welcome to bbc news. i'm simon pusey. our top stories. president biden tells us citizens to leave ukraine now, warning "things could go crazy quickly" britain's most senior police officer is to step down after the mayor of london said he had no confidence in her leadership. canadian truckers block more border crossings to the us in their protest over covid restrictions, with the economy now counting the cost. a coronavirus scare for the queen. prince charles tests positive two days after meeting the monarch. as with all the medical or health related matters, buckingham palace is saying the absolute minimum. all that royal sources will say is that the queen is not displaying any

symptoms of covid. president biden has called on all american citizens remaining in ukraine to leave the country immediately. with russia continuing its military build—up along its border with ukraine, mr biden said that he would not send troops to rescue americans, if moscow invaded. this is what he said in an interview with nbc news. look, what i have asked is american citizens should leave, should leave now. we are dealing with one of the largest armies in the world and it's a very difficult situation and things can go crazy quickly. president biden. well, the leaders of the three baltic states have called on nato allies to increase military support in eastern europe, amid the heightened tension. the call comes after

britain's foreign minister, liz truss, held what have been described as "frosty talks" with her russian counterpart, sergei lavrov. this report from the bbc�*s steve rosenberg in moscow. for liz truss, the day began by the kremlin at the tomb of the unknown soldier, a sign of respect for russia before the difficult diplomacy. she's only been foreign secretary five months. sergey lavrov has been in the job 18 years. a big difference. and there were major differences of opinion. mr lavrov called western politicians "indoctrinated", the british diplomats "unprepared", and on the subject of ukraine... translation: the conversation we had was like a deaf person i talking to someone who's mute. we were listening to one another, but not hearing each other. i certainly wasn't mute i

in our discussions earlier. i put forward the uk's point of view on the current - situation and the fact thatl as well as seeking to deter russia from an invasion - into ukraine, we are also very resolute in pursuing| the diplomatic path. what we saw here today was diplomacy without any of the diplomatic niceties. no hint of compromise. instead, a very public clash between britain and russia over ukraine and over the whole question of european security. it's moscow's military activity near ukraine that's causing concern in the west, like joint drills involving russia and belarus. but mr lavrov insisted russia has no plans for an invasion. it does stretch credulity that there are no plansl when there are 100,000 troops lined up on the _ ukrainian border. so we need to see those words from sergey lavrov translated i

into action of de—escalating and moving those troops i away from the border. it feels a little bit as if it's france and not the uk which is a leading diplomatic efforts. and we had president macron in moscow this week. is it the case that the uk is sort of playing catch—up here or playing second fiddle? it's very important that - france, the united kingdom, germany, the united states and all of our allies - are involved in this effort. this is not about alternatives — this is about all— working together. but russian state tv has been working against liz truss, calling her "clueless", "incompetent". i think when people resort to personal attacks, - it's when they have no good political argument to make. this was the first visit by a british foreign secretary to moscow for more than four years. is that called soft power?

but after a day of very public disagreements, uk—russian relations feel as frosty as ever. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. ukraine has accused russia of blocking its access to the sea as russia prepares for naval exercises next week amid spiralling tension in the region. six russian warships equipped for amphibious landings have arrived in the crimean military port of sevastapol. some have travelled all the way from russia's bases in the baltic to reach the black sea. the map released by the ukrainain navy shows the areas of sea they allege are being covered by the planned maneuvres. while not formally a blockade, it could severely limit routes for ukrainian shipping, including cutting the straights of azov between crimea and russia. the naval drills do not occur in isolation. thursday saw the start of 10 days ofjoint military excercises between russia and belarus. and images

collected over the last 48 hours by satelitte company maxar technologies have shown additional military buildup on ukraine's eastern border, stretching to ukraine's south in russian—annexed crimea(, as well as near ukraine's northern border with belarus lets get more on russia's build—up with michael sheldon — research associate at the atlantic council's digital foresnic lab — on open source monitoring group. can you talk is for your methodology, and as as an illustration we can see how you have used something from russian troops on tiktok near kursk. ~ , ., , russian troops on tiktok near kursk. , ., russian troops on tiktok near kursk. , . ,,. kursk. we use open sources such as social media _ kursk. we use open sources such as social media and _ kursk. we use open sources such as social media and a _ kursk. we use open sources such as social media and a lot - kursk. we use open sources such as social media and a lot of - kursk. we use open sources such as social media and a lot of it - as social media and a lot of it from tiktok and instagram where we seek to verify the footage through a process of geolocation and we use clues from the footage or the user profile to narrow down the area

