shaimaa khalil, thank you _ for australia. shaimaa khalil, thank you very _ for australia.ia. shaimaa khalil, thank you very much for - for australia. shaimaa khalil, thank you very much for your| thank you very much for your time. as she said, it is a complicated story, many strands to it, and they will be more on this in a sports update a bit late in the programme. a candlelit vigil on the steps of the capitol building in washington has marked the end of a day of remembering a year since the invasion of the us capitol. earlier the president, joe biden, said those who had stormed the capitol had held a "dagger to america's throat." in his speech, mr biden also accused former president donald trump of spreading a web of lies about the 2020 election. 0ur washington correspondent, nomia iqbal, reports. prayer vigils were held in the dark for people to remember a day of shock and resilience. lawmakers spent the anniversary showing testimonials about where they were in those chaotic hours that shocked the world. ., �* ., ~ ,., . ~ world. you'll never take back our country _ wor

shaimaa khalil, ourl many thanks. shaimaa khalil, our correspondent. the first time. a 57—year—old man is said to be doing well, four days after surgery. if it does prove successful, it could mean animal organs being used more frequenlty in human transplants. this report from our medical editor fergus walsh contains images of the surgery involved. this is the gene—edited pig heart, ready for transplant into a human. the organ looks perfect, a good size, and the extraction of the organ went routinely. surgeons in maryland spent eight hours performing the world first. scientists had spent decades building to this moment, which some believe could revolutionise transplantation. the recipient was david bennett, seen here with his son and daughter. he was dying of heart failure and too ill to be considered for a human organ. it's an absolute miracle. it provides a lot of hope for my family, my dad and many others. he is doing extremely well. his vitals look great, using the pig heart alone. and here is david with his surgeon. he's said to be doing well, alth

shaimaa khalil, thank you very - and a hotel detention. shaimaa khalil, thank you very much.ge events and businesses, brought in to tackle the omicron variant, will be scrapped over the next two weeks, although the first minister mark drakeford said that while the situation was improving, caution was still needed. there could be some difficult days and weeks are still ahead as we continue to respond to the coronavirus crisis, but today's evidence is that we are able to move further and faster into those brighter days that we hope lie ahead for us all. let's find out more from our welsh correspondent, tomos morgan. explain what the first minister has been saying. heath liven a minister has been saying. heath given a road _ minister has been saying. heath given a road map _ minister has been saying. heath given a road map from - minister has been saying. heath given a road map from the - minister has been saying. heath given a road map from the 28th| minister has been saying. heath l given a road map from the 28th of january. _ given a road map from the 28th of january, down to

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne.e situation. the supermarket chain morrisons is to scrap �*use by�* dates on most of its milk, in a move it says will stop millions of pints being poured down the sink. instead, the retailer will display �*best before�* dates on 90% of its own—brand milk products. the recycling charity �*wrap�* says morrisons will be the first retailer to make the move. the change will happen later this month. richard swannell is from the charity, wrap, which supports people and businesses to reduce waste. we do welcome this and what is interesting is about 490 million pints of wasted every single year and we know that one of the causes of that is actually a misunderstanding around use by dates and throwing away milk too early so one of the causes of throwing away milk, and milk is actually the third item we throw away, the third most significant item we throw every single year, so tackling milk is a real priority. single year, so tackling milk is a real priority-— single year, so tackling milk is a re

announcer: khalil, fatima. cheering.ke six languages, and after graduating with a double degree from university in kyrgyzstan, she returned to afghanistan to decide on a career. all the time, her ambitions was that she wants to work somewhere in a war zone. and then i would always tell her, well come home, you don't have to go somewhere else. her big goal, of course, were that she wanted to be the secretary general of the un. natasha gotjob with the afghanistan human rights commission. she was the youngest so we were the least worried about her. this was herfirstjob. she was just there to start her life. she was so excited. she would always say, lima, this is the real thing, this is real life. at 7:30, on the morning she was killed, natasha was picked up by a government car to go to work. within minutes of leaving the house, a bomb attached to the car exploded. both she and her driver, ahmad jawid folad, were killed. natasha's killing is part of a chilling new tactic by insurgents who identify and target individuals for

