this is bbc news — i'm james reynolds with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. g7 finance ministers agree a deal that could shake up the international tax system. the post—pandemic world must be fairer, especially with regard to international taxation. ajudge in america overturns california's ban on assault weapons — saying it violates the us constitution. the us, eu and uk hit out at nigeria over its ban on twitter, saying freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. booing and chanting. and an unfriendly farewell — a chorus of boos for the first cruise ship to leave venice post—pandemic. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk

it's being hailed as a "historic agreement", that could see global governments make billions more in tax revenue. the deal made by the g7 group of leading economies could shake—up the tax system for multinational companies, like big tech giants. it could include a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% to avoid countries undercutting each other. tech companies google and facebook have welcomed the move. our economics editor faisal islam reports. multinational companies, especially the big tech giants, have become more powerful than some governments, especially in their ability to pay minimal tax bills. today, the finance ministers of the seven leading economies, the g7, hit back with an historic deal brokered by the chancellor rishi sunak. i'm 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 it is 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 countries where sales are made, notjust where they declare their profits. the us had initially wanted a higher minimum rate of 21%. what do you say to those campaigners who say 15% isn't really going to be the transformative change? we have yet to set the final rate. there is an agreement amongst the g7, though, to go for at least 15%, and i do think that is an historic achievement.

campaigners and european finance ministers wanted this change but it was unthinkable, up until a few months ago. it's the pandemic that has changed things, requiring finance ministers around the world to have to fill coffers emptied by a year of lockdowns, but also a change in the american government, as well, creating a window of opportunity. now, they need to get the rest of the world on board. the proposals must now go to the wider g20 group including china, russia and brazil, and 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 has been made today will be very successful. this is a train that has already started and anyone willjoin the train. ireland's rate of corporation tax is 12.5%. isn't this notjust about a corporate tax rate but the end of a low tax business model for your country? 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. 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. this deal is a product of very different times. an opportunity taken in a crisis by the world's big seven. the americans are also using this meeting to urge the rest of the world, despite worries about higher borrowing and rising inflation, to carry on pumping financial support into the recovery or risk undermining it. faisal islam, bbc news, at the g7. the former director—general of the world trade organisation — pascal lamy — who's currently president of the paris peace forum — gave us his view on the deal. i do think this is a very important agreement. not that everything, every detail, is sorted out. there will be a lot

of decisions to be made, but the political signal is, in my view, extremely important, for two reasons. one, because multinational companies will not be able, any more, to avoid paying taxes and this is a step forward in global governance at a time where, as we know, global governance is not in good shape so it is a good signal in this respect, and also because it is the end of the so—called regan—thatcher taboo according to which government was too big, and a good way to shrink government was to encourage tax competition. this is the end of this era. whatever new political

paradigms there will be here or there now, for country x or y, the general view is that, big multinational companies making the so—called profit they make and, notably in the digital sector, without paying taxes, it's something that has become intolerable and i think what we have been through with this covid crisis and the sort of problems we now have, for instance, to finance vaccination in poorer countries points exactly in the same direction. we need a larger level of fairness, if not solidarity in a globalised economy which will remain globalised. and later in the programme we'll have oxfam's take on the agreement. western diplomats in nigeria have expressed disappointment at the government's decision to suspend twitter. a joint statement from the us, the eu, britain, canada and ireland said the right to free expression and information was a pillar of democracy in nigeria. the row started after twitter

removed a tweet by nigeria's president muhammadu buhari saying it breached the social media platform's rules — the governemnt accuses the social media platform of undermining nigeria's corporate existence". mayenijones reports. on saturday morning, twitter users in nigeria woke up to find that they no longer had access to their accounts. that's using most mobile phone networks. on wi—fi, you could still access the website and the hashtag "thank god for vpn" has been trending, suggesting many users have managed to find a way to use the website by using virtual private networks. the nigerian government had announced on friday that it had planned to suspend all of twitter�*s activities in the country. at the time it was unclear what they meant by that. it seems they have now decided to block access to the website. telecoms companies that operate in nigeria released a statement saying that they had received a directive from the government

