good morning. this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the bank of england predicts a less severe recession than earlier thought as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but warns the economy may not recover until late next year. the government says it will protect green spaces and speed up approval for new homes as it reforms planning

rules in england. lebanon begins three days of national mourning following the beirut explosion that killed at least 135 people. facebook and twitter take action against president trump's accounts, saying a video posted spread coronavirus misinformation. 75 years on from devastation — the people of hiroshima mark the use of the first nuclear bomb with silent prayers. you can get in touch with me about any of this morning's stories on twitter. and coming up this hour... beavers are here to stay in the river otter — the government grants 15 family groups right to remain, 400 years after the animals became extinct in england.

good morning. welcome to bbc news. in the bank of england's first official forecast since the coronavirus pandemic hit, the bank says an economic recovery has been "earlier and more rapid" than it had assumed in may, reflecting a sooner—than—expected easing of lockdown restrictions. it said spending on clothing and household furnishings was now back to pre—covid levels, while consumers have carried on spending more on food and energy than before the lockdown. however, the bank of england says the uk economy is still set for its worst performance in more than 100 years. the bank expects the economy to shrink by 9.5% in 2020. while this would be the biggest annual decline in a century, it compares with an initial estimate of a 14% contraction.

the bank warned that the jobs market recovery would take longer — as it held interest rates at 0.1%. unemployment is expected to rise to 7.5% at the end of this year as government—funded support schemes come to an end. that would mean an extra one million people unemployed by the end of the year. but there was better news for next year. the bank of england expects the uk economy to grow by 9% in 2021, and then 3.5% in 2022, with the economy expected to get back to its pre—covid size at the end of 2021. well, this morning the housing secretary robertjenrick was asked whether he thought the government was doing enough to support people this year as the economy contracted this year i don't think any of us can underestimate or gloss over how difficult the present situation is. we won't be able to protect every job or every business. what we can do is bring forward

the measures, which, as i say, are very significant, the chancellor's already announced, keep those under review as we always do and try to reopen the economy as swiftly as possible, in a safe and responsible manner. that, at the end of the day, is the way to safeguard and protect as manyjobs as possible. and for all of us, as i say, in our daily lives, to have the confidence to go out, as long as we're following the social distancing measures, washing hands, staying a safe distance from other people, wearing masks in public places, in shops and so on... that sounds... if we follow that guidance then it is safe to go about our daily business and that is the best thing we can do to get spending and get demand back into the economy. let's speak now to our business corresponent, ben thompson. good morning to you. we have taken the viewers through the headlines in

oui’ the viewers through the headlines in our introduction. give us some analysis of what the bank has had to say this morning. you are absolutely right, running through all those numbers there and the headline being that yes, the economy has bounced back and it's not been as bad as may be first feared but the longer term prognosis isa feared but the longer term prognosis is a little more painful. it may not be as deep recession but it will ta ke be as deep recession but it will take longerfor the be as deep recession but it will take longer for the economy to get back to where it was. for all of us, particularly the thing we will look at is economic growth and jobs. the forecast for economic growth is a bit slow and sluggish. you will rememberjust a bit slow and sluggish. you will remember just a while bit slow and sluggish. you will rememberjust a while ago, we were talking about whether this would be av talking about whether this would be a v shaped recession, a sharp dip before bouncing back again quite quickly. i think any early optimistic views like that have now disappeared, as the bank has said it will take a bit longer for all of us to feel more confident about going out to spend, to consume, for businesses to start investing, for businesses to start investing, for businesses to start investing, for businesses to take on staff again as

demand picks up so that outlook remains pretty slow and sluggish. as far as thejobs remains pretty slow and sluggish. as far as the jobs market is concerned, yes, unemployment set to rise by the end of the year according to these latest forecasts coming in, about 7.596 latest forecasts coming in, about 7.5% unemployment rate but that is better than some forecasts that suggests there could be an unemployment rate of about i2% by the end of this year. but one thing we should be really clear about here, in this outlook from the bank of england, they say that it is very unusually uncertain. that is to say that there are so many ifs and buts i may and things that could change the outlook going from here and they particular point to things like a slowdown in spending, if we'll get a bit more worried about where our next paycheque is coming from. they also talk about the potential for a second national lockdown, if there is another wave of the virus. potentially, there will be more potential local lockdowns as we have seenin potential local lockdowns as we have seen in some cities across the uk already had those travel restrictions that are not only

hampering us travelling and going but preventing people coming from outside the uk and visiting here and crucially spending money. so there are crucially spending money. so there a re lots of crucially spending money. so there are lots of uncertainties in this forecast and while they prognosis and the outlook remains a bit more optimistic than we had at the last outlook in may, i think there are so many things that could change that the bank of england is saying don't read too much into this because there is a lot of uncertainty still to come. thank you very much. rain newton—smith is the chief economist at the confederation of british industry. good morning to you. very unusually uncertain, that is quite a caveat from the bank, isn't it? let me pick up from the bank, isn't it? let me pick up on from the bank, isn't it? let me pick upona from the bank, isn't it? let me pick up on a point the bank are saying this morning, that it thinks most furloughed workers will go back to theirjobs. from the people that you are hearing from, is that what they are hearing from, is that what they are thinking, that most of these people will be able to return to the jobs they held before they were furloughed?

