President trump says his time in office has produced a Great American comeback. The president of the United States in his state of the Union Address mr trump set out his case for another four years in power. Jobs are booming, incomes are soaring, poverty is plummeting, crime is falling, confidence is surging, and our country is thriving and highly respected again. But the senior democrat rips up a copy of the speech, after her offer of a handshake was apparently snubbed. Well have the latest reaction live from washington. Also on todays programme. As the coronavirus death toll
in china reaches nearly 500, sick passengers are taken off a cruise ship docked in hong kong. Should non payment of the tv licence fee no longer be a criminal offence . The government launches a Public Consultation. The new head of Health SelectCommittee Says it will investigate changing nhs culture in the wake of the inquiry into jailed breast surgeon ian paterson. And more than a0 people are arrested in a crackdown on so called courier fraud where people are duped into handing over cash to fraudsters. In the sport on bbc news, Super League Owners meet to discuss catalan dragons signing of the controversial australian player israel folau. Good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. President trump has hailed his first three years in office as the Great American comeback. Delivering his annual state of the Union Address, he set out his case for another four years in power, saying he is restoring the countrys manufacturing and military might. The speech, delivered just a few hours before he is likely to be acquitted on impeachment charges, was given Standing Ovations by republicans. But the most senior democrat, nancy pelosi, ripped up a copy of the speech after the president didnt shake hands with her. Ben wright reports from washington. Even before President Trump spoke, this felt more like a republican this felt more like a Republican Party rally than a solemn state
of the Union Address. Chanting four more years four more years, chanted republican lawmakers. While democrats looked angry and glum. In a striking snubbed of the most senior democrat in the chamber, President Trump refused to shake Nancy Pelosis hand, someone who pushed hard for his impeachment. Donald trump then fired out lines that will form the crux of his re election campaign. Jobs are booming, incomes are soaring. Poverty is plummeting. Crime is falling. Confidence is surging. And our country is thriving and highly respected again. The speech was bombastic, boastful and partisan. The president claimed there was a blue collar boom, and trumpeted americas buoyant economy. Very incredibly, the average Unemployment Rate under my administration is lower than any administration in the history of our country. Washingtons polarised politics was on stark display. Donald trump didnt mention impeachment, but democrats know their efforts to remove him from office now have probably failed, so its all about novembers election and President Trump is targeting a second time. 0ur agenda is relentlessly pro worker, profamily, pro growth and most of all, pro american. Thank you. And then, at the end, this. Nancy pelosi ripping up the president s speech in disgust. Washington has rarely looked so better. Looked so bitter. It was a manifesto of mistruths. And what do you think about him not shaking your hand . We always extend the hand of friendship. If he rejects it, thats up to him. Were you are invited to another state of the union . Hopefully not i am expecting another president nine months from today and the partisan divide will only
deepen later today when, as everyone expects, the republican led Senate ClearsPresident Trump of abusing his power and obstructing conquest. And obstructing congress. In this Election Year the next nine months will be fiercely fought and this may not be President Trumps last state of the Union Address. Ben wright, bbc news, washington. Our correspondent jane 0brien is at capitol hill in washington. That was pretty and edifying. What are people making of it all . Is it alljust are people making of it all . Is it all just about november . Are people making of it all . Is it alljust about november . That is right, it is all about november and what we saw last night was donald trump effectively relaunching his own re election campaign. This is a head of the Impeachment Vote this afternoon in the senate. We know republicans now have the numbers to acquit him, any wavering republican senators have declared that they will acquit him. Some say, yes, senators have declared that they willacquit him. Some say, yes, he
