welcome to bbc news — i'm david eades. our top stories: rising tensions on the border between ukraine and russia. the us warns that russia can attack ukraine "at any point". british prime minister boris johnson faces mounting pressure as a rapidly growing number of his own mps express doubts about his leadership. he denies claims by his former advisor that he was warned a party at downing street broke lockdown rules. nobody told me that what we were doing was, as you say, against the rules, that the event in question was something that... we were going to do something that was not a work event. two major us telecoms providers delay the rollout of new 56 networks near airports — after warnings it could cause chaos in the aviation industry.

and the soaring success of the gaming industry goes on — as microsoft buys the company behind call of duty and candy crush for almost $70 billion. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. us secretary of state antony blinken is due to arrive in ukraine for urgent talks, amid warnings that russia could carry out an attack "at any point". mr blinken also plans to meet the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov on friday, with the white house describing the situation as "extremely dangerous".

russia has amassed 100,000 troops on the border, and over the weekend moved forces to belarus forjoint military drills — but it denies planning an invasion. here's our diplomatic editorjames landale. russian forces training near the border with ukraine, just some of thousands employed there since the autumn, raising fears in the west that russia is planning an invasion. fears that are dismissed by moscow but exacerbated by this — the arrival of russian forces this week in belarus, north of ukraine, for what moscow says are joint military exercises to repel external aggressors. but nato�*s secretary general said the risk of conflict was real. the main task now is to prevent a military attack on ukraine and that is exactly why we send a very clear message to russia that if they once again decide to use force against ukraine, it will come with a high cost for russia. britain is sending short—range anti—tank weapons to bolster ukraine's defences with,

downing street said, about 100 british troops to help with the training. russia is estimated to have about 100,000 troops on the border with ukraine, most to the north and east, with fears they could try to link up with crimea, that russia annexed in 20134. but with russian troops now in belarus, there are fears they could also target the capital, kyiv, from the north. but what is the west prepared to do to deter russia? would it abandon this new gas pipeline from russia to germany that could leave energy prices soaring across europe? well, today, the germany's foreign minister was in moscow and said her country was ready to pay a high economic price and there could be consequences for the pipeline. russia's foreign minister said that would be counter—productive and rejected what he called "speculation" about russian aggression. translation: we are not threatening anyone - but hear threats

directed at us. we cannot accept demands related to military operations on our own territory. but the white house said the situation was extremely dangerous. we are now at a stage where russia could at any point launch an attack on ukraine. i would say that is more stark than we have been. for now the us is still looking for a diplomatic solution with the country's secretary of state holding talks with his counterpart in geneva later this week. meanwhile, the russian training continues. today, ukraine's defence minister told the bbc any conflict would be a disaster for europe, with a lot of refugees and a lot of blood. james landale, bbc news. john herbst is a former us ambassador to ukraine and now senior director of the atlantic council's eurasia center. the language cannot be ratcheted up much further, can

it? could you see what could be done to take the heat out of the situation? the best chance of helping russia back away from additional aggression is a strong us western nato eu response and we see many elements to that right now, perhaps not as many as i would like. we see a clear message from biden and others that there will be major sanctions, additional sanctions on russia if the troops enter ukraine. we also have clear warnings that there will be additional american arms to the ukraine if russia goes in and if there is a change in nato force culture. but from what you've said there it does seem that perhaps russia is playing on the fact that there does not yet seem to be the complete collective, if you like, well, to do those things. so bringing together the us, yes, nato, yes, and eu countries. i

the us, yes, nato, yes, and eu countries-_ countries. i think that is a smart question. - countries. i think that is a smart question. there - countries. i think that is a smart question. there is l countries. i think that is a l smart question. there is no doubt that putin is trying to drive wedges between the united states and our allies in the eu. they are not succeeding in the present crisis which is why they have a problem. they are concerned about the sanctions and my understanding is that antony blinken and others in the state department are working closely with the eu so that there will be punishing sanctions if the russians invade ukraine again. sorry to interrupt. _ invade ukraine again. sorry to interrupt, the _ invade ukraine again. sorry to interrupt, the ukrainian - interrupt, the ukrainian government has its own views, of course, the defence minister today said that there should be sanctions now on russia, pre—emptive, if you like. they are very much, they are not even the man in the middle, are they? it is all going on above their heads. is there a role they can play?— their heads. is there a role they can play? the ukrainian determination _ they can play? the ukrainian determination to _ they can play? the ukrainian determination to fight - they can play? the ukrainian determination to fight is - they can play? the ukrainian determination to fight is an i determination to fight is an important factor. moscow was talking about escalating because moscow is current approach as a failure. it was

