this is bbc news. the headlines at 8pm — some scientists are warning that the final stage of unlocking in england, due onjune 21st, should be delayed by a few weeks. the government says it's taking things "one step at a time". everybody wants to know what's going to happen, but we can't actually make that judgement until we see the impact of the easements we've just made. young people flock to england's largest mass vaccination centre in twickenham after it opened up to over—18s to avoid wasting excess vaccines. tennis player naomi osaka dramatically withdraws from the french open after refusing to take part in news conferences. the ban on landlords being able to evict tenants ends. the temporary measure was introduced in england at the start of the pandemic.

it's the the hottest day of the year so far, and people have been flocking to the beach to enjoy the good weather. and coming up at 8:30pm, one year on from the murder of george floyd, clive myrie and adina campbell report on the global impact of his death. good evening. some scientists advising the government on coronavirus, are calling for the lifting of the final lockdown restrictions in england, due on the 21st ofjune, to be postponed. they say they're concerned

about rising infection rates due to the indian variant. ministers warn the government can't make a final decision for another two weeks, but some businesses argue they need clarity now. here's our health correspondent anna collinson. it's one of the biggest rugby stadiums in the world, but today, thousands are being encouraged to come to twickenham for their coronavirus jab. it's been really good. yeah, i thought the queue was quite long, but it moves quite quickly and everything seems like really organised. ijust sort of want the whole countryjust to come out of lockdown hopefully 215t ofjune, so the more people vaccinated, the better. so, doing our part, really. this afternoon, it was announced anyone over 18 could come and get theirjab before the grounds close at 8pm this evening. almost three quarters of adults in the uk have now had a first dose. hounslow�*s public health service helped organise this event, as they're concerned some of those who are most at risk have not yet been vaccinated. we have, in the matter of four or five days, - pulled this event together so we can vaccinate up to 15,000 _

people in one day. the reason we've chosen such a big event is cos we can - social distance people, _ we can safely get that many people through the stadium. twickenham's location is also significant. it's close to hounslow, an area which has seen a rise in the variant first detected in india. people can come here and get a jab without an appointment, and it's just one of the many measures being tried across the uk to encourage those who are eligible to come and get a vaccine. in bolton, which has a persistently high infection rate, fuelled by the indian variant, a bus is offering a jab to eligible adults in affected areas. the army is also on hand to encourage residents without symptoms to get tested. while in glasgow, another area of concern, a drop in vaccine centre has been set up to encourage anyone who's over a0 to get their second dose, as that provides more substantial protection. coronavirus cases in the uk are once again on the rise, with a 29% increase in the past week. it's thought it's been fuelled by the indian variant, but it's not yet known if this

will translate into serious illness and hospitalisations. one of the experts advising the government says further easing of restrictions due in three weeks' time should be postponed. the people are not saying that we should, you know, abandon thejune 21st date all together, butjust to delay it by a few weeks whilst we gather more intelligence and we can look at the trajectory in a clearer way. and if you look at the cost and benefits of getting it wrong, i think that it's heavily in the favour of delay. ministers say it will be a two—week wait before they can say for certain whether complete unlocking can go ahead on the 21st ofjune. i know everybody wants to know what's going to happen, but we can't actually make that judgement until we see the impact of the easements we've just made. the hope is drives like this in twickenham will make complete unlocking more likely. anna collinson, bbc news.

the latest government figures show there were 3383 new coronavirus infections and one death in the latest 24—hour period. on average, the number of new cases reported per day in the last week was 3345. more than 120,000 people received their first dose of a vaccine in the last 2a hours, taking the overall total to more than 39.3 million people who've had a single jab. that's 74.8% of the uk's adult population. more than 204,000 people had their second vaccine dose in the latest 24—hour period, which means more than 25.5 million have now had two jabs, a little under half of all adults. our political correspondent ben wright, who's at westminster, says the government has a difficult decision to make about whether it lifts all coronavirus restrictions next month.

