welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines: new party problems for borisjohnson. now, it's revealed staff gathered to wish him a happy birthday during the lockdown ofjune 2020. as russia continues to mass troops on the ukraine border, the pentagon puts thousands of us troops on standby for a potential deployment to eastern europe. a coup in burkina faso. the country's army removes the president, closes the borders and suspended the constitution. so exciting! really? and assessing the temperature

in beijing — how do people there feel about hosting the winter olympics amidst some of the world's toughest covid restrictions? live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 7am in the morning in singapore and ”pm in london, where the prime minister's office has admitted that staff at downing street gathered to wish borisjohnson a happy birthday during the first pandemic lockdown injune 2020. it's the latest in a string of revelations about parties held there or in other government departments during coronavirus restrictions. a spokesperson for mrjohnson said he'd been at the gathering for less than ten minutes. mrjohnson is facing widespread public outrage and calls to resign, including from some within his own conservative party. with the latest on

the prime minister's troubles, here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. what politicians want to talk about is not always the same as what the public and their fellow politicians want to know. how many times do you have to jab? "jabs, jabs, jabs," boris johnson's mantra. but this morning, was he sure there would be no other damaging claims about what went on in number 10 before the official report by sue gray? can you guarantee that no more embarrassing allegations about alleged breaches of lockdown within downing street will come out before that report is published? what i can guarantee is that this government is focused 100% on dealing with the big problems that we have. # happy birthday. ..# there was no guarantee, and there was more to come. borisjohnson�*s playground birthday greetings injune 2020 were not the only ones he received.

well, what a wonderful way to spend my birthday! a couple of hours later, the prime minister was here. a source who was present told us as many as 30 of his staff were drawn together in the cabinet room. his wife carrie brought a cake, with the number 10 flat interior designer briefly in tow. there was picnic food and chatter for around half an hour. number 10 doesn't deny the event took place and says... for the man who wants to sit in the prime minister's chair, it's more of a reason for him to go. we've got a prime minister who believes that the rules that he made don't apply to him. we can't afford to go on with this chaotic, rudderless government. the prime minister is a national distraction, and he's got to go.

number 10's denied there was also a birthday bash in the flat that night, although mrjohnson did see a small number of his family in the garden, but these new claims come just as the tory party is trying to make up its mind over whether the prime minister should stay or go. the question that he should be asking himself every morning is, is me staying in office allowing me to run this office in a way that is making the country better? or am i a distraction? how, then, do ministers defend what happened — a gathering inside of around 30 people on borisjohnson�*s birthday when, at the time, any social gatherings inside were strictly banned? i think some of these allegations have got a little bit out of hand. i mean, what really happened here is a group of staff, small group of staff, who had been working closely with the prime minister brought in a birthday cake at the end of the day and there was ten minutes there sharing a piece of cake. i don't think that really

constitutes a party in a way that some of the other more serious allegations that are being investigated maybe do. number 10's claim that all guidelines were followed at all times feels a lifetime ago. as the allegations have piled up, so the defence has shifted. and the danger to the prime minister moves closer still. washington has placed more than 8,000 us—based troops on a heightened state of alert, as russia continues to mass soldiers near its border with ukraine. the pentagon spokesman said that, if deployed, the troops would be sent to bolster nato's presence in eastern europe. president biden has been holding talks with key european allies over a common strategy towards russia over ukraine. moscow denies planning to invade. 0ur correspondent gabriel gatehouse sent this report from the ukranian capital kyiv. bell rings this is a country in limbo, waiting for an invasion that looks

more likely with every passing day but may yet never come. to the east, 100,000 russian troops are massed, but the kremlin says talk of an invasion is hysteria. facing them are ukrainian soldiers who hear western leaders sounding the alarm in ever starker tones. and stuck in between are the people of kyiv who, frankly, don't know what to believe. i think something might happen. i think the probability is very high, but god knows. i think even putin doesn't know yet what kind of decision he is going to take. but the situation is horrible. at the weekend, britain warned that russia was planning a coup to install a little—known, former mp as puppet ruler, suggestions that have been widely dismissed both in moscow and here in kyiv.