i think that is probably right for most but unfortunately i don't think it will be all people. of course, thatis it will be all people. of course, that is where the primary concern. what we do know is the furlough scheme has been an absolute lifeline for businesses and for households, the bank of england estimates it has supported over 6 million jobs the bank of england estimates it has supported over 6 millionjobs in the second quarter this year. but i think what's clear, as well, from the bank england's report is that while the initialfall the bank england's report is that while the initial fall in the economy may not be quite as bad as some feared back in march or april, it's going to be a long road out of here and we are certainly not out of the woods yet. when i talk to a lot of businesses, yes, they are starting to see demand come back in some instances but they are still very worried about the next six months. they are worried about pressures on their cash flow. they are worried that demand in the economy will still stay very weak.

soi economy will still stay very weak. so i don't think we are out of the woods by any means yet. and maintaining interest rates at that record low of 0.1%, do you think that in the present circumstances is going to do anything to stimulate spending when at every level people are uncertain and concerned about where the next bit of money is coming from? it absolutely will help the economy, having interest rates below makes it easierfor having interest rates below makes it easier for businesses to borrow at lower rates. it does have an impact. as you can imagine, one of the things businesses have had to do is to borrow to get through some of this crisis. so it will have an impact, it does mean that mortgage payments for households are lower. so it does help, but it's not enough and it's not everything, which is why we had seen the chancellor talk about doing whatever it takes. i think that is something we want the chancellor to have his eye on as we move into the autumn, that the job

retention scheme has been a huge lifeline. we are keen to see the kick—start scheme to help young people into unemployment. if unemployment is rising, we need to focus our young people to help get them into work. he may need to stand ready to give more direct support to some businesses in critical sectors that are really struggling, particularly those sectors, as we head into the autumn, that may not be able to open up as we had hoped a few weeks ago. what more would you say to the government at this point about what it needs to do, especially in the scenario, for example, where some sectors have to close in order to allow others to open, for example children getting back to school in september? soi september? so i think we would say absolutely focus on the enabler is wider economy and education and childcare providers are one of the most important things. we know over a quarter of businesses are still seeing an impact on their staff

through schools and other childcare providers not being open as much as they normally would be. focus on transport providers, as well. they are the ones who help people get into their place of work. but most importantly, stand ready to act. if we do see more pressures on the economy, make sure you have a clear plan of business support where we do see local lockdowns and think about the levers you have at your disposal. maybe you will need to consider wider relief for business rates and some of the sectors that have been really hard hit, such as airports or the suppliers into our hotel industry. the chancellor does have levers at his disposal. they have levers at his disposal. they have to be very targeted. i think we have to be very targeted. i think we have moved beyond being able to do huge new schemes to support the whole economy but we need to target them at the firm is in distress, at them at the firm is in distress, at the areas that are really hit by this crisis, to try and help support jobs and our local communities. rain

newton—smith, chief economist, thank you very much for your thoughts on all of that this morning. three days of national mourning have begun in lebanon following the devastating chemical explosion in the port area of beirut on tuesday. aid from other countries has started to arrive, including search teams, doctors and equipment. medical assistance is particularly doctors and equipment. hospitals have been damaged or are only partly operational, and supplies of drugs are running low. the blast killed at least 135 people, injured more than 5000 and left tens of thousands homeless. several officials at the port have been placed under house arrest while an investigation continues. sean dilley has this report. a city in ruin. as authorities start to plan a colossal clean—up operation, rescuers continue to search for those still missing. volunteers among the workers. more than a quarter of a million people were displaced

and are now homeless, as the blast tore through the city destroying buildings and property. the people of beirut are relying on a government they have little trust in to seek answers. crowds gathered near the city's port, on tuesday, drawn by these extraordinary scenes. these flashes are believed to have been caused by fireworks but then... explosion. it is thought to be one of the world's largest non—nuclear explosions, at one tenth of the power of the hiroshima bomb during the second world war. lebanon's government says the explosion was caused when 2750 tonnes of unsafely stored ammonium nitrate ignited. translation: first of all, the investigation must be a priority and its result must come quickly. secondly, we have to intensify the search for victims under the rubble. thirdly, we have to search for the missing people. fourth, take care of the wounded people.

