this is bbc news — i'm victoria fritz with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. there are fresh reports of parties held by downing street staff during lockdown — this time on the eve of the duke of edinburgh's funeral. a us militia group leader is among the first to be charged with sedition — in connection to the storming of the capitol last year. britain's prince andrew loses his royal and military titles — and will no longer be officially known as his royal highness. this comes a day after a judge in new york ruled that the prince must defend an accusation of sexually assaulting virginia guiffre in a civil court case. novak djokovic�*s australian open prospects still hang in the balance as minsters consider their visa decision.

and the intermission is over — cirque du soleil are back in the uk after a covid—imposed hiatus — celebrating their 25th anniversary in london. hello and thanks forjoining us. there are fresh allegations that two more parties were held in downing street — when such gatherings would have breached covid—19 rules. the daily telegraph has reported that the events took place the night before prince philip's funeral, last april. number 10 has not denied the claims. with me is our reporter mark lobel. some more potentially damaging revelations here.—

revelations here. reports of another two _ revelations here. reports of another two downing - revelations here. reports of another two downing st - another two downing st gatherings. one friday night in april 2021. around that time there was no into mixing of households allowed because of covid guidelines and outdoors you could meet in a group of six or two households could meet up, but most damagingly, on the 16th of april 2021, when this happened, this was the eve of prince philip's funeral and, as many will remember, the following day the queen was sitting alone that funeral, grieving alone, just a few hours after around 30 staff it is said were having to send us. one what james is said were having to send us. one whatjames slight, is said were having to send us. one what james slight, the director of communications at downing street who had served under two prime ministers, and one personal photographer of borisjohnson�*s. one personal photographer of boris johnson's. what one personal photographer of borisjohnson�*s. what has really raised eyebrows is many of the details this story in the telegraph. not only was there alcohol, and they said that one staff member went to the local supermarket with a suitcase to fill it up with wine to bring to the party.

there was music played, apparently, dancing. it got raucous, farcical at time and both parties convened and later on were in the garden, where borisjohnson�*s son's on were in the garden, where boris johnson's son's wilf�*s borisjohnson�*s son's wilf�*s swing was broken just days before his first birthday. downing street do not deny an event took place. they have released a statement regarding james slight. there is quite a big difference between, you know, a statement that you are issuing when you are on your way out of place, and suitcases full of booze, as the telegraph says here, of music, of two parties convening

here. in the garden or potentially elsewhere, but before that. it has to be stated that the prime minister we know it was not there at the time, but where does all of this leave him?— this leave him? the prime minister— this leave him? the prime minister was _ this leave him? the prime minister was said - this leave him? the prime minister was said to - this leave him? the prime minister was said to be . this leave him? the prime minister was said to be in | minister was said to be in chequers, his country retreat, but the deputy leader of that labour party angela rayner said, i have no words for the coaches and behaviours at number 10 and the buck stops with the prime minister. so all roads lead back to the prime minister and the example he was setting and that is why sue gray is investigating as many allegations which now spent 11 months from may 2020, when the premise is that he spent 25 minutes at the party, to this one now in april 2021. when sue gray reports it will notjust be the met police which look through her report in a couple of days, but the public, and there will be conservative mps eager to know what their constituents think about this. they will be e—mailed by their

constituents, they will be walking around their constituencies talking to people. very vocal backer of borisjohnson when he became leader, andrew bridgen, also a big supporter of brexit, was about whether he supported the prime minister a few hours ago on newsnight. have you written a letter to sir graham brady? i have. with a heavy heart, . i have written a letter to sir graham brady indicating that i have no confidence - in the prime minister, - and calling for a leadership election. so this system is that if a 5k mps, including andrew bridgen, writes to a conservative committee, basically the prime minister has to face a vote of no confidence and 50% of conservative mps would need to vote to save him, to give him at least another year in the job. the cabinet have been out defending borisjohnson wholeheartedly in public, so he has that on his side. but he doesn't have, though, is a good image at the moment. you have

