this is bbc news. the headlines at four... 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. 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. we will share the evidence with the country on the 14th ofjune to basically explain exactly where we are on infection rates, on hospitalisation, and, of course sadly, of death.

the newly—elected leader of the democratic unionist party accuses the eu of using northern ireland as a "play thing" to punish the uk for brexit saying it's playing "fast and loose" with the peace process. 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. a new nationalflagship is to be commissioned by the government in a bid to boost british trade and industry overseas. and... borisjohnson marries his fiancee carrie symonds in a secret ceremony at westminster cathedral.

good afternoon. the vaccines minister nadhim zahawi says the government will be cautious, and look at all the data, before deciding whether to end covid restrictions in england next month. his comments came as the chief executive of nhs providers said "very, very few" coronavirus patients in hospital in england have received two covid jabs, showing the vaccines provide "very high" levels of protection. but he warned hospitals are dealing with a heavy backlog of non—covid cases. our health correspondent catherine burns reports. ready, steady, go. we're in a race, vaccines against the virus, and this was the start on december the 8th. maggie keenan was the first person in the uk to get vaccinated outside of clinical trials. that was less than six months ago. now, about three quarters of adults have had their first dose,

and almost half have had both. the government target has always been to offer a jab to all adults by the end ofjuly. now there's a new ambition. we hope to be able to protect with two doses, all 1—9s, all the over 50s, before the 21st ofjune. we will make sure we vaccinate at scale but — and here's the important thing — we will share the evidence with the country on the 14th ofjune. those dates are key, becausejune 14th is when the government will tell us of the next stage of opening up will happen in england onjune the 21st. at that point, they'll want to meet four tests before going ahead. the first test — is the vaccine roll—out going well? the second — are vaccines stopping people getting sick or dying with covid 7 the third test is about infection levels. are they getting so high they're putting too much pressure on the nhs? and the final test is about new variants of concern.

are they changing the risk level? the first two tests, about vaccines, are being met so far. there's been a small rise in cases, though, still at a low level, but ost recent figures from the ons suggest that one in every 60,000 people will test positive for covid. in areas hit higher by the indian variant, numbers are much higher, though. in blackburn, there are more than 700 cases for every 100,000 people. but health bosses say there's pressure on the nhs declared a critical incident because it's so busy. we've got these big care backlogs that we're, kind of, trying to get through as quickly as possible, and we are tackling the most complex cases to start with, and that means that those patients need to have overnight stays, because they're are difficult cases. the next few weeks will give us a clear idea of how or if this will affect plans to open up next month.

professor paul hunter — from the university of east anglia's school of medicine — said it was right to be cautious about easing restrictions. we can't be raising hopes that might not be achieved but, it must be said, the evidence at the moment is still very uncertain. case numbers are giving up, hospitalisations are going up but only slowly but, on the other hand, deaths are not yet rising and it seems to be the case that people who, even if they're admitted to hospital and staying in hospital as long as they would have been a few months ago so that the pressure on the nhs may not be as bad and when you look to all about it's actually quite difficult to know for certain what the situation will become the 14th ofjune, and i think that's the appropriate time to actually assess all the data and make the, hopefully, correct decision. make the, hopefully, correct decision-— make the, hopefully, correct decision. , , , ., ,, decision. the pressure on the nhs isn't uuite decision. the pressure on the nhs isn't quite as _ decision. the pressure on the nhs isn't quite as bad _ decision. the pressure on the nhs isn't quite as bad from _ decision. the pressure on the nhs isn't quite as bad from covid-19 i decision. the pressure on the nhs| isn't quite as bad from covid-19 but

isn't quite as bad from covid—19 but as we reflecting today, of course, hospitals are trying to catch up with all those appointments that have been postponed over the last a0 months or so so the last thing the hospital wants is an upsurge. absolutely, and you're quite right. there are operations that should have been done a year or so ago that people are still waiting, and that is going to take a long time to get through. it would hopefully, if we avoid additional pressures from covid, we'll still be able to get through those at a reasonable rate but, clearly, if covid goes out of control and starts putting additional pressures on the health service that many of these delayed operations and delayed other care will be delayed further and nobody wants that. , , ., will be delayed further and nobody wants that. , , . ., wants that. gets, and can i ask about the _ wants that. gets, and can i ask about the indian _ wants that. gets, and can i ask about the indian variant? - wants that. gets, and can i ask about the indian variant? is - wants that. gets, and can i ask i about the indian variant? is there still a lot that we don't know? when you look at the data, what assessment do you make is to the impact that it was not happening? —— the impact that it is having? i