designed to persuade ukraine to change its policy and has not succeeded. the ukraine is fighting and will continue to fighting and will continue to fight and that is the role they play. fight and that is the role they -la _ . fight and that is the role they .la , . . ., fight and that is the role they play. we come to one glaring issue, play. we come to one glaring issue. john. _ play. we come to one glaring issue, john, that _ play. we come to one glaring issue, john, that has - play. we come to one glaring issue, john, that has hung i play. we come to one glaring l issue, john, that has hung over this for the last few weeks in particular. russia saying never never can ukrainejoin nato and the us and the rest of nato saying never never will you tell us who can join. that will not be resolved, is it? it is not be resolved, is it? it is not be resolved, is it? it is not and — not be resolved, is it? it is not and it— not be resolved, is it? it is not and it is _ not be resolved, is it? it is not and it is a _ not be resolved, is it? it is not and it is a phony - not be resolved, is it? it is not and it is a phony issue| not be resolved, is it? it 3 not and it is a phony issue in part. the kremlin knows very well that at the famous 2008 nato summit where ukraine's to join nato was affirmed that a clear decision was taken not to allow any steps to achieve that objective. so it is kind of artificial of moscow to raise this now. no—one is talking about ukraine actually becoming about ukraine actually becoming a member of nato in the next decade. �* ., ~ ., ., decade. apart from ukraine, on many occasions, _ decade. apart from ukraine, on many occasions, to _ decade. apart from ukraine, on many occasions, to be -

decade. apart from ukraine, on many occasions, to be fair. - many occasions, to be fair. thank you very much indeed for your analysis. pressure is growing on the british prime minister borisjohnson, who's insisted nobody warned him a drinks party he attended in the downing street garden during the first coronavirus lockdown broke the rules. a group of backbench conservative mps who won their seats in the election of 2019 have met to discuss his leadership, and some have said they believe there will soon be enough mps calling for his resignation as party leader to trigger a vote of no confidence. here's our deputy political editor vicki young. prime ministers are surrounded by people offering advice. but in the end, they have to use their own judgement. borisjohnson has admitted joining colleagues for drinks in the garden when the country was locked down, something he now regrets.

i carry full responsibility for what took place, but nobody told me, i'm absolutely categorical about this, nobody said to me this is an event that is against the rules. and what about staff partying into the early hours the night before prince philip's funeral? was having to apologise to the queen about those parties the night before she put her husband of over 70 years, she laid him to rest, was that a moment of shame for you? i deeply and bitterly regret that that happened, and i can only renew my apologies both to her majesty and to the country for misjudgments that were made and for which i take full responsibility. mrjohnson wasn't there on that occasion, but questions remain about the drinks he did attend. he insists he thought it was a work event. but dominic cummings, his former top adviser who's turned against him since leaving the job, says he warned him it was a party and he needed

to grip this madhouse. mr cummings will now speak to the enquiry. not for the first time there are conflicting accounts of what went on here in downing street during the pandemic. the senior official sue gray is investigating and will of course be looking for written evidence, but for now, the prime minister's approach is to apologise at every opportunity, admit misjudgments and hope that people believe him. for now, support among senior ministers is holding up. "he's a hero," according to the man in charge of party discipline. it's going to split the difference. and answering questions for the first time was the chancellor, the man many mps think could succeed mr johnson. do you believe the prime minister? of course i do. you believe he's telling the truth? the prime minister set out his understanding of this matter in parliament last week, and i'd refer you to his words. as you know, sue gray is conducting an inquiry

into this matter, and i would fully support the prime minister's request for patience while that inquiry concludes. but others are going public with their concerns. junior health minister maria caulfield is the latest to post online, saying she was very angry. this evening, the prime minister was spotted returning to the commons. just six conservative mps have publicly expressed no confidence in him, but that certainly doesn't tell the whole story. it seems to be getting feverish down at westminster. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake has sent us this update about the mood in westminster. senior conservative backbenchers summed it up today as morose. in that interview today the prime minister looked crestfallen and downcast,

