on sunday morning local time. djokovic is still scheduled to play in the australian open in melbourne on monday. our correspondent, shaimaa khalil is there. voice—over: this is 9 news, live from sydney... just moments ago, the immigration minister has cancelled novak djokovic's visa... it's a story that made headlines here in australia and around the world. for days, novak djokovic has been on the court training, and now, the government has announced its decision. the tennis star's visa has been cancelled again and, for the second time, he faces deportation from australia. in his statement, the country's immigration minister alex hawke said: the prime minister, scott morrison, said the sacrifices australians made throughout the pandemic should be protected. mr morrison's government has faced heavy criticism for allowing the unvaccinated player into australia in the first place while the country struggled with a spike in covid—i9 case numbers. i think it was a pretty mess—up that they did, but now i think they corrected the way. it's unfortunate that novak won't be playing, you know, the tournament — it's a pretty big loss. yeah, i think if everyone else has to follow the rules, why can't he? and, obviously, he thought he was above it all. andy murray says the controversy has been bad for the sport. itjust seems like it's dragged on for quite a long time now and, yeah, not great for the tennis, not great for the australian open, not great for novak. his former coach, the multiple grand slam winner boris becker, said this story has become about more than just sport. he's only a tennis player. we're alljust sportsmen, we're not politicians. if we are used in a political way, then we don't have a chance. the world number one is still fighting to defend his title here. whether or not he'll be able to play, the australian open will take place under the shadow of a controversy that has gone way beyond tennis. shaimaa khalil in melbourne. washington and kyiv have accused russia of preparing to carry out "false sabotage operations" to create a pretext for an invasion of ukraine. the pentagon said moscow had sent a group of trained operatives into eastern ukraine who could carry out acts of sabotage against russia's own proxy forces there. ukraine's defence ministry said russia was plotting to stage similar operations in neighbouring moldova. the kremlin has denied the reports but, speaking at a news conference, the pentagon press secretary john kirby said us intelligence indicated that the plans were well underway. we do have information that indicates that russia is already working actively to create a pretext for a potential invasion — for a move on ukraine. in fact, we have information that they've pre—positioned a group of operatives to conduct what we call a "false flag operation" — an operation designed to look like an attack on them or russian—speaking people in ukraine, again, as an excuse to go in. and we already have, in addition, indications that russian influence actors are already starting — they're already starting to fabricate ukrainian provocations that — in both state and social media to, again, try tojustify and advance some sort —— to, again, try tojustify in advance some sort of pretext for incursion. john kirby. let's get some of the day's other main news. the united nations says at least 108 civilians have been killed by air strikes in northern ethiopia in the past two weeks. the un human rights office said 75 others had been injured in strikes, allegedly carried out by the ethiopian air force. the federal government has previously denied attacking civilians in tigray. vigils are being held across the island of ireland in memory of a woman who was murdered while out jogging on wednesday. 23—year—old ashling murphy, a primary school teacher, was attacked along the banks of the grand canal in tullamore in county offaly. a sudanese man has died while attempting to cross the english channel in sub—zero conditions. he was pulled from the water by french rescue teams after going overboard early in the morning, but was declared dead when they returned to shore. the government has expressed deep concern that a suspected chinese agent was able to target mps in an attempt to make uk policy more favourable to beijing. china has denied the claims, and accused the government of being "too obsessed with james bond movies". our security correspondent gordon corera has more. an agent for the chinese state in the heart of westminster — that's the claim that sparked a row between the uk and china. christine lee was a well—known figure, a lawyer seen here encouraging people from the chinese community to engage in politics. your vote is your voice! she had contact across the spectrum, providing hundreds of thousands of pounds of funding and meeting top politicians. but yesterday, mi5 issued this rare alert, warning she was trying to covertly interfere in british political life on behalf of the chinese communist party. today, china hit back, denying the claims. its foreign ministry spokesperson said perhaps some individuals have watched too many 007 movies, leading to unnecessary mental associations. the warning is a sign that tensions over china and its covert activities are growing. just two months ago, the head of mi6 said china was now his top priority. what a beautiful castle. china's state news agency responded to that speech with its own spoof of mi6's fictional spy with a chinese �*james pond' mocking british intelligence. for now, china is our top priority. for now, china is our top priority-— priority. and what of the chinese _ priority. and