this is bbc news. the headlines. no more keeping your distance. the one metre covid rule, could end in england, next month. but borisjohnson says infection rates must stay down. we've got a good chance, a good chance of being able to dispense with the one metre plus from the 21st ofjune. together in person, the foreign secretary meets his us counterpart, vowing to work together on everything from china to climate change. a complex, divided history. it's exactly 100 years since the birth of northern ireland. new premier league rules are introduced, to prevent top clubs from breaking away. and coming up in half an hour, global questions asks if america's

racial divisions are starting to heal, one year on from the death of george floyd. borisjohnson says there's a "good chance" that social distancing rules can end in england onjune 21st, the final date of the government's road map out of lockdown. but the prime minister says it depends on coronavirus case numbers remaining low, with no spikes caused by variants from other countries. that fear clouds the debate on whether people should be booking holidays, with the government due to release later this week its so called "green list" of countries tourists can travel to this summer. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. for so long now, the message has been tuesday apart,

but today the prime minister was sounding optimistic that we would be able to move closer, next month. it looks to me as though 21st ofjune, we will be able to say that social distancing as we currently have to do it, the one metre plus, i think we have got a good chance, a good chance, of being able to dispense with one metre plus. that would make entertainment venues more viable, but the government's review on social distancing in england has yet to report and it is possible we might still be advised to wear masks in cinemas and theatres and on public transport. but the enticing prospect of spring and summer sunshine seems to be moving closer. later this week the government is expected to confirm the ban on going holiday abroad from england will be lifted on 17th may. and the eu has raised the prospect today of allowing non—essential travel from countries with good vaccination rates, such as the uk. but the government is set to introduce a range of restrictions for when you come back. a traffic light system of restrictions will be introduced in england from 17th may.

if you come back from a country on a red list you will have to book expensive hotel quarantine. if you are returning from a country on a new amber list you will have to self—isolate at home. initially, a small group of countries with high vaccination rates or lower levels of virus will be on a green list. if you have visited any of these you will not need to quarantine so long as you have proof of a negative test. but a report from a cross—party group of mps claims there are flaws in the system when people arrive at airports. when you've got surges happening across the world which are probably going to be countries that end up on a red list, the people coming in from those countries will be mixing relatively freely with people from green countries and amber countries, in those arrival halls. we are urging extreme caution and we are actually asking the government to discourage leisure travel at this time. the labour leader also urged the government to proceed with caution. it is clear that the virus is increasing in some countries around the world so we have to be

very, very careful. what we can't have is a repeat of last summer where the list was chopping and changing on a daily or even weekly basis. with normality comes nervousness. with the virus still raging in some parts of the world, there are politicians here who are far from relaxed about expanding foreign travel. earlier our political correspondent, iain watson, said the prime minister is facing criticism from some opposition mps that reopening international travel is still far too risky — while some in his party say he is moving too slowly. the past week the prime minister has found it very difficult to get away from this focus on his personal arrangements. there are several enquiries on how the refurbishment of his downing street flat was funded. he was given opportunity to comment on this today but he declined. he preferred to strike a more optimistic note. with local elections a few days away in england he wanted to give the prospect that

in seven weeks' time, social distancing as we know it could finally be swept away. opposition politicians say he has a habit of promising and then not delivering. interesting that an all—party group of mps have been looking into the covid crisis and think in a couple of weeks' time, reopening foreign travel is still too risky. many operators's own party believe he is moving too slowly. as we start a dismal may bank holiday many will feel that the end of restrictions can't come soon enough because it's essential for the aviation industry and the good of the economy. the latest government figures show there were 1,649 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period which means on average, 2,129 new cases were reported per day in the last week. there was a single death recorded in the latest 24—hour period, that's of someone who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test,

and that's the lowest number since august, but the figures are often down, after the weekend. on average in the past week, 15 deaths were announced every day. on vaccinations, more than 34.5 million people have now had their first dose of a covid vaccine. more 15.5 million people have had two doses. lockdown restrictions have been further eased in wales. swimming pools, as well as gyms have reopened, which are now able to hold exercise classes of up to 15 people. two households are now also allowed to form a bubble and meet indoors, for the first time this year. caroline evans reports. queueing just before midnight, the keen regulars at penlan leisure centre, in swansea couldn't wait to be back in the water. in aberystwyth, too, people were looking forward to swapping outside for indoors. well, it means i can visit my mother indoors. she's in her 80s, so that's been, obviously... i'm on holiday, so it would be nice to, for instance, have a meal with her. they can come in now and we can