shaimaa khalil.erwards gave us this update. well, i'm outside novak djokovic�*s lawyer's office, where he is expected soon. he was interviewed by immigration officials earlier and he is expected to be accompanied by border force officers as well. this is essentially him being detained. he will be allowed four hours here for a court hearing. this is a federal court, a higher court, with a differentjudge. once again, the government has decided they want to deport novak djokovic. once again, it's up to a judge whether or not he stays or goes. he will then be accompanied to an immigration detention hotel, possibly the one that he had stayed in before. but now this australian open, two days away, has turned from a sporting highlight to a point of contention politically and diplomatically. shaimaa khalil. and if we get more on that court case in the next half hour, we will bring it to you here on bbc news. downing street has apologised to buckingham palace, after it emerged two parties were held at number

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne. says borisjohnson has presided over "industrial scale partying" in downing street — and renewed his call for the prime minister to resign. sir keir starmer said there was no need to wait for the report into a series of alleged rule—breaking events. the conservative party chairman said today that the culture in number ten should be addressed. here's our political correspondent nick eardley. a prime minister under pressure over what went on in here. were covid rules broke in and downing street? how often did staff drink late into the night while the country was locked down? and can borisjohnson survive? if she comes back and says... labour's leader has made his mind up. i think it's pretty obvious what's happened. there's industrial scale partying that's been going on at downing street. not much of it is really denied, and i think that the public have made up their mind. i think the facts speak for themselves. i think the prime minister broke the law. i think he then lied about what had

shaimaa khalil- you so much. shaimaa khalil there in melbourne.loway is the foreign affairs and national security correspondent for the age and the sydney morning herald. hejoins me live now from canberra. thank you for being on the programme. given this new information, that novak djokovic has provided to the immigration minister, how do you believe this impact his case? ~ , , case? well, firstly, it impacted _ case? well, firstly, it impacted because - case? well, firstly, it| impacted because the case? well, firstly, it- impacted because the decision is not going to be made today stop i understand that up until djokovic's lawyers sent that fresh round of submissions to the minister, that he was likely to make a decision today whether he was going to deport djokovic or not. that has dilated by, ithink, at least 24 dilated by, ithink, at least 2a hours. i came confirmed that alex hawke, the immigration minister, is looking into both those two key points of contention that djokovic address in his statements. the fact that he participated in an int

shaima khalil, bbc news, melbourne. capital belgrade. what is the reaction been like? rally outside, assembly, once again here in belgrade. people turning up in their hundreds to hear from the djokovic family so his mum and mum and dad and his brother as well, and they were talking about their latest contact with the world tennis number one for men, his brother saying he was very gratefulfor all one for men, his brother saying he was very grateful for all the support people in serbia have sent to him and hoping for the right verdict from an independentjudge. verdict from an independent judge. but verdict from an independentjudge. but his mother saying that phrase old novak hasn't been getting breakfast in his quarantine hotel, adding that at least in prison he would be getting three meals a day. his father was taking a rather more paranoid point of view, saying this is only happening because we are serbia, a small country, and they are trying to put us down the stop they have been rather quiet on the political front. th

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne. you're watching newsday on the bbc.y chinese students are heading to study in the uk, despite the pandemic. day one of operation desert storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attacks since the second world war. tobacco is america's oldest industry, and it's one of its biggest. but the industry is nervous of this report — this may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. there is not a street that is unaffected. huge parts of kobe were simply demolished as buildings crashed into one another. this woman said she'd been given no help and no advice by the authorities. she stood outside the ruins of her business. tens of thousands of black. children in south africa have taken advantage of laws passed by the country's new— multiracial government and enrolled at - formerly—white schools. tonight sees the 9610th performance of the long—running play, the mousetrap. when they heard of her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonight's performance, but agatha christie

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, super, fiji. —— suva.avel rules. 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 the 11th of february, in time for the half—term school break. rules have also been eased for unvaccinated travellers, who will no longer have to take a day eight test or self—isolate. the news has been welcomed by the travel industry, but public health experts say testing is still important. 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 which in the past haven't really involved mass partic

shaimaa khalil has the latest. ready to defend his australian open title, only to be told he's no longer welcome. after hours of being held at the city's airport, the border authorities said his visa had to be revoked because of a mistake, and novak djokovic was taken to a quarantine hotel. he came to australia with an exemption, but he's been public about his opposition to being vaccinated. on the issue of mr djokovic, rules are rules, and there are no special cases. rules are rules. it's what i said to you yesterday — that's the policy of the government and has been our government's strong border protection policies and particularly in relation to the pandemic. scott morrison's government has been under immense pressure over its handling of the pandemic, amid rocketing case numbers and chaos at testing clinics. all of this is happening with an election looming in the next few months. djokovic's family say this is a political agenda and has nothing to do with sport. they are keeping him as a prisoner. it'sjust not

