it's a welcome to bbc news, i'm maryam moshiri. our top stories. israelis hold a vigil for the 45 people who lost their lives in a stampede. sunday has been declared a national day of mourning. amid record levels of covid—19 infections, india s vaccine drive stalls with some states forced to close centres as they run out ofjabs. as foreign troops begin their delayed withdrawal from afghanistan, a warning to the taliban against renewed attacks. the american actress and oscar winner olympia dukakis, has died at the age of 89. and an icon of manhattan — the empire state building turns 90.

a national day of mourning is taking place in israel after friday s deadly crush at a jewish pilgrimage. 45 men and boys died after being trapped in a narrow walkway during the festival at mount meron, attended by up to 100,000 mostly ultra—orthodoxjews. mark lobel reports. mourning a tragedy — one that has shone uncomfortable light on israeli society amid the search for how one of israel's worst peacetime disasters unfolded. for now, grief overtakes the demand for answers. the dead includes a rabbi, foreign nationals reportedly from america, canada and the uk, and at least 12 children and teenagers. during the stampede, many young

lives were suddenly at risk. we received several dozen injured people, among them two children who died. and another three orfour children who were severely injured. the crush happened late at night in a passageway in the men's section during a religious festival attended by ultra—orthodox jews. this man says he saw people screaming in fear on a steep ramp trying to get out, but noticed the exit seemed blocked. he says hundreds of people fell and trampled over one another. he thought about coming back to offer help, but he says it was too terrifying. prime minister benjamin netanyahu visited the site and promised an enquiry, as questions remain.

were prior security concerns raised in previous years at the event properly addressed? did the police help or hinder the events that night? was simple human error to blame? all painful questions at a painful time. all adults in india can now get a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. that's good news, in theory, for a country that's become the first in the world to record more than 400,000 coronavirus infections in a single day. but many states in india have closed vaccine centres because of a shortage of supplies. and hospitals are still struggling to cope, short of beds and oxygen. devina gupta has more from the capital delhi. 400,000 and counting. surging covid cases now making inroads in india's hinterland. these villagers in the eastern indian state of 0disha

are living in fear. people here are so poor that they can't afford a proper mask, let alone expensive treatment. now three people have tested positive. translation: there are no facilities for i oxygen in our village. we have to go to the city, but how can we when there is a shortage, even in city hospitals? and his concern echoed in this private hospital in delhi, where 12 people lost their lives when the oxygen stock ran out. translation: we begged them to arrange oxygen i from anywhere that they could. during that time, there was a gap of about 45 minutes, when the stock ran out. despite this, we failed. this is a warning that india's running out of time to save lives, as the virus continues to challenge the inadequate health infrastructure here.

experts believe the country needs a national lockdown to prepare better and break the cycle, but so far india's prime minister has opposed this idea, emphasising on vaccinating more people. in fact, in an ambitious plan, he has expanded the vaccination drive to all adults above 18 years. and with an estimated 600 million more people asking forjabs, most vaccine centres have run out of stocks. translation: we were told that it would be a first - come first served thing here, but the vaccination centre is deserted. we will see what we are going to do, whether we will get it or not. the government here continues to deny there's a vaccine shortage. but as cases climb, most nations are closing their borders for india. australia has even asked its citizens who have stayed in the country for over 14 days not to return. a move that will reportedly impact 9,000 australians here.

for now, those living here are betting against odds for a vaccine, to get a fighting chance against this pandemic. earlier i spoke to nimi vashi who is a cancer scientist in new york. she has become a covenger organiser who is trying to amplify and get help to rural people in india. i asked her what she's hearing. the situation in rural india from everything i know from friends and family is as bad as in urban areas. just like you were showing a couple of minutes ago, the problem is people have to go into the cities to get any kind of support when they need hospitals. it is worse for those people because they don't have access to great health care infrastructure as people in the cities have. so what more can be done to help those people who clearly are so badly in need? some things we are doing