another story of 30 attendees at a party in downing street, it has been alleged, and just a few hours later, just 30 people able to mourn at a funeral, a royal funeral.— royal funeral. and who could for: et royal funeral. and who could forget those _ royal funeral. and who could forget those pictures - royal funeral. and who could forget those pictures of - royal funeral. and who could forget those pictures of the l forget those pictures of the queen alone? thank you very much for your time. mark lobel taking us through the latest party revelations. let's get some of the day's other news. the us supreme court has blocked a key part of president biden�*s strategy to combat the pandemic. it rejected the policy of making covid vaccinations or weekly testing compulsory at larger firms. mr biden said he was disappointed by the dismissal of a common—sense policy. a candlelit vigil has taken place to mark the moment when the costa concordia cruise ship smashed into rocks off the italian coast in 2012. 32 people lost their lives during a chaotic night—time evacuation of more than 4,000 passengers and crew. mps in poland have approved a controversial bill to give government—appointed

supervisors more control over schools. the changes would give them the power to request the dismissal of head teachers who fail to comply with their recommendations. a lawyer for alec baldwin said the actor would hand over his cellphone as part of a probe into the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the movie set of western rust. no charges have been filed, and the authorities have previously said their investigation could take months. the us government says it's working "overtime" to investigate more reports from american diplomats of so—called havana syndrome. the latest cases of the mystery illness, which leaves victims dizzy and fatigued, are in paris and geneva. it's prompted fears that foreign agents are using microwaves to target officials. a former us paratrooper has been charged with conspiring to commit sedition over the deadly attack on congress on january the 6th last year.

stewart rhodes is the leader of an extreme far right militia group and has been charged with 10 other members over the deadly riot where donald trump supporters tried to overthrowjoe biden�*s election victory. here's our washington correspondent, nomia iqbal. more than 725 people have been arrested and charged by the attack that shocked the world. but this is the most serious indictment yet, and the first for a seditious conspiracy, defined as trying to overthrow the government. it is alleged the government. it is alleged the oath keepers planned an attack the moment president biden�*s victory had been made official. they are a loosely knit militia that believes the us government has been corrupted by elites stop leading the charge was a yale educated lawyer and army veteran stewart rhodes, claim investigators. they say in december, the month before the attack, he organised the violence using encrypted apps.

speaking to one local oath keeper chapter, he said... he appears to confirm a plan in the run—up to january 6th on the run—up to january 6th on the info was a conspiracy site. what we are doing is we have men already stationed outside dc as a nuclear option in case of an attempt to remove the president illegally, we will step in and stop it. fin president illegally, we will step in and stop it. on that da , step in and stop it. on that day. oath _ step in and stop it. on that day, oath keeper- step in and stop it. on that| day, oath keeper members step in and stop it. on that - day, oath keeper members full combat gear when seat writing up combat gear when seat writing up the steps of the capitol in a military stack formation. prosecutors say stewart rhodes, not inside the building, was directing them using a mobile phone and chat app. once inside, the indictment alleges the stack split into, heading in different directions. you just say stewart rhodes had several arm to quick reaction forces on stand that could be called into escalate the attack. rhodes, who was arrested in texas along with

others, has said in previous interviews with conservative groups that the members who entered capitol had gone off mission and were not acting on his orders. mission and were not acting on his ordere— mission and were not acting on his orders— his orders. one of the reasons i think his orders. one of the reasons i think the _ his orders. one of the reasons i think the indictment - his orders. one of the reasons i think the indictment itself. i think the indictment itself is so specific and outlined so many specific communications is trying to dispel the notion thatis trying to dispel the notion that is out there amongst certain circles that this was simply a band of merry pranksters and they were a simple group of people just protesting without any kind of ulterior motives.— ulterior motives. most republicans _ ulterior motives. most republicans have - ulterior motives. most - republicans have downplayed ulterior motives. most _ republicans have downplayed the seriousness of the capitol riots, arguing no one has yet been charged with sedition or treason. but this now marks an escalation by the prosecution who, for the first time, have alleged there was a plot against the government that day. nomia iqbal, bbc news, washington. buckingham palace has announced that prince andrew is returning his royal and military titles to the queen, and will no longer be referred to as his royal highness in any official capacity. it comes after a court ruling in the us which left the prince

