a warning from the prime minister — the rise in the indian variant of coronavirus could threaten the plan for england to come out of all restrictions injune in response, the planned second vaccine doses for the over 50s will be cut from 12 to 8 weeks. the prime minister gave this assessment. i have to level with you that this new variant could pose a serious disruption to our progress and could make it more difficult to move to step 4 injune. with restrictions staying in place next week for glasgow and moray, we'll be asking how much the new variant is likely to disrupt plans for exiting lockdown. also tonight... a fifth day of fighting — israel intensifies its attack on gaza, as palestinian militants

continue their rocket assaults on israel. british tourists will be allowed to enter portugal from next monday, after last—minute uncertainty over their government's covid plans. edwin poots is elected the new leader of the democratic unionist party, after its first ever leadership contest. the 17—year—old migrant girl who survived hundreds of miles offshore for three weeks and the spanish rescue worker who saved her. and chelsea's women bid to become european champions hot on the heels of winning the league title. coming up on the bbc news channel, a moment of magic for the champions as manchester city look to celebrate their premier league title at newcastle.

good evening. borisjohnson has sounded a note of caution about plans for england to move out of lockdown next month, saying the new indian variant of coronavirus could pose a serious disruption to the progress made in tackling the virus. but he said the "present evidence" did not show a need to delay the next stage of unlocking in england on monday when indoor hospitality can reopen and six people can meet indoors. in response to the spread of the indian variant, mrjohnson announced that second vaccine doses for the over 50s would be accelerated. the government says there's no firm evidence that the variant causes more severe disease or that it's more resistant to the vaccine. but government advisers says there's a realistic chance it may be as much as 50% more transmissible. here's our medical editor fergus walsh. long queues for immunisation in bolton, which now has the highest

level of coronavirus in the uk. it is one of several areas where the indian variant has now got a foothold, encouraging people to get the jab. foothold, encouraging people to get the “ab. . , foothold, encouraging people to get the “ab. ., , ., ., the “ab. personally the reason for me the jab. personally the reason for me getting _ the jab. personally the reason for me getting the — the jab. personally the reason for me getting the vaccine _ the jab. personally the reason for me getting the vaccine is - the jab. personally the reason fori me getting the vaccine is because the jab. personally the reason for. me getting the vaccine is because i live with elderly people and i do not want to have them have worries. it is thought vaccines will continue to protect against serious illness, but the threat from the indian variant has led to a shift in policy. the gap between first and second doses for the over 50s is being cut from 12 to eight weeks in a bid to boost their immunity. the prime minister warned the final lifting of restrictions in england on during the 21st was now in doubt. i have to level with you that this new variant could pose a serious disruption to our progress and could make it more difficult to move to

step four injune. and i must stress that we will do whatever it takes to keep the public safe. the that we will do whatever it takes to keep the public safe.— keep the public safe. the indian variant, 81.6172, _ keep the public safe. the indian variant, 81.6172, was— keep the public safe. the indian variant, b1.617.2, was first - variant, b1.617.2, was first identified here less than a month ago, linked to travel from india before it was put on the red list for hotel quarantine. cases have more than doubled in a week to over 1300, but that will inevitably be out of date because it takes time to sequence samples. it now accounts for around 10% of coronavirus cases in the uk. but we are in a far better place than we were just a few months ago. back in the peak in january there were one and a quarter million people infected with coronavirus in the uk, that is one in 50 people. the latest survey from the office for national statistics suggests that is down to around

47,000, or one in 1400 people. get used to this, you are likely to see more of it. queues for pcr surge testing here in formby, merseyside, one of 15 areas in england where the new indian variant has established itself and maybe displacing the kent variant, the 117. this itself and maybe displacing the kent variant, the 117.— variant, the 117. this is more transmissible _ variant, the 117. this is more transmissible and _ variant, the 117. this is more transmissible and we - variant, the 117. this is more transmissible and we expect| variant, the 117. this is more - transmissible and we expect over time this variant to overtake and come to dominate in the uk in the way that the kent one took over and other variants took over prior to that. , . . other variants took over prior to that. ,. . ., h, , other variants took over prior to that. ,. u, , ., , that. the scientific advisory group, sa . e, that. the scientific advisory group, sage. says — that. the scientific advisory group, sage. says the _ that. the scientific advisory group, sage, says the indian _ that. the scientific advisory group, sage, says the indian variant - that. the scientific advisory group, j sage, says the indian variant could be as much as 50% more transmissible. if it is, they warn that could lead to a substantial resurgence in hospitalisation. but for now the number of covid patients

