welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. our top stories: a toast for queen elizabeth after she tells leaders of 53 nations it's her sincere wish that prince charles succeeds her as head of the commonwealth. the former director of the fbi, james comey, has told the bbc that he doesn't believe there is anyone around donald trump who can contain him. president miguel diaz—canel promises to continue communist rule in cuba as the castro dynasty finally draws to a close. drowning in plastic, how the world's waterways are being clogged by bags and bottles which will never disintegrate. i'm in indonesia, where there's so much plastic waste choking the rivers that the army has been called in to help. m7 7777”

commonwealth leaders at a banquet at buckingham palace tonight must decide who will be the next head of the commonwealth. the title is not hereditary, but it is clear that the commonwealth's choice is prince charles. in the palace ballroom this morning, the 53 commonwealth leaders prepared the way. # god save our gracious queen #

they know that this will almost certainly be the last commonwealth conference over which the queen will preside in person. change is coming, and prince charles reminded the commonwealth of his long—standing involvement in their affairs. for my part, the commonwealth has been a fundamental feature of my life for as long as i can remember. i pray that this commonwealth heads of government meeting will not only revitalise the bonds between our countries, but will also give the commonwealth a renewed relevance to all its citizens. from britain's prime minister theresa may, a reminder of the incredible opportunities offered by the commonwealth, important, of course, in the post—brexit world. but then to the topic that bound them all emotionally today, a tribute to the queen. you have seen us through some of our most serious challenges and we commit to sustaining this commonwealth, which you have so carefully nurtured.

and then it was the turn of the queen to speak. she had committed her life to the commonwealth at the age of 21. now, 71 years later, it was apparent that she was keen to prepare the ground for the leadership of the commonwealth after her death. it is my sincere wish that the commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations and will decide that one day the prince of wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949. by continuing to treasure and reinvigorate our associations and activities, i believe we will secure a safer, more prosperous and sustainable world for those who follow us. the commonwealth has big issues for discussion. preserving the oceans, democracy, trade, gay rights,

but the significance of today was that for the first time publicly, through the medium of the commonwealth, elizabeth ii looked ahead to the time after her reign is over. the south african president, cyril ramaphosa, is cutting short his visit to the commonwealth summit in britain to deal with violent protests back home. mr ramaphosa has used the visit, his first such summit since taking over from jacob zuma in february, to try to encourage more investment in south africa. but the clashes have worsened over two days in north west province. protestors are demanding jobs and housing as well as an end to corruption. mr ramaphosa has called for calm and ordered police to exercise restraint. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: the disgraced cyclist lance armstrong is reported to have settled a federal fraud case over his use of performance—enhancing drugs at the tour de france. he was due to face a trial next month over claims that he defrauded the us government when he doped

while racing for his united states postal service—sponsored team. there'll be no criminal charges against anyone over the death of the musician, prince. the singer died two years ago from an opioid overdose at his paisley park complex near minneapolis. the official cause of death was a self—administered overdose of the painkiller fentanyl, but no prescriptions were found. work is underway in salisbury to put up hoardings around the areas contaminated by the nerve agent attack last month on the former russian spy, sergei skripal, and his daughter, yulia. work to fully decontaminate several sites in and around the city is expected to start in the next few days but they've warned that the process could take up to eight weeks. miguel diaz—canel has been sworn in as cuba's president. it's the first time since 1959 that a castro is not at the helm

of the government. today, the new leader vowed to defend the legacy of his predecessors, and said raul castro would be involved in major decisions. from havana, will grant reports this was the image they wanted to project. castro and his chosen disciple passing the socialist torch in an ordered and disciplined display. the new president was confirmed by a near—unanimous vote by the parliament and now must try to replace the two men who first turned cuba to communism. viva! cuba! but unlike them, he has a civilian past, wears a suit rather than green fatigues and was quick to remind people of his commitment to the cause. translation: i will be faithful to the exemplary legacy of the commander—in—chief, fidel castro, historic leader of our revolution and faithful to the example, courage, and teachings of army

general raul castro, current leader of the revolutionary process. cuba will not change its course politically, that much is clear. and as raul castro reiterated in his last speech as leader, the decades—long conflict with washington is far from over. translation: since the current us president came to power, there's been a deliberate setback in relations between cuba and the united states, and an aggressive and threatening tone in their statements. it is one thing to take over from the castros, it's something quite different to step up from under their shadow. in time, president diaz—canel must show he is his own man in cuba and demonstrate to the cuban people

