Good Afternoon And Welcome to bbc news. At least 8 people have died after a Mountain Cable Car plunged to the ground in northern italy. Two children have been airlifted to hospital in turin. The Cable Car takes people from the town of stresa, on Lake Maggiore, up almost a mile above Sea Level to the top of the mottarone mountain. Luca gemelli is a Travel Agent based in stresa, and says both the town and the wider region are very popular with tourists. Lake maggiore is in the northern part of italy and is one of the big lakes in the northern part of italy. Quite popular with tourists, especially during the spring and summer. And the Cable Car that we have been talking about where this accident happened, it is a popular destination for people, i assume . It is a very popular destination. Before covid it used to carry approximately 100,000 passengers every year. Where does it go from and to . Cos it is quite high at The End . It goes from basically one of the suburbs of stresa, to the top of a Mountain A500 Feet above Sea Level, to a particular viewpoint. Because obviously you can dominate quite a few lakes and a good view of the alps from there. How busy is Lake Maggiore at this point, because covid has meant that fewer people have been travelling . Obviously not as busy as it is normally in may. During the weekend is quite busy with people doing trips for the day from the big cities like Milan And Turin which are only an hour and a half away from stresa. Is it likely to be local people there at the moment . This is very difficult to say, but what we can say at the moment is that the majority of tourists and visitors are italian, actually, on the lake, because of the covid restrictions. We are waiting to hear exact details of how many people have been killed and injured and how this happened. But it will be a desperate shock and an immense cause of upset for people there. Definitely. It is a major upset for people in stresa, because nothing has ever happened of this type before and it is also surprising because the Cable Car went through general revision that costed over 4 Million eurosjust four years ago. This is the scene live. We will be speaking to our correspondent shortly in rome for the latest on that accident. The Pfizer And Astrazeneca vaccines are effective against the indian variant of Coronavirus A new study has found. Health officials have urged people to take up the offer of a second dose which experts believe makes both vaccines just as effective as they are against the older kent variant. The research from public Health England suggests the Pfizer Vaccine provides 88 protection after the second dose. However Health Experts say social distancing rules, facemasks and other Coronavirus Prevention measures must still be observed to stop the spread of the indian and other variants. Heres 0ur Science Correspondent pallab ghosh. In rochdale in greater manchester, people are actively coming forward to receive their vaccinations. The latest research shows that the jabs are effective in reducing the chances of infection from the variant that came from india, and experts think that the vaccines are also stopping serious illness. Of the 3,000 or so identified cases of the variant, there have only been 31 Hospital Admissions and just six deaths. Fortunately, we are not seeing much, so this is a good thing but of course it means the data will come through more slowly. Were watching that very carefully, so the data, theres a technical briefing the public can access on the gov. Uk website which shows that up to the 19th Of May we had only had six deaths. They are obviously very sad for those individuals, but the vast majority of these are people who had not been vaccinated. Research shows that the first dose of the Pfizer Or Astrazeneca jab is 33 effective at stopping infection against the variant that came from india, but not as good as they were against the older kent strain. But the second dose closes that gap almost completely. The lower figure for astrazeneca is because there were more older people in that group, and its thought that its just as effective as the pfizerjab. Its important, though, that people continue to come forward for vaccination and to take their second jab. Experts believe that there will be a rise in cases as a result of recently allowing people to mix indoors. There is a bit of a race going on between the Vaccine Programme and the relaxation of restrictions and so on, and we will see more cases over the coming weeks as a result of that. So theres still a need to be cautious. Scientists expect to have a clearer idea of how quickly the variant from India Spreads in the coming weeks, which in turn will determine whether all legal restrictions can be lifted onjune the 21st. But the news that vaccines are effective against it is a big boost to those wanting to get back to a more normal life. Pallab ghosh, bbc news. The Home Secretary Priti patel has denied claims made by the former downing Street Adviser Dominic Cummings, that the government pursued a strategy of Herd Immunity