this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at 6pm — england's footballers are on their way to their hotel near london ahead of tomorrow's final against italy in the final of euro 2020. england captain harry kane says he's desperate to win it for the fans. yeah, i know they'll all be there cheering us on around the country, and we just can't wait to, hopefully, yeah, try and win the game for them. the build—up reaches fever pitch — millions of fans around the country preparing to watch the game tomorrow night at 8pm. italy are unbeaten in 33 games. they've now arrived in the uk, hoping to win their second euros trophy. applause.

and at wimbledon, world number one ashleigh barty has won her first ladies singles title. she beat the eighth seed karolina pliskova in three sets. fully vaccinated nhs staff could be let off having to self—isolate after contact with someone with covid to try to tackle staff shortages. good afternoon. england are on their way to the team hotel near watford just over 2a hours before they take on italy in the european championship final at wembley. victory tomorrow night would be the first major tournament win for the team since the 1966 world cup. the italian side has landed in the uk.

their manager, roberto mancini, said tomorrow's game will be a wonderful game with 60,000 fans inside wembley stadium. 0ur sports correspondent john watson reports. england train for the final time at their base in burton today, ahead of the biggest game of their professional lives. standing between them and a first major trophy in over half a century, former winners italy, who arrive in london this afternoon. it's a great occasion, you know, for the country to be involved in, and the lads have done the whole country proud. yeah, we'rejust... i think everybody�*s got that sort of butterfly feeling in the belly that we can obviously win a first major trophy for a very long time. ending england's drought in major tournaments has been a plan long in the making. the opening of england's state—of—the—art training centre at st george's park nine years ago sowing the seeds for the future. in 2017, signs of progress. a young phil foden, the player

of the tournament, as england lifted the under—17s world cup. the under—20s winning their equivalent. with gareth southgate�*s promotion to england manager, continuity in the england set—up, bringing with it results. reaching the semi—finals at the last world cup, hope superseded by belief. but are england ready to take the toughest step of all? there is no doubt england have begun to reshape the history that has weighed them down in major tournaments of the past. now, they will have to be at their very best if they're to topple a tough italian side and they're to go on and realise their euro dream. italy are on a record 33—match unbeaten run, edging out spain on penalties in the last four. in what will be their fourth european championship final, this is england's first. captain harry kane with the goal that ended that run of major championship semi—final defeats. tomorrow evening, the focus of millions will fall on wembley.

the question on everyone�*s lips — can england complete their euro dream? john watson, bbc news, wembley. italy are on a 33—game unbeaten run, and the azzuri will be looking to win a second european championship tomorrow night. the italian manager, roberto mancini, said his side will need to be at their best to beat england. translation: there's great passion for football in england just _ as there is in italy. england have been very unfortunate in the past in world cups and european championships. they've always boasted good teams just as they do now. they have a top side. i think it will be a wonderful match in front of a packed house. and i think that's wonderful news for football—lovers everywhere. so, i think it will be a great day, it will be a great day to play this match. and we know they have

a lot of quality. so, we'll see how the game pans out. if england have made it to the final, it shows that they are a great side. let's get more on this from our sports reporter alex howell, who's at the team hotel in north london. the team expected there quite shortly. the team expected there quite shortl . . ., ., , shortly. the team are to be here in the next 45 — shortly. the team are to be here in the next 45 minutes. _ shortly. the team are to be here in the next 45 minutes. this - shortly. the team are to be here in the next 45 minutes. this is - shortly. the team are to be here in the next 45 minutes. this is the i the next 45 minutes. this is the hotel_ the next 45 minutes. this is the hotel where they are staying. they travelled _ hotel where they are staying. they travelled to wembley tomorrow to take on _ travelled to wembley tomorrow to take on italy in the euro 2020 finah — take on italy in the euro 2020 final. earlierthey trained take on italy in the euro 2020 final. earlier they trained at st. george — final. earlier they trained at st. george as _ final. earlier they trained at st. george as part, the final session before _ george as part, the final session before they travel down here today. 25 players _ before they travel down here today. 25 players from the squad took part. phil foden _ 25 players from the squad took part. phil foden did not take part with a minor— phil foden did not take part with a minor knock we are told but gareth soulhgale — minor knock we are told but gareth southgate told bbc five live he is a doubt _ southgate told bbc five live he is a doubt and — southgate told bbc five live he is a doubt and we will have to check again— doubt and we will have to check again later but he has got a fairly minor— again later but he has got a fairly minor fool — again later but he has got a fairly

