this is bbc news, i'm lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: a large volcano erupts in eastern congo, causing panic in the city of goma, residents are told to leave their homes. is this proof that princess latifa of dubai is alive? a single picture posted on social media, after she disappeared from public view in february. the former bbc journalist criticised for his interview with princess diana says he loved her and never meant to harm her. that means we have a winner! and — viva italia — the country is celebrating after winning

the eurovision song contest. hello and welcome to bbc news. we start in the democratic republic of congo where the government is ordering residents to leave the eastern city of goma following the eruption of a large volcano on saturday. lava is heading south towards goma. more than two million people live in the area. lover has already reached some of the roads leading into the city and the local airport. there are now fears it will reach the city centre. the government issued an evacuation orderfor government issued an evacuation order for goma government issued an evacuation orderfor goma earlier government issued an evacuation order for goma earlier and hundreds of thousands of people

packed up their belongings and left their homes. translation: it is something we've never seen before. we are all together, shaking. translation: , . translation: there is volcanic activi , translation: there is volcanic activity. the _ translation: there is volcanic activity, the volcano _ translation: there is volcanic activity, the volcano is - activity, the volcano is erupting in the population of goma — erupting in the population of goma are really worried but it is a really— goma are really worried but it is a really unusual situation and — is a really unusual situation and everyone is preparing, everyone _ and everyone is preparing, everyone is outside asking what is going — everyone is outside asking what is going to happen. in everyone is outside asking what is going to happen.— is going to happen. in 2002 to an emption — is going to happen. in 2002 to an eruption killed _ is going to happen. in 2002 to an eruption killed 250 - is going to happen. in 2002 to an eruption killed 250 people | an eruption killed 250 people and destroyed part of goma, leaving 120,000 people homeless. this is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. these pictures from 2017 show its huge blood for lake, one of the largest in the world. — it's huge lover lake. —— it's huge lava lake. let's get the latest on the israel—hamas conflict in gaza now. mediators from egypt have been travelling between israel,

gaza, and the west bank to secure the ceasefire between israel and hamas. egypt played a key role in securing the truce, which has held for a second day. nearly 250 people were killed in gaza during the 11—day conflict. 12 people died in israel, which came underfire from thousands of missiles. the bbc�*s tom batemanjoined a palestinian family whose home was destroyed in the bombardment of gaza. gaza's homeless wonder if it's even worth rebuilding. this man loses count of the rounds of conflict he's seen here. this time, the israelis got his home. i go to meet him at the tent he's put up on the wreckage. before the missile struck, his neighbour had a warning call. he and his family ran and then filmed their house being bombed.

israel says it targeted the homes of militants. he says his son just works for the police in the enclave, which is governed by the armed group hamas. translation: i am an innocent civilian. i i have nothing to do with politics. my feeling is more hatred towards israel. if i have a weapon now, i will go and fight, because i am not guilty. i have nothing to do with what happened to me. aid groups say 80,000 people in gaza were displaced in the fighting. some have been leaving schools where they'd sheltered. meanwhile, the first aid convoys have been arriving. this crossing with israel has partially reopened as the truce continues to hold. they're clearing up at the hanadi tower in gaza city. in the final hours of the last

major conflict in 2014 it was evacuated, but stayed standing as the war ended. this time, it was struck on the first day of fighting. with a hit on this tower, it's like this conflict picked up where the last one left off. there is a depressing continuity for people here. life becomes reduced to counting the time between wars. israel's leaders claim to have hit hamas' capabilities in an unprecedented way, but people on both sides feel they are just counting down to the next inevitable conflict. tom bateman, bbc news, gaza. a picture posted on social media seems to show princess latifa for the first time since she accused her father, the ruler of dubai, of imprisoning her. the photo appears to show the missing princess with two friends at a shopping mall. the bbc is unable to verify the images. our reporter nawal al—maghafi has more. the princess who

vanished reappears... at least that's what the instagram picture suggests. princess latifa, one of the 25 children of sheikh mohammed bin rashid al maktoum hasn't been seen or heard from in months. she attempted to escape from dubai in february 2018. i'm a hostage and this villa has been converted into a jail. in a video that the bbc gained access to that was filmed after she was captured, latifa alleges she is being held in solitary confinement in a villa in central dubai. but now the photo posted by two of latifa's friends on wednesday shows the princess in a dubai shopping mall, the mall of the emirates. it was uploaded to instagram, which doesn't show the date and time the photo was taken, as well as a precise location. but what the image to showers a cinema billboard advertising the film demon slayer: mugen train, which was released

