tonight at ten, lawyers for prince andrew argue for the first time in court, that the sexual assault civil lawsuit against him should be thrown out. they say he can't be sued because of an agreement signed by his accuser, virginia giuffre. but will the court agree? thejudge was quite aggressive in his questioning of prince andrew's attorneys as they raised technical argument after technical argument, trying to get virginia's case dismissed. the judge did not seem to be having any of it. we'll have the very latest. also tonight... as millions return to school amid fears of rising infections, borisjohnson says he's confident there'll be no need for tougher covid rules. we have a good chance of getting through the omicron wave

without the need for further restrictions and without the need certainly for a lockdown. in china, a city of over a million is put into lockdown after just three covid cases are found. and, despite strict covid rules, novak djokovic will be allowed to defend his australian open title, without being vaccinated. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel. the latest on romelu lukaku after he apologises to chelsea fans for his controversial comments in an italian interview. good evening. prince andrew's lawyers have been trying to convince an american judge to dismiss the sexual assault civil lawsuit against him. they say his accuser, virginia giuffre, can't sue because of damages she accepted

in 2009 from the paedophile jeffrey epstein, in return for dropping her claims against him and any other "potential defendant". prince andrew has consistently denied her allegations. our royal correspondentjonny dymond has the latest. she says she was sexually assaulted by prince andrew three times. he denies every allegation and says he can't remember meeting her. today his lawyers argued the whole case should be dismissed. the civil case rests partly on this meeting in london, a night when virginia giuffre, here aged 17, says she was forced to have sex with prince andrew. when he spoke to the bbc in 2019 he denied the allegations again and again. you can say categorically that you don't recall meeting virginia roberts, dining with her... yep.

..dancing with her at tramp... yep. ..or going on to have sex with her... yes. ..in a bedroom in a house in belgravia? i can absolutely, categorically tell you it never happened. do you recall any kind of sexual contact with virginia roberts, then or at any other time? none... none whatsoever. today in new york, the lawyers battled in court for the first time. at the centre of their arguments, a deal struck between andrew's accuser and his formerfriend jeffrey epstein. epstein paid virginia giuffre half a million dollars. their deal released any other person who could have been included as a potential defendant from further legal challenge by virginia giuffre. prince andrew's lawyers needed to persuade the judge that the 2009 deal covered the prince. it's unquestionable,

the court heard, that prince andrew could have been sued in the 2009 florida action but was not. he was a potential defendant. the prince's lawyers demanded detail of the allegations against their client, but they were slapped down by thejudge. that's not a dog that's going to hunt here, he said. finally, questions were raised as to whether the prince could even use the 2009 deal. he is a third party, the court heard. the judge said, the only people who could enforce it werejeffrey epstein and virginia giuffre. thejudge was quite aggressive in his questioning of prince andrew's attorneys as they raised technical argument after technical argument, trying to get virginia's case dismissed. the judge did not seem to be having any of it. even if this case is dismissed, prince andrew will, say veteran royal watchers, struggle to return to his previous public life.

when it comes to the monarchy, the monarchy is obviously an institution that is big enough to rise above what has happened. but when it comes to prince andrew, one has to say that one can see no role in royal life for him in the immediate future or the intermediate future. just getting this far has damaged prince andrew. and if the case is not dismissed, it will hang over thisjubilee year. the queen's second son, threatened with having to testify in a new york court room. now, they wait. the judge in new york says a decision will come pretty soon. jonny dymond, bbc news. our legal correspondent, dominic casciani, is here. you heard the arguments presented by teleconference in the case. what did you make of the prince's chances as

a result of what you heard? it you make of the prince's chances as a result of what you heard?- a result of what you heard? if you think of a member _ a result of what you heard? if you think of a member of _ a result of what you heard? if you think of a member of the - a result of what you heard? if you think of a member of the royal i think of a member of the royal family being born to rule he would have got a taste of what it is like to be subject to the rule of law because the judge dismissed very swiftly some of the small technical arguments in the case to zero in on the big issue, the question where his lawyers are presenting this deal is some legal shield against which he can withstand any kind of attack on the judge kept asking how can prince andrew benefit from this deal when he is not blamed on it and did not even know existed. he would surely need the permission of both those parties to benefit from it. the lawyers for prince andrew says that he has rights under this deal but i think there was a telling phrase from thejudge but i think there was a telling phrase from the judge said it is pretty hard to square those things with what i'm hearing. but is not his finaljudgment but could be the most important thing that he says.