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne.e or address on the envelope — just his first name and a 57—word biography — has amazingly managed to find its way to the right place. our ireland correspondent, emma vardy, has more. "feargal, lives across the road from the spa. "his ma and da used to own it." no house number, no street name, a few things much more personal than that. the first thing i noticed was the amount of detail on the envelope and basically, my biography. "moved to waterford after he got married." despite nothing more than a short story and half a postcode, yesterday, this letter found its way straight to feargal lynn. i laughed so much. right through it all, to playing guitar, through to, "friends with the fellow who owns the butchers in waterford." feargal had taken to writing letters to people over lockdown as a way to brighten the gloom, but never expected such a strange reply. the letter was from an old friend in belfast, who perhaps could have found out his address but thought this way was a bit more fun.

shaimaa khalil, bbc news.e court ruling, but called for greater clarity over the rules. a statement said... i've been speaking to sports journalist daniel cherny in melbourne, he says there's still a chance the immigration minister could cancel his visa. everyone in australia, most australians are probably, you know, fans around the world are waiting with baited breath to see what happens with the immigration minister �*s decision. it could come at any moment now. i think that would be a valid decision, given that he entered the country. there is a query as to having prior infections is a valid exemption. in terms of what that would mean, one by—product of having your visa revoked by the immigration minister is that would actually cancel the visa for three years entering the country for three years, which a few of the locations clearly, you mentioned they will be playing for several more years, is a global superstar, one tournament ray holds nine times, he's dominated for the best part of 14 years, so the impl

that report from shaimaa khalil there.treet has apologised to buckingham palace, after it emerged two parties were held at number 10 the night before the duke of edinburgh's funeral, last april. a spokesman for borisjohnson, said it was "deeply regrettable that the events took place at a time of national mourning". covid rules had meant indoor mixing was banned, but reports suggest there was drinking and dancing at the parties into the early hours. the prime minister didn't attend either party, but the latest disclosures have amplified calls for him to resign. with the very latest, here's our political correspondent ben wright. it was a moment of national mourning, flags flying at half—mast in honour of prince philip, the duke of edinburgh. but inside number 10, on the evening of the 16th of april last year, two parties took place. there was drink and music at a time covid restrictions on indoor mixing in england were in place... ..restrictions the queen followed at the funeral of her husband the following day. when i hear

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne.nt's latest daily coronavirus figures show there were 81,713 new infections in the latest 24—hour period. that means there were 117,800 new cases on average per day in the last week. another 287 deaths were reported, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test. on average in the past week there were 263 deaths per day. vaccinations are continuing, but at a slower pace. on average in the last week 144,015 people had a boosterjab, which means 63.1% of the population aged 12 or over, have now had three doses. tsunami waves a metre high have hit the pacific island nation of tonga after an underwater volcano erupted for the second time in two days. satellite images captured the moment as huge plumes of black ash darkened the sky. local people have been urged to move to higher ground. wildlife experts in scotland are hopeful that progress is being made, in efforts to save the native red squirrel from extinction. grey squirrels have been better able to adapt to changing habita

the bbc�*s shaimaa khalil reports from melbourne.er is spending the weekend in an immigration detention hotel. and his supporters have turned up for a third day. this is novak djokovic arriving in melbourne on wednesday. the documents his legal team presented to the court state he'd received the exemption from tennis australia, with a follow—up letter from the home affairs department, saying he was allowed into the country. his legal team added that onjanuary 1st, djokovic received a document from home affairs, telling him his responses indicated he met the requirements for a quarantine—free arrival into australia. what's becoming clear is a breakdown in communication among those making the decisions, and what the judge has to look at and examine is exactly which rules apply. is it state government rules or federal government rules? and until a decision is made about whether novak djokovic can remain in australia, the world no 1 is still stuck in this immigration detention hotel, and in the middle of a huge controversy. this particul

