this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the diplomatic row between russia and the us intensifies — moscow orders ten us diplomats to pack up and leave. just keep your head down a little bit. we have a special report from ukraine where tensions build — as russian troops gather along the country's eastern border. final preparations for the funeral of the duke of edinburgh — a very personal ceremony planned by the duke himself. and the british actress helen mccrory — best known for her roles in the tv series peaky blinders and three harry potter films — has died of cancer at the age of fifty two.

hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. first. a diplomatic row between russia and the us is intensifying, with moscow expelling ten american diplomats from the country — and recommending the us ambassador return home. the moves are in response to sanctions imposed by washington on thursday, over what the white house called "russia's harmful foreign activities". more from our correspondent in eastern ukraine shortly, but first here's our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg. we are back to the question that we have heard so often, what is vladimir putin thinking, what is he planning? what we know, i think is that president putin doesn't normally advertise military action ahead of time. in 2014, he surprised everyone when he sent special forces into the

ukraine to an ex crimea. this time around, moscow is not hiding the fact that it is moving to surround possibly to send a message to washington to joe biden, look at me, talk to me. despite the diplomatic tit—for—tat that we have been seeing here, us sanctions against russia and russian sanctions against the us, talks and the possibility of a summit, there is a possibility but for that to happen, there must be an escalation in tension and the concern is that in europe, nato and america, russia's actions are destabilising the situation. steve rosenberg reporting. meanwhile, escalating tensions between ukraine and russia have been the focus of international talks between ukraine's president and the leaders of france and germany. volodymyr zelensky has been anxious to increase international support following the recent build—up of russian troops along ukraine's eastern border and in crimea.

there have been tensions between russia and ukraine ever since russia annexed crimea in april 2014, and russian—backed forces seized a large swathe of eastern ukraine's donetsk and luhansk regions — coloured in turquoise here. a ceasefire was negotiated in 2015, but it remains fragile. 0ur correspondent jonah fisher reports now from the frontline near marinka in eastern ukraine. rpg shell. yours, or theirs? theirs. in eastern ukraine a war that had been dormant is coming back to life. just keep your head down a little bit. this is marinka. just a hundred metres separate these ukrainian army trenches from the positions of the russian—backed forces. for the last six years very little has changed here along the front line in eastern ukraine, but the last few weeks has seen a very dramatic shift in mood, and that's because on the

russian side of the border there's been a massive build—up of both personnel and equipment. they have their trenches over there. news of the troop movements have coincided with a deterioration of the situation on the ground. how seriously are soldiers here taking the possibility of russia launching a full—scale invasion? at war, you always have to be serious. it doesn't matter if you are expecting for escalation or you do not, but no matter what will happen we will do ourjob. we will stand here until the end. during our time in the trenches we get a glimpse of how tense things have become. what's going on?

0ver there, 600 metres from us, is a drone. a drone. yeah, an enemy drone. they are usually carrying charges or grenades. it's better to stay over here. the ukrainian soldiers open fire, but fail to hit the drone. yet another breach of a tattered ceasefire. along the front line, those who can leave have long gone. nalia, a 72—year—old widow, has had no choice but to stay, deciding each day whether to spend her small pension on firewood or on food. her memories are still fresh of the intense fighting of seven years ago. translation: so many people in our village were killed. - there were young women and children shot in their homes. wars are so pointless.

0n the roads we see signs that ukraine is getting battle ready. the hope here is that russia is flexing its military muscle rather than preparing for all—out war. jonah fisher, bbc news, in eastern ukraine. the funeral of the duke of edinburgh will take place at windsor castle on saturday. 0nly thirty mourners will attend the service inside st george's chapel, as a result of coronavirus restrictions. many aspects of the funeral, including the music, were planned in advance by prince philip himself. 0ur royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, reports. a husband and wife, plainly happy in each other�*s company — a previously private image taken at balmoral in 2003,