during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. In a series of tweets last Night Mr cummings described the governments handling of the crisis as a disaster, and claimed that lives and money were needlessly lost. 0ur Political correspondent Greg Dawson told me mr cummings is due to face questions on the issue from mps on wednesday. He of course was the Prime Ministers Chief Adviser at that time. Now, via a series of tweets hes giving an indication of what hes going to tell those mps. He is making the claim that the governments official plan was this policy of Herd Immunity via infection, effectively letting the virus spread throughout the population to boost immunity levels. He says the government only abandoned that idea when it was warned by scientists of the consequences. Now mr cummings in his tweets describes those consequences as hundreds of thousands of people choking to death. Today the government have flatly denied those claims, the Home Secretary Priti patel was on the Andrew Marr Show earlier this morning and she says the policy was about saving lives and protecting the nhs. Can you now admit as government that Herd Immunity was the policy until march . Not at all, no. Absolutely not. Our policy from the outset, andrew, the policy and the strategy. Then why is Dominic Cummings telling us that is true . Well, i Cant Speak for mr cummings and one individual. So if you say its not true, he said it was on all the graphs, all the paperwork in those crucial meetings. Presumably, therefore, he cannot be bringing hard evidence of this, if you say its not true . Im not going to comment on what mr cummings is going to say, also what is being speculated about right now. Priti patel, speaking to Andrew Marr. But this isnt just anybody coming forward with these claims, is it . No, this is a man who was in the room when these decisions were being made at the start of the pandemic. And dont forget, before he left Downing Street last november, Dominic Cummings was a man whose opinionsjohnson greatly. Valued greatly. And tweet by tweet over the last 2a hours, he has been revealing those opinions and they are very damning and very critical of the Prime Minister and of this government. Just quickly, we are expecting to see Dominic Cummings appear before two select committees this week as well . Yes, hes going to appear before a Joint Committee of the Science And Health committees where hell be asked his opinions on what happened in those early stages in february and march, leading up to the first lockdown and then throughout the summer. Scotlands Health Secretary says covid restrictions in glasgow could be eased if the number of people in Intensive Care does not go up. Glasgow is the only part of scotland still in level three, and some businesses have criticised the decision to keep it under stricter measures. Humza yousaf told the bbc ministers want to ease restrictions as soon as possible. He hopes after this Week Itll become clear whether case numbers have led to a rise in icu patients in the city. Lets return to the accident in Lake Maggiore in which a number of people have been killed after a Cable Car fell to the ground. Lets speak to our correspondent in rome, mark lowen. What is the latest your heating . The latest is what is the latest your heating . Tie latest is that at what is the latest your heating . Tij latest is that at least 12 people have now been confirmed dead in this tragedy. There are two young children who are seriously injured, they have been airlifted to hospital include end. It happened after a Cable Car was reaching The End of its 1500 metre claim from Lake Maggiore to the Italian Alps and broke away and plunged to the ground. The images from the scene showed the Cable Car was virtually destroyed, and it was extreme a difficult for Rescue Workers to get to the scene, because it is a very wooded area and very high as well. One of the rescue vehicles actually overturned on route but there were no injuries. We understand that there were 15 people On Board a Cable Car, so we are waiting to hear what is the fate cut whether or not the number of 12 dead increases further. , , the number of 12 dead increases further. , , the number of 12 dead increases further. ,. , the number of 12 dead increases further. , ,. , further. How busy is stresa and Lake Mac Uiore further. How busy is stresa and Lake Maggiore generally further. How busy is stresa and Lake Maggiore generally at further. How busy is stresa and Lake Maggiore generally at the further. How busy is stresa and Lake Maggiore generally at the Moment L Maggiore generally at the moment because of covid . The maggiore generally at the moment because of covid . Because of covid . The Cable Car itself had only because of covid . The Cable Car itself had only recently because of covid . The Cable Carl itself had only recently reopened from the second lockdown of the pandemic. It opens on the 24th of april. It was a Cable Car that. Between 2014 and 2016 for Restoration Work that cost over 4 Million euros it was deemed to be safe