married for t5 years. labour has said there are "serious questions to answer" after it emerged the health secretary, matt hancock, has shares in a potential supplier for nhs trusts in england. there are appeals for calm in chicago, as footage emerges of a 13—year—old boy being shot dead by police. doctors in india are calling it a tsunami — 200,000 covid cases have been recorded in 2a hours and there are fears about a dangerous new variant. and whiter than white — scientists develop a paint that reflects so much sunlight it will help drive down carbon emissions.

good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. final preparations are being made for the duke of edinburgh's funeral, which will take place tomorrow at st george's chapel in windsor. the archbishop of canterbury, who will give the blessing at the service, said he hoped the whole nation would reflect on a profound day for the royal family. much of the ceremony has been carefully planned by the duke, to reflect his life and interests. the head of britain's armed forces, general sir nick carter, will walk alongside the funeral procession, and said the details of the event had the prince's "fingerprints all over it". 0ur correspondent sarah campbell sent this report from windsor. behind the castle walls, final rehearsals are under way. across windsor, extra police and wardens are on patrol, as the town prepares for the funeral

of one of its best—known residents. more than 700 service personnel have spent the last few days rehearsing precise movements, in tribute to the duke, who was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery and enterprise during the second world war. tomorrow afternoon, the duke's coffin will be borne through the grounds of windsor castle on this, a land rover hearse which the duke helped to design. its dark green colour, that of military vehicles. following the land rover on foot will be members of the royal family. in the front, the princess royal and the prince of wales. behind them, the earl of wessex and the duke of york, and then princes harry and william. in an already much commented upon formation, rather than walking side by side, the brothers will be separated, with the princess royal's son peter phillips walking between them. as here in 2002, at the funeral of queen elizabeth, the queen mother, military uniforms

would usually be worn by members of the family entitled to do so. but tomorrow, all the royals will be in civilian dress. it is a neat way of avoiding controversy, which had been building around prince harry and prince andrew, with both having stepped back from royal duties and harry no longer entitled to wear a military uniform. inside the chapel, the service will be attended byjust 30 people, in line with the coronavirus restrictions. all the duke's children and grandchildren will be present, along with three of his german relatives. all, including the queen, will wear masks. the blessing will be given by the archbishop of canterbury. she's the queen. she will behave with the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage that she always does. and, at the same time, she is saying farewell to someone to whom she was married for 73 years. it will be a difficult day for the queen and her family.

prince charles, yesterday visibly moved, has talked about how grateful they all are for the many tributes which have been paid to his father. prince philip was known around the world. but, in windsor, there is a heightened sense of loss. he was the ranger in the great park for many years, and a dog walk would often include a brush with royalty. very, very regularly, you would see him out on his carriage. he would always acknowledge you, he would always say hello to the group of us as we were walking. you could see a real twinkle in his eye. he was definitely a real character. it will be very strange, because we have only ever known prince philip in my life, he's always been here. seeing him racing down here on his carriage one day, i've got a lovely picture. the message remains for the public to watch and listen to the funeral from home, due to the pandemic, helping to facilitate the duke's desire for a simple, no fuss funeral.

well, we can speak now to our correspondent helena wilkinson who's in windsor for us this afternoon. what is happening there this afternoon? figs what is happening there this afternoon?— what is happening there this afternoon? a ., , . afternoon? as you would expect the da before afternoon? as you would expect the day before the _ afternoon? as you would expect the day before the duke _ afternoon? as you would expect the day before the duke of _ afternoon? as you would expect the day before the duke of edinburgh'sl day before the duke of edinburgh's funeral, it has been pretty busy here in winter all day. the funeral itself will take place just behind the castle walls behind us here in st george's chapel, but throughout the day we have seen at lorries, trucks going in and out of the castle. do not forget, the funeral yes it will be an intimate, family funeral, however it is going to be televised and of course that requires a huge amount of equipment. so there has been a lot of setting up so there has been a lot of setting up of the equipment behind the castle walls. we have also seen military personnel going into the castle in buses. the reason for that is there is a full rehearsal taking place here at windsor castle to make

sure that everything is practised to perfection, something the duke of edinburgh would no doubt of course have wanted and expected. we also saw in the last hour some wreaths of flowers. a lot of last—minute preparations to make sure everything runs smoothly. there marshal is all around here directing people, there are sometimes are members of the public who are coming up to the gates just a public who are coming up to the gatesjust a bit public who are coming up to the gates just a bit down from the castle, so the marshals are helping to make sure that everything is running smoothly. if you peek through the gates of the castle, earlier we saw gardeners mowing the lawn, making sure again that everything is perfect for tomorrow for the duke of edinburgh's funeral, which is at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon. and as we know, there will be a short procession before that with the land rover that the duke of edinburgh helped adapt, design. that will carry the duke's coffin into the chapel for the

service tomorrow afternoon which is expected to last for around 50 minutes. �* , ~ ., minutes. and when the duke died a week aao, minutes. and when the duke died a week ago. there — minutes. and when the duke died a week ago, there were _ minutes. and when the duke died a week ago, there were pleas - minutes. and when the duke died a week ago, there were pleas from i minutes. and when the duke died a | week ago, there were pleas from the palace for the public not to congregate, to make donations to charity rather than lay flowers, but none the less windsor it became pretty busy on friday and saturday. we wait to see of course whether the public heeds that request tomorrow. you are absolutely right. i was here on friday, you are here on saturday, and there were quite a number of people coming here and actually leaving flowers outside the gates. what happened next was members of the public you did want to come, did want to reflect, did want to leave flowers, they were then directed just a bit of a way down from where we are on the long walk, leaving flowers at there. those flowers have now been moved into the castle grounds, but yes, the strong message remains that members of the public should not come here to windsor

castle, simply because they will not see anything at all. the funeral and the procession itself are going to take place behind the castle walls and people are being told there will be nothing for them to see if they come here. so yes, it will be interesting to see if that advice is heeded. just looking down from the castle where we are, there are barriers up now which were not here on a friday of last week. there is a small group of people, i would say around 20, who have gathered to look onto the castle itself. but yes, because it will be televised, people can hear it on the radio as well, the advice very much remains do not come here, you will not be able to see anything. instead watch it on television or radio. for see anything. instead watch it on television or radio.— see anything. instead watch it on television or radio. for now, thank ou, in television or radio. for now, thank you, in windsor. _ the government has defended the health secretary, matt hancock, after it emerged that he owns shares in a company, along with his sister, which has been approved as a potential supplier for nhs

trusts in england. a spokesman said mr hancock had acted entirely properly. 0ur correspondent nick eardley gave us this update from westminster. all week we have seen a stream of stories about the relationship between people in government and the private sector. this one is slightly different. it is not about lobbying, but it is about claims of a potential conflict of interest. earlier this week we found out that matt hancock had a 15% shareholding in a company owned by his sister. now, that company has had nhs contracts in wales. they are not in any way connected to matt hancock, he is the nhs health secretary for england. the welsh one is run by the welsh government. but it has emerged that a couple of years ago, this company was given the status which would allow it to bid for contracts for the nhs in england and the question that is being asked by labour is why the potential conflict, matt hancock's sister

owning that company, was not made public at the time. they also questioned whether he broke the rules that ministers have to follow which says that any potential conflicts involving close family members should be registered. now, as you say, the government says this was all above board and matt hancock followed all the rules and actually he would not have been involved in any awarding of these contracts anyway, but it is another example i think of how this issue is under the spotlight, of the way that private companies and the government interact. we now have eight probes into this issue overall. the latest was announced this afternoon by the spending watchdog the national audit office, which is looking into the contracts given to greensill capital to provide loans during the covid crisis, so what started with a story about david cameron lobbying ministers on behalf of his employer has become a much bigger story now about the norms and rules that

govern how government and private companies interact. in the us, the mayor of chicago has appealed for calm after the release of footage showing a 13—year—old boy being shot dead by a policeman last month. the video shows adam toledo with his hands up and unarmed, although a weapon was recovered nearby. the teenager's death comes at a time of increased tension in the us about police killings, as mark lobel reports. police, stop! a chicago police officer chases 13—year—old adam toledo down a dark alley before shooting him once in the chest. shots fired, shots fired, get an ambulance up here now. the boy's actions at that moment have become a source of contention. initially, it was claimed he was holding a gun. but bodycam footage appears to show no weapon is visible as he raises his hands.

those videos speak for themselves. adam, during his last second of life, did not have a gun in his hand. the officer screamed at him, "show me your hands," adam complied, turned around, his hands were empty when he was shot in the chest at the hands of the officer. after the shooting, the policeman calls for an ambulance while urging adam to stay awake. cpr is performed — but it's too late. say his name! daunte wright! tensions are already high due to the fatal police shooting of daunte wright in a minneapolis suburb. add to that the ongoing trial in minneapolis of derek chauvin,

the police officer accused of killing george floyd, who on thursday was asked in court if he wants to take the stand. i will invoke my fifth amendment privilege today. the decision whether or not to testify... let me take this off. ..is entirely yours. is this your decision not to testify? it is, your honour. all right. following the release of these videos, shops were boarded up in chicago, leaving america with even more uncomfortable questions to answer. can the sons and daughters of slave catchers police the sons and daughters of slaves? and that's part of the problem. where you see the police, in their dna, there is the american history of white supremacy. chicago's mayor condemned what she called her city's legacy of police violence and misconduct, leaving its residents, especially those who are black

and brown, as she put it, in a constant state of fearand pain. mark lobel, bbc news. eight people have been killed and many injured in a shooting in the us city of indianapolis. witnesses reported seeing a man firing an automatic weapons at a fedex warehouse. 0ur correspondent gary 0'donoghue gave us this update. it happened late last night in indianapolis, at a fedex warehouse, as you say, just close to the airport in indianapolis. police were called at around 11pm to an active shooter incident. it seems when they got there it was pretty much all over and what seems to have happened is a man got out of his car in the car park, started shooting immediately, we understand some kind of rifle. then went inside the facility, but may not have got beyond the metal detectors, but in those short few minutes he managed to kill eight people and several others are in the hospital, including one

who is critically injured. it has taken some time for relatives of those who died to find out for this reason that the workers in the fedex facility are not allowed their phones, so while they were corralled to a nearby hotel to be reunited, there was not any means for them to connect with their families outside and let them know they were all right. so there has been a lot of worry from the families and of course this does come after a pretty horrendous, horrific month in the united states of these kind of shootings. we had ten people killed at a supermarket in colorado last month and of course eight people killed at various spas across the atlanta area, including six women of asian descent. that is just to name but two in the last month aside from this one. just some news coming through from the metropolitan police in the last

little while concerning the sarah everard case. the metropolitan police telling us in the last little while that a woman who was arrested in connection with sarah everard's abduction has had her bail extended. the metropolitan police telling us that the women, who is in her 30s, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and was released on bail to return to a police station in april. the police telling us she has been further baled and has been told to return on a date in earlyjune. so the bail of that woman arrested, in her 30s, it has been extended. she must report back to the police in earlyjune. sarah everard went missing on march the 3rd, you will remember she had been visiting a friend in south

london and was walking home. a man of course charged with abduction and murder. the headlines on bbc news: the archbishop of canterbury calls for believers to pray for the queen in the run up to prince philip's funeral tomorrow. justin welby says he hopes the nation will sympathise. labour has said there are "serious questions to answer" after it emerged the health secretary, matt hancock, has shares in a potential supplier for nhs trusts in england. there are appeals for calm in chicago, as footage emerges of a 13—year—old boy being shot dead by police. prosecutors in northern ireland are to bring charges against seven people in connection with the alleged ill—treatment of patients in a hospital psychiatric unit.

it's understood those being prosecuted are staff members at muckamore abbey hospital in county antrim. 0ur correspondent chris page is in belfast. explain more about what the police are saying. explain more about what the police are sa inc. , , explain more about what the police aresa inc. , , ., , are saying. yes, these are the first prosecutions _ are saying. yes, these are the first prosecutions in _ are saying. yes, these are the first prosecutions in what _ are saying. yes, these are the first prosecutions in what is _ are saying. yes, these are the first prosecutions in what is a _ are saying. yes, these are the first prosecutions in what is a major- prosecutions in what is a major police investigation. the allegations were first made public in 2017 and detectives began investigating. muckamore abbey hospital isjust outside investigating. muckamore abbey hospital is just outside the town of antrim, a few miles from belfast, and it provides facilities for patients with severe learning disabilities and severe mental health difficulties. so, seven members of staff, it is understood, at muckamore abbey hospital are to be prosecuted, charged with a range of offences including ill—treatment

of offences including ill—treatment of patients and also wilful neglect of patients and also wilful neglect of patients. it is understood that the staff members were in the psychiatric intensive care unit at the hospital. this comes as a result of prosecutors are examining a file that was sent to them by police about this time last year. there was another file which landed on prosecutor's deathss desks and that relates to eight further suspects, say 15 arrests overall. —— prosecutors' desks. it is a significant progress in the investigation pulled up the families of the patients concerned have been told about the decision and the police say they will continue to work with those families and it is a priority for them to do their best for the most vulnerable in society.

chris in belfast with the latest there, thank you very much. the scottish liberal democrats have launched the party's manifesto for the holyrood election on 6th may. the lib dems say they will focus on a covid recovery plan, jobs and the nhs. the party's leader, willie rennie, rejected holding another independence referendum, saying it would divide the country during the worst health and economic crisis in a century. with the snp, they will prioritise independence in the next five years. that will divide the country, distract us from putting recovery first. these are enormous challenges, huge challenges, the climate emergency, the mental health crisis, lost education in the last year. these require ourfocus crisis, lost education in the last year. these require our focus and thatis year. these require our focus and that is why putting recovery first with the liberal democrats, not independence, will get us back a better country where we end this than when we started.

a court in hong kong has sentenced a group of nine leading pro—democracy campaigners for organising and taking part in a huge protest march two years ago. billionaire owner of hong kong's last opposition newspaper, jimmy lai, has been given a i2—month prison term, while the veteran activist martin lee has been jailed for 15 months. lord patten of barnes was the last british governor of hong kong and present during the territory's handover to china in 1997. he spoke in damning terms about china's decision. 0ne one of the responsibilities is to speak out about this shameful and wicked act by beijing. it is very, very important that we do notjust let this go past, that we do actually make clear how much the chinese have spat on the agreement that they reached, how much they have broken it. these people have

been brave and outspoken proponents of the rule of law, defenders of democracy. jimmy lai was somebody who himself was smuggled himself out of china, escaped chinese communism. he has been a brave, brave newspaper writer and media writer. the chinese have eventually pursued him because he has been a critic of the massacre and other aspects of chinese in unison and they have been determined to get him. he could have left hong kong at any times in the last few years commies could have settled in taiwan or in america, but he chose to stay and fight for the things he passionately believes in and i think he is a person of extraordinary courage and, like several of the others who have been in prison or given suspended sentences, he

happens to be a practising catholic. he is a very religious man and his religion, it is like another man given a sentence he was a christian centralist, who believes in the good of working for ordinary people. these are terrible things the chinese are doing and i do condemn it. ., , �* , ., ., it. the last british government of hon: it. the last british government of hong kong- _ it. the last british government of hong kong- -- — it. the last british government of hong kong. -- british _ it. the last british government of hong kong. -- british governor. | the latest coronavirus infection survey figures have come out this lunchtime. the 0ns estimates around i—in—500 people across the uk tested positive for coronavirus last week. that figure is down nearly 90% on the levels reported at the start of january. the bbc�*s head of statistics, robert cuffe, is here.