what of the chinese done? - —— and what have the chinese done? but one former diplomat says the uk does need to be on guard for china seeking influence. by putting in that sort of money, it gets eyes and ears in parliament, it gets to influence — it hopes — various policy decisions. it might be about our critical national infrastructure. this latest warning has caused alarm in westminster, and it's unlikely to be the last. gordon corera, bbc news. you'll find much more on all the stories we're covering on our website, updated 2a hours a day, including the latest twists and turns of the the novak djokovic saga. just head to bbc.com/news or download the bbc news app. more now on novak djokovic and his final appeal against the cancellation of his australian visa. our correspondent phil mercer is following the story from melbourne. phil, hello. another twist, another term. took us through events because was he detained again by immigration officials or :— again by immigration officials or =— taken to another location away from his lawyer's officers or what? ~ �* ., , ~ or what? we're not sure. we have been — or what? we're not sure. we have been told _ or what? we're not sure. we have been told is _ or what? we're not sure. we have been told is that - or what? we're not sure. we have been told is that novak| have been told is that novak djokovic will remain at his lawyers until two o'clock in the afternoon local time, it is midday here now, so the expectation is in a couple of hours, he may well be put into immigration, a judge may decide that you can stay in his other accommodation 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 there was a brief preliminary hearing in court today, essentially a procedural matter dealing with administrative items ahead of a full appealfor novak administrative items ahead of a full appeal for novak djokovic against the decision by australia's immigration minister alex hawke to cancel his fees are and that will take place on sunday morning —— visa. today, if you like, to use a tennis term, is a bit of a warm up for the main event tomorrow. a warm up for the main event tomorrow— tomorrow. but it is going to the wire and _ tomorrow. but it is going to the wire and the _ tomorrow. but it is going to the wire and the open - tomorrow. but it is going to l the wire and the open begins tomorrow. but it is going to - the wire and the open begins on monday. is there any chance at all he will play, even if he is allowed to stay, because he has missed out on training, hasn't he? ., , missed out on training, hasn't he? . , ., , , he? he was training yesterday and we understand _ he? he was training yesterday and we understand he - he? he was training yesterday and we understand he trained| and we understand he trained twice on one of the main arenas of the australian open venue so we're not quite sure if he will be allowed to train while this appeal is going on. he is due to play in the first round at melbourne park which is only a short distance from here. on monday. so time is of the essence of what essence. we know that his lawyers have met the deadline, a midday deadline here, to submit their arguments against his cancellation of the visa to the court and the government has another ten hours to make their response so the legal wheels are turning. as for novak djokovic, we understand that he is at his lawyers's office and after two o'clock today, after a couple of hours, we don't know if he will be brought back to this hotel in melbourne, this immigration detention centre hotel, all go back to his other accommodation. so the cider, this will be long running saga, is continuing.— is continuing. there was a false travel _ is continuing. there was a false travel declaration i is continuing. there was a | false travel declaration but is continuing. there was a i false travel declaration but is accepted now that the exemption from the vaccine was valid? —— the saga. from the vaccine was valid? -- the saga-— from the vaccine was valid? -- the saua. , , , ., ., the saga. depends who you ask. the waiver. _ the saga. depends who you ask. the waiver, the _ the saga. depends who you ask. the waiver, the medical- the saga. depends who you ask. the waiver, the medical waiver. the waiver, the medical waiver that novak djokovic said that he had and he believed would give him the right to come into this country without having a covid—19 vaccination, but was granted by two bodies, tennis australia, which is the governing body, the organisation that runs the australian open and also the victorian state government. this is melbourne, melbourne is the state capital of victoria, so you have those two bodies. tennis australia and victoria, the state government, saying that he could have a medical exemption. however, when he got to the border, which is a federaljurisdiction, border force official said he had not met immigration rules so there is a bit of a disconnect there tennis authorities, state authorities and federal authorities. it's a very murky world. and i think what this case really serves to highlight is the uncompromising and often complex nature of australia's immigration rules, especially during the pandemic. phil mercer with _ during the pandemic. phil mercer with the _ during the pandemic. phil mercer with the latest, thank you indeed. a uk government minister has criticised borisjohnson�*s behaviour as "unacceptable" and said he must run downing street in a "very different way". guy opperman broke ranks after number 10 apologised to the queen for two lockdown parties held by staff on the eve of her husband's funeral. the prime minister didn't attend either party, but the latest disclosures have amplified calls for him to resign. separately, the former head of the government unit which drew up covid rules has said sorry for having leaving drinks while restrictions were in force. 