this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: final preparations for the funeral of the duke of edinburgh — a ceremony partly planned by the duke himself. just keep your head down a little bit. we have a special report from ukraine, where tensions build. russian troops gather on the border. the diplomatic row between russia and the us intensifies: moscow orders ten american diplomats to pack up and leave. and the british actor helen mccrory, best known for her roles in the tv series peaky blinders and three harry potter films, has died of cancer at the age of 52.

hello and welcome to the programme. final preparations are being made for the funeral of the duke of edinburgh at windsor castle. the archbishop of canterbury, who will play a key part in the service, told the bbc the queen, as a grieving widow, now found herself in the same position as millions of others who've lost family members in the pandemic. the funeral will be a more muted event, with people being told not to go to windsor because of covid restrictions and to watch proceedings on tv. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports from windsor. a husband and wife, plainly happy in each other�*s company — a previously private image taken at balmoral in 2003, selected by the queen to be published on the eve of her husband's funeral. outside st george's chapel, within windsor castle, some of the flowers left

by members of the public have been laid out on the lawns. close by, a wreath from the prime minister, with a card paying tribute to a man to whom the nation owes more than words can say. there were wreaths, too, from commonwealth nations, from canada and new zealand — countries which the duke had often visited. the earl and countess of wessex and their daughter came to inspect the flowers and some of the cards and other tributes which have been left, and this as the final touches for tomorrow's funeral were being put into place. present arms! all the military contingents who are involved in the short ceremonial procession have completed their main preparations. at the centre of the procession will be the land rover hearse, which the duke helped to design. it will be in the castle's central quadrangle that the proceedings will begin.

the service detachments will be drawn up. a few moments after 2:40 tomorrow, the duke's coffin will be borne from the state entrance to be placed on the land rover. at 2:45, the small procession will step off for the eight—minute journey through the castle. some members of the royal family will walk behind the coffin. the queen will follow in a limousine. the route will be lined by the military. at 2:53, the coffin will arrive at the west steps of st george's chapel. it will be borne to the top of the steps, where it will pause. at three o'clock, a one—minute silence will be observed, before the coffin enters the chapel for the funeral service. inside the chapel, the queen will sit by herself. like all the 30 members of the congregation, she will wear a mask. at one point, the chapel will echo to the bugle call for action stations — a reminder of the duke's service as an officer in the royal navy in the second world war. in the town of windsor,

many of the residents have their own stories of the duke. you would see him out on his carriage and he would always — he would always acknowledge you, he would always say hello to the group of us as we were walking. it will be very strange because we've only ever known prince philip in my life — he's always been here. so, a castle which has witnessed many moments in britain's long royal history is ready for another. the weather forecast for tomorrow is good, but both the palace and the police are hoping that won't tempt people to come to windsor. they've reiterated the point that no part of the funeral will be visible to spectators. the only way to follow it is to watch it on television. audiences around the world will watch and listen as the queen bids farewell to the man she described as her "beloved husband". nicholas witchell, bbc news, windsor. next, escalating tensions between ukraine and russia have

been the focus of international talks between ukraine's president and the leaders of france and germany. volodymyr zelensky has been anxious to increase international support following the recent build—up of russian troops along ukraine's eastern border and in crimea. there have been tensions between russia and ukraine ever since russia annexed the crimea in april 2014. 0ur correspondentjonah fisher reports now from the frontline near marinka in eastern ukraine. rpg shell. yours, or theirs? theirs. in eastern ukraine, a war that had been dormant is coming back to life. just keep your head down a little bit. this is marinka. just 100 metres separate these ukrainian army trenches from the positions of the russian—backed forces. for the last six years, very little has changed here along the front line in eastern ukraine, but the last few weeks

has seen a very dramatic shift in mood, and that's because on the russian side of the border, there's been a massive build—up of both personnel and equipment. they have their trenches over there. news of the troop movements have coincided with a deterioration of the situation on the ground. how seriously are soldiers here taking the possibility of russia launching a full—scale invasion? at war, you always have to be serious. it doesn't matter if you are expecting for escalation or you do not. but no matter what will happen, we will do ourjob. we will stand here until the end. during our time in the trenches, we get a glimpse