fifth, build shelters for people whose houses were totally destroyed. the country is living a national crisis. authorities are investigating allegations that a series of failures led to officials missing several opportunities to remove the dangerous chemicals and to prevent death and destruction. instead, the material was left here to rot and explode. a number of beirut port officials involved in the storage and guarding the chemicals have been placed under house arrest, as investigators retrace events back more than six years. it is claimed that the dangerous chemicals were impounded from a ship in 2013 and left to sit in a warehouse. customs and port authorities told local media they made several attempts to have the ammonium nitrate removed but their letters to the country's judiciary were ignored. now, the port is destroyed and devastated. until tuesday, the majority

of lebanon's food was transported here and stored in facilities like this now—flattened silo. the country has been left with less than a month's supply of grain. defence officials are promising decisive action for anyone found to be at fault but first, investigators need to understand what caused tuesday's explosion and who knew what and when about the unsafe storage of chemicals that were left to claim so many lives. sean dilley, bbc news. dr firass abiad is the head of the rafic hariri university hospital in beirut. thank you forjoining us. we appreciate your time at such a busy time for you. first of all, for our viewers, was the hospital damaged in the blast? we had some material damage but nothing that stopped us from continuing with our regular operations. regular operations you say but this is far from regular.

how under pressure is the hospital and your colleagues right now? the night of the explosion, we suddenly had tonnes of casualties arriving on our emergency department, with all sorts of injuries, whether it is from last injuries, crashing injuries, things falling on them or flying in the air and then more serious casualties from the scene of the blast itself. at the same time, as the reference hospital for the covid patients, we were receiving covid patients, we were receiving covid patients, we were receiving covid patients as we are in the midst of a second wave here in lebanon and a number of cases is rising. now one of the unfortunate thing is that also happened as a couple of hospitals in beirut were damaged and their patients had to be evacuated and we've received a lot of those patients into our hospital

at the same time. so you could imagine the chaos and mayhem that was going on. so a threefold difficult situation, patients coming from other hospitals, how many other patients do you have with you now from the blast and are you still receiving patients being affected, either people who have been found, rescued, people who have perhaps only now made their way to hospital or who have suffered some injuries subsequent to the initial blast? u nfortu nately, most of subsequent to the initial blast? unfortunately, most of the search and rescue efforts that are ongoing are discovering bodies. we are hoping to find more people who are alive, although the hopes are dwindling by the second. we have around a0 patients still in our hospital, some of them in critical conditions. the vast majority of the

patients, however, have left after receiving treatment. how are you and how are your colleagues? because you are dealing with the most extraordinary circumstances and if we have learned anything from the covid pandemic, we know it is the enormous toll placed on care workers and now you have all of this to deal with as well. 0bviously, of this to deal with as well. obviously, you get on and do the job at the physical and mental toll is immense, isn't it? absolutely. i think health workers... at the beginning of the week, we lost one of our colleagues, she was a nurse, who we lost from coronavirus. unfortunately, we also learned that five of our colleagues we re learned that five of our colleagues were lost in the st george hospital when that was damaged during the blast. however, i must say that the spirit that our health care workforce has shown, they have high

spirits and they are dealing with patients very kindly. i was very impressed. we had people who had just finished their shifts, just coming back and going back to work without saying a word. we kept receiving volunteers all through the night, helping us with the chaos and our —— in our emergency room. that is probably one of the silver linings and all of this, the resilience that people have shown. dr firass abiad, we wish you and all your colleagues well there. thank your colleagues well there. thank you very much for talking to us. dr firass abiad, the head of the university hospital in beirut. the government has published its proposals for a major overhaul of the planning system in england. as part of the plans, new homes and hospitals will be granted "automatic" permission to be built in england but with a pledge

to continue to protect green spaces. but critics argue power will be taken away from local communities and that a change to section 106 agreements will lead to a reduction in social housing. under the new plans, available land will be designated as one of three types. the first of these is ‘growth‘ — land will be approved for development at the same time that plans are prepared — and as long as local design standards are met. areas designated for ‘renewal‘ will be developed in a quick way, as long as it ‘reflects community preferences', and land earmarked ‘protection' will continue to restrict development on green belt land, with specific policy remaining in the hands of local authorities. mrjenrick explained earlier, on bbc breakfast, that the system won'tjust speed up approval, but will enable developers to break ground and complete building much more quickly over all so the government is able to meet its housing targets. that process, we think, will be a very democratic one and will ensure that we can get building much faster than we do today.

today, we have a plan—based system but it can take seven years to produce one of these plans and very few people actually engage with that process. and then, once the plan is produced, it can take up to five years to put spades in the ground on a fairly standard set of new housing. that's too slow. we, as you just said, we have a major housing crisis today and we've also got an economic challenge and a lot of people's jobs depend on this crucial industry. so, we think that our new system will still be democratic, we'll still have local engagement, but will be much faster and help us to meet the needs of the next generation. with me is paul miner, strategic planning lead for the campaign to protect rural england. and also i'm joined by roger tustain, an independent planning consultant. good morning to both of you. these three categories of land use we have

talked about, who will actually decide how those are categorised? well, we welcome the government's move to reform local planning, in the sense that most areas of the country do not, about 50% do not. what gives us cause for concern is that the government is still proposing to keep all the aspects of the current system that have prevented and frustrated local authorities from being able to decide on the future of their areas. things like presumption in favour of sustainable development, a five year supply of deliverable housing sites. the application of all these policies and practices has made it much more difficult for local authorities to get plans in place and has enabled developers to frequently override local plans through the appeals system. looking at this paper, i don't see anything that really addresses those problems. it could still be a