certainly a drop of 90% sounds very positive. explain exactly where we are now. it positive. explain exactly where we are now. , , are now. it is good news, we get lost in the _ are now. it is good news, we get lost in the week— are now. it is good news, we get lost in the week to _ are now. it is good news, we get lost in the week to week, - are now. it is good news, we get lost in the week to week, is - are now. it is good news, we get lost in the week to week, is it i are now. it is good news, we getj lost in the week to week, is it up or down? but that comparison to the start of january is really remarkable and we can show that to the audience right now. look at the trends in affections over the course of the last year. you can see that huge spike in and around january and is you move into february and march, it was still coming down. at the start of march probably flattened a little, school opened up again and parents going back to work, getting out of the house again for the first time, and now in the most recent week, that second week of the easter holidays, maybe people are staying at home a little more going on holidays, we started to see another fall again. holidays, we started to see another fallagain. down holidays, we started to see another fall again. down from holidays, we started to see another fallagain. down fromjust holidays, we started to see another fall again. down from just under 200,000 people they reckon were infected the week before to about 130,000. so a good fall. that is roughly the level in england and scotland was not a little bit lower it again in northern ireland and even lower in wales. —— it was a bit

lower again in northern ireland. no na near the terrible times in the middle of winter. this na near the terrible times in the middle of winter.— na near the terrible times in the middle of winter. as always, we look at those graphs _ middle of winter. as always, we look at those graphs and _ middle of winter. as always, we look at those graphs and how— middle of winter. as always, we look at those graphs and how much - middle of winter. as always, we look at those graphs and how much is - at those graphs and how much is about changing behaviour and the relatively faxing. i suppose i'm saying that we still had to keep an eye. —— the roll—out of the faxing. when do we see the lag from that? there's a hint of when you might see behavioural impact, this changes that happened after people went to school and the holidays, bitter because as you say, it is hard to disentangle the vaccine effect from the lockdown effect. if the changes we saw they were driven by the behaviours, as people go back to school, we might see numbers creep up school, we might see numbers creep up again and as people start to go shopping and getting out and mixing more, we will see that go through as well but it takes a week or two.

someone has to meet some of the arts, pass on the infection, takes a couple of days for that to show off and then the tests. so we will not see this in the next three or four days. that is why the government have said consistently five weeks between steps, notjust because it is a wealth see infections, but because of the vaccination, link between infection and sickness we have has been broken. you do not just want to see people becoming infected, we want to know if there is more pressure on the nhs and that takes a bit longer to come through as well. b. takes a bit longer to come through as well. �* ., ., , as well. a word about the r number, where are we — as well. a word about the r number, where are we on _ as well. a word about the r number, where are we on that? _ as well. a word about the r number, where are we on that? we _ as well. a word about the r number, where are we on that? we have - as well. a word about the r number, where are we on that? we have just| where are we on that? we have just seen the figures published in the last probably half hour. the seen the figures published in the last probably half hour.— seen the figures published in the last probably half hour. the r and about the england _ last probably half hour. the r and about the england is _ last probably half hour. the r and about the england is between - last probably half hour. the r and about the england is between 0.7j last probably half hour. the r and - about the england is between 0.7 and one, which means hopefully the epidemic is shrinking by between five and 35% a week, but it could include one, so it is not ruling out the possibility we are flat. we are flat, may be coming down. for

scotland i have not seen the data for this week, wales it is a little lower and northern ireland a touch higher. when you look at the 0ns survey, the news is good, because infections are falling in every nation according to the 0ns. infections are falling in every nation according to the ons. thank ou ve nation according to the ons. thank you very much- _ now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. the weather is pretty good out there right now and the weekend is not looking bad either. a lot of at least bright weather on the way and probably quite a sunny for many of us. at the moment, temperatures are hovering around about ten to 12 celsius, so again below the average for the time of year and through this evening and overnight, these skies will be clear, so once again it is going to turn quite cold. but we do have a southerly breeze here, that does mean that these are western fringes of the uk will be frost free, for example in belfast at 6 degrees

early on saturday morning, whereas many towns and cities further east close to freezing. tomorrow, lots of sunshine on the way it. a bit more cloud towards the north—west here. there is a weather front to approach, but it cannot because of a big high pressure over us right now, but it will mean clans will increase in the north—west of the country as we go through the weekend, so by sending them might even be some spots of rain in some northern areas. goodbye. —— by sunday.

hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: the archbishop of canterbury calls for believers to pray for the queen — in the run up to prince philip's funeral tomorrow. justin welby says he hopes the nation will sympathise. she is the queen. she will behave with the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage that she always does. and at the same time, she is saying farewell to someone to whom she was married for 73 years. labour has said there are "serious questions to answer" after it emerged the health secretary, matt hancock, has shares in a potential supplier

for nhs trusts in england. there are appeals for calm in chicago — as footage emerges of a 13—year—old boy being shot dead by police. doctors in india are calling it a tsunami — 200,000 covid cases have been recorded in 2a hours, and there are fears about a dangerous new variant. and whiter than white — scientists develop a paint that reflects so much sunlight it will help drive down carbon emissions. sport now, and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. he will be happy to know that dan evans has just won.

england all—rounder ben stokes is going to be out for up to 12 weeks after an x—ray and scan showed he needs surgery on a fractured finger. it means stokes will miss the test series against new zealand — and is also a doubt for england's white ball games against sri lanka and pakistan later injune. stokes was injured whilst playing in the indian premier league earlier this week and will fly home tomorrow — with his surgery set for monday. england under 21 manager aidy boothroyd is stepping down after four years in the role, just two weeks after the side finished bottom of their group at the european championship. england were one of the favourites for the tournament — with a host of big name players to pick from — but went out following defeats to portugal and switzerland. pressure has been on him with one of the most talented groups the nation has produced in a very long time. he had access to players like mason mount, phil foden, jude bellingham and trent alexander—arnold. but boothroyd has said his job is to not win trophies,

but to give players to the first team — that led him to describe the under—21 job as an impossiblejob. next, it's fair to say there's still no love lost between paul pogba and his former manchester united bossjose mourinho. the pair fell out during their time at old trafford and now pogba's criticised mourinho's man management style — accusing him of "going against players" and making them feel like "they don't exist any more". the comments come just a week after united beat mourinho's tottenham side — to increase the pressure on the manager. there's a setback for scotland ahead of this summer's euro 2020 after rangers midfielder ryanjack was ruled out due to a calf injury. he played a big part in the play off win over serbia, but rangers manager steven gerrard has confirmed jack needs an operation — which will see him miss scotland's first major men's tournament in 23 years — which includes a group game against england at wembley.

what a week dan evans is having — the british number one is into his first masters 1000 semifinal after beating belgium's david goffin at the monte carlo masters. he beat the world number 1 novak djokovic to get to the quarter finals. remarkable achievement on clay — a surface which he says he doesn't like playing on. he lost the first set 7—5 to goffin, the world number 15, then levelled — winning the second 6—3 before winning the decider 6—4. into the semi—finals he goes. great britain are taking part in a play—off against mexico for next year's billyjean king cup at the national tennis centre in london — with katie boulter taking on marcela zacarias after two years out with injury. this was formerly the fed cup. heather watson, katie swan, harriet dart and jodie burrage the other women in action.

you can keep updated on that on the bbc sport website. the second practice hasjust finished in dramatic fashion with a charles leclerc crash forcing the session to end a couple of minutes early. valeri bottas was fastest ahead of lew hamilton in second and pierre gasly in third. but there were worrying scenes for max verstappen as he broke down and had to return to the garage early. you can keep yourself updated on the bbc sport website. that's all the sport for now. hospitals in india are reporting severe shortages of beds and oxygen, as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise across the country.

more than 200,000 cases were reported in the latest 24—hour period — a new record — and there are fears a dangerous new variant could be circulating. the government has been criticised for allowing large crowds to gather for the important hindu festival, the kumbh mela, as sima kotecha reports. this is india over the last 2a hours. another wave of coronavirus seeping through its veins. from delhi to mumbai to kolkata, its spread is vast and, for seven days now, a record daily increase in cases. in the western state of gujarat, it is particularly bad. hospitals struggling to cope and essential equipment said to be in short supply. rakesh and his mum both have covid. every state, every district,

every city, you can find each and every household, at least one or two positive cases of coronavirus. and this new strain is attacking like anything. the new strain is attacking straight to the lungs. the person feels like he or she is asymptomatic but, after four of five days, they have a storm inside the lungs. can i speak to your mum? sure, one minute, let me go to her. india's official death toll has surpassed 170,000. experts say the pace at which new cases are increasing

is concerning, with more than 200,000 reported yesterday — the highest daily number so far. more than 1,000 died from the virus in 2a hours for the second day running. this couldn't come at a worse time. the hindu festival kumbh mela is attracting millions of people to the banks of the river ganges. it's triggered a row, with some saying it shouldn't have been allowed to go ahead. a muslim faith gathering last year was partly blamed for spreading the virus. narendra modi is currently fighting an election. cancelling the mela wouldn't have not have done him any favours amongst his conservative hindu supporters. there were conflicting messages even within government and the festival went ahead. state government, which is holding the mela, they are quite adamant

in the sense that they don't want to curtail it or cancel it. 0n the other end, there are a few politicians and ministers that believe that the size of the crowd is very large and the way this second wave of the pandemic has hit us, we should call it off, we should curtail it, we should curb the movements of people. so there is kind of, you know, conflicting or mixed messages. some states have imposed night curfews. but many indians are still not changing their behaviour. election campaigning continues. large weddings are taking place, and shops remain open. doctors fear the addition of a new strain could be catastrophic. it's a very highly infectious strain, and it's also lethal, so it's more infectious as well as it's lethal. we had not seen covid cases

in the younger population. in the first wave, most of the patients were above 30. hardly we had seen any young patients. however in this wave, we have seen fairly young patients getting admitted with covid. sirens. the crematoriums and burial grounds are reported to be working overtime to cope with the high surge of deaths. people we've spoken to believe official figures don't depict the true horror. more than a billion people, and india is facing what some are calling a covid tsunami. sima kotecha, bbc news. 77 cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in india have been identified in the uk. 73 cases have been confirmed in england as well as four cases in scotland. as you just heard, india's covid rates are soaring — with almost 1a million confirmed cases — but the country isn't currently

on the uk's travel red list. paul hunter, professor in medicine at the university of east anglia, told us there may be questions about the variant�*s resistance to vaccines. india itself is seeing a pretty dramatic increase in cases at the moment and it has since the beginning of march, and we don't know for certain that this variant is what is driving that but it's certainly possible. the other thing is that this variant has possibly two escape mutations and an escape mutation is a mutation that makes the virus a bit more resistant to immunisation, and it's plausible, but we don't know for certain, that two escape mutations would make the virus even less susceptible to vaccine than currently the south african and brazilian variants are, and this is sort of what we see

with human coronaviruses — that even before covid they gradually accumulate new escape mutations and gradually move away from immune control over a number of years, so it is worrying but, as i said, it's still early days yet. the labour leader says the health secretary has questions to answer surrounding shares he owns in a company which was approved as a potential supplierfor the nhs. a government spokesman said mr hancock had acted entirely properly. sir keir starmer also repeated his call for a full, transparent ad independent inquiry into "what's going on." every day there's more evidence of this return to sleaze. 0bviously matt hancock needs to answer the specific questions that have arisen today but we have got to have a full inquiry. we cannot have this weird

day by day there are dribs and drabs of sleaze, contracts for mates. there has to be a full inquiry because this is the return to sleaze and it has to be cleared up. we need to look at the codes and i am not suggesting he has broken those but he has to answer the questions. if this was a one—off that would be one thing but what we have seen in recent weeks is story after story, contract after contract, cronyism, sleaze. we have to have a full, independent transparent inquiry to get to the bottom of it. that is what the government blocked this week when he put it up for a vote. the public should not be in the middle of a pandemic seeing this return to sleaze and a government that blocks an inquiry into it. where do you see the conflict? matt hancock has — where do you see the conflict? matt hancock has to _ where do you see the conflict? ijisgtt hancock has to answer the questions. it is for him to answer those

questions. he cannot pretend the responsibility lies elsewhere. let matt hancock step up and answer those questions, but it was david cameron we were talking about yesterday on the day before. this is wider than a single incident. it is a catalogue of examples of sleaze and we have to get to the bottom of it. do and we have to get to the bottom of it. , ., ~ and we have to get to the bottom of it. do you think the sanctions a- lied it. do you think the sanctions applied are — it. do you think the sanctions applied are robust _ it. do you think the sanctions applied are robust enough? l it. do you think the sanctions i applied are robust enough? no. it. do you think the sanctions - applied are robust enough? no. we have to change _ applied are robust enough? no. we have to change the _ applied are robust enough? no. we have to change the low. _ applied are robust enough? no. we have to change the low. the - applied are robust enough? no. we have to change the low. the lobby i have to change the low. the lobby lows we have at the moment but introduced by david cameron and next thing we know he is having tea in the desert with green cell. we have to get to the bottom of what is going on and until we have that transparent full inquiry we are not in a position to say what any new laws should look like because this is the return of sleaze and for the public in the middle of a pandemic they must be scratching their heads and wondering what on earth is going

on. �* , ., and wondering what on earth is going on. �* y ., . ., and wondering what on earth is going on. ,, ., ., on. are you confident your shadow cabinet have _ on. are you confident your shadow cabinet have released _ on. are you confident your shadow cabinet have released the - cabinet have released the declarations they need to? mr; cabinet have released the declarations they need to? my shadow cabinet operate _ declarations they need to? my shadow cabinet operate within _ declarations they need to? my shadow cabinet operate within the _ declarations they need to? my shadow cabinet operate within the rules - declarations they need to? my shadow cabinet operate within the rules and i cabinet operate within the rules and thatis cabinet operate within the rules and that is what i expect of them. the examples we are seeing are on the government side with i would like to see a revolving door with lobbyists but it is an open door to lobbyists at the moment so it is very clear where the questions lie and it is with the cabinet and it is for the prime minister to accept a proposal to have still full transparent inquiry into what is going on. is inquiry into what is going on. is thisjust a way inquiry into what is going on. is this just a way of bringing inquiry into what is going on. is thisjust a way of bringing in inquiry into what is going on. is this just a way of bringing in extra expertise? thisjust a way of bringing in extra exertise? ., i. .., ., thisjust a way of bringing in extra exertise? ., ., ., expertise? no, you cannot have double iobs _ expertise? no, you cannot have double jobs for— expertise? no, you cannot have double jobs for civil _ expertise? no, you cannot have double jobs for civil servants. i expertise? no, you cannot have l double jobs for civil servants. you cannot have this drip, drip approach when it becomes clearer and clearer day by day that there is the return of tory sleaze. we need a full transparent inquiry into exactly what has gone on and then we need

more and more robust rules to deal with it. for many people living in england, this weekend could be their first chance for a getaway since last year. that's because self—contained accommodation was given the green light to reopen this week, following the latest easing of lockdown restrictions in the country. sarah corker has been speaking to those in the industry — about the rise in popularity of staycations. caravan sales have gone through the roof. more of us are booking holidays in the uk. so manufacturing firms that supply the tourism sector are busier than ever. what's demand been like over the last 12 months? 0h, phenomenal. ever since about lastjuly, when the world opened up and people could go on holiday in the uk. in the autumn, our sales team processed an entire year,

an entire ordinary year's worth, of sales, in six weeks. and i guess the other thing to say is that we are 75 years old this year, and it's never been busier. hull is the caravan—making capital of britain. here in east yorkshire the industry employs more than 10,000 people, and this company is taking on more staff to keep things moving. are you seeing a change, then, in the types of people holidaying in this way, perhaps for the first time? the answer is yes. so we've seen a large influx with younger families looking to just enjoy a good holiday, often going in and hiring a home. from holiday homes in yorkshire to glamping in gloucestershire. this couple opened their business during the pandemic. it's aimed at those wanting to escape to the country. what the pandemic has done is re—highlighted the beauty of the british countryside. we've got lots and lots of londoners. a lot of the people who live in the city

have got no outside space. the first thing you want to do when you're let out is go somewhere that is completely different and maybe rough it slightly. this safari tent was handmade just down the road in stroud. it's not just canvases for campsites, but outdoor dining too. 0rders here are up 45%. we've had, you know, a huge increase for all manner of structures, really, for the outdoor hospitality industry, whether it's pubs and restaurants or cafes. we work with a few local breweries, pubs, hotels and cafes, that have looked to do the same. all manner of uses, really, just so that people can then look towards functioning and opening in a much more covid—safe manner. with foreign trips still off the cards, and with views like this, people are rediscovering the joys of holidaying closer to home, swapping the costa del sol for the cotswolds.