from melbourne, shaimaa khalil reports.hey've been showing their solidarity on the streets of melbourne. no court appearance for novak djokovic, who is still in an immigration detention hotel six days after flying in. oh, man, i haven't slept since he's come off the plane. we're all sick to the stomach. it's a very unfortunate situation for australia, it's becoming very embarrassing. the prospect of djokovic�*s deportation has sparked a sporting and diplomatic storm, and today, former wimbledon champion andy murray weighed in, saying the row is really not good for tennis at all. the anger continues in his home country of serbia, with another day of protests in the capital, belgrade, and fury from his family. his mother, dijana, criticised the living conditions where he's being kept. translation: they locked him up, because it is a prison, - the place he is in right now. it's not a detention facility, it is a prison. they are not giving him breakfast. he only gets lunch and dinner. for breakfast, nothing. this was djokovic a

shaimaa khalil, bbc news.w from roads around the resort of murree, where at least 21 people have died in their cars during a blizzard. some people froze to death, and others are believed to have been poisoned by exhaust fumes while trying to keep warm. the military is attempting to rescue those still trapped. up to half—a—million people living in flats in england may no longer face the cost of paying to replace dangerous cladding on their properties, under new government proposals. the plans, set to be announced on monday, would instead ask developers to pay for work on buildings of around four to six storeys high. 0ur political correspondent ben wright reports. for around half a million homeowners living in potentially unsafe and unsellable flats, the fall—out from the grenfell tower fire has been traumatic and costly. leaseholders having to take out loans to strip out cladding and repair medium sized blocks of flats. me and my neighbours know we're living in unsafe clad flats so the main cost has been sleepl

shaimaa khalil reports from melbourne. within hours of today'sjudgement, novak djokovic posted this picture on twitter, saying he was pleased and grateful that thejudge had overturned the visa cancellation. and despite all that has happened, he wants to stay and try to compete at the australian open. cheering and this is the moment his supporters found out about his victory. he won, djokovic won! what we saw today here in the court, that the australian legal system is functioning, it is evidence—based, it is aboutjustice. yeah, i'm extremely happy, as is anyone, everyone - in the serbian community here. djokovic�*s family welcomed the news, but remained cautious about what would happen with his visa. i'm very worried, but i don't want to think like that. i just hope that it will stay like this, that he will be free and he will play. it's been a battle for all of us, it's notjust about novak, obviously. we've been defending him every possible way we could, because we know he's a truthful and rightful guy. while many in the

shaimaa khalil in melbourne. in melbourne for us and brought us up to speed with the latest in the court appeal. after he was detained at melbourne airport about 1.5 weeks ago, he was brought here to an immigration detention hotel quite close to the centre of melbourne. he may be brought back here, we don't know. what we do know is that there was a brief preliminary hearing in court today, essentially, it was a procedural matter dealing with administrative items ahead of a full appeal for novak djokovic against the decision by australia's immigration minister, alex hawke, to cancel his visa, and that will take place on sunday morning. so, today, if you like, to use a tennis term, is a bit of a warm—up for the main event tomorrow. 0k. but it's going to the wire and the open begins on monday. i mean, is there any chance at all he will play, even if he is allowed to stay, because he has missed out on so much training, hasn't he? well, he was training yesterday. we understand that he trained twice on one of the main

shaimaa khalil, bbc news. news, so do stay tuned to us. that's it from us. thanks for watching. it's been an unsettled start for 2022, but when jake changed it's been an unsettled start for 2022, but whenjake changed all that for many across england and wales after a frosty and foggy start. we had pictures like this, a beautiful scene in wrexham, hardly a cloud in the sky. it was chilly, but further north, we had more cloud. it was scotland and northern ireland that had the wilder area —— weather. this was the what situation on wednesday. it's a fairly similar story. price pressure still with us, a south when feeding cloud and a little bit of patchy drizzle. but under those clear skies and with very light winds, we will see frost and fog forming once again. temperatures potentially down as low as —3 and a few rural parts. the other exception for the far north of scotland. it will be frosty, but also it will be foggy. some of the fog dense in places, and it may well take most of the morning before it slowly lif

