a push for people to get both covid vaccine doses — as a study shows high protection against the indian variant. as lockdown eases, the rise of the variant has been a worry. it is already the dominant strain of the virus in some areas. at the same time, ministers reject claims from a former downing street advisor of a "herd immunity" plan at the start of the pandemic. at the time of a crisis, when government is making very, very tough decisions, difficult decisions, we put public life and protecting the public at the forefront of all those decisions. we'll look at the latest data and what it suggests for the weeks ahead. also tonight: a ryanair plane is forced to land in belarus amid claims of a bomb on board, but was it just a ploy to detain

a dissidentjournalist? in northern italy, a cable car crashes to the ground, killing 14 people. and — a special report on the migrant children who arrive in america. thousands are being held in detention camps. good evening. people across the uk are being urged to take up the offer of both doses of a covid vaccine when offered, after a new study showed effectivesness against the b.i.617.2 or indian variant. the research also showed that a single dose of vaccine offered limited protection against the variant compared to efficacy against the one first identified in kent. with the indian variant spreading here, and dominant in some

parts of the country, our science correspondent pallab ghosh reports. today and through the weekend, people in rochdale were actively coming forward to receive their vaccinations. the latest research shows that the jabs are effective in reducing the chances of getting infected from the variant that came from india. experts think that the vaccines are stopping serious illness as well. of the 3,000 or so cases of the variant, there have only been 31 hospital admissions, and six deaths. both of these vaccines are really good. i'm definitely, i'm going for my second astrazeneca jab soon and i think we will get more refinement of that data as we go forward. so just the straightforward message is, get the second dose. as restrictions ease, there a greater chance that people will be infected. it is thought that the variant from india spreads more quickly than the current kent strain. research shows that the first dose of the pfizer and

astrazeneca jab are 33% effective against the variant from india. the second dose boosts that to 88% for pfizer, and 60% for astrazeneca. the lower figure for astrazeneca is down to the fact that people in that group were older, and it is thought that both vaccines are just as effective. experts say that it is important for people to come forward for vaccinations and to take their second jab. there is a bit of a race going on between the vaccine programme and the relaxation of restrictions and so on. we will see more cases over the coming weeks as a result of that. so there is still a need to be cautious and not to form the false conclusion, if you like, that the story is all over because it isn't over yet. 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. meanwhile, a senior minister has rejected a claim from dominic cummings — who used to be boris johnson's top advisor — that the original government plan was to allow most of the population to develop "herd immunity" to the virus. mr cummings is due to appear before mps this week. here's our political correspondent damian grammaticus. late last year, and out of downing street. dominic cummings had been boris johnson's closest aide. now he is spilling his stories, even if they damage his former boss. the events he wants to highlight? last march, and how the prime minister handled the start of the pandemic. in spain and italy, covid was spreading fast, lockdowns being brought in. in the uk, lockdowns

came ten days later. mr cummings says mr johnson's strategy was different, to try for herd immunity, letting people build natural resistance. he tweeted today:. he says it only changed when officials... and he adds:. in march of last year, the government's behavioural scientists did talk about cocooning only the most vulnerable. by the time they come out of their cocooning, herd immunity has been achieved

by the rest of the population. and the chief scientific adviser, two days later. it is not possible to stop everybody getting it and it is also actually not desirable because you want some immunity in the population. we need to have immunity to protect ourselves from this in the future. today, the home secretary insisted herd immunity had never been the strategy. absolutely not. our policy from the outset, andrew, the policy and the strategy... so why is dominic cummings telling us that is true? - well, i can't speak for mr cummings and one individual. the government says it followed the science but acted to protect lives and the nhs. mr cummings will have a chance to produce his own evidence before parliament this week. damian grammaticas, bbc news. and the latest government figures on coronavirus show 2,235 new infections and five deaths in the latest 24—hour period. cases have been rising slowly over the past few weeks and the number of people who have now