did something wrong, but it did not rise to the level of impeachment. The big story will be whether or not any moderate democrats across the aisle to acquit him as well. Moderates like joe mansion aisle to acquit him as well. Moderates likejoe mansion of west virginia, doug jones of alabama, they are in donald Trump Country and they are in donald Trump Country and they are in donald Trump Country and they are facing tougher election battles of their own. They might well defect. If that happens, that will enable republicans to claim that this is a bipartisan acquittal, not just that this is a bipartisan acquittal, notjust an that this is a bipartisan acquittal, not just an acquittal down that this is a bipartisan acquittal, notjust an acquittal down party lines, and that will cap a great week for donald trump, who not only will he have been acquitted by the senate, but he will also be making political hay out of the disarray among democrats in the first contest in iowa. And also a job Approval Rating that is now at an all time high, 49 . A lot of democrats today are scratching their heads and wondering what they did wrong. Jane 0brien in congress, thank you. Jane 0brien in congress, thank you. The death toll from the coronavirus in china has now reached almost 500. More than 2a,000 have been infected, and about 18 Million People in the country are now required to stay inside their homes in an effort to control the spread. Meanwhile, ten people on board a cruise ship which is docked in the japanese port of yokohama have tested positive for the virus, and another huge cruise ship in Hong Kong Harbour is also facing quarantine. 0ur china correspondent robin brant reports. All on board this cruise liner injapan are in quarantine for two weeks after ten chinese among them tested positive with the new type of coronavirus. The virus is spreading day by day. China is bearing the brunt. But its neighbours are having to take increasingly severe action as well. Translation these people who tested positive disembarked with quarantine officers. With help from the japan coast
guard, they are being transported to medical facilities on shore. British tourist david abel is among them. Weve got no idea when we are going to be allowed off the ship. All we have been informed is iii days quarantine on the ship. That means we have no interaction with other passengers, food is brought to the room, it is really basic food. Nothing like we have enjoyed on the cruise at all. It has changed so much. In the Chinese Capital the checks, the scrutiny commit in the Chinese Capital the checks, the scrutiny, the anxiety continues. This is now a country partially shut down. And still desperate to contain this outbreak. The president xi jinping has spoken tonight of the positive effect that he believes the prevention and control measures are having. He said he was confident they could win what he called this war. As wuhan, the epicentre city,
shut off from the rest of china, lays on more temporary health care, the uk is arranging a second and final flight out. More than 100 britons want to be on the plane when it goes on sunday morning. Two weeks of quarantine at home awaits them. How we are taking decisions of course has to be based on the science. And that has to be based on what we know about this virus. And that does have uncertainties around it because of the nature of this being a brand new virus. But, as i say, the approach were taking is to take no chances. Hong kong, part of china, remember, has further tightened its measures. All visitors from the mainland will now face quarantine from saturday. The outbreak is putting a huge strain on Companies Closely linked to china. Cathay pacific has asked its 25,000 plus staff to take weeks of unpaid leave because falling passenger numbers mean drastic cuts to the number of planes it is flying. Robin brant, bbc news, shanghai. The government has launched a Public Consultation about whether failure to pay the tv licence fee should no longer be a criminal offence. At the moment, anyone who watches or records live tv, streams programmes live on an online tv service, or uses iplayer without a licence is committing a criminal offence. In 2018, more than 120,000 people were fined for licence fee evasion. If the change is approved, it could have a major impact on the bbcs finances. 0ur media editor amol rajan is here. What could change now . As you suggest, the view of the government is they should be a civil rather than criminal offence, rather than it being something that could send people to jail, this should be something where nonpayment is a bit like failing to pay a utility bill. The government have launched a Public Consultation and they feel
the criminal sanction is unjust, it is too strong a sanction, and a waste of court time. The bbc responded by saying it is only about 396 responded by saying it is only about 3 of time that goes on the evasion of the licence fee and it could cost the corporation £200 million at a time when it is not hugely awash with cash. Working out exactly how much it will cost the bbc is hard because there is a big change coming down the line injune when a lot of pensioners stop getting the fee licence. This morning baroness morgan, the culture secretary, put these changes in the context of not these changes in the context of not the ongoing skirmishes between the bbc and the rest of the media and the government, but in a revolutionised global media landscape. They will have to be a detailed look at the whole licence fee model. The bbc has a charter that runs until 2027 and there is a review midway at what we are doing and the amount of the licence fee and the amount of the licence fee and the amount of the licence fee
