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Princes William, Harry won't walk side-by-side at Prince Philip's funeral

Prince William and Prince Harry won't walk side-by-side as they follow their grandfather's coffin into the church ahead of Prince Philip's funeral.

The decision should minimise the chances of any awkward moments between the brothers, who are grappling with strained relations since Prince Harry's decision to step away from royal duties last year.

Buckingham Palace on Thursday released the broad outlines of the funeral program for Queen Elizabeth II's husband, who died on April 9 at 99.

READ MORE: The rules Ray Martin had to agree to before rare Prince Philip interview

The palace has revealed William and Harry's cousin, Peter Phillips, will walk between the princes as they escort the coffin to St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, west of London.

Prince Charles, the heir to the throne and the father of the princes, together with his sister, Princess Anne, will lead the 15-member procession.

The brothers have been closely watched as Saturday's funeral will almost certainly remind the pair of their shared grief at another royal funeral more than two decades ago.

As young boys, both walked behind their mother Princess Diana's coffin in 1997 in London in a ceremony watched around the world.

Prince William (left) and Prince Harry, the sons of Diana, Princess of Wales, bow their heads as their mother's coffin is taken out of Westminster Abbey following her funeral service.

Palace officials refused to comment when asked whether the positioning of William and Harry was an effort to minimise family tensions, which have grown after Harry and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, gave an explosive interview to Oprah Winfrey that suggested an unnamed member of the royal family had made a racist comment to Harry before the birth of their son, Archie.

Meghan, who is pregnant and living in California with Harry, is not coming to the funeral on the advice of her doctor.

"We're not going to be drawn into those perceptions of drama or anything like that,'' a palace spokesman said while speaking on condition of anonymity in line with policy.

"This is a funeral and the arrangements have been agreed and they represent Her Majesty's wishes."

In another effort to preserve family unity, the palace said senior royals would wear civilian clothes to the funeral.

The decision, signed off by the Queen, means Harry won't risk being the only member of the royal family not in uniform during the funeral.

Members of the royal family often wear uniforms to public events by virtue of their honorary roles with the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, but Harry lost his honorary military titles when he decided to give up frontline royal duties last year.

As a result, protocol suggests that Harry, an army veteran who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, would only wear a suit with medals at royal functions.

The decision also sidesteps another potential controversy after reports Prince Andrew, the queen's second-oldest son, considered wearing an admiral's uniform to his father's funeral.

Andrew retains his military titles even though he was forced to step away from royal duties after a disastrous interview with the BBC about his acquaintance with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Attendance at the funeral will be limited to 30 people because of the coronavirus restrictions in England.

The list will include several of Philip's relatives from Germany, together with immediate members of the royal family. The children in the family will not attend.

Guests will wear masks inside the chapel and observe social distancing. The queen, always the first to set an example, will also wear a mask.

In other details released about the funeral, Royal Marine buglers will play Action Stations, an alarm that alerts sailors to prepare for battle.

The Duke of Edinburgh served in the Royal Navy for 12 years and maintained close ties to the armed forces throughout his life. Military personnel will have a large role in honouring him on Saturday despite the attendance limit.

Members of the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Royal Air Force and the British Army will take part in the funeral procession.

Philip's coffin will be carried to St George's Chapel on a specially adapted Land Rover that he designed himself.

WHO ARE THE 30 PEOPLE ATTENDING PRINCE PHILIP'S FUNERAL

  1. Queen Elizabeth
  2. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
  3. Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
  4. Princess Anne, Princess Royal
  5. Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence
  6. Prince Andrew, Duke of York
  7. Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
  8. Sophie Countess of Wessex,
  9. Lady Louise
  10. Viscount Severn
  11. Peter Phillips
  12. Mike Tindall
  13. Zara Tindall
  14. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
  15. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
  16. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
  17. Princess Beatrice
  18. Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi
  19. Princess Eugenie
  20. Jack Brooksbank
  21. David Armstrong-Jones, The Earl of Snowdon
  22. Lady Sarah Chatto
  23. Mr Daniel Chatto
  24. Duke of Gloucester
  25. Duke of Kent
  26. Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy
  27. The Hereditary Prince of Baden
  28. The Landgrave of Hesse
  29. The Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
  30. The Countess Mountbatten of Burma
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Murder-accused former cop won't testify in George Floyd trial

Defence lawyers for former police officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of killing Black man George Floyd, have wrapped up their case without putting the defendant on the stand.

The defence wrapped up arguments on Thursday after presenting a total of two days of testimony, compared to the prosecution's two weeks.

Mr Chauvin informed the court he would not testify, saying he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to take the stand.

READ MORE: Expert blames George Floyd's death on heart rhythm problem

It would have been the first time Mr Chauvin publicly told his side of the story.

"Is this your decision not to testify?" Judge Peter Cahill asked.

"It is, your honour," the defendant said.

Some prosecution rebuttal testimony was expected to follow on Thursday (Friday AEST).

Closing arguments are set for Monday, after which the racially diverse jury will begin deliberating at the barbed-wire-ringed courthouse, with Minneapolis on edge against a repeat of the protests and violence that broke out last spring over Floyd's death.

The question of whether Mr Chauvin would testify was the subject of weeks of speculation.

The risks were high: testifying could have opened him up to devastating cross-examination, with prosecutors replaying the video of the arrest and forcing him to explain, one frame at a time, why he kept pressing down on Mr Floyd.

But taking the stand could have also given the jury the opportunity to see or hear any remorse or sympathy he might feel.

He would have been able to remove the COVID-19 mask he has had to wear at the defence table.

