this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. one of the world's richest couples — bill and melinda gates — announce they are to divorce after 27 years of marriage. the british prime minister says there's a "good chance" that social distancing rules in britain could be scrapped by the end ofjune. the european commission recommends easing restrictions on travel as the debate begins on whether it's safe to go on holiday. epic games finally gets its day in court with apple in a trial that could have major implications for the future of the technology giant.

welcome to the programme. bill and melinda gates, the couple who founded the world's largest charitable foundation, have announced they are to divorce after 27 years of marriage. in a joint statement posted on twitter, the couple said they would continue to work together at the foundation that bears their name, but that they could no longer grow together as a couple in the next phase of their lives. i spoke to our correspondent in los angeles, peter bowes. he said this news has come as quite the shock to many. i think this has come as a shock to a lot of people that certainly, one of the world's wealthiest couples, best—known couples in the charity world now and of course, bill gates with microsoft, which he founded in 1975, they should be going their separate ways. significant, i think,

from the statement that you've read a little passage from, that they will continue to work together. they say they've put a lot of effort into their relationship, but decided to go separate ways as a couple because they do not believe — just paraphrasing — but they have a future together, at least that they have a future together, at least in a romantic sense. but they will continue that charitable work which really has been the emphasis for both of them since they started in the year 2000. of course, there charitable foundation benefiting hugely from the financial success of microsoft and the sums of money in stocks that bill gates transferred into the foundation. it transferred into the foundation. . ., , foundation. it certainly sounds extremely _ foundation. it certainly sounds extremely amicable _ foundation. it certainly sounds extremely amicable from - foundation. it certainly sounds extremely amicable from the i extremely amicable from the statement that i've read, but there's a lot of money that the two of them will be able to share, i guess.— two of them will be able to share, i guess. yes, they are together— share, i guess. yes, they are together worth _ share, i guess. yes, they are together worth billions - share, i guess. yes, they are together worth billions of - together worth billions of dollars. clearly, we are not privy to any financial relationships they have, any

prenuptial agreements they might have. that's always the subject of considerable speculation when wealthy couples decide they are separating, but clearly, it will be something for them to sort out privately if they can. but there will be a lot of focus on what they do next and perhaps their relationship together, but in terms of their business relationship, perhaps you could almost talk about their celebrity personas as well. this is going to be of big story for a few days, i think. let's get some of the day's other news. president biden has said his administration will allow almost 63,000 refugees into the united states this year. last month, mr biden said he would stick to an annual limit of 15,00 brought in under president trump. the charity save the children says almost 5,000 children

displaced by the fighting in the tigray region of northern ethiopia, have been separated from their parents. many have been arriving at displaced people's camps or informal shelters. save the children says there are vulnerable they are vulnerable to hunger as well as physical and sexual violence. days of protests against planned tax reforms in colombia have left at least 19 people dead, including one police officer. the tax reform proposals, which have now been withdrawn, triggered widespread demonstrations across the country. police responded forcefully after shops were looted and vandalised in several cities. the army has been deployed. the us secretary of state antony blinken has described america's relationship with britain as vital in addressing the most urgent global issues. after talks with his british counterpart dominic raab, mr blinken said the us had no closer ally and partner in tackling key the key issues. the pair will attend an in—person g7 foreign ministers meeting this week. the british prime minister 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. borisjohnson 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. iain watson reports. for so long, the message has been to stay apart, but today, the prime minister was sounding optimistic that we could be able to move closer next month. it looks to me as thouthune the 21st we'll be able to say social distancing as we currently have to do it, the one metre plus, i think we've got a good chance, a good chance, of being able to dispense with the 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's possible we might still be advised to wear masks in cinemas and theatres and on public transport. but the prospect of spring and summer sun seems

to be moving closer. later this week, the government is expected to confirm it is lifting the ban on holidays abroad from england on may 17th. and today, the eu raised the prospect of allowing nonessential travel from countries with good rates of vaccination, such as the uk. but the government will impose a range of restrictions on travellers when they return home. a traffic light system of restrictions will be introduced in england from may 17th. if you come back from a country on the red list, you need 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 low levels of virus will be on a green list. if you visited any of these, you will not need to quarantine, so long as you have proof of a negative test. but here at westminster, a cross—party group of mps is rather cross about the prospect of reopening foreign travel in just a couple of weeks' time. they're accusing the prime minister or potentially