have a cup of coffee together, whereas we haven't been able to do that. i do a huge amount with - girlguiding cymru, so meeting... brownies and guides, _ we can restart meeting indoors, and you're not depending on the weather. - it can make a huge difference. from today, two households, plus another living on their own, can form a bubble to meet and have contact indoors. as well as swimming pools and children's indoor activities, gyms can also reopen. gym goers in wrexham said it felt like christmas. you should have been here at nine o'clock when people were first coming in, the smiles on people's faces. you could see how much people missed it, how much it meant to them. opposition parties had been calling for an earlier easing of restrictions, and they also say more financial support should be on offer for businesses hit by the pandemic. the next relaxation of rules is due on may 17, when all the tourist accommodation will open up, indoor hospitality — like cafes and pubs — will resume, along with cinemas,

theatres and children's soft play. restrictions on the number of mourners who can attend funerals will be lifted in england from may the 17th. the size of the venue will determine how many mourners can be safely accommodated while maintaining social distancing, both indoors and outside. the move has been welcomed by the national association of funeral directors. the foreign secretary dominic raab and his american counterpart antony blinken have been holding talks in london ahead of tomorrow's ministerial meeting of the g7 group of industrialised nations. they discussed working together on climate change, economic recovery after covid, and human rights. our diplomatic correspondentjames landale has the very latest. this is antony blinken, america's new top diplomat, in london to meet the foreign secretary to reaffirm the transatlantic relationship. with both sides hoping that any disagreement will be

only about who stands where. after four years when transatlantic relations were ravaged by early—morning tweets and disagreement over iran and climate change, there was a new tone, reaffirming a relationship that cannot escape a particular adjective. that special relationship is enduring, it's effective, it is dynamic and it is close to the hearts of the american people. the work we do together serves our people's interests across a vast array of issues, many of which dominic touched on, including maintaining our national security, rejuvenating our economies on a sustainable and more equitable basis. on the table for their talks, all the big geopolitical issues, the pandemic, climate change, china, russia, ukraine, the meeting of g7 foreign ministers over the next few days and the decision to withdraw us and all other nato troops from afghanistan. i welcome the us's firm recommitment to the nato alliance. it's only by working together overseas that we can

keep our citizens safe at home, and i think that is true for nato and i think it is true on covid and the various measures that we are taking to extend and expand and promote covax. the pandemic, of course, will overshadow this meeting, with delegates talking through masks and screens after daily on—site tests. their focus, not only india but also new ways of getting vaccines to poor countries. they will also agree measures to tackle famine and encourage millions more girls into school. just as the british government cuts funding for both, prompting accusations of hypocrisy from cross—party critics. how can britain claim to show global leadership at the g7 when it is cutting so much foreign aid? even after the cuts that we have had to make, not only because of the pressing covid situation, the biggest contraction of our economy for 300 years, double the budget deficit we faced after the financial crash, we are still putting £10 billion

in as a proportion of gdp, still the third biggest g7 donor. at his official country residence, mr raab also discussed britain's new focus on the indo—pacific with his japanese counterpart, as well as deeper co—operation on trade. the next few days will form a key test of britain's new foreign policy. a hundred years ago today legislation paved the way for a devolved parliament to govern what would become northern ireland. the queen says the centenary is an opportunity to reflect on togetherness and diversity, and she's paid tribute to those people today, who've worked for peace. but the anniversary is viewed very differently by unionists and nationalists, as our ireland correspondent, chris page reports. these are the pictures northern ireland wants to be best known for, a place of friendly cities and splendid coastal scenery. but it has a history which hurts. it's still recovering

from the conflict which lasted for 30 years, until the late 1990s. there was violence, too, a century ago. sectarian killings across the island of ireland. republicans fought a war with britain. the southern 26 counties became independent. people with a british identity had a majority in the north—east of the island, so six counties stayed in the uk, becoming northern ireland. today is one of a series of anniversaries. it's notjust the start of northern ireland as we know it, it's the start of the united kingdom as we know it. and the united kingdom is stronger and better because of all the constituent parts, northern ireland plays a huge part in that. for unionists, 2021 is the centenary of the state they strongly value. but for many people who identify as irish, it's the anniversary of the partition of ireland and the source of generational injustice. in her message, the queen called for a sustained commitment to reconciliation,

equality and understanding. she said she treasured the spirit of goodwill from her state visit to the republic of ireland a decade ago, the first by a british monarch since independence. political divisions in northern ireland have been sharpened by the brexit trade border with the rest of the uk. but the irish president has also expressed hopeful sentiments. i think it is possible for us to deal with the past. yeah. there will be a little, some pain, but i think it's possible for us to deal with even our present difficulties. i think they should be ironed out. they can be. events to mark the centenary have been limited so far due to the pandemic, but that doesn't make perspectives on the past any less powerful here. chris page, bbc news, belfast.

