this is bbc news. i'm kasia madera with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. is it all over, prime minister? britain's prime minister, borisjohnson, says he will challenge any fight to his leadership as the row surrounding parties in downing street during lockdown continues. "you have sat there too long for all the good you have done. "in the name of god, go!" cheering president biden sends a warning to russia if they invade ukraine, saying the us will do significant harm to moscow if it does. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, is in ukraine for urgent diplomatic talks, says that russia could launch an attack at "very short notice." emergency aid flights finally set off for tonga five days after a volcanic eruption

and tsunami cut the pacific nation off from the rest of the world. and untouched by climate change: scientists discover a rare pristine coral reef off the coast of tahiti. hello. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has insisted that he will fight any challenge to his leadership of the conservative party despite another bruising day caused by the row about lockdown drinks parties at downing street. during prime minister's questions, the former brexit secretary, david davis, called on mrjohnson to step down, telling him, "in the name of god, go!" earlier, one of the prime

minister's own backbenchers dramatically defected to the opposition labour party. but the prime minister batted away repeated calls to resign, and in a statement which pleased many, he went on to announce an end to the main covid restrictions in england. our political editor laura kuenssberg has the latest. the atmosphere in the prime minister's neighbourhood is full of risk. danger dangles all around for borisjohnson, uncertainty hanging in the air. downing street confronting the truth that some of his own mps want him gone. as ministers gathered to agree to ditch some covid rules, some of his own side waiting and watching, thinking about ditching him. is it under control, chief whip? yeah. all is calm. all is calm 7 do you think you might be in denial about that if you think this is calm? i think we need to focus on propping up the country and dealing with covid and making sure we've got that right. but can it really

go on like this? some of your mps are putting letters in. is it all overfor the prime minister, do you think? don't be ridiculous. it is not, perhaps, ridiculous, despite his allies�* claim to suggest their boss could be gone before too long. is it time to resign? it was no ordinary wednesday. pressure on borisjohnson after weeks of claims about what went on in number 10 during lockdown. 20 mps who discussed sending letters of no confidence in their leader, then a shock. political chat interrupted. hearing christian wakeford, the bury mp, is defecting to the labour party. a huge surprise for his colleagues, and the rest. that is quite incredible. the first tory mp since 2007, christian wakeford, cheered to the rafters in the commons as he defected and took a seat for labour instead. can i start by warmly welcoming

the honourable member for bury south to his new place? cheering and to the parliamentary labour party. mr speaker, like so many people up and down the country, he has concluded that the prime minister, the conservative party have shown themselves incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves. a sting from keir starmer at a vulnerable moment for borisjohnson. and as for bury south, mr speaker, as for bury south, let me say it... in a unionjack mask, the new labour mp opposite, not behind, the prime minister this time. we will win again in bury south at the next election. cheering there was more energy from the prime minister today in a chaotic prime minister's questions as he sought to stand and fight, mocked by the labour leader. doesn't the country deserve so much better than this out of touch, out of control, out of ideas and soon to be out of

office prime minister? mr speaker, when the history of this pandemic comes to be written and the history of the labour party comes to be written — and, believe me, they are history and will remain history, mr speaker — it will show... ..it will show that we delivered while they dithered and we...we vaccinated while they vacillated, mr speaker. then just when he thought he might have got through without a new wound, a brutal blast from his own side. a prominent tory quoting cromwell to try to oust the leader of the tories�* 21st century revolution. i expect my leaders to shoulder the responsibility for the actions they take. yesterday, he did the opposite of that, so i'll remind him of a quotation. "you have sat there too long for all the good you have done. "in the name of god, go." cheering david davis and borisjohnson used to be allies of a sort. "what a day," you hear the speaker, aghast.

what a day. what else to say? hi. it's good to see you again. so a senior tory, the latest to call for the prime minister's exit, the smiling labour leader welcoming a conservative to his fold. yet there have been more public efforts from conservatives to get out and defend. well, he is the bounce—back king. i've always supported boris and i wouldn't be an mp here if it wasn't for him. mps and ministers who want borisjohnson to stay have been falling over themselves to call for cool heads all round. one loyal cabinet minister even claimed the threat to borisjohnson wasn't real. it is true to say no—one can be sure in a secret process how many conservative mps are really willing to try to oust him. yet today's chaos demonstrates clearly there are members of different tory tribes who want to see him gone. mr cummings, are you going to provide sue gray with evidence

that boris johnson lied? the prime minister's always had political detractors and has gathered enemies along the way. he may not want to rest until this is over. and tory tradition shows when the party concludes the leader is out of line, they are removed. but only two years after a huge election victory, borisjohnson will resist attempts for a changing of the guard. if you want to know more about borisjohnson�*s situation and what might happen next, just head to our website. you'll find lots of analysis and reaction. that's all at bbc.com/news or you can download the bbc news app. let's get some of the day's other news. the man behind the deaths of 39 vietnamese migrants in 2019 has been given 15 years in prison. vo van hong led a gang of people smugglers

