welcome to bbc news. our top stories: britain's prince andrew demands a trial byjury as he rejects the allegations of sexual assault made by virginia giuffre. the us formally responds to russia's concerns over ukraine, saying they've offered moscow a serious diplomatic path forward. westminster waits for the report that could determine the british prime minister's future as borisjohnson rejects calls for him to resign. and how peruvians are taking a haircut to help clean up a huge oil spill threatening an environmental disaster.

hello, and welcome to bbc news. prince andrew is demanding a trial byjury. he formally denied all the allegations against him as he gave a court in new york his official response to allegations of sexual assault. virginia giuffre accuses the duke of york of forcing her to have sex more than two decades ago at the london home of the convicted sex trafficker ghislaine maxwell. the 11—page document sets out the duke's detailed response, strongly denying that he abused ms giuffre when she was 17. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell has more details. across 11 pages, andrew's lawyers have set out his defence — a denial of the central allegation of sexual abuse made by virginia giuffre and an assertion in respect of others

that andrew lacks sufficient information to either admit or deny what's been claimed. he says, for example, in relation to the widely publicised picture of the two of them, that he doesn't have enough information to admit or deny that there exists photographic evidence of his alleged meeting with miss giuffre. elsewhere, his lawyers assert that virginia giuffre�*s civil complaint should be dismissed because she's a permanent resident of australia and not domiciled in the united states. and they say this: finally, they demand this: ..all of which suggests that andrew is determined to fight it out in court, though lawyers say this doesn't preclude an out—of—court settlement. you can certainly have a settlement further down the road, and it wouldn't shock me at all, between now and a trial, to see something

like that happen. and sometimes, though, there are cases where no amount of money will make them go away. there are times when, again, a victim wants their day in court. and that certainly seems to be virginia giuffre�*s intention. her lawyer has said they look forward to confronting prince andrew with his denials and his attempts to blame miss giuffre for her own abuse at the trial. nicholas witchell, bbc news. the united states has issued its formal response to russia's demands over the crisis on the ukraine border. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, said washington had made no concessions on its core principles. but he insisted the document contained serious offers to find a diplomatic path out of the crisis. it is for nato, not the united states unilaterally, to discuss the open door policy. these decisions that nato

makes as an alliance, not by the united states unilaterally. but from our perspective i can't be more clear. nato�*s door is open, remains open and that is our commitment. our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford sent this report from the ukrainian capital, kyiv. matches, needle, etc. medicals and bandages, medicine. yuri is getting ready for a war he hopes he never sees. he's packed an emergency bag to grab and go if russian bombs or troops reach kyiv. a basic survival kit for the worst possible scenario. what does it actually feel like to be doing this? it's unbelievable. so, i understand it, i am living now in the 21st century. i'm amazed that i should do this, that i should pack this bag, but this is what i have to do to keep my family safe. yuri thinks a major escalation

in ukraine's 8—year—long war with russia is unlikely. he just feels better being prepared for it. today, the us government strongly advised its citizens to leave ukraine. the government here calls warnings of a major new incursion by russia alarmist, but it's not ignoring the tens of thousands of troops deployed near its border. a few weeks ago, the authorities here actually released a map with all the bomb shelters, and just look at it — there's thousands of them — 5,000, in fact — all over the city. marking a map, though, is the easy bit. the door�*s locked. and this is one of the official bomb shelters, supposedly. so, either nobody here's expecting war to break out any minute now or they're just not very well prepared for it. the metro might be a safer bet, deep below ground. if the air raid siren sounds,

people will have 20 minutes to get down here. there's so much talk now outside ukraine about the possibility of the conflict escalating, ofan imminent russian invasion, and it's quite weird being here inside kyiv itself and realising that people are just going about their ordinary lives. there's no sense of panic here at all. do you think it's possible that the conflict could actually reach kyiv? i don't know. i don't have any information about that, so i'm just living my best life right now and hoping that everything will be ok. did you make any kind of preparations, or any...? no, no. so, as western governments wrestle with moscow's ultimatums and demands, ukrainians for now are getting on with a life they've long lived in the shadow of russian threats and aggression. sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv. the former ukrainian president has told the bbc that everyone