to suspend twitter and that they had complied, but they did say that they followed the united nations provisions on freedom of communication and that they agreed with those. twitter users in nigeria have been very angry. they say this is undemocratic. nigeria is africa's largest democracy and many see this as a step backwards for the country. many also pointing out to the fact that president buhari was a military dictator in this country in the �*80s and they see this latest move as a continuation of that legacy. twitter has issued a statement, as they say they are deeply concerned by the suspension of their services in nigeria and say they will work towards reinstating a service for its users here. there are about 150 million internet users in nigeria and according to the authorities here just over 60% of those use twitter, so it is a huge market for the social media company.

it will be really desperate to try and rebuild relationships with the government. for a little bit of context, this has happened because twitter deleted a post by president buhari earlier this week. they said it breached its rules in that post. many nigerian users flagged it because they felt it was a threat to a secessionist movement in the south—east of nigeria. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. kurdish officials in northern iraq say at least three people have been killed in a turkish air strike on a camp for displaced people. the strike on the makhmour camp, housing kurdish refugees from turkey, comes three days after president recep tayyip erdogan warned that turkey would "clean up" the camp, which it claims provides a haven for kurdish militants. thousands of people have marched through budapest to protest against controversial plans to open a multi—million dollar chinese university campus in

the hungarian capital. they say the project will undercut the country's own higher education, and increase the influence of china's communist authorities. the right—wing government of viktor orban has close ties with beijing. the indian capital delhi has announced a gradual lifting of covid restrictions, weeks after being ravaged by a second wave. markets and malls will partially reopen from monday. despite the move, officials are still warning the country to prepare for a third wave of coronavirus. a us federaljudge has overturned california s 32—year—old ban on assault weapons, calling it unconstitutional. he's given the state thirty days to appeal against his decision. california s governor condemned the ruling saying it is a direct threat to public safety. let's now cross to san francisco. robyn thomas is the executive director of giffords law center thank director of giffords law center you forjoining us or news. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. in the ruling, thejudge

said the assault weapons ban in california came because they failed the experiment, the experiment allowing people to ban the guns, do you agree? absolutely not. it is ironic this idea that there are so many fewer assault working crimes and assault weapon mass shootings in california means we don't have a problem, so we don't need a law is an absurd argument. it is like standing under an umbrella argument. it is like standing underan umbrella in argument. it is like standing under an umbrella in a storm and you are dry, you might as throw away your umbrella. it is these laws in california that make california have one of the lowest gun death rates in the country and laws like that help to protect us. country and laws like that help to protect m— country and laws like that help to protect ve— to protect us. according to statistics. _ to protect us. according to statistics, 43 _ to protect us. according to statistics, 43 states - to protect us. according to statistics, 43 states do - to protect us. according to j statistics, 43 states do not have this law, so doesn't that bring california into line with a lot of american states. it

bring california into line with a lot of american states. if we were passing _ a lot of american states. if we were passing laws _ a lot of american states. if we were passing laws to - a lot of american states. if we were passing laws to have - were passing laws to have states to follow the majority, i think six federal courts, federal district and federal appellate courts have upheld those assault weapon restrictions as constitutional tells you it has nothing to do second amendment all the constitution, it is an outlier decision with an outlierjudge who is not in line with what the rest of the federal courts are doing in the united states. it is up to state law and legislators of that state to decide what is best for the public safety of their citizens and that is what california has done. p, and that is what california has done. , ., and that is what california has done. ,, , . , ., and that is what california has done. , . , ., ., done. do you expect this to go to the supreme _ done. do you expect this to go to the supreme court - done. do you expect this to go to the supreme court where i to the supreme court where there is a conservative majority? i there is a conservative majority?— there is a conservative ma'ori ? , . majority? i expect the gun lobb at majority? i expect the gun lobby at the _ majority? i expect the gun lobby at the gun _ majority? i expect the gun lobby at the gun industry l majority? i expect the gun i lobby at the gun industry who would love to be selling many more assault weapons to americans, would like to go to