continues to fall, at its lowest level for eight months. the big question, what will happen in the next few weeks? fergus walsh, bbc news. let's speak now to our deputy political editor vicki young. so next week's easing of restrictions in england won't be affected, but there's concern about plans for late june? yes, and tonight borisjohnson is facing real criticism that he did not act soon enough to restrict travel from india. labour saying he delayed by a number of weeks and saying our borders have been like a save throughout this pandemic. the government insists there were quarantine measures in place. but there is real anxiety now about this variant. yes, to be clear, monday's easing of restrictions in england, where there will be more social mixing allowed indoors, that will go ahead. the uncertainty is about during the 21st when many would be hoping to an end to all social

restrictions and massive events to take place. this reopening has been carefully structured. each step is taken, assessed and ministers and scientists all look at the data before they progress. there are a lot of unknowns here, there is a lot of uncertainty, but the issue tonight is that when that return to normal life is tantalisingly close, this is a real reminder that nothing with this pandemic is guaranteed. vicky young at westminster. the latest data shows new covid infections remain low with 2,193 in the past 24 hours, with 17 deaths recorded. looking at vaccinations, more than 36 million people have now had their first dose of a vaccine. that's 68.6% of the uk's adult population. more than 19.3 million have had both jabs, so that's nearly 37% of all adults now fully vaccinated. i'm joined now by our medical editor fergus walsh. so overall infections are very

low, but the concern about the new variant is about how transmissible it is? that is right. we are in a much better place than we were at christmas when the kent variant swept in because we now have the vaccine and it is breaking the link between cases on the one hand and deaths on the other. 0nce between cases on the one hand and deaths on the other. once people are fully immunised, even if they get reinfected, they are unlikely to get seriously ill. it is thought that still holds true for the new indian variant. nearly all the over 50s have had at least one dose of vaccine and by cutting the gap for the second dose it is hoped to boost their protection. but the figures on covid are really looking promising. there is nowjust over 100 covid patients on ventilators in the uk. injanuary patients on ventilators in the uk. in january there were patients on ventilators in the uk. injanuary there were 4000. it is surprising to see such a gloomy assessment from the sage scientists talking about a potential for a huge wave of hospitalisation if this

indian variant proves to be 50% more transmissible. the key thing in the coming weeks is not to look at cases and whether they rise, but at hospital numbers. if they stay low, we are in the clear. if they start to peak again, the end of lockdown will be in doubt.— will be in doubt. thank you. fergus walsh there- _ fergus walsh there. wales will reopen indoor hospitality and entertainment venues, including cinemas and bingo halls, from monday as planned. the first minister mark drakeford said people should consider staying local for their holidays despite lifting the ban on international travel. he said if ever there was a year to holiday in wales, this was it. the scottish government is also continuing with its roadmap of unlocking, moving most of mainland scotland to level 2 on monday, meaning alcohol can be served indoors in pubs and restaurants and entertainment venues can reopen. but glasgow and moray will remain at the higher level 3 because of concern about an increase in covid cases there.

0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon is in glasgow for us. disappointing for them? yes, it really is. nicola sturgeon is pressing pause on the easing of restrictions in certain areas and some people, particularly here in glasgow, will find it very disappointing. the reason for that is it was last september that people here in glasgow were told they could no longer visit each other�*s homes and that was about to change and this afternoon came the unexpected announcement that glasgow city would join moray in the north of scotland in remaining in level three for at least the next seven days. people living in glasgow city and moray are also told not to travel in and out of their council areas. there are grounds for cautious optimism in moray, where the authorities look to be stemming the community transmission because of their

efforts, but there is more concerned about the situation in glasgow where pockets of transmission, particularly in the south side, seem to be linked to the indian variant of the virus. this will be a big blow to businesses here who had been hoping to reopen. they will get financial support, hoping to reopen. they will get financialsupport, but hoping to reopen. they will get financial support, but nicola sturgeon said this afternoon it was inevitable as the country navigates through the pandemic it would hit bumps in the road. she added that by exercising caution she hoped scotland would avoid even more restrictive measures over the next few weeks. restrictive measures over the next few weeke— restrictive measures over the next few weeks. ., ., ., lorna gordon reporting. portugal has given the green light for british tourists to visit the country from monday. the country was added to the uk's green list last week, but portugal only reversed its ban on non—essential travel today. travellers will have to show a negative covid test processed by a lab in the 72 hours prior to entering portugal. here's our transport correspondent, caroline davies. the beach is within reach.