minor foot injury. it isjust going to be _ minor foot injury. it isjust going to be one — minor foot injury. it isjust going to be one that clears up in time to take part — to be one that clears up in time to take part in— to be one that clears up in time to take part in the game so we have to assess— take part in the game so we have to assess that — take part in the game so we have to assess that again later. so... when the squad _ assess that again later. so... when the squad left st. george's park, there _ the squad left st. george's park, there were — the squad left st. george's park, there were lots of fans here at the hotel— there were lots of fans here at the hotel and — there were lots of fans here at the hotel and lots have gathered again to give _ hotel and lots have gathered again to give them a welcome. roberto mancini's— to give them a welcome. roberto mancini's saturn now also at the lodge _ mancini's saturn now also at the lodge preparing for the game and it is set _ lodge preparing for the game and it is setup _ lodge preparing for the game and it is set up for england to become a legend _ is set up for england to become a legend for— is set up for england to become a legend for these players. it could be legend for these players. it could he the _ legend for these players. it could be the biggest game, the biggest women _ be the biggest game, the biggest women and england's chance to make history. _ women and england's chance to make history. the _ women and england's chance to make history, the first chance somebody five years — history, the first chance somebody five years to take home a trophy. all right, — five years to take home a trophy. all right, thank you very much indeed and sorry a bit of break up there on the line from the england team hotel there near watford. tens of millions of football fans will be getting ready to watch the match tomorrow night on television. for those lucky enough to have tickets, some are being offered thousands

of pounds for their tickets to the game. here's daniela relph. if you sell england merchandise, this weekend is boom time. two for a fiver. face paints for two quid. at romford market in essex, the early trade was brisk. but if you're lucky enough to have tickets for the game, there was no business to be done. i've had a guy come up, who wanted to give... he said, "i will give you eight grand for the four tickets." i said, "mate, no money buys these tickets. no chance. we're going." for those who taught harry kane at chingford foundation school in essex, there is obvious pride at his success. clearly very gifted, i a talented footballer from a very early age, - right from the very beginning, it was clear to see that he had a special gift as far— as football's concerned. generally speaking, a really nice, all—round, very humble _ and well— behaved young man. has he kind of credited

you with some of his... yeah, it's all down to me, - it's all down to my management! sheldon edwards has become the go—to barber for many england players. i've got the likes of jadon sancho, raheem sterling, phil foden, jude bellingham. those are my most prominent clients in the england team. his work on phil foden's hair went viral and is now much in demand. there is a clamourfor some of the stardust of this group of players. 10 downing street has nailed its colours to the front door. across england, whether you're at home or the pub watching tomorrow, football is proving good for business. we've seen sharp increases in sales before matches of things like frozen stone—baked pizzas, our barbecue range, of course, booze and alcohol, a whole different range of stuff, as people stock up and celebrate these big tournaments. but some households will be conflicted. chef giuseppe is italian. his wife, sarah, is english.

half the family english, half the family italian. i i'm thinking, after all these years, i maybe england deserve to win, but, obviously, inside me, i want italy to win. i at the end of this, one of us is going to be really, really sad. and i want it to be you. it is now a tense countdown for england fans, as they manage the nerves and the hope ahead of kick—off tomorrow night. daniela relph, bbc news. just a reminder that we will bring you the england press conference later this evening. that will be held by gareth southgate and harry kane, and we expect that at about 7:15pm. as we were hearing the team are on their way now to their hoteljust outside watford before making the journey down to wembley tomorrow. ministers are considering lifting the need for fully vaccinated nhs staff in england to self—isolate if they've been in close contact

with someone who's tested positive for the coronavirus. hospital trusts have warned of staff shortages unless action is taken. it comes as medical leaders says case numbers are rising dramatically and that people should continue to act with care. here's our health correspondent katharine da costa. some hospitals in england and scotland are extremely busy, with record numbers of patients in a&e. several have already had to postpone planned operations. and with a sharp rise in covid infections, growing numbers of doctors and nurses are self—isolating after coming into contact with people infected with the virus. the bma and the royal college of nursing's backed calls to allow fully vaccinated staff to continue working with appropriate testing and ppe. the nhs is incredibly busy at the moment. it's going full pelt recovering care backlogs. we've got record levels in many places of emergency care demand.