in story we touched on in the last hour. 100 mps and peers have written to borisjohnson asking him to intervene. to help families access medicinal cannabis for their seriously ill children. the law was changed in november 2018 to allow nhs doctors to prescribe the drug, following the high profile campaign of alfie dingley, but only three prescriptions have been issued. many families are having to pay thousands of pounds for private treatment. the government says it's considering what further action it could take to broaden access to unlicensed cannabis—based products. we can discuss that letter signed by 100 mp5 we can discuss that letter signed by 100 mps and find out what

alfie's mum, hannah deacon, thinks. i wonder whether you thought after all that work and campaigning on your family's all that work and campaigning on yourfamily�*s part that all that work and campaigning on your family's part that several years on only three prescriptions would have been issued. hat years on only three prescriptions would have been issued.- years on only three prescriptions would have been issued. not at all. the campaign _ would have been issued. not at all. the campaign was _ would have been issued. not at all. the campaign was very _ would have been issued. not at all. the campaign was very successful. | would have been issued. not at all. i the campaign was very successful. we were overjoyed that alfie had his prescription but it was very clear once the law change there were many issues as to why this medicine would not be rolled out straightaway on the nhs and now we have a situation where we have many families having to seek private prescriptions costing thousands of pounds a month which the government and especially matt hancock have been aware of since march 2019 when the families met him and this letter today is going to end this pain for these families to fund their prescriptions while we can work out all the issues

on the nhs and all the access problems which are going to take time, but at the end of the day these families have been forced to campaign and raise money for their children, who are very sick. much improved but very sick people who they have to look after 24—7 and it seems very cruel the government continue to ignore them and not fund their products. [30 continue to ignore them and not fund their products-— their products. do you know what the barriers are? — their products. do you know what the barriers are? at _ their products. do you know what the barriers are? at some _ their products. do you know what the barriers are? at some of— their products. do you know what the barriers are? at some of these - barriers are? at some of these families explain to you what has happened when they have tried to get this prescription through the nhs? it is very convoluted. the issues are to do with the royal colleges and the bpm neighbour bit very prescriptive guidance, nice, which we have welcomed clarification on, it is about when it comes from and his son said, people do not know if they are allowed to prescribe or not, it is going to take a long time to sort out the what we need to do

until then is to fund these prescriptions for these families because they are very vulnerable, they have a lot of grief and issues to deal with because of their children, especially through the pandemic, and the government are well aware of these issues and we know it they can fund them. if you look at the cancer drugs fund created by david cameron they can created by david cameron they can create a fund for these cannabis medicines for innovative medicines for epilepsy and they can do it today but they chose not to and this letter is showing then there is a great appetite from these 100 mps and peers to sort this problem they really must listen to it. for and peers to sort this problem they really must listen to it.— really must listen to it. for people watchin: really must listen to it. for people watching and _ really must listen to it. for people watching and listening _ really must listen to it. for people watching and listening you - really must listen to it. for people watching and listening you speak i really must listen to it. for people | watching and listening you speak so passionately about this. am i right in saying in your case this was to help your son's severe epilepsy? explain the difference that it makes to his quality of life and by extension i imagine for the whole

family. extension i imagine for the whole famil . ~ , extension i imagine for the whole famil. , ~ extension i imagine for the whole famil. ~ , ~ ., extension i imagine for the whole famil. , ~ ., ':: family. absolutely. alfie had 150 seizures a week. _ family. absolutely. alfie had 150 seizures a week. we _ family. absolutely. alfie had 150 seizures a week. we were - family. absolutely. alfie had 150 seizures a week. we were living | family. absolutely. alfie had 150 i seizures a week. we were living in our local hospital. he has a very rare condition, one of nine boys in the world, so there is very little clinical understanding of his condition, and we were literally at the end of the road. he was suffering all the time. he was coming off a very high doses of drugs and steroids or having hundreds of seizures was no quality of life for her nor my family. we were heartbroken and now he goes months and months without seizures, his school is reporting to us how well he is doing, his numbers, his letters, he goes on the school to bus every day, and where we have problems to deal with behaviour and sleeping and all of those issues you still get with chronically ill children in our lives are not day to day hoping he will live, we are not

having medical emergencies, i can work. when you are a full—time carer of that very poorly child you feel unseen. many carers feel unseen and unheard and actually that is very sad because carers do the most important work especially for very sick children and i am very lucky now i don't have to be a full—time carer to my son and i unable to do things i want to do and me and my partner can go for dinner and be a bit normal and that is what this medicine has done for us and that is why i feel so passionately it must be funded for these families and they have the right as well as we did to have better lives. it should be fair and that alfie should have it so should these families. thank ou so it so should these families. thank you so much _ it so should these families. thank you so much for— it so should these families. thank you so much for speaking - it so should these families. thank you so much for speaking to - it so should these families. thank you so much for speaking to us i it so should these families. thankj you so much for speaking to us so passionately and for so clearly explaining all of that. all the very best to you and alfie and all of

your family. best to you and alfie and all of yourfamily. hannah deacon, who campaigned, as you can see, so passionately there, and got the law changed, but there is still more to do. scientists in the us have developed a paint that is being described as "whiter than white" — and could help reduce energy use. painting a roof white is a way of keeping buildings cool and reduces the need for air conditioning. the team behind the new paint says its purity will reflect 98 percent of sunlight — helping to drive down carbon emissions. victoria gill reports. cool, heat—reflecting white rooms are already an urban climate saving are already an urban climate solution embraced in cities around the world. in new york, more than ten million square feet of roofs have been coated with white, heat—reflecting paint. but these scientists say their ultra—white paint could make these roofs even cooler. while the whitest currently available paints reflect between 80—90% of sunlight,

these researchers say theirs reflects more than 98%. covering a 1,000—square—foot roof with this paint, they estimate, would provide more cooling power than a typical central air—conditioner. every 1% of reflectants you get will translate to ten watts per metre square less heating from the sun. so basically it provides the equivalent 18 kilowatts, and that is a big deal. that is more than a typical air—conditioner does for a house, with that same kind of space. the secret to its formulation also makes it relatively cheap to produce. the scientists use high concentrations of a compound called barium sulphate that's already used to make paper. painting buildings white to keep them cool in hot climates is something people have been doing for centuries. but sustainable designers and architects point out that, as a modern, energy saving solution, white roofs have their limits. if we have the possibility to apply them on every

single roof surface, in any city, any fabric, or even at ground level, it could have a huge impact in terms of reducing energy consumption of cities, although in particular when we're talking about ground level there would be issues around glare. so it may not be ideal solution. back in 2014, another group of scientists created the blackest possible black coating, a material called vantablack, that absorbs so much light it makes every surface look almost invisibly flat. and one museum in the us now wants to put these two breakthroughs side by side, displaying the whitest possible white alongside the blackest black. victoria gill, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. the weekend weather's looking pretty good for most of us. the mornings will still be a little on the chilly side but here's the good news —

the afternoon temperatures will pick up a little bit, perhaps into the mid teens for some of us. now, the settled weather is thanks to high pressure centred over scandinavia, it's actually extended into the uk and many western and central parts of europe. the winds are light as well, four orfive miles per hour worth of wind, hardly anything at all, and then you add the strong april sunshine, it doesn't feel too bad at all despite the temperatures only being around nine to 12 degrees. if you are in the breeze and on the north sea coast it does feel chilly but out towards the west where the winds are light it feels 0k. through this evening we expect clear skies across the majority of the uk and overnight. there will be a frost again in central and eastern areas but out towards the west where we have more of a southerly breeze and a bit more cloud it should be frost—free for places like belfast. that's because there's a weather front brushing the very far north—west of the uk and the high pressure extending into england

and wales but closer to northern ireland and western scotland we have weather fronts here and bits of cloud and spots of rain to come for the weekend. saturday for most of the country looks absolutely fine from the isle of wight to the pennines to aberdeen with sunshine all round and best temperatures across more western areas such as 1a in liverpool and belfast. you can see on sunday the weather fronts are still in the same place, sort of sliding towards the north—east here with the high pressure dominating the weather across the uk. but it does mean it may turn damp in parts of northern ireland and at least the western isles as we go through the course of sunday and generally speaking more hazy skies across england. temperatures 1a or 15 celsius. if the sun comes out for any lengthy period of time it shouldn't feel bad at all. i say it's turning slightly milder but look what happens on tuesday and wednesday, we develop a northerly wind again

so it does look as though the middle of next week after this brief warming to 1a, 15, maybe 16 the temperatures are going to go back down again. this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines: the archbishop of canterbury calls for believers to pray for the queen in the run up to prince philip's funeral tomorrow. justin welby says he hopes the nation will sympathise. she is the queen. she will behave with the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage that she always does. and at the same time, she is saying farewell to someone to whom she was married for 73 years.

labour has said there are "serious questions to answer" after it emerged the health secretary, matt hancock, has shares in a potential supplier for nhs trusts in england. there are appeals for calm in chicago, as footage emerges of a 13—year—old boy being shot dead by police. doctors in india are calling it a tsunami — 200,000 covid cases have been recorded in 2a hours, and there are fears about a dangerous new variant. and whiter than white — scientists develop a paint that reflects so much sunlight it will help drive down carbon emissions.

good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. final preparations are being made for the duke of edinburgh's funeral, which will take place tomorrow at st george's chapel in windsor. the archbishop of canterbury, who will give the blessing at the service, said he hoped the whole nation would reflect on a profound day for the royal family. much of the ceremony has been carefully planned by the duke, to reflect his life and interests. the head of britain's armed forces, general sir nick carter, will walk alongside the funeral procession, and said the details of the event had the prince's "fingerprints all over it". 0ur correspondent sarah campbell sent this report from windsor. behind the castle walls, final rehearsals are under way. across windsor, extra police and wardens are on patrol,

as the town prepares for the funeral of one of its best—known residents. more than 700 service personnel have spent the last few days rehearsing precise movements, in tribute to the duke, who was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery and enterprise during the second world war. tomorrow afternoon, the duke's coffin will be borne through the grounds of windsor castle on this, a land rover hearse which the duke helped to design. its dark green colour, that of military vehicles. following the land rover on foot will be members of the royal family. in the front, the princess royal and the prince of wales. behind them, the earl of wessex and the duke of york, and then princes harry and william. in an already much commented upon formation, rather than walking side by side, the two brothers will be separated, with the princess royal's son peter phillips walking between them. as here in 2002, at the funeral of queen elizabeth, the queen mother, military uniforms

would usually be worn by members of the family entitled to do so. but tomorrow, all the royals will be in civilian dress. it is a neat way of avoiding controversy, which had been building around prince harry and prince andrew, with both having stepped back from royal duties and harry no longer entitled to wear a military uniform. inside the chapel, the service will be attended byjust 30 people, in line with the coronavirus restrictions. all the duke's children and grandchildren will be present, along with three of his german relatives. all, including the queen, will wear masks. the blessing will be given by the archbishop of canterbury. she's the queen. she will behave with the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage that she always does. and, at the same time, she is saying farewell to someone to whom she was married for 73 years. it will be a difficult day

for the queen and her family. prince charles, yesterday visibly moved, has talked about how grateful they all are for the many tributes which have been paid to his father. prince philip was known around the world. but, in windsor, there is a heightened sense of loss. he was the ranger in the great park for many years, and a dog walk would often include a brush with royalty. very, very regularly, you would see him out on his carriage. he would always acknowledge you, he would always say hello to the group of us as we were walking. you could see a real twinkle in his eye. he was definitely a real character. it will be very strange, because we have only ever known prince philip in my life, he's always been here. seeing him racing down here on his carriage one day, i've got a lovely picture. the message remains for the public to watch and listen to the funeral from home, due to the pandemic, helping to facilitate the duke's desire for

a simple, no fuss funeral. well, we can speak now to our correspondent helena wilkinson who's in windsor for us this afternoon. what has been happening there this afternoon? in what has been happening there this afternoon? ., , ., ., afternoon? in the last hour or so, the earl and _ afternoon? in the last hour or so, the earl and countess _ afternoon? in the last hour or so, the earl and countess of- afternoon? in the last hour or so, the earl and countess of wessex l afternoon? in the last hour or so, - the earl and countess of wessex have been here at windsor castle behind us, behind the castle walls, just outside of st george's chapel. that is where the funeral of the duke of edinburgh will take place tomorrow afternoon. the couple spent some time looking at the dozens and dozens of flowers that have been left by members of the public. those flowers were originally outside the gates just a little way from where we are at the top of the long walk outside the castle over the past week. many people have come, despite the advice of people not to bring flowers, they still did so and they left so many flowers, cards,

messages of support to the queen. the couple, the earl and countess of wessex, have been inside the castle grounds in the last hour, taking a look at some of those flowers that have been left and also the messages of condolence for the queen of course and other members of the royal family. course and other members of the royalfamily. that course and other members of the royal family. that there course and other members of the royalfamily. that there has been also a huge amount of activity here. tomorrow of course is at the funeral of the duke of edinburgh. we have seen lorries, buses going in and out of the castle. earlier we saw military personnel being taken in by coaches into the castle. the reason being is that today, behind us, there has been a full rehearsal and of course they have practised and practised to make everything perfect and that is of course what the duke of edinburgh would have wanted and also expected. a number of wreaths were also taken in through the front entrance here behind as a bit earlier on as well, so the final preparations are taking place and do not forget, it will be televised, the funeral, summary and so

