this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the health secretary says thejune 21st decision on easing restrictions has become "more difficult" because the delta variant is 40% more transmissible that does make life more challenging for everybody, and you have seen at the case rates have written a little. but, the good news is that hospitalisations, the number of people arriving in hospital is broadly flat. vaccinations are being opened up to the under—30s this week in the drive to offer covid jabs to all adults in england. borisjohnson will tell global leaders he wants the whole world to be vaccinated against coronavirus, by the end of next year.

a two—minute silence has been held at the british normandy memorial to honour more than 22,000 members of the armed forces, who died after the d—day landings. may god bless our veterans, their families, and all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. as a result of the operations around d—day during the operations around d—day during the battle of normandy. around a hundred veterans who were unable to travel to france because of the pandemic laid wreaths at the national memorial arboretum. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world.

the health secretary matt hancock has said that the delta variant of the coronavirus, is 40% more transmissible. he also said that the variant, first identified in india, makes life more challenging, making it harder to decide if it's safe to lift remaining restrictions in england on the 21st june as planned. earlier, i spoke to our political correspondent helen catt who gave us an update on the timeline for the government's road map to unlocking. we should get that a week tomorrow, the 14th ofjune, and at each stage of the road map, the government has decided about a week before, or announced about a week before, if the next stage is going to go ahead. so we should find out a week tomorrow. that's why i think we're hearing quite so much this morning because what is happening at the moment is everyone is a sort of waiting and watching the data to see what happens, the big unknown in all of this has been the delta variant, that variant of the virus that first originated in india, and how that is spreading in the uk, and a few weeks ago, it was the prime minister, i think,

who indicated that that might be something that could knock this off course, this unlocking. since then, ministers have pretty consistently said that they have seen nothing in the data yet to suggest that the unlocking will not go ahead onjune 21st. but it does all come back to how that variant is spreading and how the vaccination programme is rolling out and how it is protecting against that variant, if you like, and breaking that link between getting infected and ending up in hospital, so a couple of things that are being pushed today, on the one hand, as you mentioned, you have matt hancock, really emphasising that parents of schoolchildren really need to make sure that their children are tested ahead of going back out after the half term because that's the age group of the viruse is circulating at the moment. the other big unknown about this variant was how much more transmissible it was then the previous dominance variant in the uk, which was the kent

variant, and we got a bit of indication on that this morning from the health secretary, matt hancock. the best estimate of the gross advantage, as we call it, of the delta variant, from sage, is around a0%, so that does make life more challenging for everyone, and you have seen that the case rates have risen a little. but, the good news is that hospitalisations, the number of people arriving at hospital, is broadly flat, and the majority appear to be those who have not had a vaccine at all. and only a very small minority are people who had bothjobs. so what the best scientific advice i have at this stage is that after one jab, it is not quite as effective, against the new delta variant, but after both jabs, it is, so that is why it is so important we drive through these vaccinations and people come forward for their second jab. g7 summit next week. the government under pressure because of cuts to aid.

what has been said about that this morning? yeah, government under pressure on two fronts, actually, on this. last year, the chancellor, rishi sunak, announced that the uk was going to cut the amount it spent on foreign aid from 0.7% of the national income to 0.5%, which is about £4 billion. so there is parliamentary pressure because tomorrow, a group of conservative mps and others are trying to get that overturned, they are hoping to be able to use a parliamentary decision to try to overturn that, and that includes the former prime minister, theresa may. this morning, a letter has been sent to the prime minister, signed by more than 1,700 people from the world of charities, and ngos, and academia, with some pretty strong warnings about the impact of this cut. it says that it will cast a shadow over the uk's ability to deliver at the critical g7 summit this year, that if the uk goes on to make demands on other world leaders, then that risks ringing hollow.

they said, on the ground, it is having an impact by families going hungry, girls are not going to school, women's rights are being sidelined, vaccines are expiring on shelves. and they say that it is not justified, economically, because forecast suggests that actually the economy will bounce back by the end of this year. another person who is very much of this view is the activist and musician sir bob geldof. it doesn't make any sense economically, financially, politically, diplomatically, of course, morally, or in the humanitarian consequences of it. and i'm very much afraid that something that we were told was temporary will become permanent and that would be vastly damaging for britain's soft power, for its reputation, particularly on a weekend when we invite the world's most powerful leaders and the world's biggest economies to come here and talk about such matters with us. it seems remarkably maladroit and inept. now, as you heard there, sir bob geldof acknowledged, the government had said that this

cut would be temporary, that it would be put in place because of the extraordinary conditions of the pandemic. now, a uk government spokesperson said to me earlier that, "look, we are spending £10 billion in aid in 2021," and that it was the sort of, as they put it, the seismic impact to the pandemic that had forced the government to make this tough but necessary decision, and that actually, when the fiscal situation allows, they will return to spending 0.7%, but of course we do not know when the government will consider that would be. again, matt hancock, the health secretary, this morning was also suggesting that giving financial aid is not the only way in which the uk can help abroad. i think it is reasonable, at a time of this enormous economic challenge as well, of course, as the health challenge, to take this action and if you think about it... we have had a once in a 300 years economic interruption, and there are so many things