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 heard about this, iwas, of course, very, very concerned. and i understand that people across the country are angry about what has happened. earlier this week, the prime minister did apologise for mistakes that have been made. according to the daily telegraph, downing street staff were sent to a nearby shop with a suitcase to buy more booze. number 10 has not denied any of this. borisjohnson himself was not there. itjoins the list of events being investigated by sue gray, a senior civil servant. as well as the two parties on the same night in april last year, back in december 2020, we know of several gatherings — both in downing street and government departments — including one on the 18th of december, about which the prime minister said this... i have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no covid rules were broken. the list goes on, with events in november 2020 being looked at. there was a gathering in the number 10 garden on 15 may 2020 and a bring—your—own—bottle event on the 20th, which boris johnson has apologised for attending. today's chastened apology to the queen is the latest twist in a saga that has engulfed number 10. as new revelations have dripped out, downing street has appealed for patience, saying all the facts will be known when sue gray publishes her report. but many tory mps are livid about the prime minister's handling of all of this and the apparent culture inside number 10. even a government minister has said things must change. it's not acceptable behaviour. he's apologised, and quite right too, and he needs to change his behaviour going forward and we all, i think, agree that. a handful of backbench conservatives have written letters to the parliamentary party, asking for a confidence vote in boris johnson. sutton coldfield is a true blue seat in the west midlands. but last night, the officers of its conservative association voted unanimously to withdraw its support from mrjohnson. the constituency�*s mp is a former cabinet minister. are you asking for his resignation? i'm not. i'm not normally a letter writer, but i'm waiting to see what sue gray reports. it is of immense concern and i'm very conscious in the local community, in royal sutton coldfield, people are aghast at what's been going on. here and across the country, tory mps will be sounding out their local parties and voters. i think it's disgusting. they're like a rudderless ship, really. i think it's a vendetta - that the media have got. opposition parties are now calling on borisjohnson to quit. the prime minister allowed this to happen in number 10 not once, not twice, but on multiple occasions. the culture was that it's one rule for everybody else and one rule for us. for a prime minister under intense pressure, much hangs on an inquiry that could lay bare whether those responsible for setting lockdown rules repeatedly broke them. ben wright at westminster. this is bbc news. our main headline: novak djokovic's legal team try to stop his deportion from australia, after his visa is cancelled again. lawyers for virginia giuffre, who's accused the duke of york of sexual abuse, are calling for two people based in the uk to give evidence in her civil case, including his former equerry. prince andrew denies all the allegations. our correspondent in washington, nomia iqbal, joins us now. who else are they asking? one ofthe who else are they asking? one of the peeple _ who else are they asking? one of the people they _ who else are they asking? que: of the people they are who else are they asking? iez of the people they are asking testimony from is a woman called shukri walker, she claims to have seen prince andrew at a nightclub in 2001 with a young girl. and ms giuffre contends it was the same night, after that club, but the prince allegedly abused her. the second request is for testimony from his former assistant, and ms giuffre's lawyer believe he may have some information related to the relationship that prince andrew had with the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. prince andrew has, as we know, consistently denied the allegations, as we have said this legal case is a marathon, not a sprint, but he has run out of legal manoeuvres, virginia giuffre's legal team are asking for all this evidence, and they have not ruled out a settlement, although her team have said if there is a settlement, it cannot be purely financial. just explain the us process here, because they are calling these depositions, aren't they, which is evident under oath, and there is some evidence that could even extend to prince andrew's ex—wife, fergie, and their daughters. andrew's ex-wife, fergie, and their daughters.