logistically the organisation around thatis logistically the organisation around that is a huge and itself. so lots of preparations are still continuing here for the funeral which takes place at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon. place at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon-— place at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon. ., ~ , ., , . let's discuss the events of the last week with a royal historian from the university of warwick. good afternoon. university of warwick. good afternoon-— university of warwick. good afternoon. ., ., , afternoon. good afternoon. it was uuite afternoon. good afternoon. it was quite striking _ afternoon. good afternoon. it was quite striking hearing _ afternoon. good afternoon. it was quite striking hearing from - afternoon. good afternoon. it was quite striking hearing from the - afternoon. good afternoon. it was l quite striking hearing from the head of the armed forces a little earlier when he made that comment that he felt as if everything that is planned for tomorrow had the duke's fingerprints all over it, that is a phrase he used. which brings a smile, i suppose, phrase he used. which brings a smile, isuppose, on phrase he used. which brings a smile, i suppose, on a sombre occasion. smile, i suppose, on a sombre occasion-— occasion. yes, it is unusual, i think, occasion. yes, it is unusual, i think. for— occasion. yes, it is unusual, i think, for someone, - occasion. yes, it is unusual, i think, for someone, or - occasion. yes, it is unusual, i think, for someone, or for . occasion. yes, it is unusual, i think, for someone, or for a i occasion. yes, it is unusual, i- think, for someone, or for a royal, think, for someone, orfor a royal, to be that involved in organising

their own funeral. there is a certain amount of protocol and precedent from history and this one i think is going to be different, notjust because of coronavirus, but because of prince philip's input. yes, it is a combination, isn't it? and there are many who have observed that the pandemic, while nobody would have wished it on anyone for obvious reasons, it has forced a much smaller, a very different funeral and even at this week has been so different to what it would have been under ordinary circumstances and there are so many who have reflected that actually, thatis who have reflected that actually, that is what chris philip would have preferred, because he would have preferred, because he would have preferred that a no fuss operation full to cut what prince philip would have preferred. —— prince philip. it is stripped back. certainly in

attendance with the congregation, it is family only and one close friend, when normally at a ceremonial funeral like this, you would have ministers, member of the government, member of the royal household would be attending, so it would be greatly expanded to reflect philip's contribution and will be charities and organisations that he has been involved with in his life. so in many ways it is now a very simple, family affair. many ways it is now a very simple, family affair-— family affair. yes. and from a historical— family affair. yes. and from a historical perspective, - family affair. yes. and from a historical perspective, you . family affair. yes. and from a| historical perspective, you are family affair. yes. and from a i historical perspective, you are a royal historian, but normally, ordinarily, would these events actually be very important and significant? you touched on government attendance usually, heads of state attendance from around the world, i wonder historically what

the difference therefore tomorrow it makes? ., ,., ., makes? there are sort of similarities _ makes? there are sort of similarities with - makes? there are sort of similarities with prince i makes? there are sort of - similarities with prince albert's funeral and that albert also had its first a desire to have a very low key funeral. —— expressed a desire. it was also at windsor and there was also a procession of family accompanying the coffin. but that was attended by hundreds of people, so i think that the sentiment of philip's funeral is at the same as albert's, but it is very different and i wonder in some ways whether it will be a unique occasion.— will be a unique occasion. indeed. thank you — will be a unique occasion. indeed. thank you for— will be a unique occasion. indeed. thank you for your _ will be a unique occasion. indeed. thank you for your time _ will be a unique occasion. indeed. thank you for your time for - will be a unique occasion. indeed. thank you for your time for now. i thank you for your time for now. sarah richardson, a royal historian from the university of warwick. thank you.

the labour leader says the health secretary has questions to answer surrounding shares he owns in a company which was approved as a potential supplierfor the nhs. a government spokesman said mr hancock had acted entirely properly. sir keir starmer also repeated his call for a full, transparent and independent inquiry into "what's going on." let's get more from our political correspondent greg dawson. just go to the beginning in terms of matt hancock and what we know about this company. matt hancock and what we know about this company-— this company. here is what we know. last this company. here is what we know. last month — this company. here is what we know. last month matt _ this company. here is what we know. last month matt hancock _ this company. here is what we know. last month matt hancock declared i last month matt hancock declared that he had acquired more than a 15% of shares in a company called tom wood limited which specialises in shedding documentation. —— topwood limited. in 2019, this company effectively won at the right to pitch for contracts for the nhs in

england was matt hancock with the health secretary. this raise eyebrows because at the time and he became health secretary, matt hancock did not declare any family connection to this company on the register of ministerial interest. the reason why that raised eyebrows is in 2017, when he was the minister for culture media and sport, he didn't declare that his brother was a chief executive of an investment company. —— he did declare. subsequently, there are some lines today that topwood limited one concerts from the nhs in wales. it is important to point out that matt hancock is not involved with the nhs in wales. it said that mr hancock checked with the service before acquiring these shares that there was no conflict and interest in the civil service looked into it and

agreed there was no conflict of interest. they also say the health secretary has no role within topwood itself and no power to award contracts will stop when asked about this earlier, mr starmer said there are some questions to answer here. obviously matt hancock needs to answer _ obviously matt hancock needs to answer these specific questions that have arisen— answer these specific questions that have arisen today, but we have to have _ have arisen today, but we have to have a _ have arisen today, but we have to have a full— have arisen today, but we have to have a full enquiry. we cannot have this by— have a full enquiry. we cannot have this by day— have a full enquiry. we cannot have this by day by day by day these drips _ this by day by day by day these drips of— this by day by day by day these drips of sleaze. it has to be a full enquiry— drips of sleaze. it has to be a full enquiry because this is a return to sleaze and it has been cleared up. keir starmer talking about enquiries. —— it has to be cleared up. the national audit office has

been investigating green so —— green sill as well. the headlines on bbc news: the archbishop of canterbury calls for believers to pray for the queen in the run up to prince philip's funeral tomorrow. justin welby says he hopes the nation will sympathise. labour has said there are "serious questions to answer" after it emerged the health secretary, matt hancock, has shares in a potential supplier for nhs trusts in england. there are appeals for calm in chicago, as footage emerges of a 13—year—old boy being shot dead by police. in the us, the mayor of chicago has appealed for calm after the release of footage showing a 13—year—old boy being shot dead by a policeman last month.

the video shows adam toledo with his hands up and unarmed, although a weapon was recovered nearby. the teenager's death comes at a time of increased tension in the us about police killings, as mark lobel reports. police, stop! a chicago police officer chases 13—year—old adam toledo down a dark alley before shooting him once in the chest. shots fired, shots fired, get an ambulance up here now. the boy's actions at that moment have become a source of contention. initially, it was claimed he was holding a gun. but bodycam footage appears to show no weapon is visible as he raises his hands. those videos speak for themselves. adam, during his last second of life, did not have a gun in his hand. the officer screamed at him, "show me your hands," adam complied, turned around, his hands were empty

when he was shot in the chest at the hands of the officer. separate cctv footage appears to show the teenager throwing what looks like a gun through a gap in the fence as the officer runs up to him. after the shooting, the policeman calls for an ambulance while urging adam to stay awake. cpr is performed — but it's too late. say his name! daunte wright! tensions are already high due to the fatal police shooting of daunte wright in a minneapolis suburb. add to that the ongoing trial in minneapolis of derek chauvin, the police officer accused of killing george floyd, who on thursday was asked in court if he wants to take the stand. i will invoke my fifth amendment privilege today. the decision whether or not to testify...

let me take this off. ..is entirely yours. is this your decision not to testify? it is, your honour. all right. following the release of these videos, shops were boarded up in chicago, leaving america with even more uncomfortable questions to answer. can the sons and daughters of slave catchers police the sons and daughters of slaves? and that's part of the problem. where you see the police, in their dna, there is the american history of white supremacy. chicago's mayor condemned what she called her city's legacy of police violence and misconduct, leaving its residents, especially those who are black and brown, as she put it, in a constant state of fearand pain. mark lobel, bbc news. eight people have been killed and many injured in a shooting in the us city of indianapolis.

witnesses reported seeing a man firing an automatic weapon at a fedex warehouse. our correspondent gary o'donoghue gave us this update. it happened late last night in indianapolis, at a fedex warehouse, as you say, just close to the airport in indianapolis. police were called at around 11pm to an active shooter incident. it seems when they got there it was pretty much all over and what seems to have happened is a man got out of his car in the car park, started shooting immediately, we understand with some kind of rifle. then went inside the facility, but may not have got beyond the metal detectors, but in those short few minutes he managed to kill eight people and several others are in the hospital, including one who is critically injured. it has taken some time for relatives of those who died to find out for this reason that the workers in the fedex facility are not allowed their phones, so while they were corralled to a nearby hotel to be reunited,

there was not any means for them to connect with their families outside and let them know they were all right. so there has been a lot of worry for the families and of course this does come after a pretty horrendous, horrific month in the united states of these kind of shootings. we had ten people killed at a supermarket in colorado last month and of course eight people killed at various spas across the atlanta area, including six women of asian descent. that is just to name but two in the last month aside from this one. we will talk more about coronavirus now. the latest coronavirus infection survey figures have come out this lunchtime. the ons estimates around one in 500 people across the uk tested positive for coronavirus last week. that figure is down nearly 90% on the levels reported at the start of january. our head of statistics robert cuffe

gave us more details. that comparison to the start of january is really remarkable and i think we can show that to the audience right now. look at the trends in infections over the course of the last year. you can see that huge spike in and around january and as we moved into february and march, it still was coming down. at the start of march probably flattened out a little bit, remember schools opened up again and all parents going back to work, getting out of the house again for the first time, and now in the most recent week, that second week of the easter holidays, maybe people are staying at home a little more or going on holidays, we started to see another fall again. so down from just under 200,000 people they reckon were infected the week before to about 130,000. so a good old fall down to one in 500 people. that is roughly the level in england and scotland. it is a little bit lower again in northern ireland and even lower in wales where it is nearly one in 1,000 people. so all good news. probably not quite down at the levels we saw last summer, but certainly nowhere near the terrible times

in the middle of winter. and always, we look at those graphs and we think about how much is about changing behaviour and how much is about the roll—out of the vaccine. i suppose i'm saying do we still have to keep an eye? because we were just talking today about things opening up in scotland, we reflected on england's shops opening on monday. i mean, when do we see the lag from that? i mean, there's a little bit of a hint there of when you might see behavioural impact, so those changes that happened after people went back to school and maybe people came to the holidays, but of course, as you say, it is really hard to disentangle the vaccine effect from the lockdown effect. if the changes we saw there were driven by the behaviours, then as people go back to school, we might see numbers creep up again and as people start to go shopping and getting out and mixing more, we will see that come through as well. but i think it takes a week or two, because somebody has to meet somebody else, pass on the infection, takes a couple of days for that to show up and then the testers have to come and test with them.

so we will not see this in the next three or four days. it will be a couple of weeks before... that is why the government have said consistently five weeks between steps, notjust because it takes a while to see infections, but also, now because of the vaccinations, the link between infection and sickness we hope have has been broken. so you do notjust want to see people becoming infected, you want to know whether or not we are seeing more pressure on the nhs and that takes a little bit longer to come through as well. yes. a word about the r number, where are we on that? we have just seen the figures published in the last probably half hour. the r number that has been quoted for england is now between 0.7 and one, which means hopefully the epidemic is shrinking by between five and 35% a week, but it could include one, so they are not ruling out the possibility we are flat. as you can see from the chart we were just showing you a second ago, we are in that ballpark of flat, may be coming down. in scotland, i have not seen the data for this week, in wales it is a little lower and in northern ireland a touch higher. but when you look at that ons survey, which is probably

the clearest picture we get of what's happening to infections, the news is good, because infections are falling in every nation, according to the ons, of the uk. we will be speaking to a virologist in the next few minutes as well. also, news thatjust coming through from germany. german chancellor angela merkel has been vaccinated with the first dose of the astrazeneca vaccine on 16th april. you will see out there on twitter if you can speak german, of course. there has been so much debate in so many european countries about the astrazeneca vaccine in particular. to remind you in germany it is given to people only over the age of 60, that expressway angela merkel is eligible for that particular vaccine. —— that explains why. their

photographs apparently that the german government is putting out and she is quoted as saying i am happy that i have had the first vaccination of astrazeneca today and would like to thank everyone who is involved in the campaign and everyone who has been vaccinated. she says vaccination is the key to overcoming the pandemic. so it is the key to overcoming the pandemic. stressing their to journalists and putting it on twitter that she has indeed had the astrazeneca vaccine. we will also talk about the easing up we will also talk about the easing up in scotland today. new rules about travel and meeting people outdoors have come into force in scotland, ten days earlier than planned. six adults from different households can now meet outside, and people can leave their local area. lorna gordon is at loch lomond. i think there really is a collective sigh of relief.

for many people, the last time they saw their families was on christmas day, restrictions came in again after that brief interlude, and now, ten days earlier than planned, the stay local restriction has been lifted because there has been good progress on the vaccination programme and the number of people testing positive for covid has been coming down. we have been down on loch lomond since the sun started rising. some wild swimmers have been braving the water. the temperature is 8 degrees, pretty chilly. most of them are heading out in wet suits. there was also plenty of canoeists out this morning, some who had travelled from glasgow, which is about half an hour away. of course, in a different council area, one lady i was speaking to said this is the first time she has been out here since last summer. gordon watson, the chief executive of loch lomond and the trossachs national park said they are gearing up for people to return. we know that people are desperate

to get out after such a long winter lockdown, so we're looking forward to welcoming a lot of people this weekend. the message is plan ahead. we're not back to normal yet. a few things are still closed — hospitality, businesses, no overnight stays yet. there are toilets open, we have extra toilets out, loads of rangers here to welcome people. plan ahead, check our car park website to see what is available, stay away from busy places, but enjoy yourselves and look after the place. i think it's fair to assume there will be extra police in areas like this over the weekend. what they don't want to see is the scenes they saw last summer, where the roads got clogged, where there were big crowds of people on the beaches by the lochs. because, of course, the restriction is still that it is a maximum of six adults, from six different households, which can mix together. the next point to watch for is a week on monday, that is when we will see a big easing in the restrictions

around the economy. that is when all remaining shops can reopen. tourist accommodation can reopen, ask and hospitality, indoor and outdoor spaces. so, good news today. the stay local restriction is easing. people will be able to see friends and family, socialise and come out to beautiful areas like this for exercise and leisure. doctor elly gaunt is a virologist at the university of edinburgh. good afternoon. good afternoon. so the easing we were discussing their coming perhaps ten days earlier than we thought. what is driving that position, from your perspective? i think the numbers are so low, we have such a low test positivity rate. there are around 200 new cases

a day, so we are in a position where we can start to ease lockdown and the government are under a real obligation to ease measures as soon as they can come as soon as it is safe to do so, and it will appear we have reached this point where it is safe to do so so this is excellent. it is certainly a relief for everyone, inevitably. from your perspective as a virologist, what would you say to people about how we should all be behaving nonetheless? yes, because. just because it is a safer, it does not mean it is totally safe. when people are meeting they should maintain a social distancing, keep hand washing, wearfacemasks in busy places, the usual restrictions that we have seen over the past year to keep up with those measures and to keep up with those measures and to keep everyone a safe and healthy. and of course no one is travelling, whether for family reasons or to try and catch a foreign holiday. i wonder again with your profession,

