tonight at ten — for the first time since the pandemic struck, no covid deaths recorded in the uk today, but experts say we're still in a vulnerable position. as things stand, cases are now on the rise again, linked to the coronavirus variant first identified in india. as the vaccination programme forges ahead, some experts are concerned about lifting all restrictions in england onjune 21st. we've still got a lot of people out there who have neither had the virus infection nor yet been immunised and that is why we are in a vulnerable position right now. and we'll have the latest from scotland where the easing of restrictions has been delayed in large parts of the country. also tonight... the race for more space — as the housing market

is booming in many areas — but at what cost? we report from the wirral. five month—old arthur morgan, who suffers from a rare genetic condition, is the first in england to receive the world's most expensive drug. a special report from jordan — where we go back to meet two syrian refugees, victims of the terrible conflict in their homeland. and the tennis star whose honesty about living with depression has drawn praise worldwide. and coming up in the sport, on the bbc news channel... england are all set for euro 2020, as gareth southgate names his 26—man squad, with liverpool's trent alexander—arnold making the cut. good evening. for the first time since

the outbreak of the pandemic in march last year, the united kingdom has recorded no deaths linked to coronavirus. this refers to those deaths reported within 28 days of a positive covid test. the pandemic is farfrom over — but it's nonetheless a significant milestone. as things stand, cases are again on the rise, linked to the variant first identified in india. some experts have reinforced their concerns about the lifting of all restrictions in england onjune 21st, pointing out that there are still large numbers of people who've yet to be vaccinated. but downing street says there's nothing in the current data to justify a delay, as our health editor hugh pym reports. with lives lost and relatives left to grieve, the pandemic has taken a terrible toll. many families have been unable to sit with loved ones in theirfinal hours in hospital. but after more than 1,700 covid deaths reported daily at one stage,

today, not one has been reported. that's partly down to better treatment. sharon was seriously ill with covid and other conditions in intensive care in gloucester in november. looking back now, she knows it was touch—and—go whether she'd pull through. i was on the brink of death. the consultant was telling my daughter, "imagine your mum's on a cliff edge. she just needs to take a step back." and luckily, ifought my way through everything. sharon only survived after being moved to the royal brompton hospital in london and put on a form of life support called ecmo. this high—tech equipment sustains the heart and lung function of patients with severe respiratory failure. intensive care experts say in the first wave, it wasn't used as much as now. i think early on, we weren't aware of how people responded to covid.

and i think as time went on and we learned more about it, that was the point at which we felt that ecmo might be of benefit to more people. the use of ecmo is one example of the nhs learning more about the virus and adapting treatment and drugs, all of which has boosted survival rates. but the virus hasn't gone away. in scotland, the easing of restrictions planned for next monday has been paused in some areas. in recent weeks in scotland total covid cases have risen steadily with increases in glasgow thought to be linked to the variant first identified in india. it is a similar picture in the north west of england with some hotspot areas involving the variant. but it is not the same story across the whole of the uk, with total cases having risen more slowly in recent weeks. ministers and officials are studying the data

to see how rapidly the indian variant is spreading with speculation that lockdown easing plan for the 21st ofjune in england may be delayed. the plan for the 21st ofjune in england may be delayed-— may be delayed. the idea that the “ob is may be delayed. the idea that the job is done — may be delayed. the idea that the job is done is _ may be delayed. the idea that the job is done is wrong, _ may be delayed. the idea that the job is done is wrong, we _ may be delayed. the idea that the job is done is wrong, we have - may be delayed. the idea that the job is done is wrong, we have a i may be delayed. the idea that the| job is done is wrong, we have a lot of people out there who have not had the infection or been immunised and thatis the infection or been immunised and that is why we are in a vulnerable position. that is why we are in a vulnerable osition. , , ., , , , position. the hospitality industry is concerned. _ wedding planners say any changes to the expected lifting of limits on guests would be disastrous. every single day, we're spending millions of pounds in order to meet the june 21st deadline. many, many businesses will not survive if we cannot meet that date. there's still much uncertainty about the future. what is certain is that for a number of reasons, including the success of the vaccination programme, no deaths have been reported — for one day, at least. hugh pym, bbc news. in scotland, the first minister nicola sturgeon has delayed the easing of lockdown restrictions in large parts of the country.

