this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall with the latest headlines at 2. two doses of the main covid vaccines used in the uk are found to be highly effective against the indian variant of the virus. government ministers deny claims, by the former downing street adviser dominic cummings, that they pursued a policy of herd immunity in dealing with the coronavirus in the early part of last year. at least 8 people have died after a mountain cable car plunged to the ground in the town of stresa in northern italy. the former bbc journalist martin bashir defends his panaorama interview with princess diana, but apologises to princes william and harry. the queen visits the royal navy flagship — hms queen elizabeth —

as it begins its first major deployment. and nil point for the uk at eurovision, as italy wins the big prize. we start with some breaking news. at least 8 people have died after a mountain cable car plunged to the ground in northern italy. two children have been airlifted to hospital in turin. the cable car takes people from the town of stresa, on lake maggiore, up almost a mile above sea level to the top of the mottarone mountain. we can show you the latest pictures that have coming to us from this

region of italy... a 20 minute cable car, or denial of the really popular with tourists, offers a spectacular mountain views of the alps —— ordinarily a really popular... the summit isjust under 5000 ordinarily a really popular... the summit is just under 5000 feet. it may have been caused by a broken cable at the top of the system, according to reports from a local news agency. but that has not been confirmed yet, because the investigation is still under way. two people seriously injured, we are told, eight people have died. there were 11 people in the cabin that failed. the latest pictures they are from stresa in italy. we will bring you more when we get the details.

the pfizer and astrazeneca vaccines are effective against the indian variant of coronavirus a new study has found. health officials have urged people to take up the offer of a second dose — which experts believe makes both vaccines just as effective as they are against the older kent variant. the research from public health england suggests the pfizer vaccine provides 88% protection after the second dose. however health experts say social distancing rules, facemasks and other coronavirus prevention measures must still be observed to stop the spread of the indian and other variants. here's 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh. in rochdale in greater manchester, people are actively coming forward to receive their vaccinations. the latest research shows that the jabs are effective in reducing the chances of infection from the variant that came from india, and experts think that the vaccines are also stopping serious illness. of the 3,000 or so identified cases of the variant, there have only been 31 hospital admissions and just six deaths. fortunately, we are not seeing much,

so this is a good thing but of course it means the data will come through more slowly. we're watching that very carefully, so the data, there's a technical briefing the public can access on the gov.uk website which shows that up to the 19th of may we had only had six deaths. they are obviously very sad for those individuals, but the vast majority of these are people who had not been vaccinated. research shows that the first dose of the pfizer or astrazeneca jab is 33% effective at stopping infection against the variant that came from india, but not as good as they were against the older kent strain. but the second dose closes that gap almost completely. the lower figure for astrazeneca is because there were more older people in that group, and it's thought that it's just as effective as the pfizerjab. it's important, though, that people continue to come forward for vaccination

and to take their second jab. experts believe that there will be a rise in cases as a result of recently allowing people to mix indoors. there is a bit of a race going on between the vaccine programme and the relaxation of restrictions and so on, and we will see more cases over the coming weeks as a result of that. so there's still a need to be cautious. scientists expect to have a clearer idea of how quickly the variant from india spreads in the coming weeks, which in turn will determine whether all legal restrictions can be lifted onjune the 21st. but the news that vaccines are effective against it is a big boost to those wanting to get back to a more normal life. pallab ghosh, bbc news. the home secretary priti patel has denied claims made by the former downing street adviser dominic cummings, that the government pursued a strategy of herd immunity during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. in a series of tweets last night

mr cummings described the government's handling of the crisis as a "disaster", and claimed that "lives and money" were needlessly lost. this is not the first time we have heard this claim. how has it come about now?— about now? this comes ahead of dominic cummings' _ about now? this comes ahead of dominic cummings' appearance l about now? this comes ahead of- dominic cummings' appearance before mps in parliament on wednesday when he will be asked about the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic when it first began. he of course was the prime minister's chief adviser at that time. via a series of tweets, he is giving an indication of what he's going to tell those mps. he is making the claim that the government's official plan was this policy of herd immunity via infection. effectively letting the virus spread throughout the population to boost immunity levels. he says the government only abandon the idea when it was warned by

