so so much this is bbc news. i'm ben mundy. our top stories: celebrations for chelsea fans after their team wins the all—english champions league final against manchester city to lift the european cup for a second time. calls for the uk government to have an open debate with the public about plans to ease restrictions onjune the 21st. the group that represents nhs trusts in england warns of the pressures faced by hospitals. we think there are significant numbers of people who have put off coming into hospital and actually have now reached the stage where they must come in and get treatment, but because they have left it so long, it means that the treatment required will take longer and it's more complex. the uk government comes under

pressure over its handling of vaccinations in care homes. ministers and civil servants and practitioners can give evidence under oath so we hear the full story and if we have made mistakes of course we will absolutely come forward and apologise from them and of course we will learn from them. neighbours reunited: the leaders of australia and new zealand meet for talks for the first time in 15 months after coronavirus border restrictions are lifted between the two countries. and britian�*s prime minister borisjohnson hello and welcome to bbc news. chelsea fans are celebrating after their team won

the champions league final in porto. they beat fellow english side and premier league champions manchester city in a one—nil victory after seven tense minutes of injury time — to pick up their second european cup. more than 16,000 supporters were allowed into the stadium in portugal — after the venue was switched from turkey — because of covid—19. tim allman watched the action. champions, champions of europe! victory is always sweet, even when there's a pandemic on. only a few thousand chelsea fans were able to savour their team's win first—hand, but not one of them was complaining. wonderful. fantastic, fantastic. we just can't believe it. beginning of the season, we'd never have thought this. we're exhausted but we're overjoyed. just delighted. ecstatic! - unbelievable! there's no words on this planet to describe how every chelsea soul out there,

in there feels. cheering. it was a similar story back home in the bars and pubs of west london, as well as the streets surrounding stamford bridge — an eruption of mad euphoria. champions of europe! that's who we are! champions of europe? brilliant, absolutely... look, it's brought us all back together. covid has gone out the window. it's just been amazing. amazing. well, that's not quite true. coronavirus meant only a limited crowd was allowed into the stadium in porto. witnessing a game where the rich boys of europe would play the even richer boys. and in the end, only a single goal would separate them. kai havertz doing the honours just before half—time. what a night for thomas tuchel. he only took over at chelsea injanuary, and now he's a champions league—winning manager. it's a huge step to arrive in the final. it's an even bigger one to fight your way

through and make it all the way to the cup. it's a fantastic achievement, congratulations to everybody. some commiserations for manchester city. they've spent fortunes reaching their first champions league final, but still the big prize eludes them. for now, the european cup is heading back to england and to chelsea. blue really is the colour. 0ur sport correspondent 0lly foster is in porto — he said that after the match last night, celebrations were restricted by bar curfews.

by the time the macth finished and chelsea and manchester city fans got to the centre of town all the bars had shut and there was a curfew at half past ten stop that is what the authorities decided to do around this match but it has been fantastic for the best part of two or three days, all those fans finding a way to get here. first getting their lucky ticket because there was a reduced capacity in the stadium because of covid but porto and portugal stepping in to rescue the champions once again as they did last year as well. there was anxiety that suddenly out of nowhere 16 and a half thousand from outside their shores descending on the city because portugal like lots of other nations have had it really tough with covid for the last year or so but it has gone really well and really well for chelsea. what we have seen here behind us, we came down and wondered where to go first thing in the morning, why don't we go down to the

big inflatable champions league trophy when all the selfies are taken? and as we got here took the air out of it, which kind of sums up the state of mind of manchester city this morning but what a performance for chelsea. they were probably the slight underdogs yesterday. the group that represents health service trusts in england says hospitals in holiday hotspots in the country will struggle to cope with the extra demand caused by increased domestic tourism this summer. nhs providers say that while covid admissions are nowhere near their peak — hospitals are dealing with a backlog of cases and a rise in demand for urgent care. our health correspondent katharine da costa has the details. london's twickenham stadium, now a surge vaccination centre ready to deliver 15,000 doses on bank holiday monday as the extra push to vaccinate as many people as possible continues. but despite the more infectious variant first detected in india, so far, hospitals haven't seen a spike in admissions. trust leaders in some of england's worst affected areas say most covid patients are unvaccinated, either because they are younger and not yet been invited for a jab, or hadn't taken up the offer —