sirjeffrey donaldson has officially launched his bid to become the next leader of the democratic unionist party. he says he's convinced northern ireland's �*best days are ahead.�* he'll be taking on the dup agriculture minister, edwin poots for the leadership. arlene foster steps down at the end of the month. the headlines on bbc news. no more keeping your distance. the one metre covid rule could end in england next month. but borisjohnson says infection rates must stay down. together in person — the foreign secretary meets his us counterpart, vowing to work together on everything from china to climate change. new premier league rules are introduced to prevent top clubs from breaking away. sport and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre. tolsen has torn himself away from the snooker to do some work! we start with football because the premier league say they'll bring in a new owners�*

charter to stop future attempts tojoin another breakaway super league. the premier league and the fa both released statements this afternoon saying they're working with the government to protect the integrity of the football community. the premier league said they're "determined to hold the clubs accountable for their decisions and actions". and added that with the help of the fa, they'll impose "additional rules and regulations to ensure the league's principals are protected". and introduce a new charter that all club owners will be required to sign, committing them to the "core principles of the league". police have arrested a 28 year old man as investigations continue into disorder surrounding protests at old trafford yesterday. six police officers sustained injuries as supporters protested against the clubs owners, the glazer family. the manchester united supporters trust have urged the glazer family to engage more with fans, and in an open letter to the club's owners, they've asked for the family to appoint independent directors to the club's board. the disruption caused their premier league game against liverpool to be postponed. united have released a statement today saying they "remain committed

to dialogue and engagement with our fans through the fans forum and other appropriate channels. yesterday is about the strength of feeling from supporters. this isn't just manchester united fans. this has been going on at other clubs, especially from the big six. do i think manchester united supporters willjust meekly go away with their tails between their legs and not try to pursue this? i don't. i will push as a supporters trust, going for a change in regulation. west bromwich albion remain on the verge of premier league relegation after a 1—1 draw at home to wolves in a match that was played in horrendous weather late on. with the first half heading for stalemate it was fabio silva who handed his side the advantage heading into the break. mbaye diagne levelled matters for sam allardyce's side when conor townsend put in a lovely cross as hopes were raised of a victory, but the weather turned

and the last quarter of the game was played in monsoon conditions at the hawthorns with both teams having to settle for a point. in the late kick off west ham can move fifth with victory over burnley. currently 0—0 after two minutes. the final of the world snooker championship in sheffield is into the last session with three—time champion mark selby up against shaun murphy. crowds have increased throughout the tournament, with 980 in for this match at the crucible. the first capacity crowd at a sporting event in the uk, for more than a year. selby took a 14—11 lead into the final session. these are live pictures from bbc two. he's leading 16-12, pictures from bbc two. he's leading 16—12, two frames away from winning a world title. india has been ravaged by a deadly second wave of covid 19 with the health system in crisis. now the indian premier league match between the kolkata knight riders and royal challengers bangalore has been postponed after two players contracted the virus. kolkata,

whose team includes england one—day captain eoin morgan, says varun chakravarthy and sandeep warrior were both found to be positive in the third round of testing in the last four days. it's also the first positive test result to come out of the ipl since the tournament began on the 9th of april. british number one dan evans is through to the second round of the madrid masters after a three—set victory over france's jeremy chardy in three sets. after reaching the semi—finals stage at last month's monte carlo masters, evans took the opening set on a tiebreak. chardy then took the second in the same way, but evans was too good in the decider, sealing it 6—2. he'll face eitherjohn millman or hubert hurcatch in the second round. sadly i won't be able to join you for the papers later. i've got some snooker to watch!— for the papers later. i've got some snooker to watch! have you, now! we mi . ht snooker to watch! have you, now! we miaht need snooker to watch! have you, now! we might need you! _ snooker to watch! have you, now! we might need you! it's _ snooker to watch! have you, now! we might need you! it's all— snooker to watch! have you, now! we might need you! it's all part _ snooker to watch! have you, now! we might need you! it's all part of - snooker to watch! have you, now! we might need you! it's all part of the - might need you! it's all part of the “ob! might need you! it's all part of the job! thanks! _ as we've been hearing, premier league clubs will be required to sign up to a new owners�*