we've lost a lot of capacity due to infection control, and we've now got large numbers of staff who are effectively having to self—isolate. infections are spreading across england, with 0xford the latest area to see cases spike to their highest level in the pandemic. from monday, the city will get extra government support for surge testing and to help boost vaccine take—up. it is about getting on with your lives in a sensible way, in a pragmatic way, and exercising personal responsibility. and i think if people do that and get themselves tested and have their vaccinations, we can certainly address this steep rise in covid cases that we've seen in the city. medical leaders say people should remain cautious after restrictions are lifted in england injust over a week's time, including wearing facemasks in crowded indoor areas. they warn things are likely to get worse before they get better. many people have just had .

or are about to have their first dose of the vaccine, - and this virus is rampaging through society. and although far fewer people - are ending up in hospital and dying at present than have previously, because the vaccine's helping, l actually many of the people who get lcovid will go on to get long covid. i the government says its decision to delay reopening by four weeks has bought more time to allow many more people to get their second doses, which will help strengthen the wall of immunity once restrictions end on the 19th. ministers in scotland, wales and northern ireland are due to announce their plans for easing soon. katharine da costa, bbc news. the latest government data shows that in the past 24 hours, there were 32,367 new covid infections recorded across the uk and 34 deaths. 45.7 million people have had their first coronavirus vaccine. that's nearly 87% of the uk adult population. and 34.5 million have received both doses. that's 65.6% of uk adults.

three days after the assassination of its president, haiti's political crisis is deepening. there are reports the country's lawmakers have nominated the head of the senate, joseph lambert, as interim president. a rival politicalfaction, though, which includes the acting interim prime minister claudejoseph, says the move is unconstitutional. haitian officals have taken the extraordinary step of requesting military help from the united states and the united nations. courtney bembridge reports. crowds gathered outside the us embassy in port—au—prince with suitcases packed, looking for a way out. translation: i can't close my eyes. i can't sleep at night. i had to come here to the embassy because i'm scared. there are so many gunshots, and you don't even know where they're coming from. i've abandoned my home. i can't go back, i don't

know about my family. the country of 11 million people is reeling from the assassination of its president, shot dead inside his home on wednesday. translation: look at what happened to the head of — translation: look at what happened to the head of the _ translation: look at what happened to the head of the state. _ translation: look at what happened to the head of the state. i _ translation: look at what happened to the head of the state. i cannot - to the head of the state. i cannot stay here — to the head of the state. i cannot stay here. it's important to leave the country. these are two of the men haitian authorities say carried out the plot. they were attacked by the public as they were loaded into a police car. 17 men have been arrested so far, most of them colombian, but investigators are still looking for who ordered the killing. haiti was already plagued by hunger and gang violence, but the assassination has pitched the country deeper into turmoil. it's requested the united nations and the united states send troops to help secure the country and protect key infrastructure. the us has declined the request, and the un may also be reluctant to get involved. ithinkthe un is-

thoroughly sick of haiti. they had a 13—year peacekeeping force there that got _ in a lot of trouble in a lot of ways. i i the last thing being the cholera i epidemic which the peacekeeping forces brought into haiti. so, i think they don't really. want to get entangled again. i think most outside forces don't |want to get militarily entangled| again in haiti if they can avoid it. adding to the uncertainty is the political situation. there's no working parliament, two men are claiming to be the prime minister, and a third of the senate has just nominated another man to lead as interim president. courtney bembridge, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news — preparations for tomorrow night at wembley — a clash between england and italy to crown the winners of euro 2020. fully vaccinated nhs staff could be let off having to self—isolate after contact with someone with covid to try to tackle staff shortages. and at wimbledon, world number one

