this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories... ukraine accuses vladimir putin of making belarus a "nuclear hostage" after the russian leader said he would station nuclear weapons there. a state of emergency in mississippi — after a powerful tornado kills at least 26 people. as soon as we would go from one vehicle to the next vehicle orfrom building to building we could hear screams and we could hear cries for help. voters in berlin are to decide whether germany's capital should be carbon neutral by 2030. people in lebanon have woken up this morning in two time zones, as the country's authorities are unable to agree

when clocks should go forward. ukrainian security officials have accused russia of depriving belarus of its sovereignty, after president putin said he would station nuclear weapons there. the secretary of the national defence council said on twitter that the move was a step towards the �*internal destabilisation�* of belarus. and he said the kremlin had taken the country as a nuclear hostage. ukraine says the deployment violates nonproliferation commitments, something mr putin has denied. translation: we have already transferred - to belarus our well—known, very effective complex iskander. it can be a delivery vehicle as well. on april 3rd, we will start

training the crews. onjuly 1st, we will finish the construction of the special repository to store the tactical nuclear weapon in belarus. our correspondent in kyiv, hugo bachega, elaborates on the reaction that's come from this move. i don't think there was any surprise here in ukraine. russia and belarus have been talking about the transfer of nuclear weapons for quite some time and i think this is part of the russian strategy here. president putin and a number of russian officials have raised the possibility of nuclear weapons being used here in ukraine since the beginning of the conflict. they know every time the �*nuclear�* word is used this is likely to spark a reaction from all players in this conflict. this is exactly what is happening. we have had reaction from washington and in kyiv here and a top adviser to president zelensky, mikhail podolyak, said that president putin was too predictable

and that all a president could do was, in his words, scare with tactics. some experts are saying this is perhaps an attempt by president putin to exploit fears in the west of a nuclear escalation but the reaction from washington was perhaps an attempt to downplay concerns that russia could be planning to use nuclear weapons here in ukraine. a top official in washington said there was no indication russia was planning to use nuclear weapons and there was no reason to change the us position when it comes to its nuclear strategy. we have heard from the us just saying they don't believe russia is preparing to use this but then we are hearing from russia, saying they will be starting to train crews to use these weapons.

this was announced, yesterday, by president putin, this storage facility, the construction of this will be completed byjuly 1. he said the issue of nuclear weapons being stationed in belarus had been raised by president lukashenko before and he said this was just another development in these discussions. obviously belarus has been a key ally of russia in this war. russian forces invaded ukraine from belarus last year, so it perhaps shows that the military cooperation between these two countries is getting stronger but it is important to say the president did not specify, president putin did not specify when those nuclear weapons, tactical nuclear weapons would be transferred to belarus. really briefly, how do you think this is going to affect the ongoing war at the moment?

i think the reaction from washington is there is no indication that russia is preparing to use any kind of nuclear weapons here, so i think if you look at the strategy the russians have been using, again western experts have been saying this could be another attempt by russia to exploit those fears in the west, especially nato countries, that have been key allies of ukraine in this war, nuclear fears that the russians could try to use nuclear weapons in this conflict, so perhaps this is another part of the russian strategy here, to exploit those fears, but i think the reaction we had from washington is an attempt to downplay those concerns. professor elena korosteleva is an expert in belarusian politics from the university of warwick. she says the international community

should start seeing belarus as a russian—occupied territory. this is very important for the future of belarus. what putin has shown is that he does not percieve belarus as a sovereign and independent country. it clearly shows that belarus is at the moment an occupied territory used by russia's military in the pursuit of putin's goals, and it also questions how much in control lukashenko is over belarus, because at the moment it seems like there is no control left at all and if anyone actually has the upper hand both in russia and belarus, it is putin.

president biden has declared a major emergency in the state of mississippi, where a tornado has left hundreds homeless. this is the moment on friday when the wind barrelled through a school in the area, captured by cctv cameras inside. and these are the latest drone pictures after the tornado struck — carving a path of destruction 170 miles long. at least 25 people were killed in mississippi and one person in alabama. dozens have been injured. 0ur north america correspondent sophie long reports from mississippi. this is rolling fork, a small, close community in mississippi. there is little left. they've lost loved ones, their homes, everything. we get storms like bad rain or, you know, probably high winds or something. but we never experience nothing like this where it can wipe out a whole town.

