this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm james reynolds. reporter: are you going to resign, mrcummings? the uk prime minister, boris johnson, stands by his chief advisor, rejecting calls for his resignation over allegedly breaking coronavirus lockdown rules. i believe that in every respect, he has acted responsibly, and legally, and with integrity. protests in hong kong against beijing's new proposed security laws turn ugly. more than 100 people are arrested. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, appears at the first day of his corruption trial. we meet the residents of one british village who are pulling together to help those in need during the coronavirus outbreak.

welcome to the programme. we start with the latest coronavirus developments from around the world. president trump has suspended travel from brazil, a major new hotspot in the coronavirus pandemic. south africa's president, cyril ramaphosa, has warned that the coronavirus situation in his country is going to get far worse. he says more than 22,000 cases of covid—19 had been recorded in the last week. austria's president, alexander van der bellen, has apologised for staying at a vienna restaurant beyond a coronavirus—related cu rfew. he said he had been out with his wife and friends but had forgotten what time it was. good news for sports fans. professional teams can return to their training facilities in new york after getting

the green light from the state's governor. there will be no live audiences, but people can watch from home. and muslims around the world celebrated the first day of the eid al—fitr holiday, but many avoided visiting family and friends due to the lockdown restrictions in most parts of the world. borisjohnson has staunchly defended his top advisor, dominic cummings, after it emerged he had driven more than 250 miles from his london home to county durham following the government's introduction of its coronavirus lockdown. boris johnson said mr cummings had followed the instincts of every parent and acted with integrity in seeking childcare with family members after his wife had developed symptoms of the virus. the prime minister was responding to growing pressure from within the conservative party and beyond for his advisor to step down. here is our political correspondent iain watson. reporter: why did you not stay in your primary residence, mr cummings, as the government guidelines state? why did you go 260 miles across the country? dominic cummings's family travelled 250 miles away

from his london home to isolate in durham, when his wife already had coronavirus symptoms, citing concerns over childcare. though he faced something of a scrum here, the bbc maintained social distancing. but the prime minister held him close, and faced down calls for him to go. i think he followed the instincts of every father, and every parent, and i do not mark him down for that. i believe that in every respect he has acted responsibly, and legally, and with integrity. conservative mps have got in touch with us today, prime minister, because they say lots of their constituents are angry. they feel that allowing somebody who was already ill to travel 250 miles across the country breaches at least the spirit of your guidance. hand on heart, can you really say that this didn't breach the spirit of your guidance? what i can tell you is that i think when you look

at the guidance, when you look at the particular childcare needs that mr cummings faced at the time, it was reasonable of him to self—isolate as he did, for 14 days or more, with his family, where he did. some conservative mps are saying, prime minister, that this defence that dominic cummings behaved responsibly — many of their constituents are angry about that, because it makes them feel as though they were irresponsible in breaching the guidelines and going to work close to their family in this lockdown. they feel insulted by that. i can totally get why people might feel so confused and, as you say, so offended by the idea that it was one thing for people here and another thing for others. but really, having looked at what happened, having looked at his intentions and what he was trying to do for the good

of his family, i really think most people will understand what he was doing. the uk was placed into lockdown with strict limitations on travel on 23 march. the last time that dominic cummings was seen before developing covid symptoms was in downing street on 27 march. durham police were made aware of reports that an individual had travelled from london to durham on 31 march, and the following day a police officer spoke to mr cummings's father at his father's request. dominic cummings then returned to work in london on 14 april. government ministers say dominic cummings and his immediate family were hunkered down at a property adjacent to his parents' home in durham. but the mirror and observer newspapers and the bbc have spoken to a member of the public who claims he saw mr cummings in the town of barnard castle, 30 miles away, on easter sunday, when the message was stay at home. he has now formally complained to the police. i am content that, at all times throughout his period in isolation, actually on both sides of that period, he behaved responsibly

and correctly. i'm told some government ministers are hugely frustrated that coherent messages on controlling the virus have been made more confusing to keep dominic cummings at number ten. so, do voters in county durham have clear views? i think when someone like him, who's obviously giving advice to the prime minister, doesn't adhere to the rules, it makes it even more confusing for the average person. other people have been in the same situation, and they've managed. so why shouldn't he manage? we're all told to keep in, right? ten weeks i was in, and he's out. he's flouting the rules. it's all wrong. they should sack him. and the labour leader seems to share those views. this was a huge test of the prime minister, and he's just failed that test. he hasn't sacked dominic cummings, he hasn't called for an investigation, and he's treating the british public with contempt.