what you feel about the coming weeks and months is that the debate continues about what we do about foreign travel and the impact that we could see there?— foreign travel and the impact that we could see there? yes, so there is a real difference _ we could see there? yes, so there is a real difference there _ we could see there? yes, so there is a real difference there in _ we could see there? yes, so there is a real difference there in the - a real difference there in the approaches between england and scotland which has been critical. scotland which has been critical. scotland has closed its borders completely, so you cannot travel outside of scotland. there are plans to ease the travel restrictions with england on the 26th of april, but with the new importation of the south african variant and the india variant into the uk, into england, we will now be positioned, i expect, where we would have to potentially rethink that because it if we introduce it into scotland, the hard—working scotland would be undone. hard-working scotland would be undone. �* . . hard-working scotland would be undone. �* , , ., undone. and the issue of new variants. _ undone. and the issue of new variants, wherever _ undone. and the issue of new variants, wherever they i undone. and the issue of new. variants, wherever they appear undone. and the issue of new i variants, wherever they appear in the country, that, i am assuming, is it something that you absolutely

track, that is one of the key issues that we still all have to be aware of this year?— that we still all have to be aware of this year? yes, absolutely. we are hearing _ of this year? yes, absolutely. we are hearing about _ of this year? yes, absolutely. we are hearing about certain - of this year? yes, absolutely. we | are hearing about certain variants, brazilian, south african, indian. those are the variants we know about, but there are the potential for other variants that are escaping detection or there is a lack of testing or clinical data available. so there will be others out there so having a red list of countries does not mean it will prevent importation of all of variance. it takes time to detect these variants coming in, silly travel restrictions in scotland ifell silly travel restrictions in scotland i fell more effective measure of preventing those outcomes happening. —— so those travel restrictions. happening. -- so those travel restrictions.— restrictions. the vaccination programme. _ restrictions. the vaccination programme, how— restrictions. the vaccination programme, how significant restrictions. the vaccination i programme, how significant part restrictions. the vaccination - programme, how significant part has that been playing in the positive figures that you outlined at the beginning and also how much are we learning about their efficacy with

various variants? i}i(. learning about their efficacy with various variants?— learning about their efficacy with various variants? ok, so it is very eas to various variants? ok, so it is very easy to see _ various variants? ok, so it is very easy to see variance, _ various variants? ok, so it is very easy to see variance, we - various variants? ok, so it is veryj easy to see variance, we compare various variants? ok, so it is very i easy to see variance, we compare the uk with the rest of europe. the rest of europe is now being hit really hard by another epidemic wave and thatis hard by another epidemic wave and that is not happening in the uk, so that is not happening in the uk, so thatis that is not happening in the uk, so that is a real clear demonstration that is a real clear demonstration that these vaccines are working and working very well. we look to israel, where they have the most advanced vaccination programme in the world, what we are seeing is a variant of consent, the south african variant, is starting to become more frequently detected therefore to cut variant of concern. it mightjust happening to be the one to spending more or it could be thatis one to spending more or it could be that is better able to suffer these immune responses generated by the vaccine, is that data will become clear in the future we would expect and then we will really understand more about how much of a problem we face with the emergence of these new

variance. for face with the emergence of these new variance. ., ., ., ~ , ., , variance. for now, thank you very much indeed. _ variance. for now, thank you very much indeed. could _ variance. for now, thank you very much indeed. could talk - variance. for now, thank you very much indeed. could talk to - variance. for now, thank you very much indeed. could talk to you, i much indeed. could talk to you, thank you, from the university of edinburgh. does good to talk to you. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. the weather is pretty good out there right now and the weekend is not looking bad either. a lot of at least bright weather on the way and probably quite sunny for many of us. at the moment, the temperatures are hovering around about ten to 12 celsius, so again below the average for the time of the year and through this evening and overnight the skies will be clear, so once again it is going to turn quite cold. but we do have a southerly breeze here, so that does mean that these western fringes of the uk will be frost free, for example in belfast, six degrees early on saturday morning, whereas many towns and cities further east close to freezing. then tomorrow, lots of sunshine on the way. a bit more cloud towards the north—west here. there is a weather front trying to approach, but it cannot

because of a big high pressure over us right now, but it will mean clouds will increase in the north—west of the country as we go through the weekend, so by sunday there might even be some spots of rain in some northern areas. bye— bye. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the archbishop of canterbury calls for believers to pray for the queen — in the run up to prince philip's funeral tomorrow. justin welby says he hopes the nation will sympathise. labour has said there are "serious questions to answer" after it emerged the health secretary, matt hancock, has shares in a potential supplier for nhs trusts in england. there are appeals for calm in chicago — as footage emerges of a 13—year—old boy being shot dead by police. doctors in india are calling it a tsunami —

200,000 covid cases have been recorded in 2a hours, and there are fears about a dangerous new variant. and whiter than white — scientists develop a paint that reflects so much sunlight it will help drive down carbon emissions. sport — and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good afernoon. this weekjust gets better and betterfor dan evans, the british number one — who beat novak djokovic yesterday — and is now through to the semi finals of the monte carlo masters after coming from a set down to beat the world number 15 david goffin 5—7 6—3 6—4. pure joy from evans at the end. he hadn't won on clay for four years until this week — and has never got this far in a masters 1000 tournament. he'll face greece's stefanos tsistsipas next for a place in the final.

great britain have won the opening match of their play—off against mexico. as they look to qualify for next year's billyjean king cup finals. it's the new name for the fed cup. kaie boulter is up first and she has just beaten marcela zacarias in straight sets. heather watson is up next taking on giuliana olmos. next to cricket — england all—rounder ben stokes is going to be out for up to 12 weeks after an x—ray and scan showed he needs surgery on a fractured finger. it means stokes will miss the test series against new zealand — and is also a doubt for england's white ball games against sri lanka and pakistan later injune. stokes was injured whilst playing in the indian premier league earlier this week and will fly home tomorrow with his surgery set for monday. england under 21 manager aidy boothroyd is stepping down after four years in the role,

just two weeks after the side finished bottom of their group at the european championship. england were one of the favourites for the tournament with a host of big name players to pick from, but went out following defeats to portugal and switzerland. our reporter alex howell has been telling us about who might be in the frame to take over. pressure has been on him with one of the most talented groups the nation has produced in a very long time. he had access to players like mason mount, phil foden, jude bellingham and trent alexander—arnold. but boothroyd has said his job is to not win trophies, but to give players to the first team — that led him to describe the under—21 job as an impossiblejob. next, it's fair to say there's still no love lost between paul pogba and his former manchester united bossjose mourinho. the pair fell out during their time at old trafford and now pogba's criticised mourinho's man management

style — accusing him of "going against players" and making them feel like "they don't exist any more". the comments come just a week after united beat mourinho's tottenham side — to increase the pressure on the manager. there's a setback for scotland ahead of this summer's euro 2020 after rangers midfielder ryanjack was ruled out due to a calf injury. he played a big part in the playoff win over serbia, but rangers manager steven gerrard has confirmed jack needs an operation — which will see him miss scotland's first major men's tournament in 23 years — which includes a group game against england at wembley. and some formula one action to bring you before we go — valterri bottas was fastest in second practice at the emilia romagna grand prix. the mercedes driver was just 0.01 seconds faster than his team—mate lewis hamilton, with pierre gasly in third. charles leclerc, meanwhile, had set the fastest lap, only to lose it for exceeding track limits. things got worse when he ended up

crashing in the closing seconds. and disappointment for red bull's max verstappen, too, who suffered a mechanical failure early in the session. that's all the sport for now. i will have more for you in the next hour. conspiracy theories about coronavirus vaccines and the pandemic have spiked on social media in recent months. our specialist disinformation reporter marianna spring recently spoke to one woman who used to believed online conspiracies. and marianna joins me now. she wasn't happy with the idea of vaccination but she has had a lot to

say to you. vaccination but she has had a lot to say to you-— say to you. her name is catherine, she lets say to you. her name is catherine, she gets to — say to you. her name is catherine, she gets to be _ say to you. her name is catherine, she gets to be an _ say to you. her name is catherine, she gets to be an ardent _ say to you. her name is catherine, she gets to be an ardent believeri say to you. her name is catherine, | she gets to be an ardent believer in anti—vaccine conspiracy theories and thatis anti—vaccine conspiracy theories and that is not legitimate concerns or conversations, it is the belief that vaccines are part of a sinister global plots to kill millions of people and other conspiracy theories specifically about health. a lot of that stemmed from her anti—science anti establishment upbringing but when social media came along she found a lot of anti—vaccine content online and she fell down the online conspiracy rabbit hole and for her this community became almost like a cult. i this community became almost like a cult. , ., cult. i felt extremely part of the club when _ cult. i felt extremely part of the club when i _ cult. i felt extremely part of the club when i was _ cult. i felt extremely part of the club when i was a _ cult. i felt extremely part of the club when i was a conspiracy i club when i was a conspiracy theorist _ club when i was a conspiracy theorist i_ club when i was a conspiracy theorist. i see it sadly is a bit of a cult _ theorist. i see it sadly is a bit of a cult i— theorist. i see it sadly is a bit of a cult. i hate to revert to anti—vaxxers as cult—like because i know_ anti—vaxxers as cult—like because i know myself what it is like to be on that side _ know myself what it is like to be on

that side. . . know myself what it is like to be on that side. . _ , ., that side. catherine says together that side. catherine says together that she did _ that side. catherine says together that she did eventually _ that side. catherine says together that she did eventually escape i that side. catherine says together that she did eventually escape all| that she did eventually escape all of that, if that is the right word. what did she say to you about how? for her it was not an overnight epiphany. it was a longer process and it was her cynicism that had led her down that rabbit hole to critique everything that helped her out in the end and she explained a little bit about that to me. it wasn't an overnight euphoric epiphany— wasn't an overnight euphoric epiphany whatsoever. if anything i went further into the rabbit hole before _ went further into the rabbit hole before i— went further into the rabbit hole before i started to make my way out, so for _ before i started to make my way out, so for me _ before i started to make my way out, so for me the fundamental thing that enabled _ so for me the fundamental thing that enabled me to climb out of this alternative reality was becoming even _ alternative reality was becoming even more critical. by alternative reality was becoming even more critical.— alternative reality was becoming even more critical. by being more critical she _ even more critical. by being more critical she was _ even more critical. by being more critical she was questioning i even more critical. by being more critical she was questioning how i even more critical. by being more i critical she was questioning how we perceive and work? why are they are no whistle—blowers that there are all these sinister plots going on? trying to understand who was sharing the stuff and why. it was the realisation she was being conned by

influence there is deliberately spreading falsehoods about vaccines and then going on to try to promote things she realised she had fallen into something she no longer wanted to be a part of and that is one of the reason she is speaking about this because she knows lots of people have been impacted and affected by conspiracy theories during the pandemic. i get tens of emails every week from people whose relatives have fallen down that rabbit hole and she hopes maybe she is able to help some other people with the story. is able to help some other people with the story-— with the story. one of the reason she wanted _ with the story. one of the reason she wanted to _ with the story. one of the reason she wanted to speak— with the story. one of the reason she wanted to speak to _ with the story. one of the reason she wanted to speak to you i with the story. one of the reason she wanted to speak to you was i she wanted to speak to you was because she will know from everything she has been through in the last ten years there are lots of people who believe that and read a lot that is not true and she is trying to get the word out, i suppose. trying to get the word out, i suppose-— trying to get the word out, i suppose. trying to get the word out, i suuose. �* , ., ., suppose. absolutely, and to give --eole suppose. absolutely, and to give people some _ suppose. absolutely, and to give people some advice _ suppose. absolutely, and to give people some advice about - suppose. absolutely, and to give people some advice about how i suppose. absolutely, and to give i people some advice about how they can speak to someone in their life, whether a friend or a family member, he might be believing extreme theories like the pandemic is not

real or the coronavirus jab is part of a sinister plot and her messages to be understanding and to understand why someone is believing this and to encourage them to interrogate why it is being shared and hubei. one misconception she saysis and hubei. one misconception she says is conspiracy theories are believed by people who are gullible and a lot of this is convincing and she fell victim to the taxing self committed anti—vaxxers online so she says have a conversation and people shouldn't feel ashamed if they believe their stuff, the problem is if it scares people away from the jab by incorrect information or by making people think the pandemic hasn't happened.— making people think the pandemic hasn't happened. hospitals in india are reporting severe shortages of beds and oxygen, as the number of coronavirus cases

continues to rise across the country. more than 200,000 cases were reported in the latest 24—hour period — a new record — and there are fears a dangerous new variant could be circulating. the government has been criticised for allowing large crowds to gather for the important hindu festival, the kumbh mela, as sima kotecha reports. this is india over the last 2a hours. another wave of coronavirus seeping through its veins. from delhi to mumbai to kolkata, its spread is vast and, for seven days now, a record daily increase in cases. in the western state of gujarat, it is particularly bad. hospitals struggling to cope and essential equipment said to be in short supply.

rakesh and his mum both have covid. every state, every district, every city, you can find each and every household, at least one or two positive cases of coronavirus. and this new strain is attacking like anything. the new strain is attacking straight to the lungs. the person feels like he or she is asymptomatic but, after four of five days, they have a storm inside the lungs. can i speak to your mum? sure, one minute, let me go to her.

india's official death toll has surpassed 170,000. experts say the pace at which new cases are increasing is concerning, with more than 200,000 reported yesterday — the highest daily number so far. more than 1,000 died from the virus in 2a hours for the second day running. this couldn't come at a worse time. the hindu festival kumbh mela is attracting millions of people to the banks of the river ganges. it's triggered a row, with some saying it shouldn't have been allowed to go ahead. a muslim faith gathering last year was partly blamed for spreading the virus. narendra modi is currently fighting an election. cancelling the mela wouldn't have not have done him any favours amongst his conservative hindu supporters. there were conflicting messages even within government

and the festival went ahead. state government, which is holding the mela, they are quite adamant in the sense that they don't want to curtail it or cancel it. on the other end, there are a few politicians and ministers that believe that the size of the crowd is very large and the way this second wave of the pandemic has hit us, we should call it off, we should curtail it, we should curb the movements of people. so there is kind of, you know, conflicting or mixed messages. some states have imposed night curfews. but many indians are still not changing their behaviour. election campaigning continues. large weddings are taking place, and shops remain open. doctors fear the addition of a new strain could be catastrophic. it's a very highly infectious strain, and it's also lethal, so it's more infectious

as well as it's lethal. we had not seen covid cases in the younger population. in the first wave, most of the patients were above 30. hardly we had seen any young patients. however in this wave, we have seen fairly young patients getting admitted with covid. sirens. the crematoriums and burial grounds are reported to be working overtime to cope with the high surge of deaths. people we've spoken to believe official figures don't depict the true horror. more than a billion people, and india is facing what some are calling a covid tsunami. sima kotecha, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: the archbishop of canterbury calls for believers to pray for the queen — in the run up to prince philip's funeral tomorrow. justin welby says he hopes the nation will sympathise.