developer led system with local communities being forced to bend to their wishes. roger, what is your ta ke their wishes. roger, what is your take on that? the plan system is slow and complicated and is on delivering and hasn't delivered housing historically. successive governments have tried to tinker with the planning system but this white paper is looking to really put out a planning agenda. i think a numberof out a planning agenda. i think a number of elements out a planning agenda. i think a numberof elements are out a planning agenda. i think a number of elements are positive. simplifying the system and taking at one stage of planning, which is the outline planning application process, which as robertjenrick said, can take up to five years following the development plan option. on that point, the local government association and its chair isa government association and its chair is a conservative and has said nine and ten —— nine in ten are approved by local cancer, more than a million homes were given planning permission in the last decade and have yet to be built. they say many developers get permission but don't build

immediately. —— are approved by local councils. if there is a power tussle between the government and local authorities who would ordinarily give permission? no. i think the land banking issue is a bit of a fallacy. developers and house—builders will build out a certain level on a site. no house—builder will buy land at several millions of pounds and sit on it asa several millions of pounds and sit on it as a long—term investment. it doesn't make economic sense. house—builder's businesses to build homes so i don't think the development industry is creating a delay in delivery. the planning syste m delay in delivery. the planning system has created significant delays in delivery. the current process is complicated and what this new system is doing, it's giving local councils much more clear guidance on the numbers they have to accommodate and it's being much

clearer on timescales, which is very credible. paul miner, if we can bring this back to what it means for local communities and what say local people will have in what happens in their area, do you think they will have the same level of say under these new proposals? there are still big unanswered questions about these reforms. we questions about these reforms. we question whether these reforms are the right way of addressing the problem is there currently are, and there are currently problems. we are not building enough new affordable homes and we're not building enough quality homes. the government had said a lot about improving the design of developments but if you look at the key test vote designing new homes, which is whether it is net zero, whether it is carbon neutral, the government have failed that test because they are saying they are only going to expect new

homes to be 75—80% lower in their emissions and they currently are. therefore, we were led to believe that we were going to have all new homes net zero by 2016. now they are saying by 2050, those are 30 last yea rs. if saying by 2050, those are 30 last years. if the government wants to get communities on board with building more new homes, it has to show it is tackling the climate emergency and will deliver carbon neutral new homes stop that's not just good for local communities but new homeowners because the homes will be less expensive to run. in addition to that, what do you think the implications of these proposed planning changes would be on wildlife? again, we have concerns about how the environment assessment process is going to be revised because at the moment, you have environmental assessments of both plans, and then you also have the map project level

for environmental impact. the government talks about a streamlining of these processes now we are no longer in the european union and don't have to follow eu directives. but it is critically important that we have a strategic environmental assessment process that allows us to think about where the least harmful sites for development are, to make sure we are avoiding the nationally important nature reserves and areas of natural beauty and national parks. at the moment, we feel the government has a narrow focus on just trying to... get a raw net gain from development. so perhaps developing a new wildlife site somewhere else to compensate for one that is lost. but we think they need to be doing more to prevent it in the first place and we need to see more details of that coming. let me bring this back to roger. paul is making the point that needs to be a good percentage of

affordable homes. at 30% discount will cut it. in terms of the quality of the housing, what needs to happen to make sure that these proposals would deliver good quality developments, because you will know the concerns as well as the next person from some quarters who have argued this could lead to future slum housing in some cases? i think there are a number of elements here, really. ithink i think there are a number of elements here, really. i think there is one point raised about environmental protection, which is very important. i think what the white paper clearly says in setting housing targets for individual areas, with regard to areas of national protection. we won't see areas of the national parks covered with swathes of housing because that will be determined on the local planning process by the government setting appropriate targets. affordability is an absolutely critical issue. in part, the

affordable housing shortfall is purely down to the fact there has beena purely down to the fact there has been a consistent lack of supply of housing in the country for the last 30 years. so the government, by imposing housing targets on local authorities, will start to address housing needs in certain areas, which historically they've been relu cta nt which historically they've been reluctant to allocate sufficient land for housing. i do see that as being positive. in terms of design quality, there are still mechanisms in place through design coding in the white paper that will support locally determined design codes, which will uphold design quality. again, ithink which will uphold design quality. again, i think there are a number of benefits. the benefit will be in the detail, of course, but the white paperand, detail, of course, but the white paper and, generally, i detail, of course, but the white paperand, generally, ithink detail, of course, but the white paper and, generally, i think covers all bases. good to hear your thoughts. paul miner, an independent planning consultant and paul miner, from the campaign to protect rural england.

