on his paperwork needed to enter australia. and why so many chinese students are still heading abroad for their studies, despite the pandemic. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's seven in the morning in singapore and ii in the evening in london, where the uk prime minister, borisjohnson, has apologised for attending a large drinks gathering in the garden of 10 downing street in may 2020. at the time, the uk was in a strict lockdown, where meeting more than one person outside your household was not allowed. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, accused mrjohnson of having �*run out of road' after months of deceit and deception, and said he should consider his resignation. our political editor, laura kuenssberg, reports. a mess — there is no other word. a prime minister belatedly trying to clean up. are you going to apologise? with an admission of possible rule—breaking, an apology from a weakened leader. but will the answers to today's prime minister's questions see boris johnson through? mr speaker, i want to apologise. i know that millions of people across this country have made extraordinary sacrifices over the last 18 months, and i know the rage they feel with me, and with the government i lead, when they think that in downing street itself, the rules are not being properly followed by the people who make the rules. there were things we simply did not get right. and i must take responsibility. claiming, to disbelief in the commons, that technically a "bring your own booze" organised drinks event was within the lockdown rules. even if it could be said technically to fall within the guidance, there would be millions and millions of people who simply would not see it that way. well, there we have it. after months of deceit and deception, the pathetic spectacle of a man who's run out of road. his defence, his defence that he didn't realise he was at a party... laughter. ..is so ridiculous that it's actually offensive to the british public. labour able to mock the unusually subdued tory showman. when the whole country was in lockdown, he was hosting boozy parties in downing street. is he now going to do the decent thing and resign? i regret very much... i regret very much that we did not do things differently that evening. the prime minister pretended that he had been assured there were no parties. now it turns out he was at the parties all along. can't the prime minister see why the british public think he's lying through his teeth? mr speaker, it's up to the right honourable gentleman to choose how he conducts himself in this place... laughter. there was derision — laughter — at the prime minister's defence. six questions later, election—winner borisjohnson looked defeated. this is notjust a westminster drama. it is exactly midday, we are heading over to westminster... it was the must—watch from the morning sofa — the country seeing repeated calls for borisjohnson to quit. will the prime minister, for the good of the country, accept that the party is over and decide to resign? do the decent thing and resign. do the honourable thing and resign. and he must resign. and the concern on his own side is potent. the number of mps saying it's overfor mrjohnson growing in the shadows. and calls for him to quit out in the open now. borisjohnson�*s admission and apology in there has bought him a little time — a pause until the report into what did or didn't happen in at number ten is complete. yet for many on his own side, he's already lost the benefit of the doubt. growing numbers of his own mps want him out, discussing frantically how and when his exit could happen. it is not inevitable, though, that he'll be hastened out of office — but it's no longer impossible to imagine that the prime minister might be gone before too long. look at this, this is a fantastic garden you've got here. it is indeed a beautiful garden. i'm told this was a former bomb crater... a place prime minister was happy to show off in days gone by. do you see yourself being here for the very long term? well, we're working very hard, laura... but his time in residence could be brought to an early close by what happened literally in his own backyard. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. our political correspondent, rob watson, explains why the controversy has resonated in the uk. this isn't about some sort of obscure, hard—to—grasp abstract policy or economics. this is something that everybody can understand. it's this idea that 60 odd million brits were under some pretty severe lockdown restrictions — you could only meet with one other person from outside your family outdoors — and lo and behold, there was a drinks party in the middle of it all in the garden of downing street. so, it's that classic, laura, case of hypocrisy — people feeling, "hang on a minute, there's one rule for us and there's one rule for the people who actually make the rules." if you want to know more about the political consequences for the british prime minister, just go to the bbc news website. there, you'll find more analysis on what kind of support borisjohnson still has from his conservative party. and much more analysis on that. queen elizabeth's son, prince andrew, has failed to get a civil case dismissed in the united states, which accuses him of sexually assaulting a teenage girl. virginia giuffre is suing the duke of york, claiming that he abused her when she was 17 at the homes ofjeffrey epstein and ghislaine maxwell. the prince has strenuously denied the allegations, but the ruling by the judge in new york today means the civil trial can now go ahead. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, reports. everything for andrew had rested on this ruling, and it has gone against him. in his 43—page ruling in the case of virginia giuffre, plaintiff, and prince andrew, duke of york, defendant, the judge's conclusion was very straightforward. "the defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint is denied in all respects," the judge wrote. the possibility of appealing at this stage appears to be remote, so these are andrew's basic options. he can settle out of court — there'd be no admission of liability, but he would pay a perhaps substantial sum to virginia giuffre. he can default — that is ignore the court case, and by default, there would be a finding against him. finally, he could fight it out in court. he'd have to give a deposition under oath, the rival stories would be tested, the matter would be decided in open court. lawyers who've been following the case say none of the options will be attractive to him. andrew's got no good options now. he can't make things better, so, essentially, i think he's either going to have to engage in the trial process or he's going to have to settle, and that may well be his least—worst option. but it would be up to virginia giuffre to decide whether to accept any article settlement. at the moment, she doesn't seem inclined to do so. in a statement, her lawyer said... all of which leaves andrew facing the prospect of a bruising court case and the queen, in this, her platinum jubilee year, of enduring months of upset. in his newsnight interview, the one in which he said he couldn't remember meeting the then 17—year—old virginia giuffre, andrew was asked whether he felt his behaviour had damaged the queen and the royal family. i don't believe it's been damaging to the queen at all. it has to me. if i was in a position to be able to answer all these questions in a way that gave sensible answers, other than the ones that i've given that gave closure, i'd love it, but i'm afraid i can't, because i'm just as much in the dark as many people. if andrew does fight on, he'll have to answer all the other side's questions under oath, and he will be able to declare his innocence, and his lawyers will be able to test virginia giuffre�*s allegations. but at what price to the reputation of the royal family? as lawyers are saying, he has no good options. nicholas witchell, bbc news. our north america correspondent, nada tawfik, has been following the court case in new york and explains more about what happens next. well, we're waiting to see if prince andrew's legal team will attempt an appeal. that would require the judge �*s permission and legal experts say that it �*s permission and legal experts say thatitis �*s permission and legal experts say that it is a long shot. either way, the arduous discovery process will get under way with deadlines of summer, and that's where each side will have to disclose key information and documents. we already know that virginia giuffre�*s lawyers have demanded to see the prince's medical records after he said the claims had to be false because he cannot sweat. claims made in that newsnight interview. and it's worth noting that if the duke of york doesn't fight this in court, he will have to sit for a lengthy deposition by mrs giuffre�*s lawyer, considered one of the greatest trial lawyers in america. you will be asked about private and intimate details under oath —— he will be. if this goes to trial, one in the united states of a royal member will certainly spark a media frenzy. while prince andrew has long denied all of the allegations against him, time is now running out to make the legal decisions. still to come a bit later in the programme — tennis star novak djokovic admits mistakes made on his australian immigration entry forms. but first, nato's secretary general, jens stoltenberg, has warned there's still a real risk of new armed conflict in europe after its first face—to—face talks with russia in two years. this is the moment the two sides arrived for that meeting in brussels — with generals and diplomats rubbing shoulders as they prepared to sit around the table. they've been trying to defuse tensions over russian troops massed on the ukrainian border. russia's deputy foreign minister has described it as a moment of truth in relations between them. nato members have repeatedly said they won't accept russian demands, which include a halt to any eastward expansion of the alliance. after that meeting, jens stoltenberg, sat down with our jens stoltenberg sat down with our defence correspondent, jonathan beale. secretary general, after these talks with russia, are you more optimistic that there will not be an armed conflict again in ukraine? it's not possible to say anything with certainty about the likelihood on conflict. what i know is that there is a real risk for renewed use of force by russia against ukraine, and that's exactly why the meeting today was important, because we believe in a political path that we call on russia to engage in good faith and to sit down with nato allies and ukraine and find a peaceful way forward. do you agree that diplomacy is about give—and—take? i'm just not clear what you're prepared to give to the russians. we are... you know, they made clear demands about not enlarging nato, about not putting other nations' troops and other nato members on the eastern flank of the alliance. you're not giving any ground at all to russia, are you? well, we are willing to give, meaning that we are willing to make compromises, for instance, on arms control, and we have done that before. as long as we speak about balance, then the reciprocal is on both sides. for instance, what i made clear today is they're concerned about a long—range weapons system, missiles. well, we are ready to sit down as allies to discuss how can we agree, for instance, limits on missiles. so, if you compromise this, if that is balanced, then of course, we will prove we are willing to compromise. thank you very much, secretary general. thank you. still to come on the programme — why so many 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. i tens of thousands of black children i in south africa have taken advantage of laws passed by the country'sl 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 would've been the last person to want such a thing. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines... the british prime minister, borisjohnson, admits he attended a downing street drinks gathering at the height of covid lockdown in may 2020, and apologises. prince andrew will face a civil trial over allegations he sexually assaulted virginia giuffre when she was underage, after a usjudge ruled her lawsuit against him can proceed. he denies the allegations. let's talk about china's zero—covid policy now. it's made travelling out of and into the country very difficult, but has not prevented a surge in students from the mainland heading to universities abroad to study. chinese students are picking where they go more carefully now than they were before, though — evaluating covid policies, social distancing rules, and online or in—person classes. recent data by one body suggests the uk ticks many of these boxes, resulting in 30% growth, while the previous favourite destination, the us, has lagged at 2% to 3%. that data is from chinese online tuition payment service easytransfer. the co—founder and president, tony gao, joins us to explain these and other new trends. it's wonderful to have you on the programme, tony. in the first instance, just to say, when you look at the zero covid approach in china, how has that affected the ability of chinese students to go overseas and study where they want to? i chinese students to go overseas and study where they want to?— study where they want to? i mean, like, study where they want to? i mean, like. generally _ study where they want to? i mean, like, generally can _ study where they want to? i mean, like, generally can be _ study where they want to? i mean, like, generally can be about - study where they want to? i mean, like, generally can be about 2 - like, generally can be about 2 billion us dollars. 2000 universities in 80 countries. they see stripper strong growth to our platform, —— super—strong. although the circumstances, the students are limited by flights, vita or government regulations and cannot go abroad, but can still take online courses. more difficulties making payments for the universities. some members in the past two years, pre—and post—covid season, interest in study in the us and australia decreased by almost 30%, and us considered the farthest market. for uk students, the number actually increased by more than 20%, and studying in canada is relatively stable. 0verall, studying in canada is relatively stable. overall, the interest is super—strong for students to study abroad. super-strong for students to study abroad. ., , , ., ,, ., abroad. tony, 'ust on the us and australia abroad. tony, just on the us and australia dropping _ abroad. tony, just on the us and australia dropping down - abroad. tony, just on the us and australia dropping down that - abroad. tony, just on the us and| australia dropping down that list, how much and your view does that have to do with difficult political relations between china and those countries, as opposed to the logistics of trying to take courses there or getting to those countries? i mean, us and uk, getting to the uk is relatively easier compared to getting to the us. right now, we direct flight, so students will have to take boat, and from there, they take the plan to the us. —— the plane. there was a lot of policies adjusting to the chinese students who want to study abroad, and the schools particularly offer plans from china. that is super helpful for international students.- from china. that is super helpful for international students. when you look at the uk _ for international students. when you look at the uk market _ for international students. when you look at the uk market and _ for international students. when you look at the uk market and take - for international students. when you look at the uk market and take into | look at the uk market and take into consideration china's zero covid policy approach, do you see this trend lasting that chinese students want to go to the uk more than other countries, even after the pandemic starts to abate? countries, even after the pandemic starts to abate ?_ starts to abate? yeah, uk totally shows the positive. _ starts to abate? yeah, uk totally shows the positive. attitude - starts to abate? yeah, uk totally shows the positive. attitude or . shows the positive. attitude or understanding towards international students, and they have super great impressions for the chinese families. they implied better policies for students, and they allowed students to take the highway options for online and off—line together. but for us, the situation is different. the state government have different policies among different states. for example, university of illinois, they actually require students to go 100% off—line. that caused a lot of attention and concerns for chinese families. the parents actually asked the students to choose uk rather than us. . ,. . the students to choose uk rather than us. ., ,. ., , , ., the students to choose uk rather than us. ., , , ., ., , than us. fascinating stuff from tony gao from the _ than us. fascinating stuff from tony gao from the online _ than us. fascinating stuff from tony gao from the online tuition - than us. fascinating stuff from tony gao from the online tuition service l gao from the online tuition service easytra nsfer. gao from the online tuition service easytransfer. thank you forjoining us. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. prosecutors in france say they have made an arrest in connection with the murder of three british holidaymakers and a french cyclist in the alps ten years ago. saad al—hilli and his wife iqbal, from surrey, were shot dead in september 2012, along with mrs al—hilli's mother. a french cyclist, sylvain mollier, was found dead at the scene. the al—hilli's young daughters were found alive near the vehicle. ronnie spector, lead singer of the 19605 girl group �*the ronettes', has died at the age of 78. the group had hits including "be my baby" and "baby, i love you". according to a statement released by her family, spectre died surrounded by family and in the arms of her husband, jonathan, after a brief battle with cancer. lata mangeshkar, a singer known as the nightingale of india, is being treated in a mumbai hospital for covid—i9 and pneumonia. the 92—year—old is believed to have been in poor health for a number of years. her career has spanned over seven decades and has seen her recording thousands of songs in 36 languages. in addition to widespread acclaim in her homeland, she also became the first indian to perform at the royal albert hall in london in 197a. she was given france's highest civilian honour the legion d'honneur in 2007. the tennis star novak djokovic has admitted mistakes were made on his immigration forms for entering australia. he also said he'd made an error ofjudgement by agreeing to meet a journalist for an interview — after he knew he'd tested positive for covid—i9. the serbian player is still waiting to hear if his visa will be withdrawn before he can defend his title at the australian open. from melbourne, shaimaa khalil reports. hard at work in the hot australian sun. but, at the same time novak djokovic was on the tennis court training, he released a statement on his social media accounts. the world number one had a lot to say about questions over the past few days. still in dispute is when djokovic knew he had covid—i9. it is important, because an infection is the reason he was granted a vaccine exemption and allowed to travel to australia. today, the tennis star said he found out on december the 17th, hours after attending a tennis event with children in belgrade. but this conflicts with a sworn affidavit given to the australian courts that he tested positive for the virus a day earlier. crucially, he also admitted to giving false information, saying, "0n the issue of my travel declaration, this was submitted all these details are significant because australia's immigration minister is still deciding whether novak djokovic will be deported. his lawyers have now given extra information to the authorities and these revelations are throwing up more questions than answers. in another admission that does nothing for his reputation, djokovic revealed he did an interview with the french sports publication l'equipe after he knew he had the virus and had taken off his mask for a photo shoot. he accepted it was an error ofjudgment. novak djokovic is still determined to defend his title in the australian open. but the information he shared today seems to have added to the uncertainty of whether this will happen. shaimaa khalil, bbc news. there's lots more on that story for you on our website, and we will keep you up—to—date with any developments from australia on bbc 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 lifts into low cloud, and hopefully he disperses. so pretty miserable start, but hopefully improve zone. the cloud again thick enough, but we could see double figures, despite the winds gusting in excess of 40—50 mph. i blustery afternoon here, light winds, not shifting. 6—8 from for parts of england and wales. as we move out of thursday, the high pressure not moving far, which means we will continue to see a good deal of quiet weather. this weather front increasing, nothing significant. fog could be extensive, and it could be slow to clear. if that happens, one or two places might not see temperatures climbing out of freezing, but if we get the sunshine coming through again, we are looking at 5-7 coming through again, we are looking at 5—7 to the south, maximum of 10 or ii at 5—7 to the south, maximum of 10 or 11 degrees across the far north. as we move towards the weekend, that acquired a theme will stay with us. the question is how much sunshine we will see. this is bbc news, the headlines the uk prime minister boris johnson has admitted that he attended a drinks party in the garden of number 10 downing street during england's first lockdown. he's apologised but dismissed calls to resign, telling parliament it was a work—related event. prince andrew will face a civil trial — over allegations he sexually assaulted a 17 year old girl. ajudge in new york has ruled that virginia giuffre's lawsuit can proceed. the prince has consistently denied the allegations against him. the nato secretary general has said, significant differences remain with russia — after the first face to face talks between the two sides in two years. tensions remain high, over russia's troop build—up on the border with ukraine. novak djokovic has admitted breaking isolation rules while positive with covid. he also apologised for a mistake on his immigration form, regarding his previous travel.