thank you. borisjohnson says he hopes to "ride out" the rising wave of omicron infections, without lockdown restrictions in england, despite warnings the nhs is under significant pressure. he said the government would stick with plan b measures in england and stressed the majority of those needing hospital treatment were either unvaccinated or hadn't had a boosterjab. more hospital trusts have declared critical incidents due to staff shortages and rising cases, with 219,000 new infections now confirmed, the highest daily figure so far, although it covers four days' reporting in northern ireland and two in wales. here's our health editor, hugh pym. the nhs is always under strain at this time of the year. now there's a new variant. with london hospitals like this one, uch, caught up in the early wave. they are seeing an important difference from previous covid surges. it's all looking very good. all looking nice and steady.

so well done. there's less pressure on intensive care, but more elsewhere in the hospital. so the numbers coming into intensive care are less, the numbers coming into general beds are more. and there is a caveat. we don't know, as the older people start to get omicron, whether that will convert into more coming into intensive care. and caring for covid patients in general wards brings its own challenges. this bay has four patients, all with different conditions, needing to see different consultants. they are all together here because they've got covid. one of them is dennis, who had an underlying lung problem before he caught the virus. considering i was near death's door, they brought me back. i feel good. i feel really good. i had two lung collapses, they brought me back twice.

adam and jade, who run the ward, say staffing pressures are creating added stress. we've had quite acute staff shortages. a lot of staff off sick and isolating. patient wise, i think the numbers are increasing. but currently we are not at full capacity yet. it's just the fear of the unknown. you don't know which way it's going to go. even though right now it feels slightly better than it did this time last year. so what might happen now? there was a chance to find out more at the downing street briefing. would you say it is now unlikely or highly unlikely that further restrictions will be introduced in england? i would say we have a good chance of getting through the omicron wave without the need for further restrictions. and without the need certainly for a lockdown. back at university college hospital, there are signs that numbers have stabilised, but no certainty what will happen next. we were increasingly worried before the new year and now

at the beginning ofjanuary we are seeing some very, very early signs that perhaps some of that demand is lessening. but i would caution against thinking we are through the west of this pandemic, we have a long way to go injanuary. so we are really planning very much for the worst and hoping for the best. the message to get vaccinated was also pushed again today by the prime minister. he said 61% of patients in intensive care units haven't been vaccinated. and 90% hadn't had a booster. borisjohnson added that people were dying needlessly because they hadn't had theirjabs. hugh pym, bbc news. the government's latest coronavirus figures, cover differing time periods, for each of the home nations. there were 218,724 new infections recorded, in the latest 24—hour period, which is another record for the uk. on average there were nearly 181,411 new cases reported, per day in the last week. 48 deaths were recorded,

that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test, which means that on average in the last week, 130 deaths were announced every day. the latest figures show there are 14,126 people in hospital with covid. on vaccinations, over 34.3 million people have had a boosterjab, which means, 59.8 per cent of those aged 12 and over have now had three vaccine doses. hugh pym is here with me. another day of record infections yet borisjohnson is confident there will not be any need for tighter restrictions.— will not be any need for tighter restrictions. that daily reported case figure _ restrictions. that daily reported case figure above _ restrictions. that daily reported case figure above 200,000 - restrictions. that daily reported case figure above 200,000 is l restrictions. that daily reported - case figure above 200,000 is another wake—up call about the rapid spread of omicron. but we should say it is the first time since new year's eve that we had data from all the uk nations, we had delays over the bank holiday. of course we had warnings today that hospitals will face

substantial pressure. that came from the downing street briefing. with more admissions to come and we've had more reports on italy from the front line of the nhs in england today. greater manchester hospitals have said that they are causing some nonurgent surgery because of rising covid missions and staff absences and the north east ambulance service for the same reason has put in place contingency measures asking some patients even those with possibly serious conditions, to make their own way to hospitals while ambulances concentrate on those who are critically unwell. and around half a dozen trusts in england, hospital trusts, half a dozen trusts in england, hospitaltrusts, have half a dozen trusts in england, hospital trusts, have declared critical incidents because of all the pressure coming through. i think there is a worry about this move of cases up to the older age groups and more hospital admissions that that that may result in more pressure on intensive care. a lot of uncertainty around that. borisjohnson says he has gone further than before to say

