yogita limaye, bbc news, delhi. here, a senior minister has denied claims that borisjohnson acted improperly over how the renovation of his downing street flat was paid for. the former number 10 adviser dominic cummings has accused the prime minister of planning to ask conservative donors to pay for the work in secret — something mr cummings described as foolish and possibly illegal. here's our political correspondent, damian grammaticas, whose report contains some flashing images. borisjohnson, his fiancee, and his election triumph putting them in downing street. but now, questions that won't go away. after they moved in, the flat there was redecorated — cost, perhaps tens of thousands. but who funded it? 11 months later, kicked out, the prime minister's closest adviser dominic cummings. so did the prime minister, as he suggested, get a secret loan? the trade secretary was asked the question five times by andrew marr. my understanding is the costs have been covered by the prime minister and everything is being

yogita limaye, bbc news, delhi. meanwhile he thoroughly airport has refused to allow flights are in from india. it turned on the request from airlines because of concerns about cues at passport control. the airport told the bbc that it did not want to add to existing pressures at the border by allowing more passengers to fly in. from 4am on friday, arrivals from india will be refused entry except for british and irish passport holders and people with uk residents rights who will need to quarantine in a hotel for ten days. the latest coronavirus figures here show there were 2,396 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 2,463. just over 2,000 are in hospital — the lowest number since the start of september. 22 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test. on average in the past week — 24 deaths were announced every day. the total number of deaths is now 127,327. as for vaccinations

yogita limaye reports from delhi. a hospital in this western city. these are covid patients and there are no doctors to look at them, says the man filming the video. in the worst affected city and india, people are being given oxygen outside are being given oxygen outside a hospital because it is too full. patients are struggling to get medical care, as india is in the grips of a fierce second wave of covid—19. 73—year—old mary was taken to six hospitals, none of which had a critical care bed for her. she died on her way to the seventh. herson her. she died on her way to the seventh. her son anthony spoke to me from isolation. translation: to me from isolation. tuna/mom- to me from isolation. translation: �* , , ., , translation: all these years, she never needed _ translation: all these years, she never needed to _ translation: all these years, she never needed to go - translation: all these years, she never needed to go to - translation: all these years, she never needed to go to a - she never needed to go to a hospital, and when she did, i

yogita limaye, bbc news, delhi. we can speak now to saurav peswani who is a student living in delhi. thank you for being with us. i gather you live with your aunt and she has had coronavirus. haw gather you live with your aunt and she has had coronavirus.- gather you live with your aunt and she has had coronavirus. how is she now? right— she has had coronavirus. how is she now? right now _ she has had coronavirus. how is she now? right now she _ she has had coronavirus. how is she now? right now she is _ she has had coronavirus. how is she now? right now she is covid - she has had coronavirus. how is she | now? right now she is covid positive and we have not been able to get a test for her to know if she is negative or not. but it has been harder to get a test and the medicines as well. so it is a pretty bad situation. we medicines as well. so it is a pretty bad situation.— medicines as well. so it is a pretty bad situation. we were 'ust looking at ictures bad situation. we were 'ust looking at pictures in that

from delhi, our correspondent yogita limaye reports. with every pyre that burns, india's self belief is dying. each funeral is a story of personal loss and national shame. this man has been helping cremate their dead for decades. now, he barely ever stops working. translation: i’zfe decades. now, he barely ever stops working. translation:— working. translation: i've never seen such a _ working. translation: i've never seen such a terrifying _ working. translation: i've never seen such a terrifying situation. i l seen such a terrifying situation. i can't believe that we are in the capital of india. people aren't getting oxygen, and they are dying like animals, he says. we don't even have enough resources to make them properly. have enough resources to make them --roerl . . have enough resources to make them --roerl . , , have enough resources to make them --roerl. . , ., . have enough resources to make them --roerl. , , ., ., , have enough resources to make them --roerl. . , ., . ,., properly. outside, this woman is on the hone prope

yogita limaye, bbc news, delhi. dr zubaida haque is a member of a group of scientists that call it's an unprecedented scenario in our hospital. a lot of us across the city and country. we've never seen anything of this kind. the number of cases are soaring. people are frantically calling us our critical care beds are completely occupied. 0ne care beds are completely occupied. one bed is running short. 0n care beds are completely occupied. one bed is running short. on top of that, we are constantly being pressed by phone calls from relatives of patients who have been admitted under our care because they are desperate to get into the hospital. dr zubaida haque is a member of a group of scientists that call themselves independent sage, which has been providing alternative scientific advice in the uk during the pandemic. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. what do you make of what's happening in india and do you think other governments should step in, offer to stepan? it is other governments should step in, offer to st