READ MORE: Expert says George Floyd died from a lack of oxygen

The only time Mr Chauvin has been publicly heard defending himself was when the jury listened to body-camera footage from the scene last May.

After an ambulance had taken Mr Floyd away, the former officer told a bystander: "We gotta control this guy 'cause he's a sizeable guy … and it looks like he's probably on something."

The decision not to testify was announced a day after a forensic pathologist testifying for the defence said Mr Floyd died of a sudden heart rhythm disturbance as a result of his heart disease.

That contradicted prosecution experts who said Mr Floyd succumbed to a lack of oxygen from the way he was pinned down.

Dr David Fowler, a former Maryland chief medical examiner who is now with a consulting firm, said on Wednesday the fentanyl and methamphetamine in Mr Floyd's system, and possibly carbon monoxide poisoning from auto exhaust, were contributing factors in the 46-year-old Black man's death last May.

"All of those combined to cause Mr Floyd's death," he said.

Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck for eight minutes.

Dr Fowler said he would classify the manner of death "undetermined," rather than homicide, as the county's chief medical examiner ruled.

He said Mr Floyd's death had too many conflicting factors, some of which could be ruled homicide and some that could be considered accidental.

Defence attorney Eric Nelson is trying to prove the 19-year Minneapolis police veteran did what he was trained to do and that Mr Floyd died because of his illegal drug use and underlying health problems.

Prosecutors say Mr Floyd died because the white officer's knee was pressed against Floyd's neck or neck area for 9 1/2 minutes as he lay on the pavement on his stomach, his hands cuffed behind him and his face jammed against the ground.

Mr Chauvin, 45, is charged with murder and manslaughter in Mr Floyd's death after his arrest on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 at a neighbourhood market.

The video of Mr Floyd gasping that he couldn't breathe as bystanders yelled at Mr Chauvin to get off him triggered worldwide protests, violence and a furious examination of racism and policing in the US.

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Man in custody after siege inside Sydney house

A man is in custody after a siege that locked down part of a western Sydney street for hours on Thursday.

The man, armed with a knife, had been holed up with a woman inside the house on Denison Street, Carramar, since about 1pm.

A police spokeswoman said he was removed shortly before 10pm and was assisting police.

https://twitter.com/9NewsSyd/status/1382606202140512258A siege is underway in south-west Sydney with an armed man holed up in a house in Carramar.

The woman had also left the house and was uninjured, the spokeswoman said.

Heavily armed police have been on the suburban street for at least five hours.

At one stage the man could be heard yelling: "I'm not coming out, I'm not going back to jail".

Heavily armed police earlier flooded the area and the street was locked down for at least eight hours.

Some officers were carrying what appeared to be circular saws.

The man is believed to have threatened police with a knife when they went to check on him.

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PM wants to give vaccinated Aussies freedom to skip hotel quarantine

Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants to give fully vaccinated Australians the freedom to travel overseas and return without going through hotel quarantine.

The PM, while warning vaccination was not a "silver bullet" and opening borders now would bring "1000 cases a week or more", said he had already put medical experts on the job of figuring out how to allow vaccinated Australians to travel freely.

"What I'd like to see happen next, and this is what I've tasked the medical experts with, is ensuring that we can know when an Australian is vaccinated here with their two doses, is able to travel overseas and return without having to go through hotel quarantine," Mr Morrison told Nine's 6PR Perth on Thursday.

READ MORE: Doctors 'surprised' after PM flags mass vaccination hubs

"Now, I think we're still some time away from that. 

"The states, at this stage, I'm sure wouldn't be agreeing to relaxing those hotel quarantine arrangements for those circumstances at this point in time."

Mr Morrison said states needed to be "on the same page" for such a shift to take place and the key thing to define was how to offer that increased travel freedom safely.

"Vaccinations are not a silver bullet. We've never said they are," he said.

"And if we were to lift the international borders, then no doubt, and I was talking to the head of the AMA about this today, we would see an increase in the number of case numbers. 

"So Australians have become very used to the fact, particularly here in Western Australia, of having zero case numbers and zero community transmission. 

"If we were to lift the borders and people to come, then you would see those cases increase and Australians would have to become used to dealing with 1000 cases a week or more."

READ MORE: EU announces massive focus on Pfizer

Scott Morrison talking about the death of Prince Philip.

Health Minister Greg Hunt recently said "vaccination alone is no guarantee that you can open up" the borders.

Asked in February about vaccinated Aussies travelling freely, the PM said "at this stage, quarantine continues".

Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly clarified the situation, saying although some preliminary evidence showed the AstraZeneca vaccine influenced the transmission of the virus, as well as preventing serious illness, he was still waiting on studies into jabs from Pfizer, Moderna and other drugmakers.

"At the moment that two-week quarantine in hotels, as has been so successful up to now, remains, regardless of vaccination," he said.

On April 2, the US Centres for Disease Control said a "growing body of evidence suggested vaccinated people are less likely to have asymptomatic infection and potentially less likely to transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others. However, further investigation is ongoing."

Top US vaccine adviser Dr Anthony Fauci on Wednesday night warned no country, even Australia with its almost non-existent virus transmission, would be safe from the coronavirus until the whole world had the pandemic under control.

"As long as there's the dynamic of virus replication, somewhere, there will always be the threat of the emergence of variants, which could then come back," He said.

"And even though most of the rest of the world is vaccinated, it can threaten the world that has felt that they've controlled the virus, when they're still quite vulnerable."

The federal Department of Health website states: "Australian Government advice for international travellers remains unchanged regardless of your vaccination status."