a clear sign, they say, the vaccines are working. but nhs providers warns hospitals are still under pressure with trusts working flat out to reduce record waiting lists for non—urgent operations. there's also been an increase in demand for urgent care. doctors think significant numbers of patients have been putting off seeking treatment and now require more complex care and longer stays. some trusts in holiday areas also worry an influx of tourists will leave them struggling to cope. 0ne chief executive on the south coast said: ahead of any decision to lift the remaining legal restrictions in england onjune 21, nhs providers wants the government to lead an informed debate on the trade—offs that need to be made. it points out that while vaccines are helping to break the link between infection, serious illness and death, there are still many more

people to vaccinate. katharine da costa, bbc news. chris hopson of nhs providers says hospitals face increasing pressures from non—covid patients. the pressure is coming from the fact that there's three things going on at once at the moment. we've got these big care backlogs that we are trying to get through as quickly as possible and we are tackling the most complex cases to start with and that means those patients need to have overnight stays because they are difficult cases. the second thing that's happening is we think there are significant numbers of people who have put off coming into hospital and actually have now reached the stage where they must come in and get treatment, but because they have left it so long, it means that the treatment required will take longer and it's more complex. the third bit is yes, in those areas where we are seeing an up—tick, it's a small up—tick, in covid—19 pressures, it is adding to the pressure as well.

let s get more on all of this from adam finn, professor in paediatrics at university of bristol, and a member of the government s joint committee on vaccination and immunisation. he is speaking in a personal capacity today. let's pick up and on what the nhs providers were saying today. what would you like to see done? we are in the situation of flocks principally because we are trying to establish the infectiousness of this new variant and how much of an up—tick that will result in hospitalisations. but the nhs is under pressure from non—covid illnesses at the moment which makes it a more acute concern what will happen next. it a more acute concern what will

happen next-— it a more acute concern what will hauen next. , _, ., happen next. may be can explain to our viewers — happen next. may be can explain to our viewers where _ happen next. may be can explain to our viewers where we _ happen next. may be can explain to our viewers where we are _ happen next. may be can explain to our viewers where we are with - happen next. may be can explain to our viewers where we are with the i our viewers where we are with the indian variant at the moment. there is a hiuh indian variant at the moment. there is a high level— indian variant at the moment. there is a high level of— indian variant at the moment. there is a high level of uncertainty. - is a high level of uncertainty. there is a clear consensus this is a more infectious virus than the one that has been circulating up to now during the course of this yearjust how much more infectious is still not clear on the second? as to what extent will the vaccine programme that we have had so far disconnect those increased numbers of cases from increased numbers of hospitalisations? there will be allowed before that happens. people get the infection but take some time before the get seriously ill so there really is a lot of uncertainty at the moment and although everyone is very focused on the date ofjune 21 i think we have got to keep an open mind on what to do next because we don't want to under react or react too late as we have in the past. i react too late as we have in the ast. ., .., react too late as we have in the .ast. ., .., ., ., " react too late as we have in the ast. ., ., past. i wonder if we can look a little further _ past. i wonder if we can look a little further ahead. _ past. i wonder if we can look a little further ahead. we - past. i wonder if we can look a little further ahead. we had i little further ahead. we had approval of the jansen single dose

this week. maybe can give an idea how it be used. it is this week. maybe can give an idea how it be used.— how it be used. it is important to emphasise _ how it be used. it is important to emphasise that _ how it be used. it is important to emphasise that jansen _ how it be used. it is important to emphasise that jansen had - how it be used. it is important to emphasise that jansen had the l emphasise that jansen had the foresight to do a study with one dose and one with two doses. this vaccine is not fundamentally different from the others that we have got except there is a study with one dose and as you say the supply will come through late in the year but may be a useful supply for people who need quick protection of quick authorisation may have been immunised and another tool in the tool box. i immunised and another tool in the tool box. ., .., tool box. i wonder if i could get our tool box. i wonder if i could get yourthoughts— tool box. i wonder if i could get your thoughts on _ tool box. i wonder if i could get your thoughts on this _ tool box. i wonder if i could get your thoughts on this vietnam | your thoughts on this vietnam element to the pandemic. it is saying it has discovered a new strain, a hybrid of indian and a british variance. what the vaccines