died is 127,721. in the vaccine roll—out, just over 200,000 people have received a first vaccine dose in the last 2a hours. in total, almost 38 million people have now had their firstjab. that's 72% of the adult population. nearly 557,000 people had their second dose in the past 2a hours and takes the overall number in that group, to more than 22.6 million or 43% of the adult population. the former bbc journalist martin bashir, who's been found to have used lies and fake documents to secure his 1995 interview with princess diana, has insisted he never intended to harm her. he told the sunday times that everything about the interview was done in line with the princess's wishes. here's our home editor mark easton. martin bashir, the bbc reporter whose lies and deception initiated the current crisis at the corporation, has given an interview to the sunday times, putting his side of the story

on that interview with princess diana. 0n using fake bank statements to help get the interview, he says... the dyson report into the affair rejected martin bashir�*s account of what had happened, describing it as "incredible", "unreliable" and in some cases, "dishonest". it effectively established a false narrative. the duke of cambridge has suggested the way the interview with his mother was obtained fuelled her isolation and paranoia. mr bashir, who resigned from the bbc a week before the dyson report, rejects the criticism. former bbc presenter dame esther rantzen, who knew diana, says the bbc should have done more

to protect the corporation's journalistic values. loads of the checks and balances put onto bbcjournalism didn't seem to have been, um, used in order to protect the bbc from experiencing what i call scoop frenzy. being a journalist involves trying to make the headlines. i have been very fortunate because i've made the headlines on several occasions. mr bashir had been understood to have been too unwell to answer questions about his behaviour, and neither he nor anyone from bbc management was available today to respond to mounting criticism. good morning, let me start with the bbc. . the home secretary priti patel appeared on the andrew marr programme this morning to suggest bbc executives did have important questions to answer. this is a really, really significant moment of reflection, i think, for the bbc. there is no doubt this world—class institution, its reputation, has been highly damaged. i would have thought, actually,

members of the british public but even around the world right now, watching what has happened, would clearly be asking the question is, where is the bbc, you know, the leadership of the bbc at this moment in time? the role of bbc news in holding the powerful to account and as a trusted media voice means it will always have its opponents, but the bashir revelations have left the corporation particularly vulnerable to attack and the director—general has said he will talk about what needs to happen in the coming days. mark easton, bbc news. there's been a chorus of condemnation across europe tonight after a ryanair plane flying from greece to lithuania was diverted to minsk in belarus, and a dissident belarussian journalist on board was detained. state media in belarus said the plane was forced to land because of a bomb scare. here, the foreign secretary said the "outlandish actions" would have "serious implications". 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale has the story. this is not where flight fr4978

was supposed to be this afternoon, on the ground at minsk airport. the ryanair flight with about 170 people on board left athens this morning bound for vilnius. butjust before the aircraft entered lithuanian airspace, it suddenly headed east. according to ryanair, the crew were warned of a potential security threat and ordered to land at minsk. for good measure, a belarussian warplane armed to the teeth was dispatched to excort the aircraft in. but no bombs were found on board. instead, this man was taken off the plane and arrested. roman protasevich is a well—known belarussian opposition journalist and is wanted by the authorities for organising protests last year. according to the belarus state news agency, the operation was ordered personally by the country's authoritarian president alexander lukashenko, who has faced growing opposition since disputed elections last year. belarus�*s exiled opposition leader said mr protasevich's life was in danger.

translation: today, - lukashenko personally caused an international scandal, using military aircraft against civilians of belarus and european countries to arrest a single person. no one else is safe. anyone can be in roman protasevich's place. after several hours on the ground, the plane and remaining passengers were allowed to leave and arrived this evening in vilnius, as outrage spread across europe, with several countries accusing belarus of an act of state terrorism. in a tweet, the foreign secretary dominic raab said he was coordinating with allies and warned, "this outlandish action by lukashenko will have serious implications." at vilnius airport, supporters of mr protasevich waited in vain for his arrival as they contemplated just how far president lukashenko will go to suppress opposition. tomorrow, eu leaders will meet to discuss what price he should pay. james landale, bbc news.