scientists of the consequences. dominic cummings and his tweets describes those consequences as hundreds of thousands of people choking to death. today the government have flatly denied those claims. the home secretary was on the andrew marr show earlier this morning and said the policy was about saving lives and protecting the nhs. do you now admit as government that herd immunity was the policy until march? not at all, no. absolutely not. our policy from the outset, andrew, the policy and the strategy... so why is dominic cummings telling us that that's true? well, i can't speak for mr cummings and one individual, but what... so, if you say it's not true, he said it was on all the graphs, it was on all the paperwork in those crucial meetings. presumably, therefore, he cannot be bringing hard evidence of this, if you say it's not true. so, what i would say to this, i'm not going to comment on what mr cummings is going to say or also what is being speculated about right now.

this isn't just anybody this isn'tjust anybody coming forward with these claims, is it? no, this is a man who was in the room when these decisions were being made at the start of the pandemic, and don't forget, before he left downing street last november, dominic cummings was a man whose opinion is borisjohnson valued greatly. and tweet by tweet over the last 2a hours, he is revealing those opinions, and they are very damning and critical of the prime minister and critical of the prime minister and of this government. just cuickl , and of this government. just quickly. we _ and of this government. just quickly, we are _ and of this government. just quickly, we are expecting to see mac to appear before to select committees this week as well. —— dominic cummings. committees this week as well. -- dominic cummings.— dominic cummings. yes, a “oint committeefi dominic cummings. yes, a “oint committee of i dominic cummings. yes, a “oint committee of the i dominic cummings. yes, a “oint committee of the science h dominic cummings. yes, ajoint committee of the science and i dominic cummings. yes, a joint - committee of the science and health committees where he will be at his opinions on what happened in those early stages in february and march leading up to the first lockdown and then throughout the summer. the former british prime minister, gordon brown, has called on borisjohnson to use next month's g7 summit in cornwall to step up funding of the global covid vaccine roll—out. $66 billion is required to complete the un—led covax

programme, and mr brown says that at least two thirds of that sum ought to be covered by the g7 group of nations. he said that while most adults in britain have had vaccinations, the figure in africa was just 2%, and ii % for india. scotland's health secretary says covid restrictions in glasgow could be eased if the number of people in intensive care does not go up. glasgow is the only part of scotland still in level three, and some businesses have criticised the decision to keep it under stricter measures. humza yousaf told the bbc ministers want to ease restrictions as soon as possible. he hopes after this week it'll become clear whether case numbers have led to a rise in icu patients in the city. the home secretary priti patel says the bbc�*s reputation has been "compromised" following lord dyson's report into howjournalist martin bashir obtained his interview with princess diana for panorama in 1995. she said the bbc�*s governance and accountability could be strengthened during the renewal

of its royal charter. meanwhile speaking to the sunday times mr bashir has said he never wanted to harm diana and that to shoulder him with the responsibility for the royalfamily�*s relationship with the media is unreasonable and unfair. tim muffett reports. the fallout from the publication of lord dyson's report continues. it concluded that martin bashir had used deceitful behaviour to secure his 1995 interview with diana, princess of wales. speaking to today's sunday times, the former bbc journalist tells prince william and prince harry that he is deeply sorry about what happened. he acknowledges again that forging bank statements which were shown to diana's brother, earl spencer, was wrong. but he dismisses the duke of cambridge's claim that he fuelled princess diana's paranoia or any suggestion that his interview was somehow linked to diana's death.

