this is bbc news with the latest headlines... efforts to combat the indian variant of covid ramp up in england, ahead of lockdown restrictions being relaxed tomorrow. i'm confident that we can take the step tomorrow, but we should all be careful about how we take that step. so, you asked me about eating indoors with people. it's still safer to eat outdoors rather than in, when the weather allows. a young child has died and two people have been seriously injured, after a gas explosion at a residential area in heysham in lancashire. there was significant damage to the houses. at least two have been destroyed and a third is significantly damaged. as a consequence of that, a number of people have been injured. tragically, a young child has been killed.

talks are under way at the united nations, as the conflict between israel and palestinians in gaza continues for a seventh day. fancy a job as a live—in officer at a medieval castle on a remote island? st michael's mount is hiring. also coming up this hour... social media, anti—social media, breaking news, faking news. the media show at 3.30 with mobeen azhar. good afternoon. the health secretary matt hancock has urged people to be careful ahead of more restrictions being eased in england tomorrow. scientists believe the indian variant of coronavirus is more transmissible and cases in some areas have seen a sharp rise.

mr hancock also said it was "quite likely" this variant will become the dominant strain in the uk. some restrictions in wales and scotland are also being relaxed from tomorrow. here's our political correspondent helen catt. in bolton this weekend, efforts continue to tackle the spread of the variant of coronavirus which first emerged in india, encouraging more people to take up the vaccine. there is surge testing, measures which the government says means it can go ahead with easing more restrictions in england tomorrow, despite fears of how quickly the new variant is spreading. i'm confident that we can take the step tomorrow, but we should all be careful about how we take that step. you shouldn't still spend a lot of time in close proximity, you should make sure ventilation is good. we all know what we can do and take personal responsibility. it means restaurants can welcome back customers indoors. up to six people can meet in private homes, too, and hugging is back. but there is nervousness.

scientists from sage has warned if the variant turns out to be a0—50% more transmissible than the kent variant, there could be a big rise in hospitalisations because of tomorrow's loosening. i think the evidence is stacking up that it is more transmissable than the kent variant. it is very hard to tell how much more. we have to tease out those infections that have been imported into the uk and so are reflecting trends in other places, particularly india, and those that haveb een spreading here in the uk. scientists do think that vaccines remain effective. the over 35s will be invited to get their firstjab this week. the health secretary said that most of the 18 people currently in hospital in bolton with coronavirus had been eligible forjabs, but hadn't had them. we think that there are five people who have ended up in hospital, having had one jab. this is why it is so important to get the second jab.

nobody who has had two has caught it? l we think there is one person, but that person was frail. limited international travel also starts again tomorrow. labour says it is too soon, and that the government put india on the red list too late. they should have put india on the red list at the same time as pakistan and bangladesh. since then, we have had this three—week period in which thousands of people have returned from india, and that probably includes hundreds of the new variant covid cases. ministers say they did it nearly two weeks before the variant became one of concern, and when the proportion of arrivals in the uk testing positive had started to rise. what happens here in the coming weeks will be watched closely. tomorrow sees another milestone in the reopening of the economy. pubs, restaurants and cafes in many parts of the uk will welcome customers back indoors for the first time in months. heath ball is the owner and landlord of four pubs in london and sussex.

he spoke to me a little earlierfrom the red lion and sun in north london, and explained how tough the restrictions have been from a business point of view. to operate with the distancing and you have reduced numbers, you need more staff to manage it, you have less customers but you need more staff, to keep everyone complying, distancing, checking people in, all the regulations. this is not a moneymaking exercise, it isjust survival to get us through. you have got through this far, and i imagine it's not been anything like anything you have experienced before in the pub trade. looking ahead, let's try to concentrate on what is to come, rather than the horrors that have gone. how do you think this is going to work out over the summer? are you, for example, you have opened the outdoor space. have you found demand has been as strong as you would have hoped? do you find much in the way of encouraging signs about what might lie ahead? initially, everybody was excited,