think it is more infectious, probably around 50% more infectious than the kent variant, give or take. it is a little bit less controlled by vaccine or, indeed, previous natural immunity but it is, at the moment, spreading predominantly in younger unvaccinated grapes and that's why the pressure hasn't been placed on the health service. if it stays like that then i think we may well be able to ride out this next wave but we will undoubtedly see increases in cases from the indian variant over the coming weeks. the issueis variant over the coming weeks. the issue is how much additional pressure that will put on health services and that is still a bit early to be absolutely definite about. , ., , early to be absolutely definite about. , . , ., about. yes, and in terms of the vaccination _ about. yes, and in terms of the vaccination programme, - about. yes, and in terms of the vaccination programme, i - about. yes, and in terms of the vaccination programme, i as. about. yes, and in terms of the vaccination programme, i as a i about. yes, and in terms of the l vaccination programme, i as a lay person read it is very good news when you hear that the vast majority of people who are in hospital with covid of those who haven't had both

doses. i'm interested in your take on that. , ., , , ., on that. yes, absolutely. there are clearly some _ on that. yes, absolutely. there are clearly some people _ on that. yes, absolutely. there are clearly some people still _ on that. yes, absolutely. there are clearly some people still ending . on that. yes, absolutely. there are clearly some people still ending upj clearly some people still ending up in hospital after two doses but at the moment it's very low and i think this is one of the big things about the vaccines, that even when they don't necessarily provide 100% protection against infection, they steal, even in those people who get infected, they are still not getting severely ill. —— they steal. even if they go into hospital they don't seem to be staying in hospital is long and they don't seem to be dying as much as was the place a few months ago so i think the vaccine is still the key. it is still protecting many people who would otherwise be very severely ill and dying and also protecting and reducing the pressure is on the health service.— health service. professor paul hunter.

the newly—elected leader of the democratic unionist party has accused the european union of playing "fast and loose" with the peace process in northern ireland. edwin poots said checks on goods entering northern ireland from great britain were having a "devastating impact", and leading to violence on the streets. the european commission says it rejects any suggestion that it no longer cares about the peace process. from belfast, louise cullen reports. the northern ireland protocol has caused political and practical problems since its inception. it creates a trade border in the irish sea, by keeping northern ireland in the eu single market for goods, enforcing eu customs rules at the ports, to prevent a hardening of the land border. and unionists view it as a threat to their place in the united kingdom. that fear was blamed for trouble on the streets at easter. the uk has delayed introducing some food checks until october, a move the eu has gone to court over. technical talks continue. the new dup leader edwin poots claimed the northern ireland peace process was being damaged. i don't want to use a threat of violence in terms of this.

0ur arguments are very clear, they're very coherent. this is the european union seeking to punish the united kingdom, and, as a consequence, northern ireland is being used as a plaything for the european union. i can assure you, northern ireland should be nobody�*s plaything. the eu commission vice president rejected that. i think we are working absolutely flat out to make sure that the protocol operates as smoothly as possible. i think we have also to turn the table a little bit in this discussion and look at what the protocol brings as an opportunity to northern ireland. the current position of westminster is that the uk would like an equivalence arrangement in which the eu would recognise uk food production standards as equivalent to its own, but the eu says the protocol is the only solution. louise cullen, bbc news. the prime minister has returned to work after his secretly—planned wedding yesterday to carrie symonds at westminster cathedral. the couple have released

this image of them in the downing street garden. a spokesman said that following yesterday's small ceremony, the couple would celebrate again with family and friends next summer. borisjohnson — who has twice divorced — is the first prime minister to get married while in office in nearly 200 years. media reports in israel say the main opposition leader, yair lapid, appears close to a deal with his rival, naftali bennett. their aim to form a coalition government would bring together factions from the right, left and centre of israeli politics. any deal would look to oust prime minister benjamin netanyahu from power after 12 years, midway through his trial on corruption charges. two people have died and more than 20 injured, in a shooting outside a billiard club near miami. its being reported that three people emerged from a vehicle with assault weapons and handguns, before opening fire on a crowd that had gathered for a concert at the venue.