there is a good chance in his view that no further restrictions will be needed. he thinks the plan b measures in england i love and hailed the success of the bicester programme but of course the other nations of the uk have gone down a different route imposing restrictions a few weeks ago. many thanks. millions of pupils across england and northern ireland have gone back to school, amid concerns over staff shortages caused by covid infections. in england, secondary school students have taken tests on site before returning to lessons, and masks are being reintroduced in classrooms. but education unions warn it's likely some groups of pupils, will have to be sent home to learn remotely. here's our education editor, bra nwen jeffreys. both teachers, martyn and lucy got covid at the same time last term. lucy ended up in hospitalfor a night. we had talked about the amount of risk that we were in, in comparison to other people, i suppose, so... children in different schools, myself and lucy both being teachers. i think we're on plans c, d,

e and f at the minute. mark, a secondary head teacher, had a third of his teachers off at one point, so they brought back face masks in classrooms, a precaution reintroduced for teenagers across england. communication in classrooms is impacted. i've got a couple of classes that i take. i'm well aware of the difficulties that teachers and students face, but in my view it's a short—term measure for impact to do with people's health so we will continue to adapt and be fleet of foot in our approach, i think. today, tests on offer in england's secondary schools, then pupils are asked to test at home like the rest of the uk. for these teenagers in stoke, tests and masks are trade—offs. i think that face—to—face teaching is obviously always the most important aspect of school because we, you know, online you can't get the same sort of support from teachers.

i think it'sjust a case of, like, cracking on with it, cos, like, if it's going to affect our education, i think you should just wear it, yeah. it's just a bit stressful- because it's always on my face and i can't really breathe. but i mean, it's obviously got- a positive side because it's helping people to stay safe. no—one wants a repeat of last year's empty classrooms. the worry is rising cases among staff. there are some big differences from last year, so, year—group bubbles have gone, which should mean fewer pupils being sent home, and, of course, more teachers and pupils have either been vaccinated or had coronavirus. only a half of teenagers have had at least one jab, apart from scotland, where more are vaccinated. what did peter pan and wendy see...? no masks for primary pupils, vaccines only for the most vulnerable. here, already some staff are off.

so, currently we have four members of staff that have tested positive over the holidays, so they are not in school with us today. we have had around 90% of our staff have actually had covid. as wales and scotland also return in the coming days, everyone is waiting to see if schools can manage through the next peak. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. the chinese authorities have put an entire city into lockdown after the discovery ofjust three asymptomatic covid cases. residents won't be allowed to leave their homes in yuzhou, which has a population of 1.2 million. the transport system has been shut down, as well as shops and entertainment venues. only food stores can stay open, and only workers involved in epidemic prevention are allowed out. another city, xi'an, with a population of 13 million, has been under lockdown for two weeks.

our correspondent robin brant sent us this report. this is extreme, even by china's standards. a city shut down because ofjust three new cases, with no symptoms. everyone is prohibited from leaving the city, the sign says. a million plus people are now in lockdown in yuzhou. the latest proof that china is very committed to its zero covid strategy. translation: it doesn't bother me to do a covid test at midnight, it's for our own safety. 300 miles away and two weeks ahead of yuzhou, is xi'an. a city famed for its terracotta warriors, 13 million people have a city famed for its terracotta warriors, where 13 million people have now been locked down since before christmas. what started out a fortnight ago with the late—night army of officials welding gates shut, has led to this.

some people banned from leaving their tower blocks have taken to bartering with their neighbours. cigarettes for vegetables, other goods for sanitary towels. this is what most of china looks like. it's busy. yes, you have to have a mask before you get on the metro and there is a temperature check, but the government says its zero covid strategy has achieved this for about 18 months now. and that is a strategy that includes things like this. pop—up tents where you can get a booster on the way home and win prizes as well. but it also includes very, very harsh measures that can be imposed on a city in a matter of hours. harsh measures, brutal enforcement. it has been part of china's covid containment since the beginning. just last month some cities were parading covid spreading offenders in public. keeping cases at near zero is now even more important as china prepares to host another olympics, the winter games in beijing is just a month away.