i think ministers are sounding a bit more cautious about the complete lifting of restrictions onjune the 21st. no decision has been made, and there are competing arguments being put, as we've heard, there are scientists who advice the government who are now saying publicly that it makes sense to wait a bit, until more people are double—jabbed, until the new variant is better understood, but businesses are desperate to see the economy reopen fully, and today the british and today the british chambers of commerce said it would be astounding if thejune 2ist deadline slipped and i think that a view shared by a sizable chunk of tory mps. the row we are beginning to hear is going to get louder as we head tojune the 14th, the dates ministers will make the call. it's when they will decide whether they are going to pursue that 21st june reopening. now this is a very big call. ministers do not want to go back, they say this must be irreversible and there has been plenty of criticism about its covid strategy, from dominic cummings saying that a catalogue of lethal

mistakes were made over the last year, to labour criticising the government's borders policy, which they said let the indian variant in in the first place, so as borisjohnson looks at the data, he has a very big judgement call to make. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30pm and 11:30pm this evening in the papers. our guestsjoining me tonight are the broadcaster john stapleton and kate andrews, who is the economics correspondent at the spectator. the government ban on landlords evicting tenants during the coronavirus pandemic ends tomorrow, but with up to 400,000 people in rent arrears, there is concern over a possible rise in homelessness. ministers say, however, that tenants will continue to be supported with longer notice periods and some financial help. here's our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan. rudolph has had a year to forget. the media company he

worked for went bust. he found a job as a carer, but was made redundant so he now delivers takeaway food. it is stressful and it's affecting my health and it gives a lot of sleepless nights. his bills have mounted — energy, council tax and rent. the 26—year—old owes his landlord £3400 in arrears. ijust don't know when i'm going to wake up to that dreadful message saying that this is your notice, because of the rent arrears. so far, the ban of the eviction was my safety net for me not to be ending up on the streets or anything. around 400,000 tenants are under threat of eviction, say thejoseph rowntree foundation. many renters are employed in retail and hospitality, so their incomes have fallen and their debts mounted during the past year. families with children, as well as black and asian households, are struggling

the most to avoid eviction. renters have faced a loss of income and at a higher rate than homeowners through the pandemic, and that's despite all of the extra income support through the benefit system. and so they are struggling more, they are more likely to have fallen behind on their household bills, they're more likely to have fallen into arrears. citizens advice calculated average rent arrears are £900, but the end of the ban won't immediately lead to people being made homeless, as the courts will need to approve all evictions. ministers say they'll continue to support tenants but also need to be fair to landlords. music. candy richards says she's lost £9000 in rent on the house she lets out. her tenant hasn't paid her in 18 months. she told them she wanted them out before the pandemic, but the ban left her powerless to remove them. the eviction ban, what it did do -

was safeguard tenants who actually had just decided to stop paying rent or were committing _ anti—social behaviour. because there was no distinction . between those tenants that couldn't pay and those tenants that wouldn't pay. - ideally, rudolf would like a role in media, but anyjob that covers his rent would do. he can't move elsewhere as he's no savings and a plummet in credit rating. a catch—22 that many tenants are currently facing. michael buchanan, bbc news, essex. an armed ex—soldier on the run in south—western france has been captured after a 24—hour manhunt. the man, named by police as 29—year—old terry dupin, was cornered in woods in the dordogne region. he was injured in a shoot—out as police closed in. the manhunt began after police were called to the home of his former partner where he had been acting violently towards her new boyfriend. dupin is in a critical condition in hospital.

france has tightened restrictions on travel from the uk to try to stop the spread of the variant of coronavirus first identified in india. new rules came into force at midnight, meaning british tourists will not be allowed in. france is currently listed as an amber destination by the uk government, which advises against travel there. meanwhile, the european commission says that all eu countries can gradually ease travel measures over the summer as the number of covid—19 vaccinations continues to rise. eu leaders revealed plans to harmonise travel measures across the bloc, including allowing fully—vaccinated people to move around without the need for testing or quarantines when travelling from one eu country to another. let's speak now with simon calder, travel editor of the independent newspaper. hejoins us from gibraltar. simon, very good to see you. what do you make of the latest changes to these

travel restrictions on what is allowed? ~ �* , travel restrictions on what is allowed?— travel restrictions on what is allowed? �*, ., , allowed? well, it's looking really, really tricky _ allowed? well, it's looking really, really tricky for — allowed? well, it's looking really, really tricky for the _ allowed? well, it's looking really, really tricky for the uk _ allowed? well, it's looking really, really tricky for the uk and - allowed? well, it's looking really, really tricky for the uk and the - really tricky for the uk and the travellers, whojust really tricky for the uk and the travellers, who just as we were expecting this coming thursday to see more of europe opened up and put on the green list. i'm currently in one of the only two southern european countries you can go to, gibraltar and the other being portugal, we suddenly see that your is turning us read. as you say, from today, francis says if you are coming to france, you must have a compelling reason to do so, otherwise they won't let you end. and also romania tomorrow moves us in quick succession from the green list to the amber list to the red list. however, critically, they have said in this kind of feeds into the european commission report you just mentioned, it feeds into the idea that if you have been vaccinated, then you are regarded as a safe bet.