in the united arab emirates earlier this month. latifa isn't the only daughter of sheikh mohammed to try to escape. in 2000 my sister, shamsa, while she was on holiday in england, she was 18 years old, going on 19, she ran away. there has been no comment from the dubai royalfamily. the un, which has urged the emirates for months to prove that princess latifa is alive, declined to comment on the photograph but has told the bbc that it awaits convincing proof of life in the case of latifa, which the uae has said it will provide. nawal al—maghafi, bbc news. the bbc�*s former director general, lord hall, has resigned as chairman of the national gallery in london, following criticism over a bbc interview with princess diana in 1995. tony hall was the corporation's head of news at the time, when reporter martin bashir, used deception to secure the interview. lord hall led an internal investigation into initial

complaints, but it was branded "woefully ineffective" this week, by an independent inquiry. here's our home editor, mark easton. former bbc director—general tony hall has not yet appeared publicly to answer questions about his role in the bashir scandal, specifically about what the dyson report called his "woefully inadequate" investigation into martin bashir�*s conduct in 1986. —— conduct in 1996. today, though, we learned that lord hall has stepped down from his role as chair of the national gallery. in a statement he said... tony hall was director of bbc news and current affairs at the time of the panorama interview, and described martin bashir as "an honest

and honourable man", even though he knew the reporter had faked documents and lied on a number of occasions. he was director—general and editor—in—chief at the bbc in 2016, when mr bashir was rehired by the corporation as religious affairs correspondent, and lord hall then promoted him to religion editor in 2017 — decisions to be investigated by mps. i have to say, there are lots of questions, and, also, i would want to know, what precisely did he do in hisjob? he wasn't on air a great deal during his time as correspondent or religious editor, and, you know, one would have to ask why was it that he was even promoted while back at the bbc? princess diana's brother, earl spencer, has revealed that he's written to the commissioner of the metropolitan police, asking the force to look again at the circumstances surrounding her bbc panorama interview. his letter to dame cressida dick claims his sister was the victim of blackmail and fraud. scotland yard has already said it's looking at the dyson

investigation to see if there's any significant new evidence to support a criminal investigation. there's already a government review into public broadcasting in britain, but ministers are suggesting the bashir scandal may require specific reform of bbc governance. what really matters for the bbc is they put in place what is needed to ensure that this sort of thing can never happen again. the current bbc director—general, tim davie, has written to staff saying the scandal leaves the corporation with much to reflect on. although there are now significantly stronger processes and governance in place, he says, the bbc must also learn lessons and keep improving. martin bashir, the former bbc journalist who conducted that infamous interview has been speaking to the sunday times newspaper. our correspondent damian grammaticas has been analysing his statements.

time we've heard from him, he has a message for princes william and harry, he is deeply sorry and he says he never wanted to hurt diana and he doesn't believe that he did because he says everything from the content of the interview to the content of the interview to the broadcasting at the time of it was what she wanted. so he says that he knows the forging of the documents was wrong and he regrets it but he doesn't, he regrets it but he doesn't, he says, think that had any bearing on anything so he actually rejects the duke of cambridge' association that he fed his mother's paranoia and decisions to reject her own security, he rejects her brother's statement that you can draw a line from the interview to her death, and for that, he says, that the suggestion i'm singularly is, i think, unreasonable and unfair, but remember the enquiry by lord dyson found that he was devious, dishonest, so people will draw their own conclusions. . .,

conclusions. thanks to damien, there. this is bbc news. our main headlines: a large volcano erupts in eastern congo, causing panic in the city of goma, residents are told to flee their homes. a picture is posted on social media which, if authentic, would be the first proof since february that princess latifa of dubai is alive. let's take a moment to look at the latest developments in the pandemic. more than a million people are now known to have died from covid—19 in latin america and the caribbean. that's around 30% of the global total of fatalities. the worst affected countries have been brazil, mexico, colombia, peru and argentina. in argentina, a doctor in beunos aires has told the bbc that medical facilities are almost at 100% capacity as the country sees record levels of infection. 39,000 new cases were reported on wednesday. argentina has just started