selected by the queen to be published on the eve of her husband's funeral. 0utside st george's chapel, within windsor castle, some of the flowers left by members of the public have been laid out on the lawns. close by, a wreath from the prime minister, with a card paying tribute to a man to whom the nation owes more than words can say. there were wreaths too from commonwealth nations, from canada and new zealand — countries which the duke had often visited. the earl and countess of wessex and their daughter came to inspect the flowers and some of the cards and other tributes which have been left, and this as the final touches for tomorrow's funeral were being put into place. all the military contingents who are involved in the short ceremonial procession have completed their main preparations. at the centre of the procession will be the land rover hearse which the duke helped to design. it will be in the castle's central quadrangle that the proceedings will begin. the service detachments will be drawn up. a few moments after 2:40

tomorrow the duke's coffin will be borne from the state entrance to be placed on the land rover. at 2:45 the small procession will step off for the eight—minute journey through the castle. some members of the royal family will walk behind the coffin. the queen will follow in a limousine. the route will be lined by the military. at 2:53 the coffin will arrive at the west steps of st george's chapel. it will be borne to the top of the steps, where it will pause. at three o'clock a one—minute silence will be observed, before the coffin enters the chapel for the funeral service. inside the chapel, the queen will sit by herself. like all the 30 members of the congregation she will wear a mask. at one point the chapel will echo to the bugle call for action stations, a reminder of the duke's service as an officer in the royal navy in the second world war.

in the town of windsor many of the residents have their own stories of the duke. you would see him out on his carriage and he would always acknowledge you, he would always say hello to the group of us as we were walking. it will be very strange because we've only ever known prince philip in my life, he's always been here. so, a castle which has witnessed many moments in britain's long royal history is ready for another. the weather forecast for tomorrow is good, but both the palace and the police are hoping that won't tempt people to come to windsor. they've reiterated the point that no part of the funeral will be visible to spectators. the only way to follow it is to watch it on television. audiences around the world will watch and listen as the queen bids farewell to the man she described as her "beloved husband". nicholas witchell, bbc news, windsor. president biden has condemned the latest us mass shooting in indiana, describing gun violence as a national embarrassment.

he again urged congress to take measures to prevent weapons falling into the wrong hands. police in indianapolis have confirmed that 8 people were killed in the shooting at a fedex facility. they identified the gunman as brandon hole, a former fedex employee, who had a history of mental illness. he took his own life after the shooting. the incident is the latest in a spate of at least seven deadly mass shootings in the united states over the past month. this suspect came to the facility and when he came out of this car, he very quickly started random shooting outside of the facility. there was no confrontation with anyone that was there, there was no disturbance, no argument. he just appeared to randomly start shooting and that began in the parking lot and then he'd been went into the facility for a brief period before he took his own life. the mayor of chicago has appealed for calm after the release of footage

showing a 13 year old boy — adam toledo — being shot dead by a policeman last month. barbara plett usher reports from chicago adam was killed in the alleyway right behind me and he was one of the youngest people killed by police in recent years and so, of course there is outrage and that has been amplified by the fact that there was this delay releasing the footage. it took more than two weeks and during that time, police talked about an armed confrontation. 0n about an armed confrontation. on top of that, this is happening at the same time as the trial of the killing of george floyd, which also deeply here. i've been speaking to lorenzo boyd, who served as a deputy sheriff in boston, and who is currently a police consultant and trainer. he gave me his assessment of the police officer's actions, based on the bodycam footage that has been released. i think ithinkfar i think far too often police officers default to deadly force when they are unsure or if they are afraid. i think we need to retrain police officers

how to engage with civilians, certainly with young people. if you can get them to retrain and not so quickly go to deadly force, i think that will be a game changerfor force, i think that will be a game changer for everyone. defenders of the police officers say he had a split second to act. what you think of that? ., , second to act. what you think of that? . , _, . of that? that is correct. he had a split _ of that? that is correct. he had a split second - of that? that is correct. he had a split second to - of that? that is correct. he had a split second to act i of that? that is correct. he had a split second to act in| had a split second to act in many would argue that he made the wrong choice. so, he could've waited, called for back—up, could've radioed in, there is a lot of things he could've done except for using deadly force. that should always be the absolute last resort you should only use deadly force when you are absolutely sure.— deadly force when you are absolutely sure. when you look at the footage, _ absolutely sure. when you look at the footage, what _ absolutely sure. when you look at the footage, what lessons i at the footage, what lessons can you learn? we at the footage, what lessons can you learn?— at the footage, what lessons can you learn? we need to look at thins can you learn? we need to look at things before _ can you learn? we need to look at things before they _ can you learn? we need to look at things before they actual - at things before they actual engagement in the situation. we need to look much before that. how the police engage the community in general, particularly communities of colour. there is already a wide chasm and a lot of distrust. if we can do community members and

