this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. iran blames israel for the assassination of its top nuclear scientist, accusing it of seeking to provoke war. president macron describes the beating of a black man by four police officers as shameful for france. their victim says he was also racially abused. anger in argentina after workers hired to help with diego maradona's funeral took photos next to his open coffin. and hoping to land a better deal — with brexit talks due to resume, we hear the hopes and fears of one fishing community in the south west of england.

hello, and welcome. the united nations has urged restraint after one of iran's top nuclear scientists was assassinated. mohsen fakhrizadeh died of his wounds after gunmen fired on his car. western intelligence agencies accused him of being one of the founders of the country's nuclear weapons programme. iran has accused israel of being behind the killing. our security correspondent gordon corera has this report. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in riyadh. she says what we need to look at is how iran will respond to this. a very significant strike, and it comes nearly a year after iran's leading commander of the islamic revolutionary guards corps, qasem soleimani, was killed. this time, as with the earlier killing, the question is, how will iran respond?

it comes at a very significant, very delicate moment, only weeks left in the administration of donald trump. we already know that president—electjoe biden has talked about rejoining the iran nuclear deal that mr trump pulled out of in 2018. this move is being seen not just as an effort to strike a blow against iran's nuclear programme — a programme, it must be emphasised that iran has emphasised it does not have a nuclear programme. but mohsen fakhrizadeh, for years now, particularly by israeli and american intelligence, was regarded as associated with the covert programme. and this kind of an assassination — we don't know yet who carried it out — but this kind of move will possibly complicate the efforts of the new us administration to try to open a new chapter with iran — as difficult as that was going to be even without this assassination.

let's get the background all this with our security correspondent, gordon carrera. the scene of an ambush. the highway where gunmen targeted a vehicle carrying one of the most important figures in iran's nuclear programme. mohsen fakhrizadeh was a scientist and senior defence official. but western intelligence services have long believed he was the driving force in iran's quest for a nuclear bomb. iran has always said its nuclear programme was peaceful — but it's been claimed fakhrizadeh was leading work on project amad to develop a weapon. in 2018, he was singled out by israel's prime minister. this is how dr mohsen fakhrizadeh put it — remember that name, mohsen fakhrizadeh. so here he is, right here. and he says, "the general aim is to announce the closure of project amad."

but then, he adds, "special activities" — you know what that is. iran's foreign minister quickly responded to his death with this tweet... israel is widely assumed to have been responsible. but why now? iran's nuclear programme was constrained under an international deal signed in 2015. but in 2018, donald trump pulled the us out of the deal — and iran has been growing its stockpile of nuclear material. mr trump is reported to have looked at — and then decided against — a military strike just two weeks ago. but israel may now be seeking to take advantage of the window whilst he's still in office.

this is very clearly timed in order to impede restoration of the iran nuclear deal. trump has made it very clear he's wanted to kill the deal, he hasn't succeeded in four years, he has two months left. and this is an effort to do so in order to provoke iran's own hardliners into resisting diplomacy. the killing is already causing anger in iran, but it's not yet clear how it might retaliate — and what that would mean for attempts to resurrect the international deal. iran has been under economic blockades for the last few years. it is a country of 80 million people facing the most severe covid pandemic in the region under sanctions in which it cannot access basic medicines and health care, and medical equipment for its people. it is important to bear that in mind, and the iranian government surely is aware of the extreme pressures it's facing at home. emergency vehicles were

still at the scene hours after fakhrizadeh's death. the struggle over iran's nuclear programme has been going on for close to two decades. but, in the midst of an american presidential transition, this looks set to be a moment of tension and uncertainty. gordon corera, bbc news. to coronavirus now — and the uk, like other european countries, has been battling a second wave of infections. on friday, a rare piece of good news. the r numberfor covid—19 — which measures the disease's ability to spread — has fallen below 1 for the first time since august. but it is a varied picture across the country. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports on the different approaches to fighting the spread. empty streets in belfast today, with northern ireland beginning a two—week circuit breaker lockdown to try to stem the spread of covid—19. nonessential shops

are closed, apart from click—and—collect services. and pubs, restaurants and cafes can only do takeaway and deliveries. we are asking people, for two weeks, to please abide by the public health advice so that we can then come together in and around that window at christmas. as northern ireland enters a new lockdown, england prepares to leave one next week. and already, there's intense debate about the introduction of tiered restrictions. the government has set out how it decides which areas should go into which tiers. first of all, looking at case rates across all age groups, then rates amongst the over—60s, how rapidly are rates are going up or coming down, and how many tests done come through positive. finally, how much pressure is there on the nhs. but questions have been raised in some areas about the decisions. newcastle's in tier 3, for example. in northumberland, a local conservative mp's had to respond to complaints from people about being