do well with that? do you know more? the abolition of this virus is going on everywhere in the world where it is circulating and reproducing itself so it is not surprising that new genetic variations will be papping up new genetic variations will be popping up all over the place and we just have to deal with them as they occur and understand what the implications are. it will only gradually evolve and will not be a complete catastrophe and we have to start all over again. it will be a gradual erosion and adaptation of the vaccines to keep up with the most important mutations that come through. meanwhile, the goverment has been defending the health secretary matt hancock,

who's come under pressure following accusations by former adviser dominic cummings. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley is here. the big question the government is facing is whether it dealt with the pandemic at the start. and what it does now. we had nadhim zahawi this morning insisting the government did all it could to protect care homes. there have been a lot of allegations over the last few days that promises were made about testing people going from hospitals back to care homes to free up space in hospitals at the start of the pandemic. dominic cummings, a former aide in downing street made that allegation this week. the government continues to insist that what it could, that it put a protective ring as it puts it around care homes but you do get the impression they are under intense pressure over this with questions whether enough was done. they will keep coming. they are also starting

to feed into the debate on what the government does injune. the next big easing in england are supposed to be onjune 21 when pretty much all restrictions are lifted. there is some concern in government about the spread of the indian betterment the spread of the indian betterment the mac variant. and the pressure the mac variant. and the pressure the government has been under in the past few days has led it perhaps have a think about whether everything that is supposed to happen on 21stjune actually happens. have a listen to the vaccines administered from the uk government, nadhim zahawi —— the vaccines minister who was asked what the roll—out in the uk was enough. we hope to be able to protect with two doses — we hope to be able to protect with two doses all at one time, all the over_ two doses all at one time, all the over 5os— two doses all at one time, all the over 505 before 215t june. two doses all at one time, all the over 505 before 215tjune. make sure we vaccinate a5 5cale over 505 before 215tjune. make sure we vaccinate a5 scale but we will share _ we vaccinate a5 scale but we will share the — we vaccinate a5 scale but we will share the evidence with the country on the _

share the evidence with the country on the 14th — share the evidence with the country on the 14th ofjune to basically explain — on the 14th ofjune to basically explain exactly where we are on infection— explain exactly where we are on infection rates, on hospitalisation and sadly— infection rates, on hospitalisation and sadly on death. that infection rates, on hospitalisation and sadly on death.— and sadly on death. that is the thin the and sadly on death. that is the thing the government - and sadly on death. that is the thing the government were - and sadly on death. that is the | thing the government were way and sadly on death. that is the - thing the government were way up over the next few weeks. i'm sure a lot of people will be interested in the calculations that are going on. there is data coming to the government all the time about the various things that nadhim zahawi was talking about there. that will continue to happen. anytime i speak to anyone in government about the 21st ofjune they all say we have not made decisions yet, we can make decisions until we see more of that data so at the moment it is just too early to say whetherjune 21 goes ahead. it is kind of up in the air. 0ne ahead. it is kind of up in the air. one thing we will get the speaker is potentially a bit more information on foreign travel from the uk, potentially two parts of europe and maybe ireland, european islands have

been talked about is potentially another part of the green list for you can go with quarantining. some data are not being delivered in the next few days and i would expect some sort of announcement this week. new zealand and australia's relative success in fighting the coronavirus pandemic has been on show as the countries' leaders held in person meetings without wearing masks. jacinda ardern and scott morrison discussed how to further ease tough covid—19 border controls. it's the first time the two leaders have met since a quarantine free travel corridor opened between new zealand and australia last month. phil mercer who's in sydney has been following the story. this is a discussion between prime minister jacinda ardern and her australian counterpart scott morrison and trying to highlight the relative success of those two countries in combating the pandemic. and also about an exit strategy.

