is on his way to kyiv as america warns russia could attack ukraine "at any point". and betting big on gaming. microsoft is buying the company that makes call of duty and candy crush for almost $70 billion. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc world news. it's newsday. it's nine in the morning here in singapore, 1am in london, where boris johnson's reported to be edging closer to a leadership challenge — with more mps openly speaking out against him over parties held at downing street during lockdowns. with a difficult day ahead, another difficult one comes to a close. faced with claims by his former closest advisor that he misled parliament, boris johnson's categorically denied he was warned about parties at his downing street. in a moment we'll hear from a former conservative party press chief about the pm's position, but first here's our deputy political editor vicki young with the day's events. prime ministers are surrounded by people offering advice. but in the end, they have to use their own judgement. borisjohnson has admitted joining colleagues for drinks in the garden when the country was locked down, something he now regrets. i carry full responsibility for what took place, but nobody told me, i'm absolutely categorical about this, nobody said to me this is an event that is against the rules. and what about staff partying into the early hours the night before prince philip's funeral? was having to apologise to the queen about those parties the night before she put her husband of over 70 years, she laid him to rest, was that a moment of shame for you? i deeply and bitterly regret that that happened, and i can only renew my apologies both to her majesty and to the country for misjudgments that were made and for which i take full responsibility. mrjohnson wasn't there on that occasion, but questions remain about the drinks he did attend. he insists he thought it was a work event. but dominic cummings, his former top adviser who's turned against him since leaving thejob, says he warned him it was a party and he needed to grip his madhouse. mrcummings will now mr cummings will now speak to the enquiry. not for the first time there are conflicting accounts of what went on here in downing street during the pandemic. the senior official sue gray is investigating and will of course be looking for written evidence, but for now, the prime minister's approach is to apologise at every opportunity, admit misjudgments and hope that people believe him. for now, support among senior ministers is holding up. "he's a hero," according to the man in charge of party discipline. it's going to split the difference. and answering questions for the first time was the chancellor, the man many mps think could succeed mrjohnson. do you believe the prime minister? of course i do. you believe he's telling the truth? the prime minister set out his understanding of this matter in parliament last week, and i'd refer you to his words. as you know, sue gray is conducting an inquiry into this matter, and i would fully support the prime minister's request for patience while that inquiry concludes. but others are going public with their concerns. junior health minister maria caulfield is the latest to post online, saying she was very angry. this evening, the prime minister was spotted returning to the commons. just six conservative mps have publicly expressed no confidence in him, but that certainly doesn't tell the whole story. as we mentioned there's a growing amount of conservative mps expressing no confidence in the prime minister — and the first editions of wednesday's newspapers are reporting that as many as 20 will submit letters against him. this is the front page of the daily telegraph — saying the government plan to scrap covid restrictions known as plan b — as the prime minister faces a rebel plot. to find out how much trouble boris johnson is in, i've been speaking to former conservative party press chief, giles kenningham. the reports are credible and yes he is in trouble. the question is how we had the tipping point where you get 5a mps who express a vote of no—confidence leads to the overall party having a vote on his leadership. what you see today i development is moving at breakneck speed. boris johnson did his first interview in five days. a 50 minute interview, that is unusual for him he does not do long interviews and by all consensus it was a car crash interview where he made things worse. he tried to show a huge level of contrition but one of the headlines that came out was him saying i did not know that i broke the rules which response you made the rules! how do you not know you broke them? a level of incredulity. there has been the tory party, somewhat is in open rebellion tonight with mps openly speaking out and criticising the prime minister. so speculation that in the morning we could well have an announcement that he is facing a leadership vote of the evening. facing a leadership vote of the evenina. , , facing a leadership vote of the eveninu, , ., , evening. just a “ump in there, 'ust a evening. just a “ump in there, justajump— evening. just a “ump in there, justajumpin— evening. just a jump in there, just a jump in there, - evening. just a jump in there, just a jump in there, giles, i just a jump in there, giles, and of those points you make a good ones but at this point we have a sense of how many mps are actually going to do this? there does need to be a pivotal number, that threshold for this to actually turn into some concrete action at this point. doesn't it?