you know, schools, children, you know, parents, loved ones. it wiped out everything. these girls said they came back to look for their belongings. they didn't find much. this is what remains of people's homes here in rolling fork. you can see washing machines, signs of a life that took place here before the tornado struck in the middle of the night. many people were sleeping. you can imagine just how terrifying that must have been. it meant many didn't hear the alerts. oh, man. dearjesus, please help them. ran in the bathroom, closed the door and jumped in the tub. i francisco said the only warning he had was the noise of the wind, a sound that will haunt him forever. it was terrifying. and it was like - something that i never want to go through again. i never want to experience that

again in my life, but i made - it through it. but it was scary. he survived by sheltering in his bathroom, the only bit of the house that's still partially standing. there is some long term resentment here. mississippi is the poorest state in america, and some feel forgotten by leaders in the nation's capital. excuse my language. damn, you forgot about us? just because we already last in everything? you forgot about us. that's not right. that is very heart wrenching. other than we lost everything and we feel that we don't have support from the superior people also. president biden described what happened here as heartbreaking and said he and the first lady are praying for those who had lost loved ones. but people here are asking for more than prayers and emergency relief. they want long term support. sophie long, bbc news, rolling fork, mississippi. cbs news correspondent cristian benavides gave us a sense of the devastation and loss some communities have been

facing in mississippi. we are in silver city, mississippi and i want you to get a sense of the devastation around here. these are neighbourhoods and communities that have just been absolutely wiped off the map. we spoke to one man who lives right behind this debris and he said all of it lasted just about a minute, and when he stepped outside he realised his home was one of the few that were left standing. he lost his cousin in the storm, his cousin passed away. also when he stepped out of his home, he said that a neighbour of his was holding a baby that was bloodied and neighbours were scrambling to try to help that baby, that baby was taken to a hospital and sadly later on he found out that baby passed, so this neighbourhood has

lost a number of people. these are tight—knit communities. everybody knows someone who is affected. just looking where you are stood now, it looks like utter devastation. we have seen so many pictures of flattened homes and villages and towns, is support getting through? president biden said they will do everything they can to help. are they? certainly there are volunteer efforts, fema has a team on the ground, so many efforts at a state level and local level and federal level where everyone is coming together, looking at what the need will be. this is going to take time to rebuild. this is not something where people can stay in a hotel for a week and come back home. these are homes that are completely decimated, so the recovery will take quite some time and they are still assessing

what that will look like. voters in berlin are heading to the polls in a referendum on whether to make the german capital climate neutral by 2030. the results of the binding referendum will be a test of whether germans want their country's climate policy to be more ambitious. germany aims to beat europe's biggest carbon—neutral economy by 2045 but critics say the campaign's goal is unrealistic because it would not be possible to reach net zero within seven years. a little earlier i spoke to our berlin correspondent damien mcguinness who explained what led to the vote. 2.4 million people are eligible to vote in this. in order for it to pass and become law he would have to have at least

25% of eligible berlin voters to say yes. that would be more than 600,000 people. the challenge is on because this is a very divisive issue. within the centre of the city where most constituencies have green party majorities this is very popular. a lot of young people, green voters, left—wing voters have been out on the streets, thousands of activists all year have been campaigning for this issue, it is supported by the youth movements of the green party, the centre—left parties, as well as fridays for futures and other ngos so it has a lot of support, very active people pushing this issue. it also has a lot of opposition because if this went into law what would then happen in order to make berlin a climate neutral within the next seven years you would have to put forward some pretty drastic measures, including renovating all public buildings, a lot of private buildings to make them climate neutral, and putting severe limitations probably on car travel with the city and really upping the amount of public transport. all that would be expensive which is why critics say it isn't affordable but environmental

activists say this is a climate emergency so it has to be done come what may, so it is a divisive issue dividing the city and it is also controversial because if the measures do go through it could really hit the budget hard which is why a lot of people are not sure if it is the right thing, but it is certainly getting a lot of support among activists here. you talk about that divisive issue and we have heard a lot about the cost implications surrounding this but what about the logistical implications, what is this going to mean for people living in the city, will everyone have to have an electric car, will we see big changes? i think if it went through what would then happen is this target, berlin climate neutral by 2030 would become law, but what the government then has to do is up to the government, so the actual concrete measures are not yet clear but it does mean a 95% reduction in co2 emissions compared to 1990 levels, and incredibly tough thing

to do in seven years. activists say even if that wasn't managed at least it would be in the right direction. if the government didn't manage to push forward some of the measures needed they could then be taken to court by activists which would probably happen, and in terms of concrete measures, it probably would mean some sort of restrictions about car travel with traditional cars, within berlin, but crucially more investment in public transport. a lot of money involved but also an identity issue about how people want their city to look in the future. incredibly controversial but also something around the country and around europe people are looking at because if berlin puts in this target other people may well follow. whether it is unrealistic or not is a matter of debate here. at least 19 people are reported to have died after a migrant boat heading for italy sank off the coast of tunisia. five other boats have gone down in the region in the last

three days amid an unprecedented series of departures. authorities in the italian island of lampedusa say they are overwhelmed with thousands of arrivals after dozens of vessels completed the crossing. we will hear in the uk the british government is preparing to announce the use of ferries to accommodate migrants who have crossed the channel on small boats. the announcement could come as soon as this week. let's hear from our political correspondent helen catt. at the moment a large number of people who cross the channel are being put up in hotels. the bbc understands the number is around more than 51,000, across 395 hotels. and the government has signalled that it wants to move away from that and it's been looking for alternatives. so we understand that what is going to be announced are two military sites in england will be used to to house migrants with the first moving in within weeks. they'll have a capacity, sources say, of between 1500 to 2000. the expectation is that that will be largely for new arrivals in the first instance.