"i want to get back to pubs, it's amazing," but british weather has not been on our side. the initial first week, "we will sit outside, we are ok," and it is wearing off. people are tired and want to be inside. even then, it's busy in the beginning but we can see it turning off. it will be interesting opening inside and outside and how busy we will be. we've got a long way yet. the other question obviously arises, if you are having to sustain additional costs, at some point, that must have an impact on price, mustn't it? i think so. i think a lot of operators, the vat reduction on food is great but that runs out soon. we have business rates relief untiljune, then they go up a bit more. you have to, there has to be give and take somewhere. we have to put it up a little bit, but we are doing are best to keep normal prices. but we have got to make money to survive and we are losing money right now. how are you finding...

perhaps tomorrow will be a betterjudgment with the outdoor space but how are you finding customers? are they tolerant? he is smiling. no, they are not. most people we are dealing with have had enough. they want their lives back. they turn up, we check them in and they are not happy about it. all these measures, we've got to do to be compliant, they are not happy about. it's a real, "enough is enough, we want our lives back." so it is hard to manage them, keep everybody safe, keep the staff happy, it's a realjuggling act. it's not hospitality, it's another level of something before it is just trying to keep... keep compliant with the rules and regulations, but also keep people happy and sometimes, those two things do notjell. a child has died and four adults have been injured in a suspected gas explosion in lancashire. two houses were destroyed in the blast early this morning in hee—sham. paul murphy reports.

the incredible force of this explosion entirely destroyed two homes and damaged many more. neighbours described the blast atjust after 2.30am this morning as something that felt like an earthquake. it sounded like a bomb going off this morning, just after two o'clock, and it literally shook the whole bed. we felt like we were going through the floor. and then we jumped out of bed and wejust ran, just to see what was going on. it's just awful. this morning, it was confirmed that a child had sadly died. four adults, two men and two women, are being treated in hospital. two of them have been seriously injured. this afternoon, the fire service will use dogs to make one final check of the rubble. we are hopeful that we have found those people who were injured, or sadly deceased, as a consequence of what has happened. but we obviously are continuing, but at the moment, we think we have got everybody out. a number of people, evacuated

from their homes overnight, must now await an assessment of the damage to numerous houses in the area before being allowed to return. paul murphy, bbc news, heysham. palestinian officials say 33 people have been killed in israeli airstrikes in gaza since saturday night, bringing the total in the past week to more than 180. over the same period, 10 israelis have reportedly been killed by rockets fired by hamas militants in gaza. the united nations security council is discussing the crisis for the first time publicly today. paul adams reports from jerusalem. israel says it has nothing against the people of gaza. crying. but through the long hours of another hellish night, that's not how it seems to them. women and children once again caught up in the mayhem. in crowded, impoverished gaza, nowhere is safe. explosions. israel insists it's only attacking hamas. overnight, it hit the homes

of the group's leader in gaza, yahya sinwar, and his brother. it says it's killed 30 key members of hamas and the other main militant group, islamichhad. and it says almost half of those killed so far were combatants, not civilians. it's a hard claim to verify. hamas is very secretive. how long will this go on? pressure for it to end is building, but israel says it's up to hamas. israel will continue hitting the hamas terror group until we feel and understand that we reached our objectives. you know, hamas decided to start this round, but they are not going to decide when to end it. you can'tjust shoot rockets on israeli citizens unprovoked and then hope for the best. but the rockets are still flying. hamas says it can keep this up for months. it almost certainly can't, but the group is not about to admit defeat.