police officers to sit at the table together to talk about things. if police officers can understand the lived experience of the people they are policing, there will be far fewer fatal shootings. we have seen body _ fewer fatal shootings. we have seen body cams _ fewer fatal shootings. we have seen body cams deployed - fewer fatal shootings. we have seen body cams deployed for l seen body cams deployed for offices across america in recent years we have seen a lot off a lot of footage, putting that footage together for what you have seen, what do you make of the way america is policed? it is policed in a very oppressive fashion. but it is not the fault of individual officers, because there are a lot of good men and women that are really trying to make a difference in the community. the fatal flaw is the way policing is actually done. we have not changed policing in 110 years. if we can go back to community engagement and less of that us versus them scenario, then i think we have a chance. scenario, then i think we have a chance-— a chance. and what about the trainin: a chance. and what about the training of— a chance. and what about the training of police _ a chance. and what about the training of police officers - a chance. and what about the training of police officers for. training of police officers for moments like that when you're in an alleyway, they ask someone to surrender and work

on the decisions of the need to make and that precise moment. how long would it take for summer train how long would it take for summertrain to train how long would it take for summer train to train to get to the moment where you feel they could take the correct decision?— could take the correct decision? ~ ., ., could take the correct decision? ., ., ~ ., decision? well, i do not know that chasing _ decision? well, i do not know that chasing someone - decision? well, i do not know that chasing someone into - decision? well, i do not know that chasing someone into a l that chasing someone into a dark atlee is the best decision. i would've waited for back—up, someone could have gone to the other side, it's not an instantaneous thing we have to catch them immediately right now. you can't outrun the radio. 0fficers right now. you can't outrun the radio. officers are often putting themselves in harms way and running into dark alleys chasing after people and they shouldn't do that, they need to look after themselves. but they also need to protect those around them. cuba's former president, raul castro, has confirmed that he will resign from the leadership of the communist party. he made the announcement at the beginning of a four—day congress of the party. the move means that for the first time in six decades, the communist party — which has ruled cuba since the revolution in 1959 — will not led by either raul castro or his

late brother, fidel. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we pay tribute to the british actress helen mccrory, best known for her roles in the television show peaky blinders and the harry potter films, who has died at 52. pol pot, one of the century's greatest mass murderers, is reported to have died of natural causes. he and the khmer rouge movement he led were responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million cambodians. there have been violent protests in indonesia, where playboy has gone on sale for the first time. traditionalist muslim leaders have expressed disgust. the magazine's offices have been attacked, and its editorial staff have gone into hiding. it was clear that paula's only contest was with the clock. and as for a sporting legacy, paula radcliffe's competitors will be chasing her new world

best time for years to come. quite quietly, but quicker and quicker, she seemedj to just slide away under i the surface and disappear. this is bbc news, the latest headlines. russia has expelled ten us diplomats and has banned visits by some american officials, in response to president biden�*s new sanctions on moscow. final preparations are underway for the duke of edinburgh's funeral at windsor castle on saturday. the ceremony has been planned by the duke and will reflect his life and interests. president biden has held his first face to face meeting with a foreign leader at the white house — the japanese prime minister, yoshihide suga. president biden said the us will work closely with japan to develop new technologies, including artificial intelligence and 5g,

within norms �*set by democracies not autocracies'. those technologies are covered by a shared democratic norms that we both share. norms shared by democracies and not by autocracies. we are going to work together across a range of fields, from promoting secure reliable 5g networks, to increasing our cooperations on supply chains, for critical sectors like semi conductors, to driving joint research with areas like ai, genomics, quantum computing and much more. i spoke to dr mireya solis, director at the center for east asia policy studies at the brookings institution. she says this meeting has been prioritised because the indo—pacific region is at the top of the foreign policy agenda for the biden administration. it is quite an honour and i think it is due to the fact

