records broken ministry with temperatures forecast to hit new highs. it's seven in the morning in singapore, and eleven o'clock in britain, where buckingham palace has announced that prince andrew is returning his royal and military titles to the queen. he will no longer be referred to as his royal highness in any official capacity. it comes just a day after prince andrew's lawyers failed to persuade a judge in america to dismiss a civil lawsuit, accusing him of sexually abusing a teenager two decades ago. the duke of york has consistently denied the allegations. buckingham palace say he will continue not to carry out any public duties, and will defend the civil court case as a private citizen. here's our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. it was a day to take stock. for andrew, seen leaving his home near windsor castle this morning, to ponder the situation in which he now finds himself. a situation in which, for him, none of the options is a good one. the days of this, of standing proudly on the balcony of buckingham palace, in military uniform, alongside his family, are over. his family and particularly his elder brother charles and his nephew, william, had to put aside family feeling. the priority now was the family's protection from severe reputational damage. just after five o'clock, buckingham palace issued a short statement regarding the duke of york. with the queen's approval and agreement, the duke of york's military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the queen. the duke of york will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen. at the same time, the palace let it be known that andrew would no longer be known as his royal highness. so, what does it all mean? it means we will never see andrew like this again, riding as honorary colonel of the grenadier guards at trooping the colour. he has stepped down by mutual agreement, we are told, from that position and from roles in nearly a dozen other regiments. he is also giving up roles in the royal navy and the raf. in military circles, there was considerable relief. the mp, tobias ellwood, is a former army officer. the royal family has an intimate relationship with the regiments, going back in history, many of them are honorary colonels and so forth and it is important that the problems that prince andrew has incurred are not bled over into the regiments that he was representing. from sources close to andrew, we were told that he would fight on. the duke will continue to defend himself against these claims, they said. the claims began more than ten years ago now, with the publication of this photograph of andrew with the then 17—year—old virginia roberts and this photograph of him with the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. in his newsnight interview, andrew said he rued the day he became involved with epstein. and that is the bit that, as it were, i kick myself for, on a daily basis, because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices and i let the side down. simple as that. two years on from that interview, andrew, duke of york, second son of the queen, ninth in line to the british throne stands alone. nicholas witchell, bbc news. since that interview since they stepped back from public duties, they have led a very isolated life here. she he shares his home with his wife and he shares his home with his wife and he may be turning to her in this moment but going forward, who will not see prince andrew out and about again as a member of the royal family and that decision clearly designed to separate prince andrew's court case from the royal family public duties. he will now focus on his duties, the queen will be celebrating her 70 years on the throne, the policy be hoping that this decision about prince andrew will lift a dark cloud of the celebrations. mi5 has issued a rare alert about a named individual — warning mps of a woman who's been working as an agent for the chinese state and trying to influence british politicians. the security service said that christine lee was engaged in political interference on behalf of the chinese communist party. the home secretary priti patel said it was "deeply concerning", but that the uk had measures in place to identify such activities. here's our security correspondent, gordon corera a figure at the heart of westminster, with access to politicians from all parties, even a prime minister. but today lawyer christine lee is accused of working secretly on behalf of the chinese state. in a highly unusual move, mi5 today issued this alert to parliamentarians. they were warned that miss lee had been working with an arm of the chinese communist party to covertly interfere in uk politics through establishing links with established and aspiring parliamentarians. the fact that this alert has become public today in the way in which it has, is really a very strong illustration of how our intelligence and security agencies have been working together to really spot and identify this type of activity, activity that could potentially do harm to our country and harm to our democracy. there was no one here today at christine lee's london office and she has not yet responded to the claims. the allegation is that she was funnelling money to politicians, claiming it came from within the uk, when in fact it came from china, all