this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 7pm. people in areas where the indian variant of coronavirus is spreading are urged to get a covid vaccination. vaccination are really important measures that we have in the tool box for controlling outbreaks. a tower block in gaza, housing the offices of the associated press and aljazeera news outlets, has collapsed after being hit by an israeli air strike. hamas was using that's building, it's military intelligence had assets in that building that were part of the hamas war machine. meanwhile in london thousands of pro—palestinian protesters have marched to the gates of the israeli embassy. wreath laying services have been held across the uk

and around the world — to mark the centenary of the royal british legion. and with less than 10 minutes to go in the fa cup final between chelsea and leicester city — the foxes are i—nil up. putting them on course to lift the cup for the first time ever. good evening, welcome to bbc news. the doctors' union, the british medical association, has voiced concern that the easing of coronavirus restrictions in england is going ahead on monday, while the indian variant is spreading rapidly and many people are still waiting for a vaccine. ministers insist they're acting "coolly and calmly", and there's no evidence

that the new variety poses a greater risk to health. however, their scientific advisers have warned that the indian variant is more contagious than previous types and, after monday's unlocking, could trigger the biggest wave of infections so far. our health correspondent katherine da costa reports. out on the streets of bolton in greater manchester, this rapid response team is going door—to—door, handing out test kits as authorities here and in other hotspots race to contain the more contagious indian variant. we're asking people to please take a test if you don't have any symptoms so we can identify people who may be positive and then support them through the isolation period. excuse me, keep walking. there are surge vaccinations, too. at this site in bolton they have ramped up to 4,000 shots per day. while vaccines are expected

to protect against serious illness from this variant, it's thought they may not completely stop transmission so the advice now is to shorten the gap between doses to eight weeks for the most vulnerable, to boost short—term immunity. there is a bit of a trade—off here because we know 12 weeks is better in terms of long term protection but we think there is enough of a crisis with this particular virus in the country at the moment to make sure that we get those individuals that have only had their first dose fully protected as quickly as possible. this 5k run at kempton park in surrey is a test event to see whether mass outdoor events without social distancing could be brought back safely again. some health experts are concerned allowing indoor mixing from monday and a more transmissible variant risks the variant taking off again but ministers say it's too soon to say what it will mean for ending lockdown measures next month.

we don't know how much more transmissible it is yet. so, if it's a low increase in transmissibility, that wouldn't fundamentally, necessarily, change things. if it's a high level then we would have to look carefully at what happens on the 21st ofjune. around 1,000 covid patients are being treated in hospitals across the uk, the lowest level since mid—september, but about a third of adults are still unvaccinated. it's now an anxious wait to see whether new infections translate to a rise in hospital admissions in the weeks to come. katharine da costa, bbc news. at quarter past eight tonight, we'll be answering your questions on the indian covid variant and the risks to easing restrictions. i will bejoined by professor sian griffiths from the chinese university of hong kong and professor paul hunterfrom the university of east anglia. send in your questions using the hash tag bbc your questions or by emailing yourquestions@bbc.co.uk.

the latest figures show a further 2,027 cases have been confirmed in the latest 24—hour period, meaning an average of 2,252 new cases per day in the last week. seven deaths were reported in the latest 2a hour period — and the seven—day average now sits at 10 deaths. meanwhile, latest government data show continued decrease in the number of people at hospital. the most recent data says 991 people are in hospital receiving treatment for covid—19. 0ur political correspondent

chris mason is here with me. chris, the figures as we see them there, there is a concern, isn't there, there is a concern, isn't there, coming from the government scientists. how does that compare with what the government says? we heard with what the government says? - heard the prime minister this time last night in that news conference at downing street. shortly after that came to her several documents from the scientists the sage scientist as they are known in the various committees that feed into the scientific advice that the government is given. they were looking at the available data that they have now which they acknowledges limited. to try to work out how transmissible, how easily it's spread, this new indian variants. in the early evidence, and it is only early evidence, suggests that it's 40-50% it is only early evidence, suggests that it's a0—50% more transmissible than the kent variant that has been the dominant variant which by the way has spread much quickly before the previous incarnation of the koba 19 virus. now, what the scientists say is that if the data in the next