labour has said there are "serious questions to answer" after it emerged the health secretary, matt hancock, has shares in a potential supplier for nhs trusts in england. there are appeals for calm in chicago — as footage emerges of a 13—year—old boy being shot dead by police. a court in hong kong has sentenced a group of nine leading pro—democracy campaigners for organising and taking part in a big protest march two years ago. the billionaire owner of hong kong's last opposition newspaper, jimmy lai, has been given a 12—month prison term, while the veteran activist martin lee has been jailed for 15 months. lord patten was the last british governor of hong kong

and present during the territory's handover to china in 1997. he spoke in damning terms about china's decision. one of the responsibilities is to speak out about this shameful and wicked act by beijing. it is very, very important that we do notjust let this go past, that we do actually make clear how much the chinese have spat on the agreement that they reached with us, how much they have broken it. these people have been brave and outspoken proponents of the rule of law, defenders of democracy. jimmy lai was somebody who himself smuggled himself out of china to escape chinese communism. he has been a brave, brave newspaper proprietor and media proprietor. the chinese have vengefully pursued him because he has been

a critic of the tiananmen massacre and other aspects of chinese communism and they have been determined to get him. he could have left hong kong at any time in the last few years and settled in taiwan — he has business interests there — or in america, but he chose to stay and fight for the things that he passionately believes in. and i think he is a person of extraordinary courage and, like several of the others who have been imprisoned or given suspended sentences today, he happens to be a practising catholic. it is like lee cheuk—yan as well, who has been given a prison sentence

who is a very good example of a christian socialist, somebody who believes in the good of ordinary people. these are terrible things the chinese are doing and i do condemn in hong kong who will be living with the shame of this for years and decades ahead. for many people living in england, this weekend could be their first chance for a getaway since last year. that's because self—contained accommodation was given the green light to reopen this week, following the latest easing of lockdown restrictions in the country. sarah corker has been speaking to those in the industry — about the rise in popularity of staycations. caravan sales have gone through the roof. more of us are booking holidays in the uk. so manufacturing firms that supply the tourism sector are busier than ever. what's demand been like over the last 12 months? oh, phenomenal. ever since about lastjuly, when the world opened up and people could go on holiday in the uk. in the autumn, our sales team processed an entire year, an entire ordinary year's worth, of sales, in six weeks.

and i guess the other thing to say is that we are 75 years old this year, and it's never been busier. hull is the caravan—making capital of britain. here in east yorkshire the industry employs more than 10,000 people, and this company is taking on more staff to keep things moving. are you seeing a change, then, in the types of people holidaying in this way, perhaps for the first time? the answer is yes. so we've seen a large influx with younger families looking to just enjoy a good holiday, often going in and hiring a home. from holiday homes in yorkshire to glamping in gloucestershire. this couple opened their business during the pandemic. it's aimed at those wanting to escape to the country. what the pandemic has done is re—highlighted the beauty of the british countryside. we've got lots and lots of londoners. a lot of the people who live in the city have got no outside space.

the first thing you want to do when you're let out is go somewhere that is completely different and maybe rough it slightly. this safari tent was handmade just down the road in stroud. it's not just canvases for campsites, but outdoor dining too. orders here are up 45%. we've had, you know, a huge increase for all manner of structures, really, for the outdoor hospitality industry, whether it's pubs and restaurants or cafes. we work with a few local breweries, pubs, hotels and cafes, that have looked to do the same. all manner of uses, really, just so that people can then look towards functioning and opening in a much more covid—safe manner. with foreign trips still off the cards, and with views like this, people are rediscovering the joys of holidaying closer to home, swapping the costa del sol for the cotswolds. scientists in the us

have developed a paint that is being described as "whiter than white" — and could help reduce energy use. painting a roof white is a way of keeping buildings cool and reduces the need for air conditioning. the team behind the new paint says its purity will reflect 98% of sunlight — helping to drive down carbon emissions. victoria gill reports. cool, heat—reflecting white rooms are already an urban climate solution embraced in cities around the world. in new york, more than ten million square feet of roofs have been coated with white, heat—reflecting paint. but these scientists say their ultra—white paint could make these roofs even cooler. while the whitest currently available paints reflect between 80—90% of sunlight, these researchers say theirs reflects more than 98%. covering a 1,000—square—foot roof with this paint, they estimate, would provide more cooling power than a typical central

air—conditioner. every 1% of reflectants you get will translate to ten watts per metre square less heating from the sun. so basically it provides the equivalent 18 kilowatts, and that is a big deal. that is more than a typical air—conditioner does for a house, with that same kind of space. the secret to its formulation also makes it relatively cheap to produce. the scientists use high concentrations of a compound called barium sulphate that's already used to make paper. painting buildings white to keep them cool in hot climates is something people have been doing for centuries. but sustainable designers and architects point out that, as a modern, energy saving solution, white roofs have their limits. if we have the possibility to apply them on every single roof surface, in any city, any fabric, or even at ground level, it could have a huge impact in terms

of reducing energy consumption of cities, although in particular when we're talking about ground level there would be issues around glare. so it may not be ideal solution. back in 2014, another group of scientists created the blackest possible black coating, a material called vantablack, that absorbs so much light it makes every surface look almost invisibly flat. and one museum in the us now wants to put these two breakthroughs side by side, displaying the whitest possible white alongside the blackest black. victoria gill, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. the weekend weather's looking pretty good for most of us.

the mornings will still be a little on the chilly side but here's the good news — the afternoon temperatures will pick up a little bit, perhaps into the mid teens for some of us. now, the settled weather is thanks to high pressure centred over scandinavia, it's actually extended into the uk and many western and central parts of europe. the winds are light as well, four orfive miles per hour worth of wind, hardly anything at all, and then you add the strong april sunshine, it doesn't feel too bad at all despite the temperatures only being around nine to 12 degrees. if you are in the breeze and on the north sea coast it does feel chilly but out towards the west where the winds are light it feels ok. through this evening we expect clear skies across the majority of the uk and overnight. there will be a frost again in central and eastern areas but out towards the west where we have more of a southerly breeze and a bit more cloud it should be frost—free for places like belfast. that's because there's a weather front brushing the very far north—west of the uk and the high pressure extending into england and wales but closer to northern ireland and western scotland we have weather fronts here and bits of cloud and spots of rain to come for the weekend. saturday for most of the country looks absolutely fine from the isle of wight to the pennines to aberdeen

with sunshine all round and best temperatures across more western areas such as 1a in liverpool and belfast. you can see on sunday the weather fronts are still in the same place, sort of sliding towards the north—east here with the high pressure dominating the weather across the uk. but it does mean it may turn damp in parts of northern ireland and at least the western isles as we go through the course of sunday and generally speaking more hazy skies across england. temperatures 1a or 15 celsius. if the sun comes out for any lengthy period of time it shouldn't feel bad at all. i say it's turning slightly milder but look what happens on tuesday and wednesday, we develop a northerly wind again so it does look as though the middle of next week after this brief warming to 1a, 15, maybe 16 the temperatures are going to go back down again.

this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines: the archbishop of canterbury calls for believers to pray for the queen in the run up to prince philip's funeral tomorrow. justin welby says he hopes the nation will sympathise. she is the queen. she will behave with the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage that she always does. and, at the same time, she is saying farewell to someone to whom she was married for 73 years.

labour has said there are "serious questions to answer", after it emerged the health secretary, matt hancock, has shares in a potential supplier for nhs trusts in england. there are appeals for calm in chicago, as footage emerges of a 13—year—old boy being shot dead by police. doctors in india are calling it a "tsunami" — 200,000 covid cases have been recorded in 2a hours, and there are fears about a dangerous new variant. and coming up, save our water voles. the uk's fastest declining mammal needs our help. find out how to get involved later this hour.

good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. final preparations are being made for the duke of edinburgh's funeral, which will take place tomorrow at st george's chapel in windsor. the archbishop of canterbury, who will give the blessing at the service, said he hoped the whole nation would reflect on a "profound day" for the royal family. much of the ceremony has been carefully planned by the duke, to reflect his life and interests. the head of britain's armed forces, general sir nick carter, will walk alongside the funeral procession, and said the details of the event had the prince's "fingerprints all over it". our correspondent sarah campbell sent this report from windsor. behind the castle walls, final rehearsals are under way. across windsor, extra police and wardens are on patrol, as the town prepares for the funeral

of one of its best—known residents. more than 700 service personnel have spent the last few days rehearsing precise movements, in tribute to the duke, who was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery and enterprise during the second world war. tomorrow afternoon, the duke's coffin will be borne through the grounds of windsor castle on this, a land rover hearse which the duke helped to design. its dark green colour, that of military vehicles. following the land rover on foot will be members of the royal family. in the front, the princess royal and the prince of wales. behind them, the earl of wessex and the duke of york, and then princes harry and william. in an already much commented upon formation, rather than walking side by side, the two brothers will be separated, with the princess royal's son peter phillips walking between them. as here in 2002, at the funeral of queen elizabeth, the queen mother, military uniforms would usually be worn by members of the family entitled to do so.

but tomorrow, all the royals will be in civilian dress. it is a neat way of avoiding controversy, which had been building around prince harry and prince andrew, with both having stepped back from royal duties and harry no longer entitled to wear a military uniform. inside the chapel, the service will be attended byjust 30 people, in line with the coronavirus restrictions. all the duke's children and grandchildren will be present, along with three of his german relatives. all, including the queen, will wear masks. the blessing will be given by the archbishop of canterbury. she's the queen. she will behave with the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage that she always does. and, at the same time, she is saying farewell to someone to whom she was married for 73 years. it will be a difficult day for the queen and her family. prince charles, yesterday visibly

moved, has talked about how grateful they all are for the many tributes which have been paid to his father. prince philip was known around the world. but, in windsor, there is a heightened sense of loss. he was the ranger in the great park for many years, and a dog walk would often include a brush with royalty. very, very regularly, you would see him out on his carriage. he would always acknowledge you, he would always say hello to the group of us as we were walking. you could see a real twinkle in his eye. he was definitely a real character. it will be very strange, because we have only ever known prince philip in my life, he's always been here. seeing him racing down here on his carriage one day, i've got a lovely picture. the message remains for the public to watch and listen to the funeral from home, due to the pandemic, helping to facilitate the duke's desire for a simple, no fuss funeral. well, we can speak now

to our correspondent helena wilkinson who's in windsor for us this afternoon. you have been there for much of today. it has been a pretty busy? it has and in the last couple of hours or so, the earl and countess of wessex have been here, in the castle just behind the walls there which is where st george's chapel is and that is when the duke of edinburgh's funeral will take place at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon. the earl and countess of wessex wherewith that daughter. they were driven into the grounds there and spent some time looking at the dozens and dozens of flowers which had been left by mums of the public. those flowers had been left not even aware —— not too far away from here. —— left by members of the public. people were discouraged from leaving flowers but it did not stop so many

people. the couple spent some time with their daughter looking at those flowers and the flowers are laid out on two sections of grass which separate a path which goes up to st george's chapel. there has been a lot of activity today here in terms of trucks and buses going in and out of trucks and buses going in and out of the castle. resort some military personnel going in on buses because there has been a full rehearsal here at the castle on the eve of the duke's funeral and everything will be practised to perfection which will be what the duke of edinburgh would have wanted and also would have expected. we heard from sarah's report there some more details about the funeral and the procession itself and yes, it will be scaled down. there will not be the 800 guests that we would have expected if we were not under covid restrictions, there will be just 30 guests tomorrow, but very much in keeping with the duke of edinburgh's

wishes. he had a huge amount of input into the planning of his own funeral and we note that all the music for example that is going to be played tomorrow it was chosen by the duke of edinburgh himself, the land rover that will carry his coffin, again he played a big part in adapting that and modifying that to carry his coffin tomorrow. so a private, intimate family service to marry here at windsor castle. it starts at three o'clock. —— family service here tomorrow. there will be a short procession before, but again to stress the advice for members of the public not to turn up here to insert simply because there will not be anything to see. everything will be anything to see. everything will be going on behind the walls of windsor castle and people have been advised to stay away and watch it on television or listen to the service on radio instead.— on radio instead. thank you very much indeed. _

let's bring you up—to—date with the latest coronavirus of figures. let's start with cases. there are 2596 cases that have been reported. let's compare that to last friday, hopefully we can bring at the screen up hopefully we can bring at the screen up for you. last friday that was at 3150. the latest cases, as you can see, 2596. this is coming from a government data. the number of deaths reported today, as of today, we had 3a deaths. that is within 28 days of a positive test compared to last friday where that figure stood at 60. the labour leader says the health secretary has

questions to answer surrounding shares he owns in a company which was approved as a potential supplierfor the nhs. a government spokesman said mr hancock had acted entirely properly. sir keir starmer also repeated his call for a full, transparent and independent inquiry into "what's going on." let's get more from our political correspondent, greg dawson. yet another enquiry. just explain the background to this and if this fits in to what we have seen earlier this week. it fits in to what we have seen earlier this week. . . , ' this week. it is slightly different to the lobbying _ this week. it is slightly different to the lobbying of _ this week. it is slightly different to the lobbying of stories - this week. it is slightly different to the lobbying of stories that i this week. it is slightly different. to the lobbying of stories that we have seen earlier this week. this basically starts with matt hancock declaring last month that he had acquired more than 15% of shares in acquired more than 15% of shares in a company called topwood limited. this is a company that specialises in shredding documentation. his sister is a director on this company

and in 2019, this company effectively won the right to pitch for business with the nhs in england. matt hancock of course was made health secretary for the nhs in 2018 and the question being asked by labour is when he was appointed to that role, should he have declared this family connection? if he did not, did he indeed break the ministerial code? we also know that top wood has subsequently been awarded £300,000 worth of contracts by the nhs in wales. it is important to stress here matt hancock has no involvement in that, it is a devolved issue and that would be done to the welsh labour government, but we have heard from the department of health spokesperson today who has said that matt hancock, before acquiring these shares, did check with the civil service if it would be appropriate. the civil service it looked into it and decided there was no conflict—of—interest. they also say the health secretary had no active role in running topwood and therefore no involvement in awarding

contracts to it. however, the labour leader says there are still some questions to answer here. every day there is more evidence of this return to sleaze. obviously matt hancock needs to answer these specific questions that have arisen today, but we have got to have a full enquiry. we cannot have this where day by day by day there are drips and drips and drips of sleaze, cronyism, contracts for mates. there has to be a full enquiry because this the return to sleaze and it has got to be cleared up. all of this of course started looking into the relations between politicians, civil servants and people in private businesses with the revelation that the former prime minister, david cameron, had lobbied on behalf of his employer, greensill capital. we now know it today that the national audit office is going to look into the issue of dealings between greensill and government. that brings the number of investigations into that effect

eight. investigations into that effect eiaht. . ~' , . the headlines on bbc news: the archbishop of canterbury calls for believers to pray for the queen in the run up to prince philip's funeral tomorrow. justin welby says he hopes the nation will sympathise. labour has said there are "serious questions to answer" after it emerged the health secretary, matt hancock, has shares in a potential supplier for nhs trusts in england. there are appeals for calm in chicago, as footage emerges of a 13—year—old boy being shot dead by police. we are going to stay with that story. in the us, the mayor of chicago has appealed for calm, after the release of footage showing a 13—year—old boy being shot dead by a policeman last month. the video shows adam toledo with his hands up and unarmed, although a weapon was

later recovered nearby. the teenager's death comes at a time of increased tension in the us about police killings. mark lobel reports. police, stop! a chicago police officer chases 13—year—old adam toledo down a dark alley before shooting him once in the chest. shots fired, shots fired, get an ambulance up here now. the boy's actions at that moment have become a source of contention. initially, it was claimed he was holding a gun. but bodycam footage appears to show no weapon is visible as he raises his hands. those videos speak for themselves. adam, during his last second of life, did not have a gun in his hand. the officer screamed at him, "show me your hands," adam complied, turned around, his hands were empty when he was shot in the chest at the hands of the officer.

