back pages pick up on the game last night. Dirty harry is what the mail goes for and hey screengrab the kick out from maguire. The independent says the race for the top four is wide open. There are four teams within three points of that fourth place. They also have a piece about Danny Cipriani and the abuse he suffered after posting about the death of caroline flack. And the guardian follow the story about Manchester City who have been banned form the Champions League for breaching financial fair play rules. They say there is evidence that the abu dhabi government paid for the major part of the etihad sponsorhip deal. City deny wrongdoing and are appealing. Organisers of the tokyo marathon have scaled back this years event due to the coronavirus outbreak. Only elite runners and wheelchair athletes will compete on the 1st of march now, meaning thousands of amateurs will miss out. Its fight week in las vegas. Well see a lot of tyson fury and Deontay Wilder ahead of their world heavyweight title fight on saturday. The pair meet nearly 15 months after their controversial draw. Both are still unbeaten, fury says the key is to stand up to wilder. Hes been speaking to our boxing commentator mike costello. I dont believe hes going to do much different, to be honest, i dont think he needs to do much different. Hes worked a3 times in a row for him, he will be looking to land his jab row for him, he will be looking to land hisjaba row for him, he will be looking to land his jab a bit more, set up the right hand. I think is going to strike slowly. Personally, i think he will come out of the gates like a galloping horse, quarter mile, flat out to try and knock me out first round but after that goes, he will start relaxing more. Get back to using his jab and setting the right hand up. You said to me in the past you try to do what your opponent doesnt want, if he wants to box you fine, if he wants to fight you box. You spoken in los angeles about wanting to knock him out. Yes. Which is running counter to that kind of philosophy. Median fire with fire. Instead of doing the opposite. Theres an old saying, to knock out a knockout artist youve got to back them up, make them go back because he is used to coming forward, hes never knocked anyone out on the back foot, ever. So his momentum is forward. So all bullies when they are backed up and stood up to, fold and he is no different to any other playground bully. When someone stands up to him, he fold. And im going to prove it on saturday night. Britains formula one World Champion Lewis Hamilton has vowed to continue fighting a lack of diversity in the sport. He was speaking after being named joint world sportsman of the year with lionel messi at the laureus awards. American gymnast simone biles is sportswoman of the year for a third time. Hamilton tweeted his gratitude for the award, saying he is humbled to be in such company. And the Champions League knockout stages get underway tonight. Liverpool play Atletico Madrid at the stadium where they lifted the trophy last year. You can hear Live Commentary of the last 16 tie on 5 live sport from 7pm. And well have the build up before that on sportsday on bbc news at half past six. Thats all the sport for now. Sally, thank you so much. The uks first major structural contribution to the International Space station will be delivered this morning. The Communications Antenna is part of a supply ship which took off from virginia on saturday. The equipment, made by a firm in oxfordshire, is designed to improve the stations broadband connection to earth. We can speak now to david kenyon who is managing director at mda space and robotics limited, the company that built the antenna. David, its great to have you with us on this very exciting morning for your company. Tell us whats happening in space right now. Its very good timing. The cygnus arrived at the space station some hours ago and about 30 minutes ago came up to close approach and i heard just before i came into the studio the ss rms had captured the sickness module and they are getting ready to dock it onto the space station in the next couple of days. The module you talking about contains the antenna that you have built and other equipment, just to explain what it is. Absolutely, yes, the rocket took the module, which is like a delivery van, up to the space station and then the sickness approaches the space station and then its captured by the big remote canada arm, to be ducked onto the space station so its sitting there now, safely ca ptu red its sitting there now, safely captured and in the next day or so, they will dock it and take out all they will dock it and take out all the supplies. Our equipment is in there, there fresh fruit and vegetables, all of supplies. This is a resupply mission, not a manned mission. Tell us how he became involved in this project because the International Space station is coming up to its 20th anniversary, i believe. As we mentioned, this is the uk s first big structural contribution to the space station so whats your involvement . We won the contract for the terminal in 201a. Its a new advanced terminal, that data it relays communication, instead appointing an antenna at the ground and trying to talk to a ground and trying to talk to a ground station thats shooting underneath every couple of minutes it points up to the station and satellite and gives long periods of high bandwidth communication and this type of communication will be needed, not just for the International Space station, but also for the new mission is going to the moon, the new lunar gateway, and the moon, the new lunar gateway, and the iss has still got a good lifetime to go, there is more than a0 experiments up there at the moment. Scientists desperate to get their data to the ground. This will be very much used over the next few yea rs be very much used over the next few years and the technology we have developed here will go on and be used in many other missions in the future. Ive seen it described as Home Broadband speeds for astronauts, you can imagine all that data getting back to