this is bbc news. the headlines at eight. the 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 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. 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. the first big events of coventry�*s year as the uk's city

of culture take place, after a six month delay and coming up at half past eight — a look at the reality of life in the camps housing america's 20,000 migrant children. 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. 0ur economics editor faisal islam said it's fair to call this an �*historic agreement�*. i think it is fair to say that, 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 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 tax in

different places as a result of this agreement and it is clearly in the context of the pandemic, of the fact that the exchequer is of the biggest countries in the world have been not drained but very badly hit by the pandemic and the lockdowns. that has changed the equation and the us administration is very different too. some say it has not gone far enoughin too. some say it has not gone far enough in the rate of 15% is fairly low but it will have an impact particularly on tax havens and depends upon the fine detail to be negotiated with a wider group of countries. i negotiated with a wider group of countries. , , ., ., ., countries. i beg your pardon, we are not auoin countries. i beg your pardon, we are not going to — countries. i beg your pardon, we are not going to that _ countries. i beg your pardon, we are not going to that story _ countries. i beg your pardon, we are not going to that storyjust - countries. i beg your pardon, we are not going to that storyjust yet. - not going to that story just yet. earlier i spoke to paul monaghan, chief executive of the fair tax foundation, a uk—based nonprofit organisation. it accredits companies who pay theirfair share organisation. it accredits companies who pay their fair share of tax. i asked him if he agreed

with the chancellor that the deal achieved the principle of fairness. i don't think we are looking at fairness but we are looking today at a fairer tax system. i don't want to belittle what happened today, it is a really significant move that will raise substantial sums of money. what would it take to make it fair in your estimation? i know you want the 620, in your estimation? i know you want the g20, when they meet, to go further than the g7. the 620, when they meet, to go further than the g7.— the 620, when they meet, to go further than the 67. today was a ureat further than the 67. today was a great start _ further than the 67. today was a great start but _ further than the 67. today was a great start but 1596 _ further than the 67. today was a great start but 1596 can _ further than the 67. today was a great start but 1596 can be - further than the 67. today was a great start but 1596 can be raisedj further than the 67. today was a i great start but 1596 can be raised to great start but 15% can be raised to 21% and there is a lot of consensus around that and we are likely to see the developing world have a voice at the developing world have a voice at the table more and more as these discussions progressed beyond the 620 discussions progressed beyond the g20 into the discussions progressed beyond the 620 into the oecd. at 15% and discussions progressed beyond the 620 into the 0ecd. at 15% and the g20 into the 0ecd. at 15% and the rest of the package we are seeing just now, it will raise an estimated $275 billion, which is significant, wonderfully significant. however, if we move it up to 21% we start to see

350 billion per annum and the difference in the uk is quite stark. it moves from about 8 billion extra to 15 billion extra a year so at 15 billion extra or corporation tax, you could start to rebuild our nhs to make it fit for purpose and how we all want it to be. the to make it fit for purpose and how we all want it to be.— we all want it to be. the german finance minister _ we all want it to be. the german finance minister sounded - we all want it to be. the german finance minister sounded quite l finance minister sounded quite optimistic talking about the train already started and other countries getting on board, but these could be difficult conversations, couldn't they, with some countries? so what is your estimation of whether this plan, this steel, has legs came back i think it will very likely happen. rightly or wrongly you don't need every country in the world to agree the detail before it goes forward. if the 620 the detail before it goes forward. if the g20 decide this is going to happen and they are responsible for about 80, 90% of the world's economic output, it will happen. and

the likes of bermuda and ireland and the likes of bermuda and ireland and the caymans, they can wail in the wind saying it is not fair but it will happen and if they keep their rates low it won't matter because the other countries will top up the taxes and take it themselves. a, lot taxes and take it themselves. a lot of talk around _ taxes and take it themselves. a lot of talk around big _ taxes and take it themselves. a lot of talk around big corporations paying tax and we mentioned in the introduction google and facebook have welcomed the deal but do you think some big corporations will try to fight back?— think some big corporations will try to fight back? without a doubt, and it is the tactics — to fight back? without a doubt, and it is the tactics we _ to fight back? without a doubt, and it is the tactics we saw _ to fight back? without a doubt, and it is the tactics we saw from - to fight back? without a doubt, and it is the tactics we saw from big - it is the tactics we saw from big tobacco and by chemical when they want to fight the legislation, which is the fund trade bodies to do the dirty work on their behalf while themselves sealing to welcome this, so i think there is a lot of devil in the details to walk through. the current proposals will not make any impact on amazon, for example, so what that says to me is that when this goes to the g20, we need to

