this is bbc news, the headlines at seven: the uk chancellor, rishi sunak, says g7 finance ministers from the world's leading economies have reached an 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. the head of nhs providers — which represents health trusts in england — says coronavirus vaccines appears to have broken the link between cases and serious illness. but 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. meanwhile, covid restrictions have eased across much of scotland, with people in glasgow allowed to socialise indoors and drink alcohol in pubs and restaurants for the first time in nine months.

and the first big events in their year of uk city of culture take place in coventry, after a six—month delay. good evening. it's being hailed as an "historic agreement", that could see global governments make billions. the deal made today by the g7 group of leading economies could shake—up the tax system for multinational companies, including big tech giants. it could include a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% to avoid countries undercutting each other. the chancellor, rishi sunak, said that it will mean firms pay

"the right tax in the right places". tech companies google and facebook have welcomed the move. here's our business correspondent katy austin. how to stop multinational companies, particularly tech giants, avoiding tax by booking profits in low or no tax jurisdictions, that was one question at the heart of these discussions between the finance ministers of seven leading economies. i'm delighted to announce that, today, after years of discussion, g7 finance ministers have reached an historic agreement to reform the global tax system, to make it fit for the global digital age but, crucially, to make sure that it's fair, so that the right companies pay the right tax in the right places. they agreed to the principle of a global minimum corporation tax of at least 15%, as well as rules to make the largest companies with profits of more

than 10% pay more tax in the country where sales are made, notjust where they declare their profits. the us had initially wanted a higher minimum rate of 21%. we do hope that countries will be ambitious and the agreement is at least 15%, so we have yet to set the final rate. the chancellor acknowledged that the deal would mean individual digital services tax, including the uk's, would have to go, but it is unclear when. the proposals must now go to the wider g20 group, including china, russia and brazil, then the rest of the world. the german finance minister hailed today as an important step, even if difficult conversations lay ahead with countries whose tax rates are below 15%. i'm sure that the decision that was made today is, will be very successful. this was a train that had already started and anyone canjoin a train. ireland has a 12.5% level of corporate tax. we will, even with an acknowledgement of the change that is coming, continue to have

that kind of legitimate policies in place in ireland that deliver a competitive approach for ireland and allow us to grow and retain employment. google and amazon have said they support the work being done to reform tax rules. so has facebook, which acknowledged it could end up paying more as a result. how transformative today's historic agreement will be depends on getting other nations on board and implementing reforms could take years. katy austin, bbc news. our economics editor faisal islam said it's fair to call this an historic agreement. well, i think it is an important agreement for different reasons. i think it is fair to say that.

it is very difficult to do these sorts of deals on tax, tax is the essence of the sovereignty of a state, but it does seem like they have decided to come up with this international agreement that will have an impact. we are already hearing from the likes of facebook that they envisage having to pay more tax and pay that we are already hearing from the likes of facebook that they envisage having to pay more tax and pay that tax in different places as a result of this agreement, and it is clearly the context of the pandemic, of the fact that the exchequers of the biggest economies in the world have been, not drained but very badly hit by the pandemic and by the lockdowns. that has changed the equation, as has the presence of a very different us administration, too. some will say it hasn't gone far enough, the rate of 15% seems quite low, but will have an impact particularly on tax havens, but it does depend on that fine detail that will be negotiated with a wider group of countries. let's speak now with paul monaghan, chief executive of the fair tax foundation, a uk based nonprofit organisation that accredits companies which pay theirfair share of tax. rishi sunak saying that what has been achieved with this deal is the principle of fairness, do you agree? i do not think we are at fairness, but we are looking at a fairer tax