after nearly a week, portugal has confirmed that british tourists are allowed in on monday and some can't wait to get there. what i would like to do first is just collapse on the beach and completely stop and have a good lie down and arrest.— down and arrest. rebecca is due to travel to faro _ down and arrest. rebecca is due to travel to faro on _ down and arrest. rebecca is due to travel to faro on the _ down and arrest. rebecca is due to travel to faro on the 31st _ down and arrest. rebecca is due to travel to faro on the 31st of - down and arrest. rebecca is due to travel to faro on the 31st of may. l travel to faro on the 31st of may. she is relieved it looks like a holiday will happen. for she is relieved it looks like a holiday will happen.- she is relieved it looks like a holiday will happen. for the last 18 months like _ holiday will happen. for the last 18 months like most _ holiday will happen. for the last 18 months like most people _ holiday will happen. for the last 18 months like most people i - holiday will happen. for the last 18 months like most people i have . holiday will happen. for the last 18 i months like most people i have been stuck in the uk. i work for the nhs, i have been really busy for the last year often working six—day weeks and picking up extra shifts. to go away is something i am looking forward to, being able to leave the uk, spent time on the beach, relax and stop and get away from everything that has been going on here. portugal is on the uk's green list, which means passengers arriving there from the uk need to take covid test, but do not need to quarantine.

it would lift its ban on international travel and let tourists in if they have a covid test. it was good news for those in the portuguese tourism industry. indie the portuguese tourism industry. we are so the portuguese tourism industry. - are so delighted that the portuguese government this morning gave a total green light to our family, government this morning gave a total green light to ourfamily, the british people, because the algarve, we consider the british people as family. we consider the british people as famil . ., ., . , family. the announcement came 'ust in time. some — family. the announcement came 'ust in time. some are i family. the announcement came 'ust in time. some are worried * family. the announcement came just in time. some are worried portugal. in time. some are worried portugal would not change the rule this month. we are already seeing a level of uncertainty even before international travel restarts. how does this bode for the summer? we need does this bode for the summer? - need to acknowledge it will be a different summer, there is no question about that. we will see more country going onto the green list as we go through the summer, and if travel does change, there is flexibility in the booking. the first british — flexibility in the booking. the first british tourist will head to portugal on monday morning. the

smiles whilst dropping off covid test say it all.— smiles whilst dropping off covid test sa it all. ., ., , hurray! violent clashes between israeli troops and palestinians have spread across much of the occupied west bank, following days of hostility in gaza. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has warned that israel's biggest offensive against hamas in gaza in years is not over yet. it's estimated 10,000 palestinians have had to leave their homes to flee the israeli bombardment. rockets were fired by militants towards israel from the territory for a fifth day. at least 122 people in gaza have been killed, and nine have died in israel since fighting began on monday. from jerusalem here's our middle east editor, jeremy bowen. the sectarian crisis nobody expected is deepening. tonight arab protesters are on the streets of northern israel. this was nazareth.

they are forced back into the wider conflict that includes gaza and jerusalem. it is ugly and angry in a town shared byjews and arabs. violence between citizens could be a bigger crisis for israel than gaza. this was a burnt outjewish school. police broke down the door of this family. they deny accusations their sons were attacking jews. the police say their offices behaved correctly. the father, the imam of a mosque and his two sons were arrested for attacking police officers. the woman who filmed this said they are scared, not ofjews, but of racist police. a local rabbi visited, she said, to apologise. in gaza, they

buried this 13—year—old. he was hit during an israeli air strike while he waited for a new haircut to celebrate the end of ramadan. half of girls of�*s 2 million palestinians are children. this is the boy's brother. in the occupied territories and in israel, events this week have exposed once again, the mutual hatred and fear that are the essence of this conflict. this was hebron during a day of protest on the occupied west bank. more palestinians were killed. in jerusalem, palestinians pelted jewish settlers with stones and fireworks. the settlers hit back with live bullets. this was sheik jarrah, were attempts to evict palestinians from their homes helped

the escalation to war. the conflict crosses borders. injordan, the country next door, security forces kept protesters back from the frontier. palestinians make up more than half of thejordanian population, mostly refugees from past wars not permitted to return by israel. history never dies in this conflict. people do. it is now a multifaceted conflict on multiple fronts and that, of course, makes it harder for diplomatic mediation which is going on behind—the—scenes to try to get some sort of a ceasefire in gaza. as for the sectarian crisis inside israel itself, that might be harderfor them to deal with, harderfor itself, that might be harderfor them to deal with, harder for them to find a solution. community leaders, religious leaders, the president of israel, they have all been appealing for calm. muslims, palestinians, jews have been getting