— their daughters. potentially it could. sarah _ their daughters. potentially it could. sarah ferguson, - their daughters. potentially it could. sarah ferguson, the i could. sarah ferguson, the duchess and prince andrew's ex—wife is quite crucial to prince andrew's story of what happened that night. just to remind people, when prince andrew gave his interview to the bbc two years ago, he suggested that the night he was alleged to have carried out that alleged offence against virginia giuffre, he wasn't at a birthday party at a pizza restaurant. he said "it couldn't have happened, what was being alleged, because the date being suggested, 10 march, i was at home with the children, and then because the duchess was away we had a simple rule in the family that when one was away, the other was there". virginia giuffre's team have thrown the kitchen sink at this, they said they intend to call everybody who was integral to that story to court. but here in america you have subpoenas, and a subpoenae is given out and it is impossible within america, so you are compelled to show up in court, and if you don't the us marshall is brought in to bring you to court. outside of the us, it is not enforceable, so basically if you are called, you can simply ignore it. and remember, that is one of the options that prince andrew potentially has, where he could default on this, he could ignore the court summons altogether, but he runs a huge risk of their it being ruled in his absence. an prince andrew's team has said, as i mentioned, that this is a marathon, not a sprint, they have said they are prepared to defend his name. official figures show covid infections climbed to a record high in the uk in the first week ofjanuary, with an estimated 11.3 million cases. london was the only part of the country to see a fall in infections during that period. 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 limits on spectators at outside events from 21 january and, a week later, nightclubs can 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 11.3 million people in the uk had the virus last week, up 15% on the previous week, though that rate of increase was slower than during the week before. in england, it was one in 15 who had the virus. in scotland, wales and northern ireland, one in 20 people. there is a renewed push on boosterjabs, with take up much slower since the new year — including here in nottingham and across the east midlands, where the message sometimes hasn't been heard. a part of me questions whether it's actually effective. and how many are we going to have to have after that? i really want to get it done. because of everything that you see in the news, really. health officials in the region say the booster roll—out may have slowed, but vaccine centres are busy. we are still continuing to see hundreds of people coming in each week for theirfirst dose, so we have to recognise that people are on a slightly differentjourney. at this gp practice in kent, though, the waiting area for vaccinations, including boosters, is sometimes empty. our clinics really have been a lot less busy. we've also had problems where patients aren't turning up when they've been invited. he says getting the under—30s to come forward for boosters hasn't always been easy. that age group were vaccinated later, so their boosters come later. quite a lot of them have had covid, and you can't vaccinate someone within four weeks of having covid, but we still think there's quite a lot of young people out there that are eligible that we are very keen to boost. medical experts say more babies are going to hospital during this latest covid wave, but they're not very sick with the virus — which they say is reassuring, and covid poses a very low risk to children. hugh pym, bbc news. canadian scientists studying the impact of space travel on the human body say their findings may help develop treatments for chronic anaemia back here on earth. the study of 1a astronauts who'd been on the international space station shows that 50% more red blood cells are destroyed in space than on earth. let's get more on this from dr guy trudel — he's a rehabilitation physician at the ottawa hospital research institute. thank you forjoining us. so why do we think space anaemia occurs? ,, . ., ., ., why do we think space anaemia occurs? ,, ., ., ., why do we think space anaemia occurs? ., ., ., , occurs? space anaemia has been known since _ occurs? space anaemia has been known since the _ occurs? space anaemia has been known since the very _ occurs? space anaemia has been known since the very first - known since the very first humans in space. when astronauts are in space, we find the second they go back in gravity on earth, we find they are anaemic, there are red blood cells missing. (crosstalk). but why, why does it happen in space? but why, why does it happen in sace? :: , ., , ., space? even 50 years later, we still have the _ space? even 50 years later, we still have the same _ space? even 50 years later, we still have the same problem, i still have the same problem, despite all the changes that we have made to space travel. so we won't too sure what the cause was. we designed experiments to test that, and our hypothesis was the fact that there are fewer red blood cells, they are not being produced or they are being destroyed and higher rates. and thatis destroyed and higher rates. and that is what we found. we found quite a large decrease —— increase in red blood cell degradation while you are in space. degradation while you are in sace. , ., ., ., space. end is that damage lastin: , space. end is that damage lasting. or _ space. end is that damage lasting, or do _ space. end is that damage lasting, or do they - space. end is that damage j lasting, or do they recover when they return to work? ok. when they return to work? ok, so the unsuspected _ when they return to work? oi, so the unsuspected part of this, we suspected something happened in the very first days in space, up to ten days. but we found that the destruction continued on for the entire duration of the six—month mission of these astronauts. and this high rate of destruction is not sustainable. so we found also robust signs of an increased production of red blood cells to match the