she said that a slight pause was necessary to manage rising infection rates but she confirmed that rules would be relaxed this weekend in glasgow, where people have been living with a higher level of restrictions for several months as our scotland correspondent lorna gordon reports. for more than 270 days, scotland's largest city has had some of the country's toughest restrictions. cheers. but change is now on the way. our local is an indoor pub, so it will be nice to get back to the indoor pub. it's going to be great for people's mental health and socialising, and especially for summer, it's a really good time for it to happen. from saturday, bars like this one in glasgow will once again be allowed to serve alcohol inside. big relief. delighted that we're going to be open, giving folk the rum shack experience, both indoors and outdoors. it's been frustrating at times, however, you know, it's a pandemic, so we are not going to shout and moan that much about it. but with scotland's r number almost

certainly now above one, the first minister is pressing the brakes on a scotland—wide relaxing of restrictions. for millions, the easing of lockdown has been paused. with case numbers as high as they are in these areas and with a substantial proportion of adults not yet double—dosed, it is safer and more likely to protect our progress overall if we hold these areas in level 2 for a further period. 13 areas will remain at level two because of rising case rates. they will be joined by glasgow which is moving down from level 3. a large sweep of the north and south of scotland where covid numbers are low will, though, see restrictions eased. and 0rkney, shetland and the western aisles will move to level 0, although that doesn't mean zero restrictions. nicola sturgeon described this as a pause, not a setback, and said erring on the side of caution would give time for more people to be fully vaccinated. so, as areas including aberdeen continue on the road towards normality, others will have to wait to see if this latest wave of covid takes hold. lorna gordon, bbc news.

the latest government figures show there were 3,165 new coronavirus infections and, as we've been hearing, no deaths, in the latest 24—hour period. on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week, was 3,441. more than 93,000 people received their first dose of a vaccine in the last 2a hours, taking the overall total to more than 39.4 million people who've had a single jab. that's nearly 75% — three quarters — of the uk's adult population. more than 195,000 people had their second vaccine dose in the latest 24 hour period, which means more than 25.7 million have now had two jabs — a little under half of all adults. 0ur health editor hugh pym is here. we have heard more experts today

just raising concerns about this plan to raise all the restrictions in england on the 21st ofjune, so what are the factors playing into this? �* , ., what are the factors playing into this? �* ,., ., , , this? after reporting deaths every da since this? after reporting deaths every day since the _ this? after reporting deaths every day since the early _ this? after reporting deaths every day since the early stages - this? after reporting deaths every day since the early stages of - this? after reporting deaths every day since the early stages of the l day since the early stages of the pandemic, now we are in a position to say there are no new debts to report and that is a significant moment and very positive news —— no new deaths. it comes after a weekend and a bank holiday and sometimes there are delays and sometimes the numbers will move up a bit but that is where we are now. a zero number. the health secretary matt hancock made the point that the country will be glad about this, and that the vaccines are working but he goes on to say in public health officials say the same thing, we have not beaten the virus yet, he said. people must make sure they get both jabs when they are eligible and less than half the adult population has had two jabs as of now. going

forward this is about where cases and hospital members go and it may be by the 14th ofjune when ministers in england say they want to give a firm announcement on whether restrictions are eased to the following week, maybe the science, because it is not clear—cut enough, it will recommend one way or the other, so it will be a difficult decision for the government and the prime minister weighing up the health impact against the impact on the economy. health impact against the impact on the economy-— the latest official figures suggest that the uk is experiencing a boost in some parts of the economy — as lockdown is eased. the manufacturing sector grew at its fastest rate for decades last month — according to a new survey — boosted by record growth in new orders. the housing market is also booming in many areas — with britain's biggest building society, the nationwide, saying that buyers are in a "race for space" as they compete for larger properties with gardens. but as our economics editor faisal islam reports, the sharp rise in house prices is by no means popular

with everyone. the housing market's taken off again, defying gravity and history, as those in the buying and selling process, in the allocation and control of mortgage debts, try to establish exactly where it's all going. is this part of a new post—pandemic reassessment of how people want to live and work, or the return of the well—worn cycle of boom and bust? three bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, living room. nothing out of the ordinary... 0n the wirral, karen spent the year navigating the pandemic, opening a new salon business and trying to take that first modest step on the housing ladder. but here, as elsewhere, something strange appears to be happening. as we've gone to look, the prices have spiralled out of control. and what we thought we could afford comfortably with what rent we pay, we now have no idea where we fit in that sort of category... what, just in the past year? in the past year. it's very frenzied. it's almost like a bidding war.