earth, much faster than has been the case up until now which of course is hugely exciting for everyone involved in this. Both astronauts and the scientists back here on earth. Absolutely. Up to now, literally, scientists have had to wait for a floppy disk or a dvd to be posted back to ground on a return mission. The bandwidth has always up until now gone through a us connection which is extremely heavily used. So this will give much more real time access to the astronauts, they will be able to iterate in real time if there is something they find interesting and also, just from a personal front, the astronauts are up personal front, the astronauts are up there for long periods of time and to be able to have their own dedicated connection back to watch the news or talk to family, as well as the scientific purpose will be extremely good for them. Maybe some news channel in space, its being suggested in my ear by my director at the moment absolutely. How important is your involvement in this to the communications and space sectors in the uk, growing those two sectors . I think its very key. This has allowed us to capture space in this type of communication, where there is a growing market in space, people wanting to do missions to the moon, we are also in oxford, doing a lunarlanding moon, we are also in oxford, doing a Lunar Landing system at the moment, later landing system, that will allow vehicles approaching the moon to spot rocks from kilometres away and landed safely. So all of the things we are doing is positioning the uk industry for a big growth in space which is coming at the moment for orbit servicing, for building things in space, for eventually space mining although that is a long way away. Its quite a Strategic Technology to develop because eve ryo Ne Technology to develop because everyone who goes into space, needs to be able to communicate back to the earth. David, great to talk to, really fascinating whats going on. The time is 9 a7am. The headlines on bbc news. Two british passengers aboard the diamond princess cruise ship in japan say theyve tested positive for coronavirus their son says the experience has been stressful. The uk Foreign Office say theyre working to fly the british citizens on board home. More than 200 flood warnings are in place across england, wales and scotland, including nine severe or danger to life warnings. Aid officials in syria describe Young Children freezing to death and families with nowhere else to run, to escape government airstrikes and army operations. A humanitarian crisis seems to be descending into a new kind of deadly chaos. In a rare public address, president assad has insisted his military campaign will continue despite the impact on his own people. Sam ryder reports. A young syrian girl and her father play a game, whilejets drop bombs in the distance. Explosion. Laughs. Laughter is the only way, says the girls father, to cope with the hardships of an incessant war. The syrian army backed by russia has increased air strikes in the north west of the country, in their relentless goal to claim the last major rebel stronghold. Translation the battle to liberate idlib and aleppo countryside is ongoing, regardless of some of the empty bubbles of sound coming from the north, as well as the battle for liberating all syrian soil, crushing terrorism, and achieving stability. As assad ramps up his offensive, more people are forced to flee. In the last four days alone, the United Nations has estimated a0,000 people have been displaced. Many of them are women and children. They hope to reach the border with turkey, with a dream to enter europe. But first, they must outrun the bombs and survive the bitter cold. Translation there are 140 families here without shelter. There are no heaters, the conditions are difficult, the weather is harsh, especially at night. We have very Young Children that have suffered because theyve become ill from the cold. Aid agencies have warned their resources are seriously overwhelmed. To add to their concerns, the syrian armys wiping out vital Public Resources like this hospital, which has been forced to close. A ceasefire is desperately needed, according to the United Nations. But its a plea which has been repeatedly ignored not only by the syrian army, but by leaders around the world. A single mum in russia is facing six years in prison for her opposition political activism. Anastasia shevchenko has been under strict house arrest awaiting trialfor over a year banned from communicating with anyone other than officials and her relatives. Those conditions have just been eased slightly, allowing her to talk about her case to the bbc for the first time. Shes accused of links to a Pro Democracy Group open russia uk, which has been banned in russia as undesirable and a threat to state security. Sarah rainsford went to meet anastasia in southern russia. Walking the dog is a big deal for anastacia and for bailey. Under house arrest for over a year, the opposition activist has just been allowed out for a daily walk. That means meeting her 8 year old at the school gates again. Micha has missed this. His mum has missed a lot. Its not only the sun and fresh air, its also a wind that touches your skin even because you dont feel it at all. The new rules mean we can talk as well for the first time. Its like a nightmare, you know, but if you are a political activist in russia, you just have to be prepared somehow or anything. For prison. The single mum is accused of links to a Pro Democracy Group based in the uk that is banned here is undesirable. She now has this electronic tag. Thats how they control me. The case is based on a political debate and a protest with a banner against vladimir putin. Translation i think they want to frighten activists, to show that if people are politically translation i think they want to frighten activists, to show that if people are politically active, they will end up like me in custody and suffering. 00 52 52,572 2147483052 03 11,001 the family has been trying to keep 2147483052 03 11,001 4294966103 13 29,430 life as normal as possible