and many philanthropic organisations are doing on the ground in india is people have come together and they are making makeshift hospitals, people are sending in oxygen cylinders, we ourselves have arranged for five ventilators and deployed them and we hope to save at least one life with them. it is efforts like these which will save india immensely. if anybody has access to an oxygen concentrator or a ventilator, please send them, that can save india. in terms of the vaccination programme, any adult over the age of 18 can get theirfirst vaccine, but we are hearing stories of a lack of access to vaccines. what are you hearing from where you are? yes, the second dose has been delayed for people that i know. but i am surprised the rest of the world... i would like to request president biden to release

doses so that india can vaccinate. it is notjust a problem in india, because variants can arise anywhere. please send vaccines to india, because india today can be anybody in the future. i know you are in new york but covid has touched you personally as well, hasn't it? yes, we started this movement, unfortunately when i lost the clinician who treated my father two years ago, he was a close family friend and when we lost him, every day i am waking up with lots of friends, with loss of friends, people in extended networks, somebody who has helped me in all walks of life. people are serious and on ventilators. the last two nights i have been arranging beds and ventilators for my friends and theirfamilies. let s get some of and theirfamilies.

police in brussels have fired tear gas and water cannon at anti—lockdown protesters in a city park. officials said two police officers were injured as they tried to break up the protest. organisers said it was a follow—up to last month's protest which was broken up in a similarfashion. portugal reopened its land border with spain and began the final stage of its programme to ease covid—i9 restrictions. it recorded zero fatalities on friday for the second time in a week. as well as the lifting of the border controls, the opening hours for cafes, restaurants and cultural venues was extended, in particular at weekends. the world famous leaning tower of pisa has reopened to tourists for the first time in nearly six months. it was closed on november 3rd after italy was hit by the second wave of the pandemic. only 25 people are allowed inside at a time and have to follow strict social distancing measures. before the pandemic,

the monument attracted five million visitors each year. the head of the us—led military mission in afghanistan, general scott miller, has warned against attacks on foreign troops as they start to withdraw, saying they had the means to " respond forcefully". it comes after the taliban said the militants were no longer bound by an earlier commitment not to attack international forces there. that undertaking was part of the an agreement last year which also committed the us to withdrawing all troops by today. the delay to their departure, until september, has angered the taliban. our north america correspondent, peter bowes, is following developments. i think there are mixed feelings across this country. of course, this is america's longest war. we've heard president biden refer to it as the forever war, we heard president trump talking about endless war. they both had the goal of bringing all us forces back home but with a different timetable.

in fact, today, the 1st of may, was to have been the deadline set by the trump administration, and this is why the taliban is seemingly so angry that the united states has apparently broken that agreement and why, over the next few months, with the new deadline of september 11th, there will initially be an increase in the number of forces, a tightening security, with the fear of reprisal attacks. but i think across the country, there is some ambivalence towards afghanistan. it's interesting looking at surveys, public opinion polls over the 20 years about people's opinions in this country towards us presence in afghanistan. it has shifted and moved. initially, there was strong support, and even now, the wound, the deep wound, left by the attacks on 9/11 is still very much part of people's lives, and i think that colours people's opinions as far as the withdrawal of the troops is concerned.

so the next few weeks are going to be quite tense, and a lot of people looking on, a lot of military families looking on with, obviously, very deep personal interest, in terms of the security and the process as it unfolds towards september 11. the british government is cutting its core funding to the united nations children s fund by 60 per cent. unicef has warned the cut will have serious consequences , particularly for children affected by covid—i9. the british foreign office says the government is taking tough but necessary decisions because of the impact of the pandemic on the uk economy. the overall foreign aid budget is being cut by more than $5 billion this year. our diplomatic correspondent james landale has more. well, unicef say it will have a devastating impact simply because the demand for distributing humanitarian aid to children around the world is acute at the moment, notjust in the crisis spots like yemen and syria but also

because of the covid crisis. there are so many knock—on impacts of the pandemic that have increased the demand for non—covid health care, that has been crowded out by the pandemic, that the charity is trying to deal with. they say this cut will have an impact on that. the contrary side, the british government says, the pandemic has hit the economy, they are having to make some tough decisions at the moment and the uk will still be spending £10 billion, $12—13 billion a year on aid next year. it's still one of the biggest donors, it isjust having to spend less. what we are seeing now is just, drip by drip, what impact that will have on people on the ground. north korea has accused the united states of girding itself for a showdown, and has warned that the us will get hurt if it provokes pyongyang. mr biden told congress on wednesday that the north's