— concrete action at this point. doesn't it? there needs to be 54 mp5 and — doesn't it? there needs to be 54 mps and they _ doesn't it? there needs to be 54 mps and they have - doesn't it? there needs to be 54 mps and they have to - doesn't it? there needs to be 54 mps and they have to put l 54 mps and they have to put their letters into graham brady, the chair of the 1922 committee, essentially the head of the union for backbencher mps. they are confidential so we don't know but analysis by the press, by the times newspaper today has found that looking at mp comments in local papers and facebook pages, there are over 58 tory mps who have spoken out and actively criticised the prime minister. it does feel like we're heading a of no return.— a of no return. does this suggest. _ a of no return. does this suggest. do _ a of no return. does this suggest, do you - a of no return. does this suggest, do you think, | a of no return. does this - suggest, do you think, growing divides within the conservative party? divides within the conservative -a ? ., , ., , party? the conservative party is a series _ party? the conservative party is a series of— party? the conservative party is a series of different - party? the conservative party is a series of different and - is a series of different and fragile coalitions. the problem for borisjohnson is that you have these different groups coming out and criticising him and when theresa may was prime minister essentially had two groups within the tory party. brexiteers and remainers. now you have multiple groups and it is a lot harder to manage. the crisis also underlines the boris johnson's crisis also underlines the borisjohnson�*s relationship with mps is transactional. many who are leading the so—called coup against him are mps only elected in 2019 who owe their seeds to him and know effectively they have turned on him and say ok, you got me elected i think you will cost me my see the next time and i will turf you out. amazing, really, because borisjohnson delivered one of the biggest majority of the tory party have had in years, just over two years ago. it shows you how quickly things can move. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. new zealand's defence minister said the amount of ash that fell on tonga following the volcanic eruption at the weekend was hampering the relief effort. peeni henare said it had contaminated drinking water and made air quality poor. the tongan government says all the houses on one of the islands have been destroyed, while another has just two remaining. hong kong independence activist edward leung, whose now—banned slogan became a rallying cry during the 2019 pro—democracy movement, has been released from jail. he'd served nearly four years. the british man who took hostages in a texas synagogue was known to british security services. malik faisal akram was investigated in 2020. but by the time he flew to the us at the new year, he was assessed not to present a risk. quebec province has introduced new — and unusual curbs on the unvaccinated. as of today, customers at alcohol and cannabis stores need to show proof of vaccination to secure their purchases. it's hoped that the move will incentivise people to get their first dose. the us telecoms giants, at&t and verizon have agreed at the last minute to delay the rollout of new 5g mobile networks near airport runways. this the move follows a warning from airlines that the technology could interfere with instruments on some older aircraft, making them unsafe to fly. the aviation industry had warned of mass disruption to both commerical and cargo flights if the rollout went ahead. despite the delay, several airlines have still cancelled dozens of flights to us cities. the telecoms giants say forty countries using 5g networks already, have shown that flying remains safe. 0ur north american tech correspondent, james clayton, has explained why the mobile operators are so frustrated by the delay. you would have thought there would be binding arbitration and is to be sorted out once a month ago. and is to be sorted out once a month age-— and is to be sorted out once a month ago-— month ago. verizon and at&t bou~ht month ago. verizon and at&t bought this — month ago. verizon and at&t bought this five _ month ago. verizon and at&t bought this five band - month ago. verizon and at&t bought this five band range i bought this five band range months and months ago and people have known this is an issue for a long time and you really would have thought this would have been sorted out. the airlines essentially say that the new 5g will interrupt some of their equipment, particularly when landing. what att nt and verizon say is that it does not. some of these concerns are overblown and you have this chicken situation, a stand—off. we are at a