charter, with "significant sanctions" for breaches of rules, in the wake of the proposed breakaway european super league. liverpool, manchester united, manchester city, arsenal, chelsea and tottenham, all sparked outrage from fans with plans to join the new competition, while yesterday, arrests were made at old trafford after some fans invaded the pitch. well, lets get more on this by speaking to the football finance expert kieran maguire from the university of liverpool. thanks for tearing yourself away from your bank holiday monday to talk to us. what is the charter going to say? what measures are being introduced? the going to say? what measures are being introduced?— going to say? what measures are being introduced? the main issues will be that — being introduced? the main issues will be that clubs _ being introduced? the main issues will be that clubs who _ being introduced? the main issues will be that clubs who sign - being introduced? the main issues will be that clubs who sign up - being introduced? the main issues will be that clubs who sign up to i will be that clubs who sign up to the charter will have to agree to act in good faith towards all other clubs and also to act in the best interests of the premier league as a whole. so this would prevent clubs negotiating in secret to set up effectively a rival competition in the form of the super league, which was a closed franchise, and to which

the premier league would be competing against in the form of the uefa —based champions league. but uefa -based champions league. but this will uefa —based champions league. but this will require legislation to make it stick? ihla this will require legislation to make it stick?— this will require legislation to make itstick? , ., , make it stick? no because ultimately the premier league _ make it stick? no because ultimately the premier league is _ make it stick? no because ultimately the premier league is a _ make it stick? no because ultimately the premier league is a members . make it stick? no because ultimately. the premier league is a members only club and if 70%, if 1a clubs agree to change the constitution of the premier league than the other clubs are duty—bound to comply with the rules. so it appears that the six clubs were part of the super league project, they�*ve been ostracised to an extent and the remaining members of the premier league have decided to increase the severity of sanctions but also to set out in as much stone as they can achieve what the rules are, if you want to be a part of the premier league. you must abide by the rules to protect the competition. this abide by the rules to protect the competition-—

abide by the rules to protect the cometition. , , ., ., , ., competition. this is about money, of course. it usually _ competition. this is about money, of course. it usually is, _ competition. this is about money, of course. it usually is, isn't— competition. this is about money, of course. it usually is, isn't it? - competition. this is about money, of course. it usually is, isn't it? but- course. it usually is, isn�*t it? but it�*s also provoked incredible reactions from the fans. how likely is it that the big clubs that were thinking about breaking away could take legal action themselves to stop the charter? i�*m take legal action themselves to stop the charter?— the charter? i'm not a lawyer but i think they'd _ the charter? i'm not a lawyer but i think they'd struggle _ the charter? i'm not a lawyer but i think they'd struggle because - think they�*d struggle because ultimately they choose to be members of the premier league and if the premier league decides to change its own constitution, which is presently within the existing rules which goes back to this 70% voting element, then i don�*t really see how they can object. they are of course presently freed to resign from the premier league if they so choose but where they would go in order to play domestic football i think would be quite challenging. i can�*t see the efl, the english football league, accepting them. so they�*d have to effectively set up their own competition which i don�*t think would be very competitive. how

serious was _ would be very competitive. how serious was the _ would be very competitive. how serious was the european super league? i�*ve heard it discussed by people who know more about it than i do that it was about trying to get more money out of uefa. certainly the clubs involved _ more money out of uefa. certainly the clubs involved in _ more money out of uefa. certainly the clubs involved in the _ more money out of uefa. certainly the clubs involved in the super - the clubs involved in the super league project have been trying to use a breakaway competition as a negotiating tool for many years and they�*ve managed to extract many concessions from uefa in the form of increased distribution of revenue, increased distribution of revenue, increased number of matches, which increased number of matches, which increase broadcasting. the key issue for the super league clubs was that they wanted to be able to sell some of their own broadcast rights direct to the consumer through their own broadcast platforms, which was a step too far for the remaining clubs in the european club framework. ciaran maguire, thank you.

this weekend, football clubs and their players have been boycotting social media in protest over online abuse and racism. police in london alone say the number of hate crimes against people of an asian background have trebled since the start of the pandemic. but campaigners and authorities agree many more go unreported. the bbc�*s special correspondent fergal keane has been meeting victims of the attacks. one old white lady, she uses herfinger, points out to me and screams at me, saying, "yol- chinese, - you have the chinese virus, just go back to your country". translation: when the train - was approaching camden road station, the tall, young white man who was sat next to me started making a noise, trying to get phlegm up from his throat. and when the train stopped at the station, he spat at me. i was on my way home and this kid shouted "coronavirus" at me. - there was no one else in the street and it was directed at me, -

and this happened at the start of the pandemic. _ anti—asian racism didn�*t begin with the pandemic, but victims say it has escalated dramatically. this has exploded since the beginning of the virus. this really affects both the emotions and mental health and the whole atmosphere in the community. dr pong wang was jogging near his home in southampton when racist comments were shouted from a car. they punched me on my face and my nose was badly hit. the physical injury can be healed very easily, but most importantly, it is the inner side. how do you restore yourfaith in humans? ..not just your nose but your mouth, your eyes, your hair, your voice. the fear around coronavirus has helped inflame xenophobic attitudes around the world.