who would charge $27,000 a head to get into the uk. the migrants had suffocated on the journey and were found dead inside a lorry in england. a major global study has found that more than a million people died in 2019 from infections caused by bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics. the researchers, writing in the lancet medicaljournal, say this is higher than the annual number who die from malaria or hiv/aids around the world. international airlines have cancelled dozens of flights to the united states because of safety concerns surrounding aircraft altimeters and 56 technology that has just been launched. the airlines, including emirates and british airways, made the decision despite a temporary halt to the sg rollout near airports. one of the favourites in the africa cup of nations football tournament, tunisia, say they have lost 12 players for their next match after they tested positive for covid.

among those missing for the final, crucial group game against gambia later on thursday is their star striker, wahbi khazri. president biden has predicted that russian troops will move into ukraine, but warned vladimir putin that his country would pay dearly for a full—scale invasion. russia has around 100,000 troops deployed at the border, but denies it's planning military action. mr biden said that moscow would face severe economic consequences from fresh sanctions. we'll have more on president biden�*s comments in a moment. but first, here's our diplomatic correspondent paul adams. british military equipment arriving in ukraine. short—range anti—tank missiles with a small team of trainers to follow. the latest western gesture of support for a country facing a mounting threat from russia. diplomatic support too. the us secretary of state

antony blinken flew to kyiv, promising relentless american efforts to prevent russia from invading. washington's message to ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky — "there will be no talks about you without your involvement." and all the while, russian troops maintain their menacing presence on ukraine's northern and eastern borders. now, in neighbouring belarus too, preparing for what are called joint military drills. american officials say these could be used as a cover for an invasion of ukraine. kyiv says it has what it takes to withstand an attack. we have 261,000 in our ukrainian army. we have the options to have territorial defending forces, 130,000. we have 400,000 veterans of ukrainian—russian war, so i'm sure that we have a capacity

to deter this activity from moscow. last week, we saw a diplomatic trail that criss—crossed europe from geneva to brussels and vienna. at the end of it, the russian foreign minister, sergei lavrov, appeared to throw in the towel. "0ur patience," he said, "is at an end." but here we are, four days on, and the process is actually shifting up a gear. mr lavrov and antony blinken are due to meet on friday, once again in geneva. the talking, it seems, is not quite over. but the tremors of this crisis are being felt right across europe. 0n the baltic island of gotland, sweden is beefing up its presence, concerned about nearby russian activity and what it calls russia's direct threat to europe's security. paul adams, bbc news. in a news conference, marking his first anniversary as us president, joe biden warned russia that the consequences of a large war would be heavy, but implied

that may not occur if moscow stopped short of full invasion. this is one thing if it is a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, etc, but if they actually do what they are capable of doing with the force amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for russia if they further invade ukraine, and that our allies and partners are ready to impose severe cost and significant harm on russia and the russian economy. the cost of going into ukraine in terms of physical loss of life for the russians — and they'll be able to prevail over time — but it's going to be heavy, it's going to be real, it's going to be consequential. president biden. much more on our website. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come, untouched by climate change: the new coral reef discovered off the coast of tahiti.

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 will 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 believed by officials to have broken all records.

this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: britain's prime minister vows to fight any challenges to his leadership as he faces calls to resign, because of parties at downing street during lockdown. president biden has warned vladimir putin that the us will do significant harm to russia if he decides to invade ukraine. us presidentjoe biden says he is "profoundly disappointed" after republicans in the us senate blocked a voting rights reform bill, in a significant blow to his administration. democrats are seeking to bring in federal rules that they say will guarantee access to the ballot, arguing this has been threatened by restrictions in republican states — republicans have labelled mr biden�*s reforms as as a federal takeover of state elections.

republicans have also blocked a democratic attempt to reform the so—called senate filibuster, a proceedure that effectively means bills need bipartisan support to progress through congress. need bipartisan support to progress through congress. earlier i spoke to sheila jackson lee, a democratic congresswoman from texas, just after her senate colleague's defeat. but i think the real question is whether or not the senators who are now engaged in debate as we speak will accept the challenge of dr martin luther king and be drum majors for peace, equality and justice. my state of texas is the poster child for the worst kind of voter suppression. one, the legislator will be allowed to overturn the votes of the people. right now, as we speak, thousands of mail—in ballots

are being rejected because veterans and soldiers and elderly and disabled persons did not have an id number to put on their ballot. they've closed voting sites, they've removed the opportunity for people who work seven days a week and work at odd hours to be able to have 24—hour voting polls. they've told local communities what they can do or not do and deny them the right to respond to voters' needs. america, its basic foundation, is on our constitution. that is the law. and that constitution supports the freedom of the right to vote. there is nothing in the constitution about the filibuster. and so this bill captures the constitution to allow people to have an unfettered right to vote. that is what democracy is. we are fighting to save democracy. can you explain who are these people that are affected, when you talk about people that don't have ids, that their ballots are not allowed because they don't have a valid id.