now understands that global security is at stake. he said the world needed to show president putin that it was strong and united. first of all, president putin is absolutely serious. and the understanding of the world is different, because beforehand, everyone in the world understands that this is the danger for ukraine. now, nobody has any illusion that this is the danger for the european and global security, because putin can, at the same time, attack the baltic states, attack poland, using ukraine as an instrument for blackmailing the whole world. and with this situation, everybody understands that investing in ukrainian security, they invest in their own security. let's get some of the day's other news. north korea has fired two short—range ballistic missiles

from its east coast into the sea of japan according to military officials in the south. thejoint chiefs of staff confirmed the launch. it marks north korea's sixth weapons test this year. a single body has been recovered by us coastguards after a boat capsized off the coast of florida. a sole survivor had earlier told rescuers that the vessel had left the bimini islands in the bahamas on saturday with a0 people on board. the boat is believed to have been made up of people from cuba and haiti who paid smugglers to take them to the us. one of the nine justices on the us supreme court is reported to be considering retirement. stephen breyer, who is 83, has been on the court for more than 27 years. he was appointed by bill clinton. he is one ofjust three liberaljudges on the nine—person court. his retirement would be a massive opportunity for president biden to appoint a newjudge who may influence the highest court for decades to come. he has promised a black female

judge. british prime minister borisjohnson has once again rejected calls from labour to resign as mps await the publication of the cabinet office report into lockdown parties in downing street and whitehall. it's believed that sue gray's inquiry into whether covid regulations were breached is essentially complete. work has been taking place to ensure the document can be published in full. the subject once again dominated prime minister's questions. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg has more. busy doing nothing much. waiting, wondering if the findings of a report into rule—breaking in downing street will make life impossible for borisjohnson. 0ther ministers, trying to concentrate on serious matters of the day... can you survive this, prime minister? ..anxiety, anticipation about what the next few hours would bring. the prime minister eager not to show any nerves to his backbench troops.

cheered at lunchtime, but with questions pressing, can that mood prevail? how much damage are the prime minister and his cabinet prepared to do to save his skin? let me just remind the house what's been going on in downing street. we've been prioritising the covid backlogs, mr speaker. and when the official verdict into what really went on is ready, will we see it all? can the prime minister confirm that he will publish the full sue gray report as he receives it? of course, i will do exactly what i said. remember, the official civil service inquiry isn't the only one that lurks. we now have the shameful spectacle of a prime minister of the united kingdom being subject to a police investigation. isn't this a prime minister and a government that have shown nothing but contempt for the decency, honesty and respect that define this country?

and for all sorts of reasons, many people may want me out of the way, but i'll tell you the reason he wants me out of the way, it's because he knows that this government can be trusted to deliver! and we're — and particularly i — am getting on with the job. a public show of force. but it's the private world behind number 10's show that's been exposed. it's a business meeting! laughter allegations of parties in the press office exploded with a cringeworthy video of staffers joking about how they'd explain it away. and it's not socially distanced. can you stop? i'm going to make a statement, you don't... the tears of the former press spokesperson allegra stratton, the first casualty of this whole mess. then admissions of various other gatherings in whitehall when the country was locked down. revelations of bring—your—own—booze drinks in the downing street garden, organised by none other than martin reynolds, one of the most senior staff by borisjohnson�*s side. a basement booze—up during the national mourning

for prince philip. and then, just this week, news of a birthday celebration for the prime minister in the cabinet room during lockdown. lulu, why did you go to borisjohnson�*s party? lulu lytle, the interior designer of the renovation of the number 10 flat, briefly there, along with boris johnson's wife. the painful question all the way through — how could the people who wrote the lockdown rules have broken them too? this whole place is in a deeply uncomfortable limbo. the report into what went on in downing street is still not out even though it was essentially complete, apart from last—minute checks last night. the questions about the integrity and truthfulness of what happened have still not been answered. and just when those doubts are swirling thick and fast, a new, separate contradiction has emerged. remember this? the desperate images of the evacuation of kabul when it fell to the taliban.