good morning, let me start with the bbc... speaking to andrew marr this morning, the home secretary priti patel stressed how harmful she felt this episode was to the bbc. great harm, the reputation of the bbc has been damaged. lessons will have to be learned, no question about that, and also there will be work on regaining trust and confidence. speaking on the same programme, dame esther rantzen, who knew princess diana, said she disagreed with earl spencer's claim that there was a direct link between the interview and princess diana's subsequent divorce and death. they were separated at the time of the interview,

prince charles and she were, and i think they had made each other very, very unhappy. yesterday, former bbc director general tony hall stepped down as chairman of the national gallery. in 1996, he had led an internal bbc inquiry into the panorama interview which concluded that martin bashir was honest and honourable. the dyson report found this inquiry to be woefully ineffective. in 2016 martin bashir was rehired by the bbc as a religious affairs correspondent and the following year he was promoted to become religion editor. there are now renewed calls for those appointments to be investigated more thoroughly. scrutiny of the bbc�*s handling of this affair shows little sign of easing. tim muffett, bbc news. many thousands of people have fled their homes in the democratic republic of congo after a large volcano erupted. at least five people died in the rush to get out as the lava

flow from mount nyiragongo stopped just short of the city of goma. sima kotecha reports. thick lava illuminating the jet black sky. rivers of it cascading across the surrounding areas, some engulfing motorways and even setting homes alight. many thousands of residents from nearby goma carried mattresses as they fled the city in panic. translation: it's something we have never seen before. . we are all shaken. translation: the volcano - was erupting and the population of goma are really worried. it's a really unusual situation. it is mount nyiragongo's first eruption in almost 20 years. one of the world's most active volcanoes and one of its most dangerous. 250 people were killed last time. hours after the eruption, the government urged residents to evacuate.

thousands hurriedly crossed the border into neighbouring rwanda. today the lava stopped. some returned home to digest the damage. yes, what i've seen now with the volcano has gone around and goma has woken up to better news than last night. we have seen that the lava stopped flowing around 3am or 4am last night. there are concerns that a cut in funding meant the volcano wasn't monitored properly, and now more questions about what will change to prevent an even deadlier eruption. sima kotecha, bbc news. some of china's top long distance runners are believed to be among 21 athletes who died in extreme weather during a 100 kilometre race. one of those is liang jing, described as one of the world's best endurance athletes. the competitors were hit by plummeting temperatures, freezing rain and gales on a mountainous course in gansu province.

officials have apologised, but there's anger that no one seemed to predict the bad weather. aru na iyengar reports. 0ne one of the debt these incidents in chinese sporting history, the race crosses complex terrain making search and rescue operations more difficult. 0ver search and rescue operations more difficult. over 20 competitors in the 100 kilometre mountain ultramarathon have died and others are receiving treatment in hospital. 1200 rescuers were sent to search for the missing runners. those who died were thought to have suffered from hypothermia. officials have apologised, but there is anger that no one seemed to predict the bad weather. translation: �* , weather. translation: a ., ., , , ., translation: as organisers of the event, we translation: as organisers of the event. we feel— translation: as organisers of the event, we feel deeply _ translation: as organisers of the event, we feel deeply guilty - translation: as organisers of the event, we feel deeply guilty and - event, we feel deeply guilty and take full responsibility for these deaths. we express our deepest condolences to the victims, the injured and all their families. condolences to the victims, the injured and all theirfamilies. fine injured and all their families. one of those missing _

injured and all their families. one of those missing was described as one of the world's best endurance athletes. the cross—country race started off in good weather on saturday afternoon, but that quickly changed to hail, freezing rain and high winds at a high altitude section of the race. runners suffered from hypothermia due to the sudden drop in air temperature. more on that developing story — at least eight people have been killed after a cable car fell in stresa in northern italy. luca gemelli is a travel agent based in stresa. thank you forjoining us. for people not familiar with stresa, tell us about the village. it is not familiar with stresa, tell us about the village.— about the village. it is in the northern _ about the village. it is in the northern part _ about the village. it is in the northern part of _ about the village. it is in the northern part of italy - about the village. it is in the northern part of italy and - about the village. it is in the northern part of italy and is| about the village. it is in the i northern part of italy and is one about the village. it is in the - northern part of italy and is one of the big lakes in the northern part of italy. quite popular with