system. i don't want to belittle what has been happening today, it is a significant move that will raise substantial sums of money. what substantial sums of money. what would it take _ substantial sums of money. what would it take to _ substantial sums of money. what would it take to make _ substantial sums of money. what would it take to make it - substantial sums of money. what would it take to make it fair- substantial sums of money. what would it take to make it fair in your estimation? i know that you want the g20 to go further than the g7. want the 620 to go further than the g7. , s, _ want the 620 to go further than the 67. , s, a, want the 620 to go further than the 67. yes, today was a great start, but there is — 67. yes, today was a great start, but there is a — 67. yes, today was a great start, but there is a lot _ 67. yes, today was a great start, but there is a lot of _ 67. yes, today was a great start, but there is a lot of consensus i but there is a lot of consensus around 20%, and i think we will see the likes of the developing world having more of a voice at the table as these discussions progressed beyond the g20 and into the oecd at 15%, and the rest of the package we have seen now, it will raise an estimated $275 billion per annum, according to the taxjustice network, which is wonderfully significant, but if we move it up to 21%, significant, but if we move it up to 2i%, we start to save 350 billion per annum and the difference in the uk is quite stark, from 8 billion

per year to 15 billion per year. 15 billion extra per year of corporation tax, you could for example help rebuild the nhs to make it the fit for purpose entity that we all wanted to be. the german finance minister _ we all wanted to be. the german finance minister was _ we all wanted to be. the german finance minister was quite - finance minister was quite optimistic that other countries would get on board, but these could be difficult conversations, couldn't they, with some countries? what is your estimation of whether this deal has legs? i your estimation of whether this deal has le . s? ~ , has legs? i think it will very likely happen- _ has legs? i think it will very likely happen. rightly - has legs? i think it will very likely happen. rightly or. has legs? i think it will very - likely happen. rightly or wrongly, you don't need every country to agree on this before it goes forward. if the g20 decides it is going to happen, responsible for 80-90% of the going to happen, responsible for 80—90% of the world economic output, it will happen. the likes of bermuda and the caymans may be wailing in the wind, saying this is unfair, but

if they keep their rates are low, it will not happen, because the parent companies will top up the taxes and take the revenues themselves. we mentioned that google and facebook have welcomed the deal, but do you think some big corporations are going to try to fight back? without a doubt. going to try to fight back? without a doubt- we _ going to try to fight back? without a doubt. we are _ going to try to fight back? without a doubt. we are so _ going to try to fight back? without a doubt. we are so seeing - going to try to fight back? without a doubt. we are so seeing the - a doubt. we are so seeing the tactics we saw with big tobacco and chemicals, they fund trade bodies to do the dirty work on their behalf, while they are seen to welcome this. so there is a lot of devil in the detail to be worked through, and my reading of this is that amazon will not be captured, the current proposals will not make any impact on amazon, for example, so to me that says that when this goes to the 620, that says that when this goes to the g20, we need to start looking at the details and make sure there are no loopholes, because there are armies

of tax advisers and accountants working on ways around this. mb? of tax advisers and accountants working on ways around this. why do ou think working on ways around this. why do you think will — working on ways around this. why do you think will not _ working on ways around this. why do you think will not affect _ working on ways around this. why do you think will not affect amazon? - you think will not affect amazon? amazon does not have global margins of over 10%. all the other big silicon players do, apple, google, facebook. unless we find a way to get at the bits of amazon's business, such as cloud services, which do have a massive margin, they will not pay anything extra, and that has to be a benchmark of whatever we come up with. {lilia that has to be a benchmark of whatever we come up with. ok, thank ou ve whatever we come up with. ok, thank you very much- _ the latest government figures show there were 5,765 new coronavirus infections and 13 deaths, in the latest 24—hour period. on average the number of new cases

reported per day in the last week, was 41185. in the vaccine roll—out over 174,000 people have received a first vaccine dose in the last 2a hours. in total, more than 40.1 million people have now had their first jab. that's 76.2% of the uk adult population. over 360,000 people had their second dose in the past 2a hours, meaning more than 27.1 million people have had both doses. that's 51.6% of the adult population. the head of nhs providers — which represents english trusts — says the decision on easing restrictions in england on the 21st ofjune is finely balanced. chris hopson warned that the delta variant — first discovered in india — is still spreading, but he said vaccines appear to be breaking the link between coronavirus cases and serious illness. 0ur health correspondent naomi grimley reports. it's the big question of the summer.