the supreme court because they will do everything they can to convince people to buy these guns. this is what drives a lot of the momentum behind the legislation, is the desire to sell more guns and encourage americans that they need these very, very lethal weapons to be safe, when in fact having these weapons on our streets endangers not only the communities, but your own family. many of these mass shootings that happen in our society happened because of unsecured assault weapons left in the home, like the sandy hook shooting.— hook shooting. one former supreme — hook shooting. one former supreme court _ hook shooting. one former supreme court justice - hook shooting. one former supreme court justice said | hook shooting. one former - supreme court justice said why supreme courtjustice said why not campaign for supreme courtjustice said why not campaignfora supreme courtjustice said why not campaign for a change to the second amendment to get rid of the right to hold arms for good? of the right to hold arms for aood? ., of the right to hold arms for tood? ., 4' ., . ., good? you know, changing the constitution _ good? you know, changing the constitution is _ good? you know, changing the constitution is a _ good? you know, changing the constitution is a pretty - good? you know, changing the constitution is a pretty heavy i constitution is a pretty heavy lift in the us. you need two thirds of the senate and the congress but two thirds of the states to ratify. that is pretty tricky these days in the united states. if you follow american politics and the divisiveness of it, while that may be one path towards allowing gun regulations to

make a safer, it is not an easy path in this country and gun rights issues and gun safety tends to be very divisive political issue, though we don't think that it should be. thank you forjoining us. thanks for having me. this is bbc news — a reminder of the headlines. g7 finance ministers say their agreement to reform the global tax system will help end a �*race to the bottom' on taxation and help fund the economic recovery. earlier i spoke christian hallum — oxfam international�*s senior tax specialist — for his view on the deal. i think it's high time that the world's most powerful economies try to make big corporations pay their fair share of tax. but setting the minimum rate at 15% is just far too low. it really will do little to stop the damaging race to the bottom on corporate tax, and stop the use of tax havens. i think it's important to remember that the 15% rate is really on par

with what we see from ireland, switzerland, singapore, so, really, the g7, they are setting the bar so low that companies can step right over it. but 15% is what was possible. isn't possible better than perfect? well, i think we are at a crisis moment in history with the covid crisis, coffers are under pressure, and we have to look at what is needed at this moment, both to stop the inequality that is increasing exponentially under this crisis, but also to deal with other big problems such as the climate crisis and, to deal with these issues, the 15% rate is simply not enough. it will let the rest to the bottom continue. can ijust pick up on that? you say that race to the bottom will continue. can you give us a specific example of how a multinational

might exploit any loophole in this agreement, and i appreciate you may not have read the whole text of the agreement yet. well, the agreement is not incredibly specific, and a lot of the key details are still left out, but i think it is important to say that the race to the bottom will continue, because, right now, the average statutory corporation tax rate that we have in the oecd is around 25%. for many developing countries, it is much higher, it is 30%, 35%, so by saying 15%, we are essentially saying that we can allow the race to continue and what we are worried about is that, in years to come, we will see the world community racing towards a 15% rate, which is just simply too low, and will be catastrophic for global inequality. the secretary general

of the united nations, antonio guterres, has expressed outrage at the killing of a large number of civilians in burkina faso. suspected jihadist militants struck the north—eastern village of solhan in the sahel region of the country. 132 people — including children — were killed when homes and a market were targeted. burkina faso's rtb television announced the government's decision to hold three days of national mourning. islamist extremists have carried out a series of attacks in burkina faso and neighbouring countries in the sahel and more than 350,000 citizens have been forced from their homes in the past three years. 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. our 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. opinions in the scientific community remains split. perhaps the only thing everyone can agree on is that more data is needed. naomi grimley, bbc news. dozens of people are facing fines for taking beach sand and shells from the italian island of sardinia — where it's illegal to remove the island's natural resources. authorities there say the investigation is ongoing — so far, 41 people are facing fines of up to $3600 each.