couple of weeks maintains that transmissibility, in other words, continues to spread much more quickly than the kent variant, then they fear the unlocking that is happening in england on monday could mean if nothing else is done, that the hospitalisation rates could be around and about or even greater then what we saw at the turn of the yearin then what we saw at the turn of the year in that very bleak period in january. now, they acknowledge there are mitigations that the government could implement, like, for instance, local or regional restrictions around the hotspots. the government has concluded on the balance of the evidence that it has now and on the balance of risk, because, of course, they have to weigh up considerations that aren't purely epidemiological, they have to social and economic affects of these as promised. but we will not know for a couple of weeks if that balance ofjudgment turns out to be wise, given that we await additional data as far as the spread ability, the transmissibility of

this indian variant is concerned. have you got the sense of the appetite amongst political parties, for example, across the spectrum for a much cooler and cautious approach to, say, monday's easing and then comejune, to continue with this when there are these warnings coming out. so we saw yesterday the prime minister openly acknowledging that that final hoped—for step of the road map to normality injune, june the 21st next month could be vulnerable depending on how the data pans out as far as the indian variant is concerned. what's really striking is that last year, the government was frequently criticised for occasionally indulging in rather optimistic language about hoped—for returns to normality which were then punctured by the reality of the spikes in the virus. since the turn of the year and in particular since february and the publication of that road map, the plan, plenty have said

the government seems to be a bit more cautious now in managing our expectations. actually, it has faced heat from same who say that the data looks quite good, can we not speed up looks quite good, can we not speed up the relaxation of these measures? the government has not bowed to that pressure. now we are confronted by a situation where on monday, as promised, they gave us a week's notice that, yes, the next stage in england, step three of the lockdown easing would happen. and then the building up of this evidence from its scientific advisers that says, well, how might things be in a scenario where this virus, this variant is spreading at the same rate that the early evidence suggests that it might be. so it's a very, very difficult balance of judgment. of course, this is the judgment. of course, this is the judgment that the government has faced all the way through, trying to make a judgment call based on partial data. make a judgment call based on partial data-— make a judgment call based on artial data. , ., ~ , ., partial data. 0k, chris, thank you very much — partial data. 0k, chris, thank you very much indeed. _ partial data. 0k, chris, thank you very much indeed. we _ partial data. 0k, chris, thank you very much indeed. we will - partial data. 0k, chris, thank you very much indeed. we will get . partial data. 0k, chris, thank you i very much indeed. we will get more on this story through the evening, but for now, thank you, chris mason

there. just update you come in case you haven't been following it, leicester, the foxes, mighty have won the fa cup final. there we go, there is a seen coming from wembley. first time in their history that they won this, of course, the premier league back in 2016, there was huge, huge scenes ofjubilation, crying, all sorts, but really celebration in leicester city, and i suspect there is going to be subdued, but certainly within peoples homes within leicestershire celebrating taking place tonight, yes, there are tears. you can see them. leicester city have won the fa cup final for the first time in the club's history. congratulations to them. you are watching bbc news. returning to our main story now, markjit — professor of vaccine epidemiology at the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine,

says there's not enough data yet to determine how much of a risk the variant poses. we spoke to him earlier. well, it is very difficult to say right now because we don't have as much information as we would like, but the signs we are seeing are slightly worrying, and we have seen this variant increase very rapidly and we have seen a big wave of cases in india. we have seen that the variant has come to the uk, and in some parts of the uk, it's now well over 50% of all cases reported. so it seems to be growing faster than the existing variant we have in the uk, although committees are still early days, so it's difficult to say for sure. we see in some countries in southeast asia, for instance who seem to have very good control of covid, they are dousing outbreaks caused by this variant, though, so there do seem to be some rather alarming signs. haifa be some rather alarming signs. how transmissible _ be some rather alarming signs. how transmissible do _ be some rather alarming signs. how transmissible do think it is? i appreciate we don't actually know, but there are suggestions that it