both countries have shut their borders to most foreign nationals and if you look at the figures, about 30,000 confirmed coronavirus cases here in australia and about 2700 in new zealand, these figures are pretty good compared to many, many other countries. and what we have heard today, that trans—tasmin travel bubble that opened on the 19th of april, australia is hoping it could soon be extended to other parts of the pacific including the archipelago, fiji and perhaps other island nations as well. this is all about australia and new zealand trying to chart a way to reconnect with the rest of the world but it will be a slow process and as you say the prime ministers meeting without masks in a way to highlight what these two countries have done since the pandemic began. a reminder of the top stories:

chelsea fans have been celebrating after their team won the all—english champions league final against manchester city in portugal. there are calls for the uk government to have an open debate with the public about restriction easing plans onjune the 21st. the group that represents nhs trusts in england is warning of the pressures being faced by hospitals. neighbours reunite: the leaders of australia and new zealand have met for talks for the first time in 15 months after coronavirus border restrictions are lifted between the two countries. the situation in the democratic republic of congo remains "serious but under control" — according to the country's president — a week after a devastating volcanic eruption in the east of the country. hundreds of thousands of people fled the city of goma as mount nyiragongo erupted. yesterday the government mistakenly announced a second eruption was imminent — causing more panic and evacuations. 0ur correspondent emery makumeno has been following events in the nearby city of goma.

the situation here is bad and we still have tremors happening but less in frequency and intensity. people are still in fear of a second eruption as authorities have warned it could happen. the earthquakes have provoked cracks in the ground and from these cracks possible emission of molten lava could emerge. if eruption happens under the lake here, like kivu, underneath it, it could be devastating because the lake is high concentration of methane gas. it could present the threat of asphyxiation to the population. efforts are underway to form a new israeli government that

could see benjamin netanyahu ousted as prime minister. the opposition leader, yair lapid, has been holding talks with the far—right yamina party, amid signs that a deal could be close. the centrist opposition leader has until wednesday to form a new government, joining with parties from across the political spectrum who oppose mr netanyahu. the long serving prime minister is facing trial for fraud — to form a new government, joining with parties from across the political spectrum who oppose mr netanyahu. the long—serving prime minister is facing trial for fraud — but still emerged with the largest number of seats in march's election. russia will go ahead with a second $500 million loan to belarus. it's a sign of moscow's determination to support its ally. there's been uproar in the west over the grounding of a passengerjet in minsk — and the arrest of a dissident blogger. across europe, demonstrations have been held to show solidarity with the people of belarus. gail maclellan has the latest. support in poland for the opposition in neighbouring belarus. frustration and anger, too. pro—democracy rallies all but eliminated in belarus itself by the fear of autocratic president

alexander lukashenko. here and in other european countries, they are calling for the release of a belarussian dissident who, along with his girlfriend, was arrested when their flight was diverted to land in minsk. the pair's detention sparked global outrage and prompted the eu to urge airlines to avoid belarussian airspace. at a rally in warsaw, roman protasevich's mother called on the eu and the us to help free her son and others imprisoned by the belarussian regime. president alexander lukashenko, who's been in powerfor 27 years, has been nicknamed europe's last dictator. a huge police crackdown has curbed street protests and sent opposition leaders to prison or into exile. one of those responded to the rallies in lithuania. translation: | am excited - about the support i see in lithuania

and other parts of the world. it's a pity that a year has passed and we are not yet at the final point. i believe that there will be changes very soon. there will be new elections because there can be no other way. belarussians will not give up. meanwhile, talks in russia between president vladimir putin and mr lukashenko continued into a second day. mr putin later confirmed russia would move ahead with a second $500 million loan to belarus next month. russia is mr lukashenko's strongest political ally, even though personal relations between the two long—time presidents are at times said to be strained. protestors have ta ken to the streets in brazil's largest cities to demand the impeachment of presidentjair bolsonaro over his response to the coronavirus pandemic. brazil has the world's second—highest coronavirus death rate, after the us: nearly half a million people have lost their lives. president bolsonaro says his opposition to lockdowns is designed

to protect the economy. more than 100 long—tailed macack monkeys that were being illegally smuggled in the back of a pick—up truck have been rescued in thailand. in the back of a pick—up truck have a field hospital has been set up to treat eighty of them. you may find some of the images in russell trott�*s report distressing. sedated but safe. russell trott�*s report distressing. rescued macaque monkeys — many pregnant — being treated by thai medical teams. more than 100 were discovered — terrified, struggling and gasping for air, in mesh bags tied together and being transported to the cambodian border. 18 didn't make it. translation: the monkeys i were exhausted and dehydrated for a long time. some of them had respiratory problems because of overcrowding during the smuggling operation. wildlife smuggling in