yogita limaye, bbc news. and, our correspondent has given us this update from the state of maharashtra. it this update from the state of maharashtra.— this update from the state of maharashtra. , . , , maharashtra. it is a very, very grim icture maharashtra. it is a very, very grim picture across _ maharashtra. it is a very, very grim picture across the _ maharashtra. it is a very, very grim picture across the country. - maharashtra. it is a very, very grim picture across the country. if- maharashtra. it is a very, very grim picture across the country. if you i picture across the country. if you look at the tally for the last three days, india is now atjust under a million fresh new infections that we have been seeing, 340,000 plus in the last 24 hours with more than 2600 people dying and this is the third straight day of a global records of sort that india has set. the oxygen situation the country is particularly worrying and we have heard from a hospital in delhi which lost about 20 patients overnight and

our correspondent, yogita limaye, reports from delhi. with every pyre that burns, india's self belief is dying. each funeral is a story of personal loss and national shame. charanjeev malhotra has been helping to cremate the dead for decades. "i've never seen such a terrifying situation. "i can't believe that we're in the capital of india. "people aren't getting oxygen, and they're dying "like animals," he says. "we don't even have enough resources to "cremate them properly." outside, shivangi mehra's on the phone, organising oxygen for the hospital she works in. nothing, nothing is being done. i don't know if government is sleeping, or what they are doing. i am totally disheartened with the situation that i am seeing. the government is a literalfailure. a person cannot live here in delhi. a person cannot even die peacefully in delhi. she is waiting to cremate her grandfather, who died, she says, because there wasn't enough oxygen. this small hospital in north delhi is facing a daily struggle. and we have been spending sleepless nights s

yogita limaye, bbc news, delhi. the health secretary, matt hancock, says the government has ordered another 60 million doses of the pfizer coronavirus vaccine, for a booster programme in the autumn. he's also said the evidence is stacking up that the vaccination programme is the way out of the pandemic. also at this afternoon's coronavirus briefing in downing street, england's deputy chief medical officer suggested "we are at or close to the bottom" of levels of coronavirus cases in the uk. let's speak to professor linda bauld — a professor of public health at the university of edinburgh and professor adam finn, professor in paediatrics at university of bristol, and a member of the government s joint committee on vaccination and immunisation. he is speaking in a personal capacity today. hello again to you. thank you both are being with us. linda, first, one of the interesting questions that the jab that has been raised about the jab that has been raised about the vaccination programme, to what extent are people wi

yogita limaye, bbc news, delhi. the uk's most senior civil servant will be questioned by mps later on lobbying rules. simon case is also expected to be asked about allegations of impropriety made against the prime minister, by his former advisor, dominic cummings. meanwhile, labour has written to the electoral commission to demand a formal inquiry into the funding of refurbishments to boris johnson's downing street flat. 0ur political correspondent, iain watson, has this report. when dominic cummings left downing street last year, some in government worried about what secrets might emerge from that box. he's now claimed that borisjohnson planned to ask a conservative donors to pay for the refurbishment of the downing street flat, and that this was unethical. labour plans to keep up the pressure on number 10. they lawyers have written to the party political watchdog, the electoral commission. they say... "following dominic cummings�* claims, it's now incontrovertibly in the public interest that the electoral commis

yogita limaye, bbc news. dozens of former postmasters who were wrongly convicted of theft and fraud have called for a public inquiry into what went wrong. the court of appeal quashed the convictions of 39 people yesterday, who were prosecuted because of a faulty it system installed by the post office. jon donnison has the details. relief, their nightmare is over, and for those wrongly convicted, some trailed, it has been a long time coming. trailed, it has been a long time cominu. �* . ", ., , trailed, it has been a long time cominu. �* . ., , ., coming. i've waited 11 years for this and i'm — coming. i've waited 11 years for this and i'm really, _ coming. i've waited 11 years for this and i'm really, really - coming. i've waited 11 years for. this and i'm really, really grateful for everyone. this and i'm really, really grateful for everyone-— this and i'm really, really grateful for everyone. fantastic. it has been a lona for everyone. fantastic. it has been a long time- — for everyone. fantastic.