an american envoy has been here since friday. diplomatic efforts are gathering pace, but israel says it has more to do in gaza. this isn't over yet. paul adams, bbc news, jerusalem. well, a little earlier, paul gave us the latest on the situation there. i think it certainly makes it the worst night so far. the death toll has definitely climbed quite sharply in the last couple of days. we have seen no let—up also in the rocket fire from gaza, although i don't think there have been any reported fatalities on the israeli side in the latest rockets, one of which fell just a couple of hours ago. so it doesn't look like it is ending. it is possibly indicative of the fact that israelis recognise that time may be running out for them to inflict damage on hamas, before international pressure on them to stop becomes too intense. there are mediation

efforts under way. there is an american envoy here. the americans have been extremely understanding of the israeli position so far. but with the humanitarian situation worsening in gaza, with the un warning that fuel is running out, and they can't get supplies in to a population, 80% of whom are dependent on aid, then it may be that time is running out for this operation. the united nations are due to discuss it later today. so far, the americans have blocked any effort to issue a statement by the un security council. i imagine there would be some form of words, perhaps at the end of today's meeting, but i don't think it will move the dial very much. all attention is what is going on here in the region. the american envoy hady amr, met the israeli defence minister this morning. interestingly, he had a meeting with israeli arabs yesterday, which was a bit of a departure. but, of course, the americans don't

have any direct contact with hamas, an organisation that they, like israel, and many other countries, regard as a terrorist organisation. so they will be very dependent on the good offices of countries like egypt to try and mediate and find a way out. it is a complicated diplomatic set of communications and it may take some time before they yield any results. but as i said earlier, it really will come either when hamas decides to stop firing rockets, or when israel feels it has done enough damage to stop this happening again for many years. there is no peace process at the moment. yesterday evening, i went over to sheikjarrah, the place in eastjerusalem where palestinians are trying to fight a legal battle to keep them in their homes of 70 years in the face of legal challenges. the atmosphere there was utterly poisonous.

this is something i've been watching in eastjerusalem for 20 years or more. it is just a grinding conflict. and until something happens that secures a way out of that, draws the line between who has what in jerusalem, and whose rights applied here or there, then all of this will go on. paul adams there. reports from myanmar say burmese soldiers have taken control of the town of mindat, in northwestern chin state. 0pposition activists there took up arms against the military government three weeks ago. members of a group calling itself the chinland defence force say they have withdrawn to spare residents further bombardment. 0ur southeast asia correspondent jonathan head told me more about what's happening there. this is a remote town, the military has shut down a great deal of internet services in myanmar. over the last few days, residents have been able to get out bits of video that have shown the military bombarding mindat with artillery. quite repeatedly, at times. flying helicopters over the town, possibly bombing

from the air, we're not sure. they have been using the helicopters to bring troops in, because this stand—off has been going on for three weeks, where the local people of this town, as others have done, basically declared themselves no longer accepting the military�*s authority. they also demanded that the military released a number of people they have detained. there was four days of fighting last month, there has been ten days of negotiations, the local military forces were not strong enough to deal with this local uprising. with these troop reinforcements, we have had four days a very fierce fighting where we believe there have been quite a number of casualties on the military side, as well as among the local people who are resisting. this chinland defence force — which is mostly armed with home—made hunting guns, we don't how many modern weapons they have got, there can be many — has held out for four days. ambushed military convoys, but finally decided with the bombardment that went on that they had to pull out. it's a town of a population of around 50,000, and we don't how many have left troop reinforcements and gone into the forest with the fighters, there is clearly

a great deal of concern about the fate of the population that have stayed behind. when you think about the way in which the myanmar military has treated unarmed protesters in the cities, there are genuine and grounded concerns about how it's going to treat the population of a town that has resisted it. it's worth remembering, this is the most sustained armed reaction we have seen from new groups taking on the military coup. but there have been other towns when this happened as well. this is now a trend. people who were protesting peacefully a couple of months ago, and of course getting shot for it, have now decided to take up arms, and if they do it on a much larger scale than we are seeing now, that could really challenge the military�*s authority. this is a session of the united nation's security council, let's hear from, nation's security council, let's hearfrom, i think nation's security council, let's hear from, i think that is the secretary general. this is, the