50 million face masks bought by the government in april will not be used in the nhs because of safety concerns. the respirators were supplied by the company ayanda capital and came with ear—loop fastenings rather than head—loops. the government says they may not fit tightly enough. our special correspondent lucy manning joins me now. morning lucy manning joins me now. tea. we've outlined w concerns morning tea. we've outlined what the concerns are about these masks, they may not fit snuggly enough to provide protection. what is the supplier saying? let's go back a little bit, what you need to understand about these masks is how they came to be supplied for hospitals in the first place. you remember at the height of the pandemic, government was struggling to get hold of enough personal protective equipment so they started reaching out to firms who had never supplied or delivered any type of ppe and this firm was one of those,

it's actually a financial investment firm, they had a deal with the government worth £252 million to supply these masks and as you say, these were masks that turned out, they are attached via the ears, rather than via the head, safety experts said that is more likely to fail safety tests because they don't provide a tight fit so the government in legal papers seen by the bbc, admitted these masks now cannot be used in hospitals in the nhs and that they are not recommended to purchase any more. the firm says it supplied them based on the government request, technical specifications, they went through all the right checks on the government itself says it has worked tirelessly to try and source ppe and it does have to go through rigorous safety tests. there is also a little bit of a twist in this story because

the person responsible for bringing this deal to fruition as a man called andrew mills and he is actually a government trade adviser but he also advises the firm as well, questions being raised about that, this was in legal papers found by the good law project who are trying to challenge the legality of these contracts, they believe the government has wasted money buying equipment that isn't essentially fit for purpose. mr mills said his position had no impact on the deal and he went through this business in and he went through this business in a way, applying for it in a way other companies have applied for it. concern, lucy, about the process of acquiring these masks and in terms of the suppliers, saying they were operating on the specifications given to them by the government committed the government get it wrong? well, the government aren't admitting it got it wrong but it does now admit it can't use these

masks in hospitals, we don't actually know what will happen with them, if they can be used anywhere else, it seems talking to those in the safety industry, usually, the uk have used the masks that are attached from the head, not the ear loop ones because of the safety issue and potentially, in this struggle to get ppe, the government we re struggle to get ppe, the government were just sourcing struggle to get ppe, the government werejust sourcing equipment struggle to get ppe, the government were just sourcing equipment left, right and centre, certainly companies that don't normally source ppe, we spoke to one company that has a strong background in supplying ppe, they said it was just a scramble for contracts and they told us scramble for contracts and they told us about another firm which supplies protective uniforms to the government, the nhs, but other masks that they had which they supplied other commercial and private clients, they also failed compliance tests a nd clients, they also failed compliance tests and they've had to apologise and launch an investigation. so

definitely, some of the firm is a government reason, some supplies they were getting, are not able to be used in the national health service, so you've got at least 50 million masks, worth around £150 million masks, worth around £150 million that now cannot be used in hospitals. lucy, thank you. time now for the sport. let's cross over to mike bushell. what have you got for us? the last time, there was a golf major played it was july 2019 at royal portrush, northern ireland all the ones this year have all been cancelled or postponed until today. the delayed us pga will start today at harding park, san francisco albeit three months late, because of the pandemic and without any fans. adam wild looks ahead. it's been well over a year since men's golf last crowned a major winner. the portrush story for shane

lowry lives long in the memory but could scarcely feel further away from harding park, san francisco. a major return although not for the crowds. major championship is to make us aware, make it known, it's a major championship, it fails, it feels like you are aware of it, it isa simple feels like you are aware of it, it is a simple as that. fans and spectators, they will be missed, the atmosphere will not be the same. john ram has lost his number one slot, justin thomas now leading the rankings. i'm here for one reason, to engulfjam rankings. i'm here for one reason, to engulf jam pga rankings. i'm here for one reason, to engulfjam pga championship, and full of people that have had it for a short amount of time and i want to hold it for quite a bit longer. the world rankings go some way to show current american dominance in theory. ten of the top 15 from the us, for europe and the rest of the world there is much to do. there's only been three european winners since 1958, broderick carrington,

martin clymer, and two victories for rory mcavoy. he will shoulder much of the european hole. they will have to stop brooks koepka claiming third title in a row. i'm not out here to try and compete, to have a good time, iam try and compete, to have a good time, i am out here to win, it means being the best, being number one. that is the goal. even now, more than 20 years since his first us pga title, it remains impossible to talk ofa title, it remains impossible to talk of a golf major without mentioning tiger woods. this will be a championship unlike any other. lots of times when you go from green to the day, people yelling, trying to touch you, that part is different. that is the world we live in. we just have to get used to it. this has been the longest gap between major since the second world war. the tournament promises much, even if there will be no one there to see it. adam wilde, bbc news. looks beautiful, doesn't it. wolves and rangers are aiming

to join manchester united in the quarter—finals of the europa league tonight. wolves are one—all with 0lympiakos, while rangers are 3—1 down to bayer leverkusen, ahead of the delayed second legs. united completed what they needed to do last night, 7—1 against lask on aggregate and the rest of the tournament, is now like a world cup — one off knock out matches. united face fc copenhagen in germany on monday. england need early wickets on day two of the opening test against pakistan taking place in the bio bubble at old trafford. the first thing they will have to do is get out babar asam. he's one of the world's leading batsmen and already has a half century to his name. pakistan will resume on 139 for 2. i thought we started very well. the procession, we build good areas, as good questions. i thought after lunch we weren't so good, if i'm brutally honest. we bowled too many bad balls and we weren't as good as