snatching defeat from the jaws of a victorious vaccination programme. they say the way in which you'd allow foreign travel to go ahead could be seriously flawed. when you've got surges happening across the world which are likely going to be countries ending 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 are actually asking the government to discourage leisure travel at this time. the labour leader also urged the government to proceed with caution. it's clear that the virus is increasing in some countries around the world, so we'll have to be very careful. what we can't have is a repeat of last summer, where the lists were chopping and changing on a daily or even weekly basis. in india and some other parts of the world covid is far from being under control, so there are politicians here who are concerned about making foreign

travel any easier. the european union has outlined plans to significantly reduce travel restrictions in the hope of salvaging a summer season for the continent. with vaccination campaigns picking up and covid infections starting to fall, several countries are beginning to lift lockdowns following a devastating second wave of the pandemic. let's take a look at what's changing and where. greece is reopening the outdoor spaces of its taverns and cafes. in the czech republic, hair and beauty salons have opened and older students will return to the classroom in about half the country's regions. portugal is extending the opening hours for cafes and restaurants as part of its final stage of reopening, and all sport activities can now resume. it's also reopened its land border with spain. and in italy, the museums in vatican city have opened their doors to the public once again, with covid restrictions in place. paul charles is founder and chief executive of the travel consultancy company, the pc agency. he explained the motivations

behind europe's plan to reopen to tourism. it's clear that europe as a region is moving faster than several of the world, despite it being through the tragedy of lockdowns and high death rates recently. but it's opening faster because it's being led by the need to get that economic growth going. travel and tourism contributes over 10% of europe's gdp, so it's vital for many countries like greece, spain, portugaland greece, spain, portugal and france greece, spain, portugaland france to see tourism open far quicker than it was expected. the uk looks like it might be a bit slower than parts of mainland europe at the moment at least. i mainland europe at the moment at least. ~ , at least. i think the uk is bein: at least. i think the uk is being too _ at least. i think the uk is being too cautious. - at least. i think the uk is being too cautious. it - at least. i think the uk is i being too cautious. it could at least. i think the uk is - being too cautious. it could be opening far faster from may the 17th, but it's likely we're going to see some 15 or so countries open up to uk

travellers directly on the green list that the prime minister is due to announced later this week. it should be opening far more. we had some pretty tough restrictions in place in the uk in terms of the form filling, testing when you come back into the uk, and what we're seeing is other countries now saying to those who've been fully jobs that they can travel without many restrictions in place, and we should see that from the uk government —— fully jabbed. we have over 50 million people fully jabbed, jabbed. we have over 50 million people fullyjabbed, the most vulnerable have been jabbed people fullyjabbed, the most vulnerable have beenjabbed and they should be allowed to travel with fewer restrictions for may the 17th. but we haven't heard that announcement yet. haven't heard that announcement et. ., �* , haven't heard that announcement et. , haven't heard that announcement et. ., yet. you've 'ust come back from a tri to yet. you've just come back from a trip to mexico, _ yet. you've just come back from a trip to mexico, so _ yet. you've just come back from a trip to mexico, so you're - a trip to mexico, so you're self—isolating in the uk. what was that like is an experience? on a plane wearing masks and all of the different controls you face? i all of the different controls you face?— all of the different controls ou face? . ., , , you face? i certainly felt very safe going — you face? i certainly felt very safe going there. _ you face? i certainly felt very safe going there. i _ you face? i certainly felt very safe going there. i didn't - you face? i certainly felt very l safe going there. i didn't need to fill in any forms, i didn't

need to take any tests, but when i arrived at canc n airport, i had to undergo extensive temperature checks and questions about where i've beenin and questions about where i've been in previous two weeks. but i certainly felt very safe there, although in canc n, you're outside a lot of the time rather than inside. but actually coming back, it was a very arduous process. a lot of forms to fill in, i'd taken six tests in the last four days to prove that i'm not carrying anything. i'm it may be asymptomatic, i don't know yet, waiting for further tests. all accounts, i should waiting for further tests. all accounts, ishould not waiting for further tests. all accounts, i should not be quarantine or self—isolating. i'm perfectly healthy. itjust goes to show the uk's still on a very arduous rule in place when many other parts of the world are opening up far faster. a further easing of lockdown measures in the netherlands has been pstponed, as infections remain high and hospitals