conspiracy theories have spread online. and victims told us the rhetoric of some leaders caused enduring harm. donald trump: the chinese virus. ..kung flu. ..the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world, china. the issues in america transfer themselves over to the uk quite regularly, and obviously, that is in the media regularly as well. so it gives a voice to people and somebody as powerful as trump, with his views, emboldened the racists. it is an atmosphere in which older prejudices have revived. dan su�*s supermarket symbolises a korean family that is fully integrated into british society. but recently, his wife and baby daughter were racially abused in an affluent west london suburb. i remember very clearly feeling how sad i was. it was my first reaction.

because this is the country that i was born in and i grew up in, and i love... ..everything about this country. communities long established in britain, part of the country�*s culturalfabric, are being targeted. the sense of belonging, reflected in london�*s chinese new year celebrations, is challenged by racism. now, an opposition mp of chinese descent wants tougher policing of hate crime. we�*ve got to get really tough with social media sites that allow and spread hatred online, and as well as that dehumanising kind of rhetoric and racism, there is, on the other hand as well, this racism that is a conspiracy theory, that we are trying to take over the world. in these and many other lives, the politics of the pandemic and superpower rivalries have unleashed fear. but also, a determination to confront prejudice. translation: i am not a virus.

why did he spit at me and discriminate against me? just because i look asian, it doesn't mean i'm a virus. fergal keane, bbc news. a trial is beginning in the united states that could have major implications for the future of the technology giant apple. the case is being brought by epic games, which makes the hugely popular fortnite franchise. it accuses apple of stifling competition by charging developers unfairfees for being on its app store. apple insists the rates are standard for the industry. from san francisco, james clayton has the background to the case. in august last year, epic games did something totally against apple�*s app store rules. it decided that its hit game, fortnite, should have a new payment option to try and get around apple�*s 30% charge. apple properly kicked fortnite off the app store, but epic games was ready for them.

it slapped apple with a lawsuit and had even prepared a high production video, a spoof of apple�*s iconic 1984 advert for the apple mac. apple has reportedly made hundreds of millions of dollars from the fortnite game alone just in charges. and epic�*s argument is, if they don�*t want to pay than where else can they go? apple�*s app store and google�*s google play are the dominant global app stores outside of china. if you want to make games for smartphones, you pretty much have to play by apple and google�*s rules. epic calls that a duopoly and that if there was more competition those fees might be lower. their argument is a pretty simple anti—trust one, that no one company should have so much market dominance in one sector. they are not the only ones that think this. a string of high—profile politicians from democrats and republicans in the us have criticised apple for monopolistic behaviour. the eu recently announced anti—trust charges against apple for its behaviour on the app store. apple�*s argument is pretty simple, it invented the app store so it

should get to charge what it likes. it also says that a majority of apps don�*t pay anything at all to apple. its reasoning for charging 30% on some developers, it says it needs to vet and check apps that come onto the app store to protect the apple ecosystem. apple is taking this court case incredibly seriously, because though it is only one company that is suing them, if they were to lose it will threaten a massive moneyspinner for the company. apple has confirmed tim cook, its chief executive, will give evidence, the first time he�*s ever testified at trial. it is a clear sign that apple is worried, although they say they are confident of winning. the stakes though are incredibly high and apple knows it. it�*s a ratings record for line of duty on bbc one last night after almost 13 —million people tuned in to watch the finale of the sixth

series. it�*s the biggest tv drama audience, not including soaps, for more than 20 years. viewers wanted to learn the identity of the mysterious "",h and he was finally revealed, in the police corruption drama created, by jed mecurio. or was orwas he? i�*m not sure. now it�*s time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello, there. it�*s been a cold early may bank holiday monday and in the rain temperatures were seven or eight degrees in large parts of the country in the afternoon. the wetter weather is pushing its way towards the south—east of the uk. the winds are picking up in wales and the south of england, especially gusty around the coast. the low pressure is driving the weather. the centre there is going to head out into the north sea. the main rain band moves through. as the wind direction changes we feed in more showers or longer spells of rain. not as cold as last night in scotland and northern england and it should be frost—free because the wind will keep blowing overnight. a windy start to tomorrow especially down the north sea coast. the wind gradually eases. we�*ll see some sunshine and showers, perhaps longer spells of rain over northern ireland into northern england, perhaps north wales and the midlands.

it�*ll feel chilly in the wind.