tourists, especially during the spring and summer. find tourists, especially during the spring and summer.— tourists, especially during the spring and summer. tourists, especially during the s-urin and summer. �* , spring and summer. and the cable car we have been — spring and summer. and the cable car we have been talking _ spring and summer. and the cable car we have been talking about _ spring and summer. and the cable car we have been talking about where - we have been talking about where this accident happened, it is a popular destination for people, i assume? it popular destination for people, i assume? , . , popular destination for people, i assume? , ., , ., assume? it is a very popular destination. _ assume? it is a very popular destination. before - assume? it is a very popular destination. before covid i assume? it is a very popular destination. before covid it| assume? it is a very popular- destination. before covid it carried approximately 100,000 passengers every year. approximately 100,000 passengers eve ear. ~ . ., ., ., every year. wager go from an too, because it — every year. wager go from an too, because it is — every year. wager go from an too, because it is quite _ every year. wager go from an too, because it is quite high _ every year. wager go from an too, because it is quite high at - every year. wager go from an too, because it is quite high at the - every year. wager go from an too, | because it is quite high at the end? it goes from basically one of the suburbs of stresa, to the top of a mountain a500 feet above sea level, to a particular viewpoint. because obviously you can dominate quite a few lakes and a good view of the alps from there.— few lakes and a good view of the alps from there. how busy is the lake at this _ alps from there. how busy is the

lake at this point, _ alps from there. how busy is the lake at this point, because - alps from there. how busy is the lake at this point, because of- alps from there. how busy is the lake at this point, because of a l lake at this point, because of a covid has meant that fewer people have been travelling?— covid has meant that fewer people have been travelling? obviously not as bus as have been travelling? obviously not as busy as it — have been travelling? obviously not as busy as it is _ have been travelling? obviously not as busy as it is normally _ have been travelling? obviously not as busy as it is normally in - have been travelling? obviously not as busy as it is normally in may. - as busy as it is normally in may. during the weekend is quite busy with people doing trips for the day from the big cities like milan and turin which are only an hour and dinner and half away from stresa. i5 dinner and half away from stresa. is it likely to be local people there at the moment?— at the moment? this is very difficult to — at the moment? this is very difficult to say, _ at the moment? this is very difficult to say, but - at the moment? this is very difficult to say, but what - at the moment? this is very difficult to say, but what we | at the moment? this is very - difficult to say, but what we can say at the moment is that the majority of tourists and visitors are italian, actually, on the lake, because of the covid restrictions. we are waiting to hear exact details of how many people have been killed and injured and how this happened.

but it will be a desperate shock and an immense cause of upset for people there. , , , ., ., ., there. definitely. it is a ma'or uset there. definitely. it is a ma'or upset ford there. definitely. it is a ma'or upset for people in i there. definitely. it is a ma'or upset for people in stresa,j- there. definitely. it is a major- upset for people in stresa, because nothing is ever happened of this type before and it is also surprising because the cable car went general revision that costed over a million euros just four years ago. over a million euros 'ust four years ato. ~ over a million euros 'ust four years ato, over a million euros 'ust four years ato. over a million euros 'ust four years ago. we appreciate you talking to us, thank ago. we appreciate you talking to us. thank you- — ago. we appreciate you talking to us, thank you. you _ ago. we appreciate you talking to us, thank you. you are _ ago. we appreciate you talking to us, thank you. you are welcome. | a ceasefire between israel and hamas has continued to hold for a third day. the truce brought to an end 11 days of violence, in which at least 260 people were killed — vast majority of them palestinians. efforts are now focusing on rebuilding gaza. laura trevelyan has more from jerusalem