having these huge rises in house prices to ever—higher records right now, in the immediate aftermath of the worst recession in centuries, seems like its own form of insanity, but it's also the entirely predictable consequence of the unprecedented hundreds of billions of pounds of support pumped in by government and the bank of england. the question is, where does it go from now? few seem to know. the stamp duty cut and extension has been the biggest example of support directly into the housing market, and that is certainly the view of the bank of england, who are keeping a close eye. i think what we're seeing in the housing market at the moment is being driven mainly by the tax holiday. and we've seen very fast rises in house prices and transactions before tax holidays in the past. there are some signs that people are making different housing choices

and that may affect the future. it's something that we're watching very carefully. back in the north west, in chester, tim rickett sold his previous agency at the top of the 2007 boom. the stamp duty holiday is helping now. did it help you sell this? oh, i think, yeah, without a doubt. yes, it did, because you didn't pay any stamp duty. very much so. right ~~ - after decades in the business, he thought he'd seen everything. we're in this sort of unusual situation now which, - in my 30—year career, i i've never seen before, where we've got a lot of buyers, but not a lot of stock. _ and what we're finding is that, yes, gazumping is happening. _ here and elsewhere, the pandemic may have changed how people want to live, and where, too. that is why one of the biggest mortgage lenders says it's not the old boom—bust cycle. you're not sort of thinking, we're here supporting very, very topish values here? i think, in the uk, there's a really good supply of mortgages from ourselves and others,

and with interest rates at record lows, it means that even though prices are high, affordability is pretty good. back on the wirral, the talk is of office workers from manchester now buying houses here an hour away, because they expect to need to commute only once or twice a week. karen isn't seeing the benefit of the stamp duty holiday. the housing market has been helped to defy gravity during the pandemic, but is that now going too far? faisal islam, bbc news, on the wirral. ministers at westminster are due tomorrow to outline their latest plans for helping school pupils in england catch up after a year of disrupted education. 0ur education editor branwenjeffreys is with me. before we come to the plan, let's recap on what the problem is. we know recap on what the problem is. - know even by last autumn, children were up to two months behind on reading and three months behind on primary maths and that was before

the big lockdown injanuary and even more disruption. the government has already said it will spend £1.7 billion this year and next with some of that going on tutoring and early next —— this year they appointed an adviser to shape a big bold ambitious plans, he was talking about things like adding extra time to the school day for learning and also things like sport and music and activities to support children's mental health. tonight it seems as though those ambitions have been massively scaled down and i've been speaking to people close to the discussions in government and they say as recently as last week plans involving £10 billion were under discussion but my sources now tell me the treasury decided that was too big a commitment for now to make upfront to children and education. so tomorrow what we are going to get is a much more modest announcement focused mainly on tutoring and that will be profoundly disappointing for

those who are looking to the government for a big bold vision and will leave at school is waiting to see what they get in the autumn from the spending plans. branwen jeffreys, many thanks. a 29 year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a mother and her child in lincolnshire. daniel boulton was detained by police in the hubbard's hill area of louth earlier today. lincolnshire police have named the mother and son as bethany vincent and darren henson, who was nine. every year in the uk, some 40 babies are born with the most severe form of spinal muscular atrophy. it's a progressive disorder that causes loss of muscle control, and if the child isn't given immediate treatment, life expectancy is short. but gene therapy offers new hope, and a five—month—old baby has become the first to receive the pioneering treatment from the nhs in england. arthur morgan was given a drug that usually costs

nearly £2 million after the nhs negotiated a hefty discount. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh has the story. this is the dawn of a new era in the treatment of genetic disorders. baby cries arthur has spinal muscular atrophy, sma, a devastating condition which causes progressive muscle weakness. untreated, children rarely live beyond the age of two. arthur, who's five months old, struggles to move his arms and legs, but this single infusion of zolgensma should halt further damage. it's been massive, massive ups and downs, but being able to now have the treatment is just going to be a game—changerfor us and give arthur the best possible life he could have. so, this is the world's most expensive medicine, with a list price of almost £1.8 million.