and various equipment was put On Board to check the Structure And Everything to be safe and reopened in 2016. It is, as you say, a very beautiful part of the country. From going up to the swiss border, very popular in summer and winter. And italy is slowly reopening to tourists. We do not know the nationalities of those On Board. The Home Secretary Priti patel says the bbc� s reputation has been compromised following lord dysons report into Howjournalist Martin Bashir obtained his interview with Princess Diana for panorama in 1995. She said the bbc� s Governance And Accountability could be strengthened during the renewal of its royal charter. Meanwhile speaking to the Sunday Times Mr Bashir has said he never wanted to harm diana and that to shoulder him with the responsibility for the royalfamily� s relationship with the media is unreasonable and unfair. Tim muffett reports. The fallout from the publication of lord dysons report continues. It concluded that Martin Bashir had used deceitful behaviour to secure his 1995 interview with diana, princess of wales. Speaking to todays Sunday Times, the former Bbc Journalist tells Prince William and Prince Harry that he is deeply sorry about what happened. He acknowledges again that forging Bank Statements which were shown to dianas brother, earl spencer, was wrong. But he dismisses the duke of cambridges claim that he fuelled Princess Dianas paranoia or any suggestion that his interview was somehow linked to dianas death. Good morning, let me start with the bbc. Speaking to Andrew Marr this morning, the Home Secretary Priti patel stressed how harmful she felt this episode was to the bbc. Great harm, the reputation of the bbc has been damaged. Lessons will have to be learned, no question about that, and also there will be work on regaining trust and confidence. Speaking on the same programme, dame esther rantzen, who knew Princess Diana, said she disagreed with Earl Spencers claim that there was a direct link between the interview and Princess Dianas subsequent divorce and death. They were separated at the time of the interview, Prince Charles and she were, and i think they had made Each Other very, very unhappy. Yesterday, former Bbc Director general Tony Hall stepped down as chairman of the national gallery. In 1996, he had led an internal Bbc Inquiry into the Panorama Interview which concluded that Martin Bashir was honest and honourable. The Dyson Report found this inquiry to be woefully ineffective. In 2016 Martin Bashir was rehired by the bbc as a religious Affairs Correspondent and the following year he was promoted to become religion editor. There are now renewed calls for those appointments to be investigated more thoroughly. Scrutiny of the bbc� s handling of this affair shows little sign of easing. Tim muffett, bbc news. The headlines on bbc news. At least 12 people have died after a Mountain Cable Car plunged to the ground in northern italy. Two doses of the main covid vaccines used in the uk are found to be highly effective against the indian variant of the virus. Government ministers deny claims, by the former downing Street Adviser Dominic Cummings, that they pursued a policy of Herd Immunity in dealing with the coronavirus in the early part of last year. Sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, heres austin. Were less than an hour away from the final day of the Premier League season. Manchester city may already be champions but theres still lots to be decided. Its a crucial afternoon for three teams in particular. Chelsea, Liverpool And Leicester theyre all vying for the final two Champions League places. But as Ben Croucher reports, three into two just doesnt go. Phones at the ready, this is the day for constant communication and careful calculation. Where a Goal Hundreds of miles away can be as priceless as one right in front of you. Chelsea, Liverpool And Leicester are all chasing Champions League football next season, but three into two doesnt go. Its nice if you play for stuff in The End. Keeps you on the edge, brings out the best in you and you can absolutely feel the excitement. We are full of optimism, positivity, whatever you want, because we are really excited, if we have to play that game now and we have no chance for anything anymore, then its just intense. But its really exciting as well. If we arrive on 69 pointsj at The End of the season and somehow dont make it to the Champions League i then it has been really, really misfortunate. Thats because leicester have spent the whole season in the top four until they lost to chelsea on tuesday. It means that Chelsea And Liverpool have their fate in their own hands this afternoon. There are a whole load of permutations that could see any of them miss out. If, though, chelsea fail to win and slip to fifth, they can still qualify for the Champions League by beating Manchester City in this seasons final next weekend. Elsewhere, theres a new European Competition that anybody from West Ham in sixth down to leeds in tenth could qualify for. Theres a personal prize up for grabs