point where less than 12 hours to go until 5g is supposed to be rolled out and we have only just heard a decision and many people are looking at this and thinking why is this happening so soon to the deadline? james cla on so soon to the deadline? james clayton their — so soon to the deadline? james clayton their reporting - so soon to the deadline? james clayton their reporting on - so soon to the deadline? james clayton their reporting on that i clayton their reporting on that story. and viewers on bbc world news will be able to hear more on that story in asia business report later this hour. the biggest gaming deal in history is taking shape as the technology giant microsoft says it will buy activision blizzard — the company which makes blockbuster video games such as call of duty and candy crush. the deal is worth almost $70 billion. steffan powell reports. call of duty, a multiplayer war game. it's one of the biggest and most profitable entertainment franchises in the world. made by us company activision blizzard, the studio, which has 400 million people playing every month in 190 countries. and that kind of young fan base is one of the reasons that microsoft, now itself a veteran tech firm, have swooped — paying over £50 billion for the company, the largest acquisition in gaming history. but why? more and more companies are looking at ways to either break into or expand their gaming strategies. even netflix is doing the same thing, where they have launched a gaming footprint specifically around mobile games. activision blizzard has been at the centre of a storm after employees walked out in protest after numerous sexual harassment claims and an allegedly toxic environment. the company's ceo apologised and took a pay cut. but what does this mean for the gamers? at the moment, microsoft's xbox consoles are lagging behind sony's playstation 5 in terms of sales. by buying call of duty and the company behind it, microsoft are fighting back by owning more and more exclusive rights. the question many players want to know now, though, is, will they restrict their rival�*s access to these major titles? like many of the games themselves, tech companies are fighting their own battles — but for content. and gaming is fast becoming the most lucrative market in entertainment. steffan powell, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the images china wants you to see during the winter olympics. but this is the troubled xinjiang region where beijing is accused of human rights abuses — we have a special report. donald trump is now the 45th president of the united states. he was sworn in before several hundred thousand people on the steps of capitol hill in washington. it's going to be only america first. america first. demonstrators waiting for mike gatting and his rebel cricket team were attacked with tear gas and set upon by police dogs. anti—apartheid campaigners say they would carry on the protests throughout the tour. they called him the 'butcher of lyon'. klaus altmann is being held on a fraud charge in bolivia. the west germans want to extradite him for crimes committed in wartime france. there, he was the gestapo chief klaus barbie. millions came to bathe as - close as possible to this spot. a tide of humanity that's i believed by officials to have broken all records. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines: prime minister boris johnson faces mounting pressure from his own mp�*s, over doubts about his leadership. two major us telecoms providers delay the rollout of new 5g networks near airports after warnings it could cause chaos in the aviation industry. the white house says russia could launch an attack on ukraine at any point, calling the situation extremely dangerous. the statement comes ahead of us secretary of state anthony blinken meeting his russian counterpart sergei lavrov on friday. fears have been raised after some russian forces moved to belarus, increasing its presence around ukraine where there's already around a hundred thousand troops on the border. the us says it wants to see if a diplomatic solution to the crisis is possible — russia says there are no plans to invade. here's our diplomatic editorjames landale. russian forces training near the border with ukraine, just some of,000 employed since the autumn, raising fears anything wet russia is planning an invasion stop fears that are dismissed but exacerbated by this, the arrival of russian forces this week in the larousse, north of ukraine. —— belarus. what they say is a joint military exercise. nato's secretary general says the risk of conflict is real. the secretary general says the risk of conflict is real.