the nhs has negotiated a confidential discount, which will mean that dozens of affected infants can be treated every year. zolgensma's benefits last at least five years and might even be permanent. that partly explains its sky—high cost. but with other gene therapies on the horizon, that raises the issue of affordability. so, how does zolgensma work? it contains a healthy copy of a missing, orfaulty, gene called smn1. this is inserted into a harmless virus. in the body, the virus delivers the replacement gene into the nucleus of motor—neuron cells. this is essential to prevent those cells from gradually dying. the now—healthy motor—neuron cells start producing the missing smn1 protein, which is vital for muscle function. how's arthur? evelina london children's hospital

is one of a handful of centres in the uk which will offer this ground—breaking gene therapy. i think it has the potential to make a very significant difference, to enable children to acquire motor skills such as rolling and sitting that would have been impossible without treatment for sma. she was really floppy. she couldn't sit, - she couldn't hold toys. she couldn't do anything. tora received zolgensma in the us nearly two years ago. for her, it's been transformative. it saved her life. and basically, she now has a chance l to enjoy her life and to do things i that are so, like, basic and simple for any other child. _ now, we look forward with optimism that tomorrow, something good will happen. the sooner babies with sma are treated, the better the outcomes. there's now pressure to add the condition to the newborn

screening programme, so that zolgensma can be given in the first weeks of life, long before symptoms appear. fergus walsh, bbc news. in the decade since mass protests in syria turned into violent conflict, the number killed in the war has always been contested. united nations officials admit they don't now know the true number but today one human rights group in the uk say it could be around half a million. more than 6 million syrians are now refugees. over the past few years, our correspondent caroline hawley has followed the lives of two children ? casualties of the conflict — who escaped to neighbouring jordan. she's been back to meet theirfamilies. mustafa and his little sister, douaa, survived a bombing raid by the syrian regime seven years ago. both their parents were killed in the explosion that nearly took his life, too.

mustafa broke both his hips and still has shrapnel in his brain, which doctors have told him they can't remove. we first met mustafa when he was five. over the years, the one thing that's never changed is his irrepressible smile. right now, mustafa has good reason to be happy. he and douaa and their grandmother are about to be given a new home — on the other side of the world. there's time for a last play with his cousins before he goes.

as always, he does his best to keep up, but his injuries seem to affect him more than when we saw him last. his grandmother's looked after him for the past few years as if she was his own mum. she's frail now and can barely walk. for her, it won't be an easy move. but in the final hours before their departure, when the children are too excited to get to sleep, there's a last—minute hitch. so, they should actually be in the air right now, but when you're a refugee, you don't have much control over events and there's been some kind of delay. the bureaucratic bungle means it'll be weeks, at least, before he can fly.

rahaf and mustafa don't know each other, but they'd recognise each other�*s pain. when she was three, her home in syria was hit by government shelling, setting her bedclothes on fire. her sister qamar�*s burns were more severe. in 2012, we filmed qamar having surgery on herface. she had so many operations over the years, so many medical procedures, herfamily have literally lost count. rahaf herself has had 12, one for every year of her life, but nothing she's been through can match the agony of losing her sister, who was also her best friend. this was the last photo taken of qamar before she got ill last year with an infection her body couldn't fight.

rahaf�*s getting ready to visit her sister's grave. when i first met them, neither girl would look at themselves in the mirror, but both had grown hugely in self—confidence before qamar died. a casualty of serious conflict, years after the rocket fell. so much surgery on qamar�*s injuries had taken a massive toll. her family took her from doctor to doctor to try to save her and, after all that she'd been through and survived, theyjust can't believe that now she's gone. the long reach of syria's war.