destruction. so unsuspected to us, we find there is a higher level of turnover, loss of red blood cells produced and destroyed, and that is happening in the background and we did not know about that, thatis we did not know about that, that is one of the main findings of the study. and how did ou findings of the study. and how did you get — findings of the study. and how did you get the _ findings of the study. and how did you get the samples - findings of the study. and how did you get the samples with l did you get the samples with these astronauts, didn't mean and loads of blood tests, or did you do that in a different way? did you do that in a different wa ? ,., , ,., way? ok, so we used some unique methods for— way? ok, so we used some unique methods for that. _ way? ok, so we used some unique methods for that. and _ way? ok, so we used some unique methods for that. and that - methods for that. and that involves collecting samples from astronauts. so we send to space a kit, a breath kit that the astronauts will prepare the day before, and the next morning they will blow into a series of tubes, and then transfer the air from series of tubes, and then transfer the airfrom a series of tubes, and then transfer the air from a plastic bag into a metal canister, and that metal canister was sturdy enough to be sent back to earth and back to our lab for analysis. and back to our lab for analysis-— analysis. that is really fascinating. _ fascinating. (crosstalk) just a final question if i make, what does this mean for months and years in space? so many people are talking about these really long missions now, hoping to get to mars and things. is this something that can be prevented, because presumably that would cause a lot of damage to astronauts' health. so far, for the six months that they are in space, we know they are balanced, so there is increased production and increased production and increased degradation. but the astronauts are living on our reserve. so we need that reserve. so we need that reserve in case there is a need for red blood cells, a bleed or something like that. so how long can that increased turnover take place is unknown. we have no data after six months in space. in fact i believe we overestimated our knowledge of space anaemia, and any trip which we are preparing now to mars and for long destinations and longer time, constitute a significant knowledge gap. mi constitute a significant knowledge gap. constitute a significant knowledue aa-. �* ., ~ knowledge gap. all right, thank ou ve knowledge gap. all right, thank you very much _ knowledge gap. all right, thank you very much for _ knowledge gap. all right, thank you very much forjoining - knowledge gap. all right, thank you very much forjoining us - you very much forjoining us here on bbc news. let's see how the weather is looking. hello there. another cold night, certainly, for england and wales. widespread frost and also some mist and fog reforming. some of it will be quite dense in places to start this morning. but most of the country this weekend will be dry and settled. there will be some showers around, though, as a weak front spreads its way across the uk. here it is out west in the atlantic for saturday. but you can see it's higher pressure towards the south and the east of the country. lightish winds again through the morning. so that means we will start off rather cloudy, misty, murky. some fog around too. most of that fog lifting into low cloud through the day, so quite a bit of grey weather, i think, around. but there will be some sunshine around, the best of it in northern england, into northern and eastern scotland, northern ireland as well into the afternoon, perhaps south—west england too. temperatures, 5—9 degrees for most of us. more of a breeze coming up from the southwest, so that means the air quality should be a bit better for london and the south—east. now, as we head through saturday night, most places will be dry, bar the odd shower around. further north, we've got that weather front spreading down from the north. that'll bring a band of cloud and rain, some blustery showers following in behind there. and temperatures, 1—4 degrees across the board, so not quite as cold as what we've had the last few nights. as we head on into sunday, we've got that weak cold front spreading southwards across england and wales. there will be barely anything on it, so a band of cloud, just some spots of rain slowly pushing southwards. behind it, skies will brighten up, but it will be a breezy day right across the board. there are more isobars on the pressure chart. even windy across the north of scotland, with gales in the northern isles. temperature—wise, pretty much where we should be looking at this time of year, ranging from around 7—9 degrees. we could see 10 or 11 degrees across southern england and south wales. now, as we move out of sunday into monday, that weather front clears away and then high pressure builds back in it once again. that'll settle things down, notjust for monday, for the rest of the week. so it could be quite a chilly start again for monday. light winds for most, apart from northern and western scotland. there will be a bit more cloud here, a bit more of a breeze. and temperatures — again, around the seasonal average — range from around 6—9 celsius. now, apart from a few weather fronts across the north of the uk as we move through this new week — that could bring a few showers across the north — most places will be dry and settled thanks to that area of high pressure. but signs of it turning a little bit chillier towards the end of the week.