start looking at the detail and making sure there are no loopholes because i can guarantee there are armies of tax advisers and accountants sitting there now are already working on ways around this. so why do you say you think it won't affect amazon as it stands? the way the are affect amazon as it stands? the way they are going _ affect amazon as it stands? the way they are going to — affect amazon as it stands? the way they are going to target _ affect amazon as it stands? the way they are going to target the - affect amazon as it stands? the way they are going to target the top - affect amazon as it stands? the way they are going to target the top 100 | they are going to target the top 100 multinationals in the world is based on if you have margins of over 10%, they are going to claw 20% of that. amazon doesn't have margins globally of over 10%, all the other big silicon valley players do. so 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 anything we come up with. 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—i9 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—i9 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. dr flavio toxvaerd, an economic epidemiologist at the university of cambridge. he said it's unclear whether further easing restrictions is a good idea because there hasn't been a credible assessment of the impact of various options. nobody can say with certainty what the right thing is to do, and the reason is that nobody has done a credible cost benefit analysis or impact study on either the lockdowns or releasing the lockdowns. so we understand the trade—offs. 0n the one hand it is true

that we have done very well with the roll—out of the vaccine, which does seem to offer some protection, but on the other hand there are new uncertainties that we have to just admit that we don't fully understand now, which is that there is a rapid spread of a new variant, and although it's 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 absolutely possible given the high transmissibility of these new strains, the number of people getting infected can increase and therefore deaths overall can also increase. so it's a very difficult decision, and i think it's unfortunate that the government has in some sense announced this date beforehand, because now they have the very difficult problem of having to argue one way or the other what it is they want to do,

and then also i think it's decidedly unhelpful to have used words such as irreversibility. 0k, people will say the whole point of a vaccination programme is to protect and open up. businesses will want to operate at full capacity as soon as possible. they haven't done so for a very long time, as we all know. so many people will be asking, does it matter if cases are high if hospitalisations stay low? and i guess that's the real nub of the data we are looking at, isn't it? that's absolutely right. an infectious disease when nobody falls seriously ill is really not an infectious disease worth debating. we don't lock down the economy for athlete's foot. so that's absolutely right. but before we can be confident that this is the case, i think that it is sensible to be cautious and to take a staged approach. i don't think it is unreasonable to wait a week or two until we have more data and then make that decision. so does the government have some wriggle room on this,

because with regards to the 21st ofjune, could it, for example, go ahead and lift the cap on the number of people who can attend a wedding or remove all legal limits on social contact, but then keep aspects such as social distancing, wearing masks and so on? so could there be a halfway house, if you like? i think you are onto something very true, which is on the one hand the conservative backbenchers are kind of eager to ease restrictions and in some cases the government has committed itself to this date, and so something will be expected to happen. 0n the other hand, they can't ignore the advice they are getting from the scientific advisers, which is that something potentially dangerous is maybe about to happen. so i think we could easily see some kind of halfway house where they ease some restrictions but not everything, and that would allow them to credibly say, we did ease restrictions but we are also being cautious.

the headlines on bbc news. the 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. 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. 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. back now to that deal on a minimum global corporate tax rate, agreed by the g7. i can discuss this further with judith freedman, professor of taxation law and policy at the university of oxford. shejoins me now.

i would love to get your reaction to all of this. tell is what happens next and how this is done, how it is implemented. it is next and how this is done, how it is implemented-— implemented. it is good as far as that goes. _ implemented. it is good as far as that goes. to _ implemented. it is good as far as that goes, to hail _ implemented. it is good as far as that goes, to hail it _ implemented. it is good as far as that goes, to hail it as _ implemented. it is good as far as that goes, to hail it as a - implemented. it is good as far as| that goes, to hail it as a landmark deal is a little over the top because there is a long way to go and it has to go next to the g20 in july then the 0ecd for a lot of work to go and even then it is only 135 countries and there are many other countries and there are many other countries in the world, so to call it a global agreement when it is only the g7 who have agreed it is going a bit far. 50 only the 67 who have agreed it is going a bit far-— going a bit far. so picking up on the second _ going a bit far. so picking up on the second part _ going a bit far. so picking up on the second part of _ going a bit far. so picking up on the second part of that - going a bit far. so picking up on. the second part of that question, going a bit far. so picking up on i the second part of that question, if the second part of that question, if the deal gets wider agreement, how would it be implemented to? itiitiith would it be implemented to? with treat would it be implemented to? with great difficulty- — would it be implemented to? with great difficulty. it _ would it be implemented to? tn great difficulty. it needs to go through congress to start with, so it will only work if the us congress