in order to secure influence for the chinese communist party. former labour frontbencher barry gardiner received more than £a00,000 from her overfive years. in a statement today, he said he had been liasing with mi5 and he stopped receiving funding for parliamentary researchers in 2020, although miss lee's son was working in mr gardiner�*s office until he resigned today. this is really serious. we won't play this down, we are not running scare stories, i am genuinely concerned and shocked that this has been allowed to happen. we need to understand why, we need to do something about it, but also we have to recognise that the chinese government poses a clear and present danger to us and stop messing around. today's alert came after what i'm told is a lengthy and serious investigation by mi5 here, but christine lee is not being prosecuted. this isn't about spying on the traditional sense of stealing secrets, it's about influence and the judgment was that the best way of disrupting her alleged activities was by issuing this very unusual warning. inside british intelligence, concerns about chinese influence have been growing in recent years. today is a sign that those fears could go right to the heart of westminster and we are told to expect more of these warnings in the future. gordon corera, bbc news. security forces in sudan have today fired tear—gas at thousands of pro—democracy protesters marching on the presidential palace in the capital, khartoum. novak djokovic remains in the australian open draw as the decision over whether the defending champion can stay in the country drags on. the nine—time champion has been drawn against fellow serb miomir kecmanovic. to tell us more, i'm joined now by phil mercer in melbourne wonderful to have you on the programme, the first instance, just to say he admits this ongoing uncertainty, know that novak djokovic is a bit trying to play in the australian open. there's still a bit of confusion as to whether or not he can play. bit of confusion as to whether or not he can play-— bit of confusion as to whether or not he can play. djokovic has been not he can play. d'okovic has been drawn to play — not he can play. d'okovic has been drawn to play a _ not he can play. djokovic has been drawn to play a fellow _ not he can play. djokovic has been drawn to play a fellow serb - not he can play. djokovic has been drawn to play a fellow serb in - not he can play. djokovic has been drawn to play a fellow serb in the l drawn to play a fellow serb in the first round. if he gets to play, they'll take place here in melbourne park on monday or tuesday of next week. but they are still waiting for confirmation and either way from the australian government as to whether or not he will be able to stay in the country. well over a week now since novak djokovic was detained at the international airport. a lot has happened in the meantime and he was placed in immigration detention and he had that visa cancellation overturned by a court on monday and for the last few days, we have been waiting to hear from australia's integration minister. will he or won't he cancel djokovic's visa. there's a lot of speculation in the media in australia that that decision may happen today. but it could have been handed down yesterday, it is up in the air at the moment. mil yesterday, it is up in the air at the moment.— yesterday, it is up in the air at the moment. all up in the air for sure. if the moment. all up in the air for sure- if that _ the moment. all up in the air for sure. if that does _ the moment. all up in the air for sure. if that does happen - the moment. all up in the air for sure. if that does happen and . the moment. all up in the air for| sure. if that does happen and it's the moment. all up in the air for i sure. if that does happen and it's a big if, what options does novak djokovic have? if big if, what options does novak djokovic have?— djokovic have? if his visa is cancelled — djokovic have? if his visa is cancelled once _ djokovic have? if his visa is cancelled once again, - djokovic have? if his visa is i cancelled once again, almost certainly it would go back to court and he has huge wealth behind him, his legal team is extremely experienced as we saw on the court case earlier this week and so, if the integration minister decides to cancel the visa, almost certainly a court case will follow but time is of the essence here. it's friday morning here in melbourne, the australian open starts on monday and so, whichever way this long—running sagais so, whichever way this long—running saga is going to turn, it would have to turn quickly, giving as we say, the first grand slam of the year starts pretty soon here. and the first grand slam of the year starts pretty soon here. and against that weather. _ starts pretty soon here. and against that weather. i _ starts pretty soon here. and against that weather, i don't _ starts pretty soon here. and against that weather, i don't envy _ starts pretty soon here. and against that weather, i don't envy the - that weather, i don't envy the players. thank you for that. just to say, the final question, what is the perception of how this is all playing out in australia and how much of a debate has this spurned about the treatment of vaccinated and unvaccinated people? this about the treatment of vaccinated and unvaccinated people?