australia s prime minister is in new zealand for the annual bilateral talks with his counterpart, jacinda ardern. the relative success in curbing the coronavirus pandemic was evident — as neither leader wore a mask and scott morrison was welcomed with a traditional maori greeting. the two leaders are expected to discuss how to further ease tough covid—19 border controls and how the two south pacific powers might further support smaller countries in the region. from sydney, phil mercer reports — there are flashing images at the start of the report. a traditional maori greeting replaced elbow bumps and fist taps, as new zealand's prime minister welcomed her australian counterpart. scott morrison said the meeting highlighted the success of two countries that have weathered covid—19 arguably better than any other.

both governments banned foreign nationals in march 2020, but they need a plan to eventually bring to an end their isolation from the rest of the world. a quarantine—free travel corridor was opened last month. while flights to the australian state of victoria have been suspended due to a snap seven—day lockdown, the bubble could be extended to other parts of the south pacific, including fiji and vanuatu, to help revive their tourism industries. mr morrison said australia and new zealand were family, but, like most households, there are disagreements. canberra's controversial deportation of new zealanders convicted of crimes, including children, has strained the relationship. a senior australian minister compared the policy

to taking the trash out. it remains a very sore point between these trans—tasman cousins. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. a new nationalflagship is to be commissioned by the government in a bid to boost british trade and industry overseas. the royal navy vessel — which will cost a reported £200 million and be in service for 30 years — would be used to host trade fairs and diplomatic meetings. it will be the successor to the royal yacht britannia, which was retired in 1997. lord ricketts is the former british ambassador to france and national security adviser, he's now a crossbench peer. he told me he believes its not worth the cost. colossal waste of money, because i don't think it's at all relevant to the way that modern business and modern contracts are negotiated. the government says it wants britain to be a science and technology superpower, which is great, but i don't think the corporate bosses of the world's great high—tech companies and financial companies

are going to be all that impressed with an invitation to go to some distant port and have a cocktail on board a ship in the harbour. so, i think it harks back generations to the way export promotion was done many, many years ago. it isn't relevant to promoting modern high—tech britain in the modern world. so, how does an idea like that get signed off, then? because, presumably, enough people must think that this is a terrific idea if that much money is going to be spent? well, i mean, clearly some people think it's a great idea inside the government and the conservative party. i wonder how many senior british business leaders have been consulted. i doubt that they would see this as a very good idea. if they want a visiting minister to meet leaders of the business community in any another country then there is, of course, the british ambassador�*s residence, which is usually a much better and more convenient place to go in the centre of the capital city, than to some distant port.

i also wonder what the royal navy chiefs would think of this. i mean, we already have a nationalflagship. you know, this extraordinary aircraft carrier, the queen elizabeth ii that we now have. it seems to be an enormous waste of navy manpower to crew a ship which is of absolutely no defence value at all. the government says it will be the first vessel of its kind in the world. i mean, is there a sense there that they think that this is innovative and different, if no other country does face the uk will stand out having this beautiful vessel? is that part of the thinking? if no other country has it, it's original, i suppose? well, maybe another reason why no other country has one is perhaps because no other country thinks it's necessary. i mean, it really does hark back to a period when ships like the royal yacht britannia went and did promotion of great britain in a very different world. i think the fact that no other country has a ship like this is because, honestly, that idea

is now so long out of date, and there are much more modern and professional ways of presenting the high—tech face of britain to the world. so, i'm afraid i don't think that the fact that it's going to be the first of its kind is much comfort. in a way, i would say it's perhaps the last of its kind, and, you know, ought really not to be being pursued. i mean, everybody keeps talking about it as a successor to the royal yacht britannia. i wonder whether you think that is fair or accurate. i mean, that was for the use of the royal family. i mean, we remember beautiful images from bygone years of royal receptions and honeymoons and much more besides, and this is to be used for business and trade purposes — i mean, the government's very clear about this — so i wonder if we're conflating two things, actually. well, think that's a very good point. i have not heard any suggestion that the royal family think