and so romania says anybody who is not fully vaccinated from the uk, you are going to be quarantining for two weeks. everybody else, just bring us a pcr test that is negative and you can come on in. you mentioned — and you can come on in. you mentioned the _ and you can come on in. you mentioned the countries - and you can come on in. you mentioned the countries on the uk green list were people from the uk can go on holiday and come back without having to quarantine on return, provided they meet all the testing requirements. is there any sense of any other countries being added to that at all?— added to that at all? yes, and if ou look added to that at all? yes, and if you look at _ added to that at all? yes, and if you look at purely _ added to that at all? yes, and if you look at purely the _ added to that at all? yes, and if i you look at purely the coronavirus rates and the vaccination rates, there's a whole lot of candidates from caribbean islands like antigua and barbados, through to the island of malta, which many people say it actually by rights should have been on the list before. but the department for transport, which is going to make an announcement this coming thursday, keeps its cards fairly close to it's chest and includes things such as the capacity

for genomic sequencing and also is an international aviation hub. so there is always a process but however i'm looking very much at a number of greek islands and they keep varying a bit in their infection rates but places like thessalonian, a couple of others we hope will be put on the green list and also possibly even somewhere like sardinia, which is got low rates even though italy is very much in the amber list. the crucial one, though, is spain. just 200 metres from where i am now across the border. they are absolutely amber list, by far the uk posit biggest and most popular destination for holiday—makers and there is talk that if you look at the balearic islands, particularly ib sa and also mallorca and minorca, they have been tacitly good results in high vaccination rates and they should be

on the list. but there is also talk that the uk does not want to encourage people to travel abroad and that is why they are perhaps not going to include anywhere in spain this time around. worth mentioning, if i may that being on a green list is not make it really easy. for example, i have to go and get a test tomorrow for my flight back. i have then got to complete my passenger locator form for the uk, then got to complete my passenger locatorform for the uk, pre—booked a pcr test after i have arrived and thatis a pcr test after i have arrived and that is going to cost me around about £100 on top of the cost of the trip. about £100 on top of the cost of the tri -. ~ ., ,, ., ., trip. meanwhile, simon, we are baskin: trip. meanwhile, simon, we are basking in _ trip. meanwhile, simon, we are basking in the _ trip. meanwhile, simon, we are basking in the hottest _ trip. meanwhile, simon, we are basking in the hottest day - trip. meanwhile, simon, we are basking in the hottest day of. trip. meanwhile, simon, we are| basking in the hottest day of the year so far on the bank holiday. simon, in gibraltar, thank you very much indeed. the headlines on bbc news — some scientists are warning that the final stage of unlocking in england, due onjune 21st, should be delayed by a few weeks. the government says it's taking things "one step at a time". young people flock to england's largest mass vaccination centre

in twickenham after it opened up to over—18s to avoid wasting excess vaccines. tennis player naomi osaka dramatically withdraws from the french open after refusing to take part in news conferences. sport, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's mark evans. huge news from paris — the reigning us open and australian open winner, naomi osaka, has announced her withdrawal from the french open as a result of her refusal to speak to the media during the tournament. it comes after yesterday's joint statement from grand slam organisers who said the world number two could face expulsion from the tournament. osaka had previously said she would not do news

conferences at roland garros to protect her mental health. osaka has tonight announced via social media that she's withdrawing from the tournament "so that everyone can get back to focussing on the tennis going on in paris", saying she didn't want to be a distraction. she also said she's suffered long bouts of depression since the us open in 2018 and has had a really hard time coping with that. the japanese four—time major winner continued to say she gets huge waves of anxiety before speaking to the world's media and gets really nervous and that she's taking time away from the court. meanwhile, on the court, british hopesjohanna konta and heather watson have both been knocked out of the tournament on day two at roland garros. konta, the british number one who reached the semifinals of this tournament two years ago, was beaten by world number 54 sorana cirstea. it finished 7—6, 6—2 to leave konta with just three wins in 2021 so far, while watson also lost in straight sets earlier to kazakhstan's zarina diyas.

defending champion iga swiatek celebrated her 20th birthday with victory over ka yuvan of slovenia. she's looking to become the first player in 14 years to successfully retain her title. the polish eighth seed beat her best friend on the tour 6—0, 7—5. you never know what is going to happen when you are coming out on the court as defending champion because i've never been in a situation like that. so i'm really glad i could handle that pretty well and just play tennis and play a normal match without having it in the back of my mind that i'm defending the title. in the men's draw, cameron norrie is the last remaining briton involved. he won in straight sets over american bjorn fratangelo. norrie's already made it to two atp finals on clay this season, and the good form continued at roland garros, playing in his first grand slam match for 16 months. roger federer showed no signs of rust in dismantling denis istomin in straight sets.