- about the treatment of vaccinated and unvaccinated people? this is a massive story _ and unvaccinated people? this is a massive story not _ and unvaccinated people? this is a massive story notjust _ and unvaccinated people? this is a massive story notjust run - and unvaccinated people? this is a massive story notjust run of- massive story notjust run of djokovic but the fact that this story has erupted in the middle of this searching omicron i'll break right across australia. we are seeing record—breaking case numbers right around most of australia, there was a poll on the new site in the last couple of days that suggested the vast majority of australians wanted to see novak djokovic deported. this is a country thatis djokovic deported. this is a country that is facing great fear and anxiety amongst the spread of the virus many australian scene of a is a wealthy celebrity who is trying to bend the rules and of course, him and his supporters see things very differently but safe to say, this is a story that has been very keenly watched here as it is far beyond these shores.— watched here as it is far beyond these shores. ., ~ , ., ., ~ , these shores. thank you for keeping us up-to-date _ these shores. thank you for keeping us up-to-date even _ these shores. thank you for keeping us up-to-date even in _ these shores. thank you for keeping us up-to-date even in this - these shores. thank you for keeping us up-to-date even in this type - these shores. thank you for keeping us up-to-date even in this type of. us up—to—date even in this type of weather in melbourne. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. australia has matched its hottest days on record after the remote coastal town reported temperatures of 50.7 celsius. we ask what impact the heat is having on the country. 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. 0ur headlines. buckingham palace is prince andrew has returned his royal patronage to the queen and will no longer use the title his royal highness. bring security service issues a rare warning. trying to influence the countries laws. the uk prime minister's — political future — hangs in the balance, as a growing number of conservative mps call for him to resign, despite his apology in the house of commons yesterday. it's after borisjohnson admitted attending a party in the downing street garden during the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth reports. there's no easy way to clean the current situation and since first thing no sign of the prime minister. a planned public visit was cancelled because one of his family has covid. while he hunkered down here, others spoke up for him after yesterday's apology. he was ashen faced, he was upset, he was truly genuinely heartfelt sorry for the upset and the rage that people are feeling. he gets it. 0n the airwaves there was a chorus of loyalty. there is no question in my mind borisjohnson was acting in good faith. with hindsight he regrets going out into the garden. he has apologised very, very clearly. j the cabinet have shown their support, including the chancellor, though from him it was quieter. mr speaker, i want to apologise. for many, yesterday's apologyjust didn't cut it. the mood among tories is dim. some critics are keeping their counsel for now, waiting perhaps to hear from their constituencies. stamford in lincolnshire is rock—solid tory turf. long—standing members of the conservative association were as one. if he wants to be remembered as a good prime minister then i think he has to consider, is it the time now to resign. i think it would be better if he just resigned, rather than waiting for a vote of confidence. i think he would get a lot more respect. a lot of the long serving membersl in the association have very vocally said that it's time for him to go. scotland's tory leader has already said the same. his call for borisjohnson to resign caused something of a party row. jacob rees—mogg, as anyone, is entitled to their opinions. i don't happen to agree with them. jacob rees—mogg had called him a lightweight and questioned his loyalty, and now he's suggested lockdown rules might have been too tough at the time of the downing street gathering — asking today... whether all those regulations were proportionate or whether it was too hard on people...whether it was too hard on people. labour wasn't impressed. here, frustration at the government is farfrom fading. whether public or private, there is real anger across the conservative party at borisjohnson, but many mps are waiting for the findings of the official investigation before passing finaljudgement. even when that's published in the next week or so, it's likely it will be the political mood that follows that ultimately determines the prime minister's fate. there's a lot riding on sue gray, the civil servant leading the cabinet office enquiry. even the met police said today, they'd wait for her findings before deciding if there's anything to investigate. labour says the prime minister needs to act. he knowingly misled, lied to parliament, which in itself is a resignation offence under the ministerial code, but we're also calling for him to resign because of the damage that he's done to public trust and public confidence in health measures at a crucial time. for now, borisjohnson is in downing street, but make no mistake, this matter is far from closed. alex forsyth, bbc news, westminster. there are more revelations this evening. let's talk to our political correspondent ione wells — tell us more. what is number ten saying on all of this sort of the implications for borisjohnson? the this sort of the implications for boris johnson?