good afternoon. the government is to ease restrictions on travel abroad which were introduced to help to control coronavirus. the advice to avoid all but essential travel is being relaxed

from the 6th ofjuly. it's expected british holidaymakers will be able to head to popular destinations like spain, italy, france and greece without having to spend 1a days in quarantine when they return. details will be announced next week, but it's likely visitors to portugal and sweden will have self—isolate when they get home. tom burridge reports. after a long lockdown, some people are desperate for a holiday abroad. we just want to get away from the familiarity of home — you know, being locked up together, as much as i love my family dearly! like others, john is relieved that he and his family won't have to quarantine once they travel back from their holiday in spain. the self—isolation would be a real barrier to going away because of the timing of our holiday. when we get back, we haven't got 1a days before our little ones need to go back to school.

you know, they've missed out so much, we can't have them missing out on any more. a series of travel corridors are planned from july 6th. it will mean that people from low—risk countries, categorised as either green or orange, like france, spain, italy, germany, the netherlands, greece, turkey, norway and finland, will not have to self—isolate after they travel. a final list will be confirmed next week. portugal and sweden are expected to be given a red rating because of concerns about infection rates. anyone travelling in from there and much of the rest of the world will still be subject to the quarantine rules. the republic of ireland has always been exempt. but the uk is behind most european countries. governments abroad are monitoring the prevalence of the virus here too. the way things are

now, the health situation has to continue to be on the same track that it continue to be on the same track thatitis continue to be on the same track that it is now, but then we can certainly lift the restrictions in the next few days or two to three weeks. we believe it can be safe to operate without the need for quarantine. we really need to move quickly to establish some safe corridors, and we're not talking about throwing it open to the entire world, but where it's safe to operate we fundamentally believe that we are also safe to operate and we need to do that quickly. we will now begin boarding by seat rows... row—by—row boarding this summer should be a more orderly affair. there will be new rules on board. but with quarantine removed for many destinations, travel companies hope they can land more bookings. tom burridge, bbc news. our political correspondent nick eardleyjoins me. these are important changes, but some last minute advice coming from

the scottish government. this process hasn't been particularly straightforward. when the quarantine was announced, there was criticism it hadn't been done earlier, criticism that it applied to all countries when incidents of the disease were falling in sum, and now just three weeks after it was introduced, a large part of it seems to be on the way out. but the government does now hope that it has a sustainable compromise by ranking countries based on things like the prevalence of the disease, the development of data and things like that. we need to remember that travel corridors are slightly different to removing quarantine restrictions. they need to be agreed with other countries before they can be brought in, and it is worth pointing out that the scottish government says that under public health legislation, it has its own powers over quarantine, and it hasn't made its mind up if it is going to do the same thing yet. so it is possible that different steps could be taken in different parts of the uk. but ultimately this is part

of the uk government is trying to open up the economy, trying to find that new normal. nick eardley, thank you. an officer from police scotland, stabbed in glasgow yesterday, has been praised for his bravery. constable david whyte is in a stable condition in hospital. he was one of six men injured in yesterday's knife attack, in a hotel housing asylum seekers. the suspect was shot dead by armed police. our correspondent graham stewart joins us from there. graham? well, shaun, an eyewitness living in the hotel has told the bbc that the attacker warned him that he planned to hurt people the day before. he said, i want to attack them, they are against me, they hate me. the eyewitness said he then complained to hotel reception. police have not released any further details as to the identity of the attacker, who was shot dead by armed officers. pc david whyte, 42, was

stabbed in the incident. he is now ina stabbed in the incident. he is now in a stable condition in hospital. five other people were injured, three of them were asylum seeker staying in the hotel, two of them we re staying in the hotel, two of them were hotel staff. all of them remain in hospital. one of them is in a critical but stable condition. and there have been long—standing concerns among asylum groups in the city about the alleged treatment of asylu m city about the alleged treatment of asylum seekers, who were taken out of their homes and into these hotels where it's claimed they've been left without adequate support and have been badly treated. graham stewart in glasgow, thank you very much. a new government is being formed in ireland after two parties which have dominated politics for decades — fine gael and fianna fail — agreed to enter a coalition with the green party. the leader of fianna fail, micheal martin, is set to be formally elected taoiseach by members of the dail. our ireland correspondent chris paige reports. after more than 30 years in politics, micheal martin has reached the pinnacle. he's taking over as prime minister

