welcome to 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. 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. a weekend curfew comes into force in the indian capital delhi, as coronavirus cases rise sharply in the city and across the country. 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, welcome to the programme. we start in the uk. the funeral of the duke of edinburgh will take place in windsor castle on saturday and only 30 mourners will attend inside st george's chapel as a result of coronavirus restrictions. many aspects of the funeral, including the music, planned in advance by prince philip himself. 0ur 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.

0utside 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. now a special report from the front in ukraine. russian troops are gathering

along the border. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky has been anxious to increase international support following the recent build—up of russian troops along his country's eastern border. he has been talking to france and germany. 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 till 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. nalya, 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. sticking with escalating tensions with russia, but this time the us. moscow is expelling ten american diplomats from the country and recommending the us ambassador return home. the move is in response to sanctions imposed by washington on thursday over what the white house called "russia's harmful foreign activities". 0ur moscow correspondent steven rosenberg says the latest tit—for—tat may be president putin manoeuvring to catch president biden�*s attention. well, we're 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". and 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 us—russia summit, that is a possibility, but for that to happen, there must not be an escalation in tension, and the concern is in europe, in nato, in america that russia's actions are destabilising the situation. our thanks to steve in moscow. 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 party congress. the move means that for the first time in six decades, cuba's communist party is no longer led by either raul castro or his

late brother, fidel. let's get more on this. thank you for coming on the programme and could to speak to you so it is an extraordinary length of time, decades and decades of the top of the power, and this is the end of an era so how is it being received? in is the end of an era so how is it being received?— is the end of an era so how is it being received? in cuba are of course it has _ it being received? in cuba are of course it has an enormous | of course it has an enormous symbolic importance. as you are saying, it is the first time since the time eisenhower was in the white house that a castro is not formally empower in cuba, however there is quite a degree of uncertainty of what this will mean in real terms in cuba. the communist party congress is due to eventually select the replacement for raul castro. some people suggested

that miguel diaz—canel, the current president, should be the leader of the communist party. however he has made a point that his government is about continuity, continuity of the revolution, so i think a lot of people are not expect in, at least in the short—term, radical changes in the political system in interesting, so no dramatic changes immediately. you are s-ueakin changes immediately. you are speaking to — changes immediately. you are speaking to us _ changes immediately. you are speaking to us from _ changes immediately. you are speaking to us from miami - changes immediately. you are speaking to us from miami so | speaking to us from miami so how does this change the relationship between the us and cuba? �* . , ., ., cuba? the biden administration has said it _ cuba? the biden administration has said it is _ cuba? the biden administration has said it is not _ cuba? the biden administration has said it is not an _ cuba? the biden administration has said it is not an immediate | has said it is not an immediate priority for them to change, again, the drastic policy towards cuba and of course there have been great fluctuations in this in the last few years. the recruitment under 0bama and strong functions and a more distant position under donald trump —— rapprochement. 0f position under donald trump —— rapprochement. of course biden also has to ink about domestic politics, the fact that in miami, where i am, the

cuban—american community is very strong and by and large they are hostile to the idea of better relations with the cuban government. so i think it is something that the biden administration will take very carefully and it will wait and see before taking, again, any substantial action in a different direction. going back to cuba then, _ different direction. going back to cuba then, very _ different direction. going back to cuba then, very difficult - to cuba then, very difficult economic circumstances there. if those problems are not tackled, if there is not reformed, can you see the younger generation losing faith with the party?— with the party? that is certainly _ with the party? that is certainly the _ with the party? that is certainly the case - with the party? that is certainly the case that| with the party? that is - certainly the case that they are having a serious economic crisis and people suggested is the worst since the time of the so—called special period during the end of the soviet union three decades ago. the other factor that is new also now is the fact that social media and the fact that social media and the internet is much more available for the cuban available for the cu ban population available for the cuban population and of course the cuban youth so there is the potential there at least four more descent, for more banks but of course the government has proven to be very

resilient. before of course they are celebrating also today, this weekend, they are commemorating six decades of the failed american— backed invasion of the bay of pigs when the us tried to overthrow the government way back in the early 1960s some of course from their point of view they will say they have been through a lot and they are a resilient government but of course a lot of people will be seeing what these changes mean for the population and as you say that the youth of cuba.— population and as you say that the youth of cuba. great to see ou, the youth of cuba. great to see you. luis _ the youth of cuba. great to see you, luis fajardo, _ the youth of cuba. great to see you, luis fajardo, thank - the youth of cuba. great to see you, luis fajardo, thank you. l stay with us on bbc news. still to come. tributes to the british actor helen mccrory, best known for her shows in the television show picky blinders and the harry potter films who has died at the age of 52. pol pot, one of the century's greatest mass murderers, has reported to have died of natural causes. he and the khmer rouge movement he led were responsible

for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million cambodians. there have been violent protests in indonesia, where playboy has gone on sale for the first time. traditionalist muslim leaders have expressed disgust. the magazine's offices have been attacked and its editorial staff have gone into hiding. it was clear that paula's only contest was with the clock. and as for her sporting legacy, paula radcliffe's competitors will be chasing her new world best time for years to come. shouting. quite quietly, but quicker and quicker, she seemed tojust slide away under the surface and disappear.