nuclear weapons were a serious threat and promised to deal with pyongyang using diplomacy and stern deterrence. in response the north korean foreign ministry accused mr biden of insulting its leader, kimjong—un. 11 people have been killed and many more injured by a severe storm on china's east coast. some people in the city of nantong are reported to have been blown into the yangtze river, with at least nine missing after theirfishing boat overturned. the gale brought down trees and roofs were ripped from buildings. the pentagon says the biden administration is cancelling the construction of donald trump's wall along the us—mexican border. a spokesman said this would free up money to go to other construction projects by the us military, such as schools for the children of soldiers. building the wall was a key election promise for mr trump. you are watching bbc news. the headlines: israelis hold a vigil for the 45 people who lost their lives in a stampede.

sunday has been declared a national day of mourning. amid record levels of covid—19 infections, india s vaccine drive stalls with some states forced to close centres as they run out ofjabs. the american actress olympia dukakis, who won an oscar for her role in the 1987 romantic comedy moonstruck, has died aged 89. she had a long and distinguished career in theatre, both as a performer and as a director. but it is for her roles in comedy films such as moonstruck and steel magnolias that she found international fame. the singer and actress cher, who played dukakis�* daughter in moonstruck, has been among those sharing their memories of her — tweeting that she had spoken to dukakis shortly before her death. viola davis, who starred with dukakis in the 1998 film the pentagon wars, descibed her as a "consummate actor" and "a joy to work with".

actor michael mckean, who was taught by her at new york university, tweeted that she "was a great actress who loved the work and loved the theatre. she was the acting teacher who spoke to me and many, many others with clarity and humour and no censor." joining us now from los angeles is the hollywood journalist jeannie wolf. thank you forjoining us. let me ask you for your reaction to the news over olympia dukakis�* passing. i the news over olympia dukakis' -~assin. . , the news over olympia dukakis' -~assin. .,, , the news over olympia dukakis' -~assin. ., , passing. i was very sad, i hadn't realised _ passing. i was very sad, i hadn't realised she - passing. i was very sad, i hadn't realised she had i passing. i was very sad, i. hadn't realised she had been sick for several months, she is not someone you ever think of that way. she was full of ideas and humour, and made such an impression on the screen. it was very sad for me to hear that. ., ., , ., “ was very sad for me to hear that. ., ., ,, ~ , that. how do you think she will be remembered _ that. how do you think she will be remembered as _ that. how do you think she will be remembered as an - that. how do you think she willj be remembered as an actress? that. how do you think she will. be remembered as an actress? we know be remembered as an actress? - know how she will be remembered, as tough and

ardent, passionate about her work, a great actress, a gentle mother tellly figure. she work, a great actress, a gentle mother tellly figure.— mother tellly figure. she came into her hollywood _ mother tellly figure. she came into her hollywood fame - mother tellly figure. she came into her hollywood fame a - mother tellly figure. she came into her hollywood fame a bit| into her hollywood fame a bit later in her career. how did that impact her as a person and her career?— her career? she says it was much better. _ her career? she says it was much better. she _ her career? she says it was much better. she loved - her career? she says it was i much better. she loved acting and the theatre. movies she said made herfinally be able to pay her credit cards and have things that she wanted! she said she sent her kids to couege she said she sent her kids to college on credit cards and never knew what it was like to have money you didn't have to worry over. i also think she loved walking down the streets and yelling out lines from her movie, she felt that was a great compliment, because people treated her like a star but they also treated her like they knew her.—

