this is bbc news. the headlines at four: the uk chancellor, rishi sunak, says g7 finance ministers from the world's leading economies have reached a historic deal to reform the global tax system during talks in london. i think the crucial thing for people to take away is the principle of fairness. that is what we have achieved today, to ensure that there is a level playing field for all types of companies. testing is ramped up as the uk sees the highest number of new covid infections in two months, raising more question marks over the further relaxation of restrictions. for the first time in nine months, people in glasgow will be able to socialise in each other�*s homes and drink alcohol in pubs & restaurants as parts of scotland move to lower restriction levels from today.

and the first big events in its year as uk city of culture take place in coventry, after a six—month delay. good afternoon. welcome to bbc news. the chancellor rishi sunak has announced what he called "a historic agreement" to reform the global tax system. the agreement by the g7 group of finance ministers is set to include a global minimum rate of corporation tax. the base rate of at least 15% is seen as a starting point, but is lower than the minimum rate of 21% that had been proposed by president biden. the plans are also set to stop major multinational companies, include apple and microsoft, from paying little or no tax in countries where they make money. the uk chancellor, rishi sunak, said businesses should pay the right amount of tax in the right place. many of the tech giants have

welcomed the agreement. the former deputy prime minister and now facebook�*s vice president of global affairs, nick clegg, said the social media giant had called for reform of global tax rules, and wanted the process to succeed even if it meant the company paid more tax. our business correspondent katy austin reports. how much tax should multinational companies, particularly tech giants, pay, and where should they pay it? those were the questions at the heart of these discussions between g7 finance ministers. today a consensus to back a global minimum rate of at least 15%. i am delighted to announce that today, after years of discussion, g7 finance ministers have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system, to make it fit for the global digital age, but crucially to make sure that it is fair so that the right companies pay the right tax in the right places. the deal is seen as a significant development. since at least ten years ago, and probably earlier,

there has been this dissatisfaction that lots of companies move their headquarters to very low taxjurisdictions. but it has been really hard to come up with a global deal on corporation tax. some countries, including the uk, have already introduced their own digital services tax. there had been pressure from the us to drop them quickly as part of this deal. asked if the uk would now do that, the chancellor said the measure had always been intended as a temporary one. this is the first step, the g7 agreement, we have got to move to the g20 and then beyond. but obviously the intention would be, once there is a global multilateral solution in place then the need for those dsts falls way. the rules agreed today would also aim to make companies pay tax in the countries where they are selling their products or services rather than where their profits are declared. the german finance minister said it was bad news for tax havens.

katy austin, bbc news. our business correspondent, katy austin with that report, and earlier she told me how some of the multinational companies have reacted to today's tax agreement. those involved in these talks, the finance ministers from the g7, have spoken of the significance of this moment. bear in mind, of course, that although it is being seen as historic and, as you say, very significant, this kind of move, this kind of measure would not be effective without other nations agreeing as well. so there are still the g20 countries, like russia and china, to speak to to see if they would get on with this idea, and the oecd, at which more than 130 countries would be at the table. so whether countries of all shapes and sizes and various sizes of economy would all get on board with this idea has yet to be seen. ireland has come out and said this afternoon that it has reservations about this and it looks forward to the further discussions. ireland has a corporate tax rate of 12.5%, so you can see why a minimum global rate of 15% they might not see

as to their advantage. other actions we have seen from the us, the treasury secretary janet yellen has said the global minimum tax would end the race to the bottom in corporate taxation. that is something she has said previously, but it really distills the aim of what these ministers are trying to achieve here. the other element of it besides the minimum tax rate itself is rules to try and make sure that companies, instead of almost shopping around for a country with a lower tax rate to pay tax on their profits there, that profits to some degree could be levied on taxes where sales are made. so if you think of a big tech company, they might provide their services in the uk, for example, but are not based there and the idea would be that then they pay tax on some of the sales to that country,

for example, the uk. what about any immediate reaction from any of the big tech companies? well, we'd actually heard from facebook last night, which says it supports reform to the rules. i have also just seen statements from google. google said the company strongly supports the work being done to update international tax rules. they say they hope countries can finalise what they describe as a balanced and durable agreement soon. amazon has also reacted this afternoon, saying they hope to see discussions continue to advance with the broader g20, as i've mentioned, and what they say would be an inclusive framework alliance. so, broadly speaking at the moment, these large tech companies, which are at the centre of the reforms we are talking about, really, are expressing support for the idea but making it clear that there is further to go before we have any final global rules that everyone agrees on. so what happens next? as i said, it will have to be discussed among a wider group of countries.