of how tense things have become. what's going on? 0ver there, 600 metres from us, is a drone. a drone. yeah, an enemy drone. they are usually carrying charges or grenades. 0r whatever they can. it's better to stay over here. gunfire. the ukrainian soldiers open fire, but fail to hit the drone. yet another breach of a tattered ceasefire. along the front line, those who can leave have long gone. nalia, a 72—year—old widow, has had no choice but to stay, deciding each day whether to spend her small pension on firewood or on food. her memories are still fresh of the intense fighting of seven years ago. translation: so many people in our village were killed. - there were young women and children shot in their homes. wars are so pointless.

0n the roads, we see signs that ukraine is getting battle ready. the hope here is that russia is flexing its military muscle, rather than preparing for all—out war. jonah fisher, bbc news, in eastern ukraine. well, a diplomatic row between russia and the us is intensifying, with moscow expelling ten american diplomats from the country and recommending the us ambassador return home. the moves are in response to sanctions imposed by washington on thursday, over what the white house called "russia's harmful foreign activities". here's our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg. well, we'e back to the question that we have heard so often, really — what is vladimir putin thinking, what is he planning? what we know, i think, is that president putin doesn't

normally advertise military action ahead of time. so in 2014, he surprised everyone when he sent special forces into the ukraine to annex crimea. this time around, moscow is not hiding the fact that it is moving troops around, building up troop numbers, possibly to send a message to washington tojoe biden, "look at me, talk to me". despite the diplomatic tit—for—tat that we have been seeing here, us sanctions against russia and today russian sanctions against the us, talks and the possibility of a summit, there is a possibility, but for that to happen, there must be an escalation in tension and the concern is that in europe, nato, in america, that russia's actions are destabilising the situation. ta nks tanks to steve rosenberg in moscow. —— thanks to steve rosenberg in moscow. let's get some of the day's other news. a weekend curfew has come into force in the indian capital delhi as coronavirus

cases rise sharply in the city, and across the country. 0nly essential services remain open. shopping malls, gyms, bars and restaurants in the capital are all closed. delhi is now india's worst—affected city. the white house has said presidentjoe biden will increase the number of refugees allowed into the country this year, but his spokesperson said the total is unlikely to be as high as mr biden�*s february pledge of 62,500. earlier, there was a sharp reaction from democrats and human rights activists when mr biden indicated that the us could keep the number of admissions as low as 15,000. president biden says the us will work closely with japan to develop new technologies, including artificial intelligence and 56, within norms "set by democracies, not autocracies". at a press conference in washington with the japanese prime minister yoshihide suga, mr biden also set out the two countries�* joint plans to tackle climate change.

cuba's former president raul castro has confirmed that he will resign from the leadership of the communist party. he made the announcement at the beginning of a four—day congress of the party. the move means that for the first time in six decades, the communist party — which has ruled cuba since the revolution in 1959 — will not led by either raul castro or his late brother, fidel. william leogrande is professor of government at american university in washington. thank you very much for coming on the programme. my pleasure. no doubt and _ on the programme. my pleasure. no doubt and end _ on the programme. my pleasure. no doubt and end of— on the programme. my pleasure. no doubt and end of an - on the programme. my pleasure. no doubt and end of an era, - on the programme. my pleasure. no doubt and end of an era, no l no doubt and end of an era, no matter where you look at it, but how much do you think will actually change now?— but how much do you think will actually change now? indeed, it is the end _ actually change now? indeed, it is the end of— actually change now? indeed, it is the end of an _ actually change now? indeed, it is the end of an error _ actually change now? indeed, it is the end of an error and - is the end of an error and really the final act in the transition from the generation, so—called historic generation, but made the revolution and found of the revolutionary regime in 1959 to a new, younger generation, one after the revolutionary france of 1959. some 85% of the cuban