they knew her. she was very much involved _ they knew her. she was very much involved in _ they knew her. she was very much involved in acting - they knew her. she was very much involved in acting as l they knew her. she was very much involved in acting as a| much involved in acting as a professional, and the theatre, from early on.— from early on. very much so. she was _ from early on. very much so. she was part _ from early on. very much so. she was part of _ from early on. very much so. she was part of a _ from early on. very much so. she was part of a theatre - she was part of a theatre company. she loved the part she played. she helped teach people. she is very much remembered for that. a little like the woman she played in tales of the city, except that woman was very flamboyant and a bit outrageous. she also guided people, try to tell them how to live, to be honest about life and what it brings, and about love and what it brings. it was fun to be around olympia and she had great ideas. the movie moonstruck _ she had great ideas. the movie moonstruck for _ she had great ideas. the movie moonstruck for which _ she had great ideas. the movie moonstruck for which she - she had great ideas. the movie moonstruck for which she won l she had great ideas. the movie i moonstruck for which she won an oscar and other awards, i believe you were backstage after she accepted the award. i remember that night very well. she was calm, she said, i thought i would be a wreck. she

said, this feels so great. earlier in the evening, she said, i hope ch er wins, earlier in the evening, she said, i hope ch erwins, and she did. she was very frank with the audience, she said that fame isjust with the audience, she said that fame is just another stage in life. she said if you have brought up children and lived in tough times, you learn to cope. she was gentle and tough, such a special woman. find cope. she was gentle and tough, such a special woman.— such a special woman. and a recent generation _ such a special woman. and a recent generation of - such a special woman. and a recent generation of fans - such a special woman. and a | recent generation of fans will know hurford tales of the city. how do you think she changed the way that older actresses were viewed in the late 80s and early 90s. —— will know her for. early 90s. -- will know her for. ,, early 90s. -- will know her for, ,, , ., early 90s. -- will know her for. ,, , ., , for. she said she loved playing mother roles, _ for. she said she loved playing mother roles, but _ for. she said she loved playing mother roles, but tales - for. she said she loved playing mother roles, but tales of - for. she said she loved playing mother roles, but tales of the | mother roles, but tales of the city, she got to dress in crazy clothing, she became a gay icon

because of that part. she built her audience wider and got more offers. i think it did change the perception of her. i think that was so much fun for her. it has been really good to talk to you and reminisce about olympia dukakis. aha, to you and reminisce about olympia dukakis. a pleasure to think about _ olympia dukakis. a pleasure to think about her. _ n ig htclu bs nightclubs returned to liverpool on friday night, the first time people have been allowed on the dance floor since the pandemic began. and a festival is about to be held in the city with an audience of 5000. it may come too late for many as research suggests a quarter of festivals with a similar capacity have already been cancelled. katy austin has been cancelled. katy austin has been taking a look. boom town in hampshire hasjust been called off for the second year

running... boomtown in hampshire has just been called off for the second year running, blaming lack of insurance for covid—related cancellation. the sheer volume of money, we're talking millions of outlay, that we have to commit to, all these costs ahead of the event, itjust became very evident that we were just in an impossible position without being able to have the backing of insurance to mitigate the risks. one trade body says around a quarter of larger festivals have already decided to cancel for this year, and most of those still scheduled to go ahead are due to happen in july and august. but it says for many of those there's still a huge amount of uncertainty. it says a government—backed insurance scheme is needed, similar to what other countries have done. and our own government has invested in a scheme for film and tv production, which we understand has been very successful. there are models, there are ways of doing it. nozstock in herefordshire is sold out for late july. how certain are you, as we stand here today, that it will go ahead? sadly, we can't be certain. we are desperate to get on with it but the issue of insurance makes it

an incredibly risky venture. they say late may is the cut—off for making a final call. a government spokesperson told us it had supported festivals through the culture recovery fund and is exploring what further support it may provide. katy austin, bbc news. a crew of four astronauts have left the international space station in a capsule built by spacex. the vessel, called the crew dragon resilience, will circle earth a number of times before splashing down early on sunday morning in the gulf of mexico. onboard will be 3 nasa astronauts and one from japan's space agency. one of the world's most famous buildings, the empire state in new york, is marking its 90th birthday. celebrations at the tower will include a special light show and the number 90 illuminated on its famous mast that king kong clung to in the famous final scene from the film. when the empire state opened on may 1st, 1931, it was the tallest building in the world.