can hospitals still cope with the numbers of people who will fall seriously ill with covid—19 before the full effects of mass vaccination are felt? 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. it does look as though the vaccines have kind of broken the chain between catching covid—19 and potentially being very, very seriously ill and potentially dying. bolton is the area hit hardest by covid's more transmissible delta variant, first discovered in india. looking at what's happening in hospitals is a gauge to whether the nhs in general will be able to cope. this graph shows the number of covid patients in bolton's hospitals over the last few months. you can see there are high peaks in november and again in january and february.

in the last few weeks, the figures have been rising again but they are nothing like those earlier peaks. but new case numbers are rising noticeably as we mix more and some experts fear the delta variant could take hold in groups which haven't yet been fully vaccinated. more mutations could be incorporated into the delta variant that could mean that vaccines are less effective and that's really what we want to avoid. the worst case scenario for us is a variant that is both more transmissible and resistant to vaccination. 0pinions in the scientific community remains split. perhaps the only thing everyone can agree on is that more data is needed. naomi grimley, bbc news. surge testing is being rolled out in parts of berkshire, where cases of the delta variant have risen. everyone over the age of 12 in parts of reading and wokingham will be offered tests from monday. public health england says the delta

variant is now the dominant strain of coronavirus in the uk, with the number of cases confirmed by laboratory analysis rising by 79% over the last week to almost 12,500. joining me now is dr flavio toxvaerd, an economic epidemiologist at the university of cambridge. should the government at westminster, looking towards the zist westminster, looking towards the 21st ofjune for england, or any of the devolved administrations, removing final restrictions at any point in the foreseeable future, in your opinion?— point in the foreseeable future, in your opinion? thank you for having me. first your opinion? thank you for having me- first of _ your opinion? thank you for having me. first of all, _ your opinion? thank you for having me. first of all, the _ your opinion? thank you for having me. first of all, the answer - your opinion? thank you for having me. first of all, the answer i - your opinion? thank you for having me. first of all, the answer i give i me. first of all, the answer i give you is somewhat disappointing, nobody can say with certainty what the writing is to do because nobody has done incredible cost benefit

analysis on lockdowns or releasing the lockdowns. 0n the one hand, we have done well with the roll—out of the vaccine, but there are new things we need to admit we do not fully understand, like the rapid spread of new variants, and although it is true that it does seem to be the case that the people who are infected are less likely to die from the disease, it is also true that if we have an out—of—control epidemic, which is possible, given the high transmissibility of the new strains, the number of people getting, the overall number of deaths could increase. it is unfortunate that the government has announced this date beforehand, because now they have

the difficult problem of arguing one way or the other what it is they want to do, and it is decidedly unhelpful to use words such as a reversibility. unhelpful to use words such as a reversibility-— reversibility. people will say the whole point _ reversibility. people will say the whole point of _ reversibility. people will say the whole point of a _ reversibility. people will say the whole point of a vaccination - whole point of a vaccination programme is to protect and open up businesses, businesses will want to operate at full capacity as soon as possible, and many people will be asking, does it matter if cases are high if hospitalisations stay low? i guess that is the nub of the data we are looking at. well, we do not lockdown the economy for athlete's foot, but before we can be confident this is the right thing, it is sensible to take a cautious and a staged approach, and

it is not unreasonable to wait a week or two to make the decision. does the government have some wiggle room on this? could it remove limits on contact at, say, weddings, but keep some aspect of social distancing? i keep some aspect of social distancing?— keep some aspect of social distancin: ? ~ , ., ., ., ., distancing? i think you are onto something _ distancing? i think you are onto something very _ distancing? i think you are onto something very true, _ distancing? i think you are onto something very true, which - distancing? i think you are onto something very true, which is l distancing? i think you are onto i something very true, which is only one hand, the conservative backbenchers are eager ease restrictions, and something will be expected to happen, but on the other hand they cannot ignore the advice from scientific advisers which is that something potentially dangerous is about to happen, so we could easily see some kind of halfway house where they eased some restrictions but not everything, and that would allow them to say, well, we didn't ease restrictions, but we