a cable car has plunged to the ground near lake maggiore in northern italy, killing 1a people and seriously injuring others. the service was taking passengers up into the mountains from the resort town of stresa at the time of the accident. the resort had only recently reopened as covid restrictions were eased. 0ur italy correspondent mark lowen reports. a climb to admire alpine beauty ending in tragedy. the cable car was in the last part of its journey, nearly 1500 metres high, when it plunged to the ground, killing most on board. it seems a cable near the final pylon broke away, but the cause is not yet clear. rescuers struggled to reach the densely wooded site. 0ne fire vehicle even overturned en route. no teams were injured. heading up the mountain from lake maggiore in north—west italy, it is a stunning spott. the cable car, along

with other attractions, is one of the reasons tourists come to stresa and the lake, and just before the pandemic, it used to transport 100,000 passengers every year. for those in the area, and even planning to have taken the trip themselves, deep shock. translation: we got on the cable car an hour before the tragedy. _ when we got on, the cable car did not give any strange signals. everything was fine. translation: | think - it was an accident because the system is in good order. the maintenance companies are leaders in italy. the cable car had reopened from covid lockdown just last month. it underwent a two—year, 4 million euros repair in 2014. an investigation will try to discover how and why a trip through this tourist idyll collapsed in disaster. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. the sister of the mpjo cox, who was murdered in 2016, has been chosen as labour's candidate in herformer

constituency of batley and spen. kim leadbeater said she was "overwhelmed and humbled" by the support she'd received. the by—election was triggered by the labour mp tracey brabin being elected mayor of west yorkshire. there are reports tonight that the leading black lives matter activist sasha johnson is in a critical condition in hospital, after being shot in the head. officers attended an incident in the early hours of the morning in southwark, south london. police say at this stage there is no evidence it was a targeted attack. across the united states, almost 20,000 migrant children are being held in detention camps after entering the country illegally, many of them having travelled alone from central america. their families hoped they'd be able to begin a new life, but a bbc team has heard accounts from children of being neglected and held in cold and filthy conditions. hillary andersson�*s report begins on america's southern border. midnight on the rio grande.

smugglers ferry migrants across to the land that they've dreamt of. but this is a night of fear. many of the adults will be deported in the morning. there are children here too, travelling alone. most of them will stay. jordi has fled violent gangs in guatemala. tonight he has a new dread, america's camps for migrant children. this is donna, texas. these tents held almost 4000 children earlier this spring. these, the notorious cubicles the migrants call ice boxes. journalists haven't been allowed to speak to children inside to tell their stories. but we've tracked down children who have been released. ariani, ten years old, was about to see her mother for the first time since she was four,

after a harrowing ordeal. this, a few weeks ago. she says they are not sure because they can't recognise her, but it is her. ariani fled violence in honduras and then spent weeks in donna. to paola, 16 years old, who was in the same camp, it was a child jail. lights were on all night, children cried incessantly and were left filthy.

now a mass movement of children is under way. we obtained flight logs. here, children are about to be flown to a set of new and secretive detention sites around the country. cindy was transported out of donna with a0 girls all sick with covid. cindy was flown 1500 miles away to a new detention site in california. there are 1a new facilities set up to reduce overcrowding. we set out to find them. this is a camp with a capacity for 10,000 children in el paso, texas. we've been told hundreds of children are being isolated in tents for covid, scabies

and lice, and there's at least one allegation of sexual abuse. an official document indicates children under six may be sent here. in the heart of downtown dallas, we'd heard that hundreds of teenage boys were being held here in the convention centre. we asked for access, but no. staff have to sign agreements that they won't talk about what goes on inside. so they've asked us to leave the premises. they don't want anyone filming anything around this place. and no one will give us any reasons for the secrecy. this man who worked inside spoke to us on the condition of anonymity. the boys have been in there for 45 days straight without any sunlight. they go to bed hungry, it's freezing cold. no recreational time outside, none of that, no fresh air, no nothing. how do the boys cope with that? how can they cope?