a strict nine day lockdown. bangladesh has issued an urgent appeal to britain and the united states to provide more doses of the astrazeneca vaccine. the country says it is in danger of running out of supplies. bangladesh has received around 10 million astrazeneca jabs from india in recent months. india's information technology ministry has written to social media companies asking them to remove content that refers to the indian variant of coronavirus. it said reports using the term were "completely false". the world health organisation has classified the covid variant, first identified in india, as being of international concern. here in britain, the first study of its kind suggests that the main covid vaccines do protect against that variant. but research from public health england indicates that a second dose is needed to provide a much stronger level of protection. in total more than 3,400 cases

of the variant have been detected across the uk — the numbers have doubled in a week. our health correspondent jim reed reports. in places like rochdale and greater manchester, vaccinations are being offered to other age groups. it quite eager to come and get it done because once the first one is out of the way, it's out of the way it's easy to just get it done than wait to an appointment to be scheduled. giving yourself safe but also helping _ giving yourself safe but also helping other people stay safe as weii — helping other people stay safe as well. , , ~ as well. scientists think the so-called — as well. scientists think the so-called indian _ as well. scientists think the so-called indian variant - as well. scientists think the so-called indian variant of i as well. scientists think the i so-called indian variant of the so—called indian variant of the virus can spread more quickly to areas like this where cases are growing, are being offered extra surge vaccinations and the first real—world data shows how important that could be. an

early study has found one dose of either the pfizer or astrazenecaj was 33% effect of at stopping infection from the indian variant. it worked better against the older kent strain. but a second dose boosted that protection, narrowing the gap almost completely and bring it in line with its effect against the more widespread kent variant. the second dose boosts your immune system, it makes it more effective than a wider range of variant, that are circulating, and that is why we are asking people to come forward for the second dose at eight weeks. that lower figure for the astrazeneca jab in the study may well be revised up later. the scientists say that vaccine takes longer to build up its protection. right now the research can only tell us about covid infections. it is thought both jabs should offer even stronger protection against any

severe disease and death caused by the indian variant. we severe disease and death caused by the indian variant.— by the indian variant. we all know that — by the indian variant. we all know that the _ by the indian variant. we all know that the way _ by the indian variant. we all know that the way out - by the indian variant. we all know that the way out of. by the indian variant. we all| know that the way out of this pandemic is the vaccine and this data shows that that has not changed, that is the right strategy but it makes it even more important for everybody to get the second jab.— get the second 'ab. overall, then, this _ get the second jab. overall, then, this study _ get the second jab. overall, then, this study makes - get the second jab. overall, then, this study makes for i then, this study makes for reassuring reading. it's the strongest evidence yet the vaccines can beat new variants of the virus, but it suggests that second dose could be key, as society heads back towards normality. most british people are now barred from entering germany. new rules came into effect in the last hour to limit the spread of the covid variant, first identified in india. german citizens and residents, can return to the country from the uk, but will have to quarantine for two weeks. our correspondent in berlin, damien mcguinness, explains more about germany's decision. the economy is starting to open up over this weekend. people can now start sitting out on terraces, beer gardens are opening up,

outside eating's allowed — all sorts of cultural, sporting activities. that's because the infection rates here in germany have really come down. the vaccine roll—out has sped up. now almost 40% of the population have had at least one dose. but the worry is that the indian variant could come over into germany. now, at the moment, about 2% of new infections are of the indian variant — that's what officials here say, in germany, as it has done in parts of england, then that could really stop the progress of fighting the pandemic in germany, and that's why, overnight, german officials announced that travel from britain or from the uk to germany is effectively banned. the only exemption are residents of germany or german citizens coming back to germany, and they will have to go into two—week isolation period at home. so, a big restriction, and it will cause a lot of problems and make it almost impossible for many people

to go from the uk to germany until the indian variant is controlled. i think that's what the german government is really looking for. emergency crews have been battling a wildfire in the upmarket californian city of santa barbara. you can see here how close the flames are to homes, with at least one property destroyed. firefighters say they've largely brought the blaze under control. investigators say they believe it was started deliberately. here in the uk, the queen has been meeting the crew of the royal navy's new flagship — hms queen elizabeth — as the carrier prepares for its first major deployment. it'll be joined by a fleet of warships from britian's allies on its voyage to south east asia. the government insists the uk's not seeking a confrontation with china, but rather to strengthen ties with allies in the region and boost trade. our defence correspondent

jonathan beale reports. britain's longest—serving monarch arrived on britain's largest warship. two queen elizabeths, her majesty bidding farewell to the crew of the aircraft carrier she named and commissioned, about to sail east halfway around the world. moored alongside, an american destroyer, one of six warships that will accompany her to the pacific. the navy says it is the most powerful uk maritime deployment in a generation, and the embodiment of global britain. so this is a tangible expression of how the country can go out into the world, and so we have a fantastic new capability, and when we deploy, it speaks to our values, our interests, what we stand for. the carrier's already been training with the latest f35s. there are more usjets on board than british ones.