serena williams is just getting under way against romanian veteran irina—camelia begu. sergio aguero has been officially announced as a barcelona player. the argentinian will leave manchester city at the end of his contract next month after a brilliant ten years in the premier league. aguero posed in a barca shirt at the nou camp today. he'lljoin up with his good friend and fellow countryman lionel messi at the catalan giants after signing on a two—year deal. during his decade with city, he scored 260 goals in 390 games, becoming the club's all—time leading goal—scorer, winning15 major trophies in the process. it's been announced that brazil will host the copa america, with less than two weeks' notice. the change comes after argentina was stripped of the rights to hold the competition late last night because of a surge in covid cases. argentina were originally set to co—host with colombia, but they were removed earlier this month after protests in the country. the south american football confederation say the venues and fixtures are still

to be announced. morecambe will be playing league one football next season. the shrimps beat newport county 1—0 in the league 2 play—off final at wembley this afternoon to reach the third tier for the first time in their history. getting there wasn't easy, though. they needed this penalty in the second half of extra time from carlos mendes gomes to seal it, much to the delight of theirfans in london. morecambe finished five points in front of newport in the league, but did lose both of their matches this season. that's all the sport for now. we'll have more for you on the bbc news channel later on. back to our top story now, some scientists advising the government on coronavirus are calling for the lifting of the final lockdown restrictions in england, due on the 21st ofjune, to be postponed. they say they're concerned about rising infection rates due to the indian variant. let's speak now to dr chaand nagpaul, chairman of the british medical association.

what is your view on this quiz much of the relaxing of restrictions be postponed? the of the relaxing of restrictions be postponed?— of the relaxing of restrictions be --ostoned? ~ , postponed? the prime minister said from the outset _ postponed? the prime minister said from the outset we _ postponed? the prime minister said from the outset we needed - postponed? the prime minister said from the outset we needed to - postponed? the prime minister said from the outset we needed to be . from the outset we needed to be guided by data and not dates, and while we have come a long way and it's fantastic to the vaccination programme be so successful, at this moment in time, we do need to be concerned about a certificate increase in numbers of new cases. today, we have actually now seen about a 45% increase in number of deaths in the last seven days and also a 23% increase across hospitalisations. the data at the moment is not looking promising and that's because of course of the new variant. and when you look at the conditions for coming out, the road map conditions, one of those criteria was to make sure there were no concerns about new variants. so i think at the moment, that it does suggest that we need to be cautious and must not lose all the gains that we have made in the last few months

ljy we have made in the last few months by premature and hasty non—evidence—based live loosening of restrictions. we can also recall this is not a relaxation of rules. the 21st ofjune date is set to end all legal limits in terms of social contact. and the idea that in three weeks we will all be able to mix without any restrictions is really hard to envisage when you consider in my patch we are search testing for the new variant. so i don't think we're there yet. need to be a bit more patient in my view. i suppose there will be some business owners watching this and sort of despairing at the idea of restrictions being in placejust to the point where they've been planning to open up again. would it have been an option you think to have been an option you think to have targeted restrictions in some areas where it seems there are searches while allowing other areas to relax the rules? the searches while allowing other areas to relax the rules?— searches while allowing other areas to relax the rules? the problem they are i think to relax the rules? the problem they are i think is — to relax the rules? the problem they are i think is we _ to relax the rules? the problem they are i think is we have _ to relax the rules? the problem they are i think is we have in _ to relax the rules? the problem they are i think is we have in our- to relax the rules? the problem they are i think is we have in our rate - are i think is we have in our rate above one. we have a highly transmissible virus and it is not

easy to say that one area is at it in another area is not because there has been the history of this virus, that it spreads very rapidly. in fact for businesses, the problem is a government should have been clear and should have continued to remind the public that in fact this was a situation of data and not dates and no one should have been planning a hard day of the 21st ofjune of resuming normality. and what's also important to recognise is that it is not as if the infection spreads it does not matter in terms of businesses because the under 50s who are by and large not vaccinated fully by the 21st ofjune, if they become ill and they then have to take time off work because they will be isolating or for that matter about one in ten will have a long covid—19 symptoms going on for more than 12 weeks, that is not going to be good for businesses either. so this is not a matter of waiting indefinitely, is a matter ofjust continuing the good work we have done, getting enough of the population vaccinated so that we can