yogita limaye, bbc news, delhi. and yogita joins us now from the indian capital, delhi. thank you for being with us on the programme. your report paints a really clear picture of some of the extreme challenges that hospital staff and patients are facing in india at the moment.— staff and patients are facing in india at the moment. that's right. it is hard to _ india at the moment. that's right. it is hard to believe _ india at the moment. that's right. it is hard to believe the _ india at the moment. that's right. it is hard to believe the scenes - india at the moment. that's right. it is hard to believe the scenes we are seeing are taking place in india's capital, which has among the best health care facilities in this country. we have been to so many hospitals over the past few weeks, everywhere we have seen people struggling to get a hospital bed, even oxygen supplies for their loved ones. i have seen people who have brought their families ones. i have seen people who have brought theirfamilies in ones. i have seen people who have brought their families in the back

yogita limaye, bbc news, delhi. our correspondent arunoday mukharji is delhi. a really grim scene in the hospital. this is what we have been hearing now for quite some time, hospitals under extreme pressure. we know that everyone over 18 is now eligible to have a vaccine across india, but one wonders is the pace of new transmission outstripping the efforts to actually try to get a grip of this crisis?— efforts to actually try to get a grip of this crisis? that's right. that is just _ grip of this crisis? that's right. that is just one _ grip of this crisis? that's right. that isjust one of— grip of this crisis? that's right. that is just one of the - grip of this crisis? that's right. l that isjust one of the concerns, grip of this crisis? that's right. - that isjust one of the concerns, to that is just one of the concerns, to be very honest. in about an error and after the government will be opening registrations online —— in an error and a half. for those above 18 years of age to register for the vaccine s

yogita limaye, bbc news, delhi. well, we can speak now to haryax pathak, a doctor based in the gujarat region of india, who has been working hard to dispel many of the myths and misinformation that has been circulating on social media there. thank you for your time today. before we get to that, ijust thank you for your time today. before we get to that, i just want you to tell us about the situation where you are and the pressure that you and your colleagues are under right now. you and your colleagues are under riaht now. ., ~ ,, you and your colleagues are under riaht now. ., ~' ,, ., you and your colleagues are under riaht now. ., ~ i. ., ., right now. thank you for having me on the show _ right now. thank you for having me on the show. they _ right now. thank you for having me on the show. they call _ right now. thank you for having me on the show. they call this - right now. thank you for having me on the show. they call this a - right now. thank you for having me | on the show. they call this a second wave, bu

yogita limaye, bbc news, delhi. the french national anti—terrorist prosecutor has taken charge of an inquiry into the fatal stabbing of a policewoman near paris. 0ther police officers shot dead her tunisian attacker after he stabbed her in the throat at the entrance of a police station in rambouillet, south—west of the capital. paying tribute to the 49—year—old officer, the prime minister, jean castex, said france had lost one of its everyday heroines to a barbaric and cowardly act. translation: my first thoughts go to the family of this official - and to all those close to her. i came to the scene immediately with the interior minister to give all our support to the officers and officials of the rambouillet police station, who as you can imagine, have been very hard hit by what's happened. i want to pay a great tribute to the police officers who managed to immediately neutralise the perpetrator. i want to say to all french people that our determination to fight against terrorism in all its forms is more int

yogita limaye reporting from delhi. the brit awards will go ahead with a live audience next month, as part of the government's research into how large scale events can reopen safely in the pandemic. the ceremony will take place in front of 4000 people inside london's o2 arena on may the 11th. they will not have to socially distance, but must show a negative lateral flow test beforehand. this has delighted us this morning, look at this race. there was an unexpected victor in this high school relay event in the us state of utah. look carefully just look carefullyjust behind the leaders. holly the dog escaped her owners to fly past the front runners in the last stretch of the race. she's believed to have clocked 10.5 seconds for the final 100 metres, which is one second behind usain bolts world record. well, i think she was just warming up. i reckon she could take usain bolt and leave him for dust. i love that. fantastic. _ bolt and leave him for dust. i love that. fantastic. all— bolt and leave him for dust. i love that