china's president xi jinping saw for himself the final preparations on tuesday. on the brink of a third term in power, he wants and needs a smooth ride at the games. zero covid is central to that. robin brant, bbc news, shanghai. america has recorded more than a million covid cases in a single day, the highest tally anywhere in the world. president biden described it as "a pandemic of the unvaccinated" saying there was no excuse for anyone not to get a jab. the surge is being blamed on the omicron variant. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has pledged to provide "straight leadership" in what he called a "binding contract" with the british public. he made the commitment as he set out his vision for the priorities of a new labour government. sir keir said the conservatives had lost the people's trust, but that didn't mean his party would automatically inherit public confidence. the conservatives say sir keir had no plan for britain's future.

our deputy political editor, vicki young, reports from west bromwich. what does it take to be a leader, and has sir keir starmer got what it takes? critics say he lacks charisma, a lawyer who's good with words but doesn't inspire. today, though, he was wholeheartedly embracing that serious image. so, i want to start the new year by making a pledge of straight leadership. today, i want to introduce my contract with the british people. this will be a solemn agreement about what this country needs, and how a good government should conduct itself. few would argue with the broad values he laid out. security, prosperity and respect. this was all about drawing a comparison with borisjohnson. i don't think politics is a branch of the entertainment industry. i think it's the serious business of getting things done. labour strategists think mrjohnson�*s style is wearing thin

after recent mistakes, but can they convince voters they're a government in waiting? when it comes to your leadership, you spent a lot of time talking about patriotism and standing in front of a flag very often, but some people want to know what specific policies you have? firstly, i'm very proud to stand in front of the flag. i've done it many times before, including when i was director of public prosecutions representing our country ten years ago. so, i've always been very proud to do so. labour talks about winning back trust. here in west bromwich it lost both seats to the conservatives at the last election. when he first became leader, sir keir starmer�*s main aim seemed to be to demonstrate that he'd broken withjeremy corbyn. now, he's contrasting his leadership with that of borisjohnson. but soon he's going to have to define himself beyond general values, and that will require some detailed policy announcements. i think he's brilliant. why?

because he's clear, he's articulate, he's educated, and he doesn't lie, that's a good start! i think he's useless, to be quite honest. i don't think he's got any sort of idea of what labour voters are looking for. he's~~ _ i wouldn't vote for him. i voted labour all my life, but i wouldn't vote for him. i i think he comes across as a veryl genuine and honest man but i have great difficulty understanding i exactly which direction he wants to go in or what he wants to do. labour mps insist sir keir has set the party on the right path. they know they'll have to do more than wait for government slip—ups. vicki young, bbc news, west bromwich. an american tech entrepreneur who claimed her health company could diagnose a range of medical conditions with a simple blood test has been found guilty of fraud. a jury in california convicted elizabeth holmes on four counts of tricking investors. at one point, her company theranos was valued at $9 billion, but it collapsed after a newspaper investigation showed her blood testing machines didn't work.

taking photographs of women breastfeeding in public without their consent is set to be made illegal in england and wales. thejustice secretary, dominic raab, has told the bbc that the move would stop women being "pestered", whether for self—gratification or harassment purposes. mr raab also confirmed that victims of domestic abuse would get more time to report crimes to police, to "plug gaps" in the law that could allow offenders to escape justice. our political correspondent alex forsyth has the story. it's a crime behind closed doors that too often goes unpunished. throughout the pandemic, reports of domestic abuse went up, but many cases never make it to court. last year, the bbc revealed thousands were dropped because there wasn't enough time to bring charges. now, the justice secretary says the law should change to allow more than the current six months for people to report cases of common assault that involve domestic abuse.