feel secure that we really have control the spread of this virus. 0k, control the spread of this virus. ok, doctor, really good to get your thoughts and thank you for the hunting is here on bbc news for the british medical association. china has announced that couples will be allowed to have up to three children, up from the current limit of two. census data has shown a steep decline in the birth rate. five years ago, china abandoned the one—child policy that had been in place for decades to limit population growth. our correspondent stephen mcdonell explained more about the landmark shift in policy from the chinese government. first it was one, then two, now a three—child policy for china. this is a big change. i was out buying a coffee when the announcement came, and you could see people looking down at their mobile phones as the news hit their screens. everybody can now have three kids. the question is, do they want to have them? the chinese government is hoping to fix its demographic headaches by allowing people to have more kids. the idea is that, in the future,

more young people coming into the workforce and paying more taxes will pay for the increasing number of people hitting retirement age. here is the challenge, though. xinhua wire service, which made the announcement, also had a little snap survey, in came the results — do you want to have three kids now if you had the chance? 1000 people, straight away, i would love to have more kids, three kids, can't wait. around 700, i'm a little bit nervous about it. 23,000 respondents straight away said, there is no way i would consider having three kids. translation: l have one kid, - but if the government could give us some sort of subsidy, we would definitely have more. translation: three children? two are enough, even one is exhausting me. i'm tired to death looking after these two. according to china's latest census,

birth rates are now at roughly 1960s levels. why is that? well, when you talk to young couples, they'll say, i would rather give one child lots of chances than spread my income over, say, several children. another factor is that you now have generations of people here completely unaccustomed to the experience of having brothers and sisters. for them, small families is the way to go. otherfactors — in the 1970s, poor farmers wanted to have more children because each new human being was an addition to the family work unit. well, along comes affluence, and that's gone. then there are the analysts saying that you can't fix demographic problems by simply pouring more people into the equation, you're just kicking the can down the road — human expansion cannot go on forever.

but all of this is completely hypothetical if the authorities here can't convince young people to have more kids anyway. officials in nigeria say 11 children who were part of a group of students kidnapped on sunday have been released because they were too young to walk. about 200 pupils attend the islamic school in tegina in niger state, but it's unclear how many were abducted. kidnappings for ransom by criminal gangs have become more common across the country in recent months. hundreds of afghans who worked for the british military and at its embassy in kabul will be rapidly relocated, with many expected to be resettled in the uk. the decision comes amid fears for their safety as international troops prepare to leave the country and the security situation deteriorates. our defence correspondent jonathan beale has more. afghan interpreters have put their lives on the line, serving alongside british troops

in combat in helmand until 2014. though some have already been allowed to resettle in the uk, many were left behind and are now living in real danger, with their old employers soon about to leave for good. the departure of all us, british and nato forces is under way. and there are growing concerns that those who work for them will be targeted by the taliban. so, the government's agreed a new programme to bring hundreds more back to britain for safety. along with their immediate families, it could mean more than 3000 afghans coming here to make their home in the uk. with the western powers leaving afghanistan, the threat is increasing and has increased with targeted attacks against afghans by the taliban. so, we think it's the right thing to do, to stand by these people. they sacrificed a lot to look after us, and now we're going to do the same. the defence and home secretaries, seen here last year meeting some of the afghans who've already resettled in the uk, say it's a moral obligation

to look after them. but it will also be a huge challenge in the midst of the military withdrawal. the last of the 750 british troops in kabul are due to leave by september, and it's not yet clear where these afghan families will be resettled in the uk. jonathan beale, bbc news. now, here's something you don't hear very often. this bank holiday has been hot, very hot. in fact, the hottest day of the year so far in some parts of the uk. the mercury hit 25 degrees at kinlochewe in the highlands. many other areas have been enjoying the sun, too. our correspondent sanchia berg went to brighton for this report. clear sky, glittering sea brought tourists to english beaches. at windy skegness, the english seaside was back in business. in brighton, visitors were delighted to return.

absolutely fantastic, the weather's good, the people are lovely, it's just nice to be out and about. so, yeah, it's all good. get a bit of a normal life again. just been out and having family time as well. being able to socialise, going into the bars, having a meal, nice drink. as holidays are going to be this year, this will - probably be it, so, yeah. and it was a relief for local business, said one coffee shop worker. things have been quite tough, haven't they, very tough for a lot of people, so, yes, it is a relief, and it's good to, you know, see so many people out enjoying themselves as well. it's wonderful. as the mostly unmasked crowds grew, the locals withdrew. i'm pleased that we have no reason to go into town or use public transport today, because it'sjust incredibly crowded. for the thousands of visitors filling the streets of brighton, it's a glorious bank holiday, almost back to normal. that's not the case for the brighton residents, who are worried that covid could be creeping back this way.

many were busy queueing for vaccines.