facing a civil case later this year against virginia giuffre. she says she was sexually assaulted by him two decades ago when she was a teenager. he has consistently denied the allegations. prince andrew retired from public duties in november 2019 after an interview about the claims with the bbc�*s newsnight, and will now have to defend the court case as a private citizen. here's our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. he's determined to fight on — rebutting the charges made against him, according to friends. but andrew will do so as a private citizen, shorn of the last trappings of his life as a royal. so there will be no more appearances on the balcony of buckingham palace alongside his mother and the rest of his family. those days are over — as is his use of the styling as his royal highness, and his remaining military positions. he's no longer honorary colonel of the grenadier guards — entitled to pride of place by the queen at

trooping the colour. he stepped down by mutual agreement, so we're told, from that position — and from roles in nearly a dozen other regiments, including the royal highland fusiliers and the yorkshire regiment, and the royal navy and the raf. there was relief in military circles. the mp tobias ellwood is a former army officer. the royal family has an intimate relationship with the regiments going back in history — many of them are honorary colonels and so forth — and it's important that the problems that prince andrew has incurred sort of aren't bled over into the regiments that he was representing. it's more than ten years now since this photograph appeared of andrew with the then 17—year—old virginia roberts, and this photograph of him with the convicted sex offender jeffrey epstein. in his newsnight interview, andrew said he rued the day he continued his friendship with epstein.

that's the bit that... as it were, i kick myself for on a daily basis. cos it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family, and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices, and i let the side down — simple as that. two years on from that interview, andrew, duke of york, continues to declare his innocence of any impropriety. he must now fight on alone — his family's priority is to protect the monarchy�*s reputation. nicholas witchell, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... back from the brink — cirque du soleil returns to london, after a coronavirus—imposed break, to celebrate their 25th anniversary. day one of operation desert

storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attacks since the second world war. tobacco is america's oldest industry, and it's one of its biggest. but the industry is nervous of this report — this may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. there is not a street that is unaffected. huge parts of kobe were simply demolished as buildings crashed into one another. this woman said she'd been given no help and no advice by the authorities. she stood outside the ruins of her business. tens of thousands of black. children in south africa have taken advantage of laws passed by the country's new— multiracial government - and enrolled at formerly white schools. tonight sees the 9,610th performance of her long—running play, the mousetrap. when they heard of her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonight's performance, but agatha christie would've been the last person to want such a thing.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines. pressure mounts on uk prime minister borisjohnson after new allegations emerge of more downing street parties in breach of lockdown rules. sedition charges have been brought for the first time against people accused of taking part in the storming of the us capitol last year. the sensational row over novak djokovic's arrival ahead of the australian open has still not been resolved. the tennis world number one was granted a medical exemption to play, despite being unvaccinated, and has been included in the draw for the tournament which gets underway on monday. our correspondent phil mercer has been following the story and he's in melbourne. explain and he's in melbourne. to our viewers around

the explain to our viewers around the world, the immigration minister here has the power to cancel his visa, doesn't he? this is what we are waiting on. the uncertainty continues popular the uncertainty continues .o ula ., , the uncertainty continues “oula ., , ., , ., popular really, really what we saw in australia _ popular really, really what we saw in australia on _ popular really, really what we saw in australia on monday i popular really, really what we saw in australia on monday it| saw in australia on monday it was a quite overturning that initial cancellation by australian authorities of novak djokovic's visa to enter the country, but despite that court ruling, australia's immigration minister, alex hawke, he has these extraordinary executive powers to cancel that these are for a second time. lawyers for the government told the court back on monday that that was being considered, and here we are, friday afternoon in melbourne, and still no word from the minister. yesterday the prime minister scott morrison said that that consideration was still under way and as far as novak djokovic is concerned, he is trying to give the image, at

least, that it is business as usual. he has been practising at least twice on the court in the arena behind me, but of course the man whose opinion really matters in all of this is the immigration minister alex hawke, and we may or may not hear from minister alex hawke, and we may or may not hearfrom him minister alex hawke, and we may or may not hear from him today. so we are still awaiting this decision from alex hawke, but if it goes against novak djokovic, does he still have the power to appeal that and stay anyway? he the power to appeal that and stay anyway?— the power to appeal that and sta an a ? ., , ., stay anyway? he does, and there is speculation _ stay anyway? he does, and there is speculation that _ stay anyway? he does, and there is speculation that the _ stay anyway? he does, and there is speculation that the court - is speculation that the court in which any appeal would be heard is ready to see it either through the night or over the weekend, and the big consideration in all of this is time. friday afternoon here in eastern australia, in melbourne, but also remember the tournament begins on monday, so if the government was to try to cancel his visa for a second time, almost certainly it would go to court. novak djokovic would appeal and

