this is bbc news — i'm samantha simmonds — with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world... tensions between moscow and prague escalate — russia expels 20 diplomats — a day after the czech republic kicked out 18 russian diplomats identified as secret agents. as concerns grow over the health of kremlin critic alexei navalny — russia's ambassador to london says he won't die behind bars. of course it will not be allowed to die in prison but i can say that mr navalny, he behaves like a hooligan absolutely. a study finds one in ten households have food shortages. football chiefs warn europe's top clubs not to join a new super—league, after reports

of an announcement, on a breakaway tournament. how nasa is attempting to make history with the first powered flight on another planet. hello and welcome to the programme. tensions between moscow and prague have escalated — russia has expelled 20 diplomats, a day after the czech republic announced they were expelling 18 russian diplomats identified as secret agents. this includes two men suspected of involvement in a deadly explosion at a czech arms depot seven years ago. britain claims they're the same two men who tried to kill a former spy with a nerve agent three years ago. our security correspondent gordon corera has the story. the aftermath of a deadly explosion. in october 2014, this arms depot in the czech countryside blew up.

it took a month to find the remains of two men who worked there. it was widely assumed to have been an accident, until now. a key piece of evidence came when investigators found an e—mail requesting permission for two men to inspect the site. attached were scans of the men's passports, a copy of which the bbc has obtained. if you recognise them, this is why. they're the same two men wanted in connection with the salisbury poisoning in the uk. in 2018, they were spotted on cctv and accused of smearing nerve agent on the front door of sergei skripal�*s house. in 2018, they were spotted on cctv and accused of smearing nerve agent on the front door of sergei skripal�*s house. the two denied any involvement, saying they visited salisbury to see the cathedral spire. the e—mail with the passport scans claimed the men were from the national guard of tajikistan, and gave false names. the pair arrived in prague

on 0ctober11th, using the same names as in salisbury. on october 13th, they went to stay in 0strava, near the arms depot, and they left the country on october 16th, the day of the explosion. but why was the depot targeted? the bbc has been told that a bulgarian arms dealer, emilian gebrev, stored weapons there. six months later in bulgaria, members of the same unit from russian military intelligence are believed to have tried to kill gebrev. this cctv shows an alleged member of the team moving around gebrev�*s car. it's alleged that poison was smeared on its door handle, leaving him fighting for his life, though he did survive. 0ne expert says these incidents paint a picture of how this unit operates. it actually seems to be military intelligence�*s in—house team of miscellaneous throat—slitters and general saboteurs.

there's probably about 20 operational staff and maybe 200 support personnel. the czech prime minister has announced that 18 russian diplomats are being expelled. the issue will be discussed by eu foreign ministers tomorrow, while in london, the foreign secretary said the uk stood by its czech allies in exposing russian�*s dangerous operations. moscow says the allegations about its role in this expression are unfounded and far—fetched, but investigations into the activities of russian military intelligence are ongoing and more cases may still be uncovered, raising the pressure on moscow further. gordon corera, bbc news. and of course, russia doesn't just have tense relations with the czech republic. in the last week both the united states and poland have imposed sanctions on russia too. here's our correspondent sarah rainsford. it's been quite a week for russia's relations with the west. it is notjust the czechs who have been expelling russian diplomats, the americans and the poles have done it too.

all of it is meant to change the way the kremlin is thinking, but moscow has mirrored all of those moves and more, and the political mood here feels increasingly tense. there is still of course that russian troop deployment to ukraine's border, and the sense that russia is one of what it might do if pushed. and russia is still insisting that it is the west that is aggressive, trying to impose its agenda inside russia, so there has been a real crackdown inside russia. and to top off russia's shaky global relations — many around the world are closely watching what happens to alexei navalny. navalny is vladimir putin's toughest critic and opposition, who was poisined with a nerve agent last year, and has been held in a penal colony since february. he has two herniated spinal disks and has not had access to trusted doctors, so has been on a hunger strike since the end of march — demanding access to independent medical care — now his supporters claim he could die within days. the united states�* national security adviser, jake sullivan, has said there will be consequences if navalny, dies behind bars.