as the result of an unprecedented coalition deal. the irish parliament is meeting in socially distanced format, away from its usual venue, to install the new government. mrmartin, who is the leader of fianna fail, was voted into thejob by fine gael, which is the party of the outgoing taoiseach, leo varadkar. this is a historic occasion. i believe civil war politics ended a long time ago in our country, but today civil war politics ends in our parliament. two great parties, fianna fail and fine gael, coming together with another great party, the green party, to offer what this country needs. fianna fail and fine gael have dominated governments in dublin for almost a century, but never before have they gone into coalition with each other. they grew out of the two sides in the irish civil war in the 1920s, and the historical rivalry between them has been fierce. broadly speaking, they are both parties of the political centre, though fine gael has tended to be slightly to the right of fianna fail. their combined electoral

strength has dropped in the last decade. in another big change, sinn fein, which is in government in northern ireland, will now lead the opposition in dublin micheal martin and his ministers will face challenges none of their predecessors had. as well as the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, there's also the trade negotiations between the eu and ireland's nearest neighbour, the uk. chris paige, bbc news, dublin. and we have just heard that micheal martin has been formally elected taoiseach. despite imposing a strict lockdown across the country in march, india has passed a grim milestone in the covid—i9 pandemic. infections have surge in cities, so the number of people infected has passed half a million. yesterday, more than 18,000 new cases were declared — the highest daily total so far. more than 15,000 people are known to have died during the pandemic, but many fear the actual count is far higher. police have broken up several more illegal public gatherings overnight.

in liverpool thousands gathered for a second night to celebrate liverpool football club's premier league title win, despite being being told to stay at home. firefighters put out a small fire at the landmark liver building. in london police were called to break up street parties, including one that moved between several locations including maida vale. pregnant women from black, asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are to receive more support, after research highlighted they're at a greater risk from covid—i9. the nhs has written to all maternity units in england calling on them to offer tailored support — such as highlighting the benefits of vitamin d supplements. our health correspondent lauren moss reports. keturah and her partner have just welcomed baby uriah into the world. but being pregnant during the pandemic was stressful, especially with black, asian and ethnic minority women found to be more at risk from coronavirus. when lockdown started, it started to be just over 70s

and vulnerable people with certain underlying conditions. and then they added pregnant women to the list so i was like, ok, that is when the anxiety kicked in. and then we're four times more likely to pass with it. so it was not fun, to be honest. it was really scary. because you're just thinking, please, don't let it, basically, hit our doorstep. i can see that you're 16 weeks pregnant... here at homerton university hospital in hackney some consultations and midwife catch—ups are done remotely, to reduce the time women need to spend in hospital. maternity units in england have been given a four—point plan to ensure there's greater support for women. they'll advise taking vitamin d and data will be collected on other risk factors, such as health and living conditions. overcoming language barriers is also important. these women are high—risk. and if you can't talk to them, how is that woman going to be able to highlight what her concerns are — if she's not feeling well, how will she going to be able to let you know that? and actually the use of gestures isjust not good enough.

jazpreet is 33 weeks into her pregnancy. she says she's been well supported but has had concerns. how are you feeling in yourself? physically i am totally fine. i think there's definitely periods of anxiety, just going into the hospital for appointments, at times so i can completely sympathise with anyone who is having to go through that as well. a study which looked at more than 400 pregnant women admitted to hospital between april and march with coronavirus found that more than half are from a black, asian or minority ethnic background. it's hoped the four steps that all trusts in england are being asked to take will reduce the risk of covid to women and their babies. we have a moral imperative to respond to the data. the letter that's going out to maternity services now, during the pandemic, is really encouraging more vigilance, more diligence, because these data are startling. the pandemic has shone a light on health disparities.