the ceasefire is now in its third day. a lot of intensive behind—the—scenes diplomacy to try and shore up the ceasefire. an egyptian delegation was in the west bank yesterday. you have the us secretary of state coming to the region next week. but the immediate focus is on the reconstruction of gaza, and on the condition of people there, so for more on that let's go now to the medical coordinator, here injerusalem... tell us, and top of the immediate needs in gaza, are you also seeing an increase in coronavirus cases there, because she could not get vaccines and for 11 days during the conflict? the vaccination _ days during the conflict? the vaccination roll-out - days during the conflict? the vaccination roll—out has been stalled in gaza and generally in palestine drier to this escalation in violence, so less than 2% of the population are vaccinated, unfortunately. gaza was coming to

the end of its second wave of covid when this started. they still were having 300 cases a day. really, the risk now, given that at one point there were 100,000 internally displaced people congregating outside of their homes, and the majority of those where in conditions in schools with no sanitation to cope with that volume of people, the risk is that we will see early in the near future a third wave of coronavirus coming on top of all the infrastructure issues and the trauma cases that the medical agencies and ministry of health are trying to manage. additionally, the testing centre, she may be aware was damaged. therefore there is very limited capacity for testing for coronavirus at the moment. and the positivity rate is well over a0%. so it is quite concerning.—

it is quite concerning. what about the medical— it is quite concerning. what about the medical needs _ it is quite concerning. what about the medical needs of _ it is quite concerning. what about the medical needs of people - it is quite concerning. what about the medical needs of people in i it is quite concerning. what about i the medical needs of people in gaza that you are treating resulting from that you are treating resulting from that 11 day conflict? shes that you are treating resulting from that 11 day conflict?— that 11 day conflict? as you alluded to, there that 11 day conflict? as you alluded to. there is — that 11 day conflict? as you alluded to, there is over _ that 11 day conflict? as you alluded to, there is over 1500 _ that 11 day conflict? as you alluded to, there is over 1500 injuries - that 11 day conflict? as you alluded j to, there is over 1500 injuries from this conflict, and the mortality, over 250 people being identified unfortunately died under the rubble on a daily basis still. so the burden is quite significant. the health and production, especially due to the security issues, the movement of medical staff and patients, during the hostilities tarmac and even now, much of the infrastructure in terms of roads, water and sanitation has been damaged, limiting people's ability to attend medical facilities. damaged, limiting people's ability to attend medicalfacilities. six hospitals have been damaged and a number of clinics, i think 11 clinics have been damage, including our own, meaning that structural integrity testing has to occur and

the capacity of the medical agencies in gaza to respond to this burden have been limited. we also have the issue of not being able to get access to gaza. we have a team of clinical staff waiting to go on in relief our stuff on the ground and so far they have not been permitted to enter. —— relieve our staff on the ground. ten people have been arrested during protests outside mcdonald's depots. yesterday, animal rebellion protesters formed blockades at four distribution centres to stop deliveries to the fast—food chain's 1,300 uk outlets. the protesters say they want mcdonald's to sell less meat to help tackle climate change. thousands of couples whose weddings have been delayed during the pandemic will now be able to celebrate their big day with up to 30 guests, thanks to the easing of restrictions this week. fiona lamdin has been speaking to a bride and groom whose wedding date has been moved three times.

beth and toby have been waiting for this moment for two years. in march 2020 we went down to a venue and chose a date, and it happened to be the 20th of may, and we hoped and prayed between then and now, really. as of this week, 30 guests are now allowed inside the ceremony, and although they still have to wear facemasks, one of the other biggest changes is that now beth's father is able to walk her down the aisle. music plays. how's that feel? is that 0k? yeah, feels good. others, though, haven't been as lucky. oh, wow. you look fantastic. charlotte and her fiance have now moved their wedding date three times. so, our original date was january the 2nd and then, unfortunately, with lockdown we've had to move it