but russia's ambassador in london has insisted russia won't allow that to happen. here he is speaking to the bbc�*s andrew marr earlier. of course he will not be allowed to die in prison, but i can say that mr navalny behaves like a hooligan, absolutely, in trying to violate every rule that has been established. his purpose of doing that is to attract attention for him, also by saying that today his left hand is sick, tomorrow his leg is sick and all of that stuff... the european court of human rights has ruled that the charges against him for money laundering are, they say, "arbitrary and unfair." isn't the truth that he is in prison because he is a threat to president putin, for democratic reasons? no, not at all. he has violated his terms of parole and that is why he has been given a sentence and i have to say that julian assange here in britain

was arrested by british police because he had also violated the terms of parole. maria snegovaya, from the george washington university's institute for european, russian and eurasian studies says russia has a history of allowing the health of prisoners to deteriorate beyond repair, before releasing them. here's how she explained it. the reality is that he is not wrong. russian authorities since the soviet times actually have a history of letting people die outside ofjail. what they do instead, they destroy the health of people while those are kept injail, irreparably, to the extent the damage is done and it can't be cured subsequently. then they let the person outside the prison, so that this person dies outside of the prison and the kremlin that way is left without any blame for a person's death, while de facto, the goal is achieved. the us and the eu are putting increasing pressure on russia now. will that work, do you think? will that have any impact on alexei navalny�*s position? it depends, unfortunately so far the sanctions

package that the un, the us imposed on the kremlin was not enough, was not sufficient to stop the kremlin comitting the atrocities domestically and outside of the country, but if such packages and diplomatic approaches are considered, i would encourage the eu and the united states also consider the sanctions package that was suggested by mr navalny and his colleagues before he was imprisoned. that includes a number of russian oligarchs. perhaps that might be some kind of deterrent, in addition with serious sectoral sanctions on russia's economy. what kind of reactions can we expect in russia to alexei navalny�*s deteriorating condition? russian oppositionjust announced large protest on april 21st, which i believe is a really strong move, since it is the same day when putin's... russia's federal address is scheduled, so this way the opposition is taking the agenda away from putin, which is a very bold move. unfortunately the reality,

though, is the civic society in russia is still very fractured, isolated and not strong enough because originally the russian opposition had a goal to get 500,000 registered on the website in support of navalny, after which they would have scheduled the protest, but several weeks in they have only been able to garner 60,000 registrations, so they have now to schedule the protests, even if they missed their benchmark that they announced themselves. so the society is weak and therefore in order to stop these horrible atrocities and this really... a serious crackdown on russia's position right now in the kremlin, they really need help from the west as well. to coronavirus now and in brazil, a study has found six in ten households now face food shortages due to the pandemic. government hand—outs introduced last year have been reduced as public debt rises. deaths continue to soar in the country, as mark lowen reports from sao paulo. every day, the faces

of despair multiply. the food lines in sao paulo's largest favela go on and on. with most here working in the grey economy, queues have more than tripled as covid takes lives and livelihoods of brazil's poorest. for luciana firmino and herfamily, this is their only meal of the day. she lost herjob in a manicure studio with the pandemic, and they're unable to pay the rent. translation: i've lost hope. we will have to live on the street or under a bridge soon. sometimes, i think i should give my children away to social services. it feels like a different country among the rich farmers and backers of the president. harvesting the corn, frederico da vila says bolsonaro is cutting through a corrupt establishment. but with his hostility

to lockdowns, slow vaccine purchase and brazil shrouded by over 365,000 deaths, the critics call his handling genocidal. president bolsonaro is not focused on killing anyone, he want to preserve the liberties of the people. he want people to get... to get out, to get work. the cost of that is the second worst death toll in the world and a hospital collapse. no, it's not true because this 365,000, we don't know if they only died by corona. to understand president bolsonaro's support even after the awful toll of the pandemic here, just look at his inspiration — donald trump. both paint themselves as anti—establishment. both captured the populist mood and both, despite mismanaging the pandemic, have kept their devoted following, from the wealthy farmers to the conservative