— of conflict is real. the main coal is of conflict is real. the main goal is to — of conflict is real. the main goal is to prevent - of conflict is real. the main goal is to prevent a - of conflict is real. the main j goal is to prevent a military attack on ukraine and that is exactly why we sent a clear message to russia that if they once again decide to use force against ukraine it will come with a high cost for russia. britain is sending short—range anti—tank weapons with about 100 british troops to help with the training. russia is estimated to have about 100,000 troops on the border with ukraine, most on the north and east, fears they could link with premier which russia annexed in 2013. there are also fears that could target the capital, kyiv, from the north stop what is the west prepared to do? abandon the new gas pipeline that could leave energy prices soaring across europe? today, the germany foreign minister was in moscow and said the country was willing to pay a high economic price and the could be consequences for the pipeline. russia's foreign minister said that would be counter—productive and rejected regulation about russian aggressiveness. translation: indie aggressiveness. translation: - cannot accept e—mails about military operations in our territory. military operations in our territory-— military operations in our territo . ~ ., , territory. the white house said the situation _ territory. the white house said the situation was _ territory. the white house said the situation was extremely - the situation was extremely dangerous. the situation was extremely dangerous-— the situation was extremely dancerous. ,, ., ., ., , dangerous. russia could at any oint dangerous. russia could at any point russian _ dangerous. russia could at any point russian attack _ dangerous. russia could at any point russian attack on - point russian attack on ukraine. i would say that is more stark than we have been. for now the us is looking for a diplomatic solution with the country secretary of state holding talks with his counterpart in geneva later this week. well, the russian training continues. today ukraine? defence minister said any conflict would be a disaster for europe with a lot of refugees and a lot of blood. — — today, ukraine's. a little earlier i spoke to our correspondent in washington barbara plett usher. i asked her about these latest comments from the us. they are certainly messaging an increase in alarm at the threat level, saying russia was in a position to attack or invade at any moment. they have been talking not only about the presence at the ukraine board about the deployment of russian troops to belarus. a state department official told us it was not about exercises. the official said it was about a show of force. possibly to increase russia's leverage and the official also said that if the official also said that if the russians at the decide to invade, this would give them another route, and other avenue to do so because belarus is on ukraine's border. there is concern about the potential here. it seems at the very least it is a way to try to determine any decision by the russians to invade because also the american say they are not sure whether mr putin has decided to do so and they are still trying to test out diplomacy with mr blinker on's visit. —— antony blinken. diplomacy with mr blinker on's visit. -- antony blinken.- visit. -- antony blinken. what does success _ visit. -- antony blinken. what does success look _ visit. -- antony blinken. what does success look like - visit. -- antony blinken. what does success look like in - visit. -- antony blinken. what| does success look like in terms of the us in terms of deescalation?- of the us in terms of deescalation? ~ ., , ~ deescalation? when we asked them that _ deescalation? when we asked them that question, _ deescalation? when we asked them that question, they - deescalation? when we asked | them that question, they state deescalation means moving trips away from ukraine's border but there are 100,000 troops that so it is not clear to what extent that would have to happen. with the americans, if the russians would agree to talks, continued talking, that would be something that maybe they would not denounce it as a big success but see it as a way to keep the tensions down. they have consistently said that diplomacy is not going to work as long as the russians keep escalating and has specifically said this week that the russians continued to escalate so you can see they are very concerned that diplomacy might not work. the state department official said antony blinken was going to speak with sergei lavrov to see if diplomacy was possible. they did not know whether the russians were serious but they would do as much as they could to take all avenues for that to get a peaceful solution. it's less than three weeks to go before beijing's winter olympics but the focus is instead on xinjiang. china has been repeatedly accused of human rights abuses against the province's uighur ethnic minority. but now it is using the games to create a snow sport boom in the region. robin brant reports. this is the image of china you'll be seeing over the next few weeks — beautiful snow covered slopes. china's communist party leaders hope it will persuade millions to grab a board or boots and come here like him. but he isn't near the host city of beijing, this is xingyang, it's a troubled region hoping for a major boom of the back of these olympic games. what's that going be like in 20 years time where you are? as china's second olympics approaches these images have been part of the state media reporting on xingyang, almost as if it's part of the games. on xingyang, almost as