new restrictions have been introduced there too, as our correspondent, yogita limaye, reports from mumbai. yesterday, new measures came into place which means that people have been told that you can only leave your home if it is for essential reasons, like to buy food or medicines, but other than that, you shouldn't be getting out of your house at all. only essential services are open. they will be giving exemptions as far as construction activity and few, sort of, manufacturing services, only those have been allowed to remain open. thanks so much for watching us here an outside source. stay with us. hello there. it's turning chilly quickly this evening, but it was a fine spring day for much of the country. the sun was certainly out across the western scotland, and it was in the west of scotland that we saw highest the temperatures, around 15 celsius. quite a bit cooler, though, in the north easterly breeze for the southeast of england and east anglia, where we saw more cloud and some showers. those showers having drifted down towards hampshire will fade away overnight, and it's going to

from delhi, yogita limaye reports with cameramen fred scott and sanjay ganguly, and a warning this report contains distressing scenes from the start. a capital on its knees. at its biggest hospitals people being pushed to the limits of human endurance. my husband is in a very bad state. let me get through. this woman says. he has been carrying him around for ten hours. many of these people will not survive the night. sir, for one minute, look at my mother a man pleads. a doctor follows him to the ambulance and prepared to say the words he had to say over and over again. in the past day alone. she is no more. herfamily among hundreds in india denied even the chance of saving a loved one. covid—19 has hit this country with a ferocity not seen before. but not unexpected either. this woman tries to revive her brother who was losing consciousness. the father of two children died minutes later. there is an acute shortage of oxygen, he died because the ambulance ran out of it. some hospitals have just a few hours of supply left. this is delhi which has among the best health care facilities in

yogita limaye is outside a crematorium. while we have been here every 20 minutes to half an hour, we have seen an ambulance come in, bringing in dead bodies and be seen families waiting here for 14, 16 hours to perform the last rites of their loved ones and what we're seeing is student of the coronavirus crisis and we been speaking to people here to talk about the struggles in finding hospitals, health care for their loved ones and a man told me that he had to go to three hospitals and finally his mother was admitted into the fourth but by then it was too late and on her death certificate, it says brought dead and he has brought her here to perform the last rites. this is happening notjust in this area but in many parts of india because it's in many parts of india because it's in the grips of a huge second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. that's the situation in uttar pradesh. elsewhere, we're hearing that special oxygen trains are delivering supplies to hospitals. this is in maharastra. 10 empty tankers have been sent to

here's yogita limaye on this. what we are hearing from everyone on the front line, whether it is doctors, crematorium workers, people who work in graveyards, that the real number is a lot higher than what you are seeing right now, which is 2100 dead and more than 300,000 cases. we have seen several media reports now from different parts of india which shows how much undercounting is actually going on. and therefore with those numbers rising as sharply, covid—19 spreading faster here than in any of the country around the world, while the government says that it is taking steps to control it and taking steps to increase oxygen supplies, to have more ventilators beds set up, to have more intensive care beds set up, the virus is outpacing everything else. a lot of anger in this country, a lot of frustration about what is going on. people are asking questions as to why the government was not prepared when experts, doctors, epidemiologists were all saying that we still need to be vigilant and it is not over yet. atten

our correspondent yogita limaye has been to a crematorium in ghaziabad, bordering the capital delhi, where the situation is desperate. while we've been here, every 20 minutes to half an hour, we've seen an ambulance come in, bringing dead bodies in. we've seen families who say they've been waiting here for 14, 16 hours to perform the last rites of their loved ones. the surge they are seeing here is because of the coronavirus crisis. i've been speaking to people here who talk about their struggles finding hospitals, finding healthcare for their loved ones. a man told me that he had to go to three hospitals. finally, his mother was admitted into the fourth but, by then, it was too late. and on her death certificate, it says, "brought dead." and today, he's brought her here to perform the last rites. this is happening notjust in ghaziabad, where i am, but in many parts of india, as it's in the grips of a fierce second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and hospitals across the country really are struggling to cope with the numbers that are coming in. people who could be saved are dying b

but first, our correspondent yogita limaye has spent the day with one nurse at a hospital in delhi. years of training. but nothing could have prepared them for this. manjusha mathew — a nurse and the mother of three young children. a new patient is brought in. seema! 0xygen mask... she's constantly scanning how others are holding up... ..treating as many as they can. "people say, "sister, please save our loved one." they call us god. that makes us so emotional because we can only do so much." with resources so short, they're having to choose who they might save — decisions they should never have had to make. translation: at times we break down. some nights i wake up crying. but i also feel a sense of satisfaction that i'm doing something to help. this is a hospital in a big city, and out of reach for most indians. the situation at this point is so difficult that all the people who work here, everyone who's exposing themselves to risk on a daily basis, knows that if they or their families were to get sick, even they would struggle to find the right medical care. in a city overrun