beaten may be an tory mps watching that might wonder if it were a moment of humility or humiliation for the prime minister. again he said to wait for the report to establish the facts and some mps agree but many do not want to wait. among the newer intake of conservative mps tonight there is a confidence that enough have or will soon submit a letter of no confidence in the prime minister to trigger a contest. 0ne told us tonight that i think we have done it, it is difficult to tell. for all the difficulty the prime ministerfaces, though, there minister faces, though, there is ministerfaces, though, there is no consensus on when, if he should be replaced and by whom. ministers are offering qualified support with one telling the bbc in a report today that the enquiry should be allowed to run its course and after that we can decide upon what next steps to take. tomorrow could be a decisive day for boris johnson. whatever happens he will face mps day for borisjohnson. whatever happens he will face mps in the house of commons at prime minister �*s questions, needing

to say something to shore up some support that he desperately needs. it some support that he desperately needs. it will be uuite desperately needs. it will be quite some _ desperately needs. it will be quite some day, _ desperately needs. it will be quite some day, wednesday| desperately needs. it will be - quite some day, wednesday here in the uk. let's get some of the day's other news. the united nations says it is stepping up its response to the volcanic eruption and tsunami in tonga as communications begin to improve. heavy rainfalls of ash at the weekend has hampered the relief effort, contaminating drinking water and making the air quality poor. the tongan government says many of the houses on the islands have been destroyed. estimates from new zealand suggest the main communications cable in tonga will now take around four weeks to repair. hong kong independence activist edward leung, whose slogan of �*liberate hong kong, revolution of our times' became a rallying cry during the 2019 pro—democracy movement, has been released from jail. he'd served nearly four years. the slogan itself was banned by the authorities last year. quebec province has introduced new — and unusual curbs on the unvaccinated.

as of today, customers at alcohol and cannabis stores need to show proof of vaccination to secure their purchases. it's hoped that the move will incentivise people to get their first dose. the us mobile networks at&t and verizon have agreed — at the last minute — to postpone the rollout of their new 5g service near some airports. airlines have complained the signals could interfere with navigation systems. the telecoms giants say they're "frustrated" at another delay. 0ur north american tech correspondent, james clayton, has explained why the mobile operators are so frustrated by the delay. you would have thought there would be binding arbitration and this to be sorted out months ago. verizon and at&t bought this c band 5g range months and months ago and people have known this is an issue for a long time and you

really would have thought this would have been sorted out. the airlines essentially say that the new 5g will interrupt some of their equipment, particularly when landing. what at&t and verizon say is that it just does not. some of these safety concerns are overblown you have this chicken situation, a stand—off. we are at a point where less than 12 hours to go until 5g is supposed to be rolled out and we have only just heard a decision and many people are looking at this and thinking why is this happening so soon to the deadline? stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the images china wants you to see during the winter olympics — but this is the troubled xinjiang region where beijing is accused of human rights abuses. we have a special report. donald trump is now the 45th president of the united states. he was sworn in before several hundred thousand people on the steps of capitol hill in washington.

it's going to be only america first. america first. demonstrators waiting for mike gatting and his rebel cricket team were attacked with tear gas and set upon by police dogs. anti—apartheid campaigners say they would carry on the protests throughout the tour. they called him the 'butcher of lyon'. klaus altmann is being held on a fraud charge in bolivia. the west germans want to extradite him for crimes committed in wartime france. there, he was the gestapo chief klaus barbie. millions came to bathe as - close as possible to this spot. a tide of humanity that's i believed by officials to have broken all records. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: a warning from america that russia could attack ukraine "at any point". moscow denies the build up of troops at the border is a prelude to invasion. british prime minister boris johnson faces mounting pressure from his own mp�*s, over doubts about his leadership. the biggest gaming deal in history is taking shape as the technology giant microsoft says it is buying activision blizzard — the company which makes blockbuster video games such as call of duty and candy crush. the deal is worth almost $70 billion and reflects the soaring success of the gaming industry during lockdown. the bbc�*s gaming reporter steffan powell has more details. call of duty, a multiplayer war game. it's one of the biggest and most profitable entertainment franchises in the world.