too. Commentator and salah Scores Mo Salah and Harry Kane are vying for the golden boot. Well bid a fond farewell to some favourites. Therell be no aguero moment, hell still get his hands on the trophy one last time, in front of fans as well. Behind, itll be a little more nerve racking. Wherever youre watching, however youre following, dont take your eyes or ears off this one. Ben croucher, bbc news. Staying with football. Morecambe have booked their place at wembley for the League Two play off final. The shrimps Beat Tranmere 3 2 on aggregate over their two legs. Morecambe were 2 1 ahead after the first leg and they got off to the perfect start after Aaron Wildig put them ahead in the first ten minutes. Tranmere did get a Goal Back but it wasnt enough to stop morecambe reaching their first play off final. Theyll Face Forest green rovers or Newport County at wembley. Britains Cameron Norrie has been beaten in the final of the lyon 0pen. The british number two was beaten in straight sets by second seed stefanos tsitsipas. Thats the greeks second Atp Title of the season. Norries been in brilliant form on clay so far. He reached the final of the Estoril 0pen earlier this month. But tsitsipas was just too good this afternoon taking the match 6 3, 6 3. And finally some sad news to bring you this afternoon. Former european and Commonwealth Marathon Champion Ron Hill has died at the age of 82. He represented great britain at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and four years later in munich. He became the first britain to win the Boston Marathon in 1970 and broke the course record. He went onto Win Commonwealth Gold in the same year. Thats all the sport for now. Thousands of people have fled their homes in the Democratic Republic Of Congo after a large volcano erupted. At least five people died in the rush to get out as the Lava Flow from Mount Nyiragongo stopped just short of the city Of Goma. Sima kotecha reports. Thick lava illuminating the jet black sky. Rivers of It Cascading across the surrounding areas, some engulfing motorways and even setting homes alight. Many thousands of residents from Nearby Goma carried mattresses as they fled the city in panic. Translation its something we have never seen before. We are all shaken. Translation the volcano was erupting and the population Of Goma are really worried. Its a really unusual situation. It is Mount Nyiragongos first eruption in almost 20 years. One of the worlds most active volcanoes and one of its most dangerous. 250 people were killed last time. Hours after the eruption, the government urged residents to evacuate. Thousands hurriedly crossed the border into neighbouring rwanda. Today the lava stopped. Some returned home to digest the damage. Yes, what ive seen now with the volcano has gone around and goma has woken up to better news than last night. We have seen that the lava stopped flowing around 3am or 4am last night. There are concerns that a cut in funding meant the Volcano Wasnt monitored properly, and now more questions about what will change to prevent an even deadlier eruption. Sima kotecha, bbc news. Some of chinas top long distance runners are believed to be among 21 athletes who died in extreme weather during a 100 kilometre race. The competitors were hit by Plummeting Temperatures Freezing Rain and gales on a mountainous course in gansu province. Aru na iyengar reports. One of the deadliest incidents in chinese sporting history, the race crosses complex terrain making Search And Rescue operations more difficult. Over 20 competitors in the 100 Kilometre Mountain Ultramarathon have died and others are receiving treatment in hospital. 1,200 rescuers were sent to search for the missing runners. Those who died are thought to have suffered from hypothermia. Officials have apologised, but there is anger that no one seemed to predict the bad weather. Translation as organisers of the event, we feel deeply guilty and take full responsibility for these deaths. We express our deepest condolences to the victims, the injured and all theirfamilies. One of those missing was described as one of the worlds best endurance athletes. The Cross Country Race started off in good weather on saturday afternoon, but that quickly changed to hail, Freezing Rain and high winds at a high Altitude Section of the race. 20 kilometres into the race things changed dramatically. After calls for help and reports of missing runners, the race was called off. A ceasefire between Israel And Hamas has continued to hold for a third day. The truce brought to an end 11 days of violence, in which at least 260 people were killed vast majority of them palestinians. Efforts are now focusing on rebuilding gaza. Laura trevelyan has more from jerusalem the ceasefire is now in its third day. A lot of intensive behind the Scenes Diplomacy to try and shore up the ceasefire. An egyptian delegation was in the West Bank yesterday. You have the us Secretary Of State coming to the region next week. But the immediate focus is on the reconstruction of gaza, and on the condition of