plenty more mileage in this, but it doesn't stop this being a really important step today and one that a few years ago would have seemed very unlikely, very surprising, in fact. the us treasury secretary, janet yellen, said today's agreement would lead to a fairer global economy. we need to have a stable tax systems that raise sufficient revenue to invest in essential public goods and respond to crises and ensure that all citizens and corporations fairly share the burden of financing government. fortoo share the burden of financing government. for too long, there has been a global race to the bottom in corporate taxes, where countries compete on lowering their tax rates instead of the well—being of their citizens and natural environments. the g7 has taken significant steps at this weekend to end the existing harmful dynamic, making commitments today that provide tremendous

momentum towards achieving a robust global minimum tax at a rate of at least 15%. that global minimum tax would end the race to the bottom in corporate taxation and ensure fairness for the middle—class and working people in the us and around the world. the global minimum tax would also help the global economy thrive by levelling the playing field for businesses and encouraging countries to compete on a positive basis, such as education or training or workforces or investing in research and development and infrastructure. and indeed the global minimum tax can help fund investments in those critical priorities. finally, by collaborating with one another on the global minimum tax, governments protect their national sovereignty to set tax policy, because the

pressures that have forced the race to the bottom are corporate tax rates, and they are alleviated. this effort is far from over and we look forward to engaging closely with the 620 forward to engaging closely with the g20 and members of the oecd's inclusive framework process in the coming weeks to finalise an agreement on the global minimum corporate tax as soon as possible. the us treasury secretary. ireland is the european hub for many of the tech giants, mainly in part because of its low corporation tax of i2.5%. the irish finance minister, paschal donohoe, who attended the g7 summit in london, said he acknowledged today's agreement, but said any deal would have to meet the needs of all countries, large and small. ireland is and has been and will continue to be a very positive, a very stable, and very competitive environment in which domestic and international investment has a very positive role to play within our economy and we will, even with

an acknowledgement of the change that is coming, continue to have the kind of legitimate policies in place in ireland that deliver a competitive approach for ireland and allow us to grow and retain employment. we are doing all this in a changing world and i have always acknowledged this change is coming, much work lies ahead in that change and ireland looks forward to playing a constructive role in it. the irish finance minister. let us bring you the latest covid figures for the day. we are told today that britain has reported 5765 new cases of covid—i9 today in the last 24—hour period and 13 more of covid—19 today in the last 24—hour period and 13 more deaths have been reported. that is within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test. the government shows, though, that the number of people that have now received their first vaccination

is over a0 million, a0,12a,229, to be precise, and 27,000160,000,... 27 million have received their second doses as well. quite a landmark when it comes to second vaccinations. the head of nhs providers, which represents health services, has said covid vaccines appear to "have broken the chain" between catching the virus and becoming seriously ill or dying. despite this, chris hopson says any decision on easing restrictions in england on the 21stjune is "finely balanced". 0ur health correspondent naomi grimley reports. it is the big question of the summer. can hospitals still cope with the numbers of people who will fall seriously ill from covid—19 before the full effects of mass vaccination are felt? the encouraging news is that hospital admissions are well below

the levels we saw in winter. and today one of those representing health trusts appeared to strike an optimistic note. what we think we can start to say now, based on that experience from those who have been at the front of this wave, is it looks as though the vaccines have broken the chain between catching covid—19 and potentially being very seriously ill and potentially dying. but more surge testing is to begin on monday in parts of reading and wokingham because of the more transmissible delta variant first discovered in india. cases have been nudging up quite noticeably again as we mix more. yesterday over 6,000 were recorded. and some experts fear that could still translate into a problem until full vaccination is reached. it is particularly this increase in transmission that could cause us considerable problems. we are getting estimates of ao% to 60% more transmissible than the b117, the kent variant, that was dominant and that means infections can