lumped in with newcastle. in east sussex, which is in tier 2, officials say that with cases, the trend is increasing in several areas. but with local hospitals, things are fairly stable. in neighbouring kent, in tier 3, they say there have been big case rate increases and those in people aged over 60 are a particular concern, and hospital admissions are increasing. for cumbria, in tier2, cases in some areas are said to be increasing, but some of this is likely due to a large school outbreak. and in neighbouring lancashire, which is in tier 3, officials say case rates in over—60s are very high, and there is still pressure on the nhs. at present, the levels of covid within the community is still very high. and that will drive admissions coming into hospital. if people are mixing in the community, that means that after christmas, if people don't follow the rules, we may see a further surge.

in newcastle, a specialist intensive care unit has been created for covid patients, though the latest r number for the north—east of england, showing how much the virus is spreading, is, like the north—west, below the overall uk figure. london and the south—east are higher. hugh pym, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news... a suicide bomber has blown himself up in a popular ice cream parlour in the somali capital, mogadishu, killing at least seven people. rescue workers said ten others were wounded in the explosion near the international airport. the islamist group al shabaab stages regular attacks in the city. donald trump has suffered yet another setback in his attempt to overturn the election result. his legal challenge has been rejected by a federal court in pennsylvania. judges deemed the case was without merit as the trump team did not make a specific allegation or provide proof. the ethiopian prime minister has met african union envoys

who are visiting the country to try to bring an end to the conflict in tigray. abiy ahmed thanked the au for its concern, but he rejected international offers of mediation. the un has flown aid into neighbouring sudan for those displaced by the fighting. the long—time leader of belarus, alexander lu kashenko, has said he will not be president once a new constitution is in place. mr lukashenko gave no timescale for his proposed constitutional process. belarus's opposition wants mr lukashenko to step down immediately. four french police officers are being held for questioning after a video showed them beating up a black music producer in paris. the video sparked outrage from the government and celebrities alike. president macron has said france has been shamed by the incident. here's our correspondent hugh schofield in paris on what happened. an incident on saturday evening

in paris, what we know is what we see in the video, which was taken in the very cramped reception area of a music studio up there — which belonged to this man, michel zecler. and what we see on video is him being beaten over a period of five minutes by three officers who are crammed very closely together. there's a bit of a struggle, but it's quite clear the police are winning, and they hit him with their fists and with a baton, and they kick him. what happened before, we don't know. what happened after, we know reinforcements came and somebody, a police officer, threw a tear gas grenade into the building. and then the man, michel zecler, was taken off and held on suspicion of resisting arrest, and he was to be charged. but the prosecutor looked at the evidence, looked at the video which became public a couple days ago, and decided that the police were lying. and now it's the police who are facing possibility of charges —

four officers overall now who have been suspended and who may well face criminal charges for, a, what they did to the man, and then for lying about what happened. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we hear from the inuit women of the arctic, and how climate change is threatening their survival — both physically and mentally. president kennedy was shot down and died almost immediately. the murder ofjohn kennedy is a disaster for the whole free world. he caught the imagination of the world — the first of a new generation of leaders. margaret thatcher is resigning as leader of the conservative party and prime minister. before leaving number ten to see the queen, she told her cabinet, "it's a funny old world." angela merkel is germany's first woman chancellor —

easily securing the majority she needed. attempts to fly a hot air balloon had to be abandoned after a few minutes, but nobody seemed to mind very much. as one local comic put it, "it's not hot air we need, it's hard cash." cuba has declared nine days of mourning, following the death of fidel castro at the age of 90. castro developed close ties with the soviet union in the 1960s. it was an alliance that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war with the cuban missile crisis. this is bbc news, the latest headlines... one of iran's top nuclear scientists, mohsen fakhrizadeh, has been assassinated after gunmen opened fire on his car. president macron describes the beating of a black man by four police officers as shameful for france — their victim says he was also racially abused.