secretary director general has finished speaking. he says he wants mediation efforts to intensify. the rockets are _ mediation efforts to intensify. tue: rockets are reached mediation efforts to intensify. tte: rockets are reached as far as the or outskirts ofjerusalem, tel aviv and its suburbs and airport. while a significant number of rockets were intercepted by the iron dome, a50 fell short inside gaza, accounting for some palestinian casualties, according to the israeli defence force. direct hits have been reported in multiple locations, causing damage to residential and commercial property, as well as school and crude oil pipeline. in gaza, the humanitarian and security situation is more dire by the day. in response to the palestinian

militant rocket attack, that began on the 10th of may, the idf has conducted over 950 strikes against what it said were military targets, including weapon factories and depots, tunnel networks, hamas training facilities, intelligence and security headquarters, offices and security headquarters, offices and homes of senior hamas and palestinian islamicjihad palestinian islamic jihad operatives. these palestinian islamicjihad operatives. these strikes have killed over 100 operatives, including senior commanders, according to the idf. nevertheless, the civilian death tolls continue to mount. including children. as of this afternoon, local time, mount. including children. as of this afternoon, localtime, health authorities in gaza report 181 palestinians, including at least 52 children and 31 women, and a person

with disabilities, killed. 1200 injured by the strikes. the population must repeatedly try to find cover from strikes, population must repeatedly try to find coverfrom strikes, absent proper shelters and over aa,000 people have been displaced from their homes. 0ver a0 schools are now opening as shelters with limited access to water and no access to health care or food and protection purposes only. the dense and close context of gaza makes seeking shelter all the more difficult. as a result of the military operation, seven factories, a0 schools and at least four hospitals have sustained complete or partial damage. at least 18 buildings, including four high—rise towers, including one

hosting international media outlets, have been destroyed and over 350 buildings damaged. according to the idf, these buildings contain hamas military installations. mr president, reports continue of families, women, children and infants killed in their homes by air strikes. early this morning, several houses were struck while residents were inside, killing 12 people and injuring over 50 others. i also note the death yesterday of nine family members, two women and seven children, in a camp, amongst so many others. in israel, a five—year—old boy was killed by a rocket and a 16—year—old girl and herfather boy was killed by a rocket and a 16—year—old girl and her father was killed such tragedies are unacceptable and cannot be

justified, nor measured. mr president, these escalations have already produced tragic results. further intensification of hostilities would have a devastating consequences for both palestinians and israelis. the united nations is working tirelessly with all sides to restore calm. i reiterate the secretary general�*s urgent call on israel and palestinian armed groups to take immediate and decisive steps to take immediate and decisive steps to de—escalate the situation and prevent any further loss of life. israelis and palestinians have a legitimate right to safety and security. the violence we are witnessing now is unacceptable and unjustifiable. hamas and other militants indiscriminate launching of rockets and mortars from highly populated civilian neighbourhoods into civilian populated centres in

israel, violates international humanitarian law and must cease immediately. civilian areas must never be used for military purposes. the israeli authorities must abide by international humanitarian law, principles governing conflict, including the proportional use of force, exercising maximum restraint to spare civilian and the conduct of military operations. i reiterate that children should not be the target of violence or put in harms way. mr president, turning briefly to ongoing regional dynamics, on the 30th of may, the idf informed that -- 13th, 30th of may, the idf informed that —— 13th, rockets were launched into the sea off the coast of israel. lebanese armed forces confirmed the firing and reported materials next to our palestinian refugee camp. 0n

the 1ath of may, up to 200 civilians protested north of the blue line, some waving palestinian and his brother flags. idf personnel fired multiple warning shots, reportedly injuring two. according to lebanese authorities, a lebanon citizen later died. the lebanese armed forces arrested several protesters, in addition, three lockets were launched from syria. there were no reports of damage or injuries. mass protests in solidarity with palestinians also occurred at israeli borders with jordan, where thousands of jordanians marched towards the bridge connecting jordan to the occupied west bank, but will reportedly stop short by the