base. blasting out his message are the evangelicals. streaming part samba, part sermon online is key to rallying the bolsonaro faithful. they back the president's push to reopen churches. translation: the church votes in favour of bolsonaro _ because he defends the family. he is against abortion and school books promoting lgbt groups. he fights for brazil with christian values, and if he doesn't want to wear a mask, that's his right to choose. with a divisive president and the virus and poverty exploding, brazilfaces a perfect storm. they're preaching to the converted here, but increasingly for this devastated country, they're empty words. mark lowen, bbc news, sao paulo. the indian city worst affected by coronavirus — delhi — has ordered all residents

returning from a major hindu festival on the ganges to quarantine at home for 1h days. the order applies to all those attending the kumbh mela between april— the— fourth and the end of the month. they must also be registered and tested: anyone found to have flouted the rules must go to government quarantine centres. india has reported a ninth straight day of record covid cases. our south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan is in delhi. she explained why india has been hit so badly by the pandemic. officials say it's down to poor social distancing and lax behaviour. that is what they were saying a few weeks ago, but the issue is really as the virus spreads, there seems to be mixed messages in terms of how the virus is contained. i'm speaking to you from delhi where at the moment there is a weekend lockdown in place, so only essential services are allowed to operate. all restraunts and shops are closed for the weekend. although they will reopen tomorrow.

but then in other parts of the country, mass election rallies are still taking place. even the prime minister hosted two of those rallies later in the day. he hosted a covid—19 meeting. many people just say on one hand you're hosting a big rally and on the other hand you're telling people more needs to be done. so there are concerns 110w. the prime minister did say that for the last days of the kumbh mela, a mass religious gathering, we have seen those pictures and other crowds on banks of the ganges, he said that should now basically finish although there will still be people there. i think the point is that, unless... experts are saying unless there is a consistent message, it is very difficult to stop the spread. stay with us on bbc news, still to come:

up “p “p up up and away. nasa announces a new project that could see a helicopter take to the skies of mars. the stars & stripes at half mast outside columbine high school. the school sealed off and the bodies of the dead still inside. i and the bodies of the dead still inside.— and the bodies of the dead still inside. i never thought they would _ still inside. i never thought they would actually - still inside. i never thought they would actually go - still inside. i never thought - they would actually go through with it. one of the most successful singer— one of the most successful singer songwriters of all time, the american pop star prince has died _ the american pop star prince has died at the age of 57.| has died at the age of 57. couldn't has died at the age of 57. i couldn't believe it. i didn't believe _ couldn't believe it. i didn't believe it _ couldn't believe it. i didn't believe it. it _ couldn't believe it. i didn't believe it. it was - couldn't believe it. i didn't believe it. it was just - couldn't believe it. i didn't believe it. it wasjust herej believe it. it wasjust here saturday _ believe it. it was 'ust here saturday-h saturday. the millions of americans, _ saturday. the millions of americans, the - saturday. the millions of americans, the death - saturday. the millions of americans, the death of| saturday. the millions of - americans, the death of richard nixon in a new york hospital has meant conflicting emotions, national day of mourning next

wednesday, sitting somehow uneasily with the abiding members of the shame of watergate. members of the shame of watergate-— members of the shame of watergate. and it left off of s - ace watergate. and it left off of space shuttle _ watergate. and it left off of space shuttle discovery - watergate. and it left off of| space shuttle discovery with the hubble space telescope, our window of the universe! this is bbc news, the latest headlines. tension between moscow and product escalate. russia expels 20 diplomats say they after the czech republic kicked out 18 russian diplomats and identify them are secret agents. concerns over alexei navalny, the russian ambassador says he will not die behind bars. uefa, the football association, and the premier league have reacted angrily tonight to reports that 12 major european clubs, including the �*big six�* from england, have signed up to a breakaway european super league.