come at us quite fast. in the end, it is a political decision whether to go ahead with the final stage of loosening in england. 0pinions in the scientific community are split. perhaps the only thing everyone agrees on is that more data is needed. naomi grimley, bbc news. coronavirus restrictions have eased for millions of people in scotland today. glasgow has moved down to level two, which means people can meet in each other�*s homes in limited numbers, and drink alcohol in pubs and restaurants for the first time in eight months. but a planned relaxation across some other parts of the country has been delayed. 0ur correspondent in glasgow, graham stewart, has more. a significant day for the citizens of glasgow. they are emerging from nine long months under some of the country's toughest covid restrictions. as you say, from today they are able to meet indoors and enjoy alcohol inside pubs and restaurants and travel in and out of the city. but for 13 other council areas that have been enjoying the same freedoms

for the past three weeks, well, they are staying exactly where they are, and that is because of concerns over the now dominant indian variant. in fact, across scotland, infections have more than tripled over the past month. but in some other areas, where case numbers are relatively low, they are moving to level one. auckland, shetland, the western isles, they are moving to level zero, the lowest level of restrictions, that is where the whole of scotland hopes to be towards the end of this month. the first minister says the situation is hopeful but fragile. indian officials have announced that lockdown restrictions will start easing in delhi, weeks after a devastating second wave of the virus. markets and shopping centres will be able to partially reopen from monday and offices can also reopen at half capacity. the city reported about a00 new infections today, down from about 25,000 daily cases when the lockdown was announced seven weeks ago.

the headlines on bbc news... the chancellor, rishi sunak, has said g7 finance ministers from the world's leading economies have reached a historic deal to reform the global tax system during talks in london. testing is ramped up as the uk sees the highest number of new covid infections in two months. for the first time in nine months, people in glasgow will be able to socialise in each other�*s homes and drink alcohol in pubs and restaurants as parts of scotland move to lower restriction levels from today. sport and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, here's chetan. good afternoon. wickets might have been falling all around him, but rory burns has hit a century on day four of the first test against new zealand at lords. england started the day on 111—2, but have since collapsed — tim southee the pick of the new zealand bowlers, taking five wickets. but rory burns' third test 100 has

given the fans at lords something to celebrate. new zealand were all out for 378 in theirfirst innings, england are currently 275—9. burns unbeaten on 132. st helens have won the women's challenge cup for the first time after thrashing york city knights in the final. saints raced into a 20—0 half time lead with four tries, amy hardcastle with the pick of them. the final score was 3a—6. england's mel reid remains in contention at the halfway point of the us women's open in san francisco. reid, who led after the first round, slipped back to sixth following a two over par 73. she's four shots behind the leader, 19—year—old yuka saso of the phillipines. britain's cameron norrie has work to do in his third round match against defending champion rafael nadal at the french open. the spaniard has taken

the first set 6—3 in paris, and he's just broken to lead a—3 in the second. rafael nadal looking good in the second set at the moment. he has only lost twice in the last 16 years at the french open. world number one novak djokovic is already into round four. he eased past the lithuanian ricardas berankis in straight sets, winning injust over an hour and a half. there's been another upset in the women's draw, though. elina svitolina's become the seventh top 10 seed to be knocked out in the opening week of the french open. the ukranian fifth seed was overpowered from the back of the court by barbora krejcikova — at the bottom of your screen — in straight sets. the czech player's into the fourth round for the second year in a row and will play the former us open champion sloane stephens next.