this is a good idea. and, indeed, i think that the royal familyare probably trying to keep this at arms length, because they won't want to be seen as commissioning some very expensive asset for use of the royal family, and i think their instincts are probably good on that. so, no. it harks back to those wonderful images of the royal yacht britannia and before that king edward vii conducting his royal, kingly diplomacy around the world, but those days are past. this isn't going to be a royal yacht britannia and i honestly don't see how it fits into promotion of modern, high—tech britain. that was a cross—bench peer and former ambassador. that was a cross—bench peer and formerambassador. it that was a cross—bench peer and former ambassador. it is 18 minutes past four. these are the latest headlines. calls for the 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. the newly—elected leader of the democratic unionist party accuses the eu of using northern ireland as a "play thing" to punish the uk for brexit saying it's playing "fast and loose" with the peace process. and... borisjohnson has married carrie simmons in a secret ceremony at westminster cathedral, yesterday afternoon. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katie shena han. good morning. chelsea manager thomas tuchel has challenged his players to maintain their hunger after winning the champions league final against manchester city last night. chelsea have already begun theirjourney back to london from porto after their 1—0 victory last night, and theirformer winger pat nevin says there's much more to come. if they keep on playing the way they

are, and we will add players, and be stronger than the other season because of the maturing process of the younger players and also the one they're going to bring in. i won't be surprised if they are up challenging to actually win the premier league and, again, if you had asked me that two months ago i would have really question your sanity. there's a tense finish in prospect at wembley in the league one one play off final between blackpool and lincoln. there's around half a hour to go. blackpool have just scored, they've come from behind to lead 2—1. kenny dougall with his second of the game after a nightmare start for blackpool, who scored an own goal after only a7 seconds. that's the fastest ever goal scored in a third—tier play—off final. a place in the championship awaits the winners. it was a day to forget for british number one, dan evans. he's been knocked out in the first

round of the french open by world number a8, miomir kekmanovich it had looked like evans was well on his way to a first win at roland garros after winning the opening set 6—1, but the serb hit back to win the next three sets, and knock evans out of the tournament on the opening day in paris. elsewhere, naomi 0saka breezed past patricia maria teeg from romania in straight sets. 0saka letting her tennis do the talking after a controversial build up to the tournament in which she said she wouldn't give any post—match press conferences in order to protect her mental health. in the last few minutes, eggan bernal has won the giro d'italia, after succesfully negotiating the final time trial in milan. the colombian, who rides for the british—based ineos grenadiers team, adds the pinkjersey to the yellow one he won at the tour de france in 2019. after 21 stages, bernal finished 1 minutes 29 seconds ahead of italy's damiarno caruso. britain's simon yates confirmed his place on the podium — he finished third overall, after challenging for the lead in the final week.

there was a sombre mood surrounding the italian motogp. it's after the death of the swiss moto3 riderjason dupasquier. a minute's silence was held ahead of the main race. dupasquier was struck by another bike afterfalling during qualifying at the mugello circuit yesterday and died of his injuries today. he was just 19 years old. pole—sitter fabio quartararo won the race to claim his third win of the year and afterwards he dedicated his victory to dupasquier. in rugby union, reigning champions exeter chiefs thrashed the newcastle falcons by 7a points to 3. they ran in a mammoth 12 tries with henry slade going over twice to book the champions a home semifinal play off. the win also sees them move back into second place and three points behind league leaders bristol. there was a disappointing

end for great britain in theirfinal event of the european team championships in poland. the men's four by a00 metres relay team failed to pass on the baton for the final leg of the race. britain had been leading the standings going into the final day. but failing to finish has seen them slip to third overall, behind winners poland and runners—up italy. that's all your sport jane, bye for now. thanks, very much katie. see you in the next hour. the colombian government has deployed 7,000 troops across some of its major towns and cities in a bid to end two months of deadly protests and riots. demonstrators have vowed to march on the streets of the capital, bogota, today, as they continue their stand against poverty, police violence and tax rises. 0ur latin america correspondent will grant reports. colombia is no stranger to violence but these scenes have shocked the nation.

shouting. two months after the protests began, they are showing no sign of letting up. what started as an outpouring of anger over a proposed tax hike has now exploded into pitched battles in several major cities. the epicentre of the anti—government protests is cali, a city which suffers from all of colombia's social ills, from poverty to paramilitaries and drug cartels. every day, peaceful protests soon descend into burning barricades and stone throwing. the authorities responding with tear gas and live rounds. the latest incident to enrage demonstrators was the sight of civilian gunmen shooting at protesters with the police. the latest incident to enrage demonstrators was the sight of civilian gunmen shooting at protesters with the police.