we're talking about people who don't have a passport. so, what are these people — who are these people that are most at risk when it comes to this? well, that's a very good question. the ids are driver's licence, the ids are state id, maybe your social security card, and the people are our neighbours, they are senior citizens who was not born in a hospital, does not have a birth certificate, they are veterans, disabled persons, they may be students. they're really the gamut of our neighbours, and they are citizens deserving the right to vote, we had the largest turnout in 2020 across the nation, and even in texas, and as much as republicans tried to find voter fraud in texas in 2020, they could find almost zero. as much as they tried to find fraud in 2020

across the nation, trump's own voter guru determined that there was no voter fraud significant across the nation. but there is oppressive voter suppression that will undermine the very pinnacles or the very premise of democracy. democracy is the vote. that allows a person to express their frustration, theirjoys, their policies and who they want to represent them. you deny that, then you take away the very legs of democracy, and the constitution is the basic compact on which america is surviving, it's an experiment that has survived because we have respected democracy and respected the law of the land, and that is the constitution, not the rule of the senate, which is a filibuster. get rid of the filibuster now, provide a talking filibuster so that we can move forward on the magnificent legislation that reaffirms

democracy in america. the new zealand air force hercules touchdown in tonga. the applet had to be cleared of volcanic ash. aircraft from australia and japan are also on their way along with several ships bringing sheep, water and medical supplies. ships bringing sheep, water and medicalsupplies. much ships bringing sheep, water and medical supplies. much of the tonga archipelago suffered severe damage from the tsunami. well, earlier i spoke tojoanne mataele who we heard from earlier this week whilst feeling anxious over not being able to reach her family following the eruption. now thankfully some lines of communication have been restored with tonga and she has finally been in touch with loved ones. i heard from my parents yesterday at about 1:30pm australian time and, you know, it's a relief to finally hear their voices and

to finally know how they are back home. my dad had told me that they are fine, no major damage to our homes — it's pretty much just houses along the coastline that have been pretty much damaged and houses along the west coast of tonga. you know, it'sjust — yeah, as i mentioned, just a relief to finally hear from them. it is such a huge relief and it's really great that you managed to speak to them and, of course, there are so many people that have had their homes destroyed, lives have been lost. have they been able to give you an account of what the situation is like on the ground? we've been hearing about this huge amount of ash that people are having to clear. yes, that's correct, so the only information that my parents were able to tell me over the phone was people are busy trying to get the ash cleared, especially from their homes and the ground as well.

i think that's, yeah, that's just the main concern, other than the damage to the homes on coastal lines, it's pretty much just trying to get rid of the ash and clearing it out. and as well, concern about the drinking water because it's not only contaminated by the ash but also the salt water from the sea as the tsunami wave came through? that is correct, yes. so, as we know, the major concern as of now is drinking water. i had actually spoken to my auntie as well over the phone and, you know, she mentioned that food — food at the moment is fine. the major concerns are the drinking water and medical supplies, and shelter as well. now, when you speak to your aunt, i believe she is working in the radio there, the radio station there. yes. she must hear a lot of stories when she is talking to people

that she knows there. we've seen images of the amount of destruction, and you touched upon it, the houses that have been completely demolished by this. this is going to be a long—term rebuilding process. how do you think people feel about that? you know, because this is the first major damage that has happened in tonga and it is the first, you know, like, mother nature disaster that has happened, people are also worried about their health at the moment. homes and things like that, we have our neighbours staying with each other if they do not have shelter, you know, but yeah, the news back home that my auntie had mentioned was everyone was just devastated — also scared is what she described. joanne mataele there.