we usually are. and after the rain delays history it should begin at 11am, full cover on bbc news, highlights on bbc two this evening. mike, thank you. the man who murdered the british backpacker grace millane in new zealand has begun an appeal against his conviction and sentence. the 28—year—old was found unanimously guilty by a jury last year of strangling ms millane on a date in december 2018. he was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non—parole period of 17 years. we can speak to our correspondent, simon atkinson, in sydney, australia. what is this appeal based on? you might remember the trial which took place late last year, this man, effectively used the defence that this was a six game gone wrong,

grace millane, backpacker in new zealand, who had met this man on tighter, they had had a date, gone back to his own, his apartment, that is where grace had died, he said she had consensually taken part in a sex game, effectively, that had gone tragically wrong. the jury did not buy that, there was lots of evidence against that, saying, for example, there was evidence the man had his hand on her neck for up to five minutes, did not callan hand on her neck for up to five minutes, did not call an ambulance for help and disposed of the body afterwards. but the defence come in his appeal today, argues the jury was not given a true definition of consent, not given the chance to at least assess more deeply whether grace had consented not to her death, of course, but to the sex act and what went on from there. also, in the appeal, they are talking about the sentencing being too harsh, the man ‘s lawyer saying 17

yea rs harsh, the man ‘s lawyer saying 17 years without parole was unjust. harsh, the man ‘s lawyer saying 17 years without parole was unjustlj just years without parole was unjust.” just want to explain to our viewers, there is a legal order in place preventing the identification of this man. has there been any comment from the family of grace millane? we certainly haven't heard anything yet. we heard from herfather on the date this man was convicted, we heard from her mother, speaking emotionally, when this man was sentenced but we haven't heard anything in relation to this man, name suppression in new zealand is much more common than it is in the uk. and we may one day be able to reveal his identity but for now, we cannot, we cannot say who he his. simon, thank you. a ceremony has been held in the japanese city of hiroshima to mark the 75th anniversary of the world s first atomic bomb attack.

the us bombing killed 1a0,000 people. the coronavirus pandemic forced this year's ceremony to be scaled back. from tokyo here's rupert wingfield—hayes. no audio translation available. hirotomi igarashi is a right—wing japanese nationalist, who says it's time for his country to develop its own nuclear weapons. the group he leads is one of around 1,000 ultra nationalist organisations injapan, dedicated to scrapping the postwar pacifist constitution and the alliance with the united states. translation: we need to acquire nuclear weapons so that the bomb will never be dropped on our homeland again, especially now, with the threat from china. china has some 300 nuclear missiles aiming atjapan and we have north korea. that country is like a madman holding a knife! bell tolling. this morning in hiroshima they stopped again to remember the tens of thousands incinerated

here 75 years ago, and to recommit japan to the abolition of nuclear weapons. what happened to you when the bomb exploded? i was surrounded by... among the dwindling number of survivors at today's ceremony, 83—year—old keiko 0gura. she is worried that as memories fade and survivors pass away, japan's commitment to never building nuclear weapons is weakening. survivors have a strong fear because, you know, we have many power plants. that means there are materials. plutonium, we have. and we have the technology to create a nuclear weapon. it might be easy if we said, "go, now!" if it wanted to, experts believe japan could build a nuclear weapon very quickly. it has a stockpile of a7 tons of plutonium — more than any other non—nuclear weapons state. the whole issue of nuclear weapons is still taboo here,

even to talk about. but the view that japan may, one day, need to build its own nuclear deterrent, goes well beyond the far—right fringe, even into parts of the ruling liberal democratic party, and the logic is simple: japan faces real and growing threats from north korea and from an increasingly aggressive and well—armed china. and since president trump's election, america's commitment to protect japan under its nuclear umbrella is increasingly shaky. for the first time in post—war history, there is now a president in the white house who has openly and repeatedly said it's time forjapan to defend itself. i think that is the biggest change and the biggest cause for concern. and ifjapan is moving in a direction of relying more on its own capabilities, i believe that's primarily because of a loss of credibility in us security guarantees.

for the 75 years since hiroshima, japan has lived under american protection. now it is beginning to wonder what would happen if the americans really went home. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. robert or ‘bo' jacobs is a historian of nuclear technologies and professor at the hiroshima peace institute. hejoins me now. thank you so much for joining hejoins me now. thank you so much forjoining us. you've called what happened an example of nuclear colonialism, what do you mean by that? well, it's part of a longer history of the use of nuclear weapons. we think, strictly the nuclear attacks on hiroshima and nagasaki but there have been 10,000 nuclear weapon detonation is since hiroshima and nagasaki and the

government has worked hard to make sure the people supposed to radiation are not important people within their own society so for example, it was easy in world war ii,i example, it was easy in world war ii, i wouldn't necessarily call it colonialism, it was warfare against a foreign country but an example of nuclear colonialism is in the uk itself, who in its a5 nuclear tests, never did test a nuclear weapon inside the borders of the uk, the same also true of france. the people who end up being irradiated, not necessarily like i said in the nuclear attack here but the people over the last, throughout the cold war, who end up being exposed to radiation are almost always people like for france, algeria, french polynesia, in colonial or post—colonial areas. polynesia, in colonial or post-colonial areas. you are the leader of what is called the global project, japanese word for survivors of hiroshima and nagasaki and i know you have been collecting that oral