are also being cautious.— are also being cautious. thank you for all of your— are also being cautious. thank you for all of your thoughts _ are also being cautious. thank you for all of your thoughts this - for all of your thoughts this evening. 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 almost nine months. but a planned relaxation across some other parts of the country has been delayed. alexandra mackenzie reports. restrictions in glasgow have been eased. life is beginning to lookjust a little bit more normal. as the city moves to level two, it is the first time this new bar has been allowed to serve alcohol inside. it is starting to be a weight off people's shoulders. i think there is always an anxiety when everything is all the time, you know, it can be quite negative and today is a really positive day for everyone. cinemas also reopened

in glasgow today. they had already opened in the rest of scotland. this new one in the city centre welcomed its first customers. it's really exciting for us as a family, we really enjoy going to the cinema. we are going to see cruella de vil land i'm really excited to go back| to the cinema again. but the number of cases of coronavirus in scotland has been rising, more than tripled in the last month. the first minister has described the situation as fragile and is encouraging people to remain cautious. because of this, some easing has been put on pause. places including edinburgh and dundee had hoped to have more restrictions lifted, but instead, for now, those remain in place. in glasgow, people are making the most of fewer restrictions, but fear there is still some way to go before they can celebrate the end of the covid pandemic. alexandra mackenzie, bbc news, glasgow.

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 44% 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 47% 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. nigeria's attorney general has said anyone violating the government's ban on twitter will be prosecuted. a spokesman from the ministry ofjustice clarified that any individual or company found tweeting could find themselves facing legal action. the nigerian government has suspended twitter in nigeria

indefinitely for "undermining nigeria's corporate existence." here's our correspondent in nigeria mayenijones. 0n on saturday morning, twitter users woke up to find that they no longer had access to the accounts while they are using most mobile phone networks and on wi—fi they could still access the website, and the hashtag is trending suggesting users have managed to use twitter with virtual private networks. the government said it would suspend all twitter�*s activities in the country, at the time it was unclear what they meant by that, they have decided to block access to the website. telecoms companies said they had

received a directive from the government to suspend twitter, and that they had complied,, saying they followed the united nations provisions on the freedom of communications. twitter users have been very angry, saying that this is undemocratic, nigeria is africa's country, and many see this as a step backwards for the country. many pointing out that president buhari was a military dictator in the 1980s and they see this as a continuation of the legacy. twitter has said they are deeply concerned by the suspension of services in nigeria and said that they would work towards reinstating the service for users here. there are about 150 million internet users in nigeria, and according to authorities here, just over 60% of those use twitter, so it is a huge market for the

social media company. they will be desperate to rebuild relationships with the government. for context, this has happened because twitter deleted a post by president buhari earlier this week, saying it breached their rules, many users flagged the post because they felt it was a threat to a succession is to movement in the south—east of nigeria. a cruise ship has arrived in venice for the first time since the covid pandemic began, despite a ban on such vessels entering the city's historic centre. the msc 0rchestra is picking up about 650 passengers for a mediterranean journey. all of them had to produce negative covid tests before they were allowed to board. but some people have been protesting about this as they are concerned about the impact cruise ships will have on venice. 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 is there. lots happening in carbon today, street performers moving through the city, and the event opened with a performance from pauline black from the 1980s band the selecter, performing on a bridge, and the journey has been followed through with river runners and parkour and bmx performers making their way through the city, telling the stories of coventry�*s rich history of car innovation and migration and musical innovation, and that will be the essence of the story it wants to

get across to its global audience. it has been a difficult challenge for the organisers, they have had coronavirus restrictions to deal with, so they have had to deliver a programme that is online, rather than mass gatherings, making sure that everything is covid site. we are inside the coventry cathedral ruins, just one of the event places, coventry was bombed in world war ii, and this became a symbol of peace and reconciliation. it is also twinned with dresden, and i want to point you to some installations that of part of what we will see later today, and a composer, derek

nesbitt, who was part of this. tell us about the art and musical composition that you have delivered for today. composition that you have delivered for toda . ., , ., composition that you have delivered fortoda . ., , ., for today. yeah, so it is a sound iece for today. yeah, so it is a sound piece which _ for today. yeah, so it is a sound piece which has _ for today. yeah, so it is a sound piece which has been _ for today. yeah, so it is a sound piece which has been created i for today. yeah, so it is a sound | piece which has been created for this extraordinary space, so it is a place for people to come and reflect on losses perhaps, especially in the last year or 18 months, and take some time to listen. it is a specially created piece of music which was partly recorded on the organ of the new cathedral, with an orchestra, and woven within that voices which tell the story of loss and resilience and how people have worked through difficult experiences of which coventry has had its fair share. , , ., , .,.