shaimaa khalil reports from neighbouring fiji.the tongan government has been nervous about. this is why, so far, the tongan authorities have been adamant that much—needed supplies have been allowed in but that aid workers have not been allowed into the country. and this is because, as you say, covid—19, so far, has been mostly outside this country and they've only had one case. otherwise they have been covid—free. and what they don't want to do is they don't want to be dealing with the aftermath of the destruction, after the volcanic eruption and the subsequent tsunami, only to invite covid—19 in with aid workers and aid, so they've been really careful and really reluctant about inviting personnel in. and then case in point, what happened with the hmas adelaide, the australian navy ship that was carrying aid to tonga. 23 personnel have tested positive for covid—19, and now we've heard from the australian defence minister, peter dutton, who said, "we're currently in conversation with the tongan authorities about what to do next, wh

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne.ditional £4 billion to fix the cladding crisis. at least 500,000 flat owners are unable to sell their properties because of safety issues discovered in the wake of the grenfell tower fire. the housing and communities secretary michael gove will set out the proposals next week, but newsnight�*s lewis goodall has seen the details. he is here with me. what do we know? we see in a letter secretary to the treasury simon clark to michael gove, the levelling up secretary, which lays out in detail what mr gove is going to announce next week. the big headline is around £4 billion of money will be made available to leaseholders in buildings between 11 metres and 18.5 metres to pay for dangerous cladding removal costs. that's being used because up until now the government's policy has been that only payments will be made for buildings over 18.5 metres. critics have long said that's an arbitrary figure and should be changed, so an important step forward for many leaseholders involved. but the crit

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne. andrew of sexual assault are seeking testimony from two people in the uk. meanwhile prince andrew's legal team want to question his accuser�*s husband and her psychologist as part of his civil sex case. prince andrew, seen here leaving the windsor estate with sarah ferguson, also argues that ms giuffre "may suffer from false memories". the duke has repeatedly denied claims aganist him. tsunami waves a metre high have hit the pacific island nation of tonga, after an underwater volcano erupted for the second time in two days. satellite images show the eruption, which was followed by darkened skies as the volcano sent black ash into the air. residents have been urged to move to higher ground. the uk foreign secretary has accused russia of waging a disinformation campaign to destabilise and justify an invasion of ukraine. liz truss wrote on social media that russia must halt its aggression, de—escalate and engage in meaningful talks. it comes after a week of us—russian talks aimed at defu

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne.dinovic is from bbc serbian and joins us from belgrade. what is the reaction been from novak djokovic�*s family? the what is the reaction been from novak djokovic's family?— djokovic's family? the family stated its disappointment _ djokovic's family? the family stated its disappointment with _ djokovic's family? the family stated its disappointment with the - djokovic's family? the family stated its disappointment with the fact - its disappointment with the fact that djokovic has to return from melbourne and was extradited, basically, without his visa. the family also said it is all about politics and other interests, as they said in their written statement. "it is a different approach than what we have seen the past days." when the family was out and about speaking at the press conference, they spoke to the public through a written statement. find conference, they spoke to the public through a written statement. and we have heard a — through a written statement. and we have heard a lit

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne.shortening the isolation period in england, for people who test positive for coronavirus, would be helpful in dealing with staffing shortages. nadhim zahawi said, any decision would be made on the basis of advice from the uk's health security agency — and said absences among teachers would rise now that schools had returned. the us recently shortened isolation for those testing positive for covid—19 from seven days to five. the bbc�*s health correspondent, dominic hughes, has more. the good news is that booster jabs are holding fast against the omicron wave. even as new cases have surged, hospital admissions remain a long way off the peak seen this time last year. but hundreds of thousands of people are currently isolating for at least seven days, so now there's a suggestion that — in england, at least — that period could be cut to five days instead. i think if the experts, and i have to defer to the uk health and security agency, deem it appropriate that you can have two negative test

shaimaa khalil, bbc news.but called for greater clarity over the rules. a statement said the atp fully respects the sacrifices the people of australia have made since the onset of covid—19 and the stringent immigration policies that have been put in place. the series of events leading to monday's court hearing have been damaging on all fronts, including for novak�*s well—being and preparation for the australian open. i'm joined now by sports journalist daniel cherny in melbourne. it's great to have you on the programme. just to get a sense at this point in time of where you think the immigration row could go from here. could the immigration minister still very legitimately cancel his visa, and what what the implications of that be?— implications of that be? there is still a chance _ implications of that be? there is still a chance that _ implications of that be? there is still a chance that could - implications of that be? there isj still a chance that could happen, and i think everyone in australia, most aust