the president ivan duque announced the deployment of some 7000 military personnel around the country. translation: | want to make it l absolutely clear that the maximum deployment of military assistant to the national police begins as of tonight. they won't find it easy, though — the protesters are in no mood to back down. this violence bring back painful memory of colombia's 50—year civil war between left—wing farc rebels and the state. indeed, many say the open wounds from that conflict have fanned the flames of these clashes. now, instead of strengthening the peace, colombia's long and bloody history of social unrest has simply started a new chapter. will grant, bbc news. now, the three peaks challenge, in which walkers tackle the highest points of scotland, england and wales one after the other, is one of britain's most popular endurance events. but three climbs aren't enough for one pair of fitness enthusiasts, who are planning to throw in a fourth — in northern ireland. oh, and they're going to row between each nation. alison freeman went to meet them.

they're home for around six weeks. katherine and martin will eat, sleep and travel on this rowing boat between the four nations of the united kingdom, before taking on their highest peaks on foot. a challenge that's never been attempted before. so this is our cabin. there's just enough legroom to be able to lie down. and i'm here, martin's here, so it's pretty cosy. it's the idea of catherine wilkins, who runs a fitness centre in northumberland. despite the mammoth challenge ahead, she managed to get martin, who works for her, on board. i like to try things that no—one's ever done before. when catherine mentioned it to me, that she's got this challenge in mind and no—one's ever completed it, i was instantly yes, i'm there, i'm doing it. the pair will start their challenge by climbing mount snowdon in wales before walking to caernarfon. they'll then row to whitehaven,

and from there walk up to the summit of scafell pike. after walking back to the coast, they'll cross the irish sea to northern ireland, where they'll tackle slieve donard. they'll then take on the longest rowing leg of their expedition, by sea and canal to fort william in the highlands of scotland. there, they'll climb ben nevis. the irish sea has a lot of challenges. it's got shipping lanes. it can be horrendously tidal and choppy. so we have everything crossed for a high—pressure system and a gentle crossing, but we're not under any illusions. the pair will be raising money for the mental health charity mind. me being a former marine, a veteran of the marines, some lads who leave struggle a lot with mental health, including myself. so, when ijoined the forces, the forces was my family. and then to go from that to civilian life is a bit of a shock. it's hard, really, to find that purpose, of where you stand in civilian life and what gets you up in the morning. ijust want people to be able to talk about it, the benefits of being outside

and pushing yourselves physically, and the benefits that can have on mental health. you are really going to be pushing yourself physically, aren't you? yes, i think we are! we are definitely going to be pushing ourselves physically, and, you know, we're probably talking 16, 17 hours rowing a day. they'll set off on their challenge onjune the 3rd. is it going to challenge your friendship, do you think? we had a couple of hairy moments on the training row last weekend and we got through that and said to ourselves, there's no—one we'd rather be in a boat with. alison freeman, bbc news. goodness. good luck to them. will this and be just beautiful all the way of the challenge, do you think was meant to think that is one of the bonuses? now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes hello there. the cold and wet weather we've been enduring for most of this may is now firmly behind us and in the next few

days it is dry, sunny and warm. it has been warm today as well. top temperatures of 23 degrees in liverpool, 22 in aberdeenshire and aboyne, but only eight on the coastline in aberdeenshire, where we had some of this low cloud and murk linger for much of the day. still, for most of us, the high pressure did bring fine weather and sunshine. 0vernight, the low cloud, mist and fog will reform initially over eastern areas, both scotland and england, moving into more central areas later on in the night. temperatures about 7—10 degrees, so not desperately cold. tomorrow morning, mist and fog, low cloud that we start off with, it will burn away through the first few hours of the morning, then sunshine pretty much across the board. not bad for a bank holiday, i'm sure you will agree. as far as the temperatures go, should be even warmer. temperatures peaking at 22 in glasgow, up to 2a in london. that's your weather.

those temperatures peak at 22 in glasgow, up to 2a in london. hello this is bbc news with mejane hill. the headlines... 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. the newly—elected leader of the democratic unionist party accuses the eu of using northern ireland as a "play thing" to punish the uk for brexit saying it's playing "fast and loose" with the peace process. 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. a new nationalflagship is to be commissioned by the government in a bid to boost british trade and industry overseas. and borisjohnson marries his fiancee carrie symonds in a secret ceremony at westminster cathedral.