could be 50%, 60% even more transmissible. could be 50%, 6096 even more transmissible.— could be 5096, 6096 even more transmissible.— transmissible. those are the estimates — transmissible. those are the estimates that _ transmissible. those are the estimates that people - transmissible. those are the estimates that people have l transmissible. those are the - estimates that people have made based on very preliminary data, but really, it is too early to tell because a lot of the initial cases where do to people coming from abroad, so it is only now that we are seeing cases actually due to transmission from these people, so now as we get more data, we should be able to have more certainty about whether that figure is correct. that was professor _ whether that figure is correct. that was professor markjust talking us through what we know so far about the indian variant of the coronavirus. we are going to be finding out how this story and many others are being covered into my�*s from pages. — our guestsjoining me tonight are geraldine scott, westminster correspondent at the yorkshire post, and tim montgomerie, conservative commentator. the white house says it has told israel to ensure the "safety

and security ofjournalists" after israeli warplanes destroyed a tower block in gaza city. 0ccupants of the building — which housed the associated press and aljazeera — were given an hour to leave. israel claims the block was used by hamas's military intelligence. it follows rocket attacks by hamas militants, which killed one man in tel aviv. an israeli strike overnight on a refugee camp, killed at least fourteen people, ten of them from one extended family. 0ur middle east correspondent yolande knell reports from the west bank. within seconds, another tower block erased from gaza's skyline. journalists for international networks who worked inside rushed out after a warning from israel that it was about to strike. it says hamas intelligence used the building. earlier, a barrage of rockets hit tel aviv for the first time in two days, with deadly results. emergency services unable

to save a man here. in gaza there has been almost no time to mourn as the numbers killed mount up. mohammed lost almost everyone in his family. his wife and their children were staying with her brother when the missiles struck their home in an overcrowded refugee camp. little 0mar is all he has left, found in the rubble next to his mother. with militants continuing to be targeted, images released by israel's military show an operation that is not letting up. officials say dealing a strong blow to deter hamas will take more time. and hamas is not stopping its fire either. its rockets, as always, are indiscriminate, continuing to pour down on the israeli towns closest to gaza. tensions here remain high in israel's mixed cities wherejews and arabs live side by side.

there were more disturbances overnight. today this was jaffa, the streets deserted. and now the focus turns to the palestinian territories. this is a solemn day when palestinians remember the dispossession of hundreds of thousands of people when israel was created in 19118. they call it al—nakba, "the catastrophe." and this year, the violence elsewhere adds extra fuel to the protests. well, since sending that report yolande knell was able to give us this update from behtlehem in the west bank. tensions really ticking up again across the palestinian territory, so here in betheleham in the west bank, young palestinians just in the last hour have been responding to calls for protests after dark, coming out on the streets close to an israeli military tower which is just out of sight here. they are burning, at the moment, rubbish and tires, things like that. there have been repeated clashes overnights, 11 palestinians were actually killed in cities across the west bank in these

violent confrontations with israeli security forces. this is happening in response, partly, to all that's going on, the unrest that there has been elsewhere has really fuelled this, adding to people's anger, but it is also a day which is always a day of protest, what palestinians call nakba day, when they commemorate the events of 19118. that's when hundreds of thousands of palestinians lost their homes and property in the 19118 arab—israeli war that followed the creation of the state of israel. well that was yolande now, a couple of hours ago — and this is the scene now live in bethlehem — and you can see and you can see a number of protesters ta ken to the streets. we have often seen a lot of what has been described as you know violence

and also there have been air strikes, overnight strikes, violence during the night—time period. so it will be interesting to see what happens in bethlehem in the west bank where people have been marking 73 years of nakba. we are keeping a close eye on this end we will come back to it. staying with that story, we will hear more about that israeli attack on a tower block in gaza, which had been the headquarters of some internationaljournalists. both the assoicatied press and aljazeera — which saw their offices destroyed — have condemned the israel attack, and the white house has warned israel to ensure the safety and secruty ofjournalists. earlier my colleague spoke to mark regev, senior advisor to the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, asking him what was israel's justification was for attacking such a building. it was a military target because

hamas was using that building. its military intelligence had assets in that building that were part of the hamas war machine, and the minute they turned what is supposed to be a civilian target into part of their military infrastructure, it becomes under international law a legal target. having said that, i think we acted very appropriately and we gave an hour's warning. people, all the journalists, all the civilians in the building were told that this is going to be a target, that they should evacuate. they did so and i'm very satisfied that not a single journalist was hurt. as far as i know, there was no collateral damage. i haven't heard anyone from ap or even from aljazeera was injured in the attack, and from my point of view, that is success. it's showing that israel, while trying to degrade the hamas military machine, at the same time, is doing our utmost to protect civilian life and not to see innocent people caught up in the crossfire. right, you say that building was part of the hamas war machine. your critics, frankly,