ashleigh barty has won herfirst ladies singles title. she beat the eighth seed karolina pliskova in three sets. former boxer chris eubank says he is devastated at the death of his son, sebastian, who has died just days before his 30th birthday. sebastian had followed his father's footsteps and become a professional boxer himself. he died yesterday morning in dubai, where he was based. former ipswich town and england international striker paul mariner has died at the age of 68. he scored 135 goals for ipswich and was part of bobby robson's fa cup—winning side of 1977—78. he also had stints at plymouth, arsenal, portsmouth and scored 13 goals for england. he later went on to play in australia and the united states and had managed plymouth argyle and toronto fc.

wild swimming has grown in popularity, especially during lockdown, but swimmers may need to be cautious about the cleanliness of england's rivers. just i6% of them are classed as meeting a good ecological standard, according to the environment agency. here s our science correspondent richard westcott. you wouldn't catch me doing it, but this wild swimming group has 1000 members. today, they are taking a dip in northamptonshire's river nene — or nen, if you prefer — in the northamptonshire village of denford. how's the water? lovely. great! yeah. you sound really convincing! a bit of cold, this lot can handle, but how clean is the water? the last time this river was properly tested a couple of years ago, it was rated as poor.

pollutants from farming and road traffic getting washed into the water by the rain. after a lot of heavy rain, you probably don't want to really be going swimming. yeah, i won't swim after... probably leave two or three days at least after the heavy rain because of the storm drains. i don't think we take it seriously enough, no, | and there is definitely a need for action because _ as much as we want to make it safe for the humans in here, _ we also want to make safel for the animals and wildlife that's using these rivers. in fact, the environment agency admits all our rivers, lakes and streams are polluted in some way, with just 16% of them classed as good. so, that's the river where the swimmers were. now i have the sun coming out, so it's perfect. as well as farms and industry, campaigners are worried about run—off from busy roads. tiny bits of tyre rubber, metalfrom brake pads and clutches, and a group of hydrocarbons from emissions that wash off the tarmac and into rivers. we need to do a lot more to tackle pollution from road run—off. to be frank, we're not doing much at all at the moment, so we can perhaps put a levy

on tyres so when you buy a tyre a bit of money goes into treatment systems. or we could put a stormwater utility levy alongside your council tax, so that we all pay to a pot of money to pay for the treatments. we did talk to the government, who told us that clearing up rivers is an urgent priority, but they admitted that more work needs to be done. richard westcott, bbc news, on the river nene — or nen — in northamptonshire. there's concern that volunteers who took part in the clinical trails for the covid vaccine novavax could be unable to travel abroad as restrictions ease and more countries are added to the green list. while the jab was shown to be highly effective in protecting against the virus, it's not currently included in so—called vaccine passports. gill dummigan has this report. hi, love! hi, mum. hiya, how are you doing? jo wiggins' daughter and two small grandchildren live abroad.

in two days' time, she should be meeting them in france for the first time in a year, but she's not. i'm upset. it's a long, long time since we've seen them. they're just little children, and i love them to bits, like any grandmother does. and i'm angry, really, because i volunteered for something in good faith, and now i am seriously disadvantaged. that something was the clinical trial for novavax. 15,000 people in the uk did the same last autumn, keen to help the global race for a vaccine against covid at a time when there were very few. the trials found novavax to be highly effective, but the company hasn't yet finished their licensing process in the uk and the eu, and that means people who are double—jabbed with novavax don't get the same recognition as people who've had other vaccines through the normal nhs programme. france currently only accepts vaccines already licensed for use there. the nhs app is being internationally accepted as proof in many countries, but it's not on there either. jo is not impressed,

and neither�*s her daughter. we've all been really proud of her that she took part in this, that she did it without any questions, she just wanted to help. and now it feels like she's being punished, and it's just really unfair. in a statement to us, the government said they'll take any action available to make sure trial volunteers don't lose out. everyone can currently get a confirmation letter, and they're urgently working to upgrade the nhs app to allow those trial vaccines to be registered. novavax says they're working with all agencies to see the app updated by the end of the month. i don't regret taking part. it was the right thing to do at the time. i regret the way that we've been treated since. take care, i'll let you get back to work. gill dummigan, bbc news. lots of love, sweetheart, lots of love. bye, mum. bye. a couple have celebrated their marriage in a bristol hospital, so their child, who has a serious illness, could be