there are claims that the prime minister interfered to prioritise rescuing animals from a british man, penn farthing's, charity. that was fiercely denied at the time. but e—mails published by a westminster committee today give a very different picture, referring to the "prime minister's decision," saying in writing: that's a total contradiction of what boris johnson said last month. did you intervene in that way? no, that's complete nonsense. marrying up different versions of events has been part of this government's problem. mps sent home tonight without the official report into parties coming out, so accusations hover, still waiting for a verdict. the prime minister hopes for political escape. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: tapping tiktok for talent — the man behind the spice girls

forms a new band after holding auditions on the app. the shuttle challenger exploded soon after lift—off. 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. i 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 bbc world news. the latest headlines: britain's prince andrew demands a trial byjury as he rejects the allegations of sexual assault made by virginia giuffre. the us formally responds to russia's concerns over ukraine saying they've offered moscow a serious diplomatic path forward. a new oil leak is being tackled on the pacific coast of peru, just ten days after a major crude spill which has been called the biggest ecological disaster to hit the south american country in recent years, killing scores of seals, fish and birds. stephanie prentice reports.

volu nteers volunteers have been inching forward in an attempt to clean up forward in an attempt to clean up the coast here but now efforts have ta ken two steps back as another leak has seeped into the problems of teams here on the beaches. 0n into the problems of teams here on the beaches. on a coastline, local fishermen says smells like death. mopping up the oil is slow work and doing it quickly no small feat of ingenuity. the major smell almost two weeks ago led to a national cry for help in one unusual campaign, asking people to donate not their time but had to be used in cleanup efforts. that is because human hair repels water but actively absorbs oil. peruvians across the country headed to hairdressers, or even the streets, for a few cut. the hair then formed into cylinders and shipped to the coast. the

feeling? every little helps. some even donated dog fur in an attempt to save marine wildlife. translation: ~ ., ., wildlife. translation: ., ., , translation: we are not pet uroomers translation: we are not pet groomers but _ translation: we are not pet groomers but there _ translation: we are not pet groomers but there is - translation: we are not pet groomers but there is the - translation: we are not pet groomers but there is the will| groomers but there is the will of the people because in the and the hair growth, everything grows, but what does not return is the death of the animals. but while the nations come together to tackle disaster, a row over who is to blame for it has proved divisive. we'll provide a repsol is denying responsibility while environmental agencies pursue it, but for now, it is the local people and wildlife feeling the full effects of the darkness that washed up here. stephanie prentice, bbc news. british aid has arrived in tonga, 11 days after an under—sea volcanic eruption and tsunami devastated entire islands and villages. bottled water, first aid kits, ppe and baby products were taken off a royal navy patrol ship to protect the pacific island nation from the pandemic.

now, the man behind the spice girls and s club 7 has launched his latest pop group, this time with the help of the social media sensation tiktok. # can't be denied this kind of love is not the love that the story told you all about... you all is this the future of music? well, artist manager simon fuller thinks so. he held auditions on the app over the last year to form the seven—piece band called the future x. despite the global search, all members are from america and canada. tiktok has become an increasingly essential tool for the music industry, launching the careers of stars like lil nas x and doja cat. the band members already have a combined 4.4 million followers on their individual accounts. well, let's talk about this with new york times' internet culture reporter, taylor lorenz. she's in los angeles, and currently writing a book about the rise of the online creator industry.