with me is our news reporter courtney bembridge, who's been following this story. it is quite surprising to understand that stealing sand is a crime? people like me hate sand, get everywhere, why would people visiting sardinia want to steal it?— to steal it? the island is famous _ to steal it? the island is famous for _ to steal it? the island is famous for its _ to steal it? the island is famous for its sand - to steal it? the island is famous for its sand and | to steal it? the island is - famous for its sand and people want to remember their time there. we all love holidays, remember those? what they do, you finish a bottle of water, fill it up with sand and there are facebook pages where people have submitted photos of people stealing the sand. volunteer groups are dedicated to taking this sand back to where it was taken from. first, you have got to find it. police, military and customs police are working together and they are at harbours, airports and x—raying luggage... harbours, airports and x-raying luggage- - -_

luggage... looking for a bottle of sand? what _ luggage... looking for a bottle of sand? what kind _ luggage... looking for a bottle of sand? what kind of - luggage... looking for a bottle of sand? what kind of finds - luggage... looking for a bottle| of sand? what kind of finds are --eole of sand? what kind of finds are people getting? _ of sand? what kind of finds are people getting? up _ of sand? what kind of finds are people getting? up to - of sand? what kind of finds are people getting? up to 3000 i people getting? up to 3000 euros, 3600 us dollars. that is the maximum pell and tea. but then italy in 2019, there was a french couple who said they were unaware of the rules and they were found with 40 kilos worth of sand in the back of their car. their penalty at that time was up to six years injail under that time was up to six years in jail under these that time was up to six years injail under these local that time was up to six years in jail under these local laws. i don't think they got that maximum penalty, but... ie maximum penalty, but... is there a black market for sand? there is, strangely enough. just go somewhere on the dark web? i just go somewhere on the dark web? ., �* ~' , ., just go somewhere on the dark web? ., �* 4' y., ., web? i don't think you need to no on web? i don't think you need to go on there- — web? i don't think you need to go on there. why _ web? i don't think you need to go on there. why would - web? i don't think you need to go on there. why would i - web? i don't think you need to go on there. why would i wantj go on there. why would i want to buy sand? _ go on there. why would i want to buy sand? decorative. - go on there. why would i want to buy sand? decorative. the | to buy sand? decorative. the d ed to buy sand? decorative. the dyed sand — to buy sand? decorative. the dyed sand you _ to buy sand? decorative. the dyed sand you can _ to buy sand? decorative. the dyed sand you can get - dyed sand you can get occasionally. what is it about sardinian sand that commands a market rate? at,

sardinian sand that commands a market rate?— market rate? a very high prices for the sand. _ market rate? a very high prices for the sand. it _ market rate? a very high prices for the sand. it is _ market rate? a very high prices for the sand. it is because - market rate? a very high prices for the sand. it is because it. for the sand. it is because it is unique to that island, people go there for this pristine white sand and they want to take a little bit of it home with them. but with millions of tourists going there every year, the fear is that over the long term this will contribute to the degradation of the beaches that have been formed over millions of years. they do take it seriously because this law was created in 2017 and every summer, around this time, covid, no exceptions, they start with an investigation or an operation to try to stop this practice.— an operation to try to stop this practice. this has been fascinating, _ this practice. this has been fascinating, thank - this practice. this has been fascinating, thank you - this practice. this has been fascinating, thank you so . this practice. this has been - fascinating, thank you so much. we have just been speaking about italian sand, let's talk about italian sand, let's talk about italian sand, let's talk about italian water. a cruise ship has left venice — the first to do so since the coronavirus pandemic began. while people are keen to get back to normality,

not everyone was happy about the ship entering the giudecca canal. rachel stanton reports. "no big ships". that is what is on the flag is being raised here in venice.s being raised here in venice. people have taken to the streets and waters, as they are concerned about the impact ships have on the historic city. back in march this year, italy's government said cruise ships would no longer sail past venice's st mark's square and the dock in the historic centre, but would instead be diverted to the city's industrial port. however, the infrastructure is not yet in place for this to happen. this is the msc orchestra. it's set to cruise around the mediterranean with about 650 passengers. but residents in venice have been urging the government to ban large ships from the lagoon over safety and environmental concerns. the reason we are here is because we are citizens of venice and we are against this passage, but we are also against this type of tourism model that is destroying the city and is pushing out residents and people that want to live here.