the priority now is to make sure women who have any concerns are able to get the support they need. lauren moss, bbc news. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. the next news on bbc one is at ten to five. bye for now. hello. you're watching the bbc news channel with shaun ley. sport, and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine downes. good afternoon. liverpool have condemned the behaviour of some fans who gathered together in the city last night to celebrate their premier league title win. several thousand were at the city's waterfront. it was the second night in a row that fans had gathered. flares were lit, and there was

a small fire at the liver building. in a joint statement with the police and the local council, liverpool fc criticised the fans who ignored social distancing guidelines, calling their behaviour "wholly unacceptable". the club say that they will organise a victory parade when it's safe to do so. meanwhile, manchester city's kevin de bruyne has congratulated liverpool on their title win, and acknowledged that his side were second best this season. but de bruyne says that, despite their disappontment, there's still plenty for them to achieve. we know how hard it is to win the league and to repeated, and you need to be constantly really good and the last few years sure that you almost have to be perfect to win the league with the amount of points that is happening, and they were, and we we re happening, and they were, and we were not, so it is no issue to say that. there's one game in the premier league today. aston villa in desparate need of points.

they're playing wolves right now and time is ticking for them — half time at villa park and it's still goalless. villa are second from bottom with six games left after this one, but a win would see them move a couple of places above the drop zone. it is 0-0 it is 0—0 at the moment. the fa cup is back today too. just one game, it's norwich against manchester united and it's live on bbc one at 5:10 this evening. in the championship there's already been a goalfor charlton — they lead qpr1—0. no scores anywhere else at the moment. big game at elland road later, leeds can go back top of the table if they beat fourth placed fulham. we will keep you up—to—date with all that action across the day. lewis hamilton has said bernie ecclestone's comments that black people were often more racist than white people are ignorant and uneducated. he wrote on social media...

"it makes complete sense to me now that nothing was said or done to make our sport more diverse or to address the racial abuse i received throughout my career." formula 1 said in a statement ecclestone left the sport in 2017 and that his comments had no place in sport, or society as a whole. saturdays in the summer normally mean club cricket around england, but that's still not possible. test cricket, though, will go ahead in july, with england hosting three tests against the west indies in these so—called bio bubbles in southampton and manchester. the players are continuing their preparations on the south coast, but could be without captain joe root at some point. he's awaiting the birth of his second child, but he says his vice captain ben stokes would be more than capable of stepping up. he is a natural leader. you look at how he speaks to the group, the way he holds himself on the field, the way he leads from the front with his performances, the way he trains. everyone watches what he does and they want to copy him, to emulate him. when he speaks, people listen — another great trait to have, i suppose.

he is a very good thinker about cricket. there's lots more on the bbc sport website and app — including from golf‘s travellers championship in the us. rory mcilroy‘s tied for fourth at the moment, as he tries to win his first tournament of the year. andy murray taking on dan evans in the battle of the brits. that is what i am going to settle down in front of this afternoon. that's all the sport for now. the us has recorded an all—time daily high of 40,000 coronavirus infections, according to figures from johns hopkins university. the white house coronavirus task force warned young people that their behaviour posed a risk to older people who are more vulnerable. 866,000 people aged between 18 and 44 have coronavirus. that's 200,000 more than the next age range. and four times more than those over 75, who are among the most vulnerable.

the leading government advisor — dr anthony fauci — said the overwhelming majority of people being infected were the young, who are more likely to be socialising, and in crowds. two of the country's biggest states — texas and florida — have reimposed some lockdown restrictions, with the governor of texas ordering all bars to close. our north america correspondent david willis reports. florida's decision to relax restrictions brought sun—worshippers flocking back to the beach. but just a few weeks later, the coronavirus has come surging back with a vengeance. nearly 9,000 new cases were reported in the sunshine state in the space ofjust 2a hours, a record. hospitals in some parts of the country now fear they could be overwhelmed, and it's no longer mainly elderly patients that they are dealing with. we are seeing more younger patients than older patients. the older patients tend to be sicker, so we are seeing more

younger patients who are getting admitted to the hospital, and that's a trend that is new. call it quarantine fatigue. young people in some parts of the country, bored after weeks indoors, are starting to socialise. understandably, no blame there. understandably. but the thing that you really need to realise is that when you do that, you are part of a process. so, if you get infected, you will infect someone else who clearly will infect someone else. we know that happens. closed again. in texas, another hotspot, bars that had onlyjust reopened are shutting their doors once more, and sending back their beer. the staggering spike in daily infections has put the white house on the defensive. the trump administration claims to have flattened the curve, but the vice president conceded that infections are on the rise in 16