history but how important is that in terms of justice because history but how important is that in terms ofjustice because justice is very much an ongoing, continuous concept when it comes to talking about what happened in those two cities? it is a critical piece. for example, even for the treaty on the prohibition against nuclear weapons, which is moving towards being ratified in these weeks, right now, it was civil society testimony by people who suffered from nuclear weapon testing as well as those from hiroshima and nagasaki that propelled forward and made the case for humanitarian impacts on human beings but part of the work of the project is collecting oral histories but also helping to look at this history of nuclear weapon testing and the exposure of populations to radiation, looking at it as a global history. it's previously mostly been looked at as various different national histories, people may be

victims of uk nuclear testing, us nuclear testing, when they are silent like that it is very easy to think of this as a small group of people but when you look globally at this history, as a collective history for human beings, you begin to realise millions of people are affected by radiation throughout the cold war. we tend to think of the cold war. we tend to think of the cold war. we tend to think of the cold war is a time when nuclear weapons were not used but with 2000 nuclear weapon tests there was a nuclear weapon tests there was a nuclear weapon tests there was a nuclear weapon detonating every 8.6 daysin nuclear weapon detonating every 8.6 days in the cold war with the people exposed to the radiation were not people living in london, new york, moscow, paris places like that. as you study this history and you hear president trump called the strategic arms reduction treaty one of several bad deals as he puts it, that the president —— president 0bama signed, how important is it that this treaty is renewed, the usa is part of it?

it is essential. president trump will call any deal that he didn't make himself a bad deal, he only can talk about himself but without this treaty there is no restraint on the number of weapons that either russia or the us can have in russia and the united states have always been the ones that had over 90% of nuclear weapons throughout the history of nuclear weapons so for there to be no constraint and no limitations at all, it goes back to the early cold war situation where we could see escalations of weapon building, that go higher and higher and escalations of weapon building, that go higherand higherand higherso the only thing that brought those weapons down from 30 or a0,000 weapons down from 30 or a0,000 weapons per us and soviet union were at these treaties which brought them down to the present level of five, 6000 weapons per country, still ridiculously high amount but without those constraints, there is no telling what would happen. professor, thank you very much.

facebook and twitter have sanctioned president trump and his campaign for posts in which he claimed children are "almost immune" to coronavirus. facebook deleted the post ? saying it contained harmful covid misinformation . twitter temporarily froze the official trump campaign account and required the tweet be deleted before the account could be reactivated. david willis reports. for several weeks, president trump has claimed that children are virtually immune to the effects of the coronavirus. they may get it but they get it, it doesn't have much of an impact on them and if you look at the numbers, the numbers of, in terms of mortality, fatality, the numbers for children under a certain age, meaning young, their immune systems are very, very strong, they are very powerful and they seem to be able to handle it very well. it's a claim the president has made to support his call for schools here to reopen their doors for lessons in just a few weeks' time.

but it flies in the face of advice from his own medical experts who say that whilst the children are less susceptible to the effects of the virus, they are still able to catch it and spread it to others, including teachers and adults back at home. twitter and facebook both agreed the post amounted to misinformation about the coronavirus and they have since removed it from their platforms. a spokeswoman for the trump campaign, courtney pa rella, said in the latest posting, the president was simply saying children are less susceptible to the coronavirus. having recently signed an executive order that attempts to strip online platforms such as facebook and twitter of their legal protections, this latest move sets donald trump on a potential collision course with social media companies, with less than three months to go before the presidential election.

david willis, bbc news, los angeles. four centuries after they were driven to extinction in england, the country's first wild population of beavers has been given the permanent right to stay in their river home in devon. conservationists have welcomed the "groundbreaking decision" by the government to allow the family groups to remain on the river 0tter. 0ur rural affairs correspondent claire marshall reports. having a good old scratch. this female, around six years old, was one of the first to be born into the wild in england for half a century. she and her partner still rule this stretch of the river 0tter. now they and their kits are allowed to stay for good. we're right in the heart of theirterritory, here, really. but they can have a big territory. mark and his team's five—year study helped lead the government to what it's calling a landmark decision. it's really exciting. to bring this keystone species back

into the river 0tter is brilliant. we've shown people and beavers can quite happily coexist and that the benefits really do outweigh some of the negatives that also exist. the environment minister visited their habitat in east devon to make the announcement. she believes this project could have a much wider impact, influencing how farmers and landowners are subsidised after the uk leaves the european union. if you want a more diverse habitat, to work alongside with our farming and our healthy and sustainable food production, then natural management systems like this that the beavers can provide, are one of the answers — that farmers could be paid to have the beavers on their land. just walking along the banks of the river now, and this is a really good example of the creatures at work. this is a willow, and then here you can see where they ate away at it about a year ago. and then just a few days ago there's this evidence here. and look at how high up it is, that's how big they are.