asia is nothing new — tigers, along with other animals have been traded — dead or alive — to neighbouring countries in what is a lucrative, if illegal, business. the authorities have been intercepting the banned wildlife shipments, but closing down the ruthless gangs behind it is a more difficult proposition. the smuggling of the monkeys was a carefully planned operation. a pick—up truck was eventually intercepted at a checkpoint and taken to a field hospital equipped with ultrasound scanners and breathing tubes. the driver of the truck says he didn't know the animals were in the back of the vehicle. he's being detained and questioned about wildlife smuggling. russell trott, bbc news. here, downing street has confirmed that prime minister boris johnson has married his fiancee carrie symonds in a secret ceremony at westminster cathedral. the wedding was held in front of close friends and family yesterday —

and the couple will celebrate with others next summer. and the couple will celebrate 0ur political correspondent helen catt has more. borisjohnson and carrie symonds were the first unmarried couple to live together in downing street. they'd first been publically linked by the media in early 2019. by the end of that year, they were engaged, although they didn't announce it until the following february when carrie symonds posted the news on instagram at the same time as announcing they were expecting their first child together. wilfred was born in april last year. there had been lots of speculation about when and how the couple would get married. in the end, the reportedly secret ceremony at westminister catholic cathedral took almost everyone by surprise. mrjohnson's divorce from his second wife marina wheeler was finalised last year, making him the first prime minister in centuries to divorce and remarry while in office. the grammy—winning american

singer bj thomas — best remembered for the 1969 hit �*raindrops keep fallin on my head' — has died at the age of 78. the song — written by burt bacharach and hal david for the film butch cassidy and the sundance kid — won the oscar for best original song. 0ur beautiful bank holiday weather forecast set to continue. a good deal of dry, settled and sunny weather out there as you can see clearly from berwick earlier on. hardly a cloud in the sky for some areas. a perfect day for an outside afternoon hike in wales as well. beautiful, and the sunshine and warmth will continue. high pressure will be with us for the next couple of days. it is drifting off slowly into the north sea and that means more of a breeze developing particularly for bank holiday monday. we have seen some low cloud, mist and fog coming in off the north sea. this was the satellite

picture earlier on. west was best in terms of sunshine but that sunshine will continue to nibble away at the cloud into the afternoon with the outside risk of an isolated shower may be cropping up in scotland. temperatures will peak at around 20 to 23 degrees perhaps somewhere in the west where we have had the early morning sunshine. always cooler on the east coast. as we go through the evening and overnight the potential for more cloud to roll back in off the north sea so another misty, murky start for eastern areas potentially on monday. a relatively mild start. temperatures widely out in the west in double figures. early morning sunshine. more of a breeze develops but it comes from a south—easterly direction. slightly warmer so if anything bank holiday monday will be warmer still for many. temperatures peaking at 2a are 25 degrees to close out the month of may. we got there in the end. for the beginning ofjune it looks likely to stay dry, sunny and warm to begin

with but from wednesday into thursday the risk potentially of some thundery showers developing. still behind it a lot of dry, warm and relatively sunny weather. this frontal system moves through the middle part of the week and a level of uncertaintyjust where that front will be sitting and where the showers are likely to crop up but it is worth bearing in mind the further west you are through wednesday and potentially into thursday but could see some sharp, possibly thundery downpours. as they clear away it will be fresher but we close out the week with a good deal of dry weather. further east you might not see the showers at all but tuesday will be the peak of the heat. getting a little cooler towards the end.

the this is bbc news. the headlines. celebrations for chelsea fans after their team wins the all—english champions league final against manchester city to lift the european cup for a second time. calls for the uk government to have an open debate with the public about restriction easing plans onjune the 21st. the group that represents nhs trusts in england warns of the pressures being faced by hospitals. that as the uk government comes under pressure over its handling of vaccinations in care homes. neighbours reunited — the leaders of australia and new zealand meet for talks for the first time in 15 months after coronavirus border restrictions are lifted between the two countries. and britian's prime minister borisjohnson marries his fiancee carrie symonds in a secret ceremony at westminster cathedral. now on bbc news, a former wales rugby international takes

on his biggest challenge ? to prove the game he loves has