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne.peaking to the american grand slam tennis champion pam shriverfor her reaction to djokovic's deportation from australia. that's coming in after the sport in a moment. the french parliament has given final approval to measures that will ban people who haven't had coronavirus vaccinations from most of public life. the new law requires people older than 16 to have a certificate of vaccination to enter public places until now, unvaccinated people have been able to show a recent negative test. the measure takes effect on thursday. the austrian chancellor says their proposed law on compulsory coronavirus vaccinations will apply to everybody over the age of eighteen. the punishment for not being vaccinated will be fines of up to around 600 euros a time. parliament votes on the plan in the coming week, and the rule will take effect on february the first. austria was the first eu country to propose compulsoryjabs. on saturday, around 27,000 people protested in vienna against the measures which

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne., from bbc serbian in belgrade. he told me about the reaction from djokovic�*s family. the family stated its disappointment with the fact that djokovic has to return from melbourne and was extradited, basically, without his visa. the family also said it is all about politics and other interests, as they said in their written statement. "it is a different approach than what we have seen the past days." when the family was out and about speaking at the press conference, in downtown belgrade today, they spoke to the public through a written statement. and we have heard a little bit of the political reaction from president aleksandar vucic in shaimaa�*s report a moment ago. what other political reaction has there been? it is pretty much unanimous here in belgrade that what happened to novak djokovic in australia is purely a political matter, not a matter of health or vaccination. what i have also heard is that serbia was unjustifiably labelled as the anti—vax country. the president said th

shaima khalil, bbc news, melbourne.ght british time — i asked australian immigration lawyer daniel estrin what might happen. open. the court can't grant him an interim visa to play in the australian open. the submissions novak djokovic's team have made i would say have some merit, and i think there is a reasonable chance the court might find there is a jurisdictional error. all that remains is that the decision is quashed. so, whether the court will make that decision tomorrow is another story because there are a lot of matters to consider. at the end of the day, the court will just say this is a nullity. what is interesting is the response from the minister which has just come through now, which shows an extraordinary doubling down, i guess, and makes it very clear that the minister of current affairs doesn't want novak djokovic in the country. from your perspective, is that a political stance? that's about saying we've all had such privations in this country, we can't have someone come in apparentlyjust because they a

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne.ccusing prince andrew of sexual assault want to take statements from two people in britain as part of her civil lawsuit against him. virginia giuffre claims the duke — seen here alongside his former wife sarah ferguson leaving the windsor estate earlier today — sexually assaulted her when she was 17. he strongly denies the claims. tsunami waves a metre high have hit the pacific island nation of tonga, after an underwater volcano erupted for the second time in two days. satellite images show the eruption which was followed by darkened skies as the volcano sent black ash into the air. residents have been urged to move to higher ground. ukraine has accused russia of being behind a large scale cyber—attack, that hit numerous government websites. the nato secretary general, jens stoltenberg, has condemned the cyber attack. he said the alliance's experts had been in touch with their ukrainian counterparts on the issue. russia has also arrested members of the revil hacker group. revil were re

shaimaa khalil reporting on the situation in tonga.ween islamic state militants and kurdish forces backed by us war planes. the fighting began on thursday when the extremists attacked a prison in the city of hasaka, and attempted to free thousands of is prisoners, as mark lobel reports. scenes syrians never wanted to see again. jihadists attacking a prison containing thousands of militants on thursday. there was a swift and determined fight back by kurdish—led forces guarding the area. taking on islamic state fighters in one of the group's biggest operations since their self—declared caliphate was defeated almost three years ago. from above, us—led coalition aircraft supported the syrian defense forces. many prisoners were recaptured with troops in pursuit of other fugitives that had fled to surrounding houses. families moved to safety in fear of their lives. translation: there's been shelling and killing since yesterday. - the jihadists killed four orfive people in our neighborhood, liquidated them. while this was playing out, across