a bridesmaid at their ceremony. karim and louise tied the knot earlier than they'd originally planned to make sure their six—month—old daughter layla could be involved. alex howick has been speaking to them. even before layla was born, karim and louise dreamed of having their daughter at their wedding as their bridesmaid. when we got engaged, i was pregnant. it just felt really important to do it. it's not nice to think about, but the idea that she might not have been there if we waited too long, we didn't want to take that risk, really. so, once they'd done the legal bit down the road at bristol register office, staff at the bristol royal hospital for children created this for them. it took my breath away when i went in. the nurses and playteam got layla ready into her little dress. 0ur aisle, i suppose, if you want to call it that, was the hospital ward.

it was an unforgettable day. it was really good. yeah, we were just expecting, like, the chaplain to come down and do a blessing at the bedside with layla. we weren't expecting what actually happened. yeah, it was really special. leila has something called charge syndrome has spentjust ten days at home since she was born on christmas day. it is really rare. and it's an acronym that stands for a lot of the things that can go wrong. and i won't list them out, but essentially it can affect everything in the body — you know, it can affect the heart, the eyes, the hearing, a lot of the senses. doctors have told them that you don't know what life's going to be like for leyla and the level of independence she will experience, but karim and louise say the hospital staff have already given them one of the most memorable days of their lives. alex howick, bbc news, bristol. a quadriplegic man who is paralysed from the shoulders down has

made his uk racing debut at the goodwood festival of speed. former professional racing driver sam schmidt was severely injured in a crash 21 years ago. now, through advances in technology, he is able to drive a car by moving his head to steer and using his breath to accelerate and break, reaching speeds of up to 200mph. he explained how it all works. i never would've thought i would've driven ever before, let alone, you know, 200 mph. i have no use of anything below the shoulders. i really think the sky's the limit. i was sort of born into racing. ijust wanted to go to the indy 500 my entire life, so that was the goal that i set at a very young age and i was fortunate to race there and won the las vegas race in september of 1999.

and then unfortunately had my accident four months later. sam, can you look left? and right? centre? perfect. i have a straw in my mouth, and i blow to go and i suck to stop. the cameras directly in front of me, they read off the helmet movement and that's what turns it. you've just got to be really focused on where you're going, that's for sure. are you ready, sam? yeah. all right, you have control. let's put you in drive. this technology really has capability to change the world. i'm really, really excited about the future, not only the opportunities technology offer everybody, but specifically people with disabilities. part of our goal on the engineering i side has been to get it to a pointl where it's very easily - transferable into any vehicle. i mean, there's no reason right now you can't really put this _

in, like, a formulai car or a mail truck. i in the driver's seat, - the main seat of the car, there's an overtake system installed to allow whoeverl is in that driver's seat to take control in an emergency. - sitting next to him, . though, he goes fast. i think he makes it a goal to try and scare the person next- to him a little bit. i don't want him to know i get nervous, but i get i a little bit nervous. driving up the hill at goodwood is such an honour, and i've watched it a zillion times on youtube, you know, and... i guess you could say this is an epic moment because it's definitely the first time i've been to goodwood, first time i've been driving on an actual race course in the uk, so this is phenomenal. the car is much better than i am right now, but the technology and everything it has to offer, i mean... we'lljust keep going faster and faster.

this project, if it's shown me one thing, it's that you can truly do anything you put your mind to, so... ..pursue your passion. the national bulletin is up next. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker. well, the weather was a little hit—or—miss today with some heavy showers. same for tomorrow, and of course tomorrow a very big day in the world of sport. we've got wimbledon, obviously the match at wembley, and there are some showers on the cards. so, here's the forecast through the night. a weather front is approaching from the west. it is going to bring some rain to the very far west of northern ireland through the night and possibly south—western parts of england, but for many of us, it's actually a dry night with variable amounts of cloud. and the forecast for wimbledon isn't looking too bad at all. very comfortable temperatures, around the high teens or 20 degrees or so, but with increasing amounts of cloud ahead of this weather front here, which will sweep into south—western areas of the uk, bringing potentially some heavy rain at least for a time.