— boris johnson? the latest allegations _ boris johnson? the latest allegations to _ boris johnson? the latest allegations to come - boris johnson? the latest allegations to come out i boris johnson? the latest i allegations to come out this boris johnson? the latest _ allegations to come out this evening come after the newspaper reported that there were other gatherings that there were other gatherings that took place this time on april the 18th 2021 in downing street, the newspaper is reporting that alcohol was drunk, music was played and people were dancing late into the evening because of two staff members departing and this was one of whom james, the director of communications at the time. the reason this is particularly significant on april the 18th is this is the evening of the funeral of prince philip, and many people remember the stark image of the queen the following day having to mourn her husband alone and at that funeral and at the time, indoor mixing was not allowed and coronavirus restrictions in england at the time was slowly easing but that moment, households, different households were not supposed to be mixing indoors. in response to this, number ten is put out a statement this evening and they have not denied the telegraphs claims and the spokesperson said that regarding james, the director of communications at the time, he now works for the newspaper. he says on the last day, he gave a farewell speech to thank each team for the support they have given to him and some of whom he was addressing on zoom, remotely and others he was addressing in person and the office and not denying the claims, i think this will certainly add to the pressure that is growing on the prime minister already has the opposition have been very critical of this and these latest allegations on the evening of prince phillips funeral. we've had tory counsellors come out and call these allegations by in belief and also significant today, get another conservative mp has become the latest mp to publicly say that he has written a letter of no confidence in the prime minister and saying that the prime ministers position is now untenable and the prime ministers previous claims that he did not know he was attending a party read best misguided and at worst cynical. so, just the since they are of the mood and flavour among the conservative backbench mps. this is an imputed backed boris johnson and his leadership and back to his brexit plans and was otherwise a supporter of them now coming out and sang his position is untenable. so, i believe the mood is worsening for the prime minister light of these revelations. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. a former syrian colonel has been jailed for life in germany for mass torture, killings and other abuses at a prison in damascus known as �*hell on earth' during the protest in 2011. anwar raslan is the most senior syrian official to be held accountable anywhere for crimes against humanity carried out under president bashar al—assad. the us supreme court has blocked president biden�*s plans to make either covid vaccinations or weekly testing compulsory at companies with over a hundred people. in a divided ruling, the six conservative justices decided against the strategy. but the court has approved a vaccine mandate for health care workers at government—funded facilities. the biden administration had argued that the mandates would save lives and help the economy. the norwegian nobel committee has called on ethiopia's prime to tell us more about what this means for the country is lesley hughes, a professor in biology at macquarie university in sydney and one of the founding members of australian thinktank the climate council. it is wonderful to have you on the programme. just to give a sense of the backdrop of all of this, the hottest ever recorded temperature. what is the reason behind this? well, the road is in a long—term global warming trend and while average temperatures are often what is recorded, long—term also means that the incidence of extreme events like hottest of her records are also inevitable and that is what we are seeing in western australia at the moment. �* ., ., , moment. and part of the conditions there riaht moment. and part of the conditions there right now— moment. and part of the conditions there right now and _ moment. and part of the conditions there right now and all— moment. and part of the conditions there right now and all our- moment. and part of the conditions there right now and all our people l there right now and all our people coping —— our people coping with this? coping -- our people coping with this? , ., , , ., coping -- our people coping with this? i. , , ., ., this? everyone is inside and air conditioning, _ this? everyone is inside and air conditioning, if _ this? everyone is inside and air conditioning, if they _ this? everyone is inside and air conditioning, if they have - this? everyone is inside and air conditioning, if they have not. | this? everyone is inside and air| conditioning, if they have not. if your insight and air conditioning, your insight and air conditioning, you can sit it out because being outside and 50 plus degrees is extremely dangerous to human health. but not everyone can afford air conditioning or have access to air conditioning or have access to air conditioning and all in an article saying that localjail does not have any indoor air conditioning so the inmates will be suffering. extreme climactic events do bring home the fact that the most vulnerable in our society are the most vulnerable to climate change.