their european super league. agreement conceived the founding their agreement conceived the founding clubs receive an upfront grant of 4.1 and $9 billion. this was the reaction from the british sports minister earlier. i am laser focused and the government is really laser focused on what is best for fans and what is best for english football. i'm not convinced that what has been announced would be. i haven't seen the full details yet, but i'm pretty sceptical about it. i don't think it was necessary to create the opportunities will be a level playing field we would like to see in football, it seems a pretty closed shop idea, so i am pretty sceptical at the moment, but i will wait to see the details. our sports editor dan roan says the plan has the potential to transform football in europe. if this were to happen, it has the potential to end the club game as we know it. the so—called big six of english club football, manchester united here, but also manchester city, liverpool, chelsea, arsenal and spurs, all understood to be on the verge tonight of announcing that they are in principle supportive of a possible european super league that would see them become permanent members of a new competition alongside

italian and spanish clubs initially, in return for hundreds of millions of pounds. will it happen? in the past, this threat of a breakaway has regularly been used to get more power and money from uefa, and it is surely no coincidence that tomorrow, uefa are due to announce a new revamped, enlarged champions league format. it would be no surprise if this was a negotiation tactic ahead of that. it's been widely condemned tonight by everyone from the likes of the prime minister, former players and managers like sir alex ferguson and fan groups and the government, but also uefa, who said that the clubs would be punished. they would be barred from domestic and european club competition and the premier league, who said they wouldn't sanction it. the players might be barred from playing for their countries. it's being seen as a power grab motivated by greed. but whatever the motivation and whether it happens, it has reinforced a sense of division and also questions over where

power lies in the game. after more than a year of being unable to leave their home country, the first flight of australian residents is about to leave for new zealand. it marks the beginning of the trans—tasman bubble , a two—way travel corridor. both countries say the bubble is only possible because they've generally been able to contain the virus. from monday, those in australia and new zealand can travel freely between the countries without needing to quarantine on arrival. but it won't be quite like pre—covid travel. passengers will be required to wear a mask on the plane. and at airports they will be taken through special "green zones" , so they're not in contact with other travellers. passengers must follow local guidelines. and they may be required to quarantine if there's an outbreak. shaimaa khalil will be on board the first flight leaving sydney for auckland. the international departures terminal at sydney airport has

been busy since the early hours of the day. for the first time people will be able to travel to new zealand in quarantine. it is a big day for the travel industry after a catastrophic year because of covid—19 and border closured. the airlines have ramped up their flights across the tasman. we will be on the very first flight from sydney to auckland. quite exciting. between them, quanchus and jet star expected to be operating at about 29 flights today, busy time for air new zealand as well. they will be transporting more than 5000 passengers, 3000 are going to be on their way to new zealand. this was a very busy route before the pandemic began. australians made the biggest chunk of new zealand's international visitors market so yes, a trans bubble is a big so yes, a trans—nation bubble is a big sigh of relief for the tourist and the travel industries but really those initial flights are going to be filled with family and friends

that will be reunited with their loved ones after more than a year. absolutely amazing. i will see my partner after almost two years. it is very exciting. my eldest boy, he just turned 17. apparently he has grown about a foot since i've seen him last. my older brother passed away last week on thursday. - we couldn't get there last week, but it has given usi the opportunity to get back home today. - i've had quarantine, . so it's very good to go and lay him to rest. what'll be the first thing you do when you get home? probably go eat some food. eat the pies. definitely the pies. passengers are expected to wear a mask on the flight. i've got mine ready. they're also expected to give information about how to be contacted during their stay in new zealand. and to download the new zealand covid—19 tracer app. and they will also be flying

on green zone flights, these are flights where passengers have been nowhere other than australia for the last 14 days and the crew will not have travelled to any covid—19 red zones. it is a very different way to travel no doubt, but it is also going to be exciting times for holiday—makers and for those families that are finally being able to be reunited. nasa is attempting to make history with the first powered flight on another planet. it will launch a small helicopter, called ingenuity, from the surface of mars. on board is a small piece of history from earth, a tiny square of material from the wright brothers plane that first flew over a century ago. as our science correspondent rebecca morelle reports, it's a trial of technology that could transform how we explore distant worlds. the parachute has deployed... this mission has already revealed mars as never seen before with the first ever footage of a thrilling descent, as the rover is lowered down