for mustafa, there's still a new life in australia to look forward to, but that small piece of shrapnel buried in his brain that causes him so much trouble will be with him wherever he goes. caroline hawley, bbc news, amman. some of the young victims of the syrian conflict, caroline hawley reporting, there. let's take a look at some of today's other news. a post—mortem examination has found that sarah everard, who disappeared in march while walking home in south london, died from compression to her neck. the body of the 33—year—old was found in woodland in kent a week after she disappeared. a serving metropolitan police officer, wayne couzens, has been charged with her kidnap and murder. the inquest into the death of usman khan, the convicted terrorist who killed two young people at fishmongers' hall in london in 2019, has heard that he was shot 20 times by armed police before he died. khan, who'd been allowed to attend

a prisoner rehabilitation conference at the hall, killed 25—year—old jack merritt and 23—year—old saskia jones. president biden has been visiting the city of tulsa in oklahoma, to mark a century since a white mob attacked a black district, killing as many as 300 people. the attack, on an affluent black community known as black wall street, followed an alleged assault on a white teenage girl. president biden has called on all americans to reflect on what he described as the "deep roots of racial terror" in the country's history. 0ur correspondent gary 0'donoghue reports. this is the first time an american president has come to tulsa to acknowledge the horror of the massacre. local residents showed him around the greenwood cultural centre where he got to meet the only known survivors of that murderous night in 1921 — america's worst single act of racial violence in its history.

for much too long, the history of what took place here was told in silence, cloaked in darkness. butjust because history is silent, it doesn't mean that it did not take place. and while darkness can hide much, it erases nothing. there was little such help for greenwood after 1921. in fact, the city purposely passed rules and regulations that would make it harderfor black businesses to rebuild. it took decades for greenwood to recover, although it never regained its former glory, but now local entrepreneurs do want to recapture that past and they are looking to local, state and federal government to help. the black wall street liquid lounge is one place trying to revitalise the area. but while there is optimism for its future, the owner still believes the city is divided. i'm more of a bootstrap kind of guy.

so i think that the movement starts here with the citizens and the small business owners working together. if some are thinking about greenwood's future, others are praying for answers about its past. archaeologists now believe that dozens, if not hundreds, of victims of the massacre were buried in mass graves, and the work to find them begins in earnest today. i feel a sense of pride, because right now we are opening up the ground where there is hidden history, a dark history. this is a murder investigation right here. a murder investigation... the work excavating the graves will take months, if not years. proof, if needed, that the past is rarely over. gary 0'donoghue, bbc news, tulsa. current and former tennis stars have been voicing their support of the japanese tennis star naomi 0saka, who's withdrawn

from the french open after revealing that she has been struggling with depression. the player has been in the spotlight for days after her decision not to take part in the usual news conferences at the grand slam tournament. 0ur sports correspondent katie gornall reports. naomi 0saka is one of her sport's biggest and most marketable stars and yet all the talk in tennis has been about her not talking. last week, she said she wouldn't speak to the media at the french open — to protect her mental health. and then, 24 hours after winning herfirst match, pulled out of the tournament altogether, posting this on twitter. she said... 0saka revealed she'd suffered long bouts of depression since winning the us open three years ago and gets huge waves of anxiety before speaking to the world's media. now she says she'll take some time away from the court.

as much as it can be difficult and challenging at times, and i've experienced that myself, it's part of the job. to have not been able to reach any sort of conclusion with the organisers and be able to move forward because of the press commitments is, you know... it's sent shockwaves through the sport. all of the thoughts go to her and make sure that she's looking after her mental health, which it's good that that's what she's doing. as the tournament continued today without the world number two, players in paris offered their support. i feel for naomi. i feel like i wish i could give her a hug, because i know what it's like. like i said, i've been in those positions. you know, you just have to let her handle it the way she wants to, in the best way that she thinks she can. 0saka can be engaging and outspoken, but her refusal to talk on this occasion has come at a cost. the 23—year—old was fined by the tennis authorities and threatened with expulsion for failing to fulfil her contractual duties. following her withdrawal, the head of the french tennis

federation had this to say.