yogita limaye reports from a hospital. the city is part of space to create the dead. some have built makeshift from its origins in the car park. i have businessman. iturned into a have businessman. i turned into a volunteer cremator in this situation. there is no space for in thejunction. they are situation. there is no space for in the junction. they are committing bodies. and we are cremated almost 73 bodies and 3505 are committed by our team. so we are just focusing that we should help people. we are also exposing the people because we use the ppe and just whatever they want. here they think with the brown. arunoday mukharji is in delhi. thank you forjoining us. was up to the strategy to respond to the crisis with that they have tried various things and they continue to really figure out what to do next because the cases continue to rise at an alarming rate and as you just turn the situation on the ground continues to bolster very grim picture. continues to bolster very grim icture. ~ , ., , , picture. the prime minister has been without a nationwide _ picture. the

yogita limaye, bbc news, delhi. hospitals on their knees and families completely devastated in india at the moment. do spare a thought for them. now, something very different. how would you feel about sharing the same house as your boss? no, not for a work trip, or a colleagues weekend away, but, permanently. that's the setup for one education startup based in wisconsin, milwaukee, where five staff members live, eat, and sleep in the same house, day in day out. the firm's founder says she needed to cut costs and offer something different. different it certainly is. employees who choose to live there don't pay rent for a year and still get a full salary. amanda doamaral is the founder and chief exec of fiveable, tan ho is the chief experience officer. amanda is the living room. or is it the boardroom? and tan h0 is in his bedroom. amanda, lovely to see you. i have to be honest, i am being continuously plagued to do this to live together, i am resistant. maybe you can persuade me to how it works. yakima for us, it's p

our correspondent yogita limaye has been to a crematorium in ghaziabad, bordering the capital delhi, where the situation is desperate. while we've been here, every 20 minutes to half an hour, we've seen an ambulance come in bringing dead bodies in. we've seen families who say they've been waiting here for 1h, 16 hours to perform the last rites of their loved ones. the surge they are seeing here is because of the coronavirus crisis. i've been speaking to people here who talk about their struggles finding hospitals, finding healthcare for their loved ones. a man told me that he had to go to three hospitals. finally, his mother was admitted into the fourth but, by then, it was too late. and on her death certificate, it says, "brought dead". and today, he's brought her here to perform the last rites. this is happening notjust in ghaziabad, where i am, but in many parts of india, as it's in the grips of a fierce second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and hospitals across the country really are struggling to cope with the numbers that are coming in. people who could be saved are dying be

covid spreading faster in india than anywhere else in the world. 0ur correspondent yogita limaye is in mumbai and following developments. the situation here is extremely grim from notjust here in mumbai but other parts of the state of maharashtra. people are really struggling to find critical care beds or beds with ventilators for their loved ones. over the past few days, i've spoken to families who have lost members because they couldn't get critical care in time. yesterday, i was speaking to a doctor, front line doctor from the worst affected city in india, it's not farfrom mumbai and he was telling me he gets about 100 calls every day looking for critical care beds. he says all of the private hospitals in the city, as well as the government hospitals, are pooling together their resources but even then, they are falling short and if you just look through social media here, you will see urgent pleas of help with people really struggling to find medical care. and while, of course, this is the worst affected region in the country, we are now seeing similar surges in other parts of india

yogita limaye is in mumbai and catherine byaruhanga is in kenya for us this morning. we'll speak to them in just a moment, but first let's go to shaimaa khalil in sydney. that wonderful backdrop behind you there. there are very strong royal connections, of course, with australia. tell us about the reaction. australia. tell us about the reaction-— australia. tell us about the reaction. ., �* , reaction. good morning. i'm very close to the _ reaction. good morning. i'm very close to the sydney _ reaction. good morning. i'm very close to the sydney harbour- reaction. good morning. i'm very. close to the sydney harbour bridge, where the flag has been flying and lowered to half mast all day. so too was the flag over the australian parliament house. just a few minutes ago, we've also seen a ai gun salute in honour of the duke of edinburgh. we also heard from the prime minister, scott morrison, paying tribute to a life of service and duty and describing prince phillips' presence and service as a reassurance and a reminder of the stability in a world which can be so uncer