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne.over the next few weeks. from tomorrow the next few weeks. from tomorrow the number of people who can attend outdoor vents will rise from 50 to 500, and for next friday there will be no limits on the size of crowds. then from the end of the month, most research and will be removed, the rule of six pogo. however, first minister mark drakeford says wild infections are falling, there is still no for complacency. piece by piece, wales is building its way back to normality once again. the closure of night clubs forced heidi's to delay its grand opening, forcing the business to move their focus elsewhere. we planned to open injanuary. obviously, the restrictions came in. we had to move our investment into england, where businesses were trading, and get some income and revenue generated. now you will not be open in time for when the restrictions easing? we will not be open in time, but we want to make sure it is perfect for when it does arrive. from the 28th, the night—time and hospitality in

shaimaa khalil, bbc news.nister to the liberal party, the same party as the current australian government. he was high commissioner to the uk until 2018, and he spoke to my colleague jane hill about djokovic's situation. well, it is a bit of a mess because the federal government in the form of the health minister wrote to tennis australia on the 29th of november to say that the fact that somebody who is unvaccinated has covid does not give them an exemption from quarantining for two weeks when they arrive in australia. so tennis australia knew this from the end of november but still he has come to australia. he could come to australia and he could spend two weeks in quarantine, but he has come to australia hoping to become exempt for quarantine on the basis of tennis australia, which is contrary the advice given to tennis australia given by the relevant ministers. they have got themselves into a terrible mess.— they have got themselves into a terrible mess. ., , ., , terrible mess. your understanding is that t

shaimaa khalil reports from melbourne. free the refugee!nce again, novak djokovic is in detention, and once again, the world number one is challenging the cancellation of his visa. in court documents which were released today, we learned that the immigration minister alex hawke made his decision because the player's presence in australia may foster anti—vaccination sentiment. the tennis star's legal team says the argument was invalid and irrational, and that deporting him would potentially undermine support for the vaccination programme. we want novak djokovic to play! and while some of djokovic�*s supporters gathered to back him, there has been little sympathy for the tennis player. i do feel that to make a statement that we are sticking by what we have been calling for the last two years, i feel it is best for djokovic to probably sit this one out. i hope that the government and the judges hold their ground and say, you don't want to get a vaccination and you don't want to follow our rules, then you can't come in. when novak djokovic�*s v

shaimaa khalil reports from melbourne.here novak djokovic is being kept. adnan chopani has been here forfive months now, after being moved from another facility. i live in level two and djokovic lives in level one. that is the food we have been served every day by the canteen. we found a maggot and mould on the bread and we've been reporting it but unfortunately, there has been no action taken. outside the hotel, there was dancing and music, but also anger and frustration among novak djokovic's supporters. it's unclear if the tennis star will remain here until monday, when his legal team will challenge the cancellation of his visa. novak djokovic is waiting for a court decision on whether he'll be able to stay and compete in the australian open, or be deported. whatever happens, this has gone way beyond tennis. the world number one is now at the centre of a political and diplomatic storm. djokovic arrived on wednesday with an exemption, granted by tennis australia and the state of victoria. but the border force has revoked

shaimaa khalil, live in melbourne, thank you. official figures show covid infections climbed to a recordt week of january, with an estimated 4.3 million cases. london was the only part of the country to see a fall in infections during that period. the welsh government has announced plans to end covid restrictions over the next two weeks, but has warned against complacency. here's our health editor, hugh pym. with restrictions in wales to be eased, six nations rugby fixtures with fans can go ahead in cardiff. there'll be no limit on spectators at outside events from january the 21st and, a week later, nightclubs reopen, as long as covid cases are falling. over the course of this week, we have seen some early positive signs of improvement and they suggest that the measures we have taken are working and they give us hope that we may be turning a corner. the latest move by the welsh government follows a similar easing by scottish ministers, with more confidence about the weeks ahead, though virus infections remain high. the latest survey by the office for national statistics suggests that 4.

thank you very much, shaimaa khalil in melbourne.uding nine children, have been killed in a fire that's being called the worst for 30 years in new york. it happened in a i9—floor apartment building in the bronx. dozens of people are being treated for injuries. our correspondent nada tawfik has more. it is the worst fire at the city has seenin it is the worst fire at the city has seen in decades, as this high rise building in the bronx went up in flames, and no part was spared. firefighters arrived within three minutes after a blaze broke out in a duplex apartment. the crews found victims on each floor, some in cardiac and respiratory arrest. in those terrifying moments residents were rescued from their windows and in smoke—filled hallways. i had were rescued from their windows and in smoke-filled hallways.— in smoke-filled hallways. i had to crab m in smoke-filled hallways. i had to grab my dogs _ in smoke-filled hallways. i had to grab my dogs and _ in smoke-filled hallways. i had to grab my dogs and one _ in smoke-filled hallways.