a rival protest also took place in support of the resumption of the tourist season. many have suffered financially as well as losing their livelihoods. in the last two decades, the picturesque city has become one of the world's most important cruise destinations, and people are keen for things to get back on track. venice is our home port. this is where many itineraries begin or end, and this means two things, first that the economic impact in venice is huge. the other thing is that, well, basically, there is a risk that if venice is taken off the itineraries, all of the adriatic will suffer the consequences of this, so yeah, it would be a huge impact. the battle to stop large vessels from being in these waters is far from over. the government said it is organising bids

for a rival alternative outside the lagoon, relieving the traffic through venice. it's reaching that time in the bulletin where we take the opportunity to show you pictures of some cute animals. this time the animals in question are five wolf cubs who made their public debut at a zoo in mexico city. the cubs, who are said to be in good health, are part of a breeding programme that's kept the species alive. lewis will have the headlines from the top of the hour but for now a reminder of our top story. the g7 group of advanced economies have reached a deal to make multinational companies pay more tax.

hello. the weather on sunday will be hit and miss particularly across england. likely to have the cloud around compared to saturday and they will base a few showers around. but across scotland and northern ireland it is a case of sunshine right from the word go. on the satellite picture you can notice this lump of cloud drifting out of the south—west. it is a weak weather front and it is joining a big area of low to the north. that will bring some showers to parts of wales and england from morning onwards. this is what it looks like through the early hours, rain affecting parts of devon and dorset into wales and the midlands, a stray shower in the midlands, a stray shower in the north of scotland were

generally speaking, it is a clear night in scotland, northern ireland and probably the lake district as well. many of us in england and wales will be waking up to overcast skies and it could actually stay like that through the afternoon as well. i think the biggest chance of catching some heavier showers further south into the midlands, but also around wales and east anglia, the best of the weather on sunday, northern ireland, scotland, the lake district should be fine, but modest highs, 16 to 18. despite the cloud in the showers in the south, it will be 21 also in london. eight o'clock, still some showers around in the evening across parts of england and wales. not a completely dry day but with a bit of luck you will have prolonged sunny spells rather than showers. on monday, likely to be showers around particularly across northern and eastern parts of the uk. the best of the weather, although hazy at times, out towards the west.

decent enough, temperatures around 22 in london, 20 in liverpool. should probably nudge up to around 20 in glasgow as well for monday. the rest of the week, tuesday, wednesday and thursday will see the jet pushing low fronts between scotland and iceland but there is the chance some of these weather systems will clear at the far north—west of the uk. in the south, you will be closer to the howth pressure. the further south you are, the better the weather you will be in the north, generally more cloud. that is it for me, goodbye.

this is bbc news —

the headlines... the g7 group of advanced economies have reached a deal to make multinational companies pay more tax in the countries where they do business. finance ministers, meeting in london, agreed to a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% to avoid countries undercutting each other. a us federaljudge has overturned the state of california s 32—year—old ban on assault weapons — calling it "unconstitutional". he s given the state 30 days to appeal against his decision. california s governor gavin newsom condemned the ruling saying it was a direct threat to public safety. the nigerian government has defended its decision to suspend twitter — saying the social media platform had been used to spread misinformation that had violent consequences. a joint statement from the us, the eu, britain, canada and ireland said the right to free expression was a pillar of democracy.

coventry has hosted an array of small—scale