made by us company activision blizzard, the studio which has 400 million people playing every month in 190 countries. and that kind of young fan base is one of the reasons that microsoft, now itself a veteran tech firm, have swooped — paying over £50 billion for the company, the largest acquisition in gaming history. but why? more and more companies are looking at ways to either break into or expand their gaming strategies. even netflix is doing the same thing, where they have launched a gaming footprint specifically around mobile games. activision blizzard has been at the centre of a storm after employees walked out in protest after numerous sexual harassment claims and an allegedly toxic environment. the company's ceo apologised and took a pay cut. but what does this

mean for the gamers? at the moment, microsoft's xbox consoles are lagging behind sony's playstation 5 in terms of sales. by buying call of duty and the company behind it, microsoft are fighting back by owning more and more exclusive rights. the question many players want to know now, though, is, will they restrict their rival�*s access to these major titles? like many of the games themselves, tech companies are fighting their own battles — but for content. and gaming is fast becoming the most lucrative market in entertainment. steffan powell, bbc news. it really is huge. russ frushtick is the co—founder of american gaming website polygon. it feels like microsoft's view commercially is duty calls. there is no question about it.

they have made a very aggressive move you with this acquisition and obviously we still have to wait for it actually to be finalised with the f pc but they will eventually be one of the biggest gaming companies into the world by far. we biggest gaming companies into the world by far.— biggest gaming companies into the world by far. we can have a sharp intake — the world by far. we can have a sharp intake of _ the world by far. we can have a sharp intake of breath - the world by far. we can have a sharp intake of breath about. sharp intake of breath about the amount of money involved here but is there is the moment as big as it could be or are there other possible acquisitions coming along soon? it is certainly the biggest company that could have acquired, microsoft could have acquired. electronic arts is around $58 billion. smaller but obviously still enormous. i do not think this will be the last acquisition that happens. i think it was the many, many more of these coming. as your reporter says, more of these coming. as your reportersays, people more of these coming. as your reporter says, people are trying to improve their catalogue.— trying to improve their catalogue. trying to improve their catalouue. ~ ., ., catalogue. we have had the lockdown — catalogue. we have had the lockdown phenomenon - catalogue. we have had the lockdown phenomenon and | catalogue. we have had the - lockdown phenomenon and they could not have been any better

foreign than the gaming industry. has that made all the difference or will be going to get here anyway? it difference or will be going to get here anyway?— get here anyway? it made a difference. _ get here anyway? it made a difference. microsoft - get here anyway? it made a difference. microsoft so - get here anyway? it made a difference. microsoft so a l get here anyway? it made a| difference. microsoft so a lot of success with the subscription model. a lot of these acquisitions are going to get pod into this. they are trying to shift the equivalent like netflix of gaming. they have 25 million subscribers now and all of these acquisitions will continue to pump into the service and get more monthly subscribers and that is where the money is. is subscribers and that is where the money is.— subscribers and that is where the money is. is there a sense within the _ the money is. is there a sense within the industry _ the money is. is there a sense within the industry this - the money is. is there a sense within the industry this could l within the industry this could be anti—competitive? it is a massive deal, it is the big, big names. ifeel that way massive deal, it is the big, big names. i feel that way to some? i big names. i feel that way to some? , , ., . , some? i suddenly have concerns about the idea _ some? i suddenly have concerns about the idea we _ some? i suddenly have concerns about the idea we have - some? i suddenly have concerns about the idea we have an - about the idea we have an industry run by four or five about the idea we have an industry run by four orfive in most companies. i have personal

concerns. whether it is anti—competitive it is up to dc to determine. politically speaking, i would to determine. politically speaking, iwould be to determine. politically speaking, i would be surprised if this does not go through. 0bviously disneyjust deed and enormous merger with fox. as to whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, really, we will have to wait and see.— bad thing, really, we will have to wait and see. thank you very much indeed. _ it's less than three weeks to go before beijing's winter olympics but the focus is instead on xinjiang. china has been repeatedly accused of human rights abuses against the province's uighur ethnic minority. but now it is using the games to create a snow sport boom in the region. robin brant reports. this is the image of china you'll be seeing over the next few weeks — beautiful snow covered slopes. china's communist party leaders hope it will persuade millions to grab a board or

boots and come here like him. but he isn't near the host city of beijing, this is xinjiang, it's a troubled region hoping for a major boom off the back of these olympic games. what's that going be like in 20 years' time where you are? as china's second 0lympics approaches, these images have been part of state media reporting on xinjiang, almost as if it's part of the games. it's very different to these images from the bbc�*s reporting in xinjiang over recent years of mass indoctrination and incarceration of chinese ethnic muslims, inside places that china used to deny even existed. china's leaders call it anti—terror re—education, the us and others say