population today was born after 1959 so this generational shift in the leadership has been a long time coming and much anticipated. in the short—term, i don't know that it will make an enormous difference in of policy. mekelle who is the president and slated to take over from al castro as head of the party, his favourite hashtag is we are continuity and this congress of the continuity of the party is billed as the continuity congress which is to say basically raul castro's policies are going to still be the order of the day for the foreseeable future —— miguel diaz—canel. foreseeable future -- miguel diaz-canel-— foreseeable future -- miguel diaz-canel. that is interesting and they of — diaz-canel. that is interesting and they of course _ diaz-canel. that is interesting and they of course will- diaz-canel. that is interesting and they of course will come l diaz-canel. that is interesting. and they of course will come up against the economic pressure and how much do you think they will have to bend and sway away, perhaps, from the revolutionary zeal and principles to economic backdrop —— to accommodate the economic reality? i -- to accommodate the economic reali ? ., , -- to accommodate the economic reali ? . , ., reality? i have begun that rocess reality? i have begun that process and _ reality? i have begun that process and raul- reality? i have begun that process and raul castro i

reality? i have begun that - process and raul castro himself recognise the old centralised soviet model of economic planning did not work and a decade ago he set in motion a programme of economic reforms, trying to move cuban multiples and market socialism but it has been slow going because of bureaucratic resistance. 0ne been slow going because of bureaucratic resistance. one of the things i think we will see out of the party congress is an exhortation to the party faithful to really push ahead and accelerate the reform process because there is deep discontent among cuban people over the terrible state of the economy — partly that is a result of external shocks like us and the pandemic, which crushed the tourist industry. and you mentioned the us and their sanctions, what difference do you think we are entering our interrelations between the two countries and we have of course the new occupant in the white house and the beginning of a new era in cuba. is it too soon to start talking about a fresh set of relations? i talking about a fresh set of relations?— talking about a fresh set of relations? ., ~' �* relations? i do think the biden administration _ relations? i do think the biden administration will _

relations? i do think the biden administration will reduce - relations? i do think the biden. administration will reduce some of the tension with cuba that the trump administration built up. biden promised to do that during the campaign but it does not look like he will be interested in going back to president 0bama's forward leaning policy of normalising relations with cuba. he has other things on his agenda and there are domestic clinical route concerns —— domestic political concerns. fin route concerns -- domestic political concerns.— political concerns. on the younger _ political concerns. on the younger generation - political concerns. on the i younger generation because we're talking about shift in the leadership but i wanted to talk about the young people in the country as a whole. how do you think they view not only the revolution and its legacy but where the country is going? i think that they are frustrated. i think that they are disappointed that there has not been more progress in the economy, that it has not opened up economy, that it has not opened up more. a lot of professionals still cannot pursue private employment. you see in the few public opinion polls that have been done, independent ones, the younger generation is the most discontented generation.

great to talk to you. thank you. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: final preparations are under way for the duke of edinburgh's funeral on sunday. —— saturday. the ceremony has been planned by the duke and will reflect his life and interests. russia has expelled ten us diplomats and has banned visits by some american officials in response to president biden's new sanctions on moscow. president biden has condemned the latest us mass shooting in indiana, describing gun violence as a national embarrassment. he again urged congress to take measures to prevent weapons falling into the wrong hands. police in indianapolis have confirmed that eight people were killed in the shooting at a fedex facility. they identified the gunman as brandon hole, a former employee at the facility, who had a history of mental illness. he took his own life after the shooting. the incident is the latest in a spate of at least seven deadly mass shootings in the united states over the past month.

you know, there's a suspect came to the facility and when he came there he got out of his car and pretty quickly started some random shooting outside the oscillatory. there was no confrontation with anyone who was there, there was no disturbance, no argument, just appeared to randomly start shooting and that began in the parking lot and then he did go into the building, into the facility for a brief period of time. before he took his own life. the mayor of chicago has appealed for calm after the release of footage showing a 13—year—old boy adam toledo being shot dead by a policeman last month. the teenager's death comes at a time of continuing high tension in the us about police killings. barbara plett usher reports from chicago