if it's part of the games. it's very different to these images from the bbc�*s reporting over recent years of massive indoctrination and incarceration of chinese ethnic muslims with inside places that china used to deny even existed. china's leaders call it anti—terror re—education, the us and others say it's part of a genocide. there are numerous foreign firms lining up to sell you part of the alternative xingyang, —— xinjiang the american snowboard pioneers burton is one of them. over the last couple years we've seen triple digit growth, we are very excited about that. burton has signed up a world—class chinese boarder and she isn't even a teenager yet. the company is planning dozens more stalls here but how does his presence sit with an ethos that is more than being just a business? we have two choices, we can either divorce ourselves from xinjiang and say no, were not to do anything out there or we can try to understand what's going on better. yes, there may be some again, factually, i don't know, i'm not a politician, i've never studied the aspect. have you seen the media reports of the last couple years? yeah, everybody has. i divorce myself from that, what i mean by that is, i can't change that. but some say maybe you can, actually. going back to a statement here on the website you want to affect positive change for our people, factories and create ripples with that maybe can change things. yeah, and for the better. we're more focused on what we can change for the better. burton is just one of numerous foreign firms who decided xinjiang, the china market as a whole is irresistible. the president thinks is critics are politicising his big sporting moments, the government says the olympics should rise above politics, it is a distinction, some of the businesses looking to ride the olympic wave want you to make as well. you have been watching newsday. a reminder of our top story: pressure is growing on the prime minister, who says nobody warned him a drinks party he attended in the downing street garden during the first coronavirus lockdown broke the rules. we'll have the latest on that and other global headlines. from me and the team thanks for watching newsday — do stay with bbc news. hello. there is lots of dry weather in the forecast for the rest of this week, although many of us will see a little bit of rain through the first part of wednesday as these frontal systems push southwards across the uk. now, these weather fronts are cold fronts. as the name suggests, the air behind is turning a little bit colder. and i think you'll notice that particularly given the strength of the wind. but the weather fronts will bring some cloud and some outbreaks of showery rain southeastwards across england and wales to the day, tending to fizzle all the while. any fog in the southeast should clear pretty quickly, i think, and then most places are looking at sunshine through the day, albeit with a scattering of showers — some of these wintry — especially in the far north, where we could see snow to quite low levels, particularly in shetland. just1 degree in lerwick in the middle of the afternoon, 9 or 10 further south. and as we head through wednesday night, we'll keep some showers going around northern, eastern and some western coasts. many places will be dry with clear spells, the winds will fall just a little lighter and temperatures will drop, with quite a widespread frost. maybe staying a little bit milder for some of these western parts — 4 degrees there for belfast and for plymouth. now, as we get into thursday, it's looking like a beautiful winter's day for many with lengthy spells of sunshine. some showers grazing west wales and the far southwest of england, some for north sea coasts as well. temperatures, well, no great shakes, topping out between 4 and 9 degrees in most places. as we head through thursday night and into friday, high pressure really reasserts its influence, the centre of the high across southern parts of the uk. close to the centre of the high, i think it will remain relatively chilly, particularly if we see any fog lingering for any length of time. but up towards the north, we start to bring the winds in from the atlantic, so it'll start to feel a little bit milder. lots of cloud, though, filtering through northern ireland, and particularly into the western side of scotland. further south, some early frost and fog. some of the fog could linger. that will peg the temperatures back. maybejust 5 or 6 degrees in some places, whereas further north and west, 10 there the high in stornoway. and as we look towards the weekend, i think the highest temperatures will be generally across the northern half of the uk, although there will be quite a lot of cloud here and some patchy rain in the far northwest. further south, frost and fog could continue to feature, but it will remain largely dry. this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. this week, we're on wheels as we race through the new car tech in las vegas, and then bring it safely to a stop. but is anyone actually in the driving seat? plus, what's up with this shop? we are at the supermarket that has something very strange in store for you.