they are all depressed, i heard the other day that several were contemplating suicide because of the conditions here. this, a rare glimpse inside, was secretly shot and given to us. children spend on average a month in the new facilities. responding to the allegations of neglect, the government told the bbc that the children have access to nutritious food, recreation and are being kept in a healthy environment. ariani drew pictures in detention of love hearts and flowers to fight off her sadness. many nights now, she wakes up screaming. ariani, once bubbly, has become withdrawn. like thousands, she may bear scars of her detention for life. hilary andersson, bbc news. with all the sport now, here's lizzie greenwood hughes at the bbc sport centre. thanks very much mishal. good evening.

dina asher—smith headlined a stunning night for british athletes at the season's opening diamond league meeting in gateshead. 0ur correspondent andy swiss rounds up the action. for one of britain's biggest 0lympic house, one of the biggest test, dina asher—smith against a world—class field including america's shaqiri richardson, the fastest woman this year but tonight, not fast enough. dina asher—smith has the lead and it is going to be dina asher—smith! she's going to get it! at is going to be dina asher-smith! she's going to get it!— is going to be dina asher-smith! she's going to get it! at first, she did not even _ she's going to get it! at first, she did not even realise _ she's going to get it! at first, she did not even realise she - she's going to get it! at first, she did not even realise she had - she's going to get it! at first, she did not even realise she had done it. i did not even realise she had done it. ., ., but did not even realise she had done it-_ but she - did not even realise she had done it._ but she won - did not even realise she had done it._ but she won by| it. i have won it? but she won by more than _ it. i have won it? but she won by more than a _ it. i have won it? but she won by more than a tenth _ it. i have won it? but she won by more than a tenth of— it. i have won it? but she won by more than a tenth of a _ it. i have won it? but she won by more than a tenth of a second i it. i have won it? but she won by| more than a tenth of a second on it. i have won it? but she won by - more than a tenth of a second on the 5°99y more than a tenth of a second on the soggy is of nights, this was some statement. �* soggy is of nights, this was some statement-— soggy is of nights, this was some statement. �* , ., statement. i've been in the uk for the ast statement. i've been in the uk for the past few _ statement. i've been in the uk for the past few weeks _ statement. i've been in the uk for the past few weeks and _ statement. i've been in the uk for the past few weeks and i - statement. i've been in the uk for the past few weeks and i know - statement. i've been in the uk for| the past few weeks and i know the weather has been an interesting may so i was kind of ready for conditions do not be ideal. it was never going to be about the time. it was about how you ran the race and

thatis was about how you ran the race and that is the most important thing when it comes to the championships and i'm very lucky it is something i'm quite good at. she and i'm very lucky it is something i'm quite good at.— and i'm very lucky it is something i'm quite good at. she was not the only british _ i'm quite good at. she was not the only british success, _ i'm quite good at. she was not the only british success, cindy - i'm quite good at. she was not thej only british success, cindy sember winning the hurdles, and laura muir winning the hurdles, and laura muir winning the hurdles, and laura muir winning the 1500 by a country mile. look at the distance she has put between herself and the other. ittiuiith between herself and the other. with two months — between herself and the other. with two months until— between herself and the other. with two months until tokyo now, they will be hoping their best is yet to come. andy swiss, bbc news. premier league champions manchester city celebrated with their fans for the first time this season. match of the day has all the results after the news but i am going to give you the top stories now. city enjoyed their trophy presentation all the more after thumping everton 5—0 — sergio aguero scored two goals in his final league game after a decade at the club. but the real drama was in the race for the last two champions league places, which eventually went to liverpool and chelsea. leicesterjust missed out after losing to tottenham, whose captain harry kane won his third premier league golden boot.