that the indo pacific is at the top of the foreign policy agenda of thejoe biden administration injapan is a crucial partner to make that effort successful as we just saw from the clip, japan is a technological power. it is very much in the lead when it comes to developing global supply chains and therefore, there is possibilities for synergy and cooperation that the us wants to pop on. cooperation that the us wants to mm om— cooperation that the us wants to no. on. ., ., ., . to pop on. how was the alliance and balancing — to pop on. how was the alliance and balancing against _ to pop on. how was the alliance and balancing against a - to pop on. how was the alliance and balancing against a rising i and balancing against a rising china? i and balancing against a rising china? ~ , , china? i think it is very important _ china? i think it is very important and - china? i think it is very important and i - china? i think it is very important and i think. china? i think it is very i important and i think with the summit is also going to reveal to us is how closely allied are these parties and allies when it comes to the china challenge. just a few weeks ago before the ministers of defence ministers of the united states and japan issued a statement where japan directly calls out chinese behaviour that undermines international order. there was also a reference to stability in the taiwan strait

and we want to see where there is confirmation that this more direct calling of chinese behaviour will be part of the diplomatic speaks between these two countries. you diplomatic speaks between these two countries.— two countries. you mention taiwan there, _ two countries. you mention taiwan there, the _ taiwan there, the self—governing island claimed by mainland china. by the us and japan expecting mainland china, the communist party, to try to change the way china operates towards taiwan to become more aggressive? i think the coal become more aggressive? i think the goal is _ become more aggressive? i think the goal is deterrence, _ become more aggressive? i think the goal is deterrence, to - become more aggressive? i think the goal is deterrence, to send i the goal is deterrence, to send the goal is deterrence, to send the signal that using force to change the status quo is not going to be acceptable. and i think both countries have an interest in supporting taiwan defend itself and be resilient. taiwan is a democracy, taiwan also has key capabilities when it comes to the semi conductor industry and therefore, i think if you want stability in the region and rule of law, you want to send the signal that that matters to you and i think saying that statement will be

significant. let's get some of the day's other news the united nations refugee agency says that as many as sixty—five thousand people have fled from a city in north—eastern nigeria, after a series of attacks by islamist militants. fighters claiming to be loyal to the self—styled islamic state have conducted a series of hit and run attacks on damasak in borno province, killing at least 12 people. a weekend curfew has come into force in the indian capital, delhi, as coronavirus cases rise sharply in the city, and across the country. 0nly essential services remain open — shopping malls, gyms, bars and restaurants in the capital are all closed. delhi is now india's worst affected city. china says it's willing to co—operate more with some european countries over the challenges of climate change, as the argument continues over which of the major economies is the biggest polluter. president xijinping made the pledge during a video summit with the leaders of germany and france. 0ur science editor david shukman reports. china is the world's greatest factory and its biggest

polluter, and america is the second largest. together they account for nearly half of global emissions, and there is now a us president determined to change that. we can't wait any longer. we see it with our own eyes, we feel it, we know it in our bones. and it's time to act. so he is pushing for a lot more green energy and he is reversing the trump years by sending his envoy john kerry worldwide. secretary kerry, can we avert climate catastrophe? - including the uk last month and crucially china just now. we cannot solve the climate issue without china beginning to reduce their emissions. this is the key to the global puzzle. biden has to figure out a way to compel beijing to begin to cut their emissions or all the efforts we are making domestically are going to be ineffectual. one of the big arguments is over which of these two

giant polluters should do more. the us points out that it produces about 14% of the global total of emissions while china releases about twice that. but for its part, china says look instead at the accumulation of greenhouse gases since 1750 — america has omitted about a quarter of those while china, which only industrialised relatively recently, has produced far fewer. another dispute is over coal. beijing is encouraging others to burn more of it. i filmed these chinese workers at a coal—fired power station in serbia, one of dozens of projects around the world. and this comes as pressure over human rights leads to worsening international relations, which may mean china sticks with coal. it's got big reserves which it can rely on. if you are looking to a greater tension across the world and particularly a greater confrontation with the united states, you probably want to hedge your bets