if i were prime minister, i'd have sacked cummings. why are you guys not social distancing? dominic cummings seems secure in hisjob for now, but many mps are worried that faith in the government's guidelines is far more shaky. iain watson, bbc news. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg gave her assessment of the prime minister's decision to support dominic cummings. normally it is advisors who sort of chuck themselves in front of politicians to soak up the damage. today we saw the prime minister really sort of chuck himself out there to defend his key aid, and those close to him say that is partly because he was convinced by what mr cummings explained to him about the reasons for his behaviour. but, more importantly, ithink it is because borisjohnson has come to really, really rely on dominic cummings. he is absolutely at the centre of the operation in downing street, and round here, he is either seen as admirably ruthless, or by many, many of his enemies, as relentlessly and somehow foolishly antagonistic.

but for the prime minister, whether back in the brexit referendum or during the general election, and now his time in office, he is absolutely core to what happens in downing street. and therefore he has made the decision, the calculation, that the loss of losing him would be greater than the political damage of trying to keep him. but of course, that means that the prime minister himself has very personally today doubled down on what many people see as a double standard. let's get some of the day's other news: a severe storm described as a once—in—a—decade event is lashing coastal parts of western australia with heavy rain and abnormally high tides. winds of more than 100 km/h have left 50,000 homes and businesses without power, torn off roofs, and brought down trees. britain is reviewing how us sanctions will have an impact on the involvement of the chinese company, huawei, in its telecoms networks. the us announced sanctions limiting huawei's access to american technology earlier this month, citing security fears.

injanuary, the british government resisted us pressure to ban huawei from contributing to its new 5g network. france's minister for ecological transition has said air france has promised to halve its domestic emissions of carbon dioxide in the next four years in return for state loan guarantees. the deal involves air france drastically reducing domestic flights for routes that you can travel to quickly by rail. france has offered the airline a package of loans worth more than $7 billion. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has appeared in court at the start of his long—delayed trial on corruption charges, just days after he was once again sworn in as premier. he is the first sitting prime minister in israel's history to go on trial in a criminal case. tom bateman reports from jerusalem. a giant of israeli politics heads for the defendant's bench. it was the day he hoped would never come. it began with protests. two camps, fans and foes,

a country divided over benjamin netanyahu. we have a great prime minister. we love him, we support him, and we really believe this is a really stupid thing. but he's looking for all the reasons in the world to get away from it, and that's not going to happen. grabbing the moment in a courthouse corridor, he lashed out at prosecutors, police and the press. translation: what's on trial today is the will of the people. it's delusional. flanked by his top ministers. prosecutors paint a picture of a pm obsessed with his image, doing favours for powerful media bosses to manipulate coverage. in another case, it is alleged

he accepted a supply line of champagne and cigars. it has formed a backdrop to three deadlocked elections. his rival capitalised on the corruption claims, but has nowjoined him in government to tackle coronavirus, and judges ruled the israeli leader can stay on as pm while on trial. at court, shouts loud enough to be heard inside. the prime minister's loyal supporters are out in force, and they have covered the windows of the courtroom here, so that we can't see what is going on inside. it is a criminal trial, but a deeply political event. in some ways, it feels like a fourth election campaign. his case has become a symbol for how two sides in israel see their country's future. this time, his fate lies in the hands of the judges, and not the people. police in hong kong have fired tear gas and water cannon at demonstrators protesting china's plans to impose a new security law. police say 120 people have been arrested after the first mass protests since the coronavirus

pandemic took hold in the territory. beijing says the legislation will improve people's lives, but campaigners warn fundamental freedoms are being eroded. 0ur china correspondent stephen mcdonnell reports. activists in their thousands are back on the streets of hong kong, ending the quiet of coronavirus. beijing has introduced new security legislation for the city. they are attempting to resist it. protesters say it elevates acts of dissent and government opposition to treason and sedition, potentially meaning serious jail time if you, for example, call for hong kong independence. we are worried that the chinese communist party make use of the evil law to further suppress hong kong people. following last year's summer of rebellion, more than 7,000 protesters have been charged with public assembly and rioting crimes.

before the end of the year, they could be accused of trying to overthrow the communist party. but china's leaders say the law will mean a better atmosphere for business, and that it should be applauded rather than feared. translation: this targets a very narrow category of acts that seriously jeopardise national security. it has no impact on hong kong's high degree of autonomy, or on the rights and freedoms of residents. here in beijing, the national people's congress is under way. it is the most important annual political gathering for the chinese communist party. and this time round, china's leaders do feel like they've got a pretty good story to tell, with the handling of the coronavirus, and perhaps they thought this would give them cover to almost sneak through new security legislation, and that it wouldn't attract much attention. well, it's certainly attracting a lot of attention in hong kong.