and the issue of whether they should be decriminalisation of licence fee evasion, but i think it will be a broader debate because people are changing the way they consume media, there is a much more complicated media landscape, and we will have to look at whether the licence fee model is right for the 21st century. The big question is where does the bbc fit in this landscape . A lot of comparison with netflix, but netflix is in billions of pounds of debt and it isa is in billions of pounds of debt and it is a Subscription Service and that would change the very nature of the bbc from being a universal Public Service tailored to one for those who could pay. 0r Public Service tailored to one for those who could pay. Or they could go down an american model. Big changes and it will be for the viewers to decide what kind of media they want. Thank you for that. The new chair of the Commons Health committee the former health secretaryjeremy hunt says the committee will look at how to change nhs culture, following the review of the malpractice by breast surgeon ian paterson. Yesterday, an independent inquiry found that a culture of avoidance
and denial allowed paterson to perform botched and unnecessary operations on hundreds of women. He is serving a 20 year prison term for 17 counts of wounding with intent. Our Health Editor hugh pym is in westminster. What has jeremy hunt what hasjeremy hunt been saying specifically . Well, the background to this is that review finding, that there was a dysfunctional health ca re system there was a dysfunctional Health Care System a decade ago which totally let patients down. The chair of the enquiry, Bishop Graham james, said he was not convinced that medical regulators even i could stop this sort of thing happening again. Matt hancock, the health secretary, said this morning the central recommendations of the report would be implemented quickly, including much better information sharing between Different Health authorities. Now his predecessor, jeremy hunt, chair of the commons
Health Select committee, told the bbc his committee will look into the whole thing. When he was in office he really pushed Patient Safety as one of his top priorities, he really wa nted one of his top priorities, he really wanted to improve things. But as he told me this morning, there is clearly still a lot more work to be done. Clearly still a lot more work to be done. Well, what well look at is how we change the culture so that doctors who see something going wrong, it may be a mistake they themselves make, how we make it so its easy for them to talk about it openly so that mistake isnt repeated. That is the most important thing if youre going to have a safety culture, and we still dont get that right. Jeremy hunt, chair of the commons Health Select committee. In a separate development today, police have confirmed there was an allegation of Sexual Assault made against ian pattison in 2018, but they say the complainant, after talks with the police, decided not to pursue the complaint. That was
after Ian Patterson had beenjailed and there were no further safeguarding issues associated with that. Our Health Editor hugh pym. 0ur Health Editor hugh pym. Our top story this lunchtime. In his state of the Union AddressPresident Trump says his time in office has produced a Great American comeback. And still to come the new boss of the premier league tells us video assisted refereeing needs reviewing but wont be abandoned. And in the sportjust after half past. Mo farah has pulled out of the london Half Marathon next month. Hell not be able to defend his title after picking up an achilles injury in training. Yesterday we told you about the children of Islamic State supporters who are trapped in syria, often now orphans. Its a problem for many countries,
including the uk, which has men, women and children stuck there. Today we look at what happens whenjihadists return home. 0ur middle east correspondent Quentin Sommerville has followed the route of one couple who returned to indonesia. The armies of the caliphate left much behind in syria. Detention camps full of their wives, their children, entire families. Dozens of countries are now asking the same question. Can they welcome back orphans and daughters and mothers who belonged to the enemy of the world . From the camps and prisons of syria, we traced the journey of one family who answered the Islamic State groups call, through the back streets of turkey, all the way home to asia. In this istanbul neighbourhood, the group tightened its grip on two indonesian followers. Husband and wife suicide bombers rullie zeke and ulfah hid out here for months after they failed to get into syria. But that setback didnt stop these two fanatics. They had failed to achieve martyrdom in syria, so instead they would try closer to home. While other countries dither, here in indonesia they are already running a de radicalisation programme. Tiny minds were a big part of the Islamic States plans. But theirs was a childhood without song, without playtime. Here at the rehabilitation centre, the children ofjihadists are given love and attention and allowed to have fun. They are learning to be kids again. Some of the children here have just returned from turkey. Their radicalised parents are being treated here, but we were not allowed
to meet them. A counsellor at the camp met the couple. Did you realise how dangerous they were . Translation i was surprised when we learnt of the terrible thing they did. Because when they left here, they were nice, cooperative, they were better than the rest. And a year after they left the centre, we visited them and they were still good. I didnt expect that they would go back to this path. Can you guarantee that given there are hundreds of indonesians trapped in syria who support is, that if they come back, they wont be a danger, they wont commit more atrocities, they wont commit acts of terror . Translation no, we cannot guarantee. We went to uncover more of rullie zeke and ulfahs story. Sofian is a former extremist who knew the couple and met them at the rehabilitation centre. He is against bringing more