who has finally been in touch with herfamily in who has finally been in touch with her family in tonga. scientists have calculated the amount of meltwater dumped by the world's biggest iceberg. the a68 broke away from the antartic coastline in 2017, at one point releasing 1.5 trillion litres of fresh water into the ocean every day. that's nearly eight times the daily water consumption of the united states. researchers say the iceberg will have altered ocean currents in the south atlantic as it melted, and the dust it deposited will have boosted the production of plankton. a previously unknown giant coral reef has been discovered in pristine condition off the coast of tahiti in french polynesia. a research mission led by unesco made the find at a depth of more than 30 metres, and it's hoped that this discovery may mean there are many more coral reefs waiting to be found in the oceans. 0ur science editor victoria gill has more. magical, that was the word a

veteran specialist diver who led this mission used to describe this view. some of these rows shape corals are more than two metres wide and it stretches three kilometres along the seabed. it depth and distance from the coast is thought to be a key reason for its pristine condition. research is that it shows no sign of damage from pollution or warming waters, something thatis or warming waters, something that is a major threat for other corals. it that is a major threat for other corals.— that is a major threat for other corals. it is one of the laruest other corals. it is one of the largest discoveries - other corals. it is one of the largest discoveries of - other corals. it is one of the largest discoveries of the i largest discoveries of the world that lies at that depth of more than 30 metres or from that perspective this is opening a new insight into science. this could mean we have many more coral reefs in our oceans which we simply do not know about. it our oceans which we simply do not know about.— not know about. it is often said we know _ not know about. it is often

said we know more - not know about. it is often said we know more aboutl not know about. it is often i said we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the ocean floor. 0nly about the ocean floor. only about the ocean floor. only about one fifth has been mapped. this is part of a major mission to filling the gaps in our knowledge. coral reefs like this are hotspots for marine life. about one quarter of nine marine life can be found around these living ecosystems. the team is now planning more investigative knives and how these remarkable you discovered habitats can be protected. —— investigative dives. victoria gill, bbc news. many brave souls across eastern europe have been taking a dip in icy waters for epiphany. a christian 0rthodox tradition to commemorate the bapitsm ofjesus in the riverjordan. swimmers symbolically wash away their sins with a quick plunge. the first person to retrieve a holy cross thrown into the water, is believed to be blessed with happiness for the year ahead. well done to that brave soul.

and you can get in touch with me and the team on twitter — i'm @bbckasiamadera would be lovely to hear from you. from me and the team, bye—bye. hello there. we've got a much colder day of weather coming up today. it was yesterday that we had a cold front bring a bit of patchy rain southwards. as that cleared, we had a fine end to the day in hampshire — a lovely sunset here. for northern scotland, though, it was quite a turbulent day. gusty winds, and those winds have been bringing in some snow showers to shetland, we've seen some in 0rkney and, more recently, across the north of the mainland as well. that will leave a risk of some icy patches here as we get into the first part of thursday morning with the frost otherwise pretty widespread. for many of us, though, the skies will be clear. now, any showers in northern scotland very quickly will lose their wintriness and turn back to rain. some very slightly less cold air works in here.

and for most of the uk, although a cold and frosty start, there will be sunshine pretty much from dawn till dusk. it's going to be a lovely, if somewhat chilly, winter's day. now, there will be some showers coming down the north sea. they'll be affecting eastern parts of scotland. and with the winds blowing more or less parallel to the eastern coasts of england, most of the showers will stay offshore. the greatest risk of a shower will be across norfolk. you might see one or two coming into the north york moors as well. another cold night to come on thursday night — if anything, even colder across parts of england and wales, plumbing the depths. temperatures could get down to about —5, —6 degrees in the coldest spots but it will be turning milder in the north—west — that's because we've got some thicker cloud here. that'll probably give us quite a nice sunrise for some but the best of the sunshine through the day will be across eastern wales, central and eastern england, eastern scotland, probably eastern counties of northern ireland, whereas in the west, you're likely to see some of the higher temperatures but you will also see the thickest of the cloud, perhaps with some mist and fog patches developing around the coasts and the hills at times. little overall change,

really, into the weekend. high pressure stays firmly with us — the same one that's been with us for ages now — and for the most part, that will keep weather fronts at bay — this one just skirting into northern scotland but it will be a weak affair. so, for saturday, mist and fog and some frost patches around first thing in the morning. again, it's western areas that will keep the thickest cloud. and here's our weak weather front, bringing a little bit of light rain or drizzle — no great amounts. for the western isles and the highlands, temperatures could reach double figures here but otherwise, still quite chilly across the south—east — 5 or 6 celsius here. and, to be honest, looking at the long—range forecast through the rest of the week and most of next week, the weatherjust stays dry, thanks to that same area of high pressure.

this is bbc news. the headlines:

the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has insisted he will fight any challenge to his leadership of the conservative party. he's been under mounting pressure over social gatherings involving his staff during lockdowns. an inquiry is due to report next week. president biden has said he thinks russia will invade ukraine, but has warned that the united states will impose severe costs and significant harm on moscow in response. moscow has about 100,000 troops on the ukrainian border but denies it's planning an invasion. the first flights carrying aid to tonga following saturday's volcanic eruption and tsunami have taken off from new zealand and australia. the new zealand air force hercules landed at the same —— tongan airport. the runway had to be cleared of large

quantities of volcanic ash.