— society are the most vulnerable to climate change. absolutely and that is the condition _ climate change. absolutely and that is the condition for _ climate change. absolutely and that is the condition for people. - climate change. absolutely and that is the condition for people. i - climate change. absolutely and that is the condition for people. i know l is the condition for people. i know that there is also been an impact on wildlife and animals in that area. that is right. we are seeing impacts of heat waves a lover australia in the past decade or so, particularly birds and flying foxes, very vulnerable. even those birds who live in hot climates can suffer mass mortality when conditions get to be so extreme. especially when they don't have access to supplies of water. so, heat waves and other sorts of extremes are driving a lot of ecosystem changes in australia, notjust in western australia but in places like our great barrier reef which is seen unprecedented events over the past six years.— over the past six years. thank you so much for _ over the past six years. thank you so much forjoining _ over the past six years. thank you so much forjoining us _ over the past six years. thank you so much forjoining us on - over the past six years. thank you | so much forjoining us on newsday. we are going to end the programme now and i will try to make you smile. have a look at this. the emotional reunion of two brothers who were separated by the partition of india — 7a years ago. muhammad siddique and habib, last saw each other in 1947, when british rule ended in india and it was divided into two independent nation states — india and pakistan. incredible — heart warming scenes as they met in kartarpur in pakistan. it's going to be a very foggy start to friday, if you're planning to travel through the morning, take it steady and parts of wales, central and southern england. but for most of us, it should be a sunny start to the day. brought by the city of high pressure which is been hanging around for quite a while. conditions quite a contrast for the uk and the fact that the breeze is just about across scotland and frost free generally for northern ireland too. the frost will be across southern england and wales and minus four degrees in a few spots here, it's also where the fog is going to be forming in the centre of high pressure here and some of that fog will linger into the afternoon but as i say for most of us, it is a sunny day. the problem of the high pressure and the winds conditions, and london in the southeast will be the pollution. it sometimes happens when you get these very stable conditions with the light winds and the pollutants get strapped in the atmosphere. but for friday, be for london in the southeast. it is a bright day for many of us of us of fresh air and temperatures around five or 7 degrees. more of fresh air and temperatures around five or 7 degrees. moreover breeze on saturday which means that some of these pollutants will be blown away, so not quite so bad in the sight of these. and the weather most of the we are going to start off on a foggy note once again and particularly across central and southern parts of england and wales. more of a south—westerly breeze here i think it scotland and northern ireland, been workload here and whether front approaching in a bit of a nuance in approaching in a bit of a nuance in a weather heading for the north of the country and a week whether front which will bring some spots of rain into sunday for scotland and that eventually some spots of rain on sunday morning in the north of england as this whether front top was around this area of high—pressure that we have in the south. temperatures of 10 degrees in london, for some it will be around eight or so. let us summarise all of that. much of the fog and on friday morning, quite nasty in places but then after that, the weather isn't looking too bad at all. very stable, whether in the coming days. this is bbc news, the headlines. buckingham palace says prince andrew has returned his military honours and royal patronages. and, he will no longer use the title his royal highness. britain's security services issue a rare alert — warning of a chinese agent operating at the heart of westminster trying to influence mps. christine ching kui lee is alleged to have facilitated donations to politicians from hong kong and china. novak djokovic has been included in the draw for the australian open tennis tournament — even though it's still not clear if he'll be in the country to play. australia's immigration minister is still considering whether to deport djokovic because of covid rules. and australia matches its hottest day on record after a remote coastal town reported temperatures of 50.7 celsius.