and then use satellite imagery to cross—reference features to cross— reference features from to cross—reference features from the sea into the actual location. ., from the sea into the actual location-— location. you mentioned geolocation _ location. you mentioned geolocation and - location. you mentioned geolocation and you - location. you mentioned j geolocation and you also location. you mentioned - geolocation and you also geo- geolocation and you also geo— locate equipment arriving by rail at the current beau station. tell us about that. same process. we notice a lot of equipment and artillery pieces arriving at the station in kursk and we saw that and moved east through the city at which point it would have been about 25 kilometres on the border with ukraine and from there on, it's up to us to guess from where it went from there. , , . , guess from where it went from there. ,, . , guess from where it went from there. ,, ., , ., there. russia is open about the fact they have _ there. russia is open about the fact they have troops _ there. russia is open about the fact they have troops on - fact they have troops on the ukrainian border so there is

there anything about the deployment that suggest they're ever other reason. i deployment that suggest they're ever other reason.— ever other reason. i think the scale of the _ ever other reason. i think the scale of the deployment - ever other reason. i think the scale of the deployment is i ever other reason. i think the i scale of the deployment is what is going on, the fact they have pulled troops from across the country and the russian far east, nearly half the way into belarus is particularly concerning.— belarus is particularly concerning. belarus is particularly concerninu. ., ., ., ., , concerning. you are no doubt very skilled — concerning. you are no doubt very skilled at _ concerning. you are no doubt very skilled at what _ concerning. you are no doubt very skilled at what you - concerning. you are no doubt very skilled at what you do, | concerning. you are no doubt. very skilled at what you do, so how important is open source monitoring in relation to the ukraine border and what is happening with the russian troops there. for happening with the russian troops there.— troops there. for us it's important _ troops there. for us it's important and - troops there. for us it's important and a - troops there. for us it's important and a large i troops there. for us it's - important and a large source of information and everyday we see of videos, about this activity and troops moving into the border areas and we cross—reference that with the satellite imagery. ihla cross-reference that with the satellite imagery.— satellite imagery. no doubt a lot of media _ satellite imagery. no doubt a lot of media places _ satellite imagery. no doubt a lot of media places are - satellite imagery. no doubt a lot of media places are very l lot of media places are very thankful for what you do because without you it would be

hard to get the information. thank you very much indeed, michael sheldon, talking to us about open source on the ukraine crisis. britain's most senior police officer, the chief of london's metropolitan force, has resigned. cressida dick is leaving the post two years earlier than expected after the mayor of london expressed reservations about her ability to reform the police force. a recent police watchdog report into misconduct found evidence of racist, anti—semitic and homophobic behaviour. june kelly reports she made history when she became the first female commissioner of the country's largest force. but tonight, cressida dick's long policing career was brought to a sudden end. following contact with the mayor of london today, it is quite clear that he no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership of the metropolitan police service for me to continue as commissioner. he has left me no choice but to step aside.

the mayor, sadiq khan, had already put out his statement. it's clear that the only way to start to deliver on the scale of the change required is to have new leadership right at the top of the metropolitan police. what would be a decisive day on the job for cressida dick began at the bbc, and a radio phone in. responding to a grilling about her performance, she pledged her determination to carry on. i have absolutely no intention of going. 2a hours earlier, the mayor of london, sadiq khan, had issued an ultimatum. my expectation is the next time i see her i want to see what her response is. but their working relationship is over. the finale to a torrid 12 months from the met. it was almost a year ago that one of their own officers, wayne couzens, used his police

powers to kidnap sarah everard off a london street and then rape and murder her. with a killer policeman under arrest, as women gathered for a vigil in memory of sarah, these were the images which went viral. more bad headlines for the met. the reputation of the met| was much more important than the people she was meant to serve. - by not admitting that there are deep systemic issues, i they are not going to be able to solve them. _ while pressure has been building on cressida dick, a few months ago politicians gave her more time, with priti patel extending her contract. now the behaviour at number 10 has led to the partygate investigation, but even in this, the met has gathered more criticism for being flat—footed in its response. and then, in recent days, shocking messages sent by some officers at charing cross police station lifted the lid on racist and sexist attitudes which were redolent of policing

in the 1970s. in a separate scandal, two officers regarding a murder scene where two sisters had been killed also sent abusive messages. those officers ended up in prison. after five years at the helm, cressida dick will soon be leaving scotland yard for the last time. the murder of sarah everard and many other awful cases recently have, i know, damaged confidence in this fantastic police service. there is much to do, and i know that the met has turned its full attention to rebuilding trust and confidence, and to raising our standards.

these protests might have started in ottawa two weeks ago. and to canadian land borders with the united states and some of those land borders were responsible for more of 25% of trade between the countries and thatis trade between the countries and that is why you are hearing from a lot of american

politicians and canadian politicians and canadian politicians really urging for the blockades near the border areas to be opened up. we are seeing the wave of solidarity protests around the world and seeing them in france and saw them in new zealand and from the protesters point of view, that strengthens them and emboldens them higher back on and that's against vaccine mandates against the restrictions.— mandates against the restrictions. �* �*, ., , restrictions. and it's not 'ust here in canada, i restrictions. and it's not 'ust here in canada, there i restrictions. and it's notjust here in canada, there are i here in canada, there are pockets of it, but the protests are becoming much louder. well earlier i spoke to stephanie carvin, a former national security analyst, and now, associate professor at ca nada's carleton university. i asked for her thoughts on the governments handling of the protests.