that he has his own plan to deal with the ailing economy. the new president said he would soon announce that he would bring in a new council ministers, which some saw as a sign of intent. raul will say time and again it is his decision. of course, there are decisions which he will consult with raul castro, but raul castro does not like to be consulted very much. he believes in people doing theirjob. and miguel diaz—canel knows that. this handover has been long and drawn out. replacing one staunch revolutionary for another might not seem like much, but the end of raul castro's presidency is a majpr shift for many cubans, who now simply want to see the pace of change pick up. will grant, bbc news, havana. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: now almost two weeks since the reports of chlorine gas first emerged in syria but international inspectors have still not been able

to visit the area. as bill heydon reports, the regime appears increasingly confident of victory against rebels on the ground. this is the syrian government's view of the civil war, another town returning to its control. a few hours before this flag was raised, around 5000 rebel fighters and theirfamilies had been evacuated from a former enclave of douma, north—east of damascus. 0ther rebel—held enclaves are coming under renewed attack. this area, south of the capital, is still held by the islamic state group. but for how much longer? speaking from saudi arabia, the internationally recognised opposition says the fighting must be replaced by talking. translation: the regime pushes on with a military solution and continues with his military strategy without any seriousness as regards to negotiations or arriving

at a political settlement. meanwhile, efforts to uncover the truth about the alleged use of chemical weapons by the syrian government have stalled. international inspectors are holed up in a luxury hotel in damascus waiting to visit the site. the united states say they are being delayed for a reason. we believe that it's an effort to conduct their own staged investigations. russian officials have worked with the syrian regime, we believe, to sanitise the locations of the suspected attacks and remove incriminating evidence of chemical weapons use. the syrian government appears increasingly confident of riding out the controversy, broadcasting these new pictures of attacks on islamist rebels overnight. the message seems clear, for the time being, it prefers fighting to talking. bill hayton, bbc news. the new name in swaziland means

place of the swazi. it kept its colonial name when it gained independence in 1968. the decision was made by the king, one of the world's few absolute monarchs. he says the decision in part is to avoid foreigners confusing it with switzerland. commemorations have taken place in poland to mark the 75th anniversary of the warsaw ghetto uprising. thousands ofjewish people were killed in the uprising against german occupation in 1943. the german president —— polish president paid tribute to those who died but against rest his country was in no way responsible for the holocaust. tim allman reports. a

moment to pay tribute to all those who fought against the nazis. translation: today all of us are bowing our heads low to the heroism of the warsaw insurgents, to the courage, the determination and to their bravery. the warsaw uprising was the first of its kind in nazi occupied europe. hundreds of young men and women fought for weeks, the largest a ct men and women fought for weeks, the largest act of armed resistance by jews during the war. the exact death toll remains unknown but it's assumed thousands lost their lives. most of those that survived were shipped out to concentration camps. the ghetto itself was then demolished block by block. we need each other today like never before. jews, catholics, polls, americans, all free people, we must stand

together now to make sure that our children and grandchildren never know the true horrors that took place right here. the day's are ended with a concert featuring the works of beethoven. a similar event had been planned byjewish musicians during the war but it never took place —— the days events. another legacy of the warsaw uprising. —— the day's events. tim allman, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: british designer stella mccartney tells the fashion industry it needs to clean up its act. the stars and stripes at half—mast outside columbine high, the school sealed off and the bodies of the dead still inside. i never thought that they would actually go through with it.

some places and have already had nearly as much rain as they would normally expect in an entire year. for millions of americans, the death of richard nixon in a new york hospital has meant conflicting emotions. a national day of mourning next wednesday sitting somehow uneasily with the abiding memories of the shame of watergate. and lift—off of the space shuttle discovery with the hubble space telescope, our window on the universe. this is bbc news. the latest headlines:

the queen welcomes commonwealth heads of government to buckingham palace — as she looks to the future of the organisation — after her reign. former fbi director, james comey tells the bbc he'd think twice about sharing sensitive information with president trump. more now on that story. it's likely to be the last time the queen will preside over the gathering of commonwealth heads of state. one of the topics for discussion is who will take over as head of the commonwealth. in an unprecedented move, the queen's said she hopes it will be her son, prince charles. michael cooney is the national director of the australian republic movement. i began by asking him how relevant this meeting is. the commonwealth does good things. it brings friendly nations together. it brings friendly nations together. it means the canadian australian