no problems, though, for the highest seed left in the women's draw, sofia kenin. she fought back from a set down to beat america'sjessica pegula, winning a—6, 6—1, 6—a. england now all out for 275 in their first innings against new zealand. against new zealand. there was a surprise in qualifying at the azerbaijan grand prix, with charles leclerc securing pole. the ferrari driver had set the benchmark time in the final session in baku, just ahead of the mercedes of lewis hamilton, with max verstappen third for red bull. just as they were about to start their final laps, two crashes brought qualifying to a premature end, handing leclerc pole for a second race in a row. fabio quartararo has become the first rider in seven years to claim five motogp pole positions in a row. the championship leader clocked the quickest time on his yamaha early on in the final session of qualifying for the catalunya grand prix. australia's jack miller will start from second despite this crash stopping him from beating

the frenchman's time. britain's geraint thomas has moved up to third overall with just one stage to go at the criterium du dauphine. ukraine's mark padun broke clear to win the penultimate stage by 3a seconds ahead of australia's richie porte, whose second place secured him the overall lead. thomas finshed ninth, and although he's moved up the standings, he trails his ineos grenadiers team mate porte by half a minute. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. visitors may be returning to some of the uk's most popular tourist destinations, but employers are reporting problems recruiting staff. in cumbria, tourism bosses are warning the situation is reaching crisis point, and say the sector has been badly hit by new post—brexit immigration rules. yunus mulla reports. the lake district is looking busy. the visitors have returned in large

numbers, but fewer people are choosing to work here. emma's deli in grasmere is facing an all too familiar problem. its owner has another cafe in keswick, that is down to opening just five days a week. here the chef retires soon. that position has not been filled. when we reopened lastjuly, we didn't seem to have a shortage of people coming forward forjobs and something seems to have shifted. but it might mean we have to reduce what we can offer in terms of either the days we are open or the days when we can offer food, because we just cannot keep up with the demand. the scale of the staff recruitment crisis facing the county's tourism and hospitality sector is said to have doubled within the last month. cumbria tourism's latest survey has highlighted the challenges facing businesses here in the lake district, with 68% saying there is a significant problem recruiting staff.

business responses also reveal 73% cite a lack of applicants and aa% say there is a skills shortage. lack of affordable housing and public transport difficulties is not new, but many businesses were not expecting the current staff shortages. i have had clients in tears, you know, i have had them ringing up saying, please help. in fact, i had a head chef say to me the other day that the hours he is having to work because he is six or seven people down in the kitchen, he said he is going to end up in an early grave. when the lake district country hotel group reopened with the easing of restrictions, 10% of staff did not return. but brexit and the ending of the free movement of people is a bigger problem. our biggest problem in our area is pre—brexit we had a7% of our staff came from the eu. however, since the end of free movement, we are now finding it a lot harder to find people. unemployment in our area is just shy of 1% and it is an ageing population in our area,

so people are migrating away from our area rather than coming to it. businesses here are doing what they can to find a way out of this staffing crisis, but to grow and recover, there is also a call for government intervention. yunus mulla, bbc news, grasmere. two men are recovering in hospital following a racially aggravated assault in liverpool city centre. the incident took place near sir thomas street around 5:a0 this morning. 0ne victim suffered suspected stab wounds while the other received a chest injury from an unknown weapon. both are said to be in a stable condition. this week has seen a spate of knife attacks in london, including two involving machetes in broad daylight in greenwich and hyde park. as scotland yard increases its patrols in certain areas to reassure residents, campaigners are saying not enough is being done to steer young people away from knife crime. this report from tarah welsh contains footage some people may find distressing. what the hell's happening!

a child asks what's happening, as men fight with large knives in broad daylight in greenwich on wednesday. one man is in a serious condition in hospital after being stabbed. it happened just a day after an attack on hyde park. these images show the moment a teenager was chased and stabbed, as onlookers enjoying the sun screamed. the 17—year—old is in a stable condition in hospital, and one arrest has been made. but this is just one of several violent incidents in london in the past week. there are various hypotheses for why it could be. obviously we are coming out of a lockdown. the weather has got warmer. on saturday, flower seller tony eastlake was stabbed to death in broad daylight in islington. on sunday, a man was stabbed in croydon. on monday, a teenager was killed in barnet. and on tuesday, a man was stabbed in the face in lewisham. 0n the same day as the violence