also showers breaking out across northern england and scotland. these could be heavy as well, but other than that, it is a mostly dry day for a lot of us with temperatures in the low 20s. now, watch this weather front. it moves gradually towards the east. it could reach the london area, wembley, by around kick—off time, so there is a chance of some rain. certainly by half—time, i think increasing amounts of cloud and the possibility of a bit of rain. here's the outlook into monday. dip in the jet stream here keeping things cool across western parts of europe. blobs of blue there indicating further showers. the showers could be heavy on monday, potentially thundery as well, particularly across some western and northern parts of the country. probably the brightest of any weather will be across more south—eastern areas on monday, and here temperatures getting up to around 21 or so. and the outlook into tuesday, fewer showers around, but we're watching this cluster of storms here very close

around the near continent. they could clip the south east of the country, but i think for most of us across western and northern areas, tuesday is looking bright at the very least, if not sunny. now, here's the outlook into midweek and towards the end of the week. we are expecting high pressure to very slowly build off the atlantic, so that will settle things down. probably a little bit of rain before that happens across some northern areas, but generally speaking, it does look as though things are on the up. that's it from me. bye— bye.

good evening. the queen has sent a message of support to the men's england football team, ahead of their euro 2020 final against italy tomorrow night. if they win, it would be their first major tournament victory since the 1966 world cup. the italian side arrived in london today while gareth southgate's squad have had their final training session at st george's park. here's natalie pirks.

how is this for a sent off? england left st george's park today bound for wembley, left st george's park today bound forwembley, head left st george's park today bound for wembley, head of the final that has captivated old and young allowed. —— and young alike. for fans, the celebrations after beating denmark went long into the night. for players, there was at least a chance to celebrate to the song that's captured the moment. # sweet caroline... midfielder declan rice is about to join a very select group of england players who've experienced a majorfinal. # so good, so good, so good... but sir geoff hurst is as giddy as the rest of us. i just think it's absolutely unbelievable. i've had a good run, 55 years. it's about time somebody else took over and won something, and i am just thrilled to bits. you are sat here just buzzing now, like you just want to go out there and win the game. i'm sat there listening to him speak and obviously how much it means to him and what he did.

honestly, i'm buzzing! bobby moore led england up to the royal box to receive . the jules rimet cup. in �*66, the queen, of course, was there to hand the trophy to sir bobby moore. tonight, she sent congratulations to gareth southgate and his team for reaching the final, and said she hopes that history will record not only your success but also the spirit, commitment and pride with which you've conducted yourselves. typically, southgate, though, hasn't yet allowed himself to think about the magnitude of the moment. what we've been thinking about is, how do we recover the players in the right way? how do we prepare tactically to play italy? the team psychologically for what's coming? so i don't think what it all means in terms of the history has really had a chance to register yet, and won't until i'm probably walking the dogs in another couple of days' time. tomorrow, wembley will be electric, pulsing to the sound

of 60,000 heartbeats. the wait is almost over. but what's one more sleep when you've waited 55 years? phil foden didn't train today, with a minorfoot injury, but all the other players are currently available to face an italian side unbeaten in 33 matches. i could tell you england have never beaten italy in a major tournament and that they haven't beaten them in a competitive match for 44 years, but this team has ripped up all the records and made their own history for gareth southgate says, despite playing six of their seven matches here at wembley, england are the underdogs and, as the old saying goes, every dog has its day. i am so glad you didn't tell us any of those things! tens of millions of england football fans will be getting ready to watch the match tomorrow night in pubs, outdoor fanzones and sitting rooms across the country. the build—up has reached fever pitch, with some fans being offered thousands of pounds for their tickets to wembley.