adam toledo was killed in the alleyway right behind me. and he was one of the youngest people killed by police in recent years. so, of course, there is outrage and that's been amplified by the fact that there was this delay in releasing the footage. it took more than two weeks. and during that time police talked about an armed confrontation. and, on top of that, this is all happening at the same time as the trialfor the killing of george floyd, which also resonates deeply here. thanks to barbara there. china has said it is willing to co—operate more with some european countries over the challenges of climate change, as the argument continues over which of the major economies is the biggest polluter. president xijinping made the pledge during a video summit with the leaders of germany and france. 0ur science editor david shukman reports. china is the world's greatest factory and its biggest polluter, and america is the second largest. together, they account for nearly half of global emissions, and there's now a us president determined to change that.

we can't wait any longer. we see it with our own eyes, we feel it, we know it in our bones. and it's time to act. so he's pushing for a lot more green energy and he's reversing the trump years by sending his envoyjohn kerry worldwide. secretary kerry, can we avert climate catastrophe? including the uk last month and, crucially, china just now. we cannot solve the climate issue without china beginning to reduce their emissions. this is the key to the global puzzle. biden has to figure out a way to compel beijing to begin to cut their emissions, or all the efforts we're making domestically are going to be ineffectual. one of the big arguments is over which of these two giant polluters should do more. the us points out that it produces about 14% of the global total of emissions, while china releases

about twice that. but for its part, china says look instead at the accumulation of greenhouse gases since 1750 — america has emitted about a quarter of those, while china, which only industrialised relatively recently, has produced far fewer. another dispute is over coal. beijing is encouraging others to burn more of it. i filmed these chinese workers at a coal—fired power station in serbia, one of dozens of projects around the world. and this comes as pressure over human rights leads to worsening international relations, which may mean china sticks with coal — it's got big reserves which it can rely on. if you are looking to a greater tension across the world and particularly a greater confrontation with the united states, you probably want to hedge your bets and keep a hold of coal, because there is so much uncertainty in the world.

today, chinese television reported on president xi having virtual talks with the leaders of france and germany. climate change was the key topic. the pace of diplomacy on this is accelerating. david shukman, bbc news. hundreds of celebrity influences are to be compensated after turning up four years ago on an island in the bahamas for a music festival that never happened. the fire cap festival was billed as a luxury party, but after buying tickets were thousands of dollars celebrities found themselves stranded in the bahamas. the catering consisted of cheese sandwiches and guests were left asleep on wet mattresses. a $2 million court settlement was reportedly reached this week, giving each celebrity upwards of $7,000. the festival organiser is serving a six year jail term forfraud.

the actor helen mccrory, best known for starring in the hit bbc series peaky blinders and in the harry potter films has died from cancer at the age of 52. her husband, the actor damien lewis, said he'd lost a �*beautiful and mighty woman' who'd passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by loved ones. 0ur arts correspondent david sillito looks back at her life. peaky blinders, tv�*s �*20s criminal gang whose business affairs were run by aunt polly. i'm having trouble these days, i'm twice the man you are. played by helen mccrory. i booked you both tickets for the next boat from liverpool to new york. it was her best—known tv role, for this award—winning star of stage and screen. why? you met her often enough before. she played cherie blair twice, the first, in the film the queen. just remember, you're a man that's just been elected by the whole nation.

her on—screen husband michael sheen today paid tribute. she was, he said, funny, passionate, smart, one of the greatest actors of our time. demonstrates a reckless disregard... sam mendes, who directed her injames bond, said she was an astonishing talent, a fabulous person. of course. is he alive? draco, is he alive? and to harry potter fans, jk rowling said she was an extraordinary woman. in 2019 she presented have i got news for you. she was also in recent months an organiser with her husband, the actor damian lewis, of a scheme providing hot meals for nhs staff during the pandemic.