indonesian is supporters home. Translation i disagree with bringing them back because it will create problems. They are not trustworthy people. In many cases former terrorists get involved again with groups even after they have been rehabilitated. The wild, ungoverned jungles of mindanao in the southern philippines were where rullie and ulfah headed next. Here, they would become martyrs, and mass murderers. Hundreds of asian fighters crossed two oceans to join the Islamic State group in the middle east. The worry now is that since the caliphate is lying in ruin, that that flow is reversed. Just look at the territory down here. There are miles upon miles of open sea, hundreds of islands, difficult to protect. And it is easy to move among them. Easy to move among countries. Our next report is from here in the philippines where the Islamic State group is claiming new recruits and new attacks. The United Nations has called for an end to hostilities in syria, after nearly 600,000 people most of them women and children were displaced in the idlib region in the last two months. A renewed offensive by Syrian Goverment forces against the last major rebel enclave has seen some of the most intensive bombing of the nine year long civil war. Our World Affairs correspondent paul adams reports. This war has displaced millions and, after nine long years, it is still happening. Idlib, the last rebel stronghold, a mass of desperate convoys. As president assads forces close in, whole communities are on the move. Many, like the moglaz family, packing their belongings in the town of binnish, fled here from other besieged
towns and provinces. They are being uprooted again. Its a grim, familiar routine. Translation i lived in kafr aweid, we were safe and happy. Then the bombing and war took place and we were displaced for the first time then a second and a third time. The governments offensive on idlib is remorseless. Towns pulverised by shelling and air strikes, inhabitants forced to flee north and west. Some places, like maar shoreen now ghost towns. The un says that almost 600,000 people have been forced to move in the last two months and the process is picking up speed. They are slowly converging on the turkish border. Many of the displaced have left with nothing but the clothes on their backs or what they could pile on to ramshackle vehicles, and they urgently need shelter, food, water and sanitation support, health support, Emergency Education and,
not least, protection. Turkey is building up its military presence in the region. The latest fighting has seen deadly clashes between turkish and Syrian Government forces. A deal reached two years ago between turkey and president assads russian backers now hanging by a thread. Translation we hope the regime will pull back from our observation post before the end of february. If they dont, turkey will be obliged to take matters into its own hands. As always, civilians are paying the highest price. This man is struggling to comprehend what has happened to his family. He lost his wife, two daughters in law and two grandchildren on sunday, killed when a barrel bomb hit their house in the town of sarmin. Many of syrias children have known nothing but war. Death and displacement have stalked them wherever they go and with this complex ninth anniversary
approaching, there is clearly much more to come. Paul adams, bbc news. More than a0 people have been arrested in a crackdown on so called courier fraud across england and wales. Police say more than 3,000 people, most of them elderly, have been duped into withdrawing large sums of money and handing it to a fraudster whos posing as a courier or a police officer. Our home Affairs Correspondent danny shaw reports. Early morning in central london. Police are out in force for a raid on a flat in kings cross. Police its part of an operation targeting criminal gangs involved in courierfraud. A sniffer dog is brought in to find items that might be hidden, like mobile phone sim cards and memory sticks. Carol norton was a victim of courierfraud. She was caring for her terminally ill husband when she was tricked
into handing over £4000 in cash. A man phoned her pretending to be a detective who needed help on an undercover investigation. I believed every word he said. He really sounded, he was concerned about me. He did say he was concerned about my husband. And hejust seemed a Genuine Police officer. When you learned that it was a scam, how did you feel . What was your reaction . Ijust cried. It was awful. I really felt upset because i had let my husband down. Police believe courier fraud is a growing problem across england and wales. In the past two years there have been more than 3,100 victims. £12 million has been stolen, with some people losing hundreds of thousands in pensions and savings. Courierfraud is believed to be coordinated by organised gangs who may be linked to Wider Networks involved in drug trafficking. Its helped by the fact that there is a degree of anonymity, when the fraudster can phone the victim. Quite often we see fraudsters coming from places like london and urban locations, travelling up and down the country, using Public Transport and then arriving on the doorstep of the victim. In police raids since november, ali people have been arrested including two men at the flat in london. They have since been released while investigations continue. 