to the martian surface. touchdown confirmed. now nasa is ready to make history again. this time, it will try to launch a helicopter. the first attempt at powered flight on another planet, this animation reveals how it might look. but with the extreme conditions on mars and the fact that there's barely any atmosphere, it won't be easy. it feels absolutely nuts, of course. i mean, we've been flying on earth forjust over a hundred years and now, yeah, we're going to go to another planet and fly. it's crazy, right? but that's the beauty of exploration and the beauty of engineering. nasa's helicopter is a feat of engineering. it weighsjust 1.8 kilograms — that's 4 lbs — and it has two long rotors which spin in opposite directions at up to 2,500 revolutions per minute. this is much faster than a helicopter on earth, but it needs this speed to lift

off in the extremely thin martian atmosphere. its first test flight takes it three metres above the ground for 30 seconds before rotating and finally landing. then for the next 30 days, it will begin to fly much further afield. the helicopter has been lowered from where it was stored beneath the rover onto a carefully selected strip of terrain, free of boulders. it will capture footage as it flies, looking down on the rover and the rover�*s camera will film the helicopter, providing multiple views for the scientists to study. one of the things that a helicopter is very well suited for isjust looking around, scouting. it can traverse places without being hindered by the terrain. it could dojust kind of scouting missions for our future rovers, perhaps, or even for astronauts. the helicopter is part of nasa's most ambitious mars mission to date. these are all images taken

in the last few weeks. on the ground, the rover will be searching for signs of life, but the helicopter will add an airborne dimension to how we explore other planets, opening up new frontiers in flight. rebecca morelle, bbc news. amazing. now for the tale of the dog who would enlist an accident and to his exercise routine. this is dexter, when he was one he was hit by a truck and left unable to use his injured front legs. so his owner taught him to walk on two legs like a human. his new skills, dexter can still enjoy walks around his hometown in colorado. quite a sight. good for him. a reminder of our top story. tensions between moscow and prague escalating, russia has expelled 20 diplomats a day after the czech republic kicked out 18 russian diplomats identified as secret agents.

that is it for me. reach me on twitter. thank you for watching. hello. no significant rain on the way again this week. there's an atlantic weather system close to parts of northern ireland and scotland so a little rain during monday. for most of the uk it's high—pressure and dry and after a chilly start, it will feel quite warm in the sunshine. this area of high—pressure extending across from scandinavia, this area of low pressure giving northern ireland and scotland notjust cloud but a little rain. where you have the clouds to start today you will avoid frost but a touch of frost eastern parts of england or wales and close to or perhaps a touch below freezing in the coldest rural areas. and low cloud clearing from england. following behind across much of england and wales

and scotland, patchy cloud developing, a shower later in the day cannot be ruled out in southeast england, but the cloud is thickest across western counties of northern ireland, parts of scotland and outbreaks of rain occasionally atjust ten to 12 degrees here. really quite warm when you get the sunshine elsewhere. overnight to tuesday, the cloud and chance of seeing rain by tuesday morning, low cloud mist and fog returning to parts of eastern england, generally temperatures a bit higher going into tuesday morning so frost will be harder to come by. low cloud, mist and fog gradually clearing from eastern england on tuesday. a shower can't be ruled out on tuesday. cloudy in scotland and northern ireland, not much rain left on this weatherfront, northern scotland brightening up but here behind the weather front the air, the wind is changing direction and it will feel colder here. south of the weather front is still warm and light winds where you get some of those sunny spells continuing. a cooler air behind this

weather front with cloud and not much rain continues to push south overnight and into wednesday across the uk. and a new area of high pressure taking over anfd giving plenty taking over, giving plenty of dry weather in the second half of the week but the wind around that coming in for the northeast will be colder along north sea coasts, generally temperatures will come down a little bit but yet again it will continue to feel really quite warm when you get to see some sunshine. though there is still the risk and the threat of frost overnight, for gardeners and growers no significant rain this week.

this is bbc news. the headlines...

russia has announced that 20 diplomats from the czech republic will be expelled from the country. the czech ambassador to russia was summoned earlier on sunday. officials launch a protest. moscow's ambassador to london told the bbc that russian opposition leader alexei navalny won't die behind bars. mr navalny has been on hunger strike since the into march and is demanding access to independent medical care. he's been held behind bars since february. in brazil, of study found six and ten household face food shortages. government hand—outs introduced last year have been reduced as public debt rises. shops and churches in brazil's most popular state has reopened after eight month of lockdown. —— after a month. now on bbc news, hardtalk.