and we ll be talking to andrew harding our africa correspondent about the conditions that have led to the crisis. also tonight. in birmingham, prime minister and chancellor are dealing with more division this time over increasing benefits in line with inflation. in ukraine, an extended report on the areas being abandoned by russian forces and the high price being paid. what happened here wasn tjust a defeat for president putin, it was a complete humiliation. two and a half years after covid 19 struck, a public inquiry opens into the uk s handling of the pandemic. and in tonight s champions league football liverpool take on rangers the first ever competitive match between the two sides. and on the bbc news channel, england captain leah williamson won t play against the usa as a training injury rules her out of friday s big friendly at wembley. good evening. we start with one of the most severe humanitarian crises anywhere in the world right now. we have an exten
you re exposed to sniper positions that are just around the corner on the other side of those buildings. final preparations are under way for a farewell, not to just a pop superstar but a daughter, a mother, a friend. whitney houston s funeral is tomorrow in the church where she sang as a child u the pastor says the service will be personal and dignified. it will also be a gathering of celebrities including houston s god mother, aretha franklin. on the today show, she talked about the difficulty of singing at that service tomorrow. it is not gonna be easy, i can tell you that. it is not gonna be easy, but cissy asked me to and i m just going to try to do my best. do you know what you are going to sing? not really sure right now. not really sure. the dow continues to flirt with the 13,000 mark, extending gains from yesterday s session. alison kosik is watching the action for us at the new york stock exchange. and the president boarding air force one in about an h