there's been anger in argentina after workers hired to help with diego maradona's funeral took photos next to his open coffin. in two pictures, the men can be seen posing with the open casket, smiling with their thumbs up. the photos surfaced on the same day maradona's body was lying in state at the presidential palace. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson reports from buenos aires. in death as in life, maradona was feted by millions of argentinians. they've marked his passing these past few days, and the country is still officially in mourning. so this news that funeral workers posed for pictures next to his body has angered many here. in the poor neighbourhood where diego maradona was born, people are still paying homage to the football player at his old childhood home. people here feel particularly protective over him. this man has lived next door

for most of his life. hugely proud of his former neighbour, but he pitied him too. translation: he said to me, " let's translation: he said to me, "let's see how you last in a day in my life." i have lots of money, i can buy what i want. but i'm not in charge. i can't even control buying t—shirts. i go in, and outside is a sea of people." down the road, i meetjuan. he played on these dusty pitches with maradona as a teenager. this was the ground that the world's best footballer learned to play on before moving on to the professional pitches. "yes, he was talented, but the team we played in was also pretty skilful," he tells me. "he was just one more. we never imagined he would be number one, or even the best football player on the planet." diego maradona's humble beginnings inspired millions here in argentina. "he was one of us," the people

say, "he understood us." that level of recognition, though, even he struggled with at times. he was loved to the point of obsession here — an obsession that will only continue to intensify with his passing. katy watson, bbc news, and in buenos aires. "we're not far from the take—it—or—leave—it moment" — that's the view of europe's chief negotiator, as face to face brexit talks resume this weekend. michel barnier has now arrived in london saying he was "very happy to be back" and would continue "with patience and determination". earlier, his opposite number, david frost, warned that for a deal to be possible, it must fully respect uk sovereignty. one of the main sticking points is fishing and the level of future access that eu boats will have to british waters. the uk leaves europe's trade and customs area in just five weeks' time. jon kay reports from newlyn in cornwall on problems that need resolving — and fast. while we sleep,

they work at the far south—west tip of britain. we're catching ha ke, mainly, and we've got a bit of haddock and cod. going straight back out anyway, so hopefully we can catch a bit more. by the time they return, there could be news on brexit. british negotiators will spend the weekend trying to land a deal. now is the time for them to deliver what they say they can deliver. make no mistake, it's make—or—break time for the cornish fishing industry. it's fish that the uk and eu are now scrapping over in these final talks. most of what comes into newlyn is sold and eaten in europe. so any deal — or no deal — will have a real impact here. we're in a bit of a no—man‘s land, really. four years after the promises of the referendum, they'll soon know what brexit really means. the prize is clearfor us. it's about control of our waters, it's about exclusive rights to the 12 mile for ourfishermen and

a fairer share of quotas. and on the risk side, if you like, we've got access to traditional markets. how confident are you that you'll get a deal that you're happy with? i think we're cautiously optimistic. the two sides don'tjust have to agree on fishing, but on how our ports will operate. some fear long delays and more paperwork from the new year. we feel that we're in a dark room or a cliff where we're putting our foot out and hoping for the best, but all i can say is that the people that have prepared have done all we can do so far. they've been fishing out of here for centuries, long before quotas. once a huge industry, some think it can be again. but times have certainly changed. these days, there are only about 12,000 fishermen and women around the uk. the sector contributes about £450 million a year to the economy, but, to put that into context, it's only 0.02%.

some question whether that's big enough to put an entire brexit deal at risk. but in newlyn, it's not just about numbers. it's about traditions, culture. these men are going out, they're risking their lives, and they're feeding their communities. and in the bigger picture, actually, they're providing fish for the entire of the uk and beyond. it's something to be proud of. and that's why it has to be saved and preserved. both onshore and at sea, crucial days lie ahead, the forecast still unsettled around our island nation. jon kay, bbc news, cornwall. diagnosing cancer early is crucial. now a blood test designed to detect more than 50 types of cancer at an early stage is to be trialled by the health service in england. 165,000 patients will be

offered the tests from next year — and it's hoped it could save many lives. jim reed reports. this time last year, della was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer. as with too many in her situation, the warning signs were missed. the first doctor said, "go and buy some prune juice. you might be constipated." i bought some prunejuice — that wasn't working. and i insisted and went back to another gp in the same surgery. and another one said, "buy gaviscon" — which i got, still not working. if i knew, and i could ask for it, and the doctor would suggested to do this test, that would've helped. the nhs is planning to try out a new test in england developed by a californian firm designed to detect molecular changes in the blood caused by 50 types of cancer. 165,000 participants aged between 50—79 will be asked to pilot the test over the next three years.