separate cctv footage appears to show the teenager throwing what looks like a gun through a gap in the fence as the officer runs up to him. after the shooting, the policeman calls for an ambulance while urging adam to stay awake. cpr is performed — but it's too late. say his name! daunte wright! tensions are already high due to the fatal police shooting of daunte wright in a minneapolis suburb. add to that the ongoing trial in minneapolis of derek chauvin, the police officer accused of killing george floyd, who on thursday was asked in court if he wants to take the stand. i will invoke my fifth amendment privilege today. the decision whether or not to testify... let me take this off. ..is entirely yours. is this your decision not to testify? it is, your honour.

all right. following the release of these videos, shops were boarded up in chicago, leaving america with even more uncomfortable questions to answer. can the sons and daughters of slave catchers police the sons and daughters of slaves? and that's part of the problem. where you see the police, in their dna, there is the american history of white supremacy. chicago's mayor condemned what she called her city's legacy of police violence and misconduct, leaving its residents, especially those who are black and brown, as she put it, in a constant state of fearand pain. mark lobel, bbc news. eight people have been killed and many injured in a shooting in the us city of indianapolis. witnesses reported seeing a man firing an automatic weapon at a fedex warehouse. our correspondent gary o'donoghue

gave us this update. it happened late last night in indianapolis, at a fedex warehouse, as you say, just close to the airport in indianapolis. police were called at around 11pm to an active shooter incident. it seems when they got there it was pretty much all over and what seems to have happened is a man got out of his car in the car park, started shooting immediately, we understand with some kind of rifle. then went inside the facility, but may not have got beyond the metal detectors, but in those short few minutes he managed to kill eight people and several others are in the hospital, including one who is critically injured. it has taken some time for relatives of those who died to find out for this reason that the workers in the fedex facility are not allowed their phones, so while they were corralled to a nearby hotel to be reunited, there was not any means for them to connect with their families outside and let them know they were all right.

so there has been a lot of worry for the families and of course this does come after a pretty horrendous, horrific month in the united states of these kind of shootings. we had ten people killed at a supermarket in colorado last month and of course eight people killed at various spas across the atlanta area, including six women of asian descent. that is just to name but two in the last month aside from this one. just to let you know, we have a comment coming from the us vice president, kamala harris, regarding the incident in indianapolis saying that there is no question that this violence must end. she goes on to say that president biden will deliver remarks about the shooting later. kamala harris has said there is no question that this violence must end and that the president will

be delivering remarks about the shooting later. so as soon as we get those, we will of course bring them to you. the latest coronavirus infection survey figures have come out this lunchtime. the ons estimates around one in 500 people across the uk tested positive for coronavirus last week. that figure is down nearly 90% on the levels reported at the start of january. the bbc�*s head of statistics, robert cuffe, is here. we'll look at those figures in a moment with but first, we've had an update to the r number today? the pandemic is most likely on the way down, but there is a chance it is flat. so it depends on where you look in the uk. in england, the laterfigure is look in the uk. in england, the later figure is somewhere look in the uk. in england, the laterfigure is somewhere between 0.7 and one. last week it was somewhere between 0.8 and one. so maybe it is moving down a little, but there is always a possibility the r is one which means the

pandemic is not shrinking for some a little lower in wales and a bit higher in northern ireland. the clearest picture we get in the direction of travel, which is what r is telling us, is given by the infection levels which you are saying a couple of seconds ago. let's look at those numbers. should we be heartened that it does show the dropping off?— the dropping off? absolutely. viewers can _ the dropping off? absolutely. viewers can see _ the dropping off? absolutely. viewers can see this - the dropping off? absolutely. viewers can see this now, i the dropping off? absolutely. | viewers can see this now, the figures injanuary, one and a quarter million people had coronavirus at the time and that has come down so far since then. you can see in march around the time schools were opening up in england, that decline it did start to flatten out a little and these figures cover the week after easter. you can see they started to come back down again. from just under about 200,000 people they thought were infected to about 130,000, quite a drop in a week. does not really show in that chart because it is so small to where we are, but still good news. you

because it is so small to where we are, but still good news.— are, but still good news. you look at fi . ures are, but still good news. you look at figures and _ are, but still good news. you look at figures and correlations, - are, but still good news. you look at figures and correlations, is i at figures and correlations, is there a direct correlation by that drop and an increase in vaccines? it is hard to peel apart those figures. their art two macro great tools we have had, vaccines and lockdown. i think what you can say on the basis of the figures is that whatever weight we are putting on the vaccines by opening up society in recent weeks, it certainly has not led to this wild resurgence of the virus, the uptick in cases we have seenin virus, the uptick in cases we have seen in france and europe. that is showing the vaccines are bearing some of the brunt. it is very difficult to say exactly. i wouldn't give specific percentages, i would not be that brave. fair give specific percentages, i would not be that brave.— not be that brave. fair enough. lateral not be that brave. fair enough. lateral flow _ not be that brave. fair enough. lateral flow tests, _ not be that brave. fair enough. lateral flow tests, very - not be that brave. fair enough. l lateral flow tests, very confusing at the moment, are they giving positives or negatives? brute at the moment, are they giving positives or negatives? we have had different stories. _ positives or negatives? we have had different stories. one _ positives or negatives? we have had different stories. one of _ positives or negatives? we have had different stories. one of my - different stories. one of my colleagues in the bbc reported some

data yesterday that showed that a lot of the lateral flow tests in england in march, when they were checked with the gold standard, it turned out they were giving the right answer. the story in the guardian today saying reporting some leaked e—mails which suggested some modelling which suggested the opposite might be the case and most of the answers might be wrong. to be honest, it is easy to get confused, i will always side with the hard data and some of the figures from the ons today support that. i think when things are that difficult, the big problem is we are not getting the real data on how well lateral flow testing is working from the government. we know that these tests are not perfect, they make mistakes. if you get a positive, you should get it checked, but if you use them regularly and repeatedly it can help to find people who are infected and to find people who are infected and to know it and if they isolate, that can slow the spread. but that is a theory. we do not know about theory until we get the real world data and we have not seen it from the government yet, so we are relying on

reported getting weeks, finding spots of data and doing the best with that. . ~ spots of data and doing the best with that. ., ~ , ., spots of data and doing the best with that. . ~' , ., ., spots of data and doing the best with that. ., ~ , ., ., ., , ., with that. thank you for what you have done _ with that. thank you for what you have done with _ with that. thank you for what you have done with all _ with that. thank you for what you have done with all of _ with that. thank you for what you have done with all of those i with that. thank you for what you i have done with all of those figures, thank you very much. new rules about travel and meeting people outdoors have come into force in scotland, ten days earlier than planned. six adults from different households can now meet outside and people can leave their local area. lorna gordon is at loch lomond. i think there is a collective sigh of relief. for many people, the last time they saw their families was on christmas day, restrictions came in again after that brief interlude, and now, ten days earlier than planned, the stay local restriction has been lifted because there has been good progress on the vaccination programme and the number of people testing positive for covid has been coming down. we have been down on loch lomond since the sun started rising. some wild swimmers have been braving the water. the temperature is 8 degrees, pretty chilly. most of them are heading out in wet suits.

there was also plenty of canoeists out this morning, some who had travelled from glasgow, which is about half an hour away. of course, in a different council area, one lady i was speaking to said this is the first time she has been out here since last summer. gordon watson, the chief executive of loch lomond and the trossachs national park said they are gearing up for people to return. we know that people are desperate to get out after such a long winter lockdown, so we're looking forward to welcoming a lot of people this weekend. the message is plan ahead. we're not back to normal yet. a few things are still closed — hospitality, businesses, no overnight stays yet. there are toilets open, we have extra toilets out, loads of rangers here to welcome people. plan ahead, check our car park website to see what is available, stay away from busy places, but enjoy yourselves and look after the place. i think it's fair to assume there will be extra police in areas like this over the weekend.

what they don't want to see is the scenes they saw last summer, where the roads got clogged, where there were big crowds of people on the beaches by the lochs. because, of course, the restriction is still that it is a maximum of six adults, from six different households, which can mix together. the next point to watch for is a week on monday, that is when we will see a big easing in the restrictions around the economy. that is when all remaining shops can reopen. tourist accommodation can reopen, as can hospitality, indoor and outdoor spaces. so, good news today. the stay local restriction is easing. people will be able to see friends and family, socialise and come out to beautiful areas like this for exercise and leisure. the german chancellor, angela merkel, has been vaccinated with the first dose of the astrazeneca vaccine. her spokesman tweeted a shot of ms merkel�*s certificate saying

that she was happy to be vaccinated. germany's vaccine regulator has recommended limiting the use of astrazeneca's vaccine to those aged over 60. ms merkel is 66. the chancellor also urged german mps to allow her to force lockdowns on areas with high infection rates. prosecutors in northern ireland are to bring charges against seven people in connction with the alleged ill—treatment of patients in a hospital psychiatric unit. it's understood those being prosecuted are staff members at muckamore abbey hospital, in county antrim. our ireland correspondent, chris page, gave us this update earlier. these are the first prosecutions, jane, in what is a major police investigation. the allegations that patients at muckamore abbey were being ill—treated were first made public in 2017 and detectives began investigating. muckamore abbey isjust outside the town of antrim, a few miles from belfast, and it provides facilities

for patients with severe learning disabilities and severe mental health difficulties. so, seven members of staff, it is understood, at muckamore abbey are to be prosecuted, charged with a range of offences including ill—treatment of patients and also wilful neglect of patients. it is understood that they were staff members they were staff members in the psychiatric intensive care unit at the hospital. this comes as a result of prosecutors examining a file that was sent to them by police about this time last year. there was another file which landed on prosecutor's desks in december, so about four months ago, and it's understood they're still examining that and in particular that relates to eight further suspects, so there have been 15 arrests in all, in this investigation. the police have said the decision to move ahead with prosecutions does mark significant progress

in the investigation. the families of the patients concerned have been told about the decision and the police say they will continue to work with those families and it is a priority for them to do their best for the most vulnerable in society. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. the weather is pretty good out there right now and the weekend is not looking bad either. a lot of at least bright weather on the way and probably quite sunny for many of us. at the moment, the temperatures are hovering around about ten to 12 celsius, so again below the average for the time of the year and through this evening and overnight the skies will be clear, so once again it is going to turn quite cold. but we do have a southerly breeze here, so that does mean that these western fringes of the uk will be frost free, for example in belfast, six degrees early on saturday morning, whereas many towns and cities further east close to freezing. then tomorrow, lots of

sunshine on the way. a bit more cloud towards the north—west here. there is a weather front trying to approach, but it cannot because of a big high pressure over us right now, but it will mean clouds will increase in the north—west of the country as we go through the weekend, so by sunday there might even be some spots of rain in some northern areas. bye— bye.

hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: the archbishop of canterbury calls for believers to pray for the queen — in the run up to prince philip's funeral tomorrow. justin welby says he hopes the nation will sympathise. she is the queen. she will behave with the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage that she always does. and at the same time, she is saying farewell to someone to

whom she was married for 73 years. labour has said there are "serious questions to answer" after it emerged the health secretary, matt hancock, has shares in a potential supplier for nhs trusts in england. there are appeals for calm in chicago — as footage emerges of a 13—year—old boy being shot dead by police. doctors in india are calling it a tsunami — 200,000 covid cases have been recorded in 2a hours, and there are fears about a dangerous new variant. and the uk's fastest declining mammal needs your help. find out how you can get involved shortly. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc

sport centre, here's chetan. good afernoon. it's the week thatjust gets better and betterfor dan evans. the british number one — who beat novak djokovic yesterday — is now through to the semi finals of the monte carlo masters after coming from a set down to beat the world number 15 david goffin 5—7 6—3 6—4. he hadn't won on clay for four years until this week and has never got this far in a masters 1000 tournament. he'll face greece's stefanos tsistsipas next for a place in the final. staying with tennis — great britain have won the opening match of their playoff against mexico as they look to qualify for next year's billyjean king cup finals. it's the new name for the fed cup. thing have got off to a perfect start for gb with katie boulter — who's had injury problems for a couple of years — easing past marcela zacarias in straight sets — winning 6—0 in the second. so that puts britain 1—0 up in the tie. this is the best of five, with the winning nation through to one more qualifier next february.

heather watson is playing gb's second match at the moment at the national tennis centre in london. these are live pictures of her match against giuliana olmos — it's currently 5—4 to watson. you can watch it now on the bbc sport website, app, iplayer and via the red button. next to cricket — england all—rounder ben stokes is going to be out for up to 12 weeks after an x—ray and scan showed he needs surgery on a fractured finger. it means stokes will miss the test series against new zealand — and is also a doubt for england's white ball games against sri lanka and pakistan later injune. stokes was injured whilst playing in the indian premier league earlier this week and will fly home tomorrow with his surgery set for monday. england under—21 manager aidy boothroyd is stepping down after four years in the role, just two weeks after the side finished bottom of their group at the european championship. england were one of the favourites for the tournament with a host

of big name players to pick from, but went out following defeats to portugal and switzerland. our reporter alex howell has been telling us about who might be in the frame to take over. nothing is concrete but fans on social media have been speaking about people like frank lampard and eddie howe who have records of bringing through young players and have exciting football but it comes down to how the fa see the role. the best way to explain it is that boothroyd said you don't get the reserve team manager knocking on the first team manager's door asking for a player so why should it be the reserve? —— reverse? one match in the premier league tonight as asjose mourinho takes his spurs side to everton. just a point seperates the sides as they both battle for a european spot — and with a week to go

until the league cup final mourinho knows what a big few days his side face. the match is very important. the distance between the two teams is very very short. of course they have one match in hand in relation to us but the distance is very, very short. they have similar objectives to us. they are going to fight with us and with other clubs to try the best possible position and see a free and then can get a european position so it is an important match. and some formula one action to bring you before we go — valterri bottas was fastest in second practice at the emilia romagna grand prix. the mercedes driver was just 0.01 seconds faster than his team—mate lewis hamilton, with pierre gasly in third. charles leclerc, meanwhile, had set the fastest lap, only to lose it for exceeding track limits. things got worse when he ended up crashing in the closing seconds.

and disappointment for red bull's max verstappen too, who suffered a mechanical failure early in the session. that's all the sport for now. i will have more for you in the next hour. hospitals in india are reporting severe shortages of beds and oxygen, as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise across the country. more than 200,000 cases were reported in the latest 24—hour period — a new record — and there are fears a dangerous new variant could be circulating. the government has been criticised for allowing large crowds to gather for the important hindu festival, the kumbh mela, as sima kotecha reports. this is india over the last 2a hours. another wave of coronavirus seeping through its veins.

from delhi to mumbai to kolkata, its spread is vast and, for seven days now, a record daily increase in cases. in the western state of gujarat, it is particularly bad. hospitals struggling to cope and essential equipment said to be in short supply. rakesh and his mum both have covid. every state, every district, every city, you can find each and every household, at least one or two positive cases of coronavirus. and this new strain is attacking like anything. the new strain is attacking straight to the lungs. the person feels like he or she is asymptomatic but, after four or five days, they have a storm inside the lungs. can i speak to your mum? sure, one minute, let me go to her.