sarah campbell reports. # three lions on a shirt #. the choir of canterbury cathedral adding their voices to the chorus of support for england's team. in shops, hairdressers and even at number ten, it's all about the football. i think it is going to be a tight one but i think we'll do it, i think we've got it in us. it's coming home. just waiting for the big day, i can't wait. - us, three, them, one. at romford market in essex, st george has proved good for business. two for a fiver. face paints for two quid. but when it comes to wembley tickets, there is no haggling to be done. i've had a guy come up, who wanted to give... he said, "i'll give you eight grand for the four tickets." i said, "mate, no money buys these tickets. no chance. no chance, we're going." after the long wait, england have finally made it to a final, and it's at home,

here in wembley. so it's hardly surprising fans are willing to pay eye—watering sums of money to be at the game tomorrow night. we know that people are willing to pay thousands of pounds to get here tomorrow. the last thing you would want to do is take that risk and turn up here, have a duplicate ticket, and not get admission to the stadium. we would advise you go by the uefa ticket portal. the chances are very slim that you will get a ticket but there is a small chance. tomorrow will be a special day, not least for the staff here at harry kane's old school. clearly very gifted, i a talented footballer from a very early age. right from the very beginning, it was clear to see. _ has he kind of credited you with some of his...? yeah, it's all down to me, - it's all down to my management! of course, there are those, like italian chef giuseppe, who are hoping to crush england's dream. but he will have his english wife sarah to deal with if italy wins. at the end of this, one of us is going to be really, really sad.

and i want it to be you, not me. and just in case gareth southgate and the team need a little divine inspiration... come on, england! football's coming home! sarah campbell, bbc news. the latest official figures show that, in the past 24 hours, 34 deaths were reported and 32,367 new infections were recorded across the uk. it means, on average, 30,504 new cases were reported per day in the past week. more than 88,000 people received a first dose of the vaccine in the latest 24—hour period. 45.7 million people have had theirfirstjab — that's almost 87% of uk adults. almost 166,000 people have had their second dose, meaning just over 34.5 million people are fully vaccinated — that's 65.5% of adults. medical leaders are warning that people should remain cautious after restrictions are lifted in england injust

over a week's time. the academy of medical royal colleges says the nhs is "under unprecedented pressure" and that clear messaging is needed. katharine da costa is here. we're seeing high levels of infections. how are they being managed? 0xford oxford is the latest area to see its infections soaring to the highest level since the start of the pandemic, and from monday it will get extra government support for search testing and help to boost vaccine take—up. medical leaders are warning it's going to get worse before it gets better. the academy of medical royal colleges says people should still be cautious after restrictions end in england in nine days, including wearing facemasks in indoor crowded areas. the academy says the pressure on the nhs is at the level we usually see in winter, with record numbers of patients in some a&e. with patients expected to hit 50,000 a day by the 19th ofjuly there was a risk of

major staff shortages of doctors and nurses at a self—isolate every time they come into contact with somebody who has tested one trust is said to have already 500 staff of work. ministers are considering making fully vaccinated nhs staff exempt and help unions have welcomed that if there is the testing and ppe. tennis, and world number one ash barty has won her first wimbledon title. the 25—year—old australian beat the eighth seed, karolina pliskova, in three sets. joe wilson watched the action. deep breath, step forwards. two women who'd played every kind of occasion except a wimbledon final. five foot five versus six foot one — ash barty overcame karolina pliskova's height. that's tremendous. pliskova battled her own nerves, fearsome serve gone within the first set. between navratilova and king, urgent discussions in the royal box. all spectators wanted a worthy final. the second set produced the back—and—forth

tension that is tennis. pliskova at the net had to win this point, didn't she? that moment went to barty. the second set went to a tie—break. in the capacity crowd, you come to sit down — you want a reason to stand up. that's pliskova's husband. one set all. it had become a captivating final, right up until the deciding point in the third set. a private moment of triumph for ashleigh barty in front of the world. it took me a long time to verbalise the fact that i wanted to dare to dream and say i wanted to win this incredible tournament and being able to live out my dream right now with everyone here, it's made it better than i could ever have imagined. 50 years ago, another indigenous australian, the great evonne goolagong, won this title on this court. that's inspiration. i hope i made evonne proud. aww.