they also expected to announce the use of, as you mentioned, ferries and what's being described as other temporary floating accommodation. there have been negotiations with ports, but we might not know exactly where those will be for the next few weeks. and the idea behind this policy, according to some of those who've drawn it up, is a big shift from hotels to a move to what they're describing as more rudimentary accommodation in the hopes, they say, that it will act as a deterrent. let's bring you some breaking news. the us vice president kamala harris has just arrived at the international airport in ghana, the first stop of a three nation tour of africa. we can just see the plane has landed and we are waiting for her to come down the steps. this is part of a diplomatic push by the biden administration to deepen its

ties with the continent amid competition from russia and china. the vice president as i mentioned, we'rejust seeing live the vice president as i mentioned, we're just seeing live pictures there, we are expecting her to from that aircraft in the next few minutes. this is the first stop of a three nation tour of africa. she will visit ghana, zambia and tanzania to discuss trade, security and the promotion of democracy. we have heard from miss harris in the past and she said the us wanted to invest in the future of the continent, which has what she describes as a young and rapidly growing population, and immense natural resources. what we understand the white house is seeking to do is to reassert leadership in africa, where many nations have accepted investment from china, russia has also been expanding its military influence but as we are seeing they are, live

pictures, we are expecting the us vice president kamala harris to leave that aircraft soon and we will bring you that as soon as we get it here on bbc news. it is time for a look at the sport. here is betty glover. northern ireland take on finland in windsor park. it is michael 0'neill because my first game since returning to the post. england are back at wembley to host ukraine in their second qualifying game following their win over italy on thursday. we were going to go to our sports correspondent nestor mcgregor. he is there for us, he is not there for us, we will go to him in the second but first there is a huge game happening right now in the women's super league as manchester city take on chelsea. a win for the hosts would see them leapfrog emma hayes pulp�* side putting them above

chelsea for the first time this season. city lead by 2—0. philip angle dealt with a brilliant strike to open the scoring. before lauren hemp added a second on the happen hour mark. let�*s go back to our sports correspondent nestor mcgregor there he was at wembley step good afternoon, how are you doing? i am afternoon, how are you doing? i am ve well, afternoon, how are you doing? i am very well. i— afternoon, how are you doing? i am very well. i don't — afternoon, how are you doing? i am very well, i don't know _ afternoon, how are you doing? i am very well, i don't know if _ afternoon, how are you doing? i—h very well, i don't know if the very well, i don�*t know if the weather is playing havoc with my equipment but i can hear you loud and clear now. it is worth saying in and clear now. it is worth saying in a couple of minutes, or five o�*clock even, england will be playing ukraine behind me and well resided has been a glorious week for england because they beat italy 2—1 in the week. harry kane scored the winning goal from the penalty spot and in doing so he is now on 54 international goals, surpassing wayne rooney as england�*s all—time leading male goal—scorer. before kick off today harry kane will be

presented with a special golden boot to mark the occasion. knowing harry kane he will want some more goals to add to that tally as well. as for today�*s opponents ukraine it should be an even more significant game because of what is happening in the country since the russian invasion. millions of ukrainians were displaced, some in the uk, and i have been invited especially by the fa to this match. there will be emotional scenes from many reasons. another one of the home nations also in action today, northern ireland by at windsor park in belfast, kick off for that is at 7:45pm. we are expecting that to be emotional as well because it is michael 0�*neill�*s second time in charge of northern ireland. he says he will try and put his emotions to the side that may be very difficult with a sell—out crowd. they beat san marino 2—0 in midweek. they play in tonight which would be a much tougher and sterner

test. two of the home nations in action today. england manager gareth southgate is expected to make a few changes today, players like phil foden should be getting some much time but he will be without luke shaw, who got red carded against italy, and reece james who has left the camp through injury. a busy day of football. let�*s hope the weather here clears up. of football. let's hope the weather here clears urn-— here clears up. thank you. from a very windy — here clears up. thank you. from a very windy wembley. _ here clears up. thank you. from a very windy wembley. you - here clears up. thank you. from a very windy wembley. you can - here clears up. thank you. from a. very windy wembley. you can catch here clears up. thank you. from a - very windy wembley. you can catch up on all those stories on the bbc sport website but that is all the sports. donald trump has opened his campaign to win back the us presidency by rallying against the dark forces he says are lined up against him. at a rally in the us state of texas he claimed the multiple legal investigations into his conduct and finances were straight out of us, list russia