the uk began pulling staff out of its embassy today, saying an invasion could come at any time. the americans are doing the same. a senior politician told the bbc today such actions are not helpful. a senior ukrainian politician told the bbc today such actions are not helpful. translation: if people start - panicking, that leaves our country in a very dangerous position. and it makes it easier for russia to manipulate us. the reality is, of course, that this country is already at war and has been since 2014, when russia annexed crimea and funded and provided weapons and sent in troops to support a separatist rebellion in the east. around 111,000 ukrainians have already died in that conflict. these are some of their faces.

and so for people here, the question is not, "will there be war?" but "will this war escalate?" for months now, the ukrainians have been preparing a territorial defence force. volunteers like marta, a doctor in her 50s, is among those who are training for possible defence of kyiv. of course i am worried. because i'm a peaceful woman, i don't want to have a war started, but in any case, in case it starts, i should be ready to defend the country. meanwhile, a kind of normal life continues as the people of this country wait nervously to see what fate and larger geopolitical forces have in store. gabriel gatehouse, bbc news, kyiv. 0ur correspondents have been watching the reaction to the latest developments over ukraine. in a moment, we'll hear from the bbc�*s steve rosenberg in moscow, but first here's our state department correspondent, barbara plett usher. the first comments we're

hearing are, predictably, about unity and resolve. we have a tweet from the secretary—general of nato, jens stoltenberg, who participated. he says, "we agree that any further aggression by russia against ukraine will have severe costs." it's what they've been saying all along, but there seems to be a feeling that they need to really work at projecting a strong show of unity as the days go by, and that is what this meeting was about, where there was a large impetus for it, at any rate. they talk about unity in terms of severe sanctions if the russians should send troops across the ukraine border. now they're talking about troop reinforcements for nato allies. and there has been this ramp—up in rhetoric of alarm in the west, even though the security situation itself, while worrying, has not really changed in the last 2a, 48 hours, and so some critics say they're contributing to an escalation. they would push back re—strongly and say, "no, this is all about deterrence and defence. it's russia that's escalating."

the russians have already criticised what they call "western hysteria" over ukraine and they will surely apply the same label to any future western troop deployment. i think the problem for nato now is it sees a threat, so naturally it wants to boost security for its allies and its partners, and that means more warships and more fighterjets and, potentially, thousands of troops to eastern europe. but the danger of that is that it plays into the kremlin's narrative that the west threatens russia's national security, and that sparks more muscle—flexing by moscow and more instability. having said that, i think the kremlin could see today that the one thing that muscle—flexing and sabre—rattling is bad for is the financial markets, because what we saw today — russian stocks falling sharply, the russian ruble fell against the dollar and the pound.

and that adds to a sense here that many people are concerned about where all of this is leading. let's now take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the former pope benedict xvi has admitted he'd provided incorrect information to an inquiry into child abuse. he's acknowledged he attended a meeting more than a0 years ago at which the case of a priest and known paedophile was discussed. the former pontiff, who was then the archbishop of munich, has always denied knowing about the man's background when he was allowed to work in the diocese. in germany, a gunman killed one person and seriously injured three others inside a lecture hall at heidelberg university in the south—west of the country. the police chief in charge of the investigation said the attacker, who was armed with two guns, later killed himself. he was an 18—year—old german. bob dylan has become the latest

artist to sell his entire recording catalogue, including any future releases. details have not been made public, but reports suggest the deal with sony music could be worth more than $200 million. dylan — who began his career with sony's columbia records in 1961 — said he was glad all his recordings could stay where they belonged. the army in burkina faso says it has seized power. speaking on state television, a military spokesman said that president roch kabore had been ousted and the government and national assembly dissolved. the un secretary general has condemned the takeover and urged soldiers not to harm those held during the coup. the government of burkina faso had become increasingly unpopular for what critics described as its failure to deal with corruption and an islamist insurgency. the bbc�*s senior africa correspondent anne soy reports. all is not well in 0uagadougou.

protests have been growing. over the weekend, tensions boiled over — a mutiny in the barracks, then confirmation of a coup. translation: the movement, which brings together _ all the components of the defence and security forces, has decided to put an end to the power of mr roch marc christian kabore today, the 24th of january 2022. this is a decision taken with the sole aim of enabling our country to get back on track and to gather all its forces in order to fight for its territorial integrity, its recovery and its sovereignty. there has been support from the streets. civilians have been unhappy as well. insecurity in the country is growing. translation: our hearts - are with the army, all the people. all burkinabes are with the army. insecurity, bad governments — we are fed up, we are fed up. and we want it to end.