this is bbc news. our top story this hour: final preparations are underway for the duke of edinburgh's funeral at windsor castle on saturday. the ceremony has been planned by the duke and will reflect his life and interests. a weekend curfew has come into force in delhi, with india second in the world for reported coronavirus infections. it's recorded over 170,000 deaths. yet, mass election rallies are still taking place. and many are celebrating a large hindu festival on the banks of the river ganges. there are currently no plans for another strict national lockdown, as mark lobel reports. agony those bearing relatives here feel should have been avoidable. translation: we accept coronavirus is widespread i but the equipment and facilities that should be there in hospitals,

they're not there. after a week of record cases and over 1000 reported deaths a day, they are turning some bodies away here. translation: today, | so far, we have received 13—14 bodies already. the situation is so bad that we don't have time to do anything — we don't even have time to have a meal. india's leader narendra modi is loath to lockdown festivals like kumbh mela, large weddings and election rallies, with an important vote on the horizon. there are night curfews in some states, but things have markedly changed since the national lockdown ended last summer. i don't think it is entirely the politicians' fault. scientific arguments of various kinds were also advanced by people who possibly should have known better and the media, too, welcomed it, the industry welcomed it, and the virus had an opportunity to really spread fast.

of most concern now, and spreading fast is a newly classified coronavirus variant discovered in india. two of these mutations which have been seen in other variants around the world are concerning because there's a similarity in these mutations that confer increased transmissibility, for example, and some of these mutations also result in reduced neutralisation, which may have an impact on our countermeasures, including the vaccines. it's no longerjust an indian problem. the us, uk, singapore, australia and south africa have also reported this double mutant. as india plans to dramatically ramp up its locally made vaccine supplies, it's appealing to america to ease exports of raw materials. but pressure is building for more immediate action to stop this deadly wave of the virus, as those losing loved ones paint a picture of a health system buckling under the strain. mark lobel, bbc news.

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. 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. 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'. 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, and 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 in the james bond film skyfall, said she was an astonishing talent, a fabulous person. of course. is he alive? draco, is he alive? and to harry potter fans she was narcissa malfoy. jk rowling said she was a wonderful actress and 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.

helen mccrory, 52. there were many great roles she had yet to play. back to our top story — the funeral of the duke of edinburgh. and like all other funerals here in the uk this year, the service for prince philip will be subject to coronavirus restrictions, with the numbers limited to 30, and social distancing rules requiring the queen to sit alone. the bbc�*s reeta chakrabarti has been speaking to the archbishop of canterbury as he prepared for his part in the service. 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. reeta chakra barti there. reeta chakrabarti there. i will be back with the headlines and

a couple of minutes. you can get me on twitter. i'm lewis vaughanjones. this is bbc news. bye—bye. hello there. friday was another fine spring day, and we're going to continue with this dry theme throughout the weekend and perhaps into monday as well. some chilly mornings, yes, but it's not going to 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 north—west of the uk and that brought rain in the north—west of scotland. that is fading away, mind you. the next weather system is going to be hanging out in the atlantic and we'll be dominated by high pressure that stretches down from scandinavia. it will be another cold start. a frost across parts of england and wales and eastern parts of scotland. a bit milder for north—west scotland and northern ireland, where we've got more of a breeze and some cloud for awhile. 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. and for much of the country temperatures will be a degree or two higher than they were doing yesterday, so making 1a to 15 degrees maybe a little bit more widely. into the evening and overnight, those temperatures will fall away quickly as skies start 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 some patchy frost, but not as cold as it has been during recent mornings. that weather front, then, hanging around out in the north—west bringing a bit of a change in the weather for some spots of scotland and northern ireland. but 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's going to be dry and bright with sunshine, and sunshine for england and wales and patchy cloud for wales and the south—west, and sunshine a bit hazy in eastern parts of england. through the midlands and eastern england,

temperatures looking to reach 1a or 15 degrees, so it is warming up for these areas in particular. into monday, this rainjust doesn't want to move in across the uk. it's going to be sitting away from scotland so it looks dry here on monday. there'll be more sunshine across england and wales as well and those temperatures continuing to rise — up to around 16 or even 17 degrees, so it's warming up at long last. however, whilst we might see a little bit of rain coming in on tuesday into early wednesday, the winds then turn northerly by midweek and it gets colder again.

this is bbc news. final preparations are underway ahead of saturday's funeral for 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. a weekend curfew has come into force into 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 closed.