will say you're making that up. and where's the proof, where is the proof? so, we are very sure about what we say, and israeli intelligence, i think, usually gets high credibility when we speak to our colleagues in britain and the united states. i think israeli intelligence has had many successes over the years, and i think our veracity and professionalism is not doubted by serious people. but you know how controversial this sort of attack is, so surely you would've taken steps to provide proof of what you say, perhaps by providing intercepts, communication intercepts, from that building, from the people you say were hamas militants. are we going to get that sort of proof? well, it's a good idea. i'll see what i can do, but i can say this — the most important thing we did was to warn innocent people and therefore avoid having harm come to them. no one, as i say, from ap or from aljazeera, as far as i know, was injured in the attack because israel took the precaution. we notified them in advance and said, "this building is a military target, we have to take it out, please vacate the premises,"

and thankfully, they did so. ben brown also spoke to gary pruitt, ceo and president of the associated press, to get his reaction to the building attack. we we re we were shocked and horrified by that destruction. we did get notice, as was just noted on your broadcast, we were able to get all the journalists out. we had a dozen journalists get all the journalists out. we had a dozenjournalists in that building. they were removed and we avoided loss of life. but that was the best building, the best line of sight to show the events that were going on in gaza, and that has been lost. the world will know less about what is going on in gaza after that building was destroyed today. the israelis are saying that this was being used by hamas military

intelligence.— being used by hamas military intelligence. being used by hamas military intelliaence. , ., , intelligence. yes. so, we have been intelligence. yes. so, we have been in that building _ intelligence. yes. so, we have been in that building for _ intelligence. yes. so, we have been in that building for 15 _ intelligence. yes. so, we have been in that building for 15 years - intelligence. yes. so, we have been in that building for 15 years with - in that building for 15 years with our bureau, approximately 15 years. we had no clue that that building was used by hamas in any way, and of course, we would've never been in that building with our bureau had we any sense of that. we would do everything we can to keep our journalists safe in gaza. but we don't know if the israeli claim is true. ijust heard the interview, we would like to see the information, we would like to see the intelligence. it has set ap back, but it will not silence ap. we've got most of the equipment out. we did lose some. we will continue to tell the story. did lose some. we will continue to tell the story-— tell the story. that was gary pruitt, tell the story. that was gary pruitt. ceo _ tell the story. that was gary pruitt, ceo and _ tell the story. that was gary pruitt, ceo and president i tell the story. that was gary pruitt, ceo and president of| tell the story. that was gary - pruitt, ceo and president of the associated press. in central london, earlier today, thousands marched in solidarity with the palestinian people. a large crowd moved through hyde park to the israeli embassy.

similar rallies have been held in other cities in the uk and elsewhere in the world. 0ur correspondent james waterhouse watched the protest at kensington high street. so this is the final destination for the protest, if you like, kensington high street. because of the ways the roads are designed, the israeli embassy for the exits further down to the left there down a private road, with police guard as you would expect with different kind of embassies, but that has not stopped people here wanting to be seen and heard. you speak to people here, they don't see it as a conflict, they don't see it as a conflict, they call it out and out oppression in terms of what is going on in the gaza strip and other palestinian territories. the core message is for the israelis to stop the air strikes that are currently taking place and for the uk government to intervene. now, as people are taking to the streets, they first appeared on hyde park corner, which is about a mile and a half or so away. they came through and they were singing. it's been passionate, but it has also been passionate, but it has also

been peaceful. there are a minority of people who climate scaffolding here. the police have taken hands off approach and successfully talked many of them down. but as all of this activity is happening, us negotiators are in the middle east calling on both sides to step down. a feeling here is that won't do anything anytime soon. james waterhouse. wreaths have been laid at whitehall in london to mark the exact moment the royal british legion was formed one hundred years ago. the ceremony at the cenotaph was led by retired lieutenant generaljames bashall. in a message to coincide with the charity's centenary, prince charles said the organisation ensured the sacrifices of veterans would never be forgotten. santander says its "key services are recovering" after a technical issue which left customers unable to make payments online and buy food in supermarkets. the bank said it was working on a full recovery by the end of the day, and has apologised, insisting no—one will