people there, so for more on that lets go now to the medical coordinator, here injerusalem. Tell us, On Top of the immediate needs in gaza, are you also seeing an increase in coronavirus cases there, because you could not get vaccines in for 11 days during the conflict . The Vaccination Roll Out has been stalled in gaza and generally in palestine prior to this escalation in violence, so less than 2 of the population are vaccinated, unfortunately. Gaza was coming to The End of its second wave of covid when this started. They still were having 300 cases a day. Really, the risk now, given that at one point there were 100,000 internally displaced people congregating outside of their homes, and the majority of those were in conditions in schools with no sanitation to cope with that volume of people. The risk is that we will see early in the near future a third wave of coronavirus coming On Top of all the infrastructure issues and the Trauma Cases that the medical agencies and Ministry Of Health are trying to manage. Additionally, the testing centre, as you may be aware, was damaged. Therefore there is very limited capacity for testing for Coronavirus At the moment. And the Positivity Rate is well over 40 . So it is quite concerning. What about the medical needs of people in gaza that you are treating resulting from that 11 Day Conflict . As you alluded to, there is over 1500 injuries from this conflict, and the mortality, over 250 people being identified unfortunately dead under the rubble on a daily basis still. So the burden is quite significant. The health infrastructure, especially due to the security issues, the movement of medical staff and patients, during the hostilities and even now, much of the infrastructure in terms of roads, Water And Sanitation has been damaged, limiting Peoples Ability to attend medical facilities. Six hospitals have been damaged and a number of clinics, i think 11 clinics have been damaged, including our own, meaning that structural Integrity Testing has to occur and the capacity of the medical agencies in gaza to respond to this burden have been limited. We also have the issue of not being able to get access to gaza. We have a team of clinical Staff Waiting to go in and relieve our staff on the ground. Laura trevelyan speaking to Natalie Thurtle from medecins sans frontieres. Ten people have been arrested during protests outside mcdonalds depots. Yesterday, Animal Rebellion Protesters formed blockades at four Distribution Centres to stop deliveries to the fast food chains 1,300 uk outlets. The protesters say they want mcdonalds to sell less meat to help tackle climate change. Millions tuned in globally to watch italy win this Years Eurovision Song contest with a punchy rock song. For only the second time in eurovision history, the Uk Entrant failed to get a single point. Anna holligan reports. He sings in italian. Maneskin, the italian rockers, won the audience over with their catchy anthem, quiet and good. Its 31 years since the italians last tasted victory at the worlds biggest televised singing competition. Were so honoured and happy and we really want to thank everyone who supported us. This is unbelievable. We really didnt expect it and were so happy, yeah. Out of the embers. You and i are gonna light up the room. From the winners to james newman. Light up the room . Who secured his place in history with nul points. This aint The End, no. Its the birth of a new age. For the first time in a long time, the fans were allowed to remove their face masks and forget about social distancing inside. She sings in russian. To sing and dance along to a quintessentially eurovision range. She sings in ukrainian. Watching the contest in the stadium or on screen, eurovision� s taste of togetherness offered some escapism from the virus thats dominated our lives for so long. Here in the dark inside a hole in my heart. Many hope the way in which this event has been made possible could help to make live entertainment a reality around the world once again. Anna holligan, bbc news, rotterdam. The Lead Singer of the winning italian Group Maneskin has said he will undergo a voluntary Drugs Test when he returns home. Eurovision has released a statement in which it says it is aware of a Video Clip of the winners in The Green Room last night. The band have strongly refuted the allegations of Drug Use and Damiano David will take a voluntary Drug Test after arriving home. Now its time for a look at the weather with nick miller. Yet more Rain Spreading East across the uk today. Well eventually reach those easternmost areas. A largely dry day as we get onto the evening. Within the area of rain, heavy bursts. Clearing from Northern Ireland to sunny spells and scattered showers, parts of wales and south West England Brightening Up and south West England Brightening Up as we get into the evening. Another rather cool day. Quite a windy day, strengthening southerlies along the South Coast of england and wales, may cost around 50 mph in some spots. Ray including what it is overnight, still in northern