since then it's become one of new york's must—see attractions that, in pre—pandemic times, welcomed more than 4 million visitors a year. david farber is professor of modern american history at the university of kansas. he says the building was the brainchild of a visionary businessman. he was one of those amazingly wealthy new yorkers who helped create modern american corporations. he was the force behind general motors, the dupont company, and then in 1928 he got an itch in his fingers to start building skyscrapers. and then what did he do, he built the empire state? why did he build the empire state? it was built as much as anything to best his close friend, walter chrysler, who was putting up another massive and still famous skyscraper. the new york elites were looking for one more challenge, little knowing that they were starting a building craze just as the great depression was taking off.

at the time the building craze happened, these huge buildings popped up, the depression occurred. the history of the empire state building after that in my mind is very much connected to hollywood and the movies, king kong. did that make it really iconic and famous? if it hadn't been for that film, would it have been what it is today? i think you're right. a little over a year and a half after the building opened, the famous king kong movie was shown throughout the us and the world and the image of king kong grasping the spire of the building, 11100 feet in the air, it imprinted the building on the minds of americans and people around the world and it became iconic. it is still iconic today despite the fact there are so many buildings that are taller, perhaps even more beautiful than the empire state. it is still so important now, isn't it? i think it is still a beautiful building but you are quite right it is no longer nearly the tallest building.

and yet there is something about it piercing the skyline of new york city that makes as people amazed when they come here. millions of people still come every year, hopefully post covid, up to $75 per person. they make hundreds of millions of dollars just letting people up. is that how much it costs to get up there, $75? and loads of people pay it, don't they? i am amazed too, but yes, that is what they have to pay for that incredible view. maybe we are amazed and a bit tight as well! i know new yorkers must love it, but what do americans feel about the empire state? does it have a national draw as well? it certainly does. i am impressed by the fact that it is still a bucket list thing for so many americans, even young people, who still love the empire state building. maybe it is the iconographic king kong message of it towering above the world. people love it.

hello again. there are probably not too many of you that escaped with a completely dry day today. it has been a day of sunshine and showers but the showers have been widespread. yes, although skies look like these at times, at other times we had the heavens open. this one, quite an impressive shower bringing a covering of hail to the roads and pavements of leek in staffordshire. you can see just how extensive the day's showers have been nationwide really. although they are beginning to fade, there are still a few left over. the reason we have had so many showers during the day is because over the last few days we have had a lump of cold air move across the uk. that gets heated strongly by the may sun, causing the air to rise and causes the showers to break out.

we have the same kind of mechanism with us for the forecast going into sunday. right now most of the showers are cleared out of the way. just one or two left over for scotland to take us into the first part of the night. another cold night with clearing skies, light winds and a widespread frost with temperatures getting down to —3 in the very coldest areas. a cold start to the day on sunday, but clear blue skies for many. through the day, showers will break out across the north—west initially then become extensive for most areas as we head into the afternoon. probably some of the heavy showers across central and eastern england, eastern scotland and those temperatures, a bit disappointing for the time of year, highs of 11—14 celsius for most. talking about disappointing weather, here comes your bank holiday. an area of low pressure coming off the atlantic, bringing wet, windy weather and fairly chilly weather as well. it may well start off right across eastern areas of the uk

it may well start off bright across eastern areas of the uk but outbreaks of rain will spread in from the west. it will be cold enough even to have a little bit of snow mixed in the highest ground in scotland and northern england and it be pretty windy, pretty windy and chilly for the time of year. temperatures doing well to get into double figures across england and wales. further north, scotland and northern ireland, 7—9 celsius, maybe the far north of scotland the place to be for the best of the weather. after that, showers foremost area with further low pressure coming in from the south—west. that's your weather.

this is bbc news. the headlines...

a national day of mourning will take place in israel on sunday after friday s deadly crush at a jewish pilgrimage. 45 men and boys died after being trapped in a narrow walkway during the festival at mount meron, attended by up to 100,000 mostly ultra—orthodoxjews. india's expanded vaccination drive — offering all adults over the age of 18 a jab — has stalled with some states forced to close centres after running out of vaccines. the country is in the grip of record levels of covid—19 infections, reporting more than 400,000 cases in the last 24 hours. the head of the us—led military mission in afghanistan has warned against attacks on foreign troops as they start to withdraw, saying they had the means to " respond forcefully." the comments come after the taliban said they were no longer bound by an earlier commitment not to attack international forces. now on bbc news, dateline london.