india's official death toll has surpassed 170,000. experts say the pace at which new cases are increasing is concerning, with more than 200,000 reported yesterday — the highest daily number so far. more than 1,000 died from the virus in 2a hours for the second day running. this couldn't come at a worse time. the hindu festival kumbh mela is attracting millions of people to the banks of the river ganges. it's triggered a row, with some saying it shouldn't have been allowed to go ahead. a muslim faith gathering last

year was partly blamed for spreading the virus. narendra modi is currently fighting an election. cancelling the mela wouldn't have not have done him any favours amongst his conservative hindu supporters. there were conflicting messages even within government and the festival went ahead. state government, which is holding the mela, they are quite adamant in the sense that they don't want to curtail it or cancel it. on the other end, there are a few politicians and ministers that believe that the size of the crowd is very large and the way this second wave of the pandemic has hit us, we should call it off, we should curtail it, we should curb the movements of people. so there is kind of, you know, conflicting or mixed messages. some states have imposed night curfews. but many indians are still not

changing their behaviour. election campaigning continues. large weddings are taking place, and shops remain open. doctors fear the addition of a new strain could be catastrophic. it's a very highly infectious strain, and it's also lethal, so it's more infectious as well as it's lethal. we had not seen covid cases in the younger population. in the first wave, most of the patients were above 30. hardly we had seen any young patients. however in this wave, we have seen fairly young patients getting admitted with covid. sirens. the crematoriums and burial grounds are reported to be working overtime to cope with the high surge of deaths. people we've spoken to believe official figures don't depict the true horror. more than a billion people, and india is facing what some are calling a covid tsunami.

sima kotecha, bbc news. 77 cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in india have been identified in the uk. 73 cases have been confirmed in england as well as four cases in scotland. as you just heard, india's covid rates are soaring — with almost 1a million confirmed cases — but the country isn't currently on the uk's travel red list. paul hunter, professor in medicine at the university of east anglia, told us there may be questions about the variant�*s resistance to vaccines. india itself is seeing a pretty dramatic increase in cases at the moment and it has since the beginning of march, and we don't know for certain that this variant is what is driving that but it's certainly possible. the other thing is that this variant has possibly two escape mutations

and an escape mutation is a mutation that makes the virus a bit more resistant to immunisation, and it's plausible, but we don't know for certain, that two escape mutations would make the virus even less susceptible to vaccine than currently the south african and brazilian variants are, and this is sort of what we see with human coronaviruses — that even before covid they gradually accumulate new escape mutations and gradually move away from immune control over a number of years, so it is worrying but, as i said, it's still early days yet. scientists in the us have developed a paint that is being described as "whiter than white" — and could help reduce energy use. painting a roof white is a way of keeping buildings cool

and reduces the need for air conditioning. the team behind the new paint says its purity will reflect 98% of sunlight — helping to drive down carbon emissions. victoria gill reports. cool, heat—reflecting white rooms are already an urban climate solution embraced in cities around the world. in new york, more than ten million square feet of roofs have been coated with white, heat—reflecting paint. but these scientists say their ultra—white paint could make these roofs even cooler. while the whitest currently available paints reflect between 80—90% of sunlight, these researchers say theirs reflects more than 98%. covering a 1,000—square—foot roof with this paint, they estimate, would provide more cooling power than a typical central air—conditioner. every 1% of reflectants you get will translate to ten watts per metre square less heating from the sun. so basically it provides the equivalent 18 kilowatts, and that is a big deal. that is more than a typical

air—conditioner does for a house, with that same kind of space. the secret to its formulation also makes it relatively cheap to produce. the scientists use high concentrations of a compound called barium sulphate that's already used to make paper. painting buildings white to keep them cool in hot climates is something people have been doing for centuries. but sustainable designers and architects point out that, as a modern, energy saving solution, white roofs have their limits. if we have the possibility to apply them on every single roof surface, in any city, any fabric, or even at ground level, it could have a huge impact in terms of reducing energy consumption of cities, although in particular when we're talking about ground level there would be issues around glare. so it may not be ideal solution. back in 2014, another group of scientists created the blackest possible black coating, a material called vantablack, that absorbs so much light it

makes every surface look almost invisibly flat. and one museum in the us now wants to put these two breakthroughs side by side, displaying the whitest possible white alongside the blackest black. victoria gill, bbc news. the welsh liberal democrats have published their manifesto for the elections to the senedd on the 6th may. the focus of the manifesto is on "recovery" for the economy, from climate change and in people's mental health and social care following the coronavirus pandemic. party leaderjane dodds set out her plans at a house building site in cardiff. we want to make sure that we support our high streets and our small businesses. we want to abolish business rates and have a much more different model. on the mental health, we want a 24/7 mental health service. for our carers, we want to make sure they have the living wage and we want better working

conditions for them. and finally, on the planet, we want to make sure there is a better—funded approach to our planet and to make sure we address climate change here in wales. the headlines on bbc news: the archbishop of canterbury calls for believers to pray for the queen — in the run up to prince philip's funeral tomorrow. justin welby says he hopes the nation will sympathise. labour has said there are "serious questions to answer" after it emerged the health secretary, matt hancock, has shares in a potential supplier for nhs trusts in england. there are appeals for calm in chicago — as footage emerges of a 13—year—old boy being shot dead by police. for many people living in england, this weekend could be their first chance for a getaway since last year. that's because self—contained accommodation was given the green light to reopen this week, following the latest

easing of lockdown restrictions in the country. sarah corker has been speaking to those in the industry — about the rise in popularity of staycations. caravan sales have gone through the roof. more of us are booking holidays in the uk. so manufacturing firms that supply the tourism sector are busier than ever. what's demand been like over the last 12 months? oh, phenomenal. ever since, about lastjuly, when the world opened up and people could go on holiday in the uk. in the autumn, our sales team processed an entire year, an entire ordinary year's worth, of sales in six weeks. and i guess the other thing to say is that we are 75 years old this year, and it's never been busier. hull is the caravan—making capital of britain. here in east yorkshire the industry employs more than 10,000 people, and this company is taking on

more staff to keep things moving. are you seeing a change, then, in the types of people holidaying in this way, perhaps for the first time? the answer is yes. so we've seen a large influx with younger families looking to just enjoy a good holiday, often going in and hiring a home. from holiday homes in yorkshire to glamping in gloucestershire. this couple opened their business during the pandemic. it's aimed at those wanting to escape to the country. what the pandemic has done is re—highlighted the beauty of the british countryside. we've got lots and lots of londoners. a lot of the people who live in the city have got no outside space. the first thing you want to do when you're let out is go somewhere that is completely different and maybe rough it slightly. this safari tent was handmade just down the road in stroud. it's not just canvases for campsites, but outdoor dining too.

orders here are up 45%. we've had, you know, a huge increase for all manner of structures, really, for the outdoor hospitality industry, whether it's pubs and restaurants or cafes. we work with a few local breweries, pubs, hotels and cafes, that have looked to do the same. all manner of uses, really, just so that people can then look towards functioning and opening in a much more covid—safe manner. with foreign trips still off the cards, and with views like this, people are rediscovering the joys of holidaying closer to home, swapping the costa del sol for the cotswolds. now, what's the link between the duke of edinburgh and this table? in a moment we'll tell you. this past week has been an education for many of us on the colourful life of the duke of edinburgh, which began nearly 100 years ago on the greek island of corfu.

our royal correspondentjonny dymond has been unearthing the latest extraordinary secret. from the greek island of corfu to a bland office block in the city of london, one of the last secrets of an extraordinary life. here it is. this is the table. the table on which prince philip was born. the paperwork shows the sale of the table from the corfu villa to the british embassy in greece. after decades in a warehouse, it was sold to shipbrokers based in london, who first used it as their dining table. the company that bought the table wrote to prince philip in the early �*80s and said, "we have the place where you were born." his response? his memory was a little sketchy about the event. all we can say is that, when we look at old biographies,

it talks about the doctor at that time suggesting that the bed was not somehow appropriate and so that she was carried downstairs and placed on the dining room table. which was more appropriate if rather less comfortable. perhaps that's the case. i think it was made to be as comfortable as possible. i hope so! but is there more to the table than a good polish? what makes a dining table the right kind of table for a princely birth? the table is, you know, queen anne style, as are the chairs. so, you know, if you had hypothetically a sort of, you know, late 18th century style pedestal dining table, someone couldn't be giving birth on that but you could on this. forgive me, why not? why would a late 18th century table be a problem for giving birth? because they're much less stable.

dining table, birth table, boardroom table — as the end of the journey approaches, the very beginning is revealed. jonny dymond, bbc news. now, we're going to talk about these little things — they're called water voles — and the people's trust for endangered species is looking for volunteers across england, scotland and wales to go in search of them. the wildlife charity wants people to log their sightings along local waterways between now and the 15th ofjune. water vole populations have declined by over 90% in the last century and the national water vole monitoring programme will help conversationists to try and help the species recover. we'll find out more in a minute, but first

if you're not sure what to look for along your local riverbank, this is the watervole. i'm joined now by henrietta pringle, key species monitoring and data officer at the people's trust for endangered species. thank you forjoining us. they looked cute and furry but i will be honest with you, if i saw that i would think it was a rat.-

honest with you, if i saw that i would think it was a rat. yes, they can be easily _ would think it was a rat. yes, they can be easily confused _ would think it was a rat. yes, they can be easily confused with - would think it was a rat. yes, they can be easily confused with rats. l can be easily confused with rats. the thing to look for is rats have a quite distinctive naked tail which a waterfall doesn't, they are shorter and farrier, and they have around their periods with a blunter face and generally a bit cuter. brute their periods with a blunter face and generally a bit cuter. we have 'ust ut and generally a bit cuter. we have just put some _ and generally a bit cuter. we have just put some pictures _ and generally a bit cuter. we have just put some pictures up - and generally a bit cuter. we have just put some pictures up for- and generally a bit cuter. we have just put some pictures up for our. just put some pictures up for our viewers. the rat is on the right. the waterfall has distinctive big feet. . , . feet. yes. they are quite distinctive. _ feet. yes. they are quite distinctive. the - feet. yes. they are quite distinctive. the other i feet. yes. they are quite l distinctive. the other thing feet. yes. they are quite i distinctive. the other thing to feet. yes. they are quite - distinctive. the other thing to look for is a rounded face and with rats you can see their ears clearly whereas water voles are quite hidden. ~ , ., .,, whereas water voles are quite hidden. ~ , ., , . whereas water voles are quite hidden. , ., , . ., hidden. why have we lost such a huge --oulation, hidden. why have we lost such a huge population. 9096? _ hidden. why have we lost such a huge population, 9096? it _ hidden. why have we lost such a huge population, 9096? it is _ hidden. why have we lost such a huge population, 9096? it is staggering. i population, 9096? it is staggering. it is a combination _ population, 9096? it is staggering. it is a combination of— population, 9096? it is staggering. it is a combination of factors. i it is a combination of factors. habitat loss is a big one and

habitat fragmentation which means you get patches of good—quality habitat but they are not linked up in anyway so the water vole populations are left isolated and cannot get to each other. the other thing is american mink were introduced into this country for fur farming and have escaped and established themselves that they are a really big threat to water vole three and one of the main reasons for their most recent declines. hostel]! for their most recent declines. well ou alwa s for their most recent declines. well you always spot _ for their most recent declines. well you always spot their nearer waterway? i understand there are some populations that have got nothing to do with water. yes. nothing to do with water. yes, that's right- — nothing to do with water. yes, that's right. in _ nothing to do with water. yes, that's right. in europe - nothing to do with water. yes, that's right. in europe the i nothing to do with water. 12:3 that's right. in europe the water vole populations there are far more associated with terrestrial grassland habitats and there is one such population in glasgow, but mainly in the uk they are much more water based rather than those grassland ones that you get in

europe. grassland ones that you get in euro e. �* , grassland ones that you get in euroe. �* , a, a a, grassland ones that you get in euroe. a a, , a, europe. any advice for people who want to go — europe. any advice for people who want to go out _ europe. any advice for people who want to go out and _ europe. any advice for people who want to go out and try _ europe. any advice for people who want to go out and try to - europe. any advice for people who want to go out and try to spot - europe. any advice for people who i want to go out and try to spot them? i live near foxton locks in leicestershire and i have never seen a water vole. what should we look for? ~ , ., , ., ., a water vole. what should we look for? ~ ,, , ., ., , , for? when you sign to our survey we will provide — for? when you sign to our survey we will provide with _ for? when you sign to our survey we will provide with guides _ for? when you sign to our survey we will provide with guides and - for? when you sign to our survey we will provide with guides and photos | will provide with guides and photos and things to look far, but these include things like their boroughs, there are piles of droppings they live next to breeding territories and their feeding signs. live next to breeding territories and theirfeeding signs. they live next to breeding territories and their feeding signs. they leave quite distinctive marks. they eat up to 200 different types of grasses and the catch them at a 45 degrees angle so you will often see piles of those at feeding stations so if you look out for those as well. gardeners also sometimes are at war with voles or malls because they eat the roots so if you spot them or recognise them as evil should they be recorded as well? —— a vole. we

be recorded as well? -- a vole. we are be recorded as well? —— a vole. - are specifically looking for water voles. ., , ., are specifically looking for water voles. . , ., , are specifically looking for water voles. . , ., ., are specifically looking for water voles. . , ., voles. can you tell us how to sign u - ? voles. can you tell us how to sign u? you voles. can you tell us how to sign up? you can _ voles. can you tell us how to sign up? you can find _ voles. can you tell us how to sign up? you can find out _ voles. can you tell us how to sign up? you can find out how - voles. can you tell us how to sign up? you can find out how to - voles. can you tell us how to sign up? you can find out how to on i voles. can you tell us how to sign | up? you can find out how to on the website. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. the weather is pretty good right now and the weekend has a lot of nice weather for many of us. temperatures hovering around about ten to 12 celsius so below—average for the time of year and through this evening and overnight these guys will be clear to once again it is going to turn quite cold but we have a southerly breeze so that means these western fringes of the uk will

be frost free, for example in belfast, whereas many towns and cities further east close to freezing. tomorrow lots of sunshine on the way. a bit more cloud towards the north—west with a weather front trying to approach which cannot because of the high pressure. it will mean clouds will increase in the north—west of the country as we go through the weekend so by sunday there might be some spots of rain in some northern areas.

this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak. this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines... the headlines... final preparations ahead of the duke final preparations ahead of the duke of edinburgh's funeral tomorrow. of edinburgh's funeral tomorrow. the archbishop of canterbury urges the archbishop of canterbury urges the public to support the public to support the queen at what he calls the queen at what he calls a "very profound" moment. a "very profound" moment. questions to answer" after it she is the queen. she is the queen. she will behave with she will behave with the extraordinary dignity the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage and extraordinary courage that she always does. that she always does. and, at the same time, and, at the same time, she is saying farewell to someone she is saying farewell to someone to whom she was married to whom she was married for 73 years. for 73 years.

labour says there are "serious labour says there are "serious questions to answer" after it emerged the health secretary, matt hancock, has shares in a potential supplier for nhs trusts in england. police, stop! appeals for calm in chicago, as footage emerges of a is—year—old boy being shot dead by police.