and extreme science. have been postponed for a year. senators in washington have begun two days of questionning the unique human challenge in donald trump's impeachment of measuring climate change trial, as the president in the antarctic. and his allies have accused the former national security live from our studios in advisorjohn bolton singapore and london. this is of betrayal. and on our website, there's more on the moment the european parliament ratified britian's brexit agreement. bbc world news. it's newsday. some meps burst into a rendition of auld lang syne following the vote. it was the final hurdle before good morning. the uk leaves the eu on friday. it's 8am in singapore, midnight in london and 1am that's all. stay with bbc world news. in geneva, where the world health organization has warned that the entire world needs to take action to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, which began in the chinese city of wuhan. several countries including the us have begun flying their nationals home from china. britain had hoped to begin a repatriation on thursday, but it's now emerged that the process could take a little longer. this report from our china correspondent, john sudworth. safely out of wuhan, a plane arriving at a california air base with 200 americans on board. earlier, japan got a flight full of its citizens out, touching down in tokyo. the night before the great escape... but the brits are still only preparing to leave. kharn lambert‘s grandmother, vera, stuck here on holiday, is running low on her medications. how do you feel about going home? delightful. there's frustration with the uk government. i think it's been an absolute shambles, to be honest with you. i don't think the government have really known what they've been doing. i don't think they've had as much contact with the chinese authorities as they say, because, if they had, i would assume that they'd been getting the same information that the americans have got, the japanese have got, and they'd have been able to put plans in place sooner. despite the lockdown, infections in wuhan are still rising rapidly, and anyone flown home from here faces two weeks in uk quarantine. maeve clarke, a lecturer from birmingham, stuck in wuhan, says she understands why. much is still not known about the virus but, across china, few are taking any chances. villagers are putting up roadblocks and shutting out the world with great barriers of earth. "no outsiders are allowed in at all," this man tells me. beyond the human cost, for china there is another impact to all of this — fear. with countries beginning to advise against travel, with airlines cancelling flights, and with whole villages cutting themselves off from the outside world, the economic cost is likely to be severe. my name is nick. this is... for some uk nationals, escape is not an option. nick house is british but his wife's from indonesia. she's been told she can't get a place on the plane. my mum and dad are worried, my sister's worried. theyjust want us home, really. they face more long weeks of uncertainty in a ghost city. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. so is the lockdown of wuhan the right policy to prevent the virus from spreading? lawrence gostin is the director of the world health organization collaborating center on national and global health law. it's health law. utterly unprecedented in the it's utterly unprecedented in the history of the world to confine more than 50 million people. it could only happen in china. and i think it could end up china. and i think it could end up being very counter—productive, because as story indicated, are stuck there. there's fear, panic, uncertainty. they are literally trapped in a zone of contagion, and they're going to infect one another and eventually they will leave. soi will leave. so i think the first rule of public health is to gain the trust and the cooperation of a population, and this isjust the wrong way to do it. so given that this is more infectious, this coronavirus is more infectious than sars, what should people in these areas be doing? what should the chinese government be advising? the chinese government should first of all be in the community in households and community venues during testing, screening, treatment and trying to find out who is exposed, once called contact tracing. that's how we brought sars and merz under control, and indeed how we brought ebola under control. they should really have community health clinics and really deal with this in a public health way. i would love to see them call in international experts like who, public health england, the us cdc. imagine what that would signal. put aside our political and ideological differences and come together as a common malady to fight this global threat. given how the chinese authorities dealt with sars, there was a lot of secretly about this, is this not a more positive way? we are getting information out from the chinese government regarding this, are we not seeing a more positive treatment to this? certainly china hid sars for weeks and months before they let it out. this time, literally three days after the virus was first reported, they had genetically sequenced the virus and the chinese officials shared it with the full international community. that's magnificent and could lead to rapid development of vaccines and medications to bring this under control. but, on the other hand, it's very clear indeed that there are parallels to sa rs indeed that there are parallels to sars and that the chinese we re to sars and that the chinese were very, very slow of the ground. there were millions of people that left wuhan and hubei province before a response was undertaken. it appears that the officials in hubei and wuhan were afraid to do anything without clearance from beijing, so critical days and probably weeks went by when the virus was spreading. now it is on at least four continents and nearly 20 countries around the world, so the geographic spread is far greater than it was with sars. lawrence gostin professor gostin from the who. much more on the coronavirus on our website. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. president trump's impeachment trial has moved into a new phase, with senators submitting questions to lawyers for each sides. the white house is trying to block the publication of former national security advisorjohn bolton's book, which claims trump actively witheld aid to ukraine. adam schiff for the democrats made the case that mr bolton must be called as a witness. there's no way to have a fair trial without witnesses, and when you have a witness who is as plainly relevant as john bolton, who goes to the heart of the most serious and egregious of the president's misconduct, who has volunteered to come and testify to turn him away, to look the other way, i think is deeply at odds with being an impartial juror. the latest there on the impeachment trial. also making news today. two decommissioned satellites travelling at more than 30,000mph have had a near miss in the last hour. organisations tracking space objects showed they came within metres of each other above pennsylvania. experts say a collision could've created hundreds of thousands of pieces of space debris that would pose a danger to other objects in orbit. scientists say the lungs have an almost magical ability to repair the damage caused by smoking, but only if you quit. research published in the journal nature found that the cells that escape damage can help the lungs recover, even for patients who smoked 20 cigarettes a day for a0 years. many scientists believe mutations that lead to cancer are permanent. now this is... well, yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you, this is a small family car being driven down a road with a greenhouse on its roof. the greenhouse is at least twice as high as the car itself and sticks out on either side. it was filmed driving through greater manchester, in the north of england. the european parliament has voted overwhelmingly to ratify the brexit withdrawal agreement. it sets into law that the uk will leave the eu in eactly 48 hours from now, at 2300 gmt on friday. it'll leave eu institutions but remain under most eu rules during a transition until the end of the year. wednesday's vote followed farewell statements from members of the european parliament. our europe editor, katya adler, reports. # for auld lang syne, my dear # for auld lang syne...#. it's been an emotional day in brussels. most of these meps deeply regret brexit. they felt honour—bound today to approve the negotiated brexit deal. but they meant what they then sang. after more than a0 years of eu membership, old acquaintances, the uk in this case, will not be forgotten. to come to results... the new european commission president declared everlasting love for the uk today, using the words of british novelist and poet george eliot. only in the agony of parting do we look into the depth of love. we will always love you and we will never be far. long live europe. applause it is all over, finished! and the uk's best—known european parliamentarian ensured he would not be forgotten. he told the eu it was doomed, and then... i know you want to ban our national flags, but we are going to wave you goodbye, and we will look forward in the future to working with you as sovereign... mid—sentence, he had his mic cut. no national flag—waving allowed here. could you please remove the flags? there's something slightly surreal about this day, this week of goodbyes here in brussels, and that's because the day after brexit day, we enter the transition period. so, yes, legally we have left the european union, but while we are sorting out a new trade deal, practically, things stay the same — paying into the eu budget, accepting laws made here inside the european parliament, but we will no longer have a seat here at the decision—making table. that is a lot of voices to lose. for some uk meps today, even emptying their post box at the european parliament was a symbolic event. it is a disaster, it's a huge disaster. europe is not going to go away. we are going to have to trade with them. we will come on holiday and we will move around and we will drive around. the regulations will be made here, in this house, but there will be no british voice standing up for the uk when those regulations are made. tonight, scottish national party meps bid a tuneful, tea rful farewell to the european parliament. music: flower of scotland. the union flag flies here until friday but, with trade talks just ahead, the eu—uk conversation is far from over. katya adler, bbc news, brussels. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: a special report from justin rowlatt, who travelled to the antarctic to see first—hand the challenges facing those seeking the facts about climate change. the shuttle challenger exploded soon after lift—off. there were seven astronauts on board, one of them a woman school teacher. all of them are believed to have been killed. by the evening, tahrir square, the heart of official cairo, was in the hands of the demonstrators. they were using the word ‘revolution‘. the earthquake brought down buildings in seconds. tonight, the search for any survivors has an increasing desperation about it as the hours passed. the government is a family in control of the entire republic of uganda. survivors of auschwitz have been commemorating the 40th anniversary of the liberation. they toured the crematoria and the gas chambers and relived the horrifying experiences. welcome back, everyone. you are watching you stay on the bbc. —— newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: the world health organization has warned the entire world needs to take action to stop the spread of the new coronavirus which began in the chinese city of wuhan. the white house has warned president trump's former national security advisor that his controversial new book can't be published unless he deletes classified information. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the straits times leads with two articles about the spread of the coronavirus from china. it says more people have been infected than during the sars epidemic. the virus is also making font—page news in the japan times. their report details the repatriation of more than 200 people from wuhan. up to 650 have asked to be brought home. and finally, the new york time's international edition features two british police officers working to return stolen art back to nigeria. it tells the story of how a handwritten note sparked their efforts to help return two benin bronzes, many of which are on display in western museums. those are the papers. backing out of the lead story. al china correspondent stephen mcdonald travelled over the weekend. he is now under self imposed quarantine 14 days at his home invasion. thank you joining us. how are you dealing with the self—imposed quarantine? how are you dealing with the self-imposed quarantine? it's 0k. the bbc self-imposed quarantine? it's ok. the bbc are keeping me busy. so we still do a lot of reporting, even from home. in that sense it's fine, you know. everything can be delivered these days in china. it doesn't really matter. so what are you doing at the moment while you are at home for 14 days? well, look, basically, keeping an eye on this crisis. in a way, me being herejust on this crisis. in a way, me being here just make sure on this crisis. in a way, me being herejust make sure i don't infect other members of oui’ don't infect other members of our team don't infect other members of ourteam in beijing is don't infect other members of our team in beijing is nothing to what people in wuhan are facing, where they now have just... will check in a moment, just... will check in a moment, just huby province, the number of infected is 4500, and most of infected is 4500, and most of those deaths have been in wuhan. and given that we have over 7000 cases and, more worryingly, suspected over 12,000 cases, itjust shows this is becoming very serious in terms of the number of people that have this virus. and you were in hubei province over the weekend, what was it like them? tell us about your experience. well, everywhere is pretty quiet in china at the moment, even beating. you move around the city now, it is hard to find somebody on the streets, to tell the truth —— beijing. in hubei it is at another level. the towns, as soon as you go across the border into hubei the towns are just dead. the chinese new year is normally a time when you would be visiting your friends and family and setting off fireworks, meals, and this sort of thing, a very festive occasion, and instead this yea r‘s occasion, and instead this year's chinese new year has been, oh, a pretty sad old new yearfor been, oh, a pretty sad old new year for people been, oh, a pretty sad old new yearfor people in china, to tell the truth. the only sort of upside is that you are going to be locked down in your home at one point, it might as well be now, because people have theirfridges be now, because people have their fridges stocked up on thatis their fridges stocked up on that is how you normally spend the new year anyway. so plenty of people have decided just to try to write this out at home. given that the holiday period in most cities has been extended, companies are telling people, like my company, don't come into work, lots of other people are extending their leave, they will start working from home. at schools, universities the same thing. please take care. stephen mcdonald is under quarantine for 14 days after travelling to hubei province. yesterday, here on bbc world news, we heard about the giant glacier in the middle of the west antarctic ice sheet that scientists fear could be at the point of catastrophic collapse. for the second of his reports, our chief environment correspondentjustin rowlatt travelled with a team of scientists working out how fast the ice is vanishing. antarctica is the stormiest continent on earth, and west antarctica is the most remote and stormy part of it all. so we've been filming out here for, like, i don't know, an hour and a half, and this is the result, and it gives you an idea of why it's so hard to operate here. all the planes are grounded. they're saying we won't fly anywhere for three days. it has taken years of preparation to get the scientists out here. last year, ships brought hundreds of tonnes of fuel and cargo to a remote ice shelf. then a team of specialist snow vehicles dragged it 1000 miles over ice, across some of the toughest terrain and toughest weather imaginable. and all ata and all at a maximum speed of just ten miles an hour. six people can do a huge amount, but we just truck along day from day. nobody really knows where we are, and then we just suddenly turn up! delivering bounty! the us provided air muscle, flying in the scientists and their equipment and ferrying everything down to the camps at the front of the glacier. then the really hard work began. digging snow, and lots of it. the scientists need 10 tonnes of the stuff to fill this — a water container the size of a small swimming pool. this will be the most southerly jacuzzi in the world, i think! a bank of boilers heat the water to just below boiling and it's sprayed onto the ice, to melt a hole almost half a mile down to where the ocean water meets the glacier. only now can the scientists deploy their instruments. the whole of this region is below sea level, which is why the so—called doomsday glacier is so vulnerable. the water can just keep on melting it. only by taking measurements here can we hope to get accurate predictions of how sea level is going to rise in future. even if it means arousing the curiosity of some of the creatures that live here. this is work has confirmed the i just‘ fears. warm this is work has confirmed the ijust‘ fears. warm seawater is melting the ice of west antarctica increasingly rapidly, raising sea levels worldwide. the challenge now was for the rest of us, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for the rising oceans we will face in the decades to come. justin rowlatt, bbc news, west antarctica. demonstrations led by young people are bucking a trend towards repression across the continent of asia. that's one of the conclusions of a report from amnesty international. it points to protest movements in hong kong and india as an example of the fight—back against governments. i've been speaking to nicholas bequelin, amnesty international‘s regional director for east and south—east asia and the pacific. i asked him if the youth led movement in hong kong will continue. 