are struggling with large numbers of patients. anna holligan has more from the hague. last week, all seating areas outside were allowed to reopen, but that went against the advice of the scientists advising the government, who said it was too soon to relax the rules. some hospitals have reached capacity in their intensive care units, others have stopped admitting new patients and some have delayed, postponed or even cancelled routine cancer and hop on my heart operation. the dutch government was due to hold a press conference tonight and announced that businesses could reopen on the 11th of may, but that has now postponed. the government is due to reassess its next steps at the weekend. anna holligan. stay with us on bbc news. still to come... we hear from victims of racism abuse against people of asian

backgrounds. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby serve to the faithful of the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand. the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now, the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister becamel the first man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes _ memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in the future of peace and freedom.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines... bill and melinda gates, one of the world's richest couples, have announced their divorce after nearly three decades of marriage. the european commission recommends easing restrictions on travel to the eu as parts of europe relax covid rules. a second spike in covid—19 cases is putting renewed pressure on struggling health care system in the philippines. the country has the second highest number of cases in south east asia, behind indonesia — with vaccinations at less than 1% of the total population. and with one of the longest and hardest lockdowns howard johnson now reports from manila. at manila's main crematorium, smoke billows incessantly. 0utside, ambulances and hearses queue, filled with the dead. a driver tells us that an incinerator has stopped working, overloaded

because of the pandemic. inside, urns of the cremated await collection from loved ones under lockdown. in manila's hospitals, bed space is in short supply. translation: we arrived at 5am, we waited in line. j when we got to the emergency room, we waited for another two hours. all in all, we waited for almost six hours. but a second hard lockdown has seen daily new cases begin to fall down from march's peak of 111,000 now to around 8000 per day, according to the department of health. however, doctors' groups are warning that with less than 1% of the population fully vaccinated, the country remains in a precarious situation. right now, there are some local government units that have stopped the vaccination programme because there's no available vaccines any more. there seems to be no effective programmes to contain the pandemic. the world's longest and hardest

lockdown has sent the economy into a crippling recession. noticing the suffering of the poor, manila resident anna put this humble bamboo cart stocked with food ona street corner along with a sign — "give what you can, take what you need." but when a member of the government questioned if the initiative had ties to armed communism, anna temporarily suspended the initiative for fear of retribution. what started as a single food bank has now evolved into hundreds of these initiatives across the philippines. you can see by the length of the queue the need of the people here. they told me there aren't enough jobs and food hand—outs from the government to go around, and that's why they're queuing in the midday sun. but shortly before 2pm, this food bank was shut

down by the police. an order had been given to distribute the food to the local counsel. these women who had been queuing since 10am said they are yet to receive ayuda — financial aid from the government. no ayuda here. the government says it has distributed 75% of its financial aid programme to metro manila. the hand—out is just $21 per person, and so the poor continue to queue. howard johnson, bbc news, manila. during the pandemic, abuse towards people of asian backgrounds has increased dramatically. in new york city, for instance, hate fueled attacks against asian americans rose by more than 800% last year. and in london, the figure has more than tripled. the bbc�*s special correspondent fergal keane has been meeting victims of these attacks and sent this report. 0ne old white lady, she uses herfinger,

points out to me and screams at me, saying, "you— 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 i 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? ..notjust 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's an atmosphere in which older prejudices have revived. dan su's supermarket symbolises a korean family that's 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 cultural fabric, 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 landmark trial has begun 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. the trial in california will hear testimony from both our north america technology correspondent james clayton reports. apple's app store and google's google play are the dominant... if you want to make games or smartphone, you pretty much have to play by apple and google's rules. epic all that a duopoly, and if there was more competition, those fees might be lower. their argument is a pretty simple antitrust one that no one company should have so much market dominance in one sector. apple's argument is pretty simple. it invented it, so it could charge what it likes. it also says a majority of apps don't get anything at all to apple. its reasoning for charging 30%, it says it needs to vent and check apps to

protect the apple ecosystem. james clayton. conservationists in kenya have rescued nine endangered giraffes from an island threatened by rising flood waters. the baringo giraffe — also known as the rothschild giraffe — is close to extinction. conservationists have been using a database of satellite images going back several decades to plan the translocation of the giraffes to a new sanctuary. emmanuel igunza has more. it's an audacious rescue mission. the baringo giraffe is being carefully ferried to a new home in a custom—made barge. she's one ofjust 3000 baringo giraffes that remain in the world. the local community decided to act when a herd became trapped on a disappearing island. decades of rising water in lake baringo meant the island was getting smaller every year. the food availability on the island is highly fluctuating and insufficient, so it is justifying in supporting the need for the translocation