prime ministers are meeting with pacific and african countries. it's quite a step for her to endorse charles at the end of the rain. for australia, would got to do the same thing here. the truth is, the commonwealth nations will have a democratic decision about who succeeds as the head of state, as the head of the commonwealth. how did charles's recent trip go down? you would have to say it is good in parts. he is received as a long—standing friend of australia. the australian people spend quite a bit of money to ensure the comfort

of the visiting couple and they looked very uninterested during the commonwealth games opening ceremony when the truth is, they had onejob, which was to look interested. at the same time, the prince will continue to bea same time, the prince will continue to be a friend of australia if we area to be a friend of australia if we are a republic. they were certainly received as friends. what would you say about self—determination? how strong is the feeling? most recent published surveys suggest that the majority of australians think we should have an australian as the head of state and support for the monarchy falls every year. there are lots of australians who are undecided. there is a growing majority in this is especially true among australians under 35 and under 50 and especially true for australians whose national origin is from all around the world. earth day will be marked on sunday, and this year,

the annual event will be dedicated to cleaning up plastic pollution. it's an issue gripping countries around the world, and now, there are growing efforts to do something about it. so just how bad is this problem? 0ur science editor, david shukman travelled to indonesia to find out. soldiers hack away at a dense mass of plastic waste. it's hard to believe, but this is actually a river, and they're trying to clear it up. this is bandung, one of many indonesian cities choking on so much waste that the army has been called in. for the military, plastic is a new and strange kind of enemy. this looks like a rubbish dump, it certainly smells like one, but what's striking is that this massive accumulation of plastic is happening on indonesia's rivers despite the country making a huge effort for several

years now to tackle it. itjust shows you the staggering scale of the problem. all the time that the soldiers are at work, the flow of the river brings yet more more plastic waste. it's a constant struggle for the officials in charge. do you think you are winning this battle against the plastic? i think so. yeah, we have to win. if not it is dangerous for our lives. but, how long will it take you? i'm sure within ten years. within ten years you could clear everything up? yes. while we are filming the soldiers realise they don't have enough trucks to carry away the waste, so they use a diggerjust to push it downstream. it's not exactly a long—term solution, and the plastic floats away to become someone else's problem. and part of that problem is that this landfill site

is the only one bandung has. this is illegal but authorities turn a blind eye because it reduces the mountain of waste. campaigners say eve ryo ne mountain of waste. campaigners say everyone must take responsibility. when need to solve the problem and at the same time, we need to convince people we are doing something about this, we are not just staying still but we are solving the problem also. and part of that problem is that this landfill site is the only one that is located in bandung. it selects just a fraction of the waste generated by the people in the city. a new low is dumped. flies swarm in the tropical heat. people rush to be

first to search the rubbish. someone died here recently. ironically, the very things that most people want to get rid of. a plastic bottle. 500 people make a living on the dump including this woman and her children. i ask her how. the poll are looking for plastic, she says. it can be sold. the other rubbish has no value. toiling in a foul conditions does bring in some cash. plastic by the sack load is sold to companies that use it to make new products. the challenge is getting eve ryo ne products. the challenge is getting everyone to see that there is value in plastic. little by little, the message is spreading that recycling can work. in a village outside the

city, this scheme is tiny but it's of many. and it's separating it gets a higher price. experts say culture of just throwing things a higher price. experts say culture ofjust throwing things away is now changing. particularly the young people here are aware that they don't want to be part of this problem and they want to have a future that is the least free of plastic. they are working hard for that. but a view from the air reveals just how massive the challenges. plastic dump close to the river soon find its way into the water and then downstream. near the coast, we came across this canal on the edge of the capital, jakarta. 0nce the edge of the capital, jakarta. once again, you can hardly see the water. there is so much plastic. and down the coast, a fishing village

looks like it's drowning in plastic. it's depressing evidence of how much still needs to be done to clear up. what begins as a local problem of failing to handle waste turns into a global one is the oceans filled with plastic. the fashion industry is recognised as one of the biggest polluters in the world. over the past 15 years the rise of ‘throwaway fast fashion‘ has seen clothing production double. and it's estimated that the contents of one rubbish truck per second goes to landfill or is incinerated due to textile production. the v&a in london is looking at the relationship between fashion and the natural world. she spoke to our arts editor will gompertz. this is a fashion show with a twist. it's not simply celebrating the designers who have drawn inspiration from nature over the past 400 years, it is also exploring the abusive side of the relationship. the negative impact this voracious