hong kong protesters know that, in the coming days, the legislation will pass through china's rubber—stamp congress. then, there is little they can do to prevent it becoming law. stephen mcdonnell, bbc news, beijing. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: greece prepares to open its doors to domestic tourists, offering some relief to an industry hit hard by the country's lockdown. in the biggest international sporting spectacle ever seen, up to 30 million people have taken part in sponsored athletics events to aid famine relief in africa. the first of what the makers of star wars hope will be thousands of queues started forming at 7:00am. taunting which led to scuffles, scuffles to fighting, fighting to full—scale riot, as the liverpool fans broke out of their area and into the juventus enclosure. the belgian police had lost control. the whole world will mourn the tragic death

of mr nehru today. he was the father of the indian people on the day of independence. the oprah winfrey show comes to an end after 25 years and more than 4,500 episodes. the chat show has made her one of the richest people on the planet. geri halliwell, otherwise known as 'ginger spice,‘ has announced she has left the spice girls. argh, i don't believe it. she's the one with the bounce, the go, the girl power. not geri, why?! this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the british prime minister has defended his top advisor over allegations he broke coronavirus lockdown rules. more than 100 people have been arrested in hong kong during protests against beijing's new proposed security laws. turkey, which had one of the fastest growing coronavirus outbreaks in the world, says it is now turning the tide.

the growth in infections has dropped to the lowest level since the country's first case in march. the authorities say a nationwide contact tracing system is one of the key weapons in the fight against the virus. from istanbul, our international correspondent 0rla guerin reports. how do you track a virus that sweeps unseen through a city? in istanbul, home to more than 16 million, the answer is — you don't waste a minute. right from the very beginning, we were ready for the covid—19. this is where we pick up the calls. they've been contact tracing since day one when turkey's first case was diagnosed in march. the system is well developed from decades of tracking measles. it relies on tireless work by doctors and nurses. we, as a team, feel as if we are in a war because people forget to go home. they don't, you know, they don't know the time frames that they're working in.

we say that, 0k, eight hours is completed, but they don't even care going home because they know this is a duty that they have to complete and before it spreads to anyone else. so 1,200 tracing teams fan out across the city. wejoined them in fatih in the heart of old istanbul. step by step, they track the virus, here checking on two flatmates whose friend is covid positive. these women, both in their 20s, are tested on their doorstep... ahh... ..just a day after developing mild symptoms. translation: we follow foreign news and when we first heard about the virus, we were really scared. but turkey has rallied faster than we thought, much faster than europe

and the united states. well, the doctors are out of their ppe now. everything has been bagged up, it's going to be disposed of safely. they have taken the swabs and they will be sent off to the lab and the results will be back within 2a hours. and even if they test negative, they'll have to remain at home for another 1a days. we are keeping the virus out of the streets, that is very important for us. once we isolate them, you know, the virus stops spreading to theirfriends, to their relatives, to their co—workers. that seems to be working so far, along with widespread testing and partial lockdowns. the official death toll here is relatively low — around 4,300. international experts say turkey has managed to shield its people from a greater disaster. 0rla guerin, bbc news, istanbul.

greece will reopen its islands to domestic tourism on monday, the latest in a series of measures ending lockdown restrictions. it closed its borders early and has had only 171 deaths from coronavirus. but greece's tourist industry, which makes up at least a fifth of the economy, has been badly hit by the pandemic as quentin sommerville reports. the parthenon is a landmark, not just for greece, but for the entire world. for the last few months, it, along with western civilisation, has been closed to visitors. this week, it reopened. social distancing means new markings on these ancient stones and new plastic defences on the ramparts. for greece, there is no greater symbol. but for now, this is mainly a symbolic reopening. on any given day, there would usually be 20,000 visitors here. today, barely 100.

foreign tourists can return here without quarantine from the middle ofjune. for the moment, it's mostly locals. the fact that it is open makes me feel hopeful, but cautiously so. 0ur government reacted well and quickly and the results show. greece hasn't been overwhelmed by the pandemic — only 170 deaths. lockdown is easing here. the mainland's beaches are open, and from monday, its islands will be too. for now, tourists from high infection areas — the us, russia and the united kingdom — will not be allowed in, but that will change as the virus weakens says the country's tourism minister. i think everyone deserves a break. they should try and find the ways to really fill those

batteries. i think everyone has been under stress. i think this vacationing process is a healing process, especially for this year. tourism is the bedrock of the greek economy. back at the acropolis, it is slow going. yanis hasn't had a customer in days. —— yiannis hasn't had a customer in days. it's about time to accept that the world has changed and now we have to start learning new things. and one of them is to be able to understand that the acropolis some times in the year is going to be like this as well. the acropolis is a monument to endurance, a fitting place to take the first cautious steps out of the pandemic. quentin somerville, bbc news, athens. muslims around the world have been celebrating the first day of the eid al—fitr holiday amid covid—19 restrictions. in britain, they followed virtual prayers from home

as mosques remained closed to prevent the spread of the virus. and in france's beauvais, some released balloons in front of a future mosque to mark the occasion. in the last few weeks, we've seen how communities across the uk have been dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. it's been a particular challenge in rural areas where the population is often older and poorer with limited public transport and broadband. but in the village of piddlehinton in dorset, a huge volunteer effort has brought unexpected benefits, for its 500 residents, as jon kay reports. it might look idyllic... ..but even here, lockdown is tough. people are frightened. people are scared and people are lonely, and we are in chaos. vicky is delivering food and medication to her elderly neighbours. waita minute,jim! jim is 87 and lives alone. morning, my lovely. without you, i couldn't manage.