1a others have been charged as Police Continue to tackle what they say is a despicable crime. Danny shaw, bbc news. The leaders of the three largest parties in the republic of ireland have clashed in the final tv debate of the general election campaign. Voters go to the polls on saturday to decide who should lead the government in dublin, as ireland deals with the fallout from the brexit process. Chris page reports. Ireland is a nation on the edge of europe and the frontline of brexit. Its the only country which has
a land border with the uk. After a financial crisis a decade ago, it has recovered strongly and now has the Fastest Growing economy in the eu. But opposition parties are highlighting issues like housing shortages, hospital overcrowding and the cost of living. In the last major tv debate before the election, the Prime Minister emphasised his role in the brexit talks and claimed a change of government would be a risk. Its only half time, brexit isnt done yet. The next big step is to negotiate a trade deal between the uk and the eu. Thats absolutely essential for the 200,000 people who work in export industries in ireland, our rural economy, our agri food sector and our fishermen. But the leader of the Main Opposition Party said he was up to the task because all parties had the same approach to brexit. The idea that you cant change the government because of brexit i think makes absolutely no sense. Governments change all of the time in europe and theres always many key issues facing the European Union and member states. Both mr martin and mr varadkars parties are in the Political Centre ground. They have dominated irish politics for many decades. But they are being challenged by a left wing party, sinn fein, which is performing strongly in opinion polls. The theme of this election has emerged as a thirst for change. Im very clear what that change means. Everywhere that i have gone people have said to me that they recognise that fianna fail and fine gael, essentially identical parties, have had it all their own way now for almost a century. The other two leaders said they wouldnt go into a coalition with sinn fein, mainly because the party had links to paramilitary violence during the conflict in northern ireland. Sinn fein emphasises its role in the peace process. No group is expected to win an overall majority of seats in the irish parliament. Complex negotiations to form a government are set to follow the general election, which will be held on saturday. Chris page, bbc news. The new head of the premier league has said that var video assistant refereeing, needs improving but wont be abandoned. Richard masters has denied that the system had been damaging to the league even though theres been widespread criticism of it. Richard masters has been speaking to our Sports Editor dan roan. For years the premier league has gone from strength to strength both on and off the field, but as well as the triumphs, there are now a number of challenges. Step forward this man. Having been overlooked three times for the role, interim chief richard masters has landed one of sports biggestjobs on a permanent basis and there is plenty to tackle. No penalty rarely a week goes by without controversy or confusion over var. Obviously, there are issues. There are issues with consistency of decision making. There are issues with delay, which people dont like. Should we just scrap the whole system . Just do away with it . No, i dont think thats an option. What we have to do is try and make var better. And were going to have a debate in april with the clubs about what sort of var they would like next season. I dont think its been damaging. But i accept it needs improving. Ultimately we cant stop individuals harbouring racist or homophobic thoughts coming into our grounds or even sharing them with people around them. Its our responsibility to make sure that those people know that if they do that there are consequences. And also to put the proper systems in place to deal with the situation when it happens. But you accept there is work to be done . Yes, there is always more work to be done. With the government reviewing gambling laws, it emerged that bookmakers are considering a voluntary ban our clubs ever was abided by the rules and regulations. In 2005, the government to change the regulations around betting and it is properly came to have a look at that again. I
dont think the answer should be that if you are looking at. Salah charges in towards him to score here we are, in early february and liverpool are 22 points clear. It is a procession. Does that concern you . It doesnt. My view is that last year we had the most incredible title race and i always back the premier league to provide a story, if you like, that gets fans excited. We are seeing one of the premier leagues great sides and we should celebrate that. Liverpools long wait for the title now looks all but guaranteed, but for the premier league there is plenty of issues to be resolved. Dan roan, bbc news. Time for a look at the weather, heres ben rich. Things is remaining calm until
friday and