in hyde park, a man was found stabbed to death in hackney. our main priority as the metropolitan police isjust to make sure that we can respond effectively, and make sure that we are giving visible reassurances through, as we see here today, operations like this, weapon sweeps, making sure we are doing community engagement activities. step back is a short film about knife crime and the impact it can have on an entire community. it was made by leo powell to try and make young people aware of the consequences. he's worked with young people for over a decade, but is still shocked by the level of violence recently. there's no regard for life now. the situation that we are seeing now is that it's a kill or be killed mentality. what do we do about this? we've seen this kind of thing happen years upon years upon years, and the government is aware that we have an issue in income—deprived areas, so there needs to be money that's invested in those areas to different

organisations, to new services, to give our young people opportunities so they can say, you know what, i'm interested in getting involved in this as opposed to getting involved in the street life. the government says it has invested millions tackling the roots of violent crime, and is recruiting more than 1000 officers to the met. in the meantime, many will be left affected by what happened here at hyde park and the incidents across the capital. coventry is staging its first major events to mark its year as the uk's city of culture. the pandemic meant that celebrations had to be postponed until restrictions had started to ease. there are pop—up performances throughout the day, including 1a modern day lady godivas who will ride through the city. colleen harris reports. music. it's been a long wait. now coventry is ready. from street theatre to music, pop—up performances are set for today's launch.

welcome to coventry. the city will showcase its cultural heritage, from postwar brutalist architecture to the birth of iconicjaguars. # but when i switch on i rotate the dial... breathing new life into coventry�*s two—tone legacy is pauline black, from �*80s band the selecter. # 0h, take me back, back to the days... she says the city's year in the cultural spotlight will bring much—needed regeneration and investment. coventry is, if you like, the phoenix rising from the ashes, because of how much it was, you know, it was decimated here by the world war ii bombing. it is the youth that is going to take that forward. but to take it forward, you need to know about your history, so i'm part of that. hundreds of performers and production teams have been rehearsing for months now, putting finishing touches to moments like this that will move through the city. rather than come to coventry to see it, the message from organisers for now is to stay at home

and watch from there. the halo that i have on right now was inspired by the bicycle wheel, it was a manufacturing boom of bicycles here. artist and model daniel lismore uses his body as a living work of art. his career has taken him around the world, but his roots are firmly planted in coventry. to my right is where i used to get bullied at a bus stop. i rememberjust thinking, like, you know, what is there for me? and then coming back later on, and the city is booming, you know, there are so many amazing things. the legend of lady godiva, who rode naked on a horse to protest against taxes, plays a central role in the opening. this modern—day godiva is an nhs nurse, campaigning for better pay and ppe during the pandemic. for me, it's about empowerment

and ensuring that everyday people — like, the community, are empowered to be able to be involved. and giving people opportunities, you know? it has been a challenging feat, planning a cultural programme in a pandemic. concerns about crowds have kept announcements low—key and secret. so a city of surprises awaits. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. hello there. we have had a weather front pushing into western areas and that has brought cloud and outbreaks of rain. ahead of that there is some clear skies from the far south—east of england and skies were clear for western scotland and northern

ireland. quite a mild night to come. we had a weather front across much of england and wales and it will be cloudier, some showery burst of rain and heavy downpours into the afternoon, whereas full scotland and northern ireland, they will see the best of the sunshine with temperatures and notch down across—the—board, 19 or 20, 21 degrees. it looks like weather fronts could bring a little bit of rain to north—west part of the country. the south—east will see the best of the warmth and sunshine. hello, this is bbc news. the uk chancellor, rishi sunak says g7 finance ministers from the world's leading economies have reached a historic deal to reform the global tax system during talks in london. i think the crucial thing for people to take away is the principle of fairness. that is what we have achieved today, to ensure that there is a level playing field

for all types of companies. testing is ramped up as the uk sees the highest number of new covid infections in 2 months, raising more question marks over the further relaxation of restrictions. for the first time in nine months, people in glasgow will be able to socialise in each others homes and drink alcohol in pubs & restaurants as parts of scotland move to lower restriction levels from today. now on bbc news... the media show. hello. the role of foreign reporter is one of the most cameras in journalism. some of our most memorable moments came from those with their eyes and ears on the ground. but does that reporting now face an existential crisis? like the rest of us,

many international correspondents and spent the past year grounded at home. audiences and newspaper editors got use to a year