of which coventry has had its fair share. , ., of which coventry has had its fair share. ,,., , ., , share. this is a place that people come to for— share. this is a place that people come to for reflection _ share. this is a place that people come to for reflection and - come to for reflection and remembrance, so what does coventry mean to you?— mean to you? well, it is an extraordinary _ mean to you? well, it is an extraordinary place, - mean to you? well, it is an extraordinary place, it i mean to you? well, it is an extraordinary place, it is i mean to you? well, it is an | extraordinary place, it is full mean to you? well, it is an i extraordinary place, it is full of surprises, i think it has always been underestimated, and actually whether it is coming from behind to win the fa cup, coming back from the problems with the car industry, it has shown that it can arise, and it's symbol is the phoenix, and perhaps they see as a city of culture is another moment where, you know, it is blooming, and people can visit and challenge their expectations of what might be here. what do you want people to take away from the orchestral piece you have created? i from the orchestral piece you have created? ., , . from the orchestral piece you have created? ~' , . ., created? i think very much to come here and have _ created? i think very much to come here and have a _ created? i think very much to come here and have a moment _ created? i think very much to come here and have a moment of- created? i think very much to come l here and have a moment of stillness, but you can actually be in the ruins from tomorrow, sunday, and actually have this experience physically, so it is a way to come out of the virtual world and enjoy the

environment and share some gentle experiences with other people. can ou talk experiences with other people. can you talk about some of the trees behind? 0bviously, your music goes with that, what is the meaning you are trying to evoke?— are trying to evoke? yes, so the designer. _ are trying to evoke? yes, so the designer. yeah. _ are trying to evoke? yes, so the designer, yeah, has _ are trying to evoke? yes, so the designer, yeah, has brought i are trying to evoke? yes, so the designer, yeah, has brought in l designer, yeah, has brought in trees, and there is a history of trees, and there is a history of trees in coventry, because in the memorial park, all the trees have names, and there is kind of a tradition of that commemoration, so it is about remembering individuals and also thinking about green shoots of the future. 50 and also thinking about green shoots of the future-— of the future. so people will be able to enjoy — of the future. so people will be able to enjoy this _ of the future. so people will be able to enjoy this over - of the future. so people will be able to enjoy this over the i of the future. so people will be able to enjoy this over the next week or so?— able to enjoy this over the next week or so? ., ., ,, ._ ., week or so? yeah, from the sunday to thursda . week or so? yeah, from the sunday to thursday- time _ week or so? yeah, from the sunday to thursday. time for _ week or so? yeah, from the sunday to thursday. time for a _ week or so? yeah, from the sunday to thursday. time for a look _ week or so? yeah, from the sunday to thursday. time for a look at _ week or so? yeah, from the sunday to thursday. time for a look at the i thursday. time for a look at the weather with _ thursday. time for a look at the weather with stav. _ hello there. much of a country saw a fine

day today except for that wash—out on friday. we have cloud and outbreaks of rain trundling eastwards through the night into parts of scotland and into england and wales. but out of that, some are clearer skies and clearing in scotland and northern ireland overnight too. quite a mild night to come. then the weather front across england and wales, so cloudier, showery bursts of rain and heavy downpours into the afternoon whereas for scotland and northern ireland, western england and wales, the best of the sunshine with temperatures a notch down across the board, down to 19 degrees. through the week, weather front is bringing a little rain to the north west of the country, breezy here, high pressure in the south and east, so here the best of the warrants in the sunshine.