0h, oh, absolutely, yes. the protesters are oh, absolutely, yes. the protesters a re not oh, absolutely, yes. the protesters are not letting down. they keep pushing for accountability for the really unparalleled police violence and brutality that we've seen over the last few months in hong kong. and these protests really have inspired people around the world and, in particular, in asia. and everywhere we look this year we see governments increasing, cranking up repression, jailing people, pushing back on protest, cracking down on freedom of expression, arresting lawyers, human rights activists, but we also see people not giving up on their rights and young people are often at the frontlines of these efforts to resist authoritarian and progressive government practices. and where have we seen a continuation of this flagrant disregard for human rights in asia, nicholas? well, think that the biggest culprits are china, it was holding up to1 million uighurs mark and other muslim ethnic minorities in the north—west. i think in india, at present, narendra modi has led a very vicious campaign against people of islamic faith, suspended the specials status of kashmir and looking to revise the citizenship act that would disenfranchise possibly millions of people. but the situation is not much greater in strongman country, president duterte in the philippines continuing the war on drugs, a murderous war that is killing it thousands of innocent people. in cambodia, the longest serving head of state in the world, the general in thailand, it is a very long list of repressive governments... list of repressive governments. . . crosstalk. people are not taking it lying down. despite the setbacks there have also been made through this, particularly in taiwan with the lgbt rights and the legalisation of same—sex marriage, briefly. that's right, we're seeing it across asia. but taiwan this year, through protest immobilisation, really achieved a first in asia, which is legal recognition of same—sex marriage. there is progress in this area across the region and, again, i think we witnessed what people, you know, do not accept the established order, young people, and they want to say —— they want a say in the future and they want to have their rights. nicholas bequelin from amnesty international. you have been watching newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us. coming up: lies and conspiracies on the coronavirus. we'll take a look at the fear, misinformation, and blame on the wuhan outbreak that has spread across the internet and see how fake news and rumours are hindering the fight against the virus. a loss of concern are. —— lot of. and, rico, we're going to end newsday with a new world record for sword dancing. it was set when more than 2,000 people came together in rajkot, in india. this dance is known as ‘talwar raas‘ and is a local custom. it dates back to the mughal—era when rajput women welcomed their men—folk home after they returned victorious from a battle. after the performance, in front of the rajkot royal family and an adjudicator from the guinness book of world records, it was confirmed that they have, indeed, set a new world record. hello there, we started off this week with a wintry flavour, cold or all of us. but wednesday brought a day of contrast. it was a glorious afternoon across much of england and wales with some sunshine coming through, as you can see in bedford, and a little milder with it. different story further north as was awesome evie, persistent rain. some areas of scotland seeing over a couple of inches ina 24—hour seeing over a couple of inches in a 24—hour period. now that weather front continues to drift its way steadily nor. we've got a weaker area of low pressure pushing its way in from the south—west. but one unifying factor as we move into thursday and friday is a south—westerly flow will dry mild air right across the country stop so wednesday morning we saw temperatures hovering around the freezing mark. but thursday morning, and it really looks as though it will be a different story. we're going to start of mild, 7-8d we're going to start of mild, 7—8d widely across the country. so yesterday mild start, but rather cloudy, grey, drug one, u nfortu nately. rather cloudy, grey, drug one, unfortunately. there will be some rain, some heavier visiting, moving through western scotland to the north. and then behind it with quite a lot of cloud, thick enough for the odd spot or two drizzle, like patchy rain, misty, murky weather conditions, may be dense fog lingering in the far south—west. lighter winds to the south, but always strongest the south, but always strongest the further north and west without rain. but look at this. this temperature is widely double digits. 10— 14 degrees are double digits. 10— 14 degrees a re often double digits. 10— 14 degrees are often in highs. as we move out of thursday into friday, u nfortu nately, yet out of thursday into friday, unfortunately, yet again, there's another frontal system thatis there's another frontal system that is going to push in from the west and that's going to bring more wet weather with it. now the heaviest of the rain is likely to be through western areas for a time on wednesday. and as it pushes its way steadily eastwards it will weaken, fragmented showers into the afternoon. but we are likely to see more persistent rain just likely to see more persistent rainjust clinging onto likely to see more persistent rain just clinging onto the north—west of the great land. however, the wind direction is still a south—westerly, still mild for all, eight — 14 the higher. as we move out of friday for the staff of the weekend, unfortunately it looks as they we're stuck in repeat. low pressure never too far away, but weather fronts crossing the uk, they either way, a brief respite before the next weather front which is in. so it does look likely that it is going to stay pretty u nsettled. is going to stay pretty unsettled. so this is our city forecast for both saturday and sunday. it's going to be a case showers along the spells of rain, but it's still only mild side for this time of year, with temperatures widely into 00:28:48,435 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 double figures. take care.