it is mind—bogglingly bad. and it was extremist to turn to extremist tactics and seem to be stunned and have no response and at municipal level they have been trying to say there is no policing solution and federal involvement that will be required but at the federal level they said it was a police matter and while they will support police and additional resources they do not want to get involved and at least where i live in ontario the government has been largely absent and the first major action they took was a few hours ago when they moved to try and stop or at least freeze the money in some of the large crowdfunding campaigns but the government seems really at a loss to act and canadians are suffering. loss to act and canadians are suffering-— suffering. you talk about the crowdfunding _ suffering. you talk about the crowdfunding campaigns - suffering. you talk about the crowdfunding campaigns but| suffering. you talk about the - crowdfunding campaigns but how significant have they been to the movement which seems to be building in cities.—

building in cities. these crowdfunding _ building in cities. these crowdfunding sites - building in cities. these crowdfunding sites are l building in cities. these - crowdfunding sites are vehicles for movements and they've been associated with funding extreme movements before. but we seem to not only have the crowdfunding site to raise money. but it's become a symbol of resistance but energy. and in this sense it is what i think has become the focal points of energy, so even if the extremist movements on this convoy does not get their hands on this money, these crowdfunding platforms just simply by giving light and perpetuating the situation. find perpetuating the situation. and it's not just _ perpetuating the situation. and it's notjust canada it seems to be spreading around the world with canada and france.

and also australia and new zealand. and do you see it spreading further or are willing fizzle out.- spreading further or are willing fizzle out. there were attem ts willing fizzle out. there were attempts in _ willing fizzle out. there were attempts in canada - willing fizzle out. there were attempts in canada to - willing fizzle out. there were attempts in canada to set. willing fizzle out. there were attempts in canada to set up convoys and other city and toronto and quebec city, they knew that a convoy delegation was coming into their cities and they took a appropriate action and were able to manage it and not allow the vehicles to get entrenched and i have no doubt the parisian authorities are used to dealing with large—scale protest so i hope they are prepared in a similar way and can avoid the situation that ottawa is in but if you go on the facebook pages and you are watching the live streams, there's so much international support for the movement. let's face it, canada is normally not that interesting of a country and i think the movement is really, really bolstered by the perception that there is widespread international support for it and that that effectively they are exporting the model protest to other countries.—

the model protest to other countries. ,, , ., ,, .,~ countries. stephanie speaking to me earlier. _ here in the uk, prince charles has tested positive for covid for a second time. it's understood he met the queen just two days ago. a warning, there are flashing images in this report from our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. (tx next) nicholas witchell. the british museum in london last night, a reception for the british asian trust and the guest of honour prince charles and his duchess, the duke of, and everyone was shaking hands freely and amongst the guests that the prince shook hands with was the chancellor, rishi sunak and roughly 12 hours after the pictures were taken, charles took a routine covid cove in test and it's the second time he's caught it and he is triple vaccinated and thought to be coping well. but two days ago he was presiding at an investiture in windsor castle and while he was there he met the queen. she had just returned from sandringham where she had been seen in good spirits at the weekend, marking the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne, so inevitably, a concern.

might she have contracted covid during the meeting with the prince of wales? as with all medical and health—related matters, buckingham palace is saying the absolute minimum. all the royal sources will say is that the queen is not displaying any symptoms of covid. it can safely be assumed that the queen has been triple vaccinated, but it's not known whether she has been tested for covid or what any such tests have indicated. all the palace will say is that the situation is being monitored. the french virologist, luc montagnier, who won the nobel prize for medicine for his co—discovery of the virus that causes aids, has died at the age of 89. stephanie prentice reports. he was the man who helped tackled the fear, damage and

death spreading through the 1980s as the aids epidemic unfolded around the world, baffling scientists. the virus can be passed during sexual intercourse with an infected person. luc montagnier isolated human tissue from a neck gland in 1983 and was able to draw the link between a virus in it and aids. he battled to be recognised as the first scientist to reach this conclusion, eventually receiving a nobel prize recognition in 2008 for his work. it is a frequent statement saying that nobel prize winners are less productive after receiving the nobel prize, so i will try not to show this. he went on to develop a specialism in exploring cures for viral diseases but also became a pariah within the medical community for supporting

non—scientific theories. in 2020, this translated to a popularity with modern anti—vaccine movements as he denounced covid vaccines and claimed covid—i9 was made in a lab. despite this, tributes are pouring in with love from his work and with love from emanuel macron for his contribution to the fight against aids. an australian icon — the koala — has now been classed as endangered. the number of koalas have fallen sharply along much of the east coast due to land clearing, bush fires and disease. scientists say the population in the state of new south wales has decreased by up to 60 percent in the past 11 years. belgium's leading art museum has returned a painting that it's held for more than 70 years after it was looted by the nazis. the work belonged to a jewish couple who fled their home in frankfurt in 1938. throughout europe there are still many works of art that have yet to be returned to the descendants of their original owners. the bbc�*s tim allman reports.