you are marvellous. every day, the most vulnerable people get a visit. the community's been so good with me, to me, and that's what kept me going. because it's been a hard, hard time. i think we're doing the things that we've been put off doing for a long time, which is get friendly with your neighbours and look out for each other. and it is an opportunity to right a few wrongs. there are elements within our village, within our societies that have been left out. now is a chance to actually look after them, look out for them. with no village shop, they've had to find other ways of getting food to the most vulnerable. there is now a hardship fund. so, eight kilos of bananas... and this farming family has started delivering to those who can't get to the shops. you alright, luke? yeah, you? including the gypsy and travellers camp,

where romany families like luke's have sometimes felt cut off in the past. how have the last few weeks improved the sense of community here? well, it's helped a lot. show them respect, they show you respect. help them out, they help you out, so to speak, like favour for favour. does it feel like it's a happier place to live these days? yeah, it is. there is an unexpected sense of renewal here, of connections being made. the ladies who normally decorate the church now make posies, delivered by local teenagers... reads "we are thinking of you and thanking you for all you do. love, the village." ..to key workers like abby, a covid nurse. it's lush. i love it. every week i get one, and it just means. .. yeah, itjust lifts me up, makes me feel good, and just that i'm not on my own in this. we are all together.

we are all doing this together. what have you learned as a community? we are alljust looking out for each other. i think it's that sense of being covered and cared for and loved. singing by sharing their talents and working together, this village has managed to turn a threat into a fresh start. # nothing in the world will ever be the same. jon kay, bbc news, piddlehinton, in dorset. a reminder of our top story: the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has defended his senior advisor, dominic cummings, who's been facing calls to resign amid accusations he breached the government's coronavirus lockdown rules. mrjohnson said mr cummings had behaved legally when he drove several hundred kilometres to the north—east of england with his wife, who had symptoms of the virus, to get family help with childcare. more on our website. please

stay with us. hello there. we saw a top temperature of 23 celsius in the london area on sunday afternoon. bank holiday monday today looks warmer still further south, close to mid 20s celsius across parts, but much of the country will be dry and sunny thanks to this area of high. these weather fronts start to play a part across the north—west to bring outbreaks of rain and strong wind. a fairly fresh start to the day today. temperatures' and is in places, a little bit of early mist and fog that will burn away weekly through the morning. many letters will be dry, but in western scotland, lots of northern ireland will turn wet later in the day.

temperatures around the mid teens in the north—west, closer to the low 20s and the mid 20s in the south—east. that band of cloud and rain across the north—west moves its way south—east during monday night, tending to fizzle out though as it reaches part of england and wales, just a few showers. with more cloud cover generally, things should be a little less chilly. as we move into tuesday, high pressure with us once again. this area of cloud associated with that weather front will straddle central areas and push south—east through the day, so more cloud around generally, more sunshine for scotland and northern ireland. slightly fresher air mass here. again, it is what the cloud, the air is quite warm, 20 to 25 or 26 degrees. high pressure still with us into wednesday, this feature will bring thick cloud, but she rained northern ireland and in

towards central and western scotland, but to the north of it, a dry, little bit cooler with some sunshine to the south, plenty of sunshine for england and wales and another warm day, 25 or 26 the high, closer to the mid teens in the north. fresh air in the north gets pushed away northwards as high pressure changes its position east of the uk and sta rts position east of the uk and starts to draw a warm southerly wind from the near continent that will dry the warmth northwards into scotland and northern ireland as we reach the end of the week and it will be very warm with plenty of sunshine.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the british prime minister has defended his top advisor, dominic cummings, amid a row over the aide's travel during lockdown. boris johnson says mr cummings followed the instincts of every parent and acted with integrity in seeking childcare with family members after his wife had developed symptoms of the virus. thousands of people have been taking part in mass protests againsts china's plans to impose a new security law on the territory. more than 100 people have been arrested. beijing says the legislation will improve people's lives, but campaigners warn fundamental freedoms are being eroded. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has appeared in court at the start of his long—delayed trial on corruption charges, just days after he was once again sworn in as premier. he is the first sitting prime minister in israel's history to go on trial in a criminal case.