we want it to end. translation: nothing is going well. we expected a lot from president roch, and he has only disappointed with more new appointments, always with a new government, but he was the real problem. but previous attempts to make their voice heard were met with this, deepening frustrations with the government. president roch kabore came to power in 2015 and was reelected in 2020. growing extremism has beset his entire presidency. islamists linked to al-qaeda and isis expanded into the country from neighbouring mali. after years of fighting jihadism, local forces want more resources. they mutinied over the weekend to demand for change in the leadership of the military. shots were fired overnight around the president's residence. this vehicle belonged to the presidential fleet, and now they're holding him

in what they say is a safe location. but on the streets of the capital, the mood was celebratory. civilians came out to show their support for the disgruntled soldiers. they blame the deposed president for failing to defeat militants. anne soy, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... unvaccinated, unvaccinated, unvaccinated, unvaccinated and unvaccinated. .. a special report from the royal london hospital in london about the continuing pressures from omicron. the shuttle challenger exploded soon after liftoff. there were seven astronauts on board, one of them a woman schoolteacher. all of them are believed to have been killed.

by the evening, tahrir square, the heart of official cairo, was in the hands of the demonstrators. they were using the word revolution. the earthquake singled out buildings and brought them down in seconds. tonight, the search for any survivors has an increasing desperation about it as the hours pass. the new government is firmly in control of the entire - republic of uganda. survivors of the auschwitz concentration camp have been commemorating the 40th anniversary of their liberation. they toured the huts, gas chambers and crematoria and relived their horrifying experiences. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko oi in singapore.

our headlines: new party problems for borisjohnson. now, it's revealed staff gathered to wish him a happy birthday during the lockdown ofjune 2020. as russia continues to mass troops on the ukraine border, the pentagon puts thousands of us troops on standby for a potential deployment to eastern europe. we turn next to the uk, where many covid restrictions are set to be lifted later this week. the world health organization has said the "light is at the end of the tunnel" for england. but doctors are cautious, not least because of the 5 million plus who remain unvaccinated. the bbc�*s clive myrie and his team have spent the last week inside the royal london hospital. they were given access to staff and patients and heard about the continuing pressures on britain's national health service. here's their report.

at the royal london hospital, a multi—bed intensive care unit sits abandoned and silent. the worst has passed in this pandemic, but is it over? so this ward down here all the way along there, full of patients this time last year? correct, one of eight wards that we ran at the time. now there is just one ward, with six patients. those who are vaccinated. consultant nick bunker, who worked through the darkest times, points out what unites five of them. unvaccinated, unvaccinated, unvaccinated. unvaccinated and unvaccinated. does it makes you angry? it's... i think it's mixed emotions. covid isn't universally the only disease where people make poor decisions, but its resources that we're using to treat people we don't have to. big breath in. covid vaccines have now allowed

many millions to breathe easy in the pandemic, relieving pressure on the nhs. but this man, a once healthy 58—year—old, chose another path that nearly killed him. so why did you not take the vaccine? asif hussain would have had no qualms about getting a jab. still in his 20s, he is on his feet now — just about. we last saw him in hospital a year ago, infected before the vaccine roll—out.

we didn't think we'd ever see him again. what did you think when you saw the video of you intubated, asleep at the royal london? what was that like when you saw it, what did you think? it was unbelievable. i had to watch it back a few times, just for it to register in my head, "no, that's you, that is you asleep, that is you, limp, laying there", so it was, it was shocking, and it did take a while for it to register in my head, "do you know what, this is what you have been through." the rest of society is moving on. we've got to live with this thing now, no suggestion that there's going to be another lockdown, potentially. but is there a sense, because of the long covid, that you will always be blighted by this thing? of course. i haven't been able to go back to work. i was a gas engineer by trade, so a very physicaljob. with my condition at the moment, i don't think i'll be going back to work, that type of physical work, any time soon. i remember my wife telling me they called her,

and they told her and mum to come and say their goodbyes to me, and i can't imagine how difficult it must have been for them, you know, but, you know, it's all thanks to god i've made it through. make no mistake, the pressure is... —— so make no mistake, the worst of the covid pandemic may be over, with fewer patients needing the more intensive care. it won't be painful. but the pressure is still on the nhs, in so many other ways. today, 48 hours after we first met gonan, he is having his artificial airway removed. covid didn't beat him — can the nhs say the same? clive myrie, bbc news.