to the 17th ofjuly, so we're really, really hopeful, and what we had to do was change our venue, unfortunately. today, it's the hair and make—up dress rehearsal. they've booked the 17th ofjuly, desperately hoping that in two months�* time all restrictions will be lifted. emma's also keeping her fingers crossed. so, it's been absolutely terrible. i i didn't work for a whole year, i had to put the mortgage on hold. it's not just financially, | it's also mentally, like, the mental side of things as well. had to get anotherjob, - but now things are looking up and i'm fully booked - until november this year, which is absolutely brilliant. so this is the vivary room in taunton registry office. normally it, would be able to hold up to a0 guests. with the current restrictions and social distancing it can hold up to 12. there've been 20 sets of rule changes to ceremonies since the first lockdown. some couples have moved their ceremony date five, six times so far. we've devised a new system for couples to get in touch and register interest and ask for things to be amended,

and we've had around 6000 or so inquiries so far. i promise to give you my loving friendship. beth and toby may have had to cut their guest list in half, scrap their first dance and cancel their honeymoon... you are now husband and wife, and toby, you may kiss your. beautiful bride and we'll clap! ..but finally, after the long wait, they are officially mr and mrs ward. hello! how does it feel? amazing! so great. fiona lamdin, bbc news. millions tuned in globally to watch italy win this year's eurovision song contest with a punchy rock song. for only the second time in eurovision history, the uk entrant failed to get a single point. anna holligan reports. he sings in italian. maneskin, the italian rockers, won the audience over

with their catchy anthem, quiet and good. it's 31 years since the italians last tasted victory at the world's biggest televised singing competition. we're so honoured and happy and we really want to thank everyone who supported us. this is unbelievable. we really didn't expect it and we're so happy, yeah. # out of the embers # you and i are gonna light up the room. # from the winners to james newman... # light up the room! # ..who secured his place in history with nul points. # this ain't the end, no # it's the birth of a new age #. for the first time in a long time, the fans were allowed to remove their face masks and forget about social distancing inside... she sings in russian. ..to sing and dance along to a quintessentially eurovision range. she sings in ukrainian.

watching the contest in the stadium or on screen, eurovision's taste of togetherness offered some escapism from the virus that's dominated our lives for so long. # here in the dark # inside a hole in my heart... # many hope the way in which this event has been made possible could help to make live entertainment a reality around the world once again. anna holligan, bbc news, rotterdam. # by dancing on my own... # in the last few minutes — the lead singer of the winning italian group maneskin has said he will undergo a voluntary drugs test when he returns home. eurovision has released a statement in which it says it is aware of a video clip of the winners in the green room last night. the band have strongly refuted the allegations of drug use and damiano david will take a voluntary drug test after arriving home. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick.

good afternoon. a soggy afternoon for many others out there, particularly across the western side of the uk. some of the rain really quite heavy in two parts of wales in the western side of england at the moment. all moving its way eastwards now. northern ireland brightening up but there will be some shower is poised to move on now from the west and across the east, cloud, showers, and across the east, cloud, showers, a few spots of rain but the driest weather hanging on here on another decidedly cool day. a windy one across the south coast of england and the coast of wales. the ringer since it is this evening, stays overnight across northern and western scotland, further heavy showers running into wales and western parts of england that could wake you up the rumble of thunder. northern ireland, clear after midday and called us here tonight, could be just a frost, likely in the coldest rural sports here. some rain affecting parts of scotland tomorrow, pushing back into northern ireland, heavy and then there are showers spreading east from wales across england, some with hail does that quite possibly around some of

the showers. another rather cool day for the time of year. hello this is bbc news with martine croxall. the headlines: two doses of the main covid vaccines used in the uk are found to be highly effective against the indian variant of the virus. government ministers deny claims, by the former downing street adviser dominic cummings, that they pursued a policy of herd immunity in dealing with the coronavirus in the early part of last year. at least eight people have died after a mountain cable car plunged to the ground in the town of stresa in northern italy. the former bbc journalist martin bashir defends his panaorama interview with princess diana, but apologises to princes william and harry. now on bbc news, the week in parliament.