fascinating, presumably this single is more than 15 seconds long! how has it gone down with the users of tiktok. absolutely. all of these creators were found on two tiktok through online competition where you submit your portfolio essentially through a tiktok video. typically, to those who do not use tiktok as much as you do, i certainly don't, it's normally 15 seconds long, so these were brief auditions was allowed a cabbie 15 seconds up to three minutes long as you do have a view on time — just a bit more time. how is gone down with uses of tiktok who has hundreds of users? does this run with a grain of the ethos of tiktok? i think tiktok uses are split. while members of this group have their own fans on tiktok

and they have been excited to watch their does come up others accuse them of being industry plans and don't like that it is preplanned on tiktok, feeling a bit too orchestrated. find preplanned on tiktok, feeling a bit too orchestrated.— bit too orchestrated. and it seems to — bit too orchestrated. and it seems to be _ bit too orchestrated. and it seems to be coming - bit too orchestrated. and it seems to be coming morel bit too orchestrated. and it | seems to be coming more of bit too orchestrated. and it - seems to be coming more of an essential tool for the music industry because it has such huge penetration, doesn't it? absolutely. tiktok dominates the charts these days. if it is popular on tiktok is popular on spotify and the way that tiktok has reshaped the music industry has reshaped the music industry has reshaped the industry and ec stars like lil nas x and doja cat and it really is the place of online talent. i5 doja cat and it really is the place of online talent. is the death knell— place of online talent. is the death knell for _ place of online talent. is the death knell for record - place of online talent. is the l death knell for record labels? i think they can go to tiktok to scout out talent but it really does flip the dynamic a little bit. used to get signed a record label to get fans and acreages produce music in your bedroom, up millions of

followers on tiktok and crate uses directly for them. it definitely balance out the power a bit between the artists and labels. power a bit between the artists and labels-— and labels. how it is monetised? - and labels. how it is monetised? you - and labels. how it is monetised? you get and labels. how it is— monetised? you get monetised a million different _ monetised? you get monetised a million different ways _ monetised? you get monetised a million different ways but - million different ways but tiktok does pay for streaming. every time you stream or use a song on tiktok, the artist who created that song, hopefully, theoretically, gets the money. say something stream channelling times a tiktok, the artist gets a portion of that streaming. artist gets a portion of that streaming-— streaming. you say theoretically, - streaming. you say l theoretically, doesn't streaming. you say - theoretically, doesn't always happen? theoretically, doesn't always hauen? ~' happen? tiktok, the remix culture is _ happen? tiktok, the remix culture is really _ happen? tiktok, the remix culture is really strong - happen? tiktok, the remix culture is really strong on i culture is really strong on that app, so a lot of the times people take snippets of a song, uploaded as new audio and in that case the person does not always get the money from it. all right, 0k, fascinating to see what happens. thank you for joining us. see what happens. thank you for 'oinin: us. . ~ see what happens. thank you for joining us-_ joining us. thank you for havin: joining us. thank you for having me- _ now to the story of

an amazing reunion — more than 50 years after a toddler was found wandering alone miles from her home in australia. kathy wrethman's dissappearance in 1968 sparked a huge search, one that, fortunately, had a happy ending, asjon kay explains. june, 1968, and kathy wrethman was safe. the toddler had been missing for three days, but she was found alone in new south wales, almost 20 miles from home. now a grandma, this is the first time kathy has ever spoken publicly about what happened. the person that took me didn't hurt me. the only thing kathy could tell her parents was that there was a man. and the only clue — whoever took her from the family home cut her hair. nobody was ever charged. i can only remember a dog and a room — being in a room. someone coming in, opening this door and saying, "go to sleep".

i do remember that, and the dog under my bed. it was a big dog, i think it was an alsatian. what is it like for you now, even now, not really knowing where you were and who you were with during those few days? it's mind—boggling. i came across kathy's story while i was making the bbc podcast series fairy meadow about the disappearance of cheryl grimmer in australia at around the same time. she was never found, and the two cases have never been formally linked. of course, ifeel like the luckiest lady in the world. kathy was found wandering in a creek by some schoolboys who were skipping lessons, but she has never seen them since. what would you say to them? thank you. i mean, thank you wouldn't be enough for saving your life, because what i've got now is my family, and i wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't for them. i want to introduce you to somebody. who?