the court process would have to be pretty swift if he is to play on monday or tuesday, when the opening round to get under way here. the opening round to get under wa here. , ., way here. ok, time is of the essence- — way here. ok, time is of the essence. thank— way here. ok, time is of the essence. thank you - way here. ok, time is of the essence. thank you very - way here. ok, time is of the i essence. thank you very much. phil mercer in melbourne for us. let's catch up with the rest of the sports news now. hello, there, i'm tulsen tollett, and this is your sports news, where we start at anfield, and liverpool have been held by ten—man arsenal in the first leg of their league cup semi—final. the gunners had granit xhaka sent off in the first half for denying diogojota a clear goal—scoring opportunity. but despite being a man down, they held jurgen klopp's side at bay. liverpool's best chance coming when takumi minamino fired over the bar in stoppage time. the second leg of the semi—final is at the emirates stadium next thursday. we couldn't create enough. of course not for the situation we were in, with playing against ten men for i don't know how long. so that's clear. but, again, this is a cup competition. it's a two—leg semifinal.

it's half time and it's 0—0 and even when probably arsenal appear at the moment in a better position, we don't think this tie is over for us. there's one game in the premier league later on friday, with brighton hosting crystal palace. the hosts are winless in their last five league games, while palace — who sit three places behind brighton in 12th spot on the ladder — have never won a premier league fixture on a friday, drawing three and losing four. at the africa cup of nations, cameroon have qualified for the knockout stages after a 4—1 victory over ethiopia. vincent aboubakar scored twice in the second half for the tournament hosts, giving him four in two games in group a. and karl toko ekambi picked up the fourth to notch a double for himself as the indomitable lions secured their passage to the next round. on friday, senegal take to the field for their second game, where they play guinea in group b. the lions of teranga netted a late sadio mane penalty to win their opening match and, after having covid and injury concerns, will be hoping

for better in this contest. borussia dortmund could move to within three points of bundesliga leaders bayern munich with a win over freiburg later. freiburg are fourth and pushing for a first—ever champions league place, but their only win at dortmund stadium came in 2001, while erling haaland will be hoping to score for the first time in three games. seven—time champion ronnie o'sullivan has been knocked out of snooker�*s masters in the quarterfinals by neil robertson. the australian, who won the title himself in 2012, took the last two frames at alexandra palace to win 6—4, and will now play mark williams in the semi—finals on saturday, after he beatjohn higgins 6—5 in the late game. the australian open gets underway in melbourne on monday. the lead—up has been dogged by news about novak djokovic, while another man aiming for a record—breaking 21st grand slam title has largely gone under the radar. rafael nadal will be hoping he can win a first title at this venue since 2009.

while naomi osaka returns to defend her women's title, having taken four months away from the game at the end of last season. in the nba, the chicago bulls will look to get back to winning ways when they face the golden state warriors later. the bulls, who are still top of the eastern conference, will be without derrickjones jr for up to six weeks, after he bruised his right knee in the loss to the brooklyn nets on wednesday. the third and deciding test match between south africa and india is fascinatingly poised ahead of day four in cape town. south africa need 212 to win, and they'll resume on 101—2. keegan petersen unbeaten on a8, the hosts needing 111 more runs to claim victory — and the series. and you can get all the latest on the first day of the fifth ashes test between australia and england in hobart on the bbc sport website. but from me, tulsen tollett, and the rest of the team, that's your sports news for now.

with its high—flying acrobats and circus contortionists, cirque du soleil leaves audiences around the world in awe. but the pandemic very nearly bankrupted the group. well, the performers are back with a new show at the royal albert hall — and bhavani vadde's been taking a look. their future was up in the air, but now a comeback, and final rehearsals for the premier of luzia, a show promising a visual extravaganza set in an imaginary mexico. a glimpse behind the scenes shows us what it takes to be part of this troupe, something helena always dreamt of. i started when i was five years old. really, i think all of that adds up to now as well, and to maintain the show and run the show at least a few hours a day coming up to the premiere and getting everybody back together and retrained, we are working all day, yeah, six days a week. the latest show takes water and light as inspiration, with trapeze artists twirling