great britain's adam peaty completed the quadruple—quadruple at the european aquatics championships by winning four gold medals for the fourth time in a row. the olympic champion finished the set in the men's 4x100 medley relay. the british team finished top of the medal table in budapest with 26 — including 11 golds. max verstappen won the monaco grand prix to go top of the formula 1 drivers' standings for the first time. the red bull driver was gifted pole after charles leclerc broke down before the start. lewis hamilton and mercedes had a rare bad day leaving verstappen four points ahead after five races. and you can follow the uspga golf on the bbc sport website as phil mickelson bids to become the oldest major winner. but that's it from me. back to you mishal. that's it from us — on bbc one it's time for the news where you are. goodnight.

hello. this is bbc news with ben mundy. 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. the competitors were hit by plummeting temperatures, freezing rain and gales on a mountainous course in gansu province. aru na iyengar reports.

it's one of the deadliest incidents in chinese sporting history. the race crosses complex terrain, making search and rescue operations more difficult. over 20 competitors in the 100km mountain ultramarathon have died and others are receiving treatment in hospital. 1200 rescuers were sent to search for the missing runners. those who died of thought have suffered from hypothermia. officials have apologised, but there is anger no one seemed to predict the bad weather. translation: as organisers - of the event, we feel deeply guilty and take full responsibility for these deaths. we express our deepest condolences to the victims, the injured and all theirfamilies. one of the missing is liangjing, described as one of the world's best endurance athletes. the cross—country race started off

in good weather from jingtai county, baiyin city in north—western gansu province on saturday afternoon. 172 competitors were here at the start. but, 20 kilometres into the race, things changed dramatically and rain, freezing hailand high winds at a high altitude section of the course. after calls for help and reports of missing runners the race was called off. aruna iyengar, bbc news. and we ll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers france 24's uk correspondent benedicte paviot and the sunday times's deputy political editor caroline wheeler— that's coming up after the headlines. time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. hello. if you're out and about this evening, be aware, we've still got some heavy rain and lively wind. by tomorrow that will be stuck across the north of scotland and instead, plenty of heavy showers and gusty wind, even hail

and thunder, will follow on. this is the low pressure that's brought in the rain and strong wind. as it sits across the uk tomorrow it will throw further showers our way. some pretty heavy rain for a few hours for many of us. some lively wind and showers following. through the evening and overnight, the low pressure and the weather front becomes confined to northern and central scotland. we'll have a scattering of showers elsewhere. fairly cool overnight, particularly i think in central areas like northern ireland, with the light wind and clear skies here with a touch of grass frost. showers packing into the west on monday, soon extending further east. the weather front sitting in the north will give a rather wet day to northern and central scotland, after the early sunshine in shetland goes north. after the bright and chilly start in northern ireland it will extend its influence here, too. perhaps some of the driest weather, southern scotland and northern england. for much of england and wales, slow—moving,

heavy downpours, hail and thunder. the wind will pick up in the south and west later, as it will end the north and west. it is cool for the time of year butjust a notch up on those today. tuesday, the low pressure still influencing the uk. a lot of showers across central and eastern areas, perhaps an area of rain pushing close to the south, tuesday and wednesday, with another weather system pushing south. so we're going to be plagued by weather fronts again this week. still some heavy showers, heavy downpours, hail and thunder on tuesday. perhaps less frequent further south and west because we got the approach of this little area of rain. temperatures, a bit more brightness and sunshine, therefore a little higher. higher again as we go through tuesday into wednesday. we've got the northerly wind across scotland again. fairly cloudy conditions near the north sea coast. disappointingly cool here. we may see the mid, high teens. still some heavy showers to come through the week ahead with hail and thunder but it looks like as we approach the end of the week it will be drier

and therefore with a bit more may sunshine to offer, temperatures will start to creep up. we'll keep you updated. bye, bye. you're watching the bbc news. i'm ben mundy. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow morning's papers in a moment. as lockdown eases — a push for people to get both covid vaccine doses — as a study shows high protection against the indian variant. at the same time — ministers reject claims from a former downing street advisor of a �*herd immunity�* plan at the start of the pandemic. a ryanair plane is forced to land in belarus amid claims of a bomb on board — but was it just a ploy to detain a dissidentjournalist? in northern italy — a cable car crashes to the ground —

killing 14 people.