staying in the uk, some good news for travellers and the travel industry. people arriving in the uk from abroad will no longer have to take covid tests if they are fully vaccinated. the changes will come in on 11 february, in time for the half—term break. rules have also been eased for unvaccinated travellers, who will no longer have to take a day 8 test or self—isolate. the winter olympic opening ceremony will be held in beijing injust over a week. this comes as covid infections are spreading in china, driven by the highly infectious omicron variant. to deal with it, officials have imposed a strict olympic bubble isolation system and are not selling tickets to the public. our china correspondent stephen mcdonell asked the skating enthusiasts of the host city how they felt about this. screaming

the olympics is expected to produce a boom in winter sports here, sports wits in the past have not really involved mass participation. ice—skating now is something of an exception. there been seems like this in cities across the north of china for quite a while now.

really? you can see there are plenty of people enjoy themselves today. everyone we have spoken to says they are really looking forward to the olympics, and that they have faith

that officials can still controlled the coronavirus. however, we are yet to see the omicron variant really take off here, so that could change. before we go, 30 days after it was launched, the james webb telescope has arrived at its final position in space. the $10 billion observatory has been parked a million miles from earth, where our planet will shield it from dangerous heat and light from the sun. and with that, we end this addition

of newsday. thank you so much for watching and i will be back with business news later. hello. tuesday promises more of the weather we've been so used to lately — largely dry, but often cloudy. the satellite picture shows this pale grey colour here — that's the sheet of low cloud that's been with many of us for the last few days. this bright white cloud out towards the west is the first sign of the frontal systems that will eventually get things moving and bring about something of a change. but for tuesday morning, most places starting off grey and cloudy, some mist and fog patches, too. the fog should tend to lift as the day wears on, as the breeze picks up a little. best chance of sunshine perhaps for north east wales, the west midlands, north east england, but more especially for northern ireland, for southern and eastern scotland, where the breeze really will be picking up, turning that cloud over and breaking it up. some spots of rain into northwest scotland. temperatures ranging from just 3—4

celsius in parts of eastern england, to maybe 8—9 in western scotland and northern ireland. now as we head through tuesday night, we'll see one band of cloud and a few spots of rain pushing south towards — a very weak weather front. our big area of cloud will start to retreat southwards, so we will see a few more clear breaks developing that could allow temperatures to drop relatively close to freezing — at the same time, there'll be more of a breeze. so i think quite a few places will stay frost—free, there'll be a few pockets of frost here and there. but wednesday morning starts under the influence of this area of high pressure — the high really has been with us for quite a few days now. but a weather system approaching from the northwest will start to get things moving and change things, and certainly, the wind will be strengthening through the day across northern ireland and scotland, gales in exposed northwestern areas later with outbreaks of rain pushing in. much of england and wales dry, a little more in the way of sunshine and slightly higher temperatures, as well, 8—10 celsius. now as we go through wednesday night and on into thursday,

we push this frontal system southwards, we'll see some really strong winds for a time around the far north of scotland. that weather front, as it gets into the south, well, not much rain left on it, but maybe a legacy of cloud and drizzle for a time across southwest england and the channel islands. however, for most of us on thursday, we will see quite a lot more in the way of sunshine, a few showers into the north of scotland. temperatures not doing too badly, actually, 7—12 celsius. friday will bring the return of the cloud, pushing in from the west, but it will be quite mild, quite breezy and dry for most.

this is bbc news, i'm shaun ley.

the headlines... as russia continues to mass troops on the ukraine border, the pentagon has said 8,500 us—based troops are at a heightened readiness to deploy. president biden has spoken with european leaders to discuss a common response to the standoff. downing street admits that staff gathered inside number ten during the first lockdown in june 2020 to wish borisjohnson a happy birthday. the rules at the time banned most indoor gatherings of more than two people. the army in burkina faso has announced on television that it's removed the country's president from office and suspended the constitution. the governing party said the president and a government minister had survived assassination attempts. bob dylan has sold the master recordings to his entire back catalogue to sony music. the musician had previously sold his publishing rights to universal music for a reported $400 million.