agrees it and there are many domestic issues that have to be agreed, and there is a sequencing problem, because the other countries will not agree to drop their digital services taxes which they have at the moment and which will be part of this deal until they know that the us congress will agree this deal, so it is very complicated and it is certainly not straightforward, and there is a great deal of detail to be sorted out. if there is a great deal of detail to be sorted out.— there is a great deal of detail to be sorted out. if the detail can be sorted out — be sorted out. if the detail can be sorted out in _ be sorted out. if the detail can be sorted out in the _ be sorted out. if the detail can be sorted out in the implementation | sorted out in the implementation done, how will this benefit countries?— done, how will this benefit countries? ., ., , , ., countries? that does depend on the detail, because _ countries? that does depend on the detail, because at _ countries? that does depend on the detail, because at the _ countries? that does depend on the detail, because at the moment - countries? that does depend on the detail, because at the moment it i detail, because at the moment it could mean that the main beneficiary would be the united states, unless there is quite a good deal on reallocation, and so the devil really is in the detail and that needs to be resolved. unless you can find a way to ensure that some of these profits are reallocated to

other countries, and that is not clear from what we know at the moment. ,, ., , . ,., clear from what we know at the moment. ,, ., , . ., moment. should we expect some of these big corporations _ moment. should we expect some of these big corporations affected - moment. should we expect some of these big corporations affected by l these big corporations affected by this to fight back? 0bviously some have welcomed it, but others have remained silent so far so should we expect some kind of kickback? i think they are mainly concerned to have certainty and clarity, so provided the rules apply to everybody, they will probably be happy because they have had a lot of uncertainty for many years now but thatis uncertainty for many years now but that is not to say they will not pass some of the cost onto consumers. it is likely they will do that. they will find ways to do that. they will find ways to do that. . ~ that. they will find ways to do that. ., ,, , ., that. they will find ways to do that. ., ~' , ., , that. they will find ways to do that. ., ,, i. , . that. they will find ways to do that. . ~ , . ., that. thank you very much for your time. 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. 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 400 new infections today down from about 25,000 daily cases when the lockdown was

announced seven weeks ago. the home office says it's urgently investigating a report that a border force vessel in the channel entered french waters to pick up migrants heading towards the uk in a small boat last saturday. the daily mail says it has a recording of a radio conversation in which an officer on the border force vessel asks a french patrol ship for permission to get the group. the home office said they "are urgently investigating the circumstances behind this incident." several hundred migrants have made the crossing in the past week alone. border force dealt with four boats carrying 83 people on friday. so far this year, there have been more than 4,000 arrivals. 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 in 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 is just 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. it'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 youth 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. a coroner has called for an urgent review after the suicide of a prisoner who should have been released. mark culverhouse, who was 29, took his own life at woodhill prison in milton keynes, after his release was delayed by the easter bank holiday in 2019. the prison service said it would

consider the coroner's findings. 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's down to opening just five days a week. here, the chef retires soon. that position hasn't 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 that we do have to reduce what we can offer, either in terms of the days we are open, or maybe the days we can offer food because we just

can't 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 isn't new, but many businesses weren't expecting the current staff shortages. i've had clients in tears, you know? i've had them ringing up saying, please help. in fact, i had a chef the other day, a head chef, say to me that the hours he's having to work because he is six or seven people down in the kitchen, he said he's going to end up in an early grave. when the lake district country hotel group reopened with the easing of restrictions,

10% of staff didn't return. but brexit and the ending of the free movement of people is a bigger problem. i think the 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 isjust shy of 1%, and it's 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 recovery, there is also a call for government intervention. yunus mulla, bbc news, grasmere. 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. 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