through pouring showers. contortionists twisting themselves into unimaginable positions. as well as plenty of other acrobatic stunts and surprises. we up the ante every time we come back with more spectacular, original acrobatics, more special effects, a whole different concept, a whole different story, new costumes. and really they can expect to be moved off their seats. this year, cirque du soleil celebrates 25 years of performing at the royal albert hall, and it coincides with the venue's 150th anniversary celebrations. it is really special to be here in the royal albert hall. for many of us it is the highlight of our career. i think it is something that a lot of us will look back on, and it is going to be that really special moment and one of the few we will have and really remember as the biggest. the company opened to a royal gala last time they were at the royal albert hall, but then coronavirus hit,

which led to shows around the world being cancelled, 95% of staff being laid off and near bankruptcy for the company. we actually did a run through for the first time yesterday and we all wept a little bit. i don't think you expect how much it did hurt, how much it hurt. you come back to work, it's another day on the job, but to see the show come back to life, all of us come back to life after two years was quite an emotional moment for all of us. the global circus brand is hoping its return to the capital is a bright light during a challenging time for theatres. now, let me make you smile before we go. the emotional reunion of two brothers who were separated by the partition of india 7a years ago.

muhammad siddique and habib last saw each other in 1947, when british rule ended in india and it was divided into two independent nation states — india and pakistan. incredible — heart warming scenes as they met in kartarpur in pakistan. you can just about hear one of the brothers saying, "enough crying now. " mohammad lives in faisalabad in pakistan and his brother in india's punjab province. lovely for those two to be reunited after 7a years, incredible. business is up next. lots of bits and bobs. we have information on post—brexit trade deals and some fun stuff! interviews with google's uk boss who is convinced the office will make a comeback. do

you agree? you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ vfritznews. i'm back in a couple of minutes, put the kettle on. for some of us, it's going to be a very foggy start to friday. if you are planning to travel through the morning, take it steady — particularly across parts of wales, central and southern england. but i think for most of us it should be a sunny start to the day, brought by this area of high pressure which has been hanging around for quite a while now. windless conditions, too, but quite a temperature contrast across the uk and, in fact, the breeze isjust about coming off the atlantic across scotland, so frost—free here and frost—free generally for northern ireland, too. the frost will be across the southern half of england and wales — even “4 degrees in one or two spots. and here, it's also where the fog is going to be forming — in the centre of this high pressure here, and some of that fog will linger

into the afternoon but, as i say, for most of us, it's a sunny day. now, the problem with the high pressure, though, and the windless conditions — particularly in london and the southeast — will be the pollution. that's what sometimes happens when you get these very stable conditions with the light winds — the pollutants get trapped in the atmosphere in urban areas and we get some very high levels — butjust for friday, so this is going to be for london and the southeast. for most of us, it's a bright day with slightly fresher air and temperatures of around about five to seven degrees. now, more of a breeze on saturday, which means that some of these pollutants will be blown away, so not quite so bad in the southeast. and the weather — not a bad day for most, although we are going to start off on a foggy note once again — particularly across central and southern parts of england and wales. more of a south—westerly breeze here, i think, in scotland and northern ireland, so a bit more cloud here — in fact, there's a weather front approaching, so a little nuance in our weather heading for the north of the country, this little weak weather front will bring some spots of rain into sunday for scotland,

and then eventually there'll be some spots of rain, i think, on sunday morning in the north of england as this weather front topples around this area of high pressure that we have in the south. temperatures on sunday, ten degrees in london — for most of is it'll be around eight or so. so let's summarise all of that. watch out for the fog first thing on friday morning — could be quite nasty in places. and then after that, actually, the weather isn't looking too bad at all — it's very stable, calm weather to come in the coming days.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. �*an opportunity we must seize'. the uk pushes for a free trade deal with india — but at what political price? borderline issues. the uk seeks a reset with the eu over northern ireland — as businesses there fear more disruption injection objection. the us supreme court blocks president biden's plans for compulsory workplace vaccinations — saying they exceed his authority the office makes a comeback. google's uk boss tells the bbc why it's spending a billion dollars on its london headquarters plus — season saved. a welcome lift for france's ski resorts — as a ban on british tourists is lifted from today