global industry has had on the environment is a hot topic for activists and brands. so, stella, the fashion industry and the environment, how big an issue? erm, sadly, a bigger issue than i think anyone really realises. it is the second most harmful industry to the environment currently on the planet. so, it's, you know, it has a massive impact. and i guess when you start to ask that question, it does make perfect sense, if you think about how much fashion there is — whether it be luxury or fast. you know, it's sort of swamping the planet. we've been relying on an industry that is essentially mediaeval. you know, and it's a really amazing moment that we're living in as humans, for change. yeah, yeah. 0n everything. 0n energy, an architecture, you know. this is a moment to really look to the future, for our children. what about something really simple — fewer seasons, less shows? so, as opposed to having

four seasonal shows, why not two? i always ask myself that. it's great. i'm like, who is telling me that i have to make so much stuff? surely we don't need to make this much stuff? there is also merit to... you know, there's also, you know, this is an industry and people are working in it and people are paying their wages from it. the thing is looking at the waste. you know, that's the conversation. there's 500 billions worth of waste in the fashion industry every year, and that is ridiculous. you are being successful because you're marrying art and science together. yeah. two subjects which we tend to think of as separate. you know, in fashion, we only use about ten materials. i'm trying to challenge that. i'm trying to look at technology, i'm trying to grow silk in a lab, i'm trying to use dyeing in a whole new way, and i'm trying to... you know, i don't think that you can tell the difference. you have to think in a kind of sexy way. i think it's sexy. i don't think that... bou know, it's science, but it's sexy science. and that wedding dress, are you designing it?

hello again. yesterday proved to be a real scorcher. temperatures got up to 29.1 celsius in london's stjames's park, making it the warmest april day for nearly 70 years. you have to go all the way back to 1949 to find a warmer april day. and for many of us, we had clear blue sunny skies like this pretty much all day. for the early risers this morning, some mist and fog patches to watch out for, particularly western wales and running through the bristol channel as well. there will be some changes in our weather today because the area of high pressure is still there that it's drifting a little bit further eastwards. the warmest air still across east anglia and south—east england but otherwise the air is increasingly blowing in off the atlantic and that will bring some cooler conditions to the uk. now, weatherwise, the early morning mist and fog patches should clear out of the way widely and most areas

should see lots of sunshine again. there will, though, be a few showers for western scotland but most of these will be across the western highlands and really for the northern half of the uk, temperatures a few degrees down. still feeling pleasant if you're out and about in the sunshine but the warmest air more limited to east anglia and south—east england. highs of 27 in london but i wouldn't mind betting that somewhere like in gravesend, it could even get warmer than that, 28 or maybe even a 29. friday night, we do it all again. clearing skies, a few mist and fog patches forming but but it will be a cooler night across scotland, northern ireland and northern england, quite chilly here indeed by the end of the night, with temperatures around 4 or 6 degrees. still in double figures, though, further south. the weekend, we will see some further changes in our weather. the temperatures will continue to ease back. there will still be some warm sunshine around but increasingly, we will see some thundery downpours breaking out and becom quite windy as well as the weekend goes by, particularly in the north—west. the changes are all brought out by this area of low pressure. a cold front will be

bringing that cooler air in. but ahead of the front, we are going to be seeing some thundery showers. now, on saturday, we start the day on a fine note, plenty of sunshine out and about. we will start to see some showers moving up from the south. now, initially, the rain might not be too heavy but it will come down in big drops. later in the day, as those showers become more extensive across the midlands, western england and wales, the showers will be heavy and thundery as well, temperatures reaching a peak of around 23 so you will notice that drop in temperatures and that trend will continue. through saturday evening and overnight, the showers and thunderstorms become quite extensive, our cold front swings its way eastwards across the country, introducing much cooler and fresher air so by sunday, temperatures at best into the low 20s. that's your weather. this is bbc news, the headlines: queen elizabeth has told commonwealth leaders that she hopes they will choose prince charles to succeed her as head of the organisation. the leaders have been attending a state banquet at buckingham palace at the end of the first official day of the commonwealth heads of government meeting. 0usted fbi directorjames comey is continuing to speak out against his former boss.

mr comey was speaking to the bbc‘s newsnight programme. he said he'd think twice about sharing sensitive information with president trump if he still had his job. president trump has labelled him a liar. miguel diaz—canel has been sworn in as cuba's new president. it's the first time since 1959 that a castro is not heading the government. he's vowed to defend the legacy of his predecessors. the us state department said it was disappointed cuba's government was maintaining its repressive monopoly on power. now on bbc news, hardtalk.