states, and he seemed uneasy. as we see new cases rising, and we're tracking them very carefully, there may be a tendency among the american people to think that we are back to that place that we were two months ago. that we're in a time of great losses and great hardship on the american people. the reality is we're in a much better place. medical experts are more cautious, however. they warn that, if the current outbreak isn't contained quickly, it could spread to states that are doing better, rendering the sacrifices of the last few months invalid. david willis, bbc news. president trump has signed an executive order protecting us statues and monuments, after some were targeted by anti—racism protestors. in a tweet on friday, the president called for "long prison terms" for what he described as "lawless acts against our great country!" demonstrators tried to pull down a statue of one

of his predecessors, andrewjackson, outside the white house earlier this week. scott lucas — a professor of american studies — says jackson's statue has been a target of anti—racism protestors because of his links to slavery. andrewjackson, who was president of the united states in the 1830s, was a strong supporter of slavery. he also was notorious because of the mass killing of native americans. he was the general who effectively led to native americans being expelled from areas like florida and the south—east of the united states. and so he is a target for people of colour because of that very chequered record, even as he has been a hero to some american southerners for almost 200 years now. it is interesting because there have been some other situations. i think protesters succeeded in taking down the statue of general albert pike, a confederate general, injudiciary square,

and there had obviously been criticism of the black lives matter protests, some where targets of monuments have been involved, and the president spoke out strongly, but an executive order adds weight to this. let's be honest here — this is a triple distraction. first, it is a distraction from the issues raised by the anti—racism marches, which have largely been peaceful and were supported by more than 80% of americans. secondly, it is a distraction to take headlines away from coronavirus, which, as you heard from your correspondent, has now set a daily record three days in a row, with more than 115,000 cases per day and with cases surging in 33 states. and thirdly, it is a distraction from trump's own declining poll numbers. his approval rating is at the lowest point it has been since last october and he has fallen behind the democratic nomineejoe biden, so this is an attempt to steal the headlines, because here is the key thing. it already is a crime to deface

or pull down federal statutes. trump's executive order is just a token that reinforces that. professor scott lucas. the mother of two sisters who were found stabbed to death has accused the police of dehumanising her children and treating them as if they were nothing. bibaa henry, who was a6, and nicole smallman, who was 27, were found dead three weeks ago in a park in london. two police officers were arrested and suspended on suspicion of sharing inappropriate photos from the murder scene. our religion editor, martin bashir, reports. on the first friday injune, social worker bibaa henry, along with her sister nicky and some friends, celebrated her 46th birthday. by the morning, they could not be contacted. so, i then phoned the police. i said, we don't even know if there has been foul play here. we have no idea. we are now 36 hours

on and they have not turned up. impatient with the police response, nicky's boyfriend, adam, went to the park. then adam said, "we have found a knife. i am going to need you to sit down. ifound them. i've found them, but they've gone, they have gone." so i understand this, yourfamily is effectively running a search? yes. your family has driven the investigation? yes. yourfamily has found your daughters? yes. police sealed off the area and recovered their bodies, but for the family their grief was about to be compounded when they met with a police commander and a member of the independent office

for police conduct. they said, "i don't know how to tell you this, but police officers were taking selfies and posing for pictures with your dead daughters." in the deep south, when they used to lynch people, you would see smiling faces around a hanging dead body. those police officers dehumanised our children. almost three decades after the murder of stephen lawrence, this case raises the same questions about institutional racism in the police. if it is as it appears to be, it is shocking, it is disgusting, and the whole of the met would condemn what has

happened here. if ever we needed an example of how toxic it has become — those police officers felt so safe, so untouchable, that they felt they could take photographs. the first female black archdeacon in the church of england says she is only being sustained by her christian faith. the police investigation into her daughters‘ death continues. many countries in europe are also seeing a rise in infections. police and the military have been sent to the italian town of mondragone, where an outbreak of coronavirus has led to tensions between the local community and migrant workers. simonjones reports. disturbances on the

streets of mondragone. locals accuse farm workers from bulgaria of spreading the virus.