ina mountain in a mountain cave, herman goering's secret treasure trove was located by american soldiers. nobody knows how much art was looted by the nazis. thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of paintings and sculptures. the original owners, dead or missing. but decades later, at least one work of art is going back to where it belongs. flowers by the german artist loveless corinth was the province of erin for meyer when they left behind before they fled to belgium then britain before the war began. but returning it to the descendants was not an easy task. it's not easy. the family doesn't have an image of the painting and i assume they know it comes from the meier family,

so both parties have to come together to make a connection. this entire exhibition is of works likely to have been stolen by the nazis and many museums and galleries have been criticised for not doing enough to return them stop.— to return them stop. these works all— to return them stop. these works all have _ to return them stop. these works all have different - works all have different stories but we have put them together because they are all linked to the war. and they all pose a problem of provenance in some way, and it was important to highlight the problem. this is not a simple exercise. ihla. is not a simple exercise. no, but the family _ is not a simple exercise. no, but the family of— is not a simple exercise. no, but the family of gustaf - is not a simple exercise. no, but the family of gustaf and emma meyer believe it is vital nonetheless. a reminder of our top story. president biden has called on all american citizens remaining in ukraine to leave the country immediately. with russia continuing its military build—up along its border with ukraine, mr biden said that he would not send troops to rescue

americans, if moscow invaded. thanks for watching. you can get more news on the bbc website. hello again. this time yesterday we were looking at some hill snow in scotland causing a few issues on some of the higher scottish roots and some strong winds gusting at 70 mph in the western isles but a cover of show left over the hills and this was courtesy of this area of cloud, the low pressure currently working across the north sea to bring some fairly windy weather to the netherlands through friday. in the atlantic, we have the next weather system waiting to come into the start of the weekend but between that and that, we get that, an area of high pressure that will be bringing some fine weather our way for friday. however, over recent hours, as the high pressure has edged in, the number of showers has

dwindled and a few left in north—western areas and with the combination of clear skies and light winds allowing a widespread frost, there could be a few icy patches around and the lowest temperatures in aberdeenshire getting down to 10 celsius and a freezing cold start to the day on friday but beautiful winter sunshine for most of you through most of the day, and some isolated showers across the north west and through the day you will see the weather turn cloudy in northern ireland. temperatures? we are looking at highs close to the seasonal average, about six in glasgow and nine for cardiff and london. there will be rain developing on friday night and into saturday the rain will affect parts of england and wales but doesn't reach the south—east of england and east anglia, where it will stay bright and breezy but there will be strong winds for many of us and for scotland and northern ireland, frequent showers and some bright spells between the showers. temperatures a little bit higher, between eight and 10 degrees making it a mild day but perhaps not feeling so given the strength of the winds. talking of winds, the next area of low pressure on sunday looks also set to bring more wet and windy weather our way.

the rain might end up further northwards but not reaching northern scotland where there will be showers around but otherwise the rain will be heavy and it will be a windy day with gales across southern parts of england and wales and through the english channel gusts of around 50 or 60 miles an hour, strong enough to bring down a few tree branches and there might be localised disruption on sunday from the system. next week looks unsettled, often wet and windy, but it does turn very mild for a time. that is your weather.

this is bbc news. the headlines: president biden�*s told us citizens to leave ukraine now. fears remain that the country's to be invaded by russia as a military buildup near the border continues. the president warned the army's one of the biggest in the world and "things could go crazy quickly". the uk's most senior police officer has handed in her resignation. cressida dick, the head of london's metropolitan police force said she'd been left with no choice after the capital's mayor made it clear he had no confidence in her leadership. in canada, protests led by truckers over coronavirus restrictions are growing. there are blocks and delays on at least three land border crossings into the us, including one of the most important trade routes over the ambassador bridge. car makers report the disruption�*s having an impact on production.

now on bbc news... it's panorama. i'm returning to a country that's survived decades of war. now, afghanistan is on the brink of an economic catastrophe. people lost their jobs, they lost their salaries. they are scared of poverty, they are scared of hunger. almost the entire population is living in poverty and more than half don't have enough to eat.

i feel terrible for my people. it's so sad to see how dependent people are and how