horror show. dressed for the occasion, die—hard donald trump fans turned out in their thousands for this airfield rally in the texan city of waco. the legal threats hanging over the former president at the forefront of some of their minds. if trump got arrested for the charges they�*re talking about now, i would vote for him ten times over, because if he was a democrat, it would never come up. donald trump is for america and he fights for americans. the far left doesn't like that, and so that's why they keep attacking him. it was his first public appearance since speculating a week ago that he would soon be arrested. new york prosecutors are investigating alleged hush money payments made on donald trump�*s behalf to former adult film star stormy daniels. addressing the crowd, he claimed it�*s been orchestrated by president biden.

the district attorney of new york, under the auspices and direction of the department of injustice in washington, dc, was investigating me for something that is not a crime, not a misdemeanor, not an affair. donald trump went on to cast the 2024 presidential vote in apocalyptic terms, using language that some analysts warned could be dangerous. and if you look at what president trump said tonight, things like if we don�*t win in 2024, we won�*t have a country. it�*ll be over, world war three, take our country back. these are things that he knows are whistles to this crowd, and he�*s trying to rile them up, which is unfortunate because we saw in january 6th that that riling this base up caused violence and death. donald trump insists he still has a bright political future ahead of him, but he�*ll need

to overcome some pretty big legal and electoral challenges in order to achieve it. shelly phelps, bbc news. just to bring you some breaking news, we have reporting today at least 19 people had died after a migrant boat heading into italy had sunk. that number has now risen to at least 29 people, reported to have died after a migrant boat heading for italy sank off the coast of tunisia. that is according to the tunisian coast guard. five other bills have gone down in the region in the last three days after what is being described as an unprecedented series of departures. just that breaking news that at least 29 people now reported to have died there. millions around the world have been switching off their lights to mark earth hour. it is notjust

houses. monument including the coliseum in rome and in athens turned off the lights at eight o�*clock local time to mark the event. hello there. it�*s been a rather wet start to the day for england and wales but, gradually, that rain has been clearing away to the south—east, and leaving quite a few puddles around this morning. that�*s the scene in kent at the moment. but it will get drier as the day goes on. that rain finally clears away from kent and east sussex this afternoon. one or two bright spells developing, but some wintry showers affecting the far north—east of scotland, some snow over the higher ground here. colder air spreading in, so temperatures, 3 or 4 celsius in northern areas. it will feel colder than that in the exposed wind. further south, stilljust about in double figures. but of course, we�*re now in british summertime, clocks have gone forward. just a reminder that sunset today is roughly about 7:30 this evening. now, as we go through into tonight, we�*re going to see those

showers clearing away. there�*ll be some clear skies. one or two mist and fog patches forming into the early hours of monday, but with those clear skies and the colder air moving southwards, we�*re going to see a frost quite widely across northern and north—eastern areas. temperatures down to —1, —2 degrees celsius. perhaps only 3 or 4 degrees further south and west. but during monday, high pressure is in charge of the weather and that keeps things relatively settled. so it�*s going to be a drier day. we�*ll keep these weather systems just at bay for the time being. one or two mist and fog patches, then, first thing in the morning. those will clear away fairly quickly, and then we�*re looking at lots of blue skies and sunshine throughout the day. one or two showers, perhaps, in the far south—west of england, south wales later on. and again, it will still feel quite chilly. temperatures about 8,10 or 11 degrees celsius. but hopefully, some sunshine will at least compensate that. but through into tuesday, we�*re going to see this area of high pressure move away. a big area of low pressure then in the atlantic will throw some

systems into the uk. now, as that wet weather hits the colder air across scotland, there could be a bit of transient snow over the higher ground. pretty wet conditions developing quite widely around the west. i think towards the eastern and south—eastern areas, it�*ll stay largely dry until later in the day. a blustery wind developing, but temperatures will start to creep up to about 11 or 12 degrees, although still a little bit chilly across the far east. now, for the rest of the week, it remains pretty unsettled, although you notice those temperatures will continue to climb. so by thursday, we could see temperatures rising to about 16, 17, maybe even 18 degrees celsius. so just a temporary blip of cold weather, before it turns milder again. goodbye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: security officials in ukraine have accused russia of depriving belarus of its sovereignty. it comes after russia�*s president, vladimir putin, announced that his country would station nuclear weapons there. president biden has ordered that federal aid be sent to mississippi, as emergency services work to help hundreds of people who�*ve been left homeless by a tornado. at least 25 people have died in mississippi, with one person killed in alabama. voters in berlin are to decide whether germany�*s capital should be