together inside israel and appealing together inside israel and appealing to different communities to stop the madness that is going on, as they have called it. the people are not really listening. and this week coming for palestinians is a very significant weekend i should say that's coming up. that is that marks the so—called catastrophe, which was the so—called catastrophe, which was the independence of israel in 1948 and the dissolution of palestinian society. and that is always a rough time. there are always clashes, always violence and in this current atmosphere, of course, there are a lot of worried people. jeremy, thank you. jeremy bowen there. the democratic unionist party has a new leader. he is edwin poots and he takes over from arlene foster who stood down after criticism of her handling of brexit. mr poots narrowly beat his opponent, the mp sirjeffrey donaldson today in the first leadership election in the dup's 50—year history.

0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy has more. the new leader of northern ireland's largest unionist party has made one thing clear, opposing the new brexit arrangements for northern ireland, the northern ireland protocol, will be one of his biggest priorities. edwin poots beat his rival, sirjeffrey donaldson, by 19 votes to 17. this party has been the authentic voice of unionism and will continue to be the authentic voice of unionism under my leadership. the northern ireland protocol has proven to be a massive challenge for us. and if we are to fight this to ensure that everybody in northern ireland is not worse off as a consequence of the protocol, then it's for us to do that together. edwin poots had been viewed as the more hardline of the two candidates.

as agriculture minister he's already been responsible for moves to block the implementation of the brexit arrangements, the new checks on goods coming from great britain to northern ireland, the border in the irish sea. his socially conservative views have previously attracted attention. he's a creationist who said he doesn't believe in the theory of evolution and opposes gay marriage, same—sex adoption and abortion. he's been there at the beginning, his father was one of the founding members of the party and his heartbeat would be in those rural traditional sections of the party. the problem is i think, in terms of having to make difficult decisions and move the party forward, he may not be the best person because he is bound to them, his roots are in that party and he doesn't want to unsettle them. lisburn, in his constituency, is a proudly unionist area. but many voters think the dup is at a crossroads. i think the union need to be a wee bit more inclusive, so they do. - they'd attract more voters,

i think that's why a lot - of people have gone off them. i think they should get rid of the irish sea border. can they, though? i think at the moment we've got the worst of both worlds, we are cut off from ireland, we are cut off from england to a degree. you won't get rid of that protocol, not in the month of sundays. so we can't get rid of it, we can't stop it. so you don't think the tough talk isn't realistic? they know they can't win that. in a break from tradition, while edwin poots will lead the party, it's understood he won't take on the role of first minister and it's not yet clear who that will go to. 50 years ago my father helped form this party... many unionists feel their british identity has been weakened by the brexit arrangements. edwin poots will be hoping he's the man to strengthen northern ireland's place in the uk. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. let's take a look at some of today's other news. the serious fraud office is investigating the business empire of the owner of liberty steel, sanjeev gupta. his steel company employs around 5,000 people across the uk

with sites in rotherham, motherwell and newport. the probe is into suspected money laundering and fraud, which mr gupta denies. four men have been jailed for life for the murder of a 15—year—old boy in wolverhampton. keelan wilson was stabbed 43 times in wolverhampton on 29th may 2018. jurors heard his murder was gang—related, plotted by his killers who believed keelan had changed factions. amazon is to create more than 10,000 newjobs in the uk, taking its total workforce here to 55,000 by the end of the year. it's building new warehouses in tyne and wear, south yorkshire, leicestershire, wiltshire and kent. the bbc�*s religion editor, martin bashir, is leaving the corporation following major heart surgery last year. the 58—year—old journalist, best known for his interview with princess diana, has come under scrutiny over allegations that mocked—up bank statements were used to secure his interview with her.

the bbc has commissioned an independent inquiry into the claims. the united nations refugee agency is warning of a big rise in the number of deaths of people trying to reach europe by sea. warmer weather and falling covid rates on the continent appear to be encouraging more to attempt the journey. this year, the majority are crossing from libya, tunisia, and algeria and landing on italian soil. many others are travelling from morocco, across the mediterranean to mainland spain. but the most dangerous route is from north—west africa, through the north atlantic ocean to the canary islands. more than 5,000 people have survived this journey so far this year. 0ur europe correspondent nick beake and video journalist bruno boelpaep have sent this exclusive report of one rescue. stranded in the middle of the atlantic, a helpless migrant boat. the spanish military helicopters