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne.nt guy de launey has the latest from the serbian capital, belgrade. we're getting some political reaction, as you saw. a little extract there in shaimaa's piece from president aleksandar vucic. i was talking to him a few hours ago because, of course, novak djokovic has had support from the very, very highest level of serbian government throughout this whole affair, whether that meant going in quite aggressively or stepping back and being more conciliatory and trying to see if the judicial process would do its work for novak djokovic. well, we know that it hasn't and he has now been deported. so i asked president aleksandar vucic for his initial reaction to what had happened in australia. i'm not... as a president, i'm not an anti—vaxxer. i was three times vaccinated. three shots. it's not about that. if you wanted to put principles in front of everything, you should have said "ok, non—vaccinated people cannot enter the territory of australia." but you didn't say so. you were saying med

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne.victed of chasing and then murdering ahmaud arbery, a black man, in the state of georgia, have been sentenced to life in prison. travis mcmichael, his father gregory, and their neighbor roddy bryan, were convicted of felony murder. they had chased mr arbery while he was jogging, before he was shot to death. their defence had claimed they feared he was planning to commit a crime. the mcmichaels will spend life in prison without the possibility of parole — roddy bryan, will serve life but does have the possibility of parole. here's georgia superior courtjudge, timothy walmsley, outlining some of the evidence from the trial: there is a frame where if he is 20 yards out, that may be because, 30 yards out, that may be because, 30 yards out, that may be because, 30 yards out, it is the frame of travis mcmichael lifting the to at ahmaud arbery. and you watch that with context, and when i say context, after hearing the evidence in this case and thinking about a young man running at that point

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne.p of nations continues in cameroon, where nigeria beat sudan 3—1. the pressure is now on egypt, the record seven—time afcon winners. the team lost their first match to nigeria, and are trying to get back on track with a win against guinea—bissau, although no goals have been scored yet. i'm joined now by the bbc�*s isaac fanin who is in yaounde. what's the latest in the egypt versus guinea—bissau match? it has been a good first half, the second half has just got under way. egypt had been the team who had dominated most of the game, they really need the winds, they are led by their captain mohamed salah who plays for liverpool. egypt hit the post twice. their coach, who some fans may remember was the assistant coach at manchester united, he has come under little bit of pressure after the way egypt were beaten by nigeria in the first game. so, they need to get a win in this one because if they lose this, they cannot qualify in a second spot for the next round but they still will be able t

shaimaa khalil, bbc news.peaking to mary crock, a law professor at the university of sydney. she says djokovic�*s lawyers have created a strong case. i have now been able to read the submissions put in on behalf of novak, and i think it's going to be a very, very interesting case. he's got good lawyers and they seem to have made very interesting legal arguments that could well play out in his favour. so you think there's a chance he could make it to the australian open, but there are quite a few complications about this case, aren't there, there seem to be lots of different sides, the state side, the federal side, and also the border force. look, the case that's been put to court is really based on very close reading of the actual migration law and i agree with you, i think the policies that apply, both at a state level and at a federal level are far from clear, you've got biosecurity legislation, you've got the migration act, you've got policies made under the migration act and then policies that seem to be c

shaimaa khalil, bbc news.ted to have killed more than 50 people. there's been no independent confirmation of the attack in tigray, but pictures on social media show injured civilians being treated in hospital. fighting on the ground between federal forces and tigrayan rebels has halted, but air strikes have continued. a spokesman for the tigray people's liberation front called the incident "a callous drone attack" by the government. the kazakh authorities have detained the former head of the country's domestic intelligence agency, karim massimov, on suspicion of high treason. it's fuelled speculation that the violence of recent days may be linked — at least in part — to a power struggle within the ruling party. mr massimov previously served twice as prime minister under kazakhstan's former long—standing president, nursultan nazarbayev. at least 21 people have died in freezing temperatures in northeastern pakistan after their cars were trapped in heavy snow. the chief minister of punjab province has declared th