the idea is to diagnose at a much earlier stage. just 40% of ovarian cancers are found at stage one and two when the tumour is smallest. 60% are found at stages three and four, when the disease may have spread and options are more limited then. this is a hugely important moment in the fight to be able to detect cancers early when treatment can make the most difference. we want to be one of the first health services in the world to see whether the simple blood test can detect those cancers when treatment will make the biggest difference. some scientists are sceptical and see the technology is unproven and direct questions about the accuracy of blood tests for cancer. if the pilot is successful the nhs says it will be extended to another million people by the end this decade. jim reed, bbc news. for thousands of years, the inuit people have

lived off the land. nomadic hunters, chasing targets depending on the seasons. now those weather patterns have utterly and irreversibly shifted. locals say that sea ice used to form in september. now, it forms in october, or as late as november. the arctic is now warming at least twice as fast as the rest of the globe, according to the arctic programme report card. climate change is threatening inuit‘s survival — both physically and mentally. i've always loved being outside with my dad, and just hunting

and trapping, and fishing. you know, once you're out there, you kind of feel super insignificant — which may bea lot of people wouldn't like to feel. you're kind of at the lands mercy and the weather's mercy, and the animals' mercy. my dad — he was blessed with three girls at first. typically it's the guys who go out hunting. you know, he had to work with what he had. i'm so proud to be inupiaq. my ancestors have been living off this land for a long time — hunting and fishing, and living a subsistent lifestyle. i feel like that's a huge part of my identity, a huge part of who i am.

over the past few years, we've seen all these changes. you know, there'll be a little less of an animal, and maybe they won't come at all. caribou is one of our main food sources. this year, we didn't get any caribou. usually they come pretty close in the fall, we're able to just go up the river by boat and shoot some caribou, and stock are freezers full. but we weren't able to do that this year. due to the ice melting, there are a lot of new waterways opening up. this will be used for a lot of shipping vessels to make their routes easier. but the problem with this is that there's a lot of noise that the ships make. and this can have a big effect on our animals, our marine wildlife. it's just like if we were trying to have a conversation,

and there's this construction happening outside. we'll want to move to a different room to have our conversation. so that's what the animals are doing. a lot of them are relocating. in a few years, i'm afraid that we won't have this su bsiste nt lifestyle, we won't have that connection to the land like we used to. and my children in the future won't be able to feel this connection. cassidy kramer and the global warming challenge facing the inuit people. 0ur our top story: iran has promised severe revenge for this attestation of its top nuclear scientist. they are blaming israel for his murder. he died in hospital after... the military adviser to the supreme leader promised a strike like thunder against those trying to create a full—blown war. israel accused

him of having a covert nuclear weapons programme. hello there. friday was a decidedly chilly day, particularly in those places where fog lingered. the weekend promises something just a little bit milder, but it will often be quite cloudy, that cloud at times will produce the odd spot of rain and some quite murky conditions as well. low pressure to the southwest, high pressure to the east of us, that is driving a fairly gentle southerly flow across the british isles. you can see a few different weather fronts moving through bringing some patchy rain, but with that southerly flow we are importing some slightly milder air. we've still got some pretty chilly conditions, though, across the northern half of the uk, and a frost to start off across the far north of england. parts of northern ireland and scotland, a bit of fog through the central belt. any rain and scotland becoming increasingly confined to the far north, but at the same time this big lump of cloud pushing up

from the south across much of england and wales producing the odd spot of rain through the day. and some quite misty, murky conditions in places as well. perhaps something brighter into the far southeast, certainly some sunshine for the channel islands. highest temperatures in the south at 13—14 celsius. now, as we head through saturday night, this big lump of cloud with some mist and murk, and some spots of rain cover that will all continue to drift its way slowly northwards. clear skies in northeast scotland, we could see a touch of frost here, but elsewhere temperatures on sunday morning will be above freezing. sunday, though, does look like a pretty cloudy affair. there will be the odd spot of rain or drizzle here or there. best chance of any sunshine through the channel islands, far southwest of england, maybe west wales, and also northeast scotland. the cloud breaking up here as the winds begin to pick up a little bit. top temperatures 8—10 celsius. maybe 12 in the far southwest of england. a bit of a change into the start of the new working week, because we will see a frontal system pushing in from the north. that will bring outbreaks

of rain quite erratically southwards across the british isles through the day on monday. that rain likely to be quite light and patchy, certainly as it gets down towards the south. some brighter skies following on from the north, but with the winds coming down from the north, it'll start to feel quite chilly once again. temperatures in most places 8—10 celsius. tuesday should be a dry day for most, and then later in the week temperatures will take a tumble. we'll see some rain at times and perhaps something wintry over high ground.

this is bbc news, the headlines

the united nations has urged restraint after the assassination of a top iranian nuclear scientist. mohsen fakhrizadeh died after gunmen fired on his car. western intelligence agencies accused him of being one of the founders of the country's nuclear weapons programme. iran has accused israel of being behind the killing. three french police officers have been suspended after an online video showed them beating up a black music producer in paris. the incident has sparked outrage across france. president macron described the images as bringing shame to france. the police officers are being held for questioning. anger in argentina after workers hired to help with the funeral took photos next to his open coffin into image the men are seeing posing with the open casket.