the government says that's a sign of strength, not weakness. during the seven—month voyage, they're expected to launch their first combat over iraq. the government sees this is not only a global bread—and—butter of her military power. but in sailing east, it insists it is not looking for a confrontation with china, it's more about boosting trade and diplomatic ties in the region. but does this deployment signify a big shift in foreign policy? it tilt towards asia? diplomacy is often about — tilt towards asia? diplomacy is often about theatre _ tilt towards asia? diplomacy is often about theatre and - tilt towards asia? diplomacy is often about theatre and this i tilt towards asia? diplomacy is often about theatre and this is| often about theatre and this is a great piece of theatre, a great piece of british engineering, a military asset, but making it very back to the indo pacific is not a strategic shift. it's a gesture.- shift. it's a gesture. tonight hms queen _ shift. it's a gesture. tonight hms queen elizabeth - shift. it's a gesture. tonight hms queen elizabeth will i shift. it's a gesture. tonightl hms queen elizabeth will set sail on her 26,000 mile

voltage. it does mark a new era for the navy, but with it we define britain's place in the world. this year's eurovision song contest has just ended a short while ago, with italy being voted this year's winners. the competition which was cancelled last year was hosted by the netherlands in rotterdam with a smaller audience and subject to some coronavirus restrictions. france came second and switzerland third, and at the very bottom was the united kingdom, receiving zero points both from the judges and the public. well a little earlier we spoke to the bbc�*s steve holden who watched the night unfold in rotterdam and he had this to say about this years eurovision champions. the winner this year is italy, who were the favourites before the contest began, they are a rock band from rome, they put on an assured and confident

performance tonight, full of pyrotechnics, star quality, the kind of show that you would see at a festival or a massive rock getting in an arena. they didn't win thejury getting in an arena. they didn't win the jury vote, which is 50% of the points, but they got an absolute landslide with the public, who obviously lapped up everything that they saw. it was a tussle of those points towards the end. france were in the mix, so was switzerland, so were iceland, who we talked about so much because they were the only country that could not perform lives tonight, but in the end it is italy that has taken this year's eurovision crown. well to bring us up to speed on the all contestants winners and losers, we can now speak to alasdair rendall who's president of ogae uk, the world's largest eurovision fan club.. what is your reaction then to what unfolded over the last few hours? ., ., , what unfolded over the last few hours? . . , ., what unfolded over the last few hours? . .,, ., ., what unfolded over the last few hours? . ., ., , , hours? that was one of the best eurovision _ hours? that was one of the best eurovision song _ hours? that was one of the best eurovision song contest - hours? that was one of the best eurovision song contest finals i eurovision song contest finals we've ever had. much needed

after two years, so good to have eurovision back and just an incredible show, fantastic songs, great staging, great presenters, great production, and very exciting results at the end there. it and very exciting results at the end there.— the end there. it was quite tense at — the end there. it was quite tense at the _ the end there. it was quite tense at the end, - the end there. it was quite tense at the end, wasn't . the end there. it was quite l tense at the end, wasn't it? readjusting the moment again, italy did perform pretty well, and what you make of the act itself? fit, and what you make of the act itself? �* , ., ., and what you make of the act itself? �* , itself? a very good song, it had been — itself? a very good song, it had been leading _ itself? a very good song, it had been leading the - itself? a very good song, it. had been leading the betting itself? a very good song, it i had been leading the betting on the last few days, it had really come up the rails in the last week or so, very visually strong performance, very distinctive, unlike anything else on show tonight, a great place in the running order, quite near the end, and these days you need a song that cuts through, and that's what they had, a very lively performance, a visual performance, something very different to what has gone before and eurovision, there is no point trying to copy what has happened in previous years, you need to bring something new, and that's what italy have done got their reward for it. that interesting analysis. each