it's part of a genocide. there are numerous foreign firms lining up to sell you part of the alternative xinjiang. the american snowboard pioneers burton is one of them. we've already seem in the last couple years, we've seen triple digit growth, so we are very excited about that. burton has signed up a world—class chinese boarder and she isn't even a teenager yet. the company is planning dozens more stores here, but how does its presence in xinjiang sit with an ethos that is about more than being just a business? we have two choices, we can either divorce ourselves from xinjiang and say no, were not to do anything out there, or we can try to understand what's going on in xinjiang better. yes, there may be some — again, factually, i don't know. i'm not a politician, i've never studied the aspect... have you seen the media reports of the last couple years? yeah, everybody has,

i believe so. but again, i divorce myself from that — what i mean by that is, i can't change that. and we focus on... but some say maybe you can, actually. let's just go back to your statement here on the website, you want to "affect positive change for our people, our factories and create ripples" — then maybe you can change things. yeah, i hope so but for the better. again, that's what i'm saying is we'll focus on what we can change for the better. burton is just one of numerous foreign firms who've decided xinjiang, the china market as a whole is irresistible. president xijinping thinks his critics are politicising his big sporting moment. his government says the olympics should rise above politics. it is a distinction some of the businesses looking to ride the olympic wave want you to make as well. robin brant, bbc news, shanghai. the focus will only continue to rise. friday the fourth of

february the start of the beijing winter february the start of the beijing winter olympics and we will be covering that here on bbc news. do not forget the website for more on our stories. thanks to being with us. hello. there is lots of dry weather in the forecast for the rest of this week, although many of us will see a little bit of rain through the first part of wednesday, as these frontal systems push southwards across the uk. now, these weather fronts are cold fronts. as the name suggests, the air behind is turning a little bit colder. and i think you'll notice that particularly given the strength of the wind. but the weather fronts will bring some cloud and some outbreaks of showery rain southeastwards across england and wales through the day, tending to fizzle all the while. any fog in the southeast should clear pretty quickly, i think, and then most places are looking at sunshine through the day, albeit with a scattering of showers, some of these wintry, especially in the far north, where we could see snow to quite low levels, particularly in shetland.

just1 degree in lerwick in the middle of the afternoon, 9 or 10 further south. and as we head through wednesday night, we'll keep some showers going around northern, eastern and some western coasts. many places will be dry with clear spells, the winds will fall just a little lighter and temperatures will drop, with quite a widespread frost. maybe staying a little bit milder for some of these western parts — 4 degrees there for belfast and for plymouth. now, as we get into thursday, it's looking like a beautiful winter's day for many, with lengthy spells of sunshine. some showers grazing west wales and the far southwest of england, some for north sea coasts as well. temperatures, well, no great shakes, topping out between 4 and 9 degrees in most places. as we head through thursday night and into friday, high pressure really reasserts its influence, the centre of the high across southern parts of the uk. close to the centre of the high, i think it will remain relatively chilly, particularly if we see any fog lingering for any length of time. but up towards the north, we start to bring the winds in from the atlantic, so it'll start to feel a little bit milder. lots of cloud, though, filtering through northern ireland, and particularly into

the western side of scotland. further south, some early frost and fog. some of the fog could linger. that will peg the temperatures back. maybe just 5 or 6 degrees in some places, whereas further north and west, 10 there the high in stornoway. and as we look towards the weekend, i think the highest temperatures will be generally across the northern half of the uk, although there will be quite a lot of cloud here and some patchy rain in the far northwest. further south, frost and fog could continue to feature, but it will remain largely dry.

this is bbc news,

the headlines: us secretary of state antony blinken is due to arrive in ukraine for urgent talks, after warnings that russia could carry out an attack "at any point". mr blinken also plans to meet the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov on friday. russia has amassed 100,000 troops on ukraine's border. pressure is growing on the uk prime minister borisjohnson, who's insisted nobody warned him a lockdown drinks party he attended broke the rules. tory rebels have said they believe there will soon be enough mps calling for his resignation as party leader to trigger a vote of no confidence. the us telecoms giants, at and t and verizon have agreed at the last minute to delay the rollout of new 5g mobile networks near airport runways. the move follows a warning from airlines that the technology could interfere with instruments on some older aircraft, making

them unsafe to fly. a 56—year—old from cumbria has pleaded guilty