scotland's beavers were given protected status last year, but there have been problems. some farmers saying they've ruined valuable land, and dozens have been culled. in devon, though, the largest local landowner believes a balance that can be found. there's a potato field which was flooded due to the actions of the beaver, it caused damage to the crop, a loss of crop, they can chop down trees in the wrong place. although, having said that, overall there is a net positive for beavers in terms of flood attenuation and the ability to do natural flood defences. the government will soon launch a consultation on whether they should be introduced more widely. claire marshall, bbc news, east devon. a a00 metre zip wire to whisk thrill—seekers across liverpool's skyline is due to open next year. however, the tourist attraction has divided opinion in the city. while some argue it's an opportunity to boost the economy, others fear it could be damaging to the historic city centre.

adam mcclean has more. this is the view that thrillseekers can expect. a a00—metre aerial wire will carry riders across the city centre, making the fastest urban zip wire in the world. it's going to be exhilarating. you're seeing the city and its magnificent architecture from a different angle. very high up, very safe, and it's going to be completely, i keep on saying, an amazingly unique experience. i mean, you've got some zip lines, say, in vegas which are inner—city, but this — this will be completely different. it's higher, it's going to be faster, and you're going over one of the most amazing cities in europe. zip world currently operates three sites in north wales. the new wires will run down from high up on stjohns beacon down to the roof of central library, a plan that a group

of campaigners are against. we're really worried about solace and the tranquillity. and what it actually means for the people of liverpool. this is a place of gathering when the city is coming together in times of adversity. we have it as a vigil space, and the idea that we will have the noise, the traffic, you know, people zipping over such an important part of our history and our people's hearts and minds is a travesty. it's about victorian history. it's neapolitan. it's unbelievable. we don't need a zip wire here for a selling point. not here, it can go anywhere else. but business leaders here say that attractions can help city centre economies recover from the impact of coronavirus. this has got to be about the future. we've got to look at what we can provide in terms ofjobs, investment, footfall,

over the next 5, 10, 15 years. we can't be looking back all the time. some people want to put liverpool in aspic, i don't. i want to see the city evolve. we have had a great ten years, but if we're going to have another great ten years, the next decade's going to look as good as the last decade, then we need attractions such as zip world to come into liverpool. the company says the attraction would be closed on key memorial days, but campaigners don't want it here at all. it is due to open next year. adam mcclean, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. hello there. it looks like we'll see heatwave conditions develop across some southern parts of the country in the coming days but, even today, it is going to feel warmer there once the sunshine breaks through the morning cloud. certainly a lot drier across northern and western areas than it has been over the last few days. we still have a weak weather front still decaying across the country, which is set to push its way northwards, mainly

as a zone of cloud. that cloud, though, will be thinning all the time and, in fact, most will be dry through this afternoon. as that cloud moves its way northwards, we start to tap into southerly winds and the heat that's building across france and iberia yet again. so, for the rest of the day, sunshine possible just about anywhere, a little bit cloudier, though, at times in northern england, north wales and northern ireland this afternoon. some of the best of the sunshine in the far north of mainland scotland, channel islands, through to east anglia and the south east. so, brightening up here after that cloudy and damp start and it's here where the temperatures will already be starting to climb quite markedly, 27—28 degrees, 82 fahrenheit, possible. temperatures more widely into the 20s elsewhere after that very humid start. a humid night, really, to come tonight for many of you. cloud amounts are going to start to break up across the south more markedly. there will be some thicker cloud, though, into the west of northern ireland and the very far west of scotland later in the night, bringing some heavy showers, but most will have a dry night and, like last night, it will be a pretty mild and muggy night.

milder than the night gone across parts of scotland and northern ireland. so, into friday. rain at times in the very far west of scotland and early doors in northern ireland. but elsewhere, it's a dry day, blue skies developing quite widely through england and wales. maybe the odd isolated shower towards the south—west and south—east wales later in the day but this is where we see, like last friday, some of the hottest of the conditions. 35, 36 celsius possible towards the south—east corner, up to around 23 or 2a in parts of scotland. so not as hot as last week in scotland and parts of northern england. but it will still be pleasant in the sunshine and there's lots of that to come this weekend. high pressure builds in across the uk. 0n the southern flank of it, we'll see a bit more of a breeze blowing through parts of england and wales and there could be one or two isolated thunderstorms on sunday but many actually spend the weekend dry, plenty of sunshine around. pleasant in the sunshine in the north, pretty hot and humid in the south, with some staying above 30 degrees throughout. bye for now.

this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. international aid begins to arrive in lebanon, as the country begins three days of mourning after the beirut explosion that killed at least 137 people. the bank of england predicts a less severe recession than earlier thought as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but warns the uk economy may not recover until late next year. facebook and twitter take action against president trump's accounts, saying a video posted spread coronavirus misinformation. the uk government says it will protect green spaces and speed up approval for new homes as it reforms planning rules in england. you can get in touch with me about any of this morning's