it takes time to physically recover, to emotionally recover and then to muster the confidence, the courage, to come forward. we want to make sure that the perpetrators of abuse cannot evade justice by being timed out. why would victims of domestic abuse feel confident in coming forward when so few people are getting charged with these crimes? well, there has definitely been a huge challenge with this. we're making sure that all of the support is there, and anyone who is threatening a woman, whether it's in the home or out in public, will be brought to justice. erica, who we met last year, has been campaigning for the law to change. she reported domestic abuse to the police but was told no—one could be charged because too much time had passed. for her, today marks a significant moment. it took three years just to process, you know, what i've been through. to have this change gives time for a survivor to take the time to process their ordeal, make sure that they're safe before coming forward. the issue of violence

against women and girls has gained traction after some recent high—profile cases. as well as changing the law around domestic abuse, the government is making it a crime to humiliate or distress women by taking photographs of them breastfeeding in public without their consent, something else campaigners have been pressing for. labour says these changes are welcome but more is needed. over the last five years, we've seen a big drop in the number of prosecutions for rape and also prosecutions for domestic abuse. there is much, much more that they could be doing and should be doing. we've set out common sense plans, i really hope they will listen and go further. today's announcements might be a step in the right direction for some, but for others, justice does remain out of reach. alex forsyth, bbc news, westminster. and if you've been affected by any of the issues in that report, you can get information on organisations that could help at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

the new james webb telescope has completed a crucial task in its quest to observe some of the most distant objects in the universe. its controllers completed the deployment of the space observatory�*s giant kite—shaped sun shield, which is the size of a tennis court. the barrier will allow the telescope to detect signals deep in space, including from objects present during the formation of the first galaxies. the men's tennis world number one, novak djokovic, will defend his australian open title in a fortnight, after receiving a medical exemption to take part without having a covid vaccine. the serbian�*s involvement had been in doubt because of australia's strict virus protocols. djokovic, who has previously voiced scepticism about vaccines, hasn't revealed why he was given an exemption. here's our sports correspondent katie gornall. novak djokovic isn't about to give up on this trophyjust yet. the world number one will now defend his australian open title following months of uncertainty.

djokovic has never publicly revealed his vaccination status, but today, he wrote on social media he was heading down under and had been granted an exemption permission which removes the requirement to be vaccinated in order to play at melbourne. djokovic isn't alone in receiving an exemption, but the news has raised some eyebrows in the tennis community. i don't know what to say about that, really. i mean, you know, ithink if it was me that wasn't vaccinated, i wouldn't be getting an exemption, and that's... you know, but, well done... well done to him for getting cleared to come to australia and compete. organisers of the australian open said his medical exemption was granted after a rigorous review process involving two separate independent panels of medical experts. valid reasons for exemption include acute conditions such as a cardiac illness,

but it's also possible djokovic has recently tested positive for the virus, which would allow him to defer taking the vaccine. whatever the reason, djokovic now has another chance to move clear of roger federer and rafael nadal with the three tied on 20 grand slam titles. although with melbourne having experienced some of the toughest covid restrictions in the world, many there may not take too kindly to him turning up at all. katie gornall, bbc news. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello. certainly feels much more like january out there at the moment. temperatures already dropping below freezing, a frost forming in places. still snow falling with the showers in the north of scotland, strong to gale force winds slowly easing through the day, enough breeze elsewhere to bring wintry showers into northern ireland, wales, maybe parts of the northwest midlands. it's these areas most prone to a bit of ice as we go

through tomorrow morning, but certainly, a much colder start than we've been used to with that widespread frost as we begin wednesday. but whilst it's cold and frosty out there, there will be a sunny start and a sunny day for many. one or two snow flurries in the north of scotland, fewer than today. one or two wintry showers for northern ireland, wales, towards the southwest, and a few rain showers down the east coast of england during the afternoon. but for the vast majority, it will be a sunny and crisp day, with temperatures not far off the early january average of around 4—7 degrees for most. through the rest of the week, it's been up and down. we'll see after the sunshine a cloudier, wetter day on thursday, more brightness with some sunshine and showers on friday, milder, wetter weather back on saturday.

this is bbc news, the headlines... prince andrew's lawyers have been trying to convince an american judge to dismiss the sexual assault civil lawsuit against him. his lawyer said that the duke, who denies the accusations, could be covered by a deal his accuser, virginia giuffre, made withjeffrey epstein in 2009. a second chinese city has gone into full lockdown as officials rush to contain even small covid outbreaks a month before the opening ceremony of the winter games. britain and the united states have both registered new coronavirus records as the omicron variant continues to spread rapidly around the world. britain recorded more than 200,000 new cases in a day for the first time. world number one novak djokovic says he will head to the australian open to defend his title after receiving a medical exemption.