year, jimmy, from the outside, it seems so random and the songs seem so different and such variety, and yet somehow the bookies managed to put italy as favourite and then managed to win, how do they do that? ., , ., ~ managed to win, how do they do that? ., ~ ., managed to win, how do they do that? .,, ., ~ ., ., that? people talk about a ical that? people talk about a typical eurovision - that? people talk about a typical eurovision song, l that? people talk about a i typical eurovision song, and that's where we have often gone wrong over the years, we have looked to do hard for what atypical european song is, and there is no such thing. the countries that have done well have been countries that have done something different to before, whether it is its low song, an up—tempo song, and this year a rock song. the song, an up-tempo song, and this year a rock song. the uk's performance. _ this year a rock song. the uk's performance, no _ this year a rock song. the uk's performance, no points. - performance, no points. disappointing resultjames disappointing result james newman, no disappointing resultjames newman, no points with both the jury newman, no points with both the jury and the teller vote, but yes, he has come last but he was not way off at the bottom, three other countries got zero votes for the teller vote, germany got a couple more points than us in the jury. it's a shame, he is a good

singer, it's a good song, but you need to have that special something that really stands out in and amongst all the other performances, and that's probably what was lacking, it's the sort of song that nobody disliked, he didn't sing badly at all, he did a very good performance in contemporary song, but itjust needed something different, and if you look at the songs that came in the top five, they all had that. ., , ., the top five, they all had that. . , ., . ., , that. finally, not huge crowds inside, that. finally, not huge crowds inside. do _ that. finally, not huge crowds inside, do you _ that. finally, not huge crowds inside, do you think _ that. finally, not huge crowds inside, do you think it - that. finally, not huge crowds inside, do you think it made l that. finally, not huge crowds inside, do you think it made aj inside, do you think it made a difference? it inside, do you think it made a difference?— difference? it made less of a difference — difference? it made less of a difference than _ difference? it made less of a difference than i _ difference? it made less of a difference than i expected. l difference? it made less of a difference than i expected. i | difference than i expected. i expected it might lose some atmosphere but it was one of the most exciting eurovision is i have watched for many years. that is endorsement indeed. thank you very much for coming on the programme, great to have you on. that is about it from me, do get me online on twitter and social media. this is bbc news.

bit of a lull in the weather at the moment. the skies are clear in the morning's not looking bad at all across most of the uk. don't hold your breath, it's not going to last for very long. because we are expecting rain and gales through the afternoon, particularly across western areas of the uk. and if we have a look at the satellite picture you can see this swirl across the atlantic, another big low pressure and the weather front�*s already approaching ireland. you can see the low pressure, rather autumnal looking and that will be sweeping across us over the next couple of days. it's pushed by a strong jet stream, you can see here at 30,000 feet. the forecast for the early hours shows the rain pushing into ireland but many parts of the uk are clear and calm. in fact we are expecting a touch of frost in the glens

of scotland and even cities further south than birmingham, about three degrees in the morning. the forecast, from the morning onwards that weather front sweeps into western part of the uk, gale force winds develop around western coasts and for a time, an hour or two, the rain really could be quite heavy, particularly around south—western england, wales and also south west of scotland. notice that at this stage, from norwich all the way to aberdeen the weather is dry and the rain may not reach you until a lot later on in the day and probably during the evening hours. then out towards the west, the weather should calm down. here's monday's weather map, a low pressure sitting on top of the uk and typically, when we're in the centre of the low pressure, we get big shower clouds, so it's a day of storm clouds building, perhaps thunder and lightning across some parts of wales and england. perhaps a little bit of sunshine the across the north of england. however, northern and eastern scotland likely to be quite wet on monday as this weather front wraps around into the centre

of this low pressure. here's tuesday's weather forecast — the low pressure is moving towards the east butjust in the wake of it, further showers are expected from scotland and also along the eastern side of the country. out towards the west, the weather should start to improve. all in all, the rest of the weekend and into next week, looking fairly unsettled. but here's the good news — as we head towards the end of the week ahead, there are signs that the weather finally will be settling down. something to look forward to.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the government in the democratic republic of congo has ordered residents to leave the eastern city of goma following the eruption of a large volcano. lava has reportedly reached the airport after a new fracture opened up on mount nyiragongo, enabling lava to flow south towards goma. a picture's been posted on social media that appears to show princess latifa for the first time since the daughter of the ruler of dubai said she was being held hostage by herfather. the photo shows the missing princess apparently sitting with two friends in a mall in dubai. the former bbc journalist who is at the centre of a scandal about an interview with the princess of wales has rejected suggestions his actions were ultimately responsible for her death.