be out of pocket. debenhams closes its remaining shops today after more than 240 years on the high—street. it went into administration in 2019 after several years of falling sales. our business correspondent, emma simpson, reports. the final few hours. not much left for the bargain hunters now. these stores reopened after lockdown to allow the remaining stock to be cleared. the last 28 shops closed today. the end of an era. debenham's roots can be traced back to 1778, with a draper�*s store in west london selling fabrics, hats and umbrellas. by the 1950s it was the uk's biggest department store — and it continued to expand, pulling shoppers in with its famous blue cross sales. but it failed to keep up with the competition. its problems were years in the making. it first collapsed in 2019.

the pandemic then finished it off as it failed to find a buyer. by christmas the business was being wound down, with 12,000 job losses. it's one of the biggest retail failures since woolworths, emblematic of the retail shakeout as shopping habits change. the chain was an anchor store in many town centres, and its demise will leave large gaps for landlords and local authorities to fill. emma simpson, bbc news. and here is the fa cup final between chelsea and leicester city — we'll have more about that match after the weather when we have our sportsday. still celebrate and lifting the fa cup for the first time in their history. they got to the top of the premiership in 2016, but this is the first time they have been able to lift that cup. they won against chelsea just a short time ago. more of this of course later in the programme and also on sportsday.

a world war one era submarine wreck, off the devon coast, has been granted protection by the government, on the advice of historic england. the protected status means the wreck can be dived, but its contents are protected by law and must not be moved. however, there's a twist to this story — as the submarine is not what it was first thought to be, as our reporterjohn danks explains. just off the south devon coast and 50 metres below the surface, a 100—year—old submarine wreck emerges from the gloom. but for the diapers, exploring what was supposed to be a german u—boat, something wasn't quite right. it was said to be a u—boat that was sunk on a work patrol, and yet it had more that had ropes stowed, we thought that was really strange. while we were underwater, that really stood out.

after looking at these pictures, historic england confirmed it was indeed british. a prototype d class submarine. it was launched in 1908, but it became obsolete in 1918 because the technology was developing so quickly. what was really important was developing this technology to detect enemy submarines as well. once a submarine became obsolete, it was sunk as a target for testing equipment. the wreck has now been granted protected status. what excites historians and drivers isjust how well—preserved appears to be. it was in lovely condition. it had lots of really nice features. and that is one of the reasons it has been protected because it is ther for other people to see. it's completely intact as far as can tell. so it gives us a fantastic opportunity. that wasjohn danks reporting.

and a herd of wandering cows who turned up on a housing estate in east yorkshire has been rounded up and returned to their home. the cows escaped from their pasture in beverley this morning and were seen grazing in people's gardens and eating hedges. a cheap way to cut your lawn, i suppose. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich good evening. it's turning into a weekend of very unreliable weather. the kind of weather where one minute, you have sunny skies overhead, the next, a drenching downpour. some of the showers during sunday will be very heavy with some hail and thunder. some of today's showers will fade, but we'll keep some going in places. damp weather for parts of east anglia, northern england and southern scotland. then by the end of the night, the showers will start to pep up once again towards the southwest. that sets us up for tomorrow. showers very early on across south

west england, spreading across wales and two other southern counties of england as well. elsewhere, some spells of sunshine but showers will pop up into the afternoon. some will be heavy with hail and thunder mixing in. top temperatures between 11 and 16 degrees and will be quite windy for southern coasts of england and the channel islands. as we look further ahead through the coming week, it stays very unsettled. longer spells of rain at times, but always with some sunny spells in between.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines: people in areas where the indian variant of coronavirus is spreading are urged to get a covid vaccination. testing and vaccination are really important measures that we have in the tool box for controlling outbreaks. the tool box for controlling outbreaks. a tower block in gaza, housing the offices of the associated press and aljazeera news outlets, has collapsed after being hit by an israeli airstrike.