who's that? hi. this is mark. mark — oh, my god! how are you? long time, no see. this is mark — so mark byrne was one of those three boys who found you. we were wagging school. like, we weren't good boys at school, but we had a good outcome that day. thank you so much for wagging school. i can't believe it. this is a dream. i'vejust wanted to thank you, and... oh, my god, thank you's not enough. i love you, and you're always going to be my hero. you're always going to be my hero. five decades on, at least one mystery has been solved.

and you can listen to the latest episodes ofjon's fascinating podcast series fairy meadow on bbc sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. before we go, you may think the rivalries in basketball and hockeyin rivalries in basketball and hockey in the united states are fierce but that is nothing compared to what goes on in one polish sport! pigeon racing! poland has europe's biggest community of pigeon breeders. they have even won international competitions but polish pigeons, brace yourself, have been training their dutch and belgium rivals so breeders across poland have been investing in training their flocks with the special

contraptions here, and made the best bird win! didn't know that, did you? plenty on the website. hello there. we've certainly seen some windy weather across more northern parts of the uk into the night. the winds will continue to ease down during the day on thursday. it'll still be breezy, mind you, and there should be more sunshine more widely. the strongest winds have been near that area of low pressure that's moving away from the northern isles. this weather front is continuing southwards. it's continuing to weaken, and that means the rain and drizzle on it is becoming very light and patchy. and this is the picture towards the end of the night. further north across the uk, clearer skies are continuing to follow with some more of those showers, mainly in the north of scotland, but it should be a frost—free start to thursday. but we start quite cloudy across much of wales,

the midlands, and southern england. some light and patchy rain and drizzle mainly in the west. that'll move southwards, soon cheering up in wales in the midlands. the cloud takes all morning to move away from southern england, heading out into the channel. then sunshine follows widely, a few more of these showers continuing mainly across northern and western scotland. but not a cold day despite the north—westerly wind, temperatures double figures for most. it will feel quite cooler than of late, though, in northern parts of scotland. the winds ease down during the evening. some clear skies will turn it chilly for a while overnight. and then, if we look out to the west, a stream of weather fronts will bring some wet weather mainly toward scotland on friday. but at the same time, we're drawing and some very mild south—westerly winds. ahead of it, though, across england and wales, a chilly start. some sunshine, one or two early mist and fog patches. does tend to cloud over more and more from the west during the day, hanging onto some sunshine towards south—eastern parts of england, most of the rain coming eastwards from scotland. and for many, those temperatures will be reaching 10—11 celsius. it is turning milder and windier through the day, and most of the rain will continue to affect

scotland overnight, that weather front tapping up the rain over western parts of scotland. then that weather front moves southwards on saturday. so again, it'll weaken and the rain becomes light and patchy. moving away from scotland and northern ireland, there won't be much rain heading down across england and wales. then we get a north—westerly wind once again, a few showers across northern parts of scotland. double—figure temperatures for most of the day. very mild in the south—east of england at 1a celsius. a windy day on saturday. the winds won't be as strong, though, on sunday. it will be a bit cooler. northern areas turn wet and windy later on.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: prince andrew is demanding a trial byjury in a civil case accusing him of sexual assault. the duke's formally denied all allegations against him in an 11—page document submitted to a new york court. he also cast doubt on the authenticity of a photograph showing him with accuser virginia giuffre. the us has formally rejected russia's draft security pacts with the west published last month. secretary of state antony blinken said washington had made no concessions, but insisted the document offered a serious diplomatic path forward. the white house says president biden will honour his commitment to make an african—american woman his first nomination to the supreme court. she would replace the liberal justice, stephen breyer, who has announced his plans to retire at the end ofjune.