overhead have never spotted anything like this here. it's 300 miles from shore. they realise there are many bodies. translation: this was a mass grave in the middle of the water, _ or really in the middle of nowhere. i believe their hopes had vanished into the ocean. but incredibly, there are survivors. including a 17—year—old girl called aisha, here in the red jacket. it's now a race to save them. it's the end of april and they've been drifting for three weeks. translation: there were men who could no longer stand up i and who screamed from thirst. please, i need to drink water. can someone please give me water. we used a shoe to give them some sea water. aisha, a teenagerfrom ivory coast,

thought europe would offer a brighterfuture. she saw 56 people die in front of her. translation: after two days we had no more water left, no food. - 0n the fourth day, no more petrol. at the beginning when somebody died, we'd say a prayer. by the end, there was no prayer. we didn't have the strength to throw any more bodies in the water. with summer on the horizon, thousands of mostly young men from north and west africa are trying to get to europe. some are fleeing war, others, the economic hand that life has dealt them. populist parties say tougher action is needed to stop this. it's a crisis that was masked momentarily by covid, but never solved. aisha has been welcomed with open arms in tenerife and now, a reunion — this man, who lifted her from the boat.

he's brought his family to meet her. for so many others on her boat, there was no new beginning, it was the end. aisha was one of only three survivors. this was the greatest loss of life in any single known attempt to reach the canary islands. the 24 bodies that were recovered will now be laid to rest here. for the others lost at sea, there is no such dignity in death. aisha never thought she'd be able to speak to her family again, but made a good recovery during her ten days in hospital. she hopes to stay in europe, study and work here and send money back to her parents.

this man and his team head off on their next training mission, knowing full well that even the might of the atlantic ocean is not enough to stop those prepared to risk death if there is the slightest chance of a better life. nick beake, bbc news, in the canary islands. prince harry has spoken publicly again about his life as a member of the royal family, saying he wants to "break the cycle" of "pain and suffering" he experienced while growing up, to spare his own children. speaking on a podcast, prince harry compared his life as a royal to being in a zoo. buckingham palace and clarence house have declined to comment. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas whitchell has more. they did their best to walk in step for the duke of edinburgh's funeral, but this is a family which has been shaken and hurt by recent comments by harry and his wife. and now there are more. harry's reflections from his california home on the theme of parenting and the pain and suffering handed down to him.

there's no blame. yeah. i don't think we should be pointing the finger or blaming anybody, but certainly when it comes to parenting, if i've experienced some form of pain or suffering because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered, i'm going to make sure that i break that cycle so i don't pass it on, basically. there's a lot of genetic pain and suffering that gets passed on anyway. we, as parents, we should be doing the most we can to try and say, "you know what, that happened to me, i'm going to make sure that doesn't happen to you." however bewildered they may find such unburdening, harry's family isn't showing it. prince charles was in south wales. sir, do you agree with prince harry about the suffering _ and pain in the family? nice try, but to no avail. but it's the questions implicit in harry's latest musings which will trouble the family. they've accepted that he needed to get away from royal life for the sake of his mental health. what they didn't expect was for him to go public

on such private matters. here he is on his father's upbringing. this is where he went to school. this is what happened. i know this bit about his life. i also know that's connected to his parents. yeah. so, that means that he's treating me the way that he was treated. exactly. which means — how can i change that for my own kids? and, well, here i am. harry says he feels a little more free in his new life in california. his family may wonder how many more reflections he and his wife will feel obliged to share. nicholas witchell, bbc news. this weekend, chelsea 5 women for the european crown for the first time. they ll do so without fans, but victory would cement their place as one of the most successful teams in the history of the english game. 0ur sports correspondent jo currie reports. the best in england. fresh from winning the league title and the league cup, now this group of players assembled from around the world are just one

step away from proving they are the best in europe. stars include australian, sam kerr, this year's top scorer. denmark's pernille harder, voted uefa player of the year, and club and sweden captain, magdalena eriksson. it would mean everything. it's a big dream for everyone and, yeah, we've reached the final, we are not settled with that, we want to go all the way now. and with the men taking on manchester city later this month, chelsea are aiming to create history by becoming the first club to win the men's and the women's champions league and in the same season. but whilst the men's final has moved countries so fans can attend, no such steps have been taken for the women's final, which will be played behind closed doors in sweden. it's a shame, they always say the first is always the sweetest. unfortunately, we can't be there but we'll be cheering the girls on. if we can't go this year, we can go to turin next year. only one british team has claimed that women's european title before, arsenal back in 2007.

and part of their coaching setup was chelsea's current manager.