of the giraffe to the mainland. he speaks his own language. the team has been using satellite images to plan the move. the digital africa platform contains data that until recently was only available to a handful people. now the team can see changes in water levels and vegetation cover in the region going back several decades. it's a new tool for conservationists responding to africa's increasingly unpredictable weather. these erratic patterns means that we have to deploy real—time data and information to support conservation efforts both by citizens and governments to ensure that they plan effectively and try to mitigate the devastating impacts of these climatic changes. on the mainland, the barge must be carefully brought to the shore. the rest of the herd have already made this perilous

journey and they are waiting for her in the new giraffe sanctuary. the long—term aim is to introduce more giraffes from other parts of the country and build up kenya's population of baringo giraffes. emmanuelle igunza, bbc news, kenya. i got to use this voice, it's not a bird, it's not a plane, it's a jet too! take a look at this amazing video involving the british royal marines. this soldier is strapped into a jetpack, developed by the company gravity industries. he takes off and lands on the ship with ease. devices like this were initially tested for paramedic. but now, the company is testing the military implications. the result is like something from a blockbuster film, only very real. it's increasingly seen as a

revolution for many special forces. he thought to have a much broader application beyond the maritime field. without the jet suit, the only method for getting on that ship would be a helicopter, but he did it with ease. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ martinebbc. this is bbc news. hello. when it comes to bank holiday weather, our expectations are normally low, but even they were undercut by what just happened. up to two inches of rain in the wettest parts of scotland, but very few avoided a spell of lashing rain. a wind gust over 90 mph off the south coast of england. even where the rain held off until late in the day, the temperature only reached 1a celsius, and that's the lowest high temperature the uk has had on the early may bank holiday, so that makes it the coldest early may bank holiday on record. it's not going to feel any warmer during tuesday. it'll still be windy, though not quite as windy, and there'll be showers around

as the area of low pressure that did for the bank holiday weather pulls away into the north sea. the flow of air behind that, though, coming down from the north, that means temperatures below average for the time of year, feeling colder in the wind and the showers around of which there will be plenty from the word go though not much in the way of frost to start the day. that is going to change, though, as we go through the week ahead, so back to a risk of overnight frost. gales close to these north sea coasts where it's been windiest overnight in southern england and south wales. won't be as windy by the time we get to mid—morning. there are areas with showers moving south, perhaps some longer spells of rain in parts of northern england. brightening up later in northeast scotland. not many showers in southern england and south wales. the winds at their strongest along the north sea coasts and across parts of eastern england. very gusty, but again easing later. catch a shower, hail, thunder — with temperatures like this, it'll be wintry over the hills in scotland. some places will not get into double figures. now, on through tuesday evening and night, some showers continue to feed south. it's where it gets clearest overnight — northern england and parts of scotland — we're

going to have frost going into wednesday morning, so it will be a cold start. and wednesday will be a day of sunshine and showers. again, there will be a wintry flavour to these showers in places with hail and some snow on the higher hills in scotland, northern england, perhaps into wales as well. it's not going to feel any warmer. we're back to the risk of overnight frost. a similar picture on thursday — further showers, wintry on hills moving south and maybe a spell of rain flirting with the south coast of england, so we're going to keep a close eye on that. friday will be another chilly day of sunshine and showers and going into the weekend, here comes another area of low pressure. more wind and rain, though as the wind changes direction to a southerly, it may turn much warmer for a time, especially in parts of england.

this is bbc news, the headlines. one of the world's richest couples — bill and melinda gates — have announced that they are divorcing after 27 years of marriage. their charitable foundation has spent billions fighting causes such as infectious diseases and encouraging vaccinations in children. in a joint statement, the pair said they would continue to work together. the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has said that the one—metre plus rule for social distancing could be dropped next month but that this would depend on the data. he also suggested that some foreign travel could resume in two week's time but he was remaining cautious. the european union has outlined plans to significantly ease travel restrictions in time for the summer. under the proposals, anyone who has received the last dose of an eu approved vaccine at least two

weeks beforehand will be permitted to travel. discussions on the plans will begin on tuesday. now on bbc news...