and today, it was damian lewis who wrote: helen mccrory, 52. there were many great roles she had yet to play. the actor helen mccrory, whose death was announced on friday. like all other funerals this year, the service for prince philip will be subject to covid restrictions, with the numbers limited to 30, and social distancing rules requiring the queen to sit alone. the bbc�*s reeta chakrabarti spoke to the archbishop of canterbury as he prepared for his part in the service. and she began by asking him what the emotional impact of the occasion, under these strict restrictions, will be on her majesty. 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. i think that must be a very, very profound thing in anybody�*s life, and i hope that the whole nation, if they believe in that, then they pray for her, if they don't, they sympathise and in their hearts offer their condolences to her, and the hope for her to find strength in what must be an anguished moment. because she is both the monarch and a grieving wife? she is, a grieving widow, and over the last year, there's literally millions of people around the world who've been in her position, and they will identify especially. in one sense, part of the burden that her majesty carries is that burden of representing everyone in her person.

and that's a heavy burden. so, this funeral will be a national event, but also one that resonates very personally for a lot of people. i think it will resonate very deeply for a lot of people. i think there will be tears in many homes, because other names will be on their minds, faces they've lost that they don't see again, funerals that they couldn't go to, as many haven't been able to go to this one. that will break many a heart. this is clearly a big moment in the nation's life, how do you hope that we will emerge from it? i suspect that what the duke would say is, now get on with it. and i hope that we will see this moment as something we share in, in the grief of this very, very hard year that we've all gone through, and then we'll say, the best thing we can do is to do what he did in all his life, just get on with it.

archbishop, thank you. thank you. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. this is bbc news. hello there. friday was another fine spring day and we will continue with this dry theme throughout the weekend and perhaps into monday as well. some chilly mornings but it will not be quite as cold overnight nor during the day as it has been of late. we had some patchy cloud bubble up on friday but the thicker cloud was towards the northwest of the uk and that brought rain in the northwest of scotland. that is fading away. the next weather system will be hanging out in the atlantic and we will be dominated by high pressure that stretches down from scandinavia. another cold start of frost across parts of england and wales and eastern parts of scotland. a bit milder for northwest scotland and northern ireland where we have more of a breeze and sun—cloud for a while. sunny start for many, any mist and fog soon lifting, some patchy cloud will bubble up here and there but i think

it will be a sunnier day on saturday through the midlands and eastern parts of england. for much of the country, temperatures will be a degree or two higher than they were doing yesterday, making 14 to 15 degrees a little bit more widely. into the evening and overnight, those temperatures will fall away quickly as the sky starts to clear, except in northern ireland and western scotland where the weather fronts in the atlantic are moving in here to bring patchy rain and they keep the temperatures up. 0therwise, patchy frost but not as cold as it has been during recent mornings. that weather front hanging around out in the northwest and bringing a bit of a change in the weather for some spots of scotland and northern ireland. for england and wales, it remains fine and dry. it looks like it'll be cloudy with patchy and light rain for northern ireland and now it is more likely to be damp across western scotland, further east it will be dry and bright with sunshine and sunshine for england and wales and patchy cloud for wales in the southwest and sunshine a bit hazy in eastern parts of england. through the midlands and eastern england, temperatures looking to reach 14 or 15 degrees.

warming up for these areas in particular. into monday, this rainjust does not want to move in across the uk. it will be sitting away from scotland so it looks dry here on monday. more sunshine across england and wales as well and those temperatures continuing to rise around 16 or even 17 degrees. warming up at long last. however, while we might see a little bit of rain coming in on tuesday into early wednesday, the winds turn northerly by midweek and it gets colder again.

great to talk to you. thank you.

this is bbc news. the headlines. final preparations are underway ahead of saturday's funeral of the duke of edinburgh. the ceremony at st george's chapel will be attended by a small group of close family and friends. many aspects of the funeral, including the music, were planned in advance by prince philip himself. russia is expelling ten us diplomats and blacklisting eight top american officials in response to sanctions imposed by washington on thursday. russia's foreign minister said moscow was also tightening restrictions on us diplomats travelling within russia. the united states has condemned what it called an "escalatory and regrettable" move by moscow. president biden has held his first face to face meeting with a foreign leader at the white house — the japanese prime minister, yoshihide suga. in a press conference, he said the us will work closely with japan to develop new technologies, including artificial intelligence and 5g, within norms "set by democracies, not autocracies".

for many people living in england, this weekend