and keep a hold of coal because there is so much uncertainty in the world. today, chinese television reported on president xi having virtual talks with the leaders of france and germany. climate change was the key topic, the pace of diplomacy on this is accelerating. david shukman, bbc news. the actress helen mccrory, best known for starring in the hit bbc series peaky blinders, and in the harry potter films, has died from cancer at the age of 52. her husband, the actor damien lewis, said he'd lost a �*beautiful and mighty woman'. 0ur arts correspondent david sillito looks back at her life. peaky blinders, tv�*s �*20s criminal gang whose business affairs were run by aunt polly. i'm having trouble these days, i'm twice the man you are. played by helen mccrory. i booked you both tickets

for the next boat from liverpool to new york. it was her best—known tv role, for this award—winning star of stage and screen. why? you met her often enough before. she played cherie blair twice, the first, in the film the queen. just remember, you're a man that's just been elected by the whole nation. her on—screen husband michael sheen today paid tribute. she was, he said, funny, passionate, smart, one of the greatest actors of our time. demonstrates a reckless disregard... sam mendes, who directed her injames bond, said she was an astonishing talent, a fabulous person. of course. is he alive? and to harry potter fans, jk rowling said she was an extraordinary woman. in 2019 she presented have i got news for you.

she was also in recent months an organiser with her husband, the actor damian lewis, of a scheme providing hot meals for nhs staff during the pandemic. and today, it was damian lewis who wrote, i am heartbroken to announce that after an heroic battle with cancer the beautiful and mighty woman that is helen mccrory has died peacefully at home surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family. she died as she lived, fearlessly, god, we loved her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. helen mccrory, 52, there were many great roles she had yet to play. the actress helen mccrory, who's death was announced on friday. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @jamesbbcnews.

do stay with bbc news. hello there. friday was another fine spring day and we will continue with this dry theme throughout the weekend and perhaps into monday as well. some chilly mornings but it will not be quite as cold overnight nor during the day as it has been of late. we had some patchy cloud bubble up on friday but the thicker cloud was towards the northwest of the uk and that brought rain in the northwest of scotland. that is fading away. the next weather system will be hanging out in the atlantic and we will be dominated by high pressure that stretches down from scandinavia. another cold start of frost across parts of england and wales and eastern parts of scotland. a bit milder for northwest

scotland and northern ireland where we have more of a breeze and sun—cloud for a while. sunny start for many, any mist and fog soon lifting, some patchy cloud will bubble up here and there but i think it will be a sunnier day on saturday through the midlands and eastern parts of england. for much of the country, temperatures will be a degree or two higher than they were doing yesterday, making 14 to 15 degrees a little bit more widely. into the evening and overnight, those temperatures will fall away quickly as the sky starts to clear, except in northern ireland and western scotland where the weather fronts in the atlantic are moving in here to bring patchy rain and they keep the temperatures up. 0therwise, patchy frost but not as cold as it has been during recent mornings. that weather front hanging around out in the northwest and bringing a bit of a change in the weatherfor some spots of scotland and northern ireland. for england and wales, it remains fine and dry. it looks like it'll be cloudy with patchy and light rain for northern ireland and now it is more likely to be damp across western scotland, further east it will be dry and bright with sunshine and sunshine for england and wales and patchy cloud for wales in the southwest and sunshine a bit hazy in eastern parts of england.

through the midlands and eastern england, temperatures looking to reach 14 or 15 degrees. warming up for these areas in particular. into monday, this rain just does not want to move in across the uk. it will be sitting away from scotland so it looks dry here on monday. more sunshine across england and wales as well and those temperatures continuing to rise around 16 or even 17 degrees. warming up at long last. however, while we might see a little bit of rain coming in on tuesday into early wednesday, the winds turn northerly by midweek and it gets colder again.

this is bbc news. the headlines:

russia is expelling ten us diplomats and blacklisting eight top american officials, in response to sanctions imposed by washington on thursday. russia's foreign minister said moscow was also tightening restrictions on us diplomats travelling within russia. the united states has condemned what it called an "escalatory and regrettable" move by moscow. final preparations are under way ahead of saturday's funeral of the duke of edinburgh. the ceremony at st george's chapel in windsor castle will be attended by a small group of close family and friends. many aspects of the funeral, including the music, were planned in advance by prince philip himself. president biden has condemned the latest us mass shooting in indiana, describing gun violence as a national embarrassment. he again urged congress to take measures to prevent weapons falling into the wrong hands. police in indianapolis have confirmed that eight people were killed in the shooting at a fedex facility. now on bbc news, escape from iran.