jordanian security forces. mr president, violence in the occupied west bank including eastjerusalem continues to increase. since the 10th of may, 19 palestinians were killed, including two children and some 18aa palestinians were injured in the west bank by israeli security forces, in either clashes or other instances, aaa of these by live ammunition. at least eight israelis were injured in these incidents according to israeli government sources. 0n the 10th of may, amid heavy presence of israeli security force, the head of land—use and day march, thousands of palestinians clashed in and around with police and parts of the old city. isf shot

and parts of the old city. isf shot and injured over a00 palestinians with rubber coated metal bullets and other crowd control methods. israeli authorities took steps to re—route the jerusalem day authorities took steps to re—route thejerusalem day marches, leading to their cancellation, tensions continued, particularly. protesters were dispersed using crowd control methods. 0ne palestinian was killed and another shot and injured in separate instances after the attempted to attack israeli soldiers. 0n the 1ath of may, violence escalated as palestinians held a day of rage in support of gaza with clashes between palestinians and isf in various locations. ten palestinians were

killed by israeli forces, in addition to one palestinian killed neara addition to one palestinian killed near a settlement in an alleged attack against isf. this is the highest number of palestinian fatalities recorded in a single day in the west bank, including east jerusalem, since the united nations began recording fatalities in 2008. mr president, turning again to gaza, the damage to infrastructure in the strip has been substantial, and the humanitarian emergency is unfolding. the gaza power plant is operating at reduced capacity due to israel's closure of one crossing. reports from gaza suggest rolling daily power cuts of 5—6 hours in some areas. with current stocks, it could operate a reduced capacity for

another four days only. the lack of electricity has resulted in a decrease of clean water and sewage treatment, affecting hundreds of thousands. the health system already overwhelmed by chronic drug shortages and inadequate equipment and covid—19 pandemic, will likely be unable to meet the needs of those injured during the violence, particularly as hospitals face equipment and out to city shortages. since the 10th of may, israeli authorities have kept gaza crossing for people and goods closed. these include humanitarian personnel and critical aid, such as fuel and medical supplies. the fishing of the court coast of gaza remains close. it is vital that mindful of its

security concerns, israel open their crossing for movement of stuff out of gaza and for the entry of fuel for the gaza power plant. the un also be able to bring key items needed for care and adequately supply shelters, given the huge influx the force infighting to allow limited resupply is and assess damage and needs, including electricity infrastructure. i remind all sides that the unr and its partners have nearly completed a massive multibillion—dollar reconstruction effort, following the 201a conflict. given the range of current global challenges, and outpouring of international support on the same scale is highly unlikely. all sides should be mindful of this, as the fighting and destruction continues. mr president,

we cannot allow the situation to slide further into chaos. the hostilities must stop. i reiterate the appealjust given by the secretary general for the appealjust given by the secretary generalfor an the appealjust given by the secretary general for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for his dire warning that this conflict will increase radicalisation and extremism in the whole region. we wanted to bring you his remarks more or less in full. he is the special coordinator for the middle east peace process at the united nations. appointed by anthony terras who he refer to. appointed by anthony terras who he referto. i'll wenger benjamin wenger netanyahu a press conference. he said the campaign is being waged with all possible force in order to bring the situation under control. he is about to do an interview with the united states television networks and we

will bring you that at apm, anything he has to say. we will bring it to you on bbc news. to reiterate, you insecurity counselling emergency meeting taking place this afternoon and we will bring you more from that later here on bbc news. now on bbc news — social media, anti—social media, breaking news, faking news. this is the programme about a revolution in media, with mobeen azhar. hello. the news cycle, the news agenda, why is the news told in the way it is? i'm thinking about the way the media covered the recent election. new mayors, new councillors, new mps, but all i could think about was the giant, inflatable borisjohnson. you must�*ve seen it. i'm talking about this 30 foot blow—up version of the prime minister that appeared outside the hartlepool count at aam

and then magically reappeared at the marina when he came to meet