you did, you did. all in all, on centre court, ash barty did everyone proud. ten yea rs ten years since she won the junior title here, ash barty gave up tennis for a while, very much champion on her terms. for a while, very much champion on herterms. news for a while, very much champion on her terms. news of british success in the wheelchair doubles, another title for hewett and reid, and more success forjordanne whiley, all sharing a special wimbledon filing. desperate feeling. —— special wimbledon feeling. that's it. we're back at 10:10pm. wild swimming has grown in popularity, especially during lockdown, but swimmers may need to be cautious

about the cleanliness of england's rivers. just 16% of them are classed as meeting a good ecological standard according to the environment agency. here s our science correspondent richard westcott. you wouldn't catch me doing it, but this wild swimming group has 1000 members. today, they are taking a dip in northamptonshire's river nene — or nen, if you prefer — in the northamptonshire village of denford. how's the water? lovely. great! yeah. you sound really convincing! a bit of cold, this lot can handle, but how clean is the water? the last time this river was properly tested a couple of years ago, it was rated as poor. pollutants from farming and road traffic getting washed into the water by the rain. after a lot of heavy rain, you probably don't want to really be going swimming. yeah, i won't swim after... probably leave two or three days at least after the heavy rain because of the storm drains. i don't think we take it seriously enough, no, | and there is definitely a need

for action because as much. as we want to make it safe for the humans in here, i we also want to make safel for the animals and wildlife that's using these rivers. in fact, the environment agency admits all our rivers, lakes and streams are polluted in some way, with just 16% of them classed as good. so, that's the river where the swimmers were. now i have the sun coming out, so it's perfect. as well as farms and industry, campaigners are worried about run—off from busy roads. tiny bits of tyre rubber, metalfrom brake pads and clutches, and a group of hydrocarbons from emissions that wash off the tarmac and into rivers. we need to do a lot more to tackle pollution from road run—off. to be frank, we're not doing much at all at the moment, so we can perhaps put a levy on tyres so when you buy a tyre a bit of money goes into treatment systems. or we could put a stormwater utility levy alongside your council tax, so that we all pay to a pot of money

to pay for the treatments. we did talk to the government, who told us that clearing up rivers is an urgent priority, but they admitted that more work needs to be done. richard westcott, bbc news, on the river nene — or nen — in northamptonshire. let's not start that all over again! now on bbc news, ros atkins looks at the uk governments plan to lift covid restrictions in england. borisjohnson is not averse to taking risks, and not for the first time, he's leading the uk into new territory. and a watching world is asking, is that the best thing to do? this time, it's about covid. if we can't reopen our society in the next few weeks, when we will be helped by the arrival of summer and by the school holidays, then we must ask ourselves, when will we be able to return to normal? very soon in england, they will be no obligation to wear

a mask, no obligation to socially distance, no obligation to avoid large gatherings. and all of this is happening while the uk's infection rate looks like this, and with a certainty that numbers will rise. as we predicted in the roadmap in february, we are seeing cases rise fairly rapidly. there could be 50,000 cases detected per day by the 19th. mrjohnson's strategy raises many questions. let's work through them, starting with why you would ease restrictions at this moment. it's very unusual to basically unlock a situation and resort to having no measures in place to prevent the escalation of an infectious disease epidemic or pandemic, at a time when you have increasing numbers of cases in the country. dr mcdermott calls it "unusual." the opposition has another word for it. to throw off all protections at the same time, when the infection

rate is still going up, is reckless. but the government has an answer to this, and it lies in this graph. it shows rates of hospitalisation during the second wave — before the vaccine — and right now, with many people vaccinated. as you can see, hospitalisation rates are far lower, as the government points out. 0ur vaccines are building a wall of protection against hospitalisation, and jab byjab, brick by brick, that wall is getting higher. ok, but if the vaccine is radically reducing hospitalisations, and if 60% of adults are fully vaccinated, the next question is, why not finish the job first? we're about three quarters of the way through our vaccination programme. i would like to finish it before we go all the way to opening. on this point, boris johnson has this message. to those who say we should delay again, the alternative to that is to open up in winter, when the virus will have an advantage, or not at all this year.