that we can do to support the whole world to get out of this. for instance, the prime minister's leadership in driving for the whole world to be vaccinated by the end of next year, which i hope we can achieve a g7 agreement on, plus the oxford astrazeneca vaccine, which is being delivered at cost, two thirds of that in low and middle income countries, those two things do not count within this technical definition of odour, but what does matter is that we have to support the world to get out of this, but we also have a very significant fiscal and economic challenge at home and we have to address both. of course, those cuts in foreign aid do have an impact, though, and as i said, it goes back to parliament tomorrow, potentially, there may be a vote to try and overturn that any ——and the conservative mps, they are cautiously optimistic, the rebel conservative mps, that they have enough numbers to do that. also speaking on the andrew marr show, the former prime minister,

tony blair, says people who've been fully vaccinated should be offered greater freedoms from coronavirus restrictions. i think it's uncertain at the moment, and the paper we are putting out today is the saying we should really distinguish between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. so both here at home, if we do have to adjust some of the freedoms because of the rising pressure from new variants, then it's important at least to ensure that those people who are vaccinated have the maximum freedom they can. and i think i can also be done for travel as well. as you've got a good medical reason, my view very clearly is no, and i think that's why it's important to give people a real incentive to get vaccinated. because if you are vaccinated, the evidence is absolutely clear, it reduces the risk of transmission and it reduces the risk of hospitalisation or death. so would you make them mandatory? i don't think you can make them mandatory, but i think this is what we are suggesting today,

by making it clear that, for example, if you are vaccinated... if you are double vaccinated, it should be much easier to come in and out of the country. and indeed around the world, i think, you will find that countries start to distinguish between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. so in europe, for example, they are going to allow you to travel freely within europe if you are double vaccinated. the health secretary has also confirmed people under the age of 30 in england will be invited to book their covid vaccine from next week. matt hancock said the next step in the vaccine programme will bring the uk closer to the point where all adults would have ben offered a vaccine. more than a0 million people had had theirfirstjab, while more than 27 million are now fully vaccinated. the government is urging pupils in england to take covid tests before returning to school after the half—term break. it comes as the uk's health secretary warned that a "huge proportion" of the latest covid cases are in children. helena wilknison reports. what's helped keep classrooms open has been a major testing programme

which has been in place since march. schools and colleges have been testing pupils regularly. it's allowed them to identify asymptomatic cases and isolate them as quickly as possible. tomorrow, most children will go back after their half term break. writing in the telegraph this morning, the health secretary matt hancock said a huge proportion of the latest cases are in children, and that is why he and the education secretary gavin williamson are urging secondary school pupils and college students to get a test before they return. the association of school and college leaders say they broadly support the measure, but feel it has come very late in the day. if i wanted to get a test today, i tried ordering one last night and i won't get it for two days. this could have been a reminder we got a week ago

or when the secretary of state was doing the rounds on media on wednesday. it feels like to embargo it and announce it the day before schools and colleges go back is a little bizarre. as testing continues, so too does the vaccination programme. a decision will need to be made about whether i2—is—year—olds should get the jab. according to the telegraph, children could start getting it as early as the summer. a government source told the paper that under current modelling, they would be ready to begin by early september at the latest. ministers are waiting for advice from the uk's vaccines committee before making a decision. helena wilkinson, bbc news. the uk's prime minister is expected to call on fellow leaders at the g7 to pledge to vaccinate the world s population against coronavirus by the end of next year. boris johnson will tell representatives it would be the "single greatest feat" in medical history. world leaders are set to gather in cornwall in south west england on friday.

more now on that letter writtern to the uk government — asking it to reverse the decision to cut foreign aid this year. one of the charities which has signed the letter to the government is save the children — it says cuts to the uk aid budget have caused "devastation" in the world's poorest communities. kirsty mcneill is the executive director of policy, advocacy and campaigns there. she explained what the cut would mean to the people who need it. we see that lives are on the line tomorrow with this vote. to make itjust very tangible, yemen, the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe, over 90% of children in yemen need humanitarian aid. that is the very aid that keeps them alive, through food and medicine, and yet uk aid to yemen has gone down by 60%. syria, an entire generation of syrian children have known nothing but war, and yet the uk has cut aid to syrians by a third. south sudan, two thirds of people are food insecure, and yet, uk aid has gone down by a third.

in country after country after country, we see that lives are on the line. this is not an abstract question or a political one, it's one about saving lives. the government says it's saving lives in other ways. it says it's still spending more than 10 billion on foreign aid this year, but the other part of the picture is what it's doing with vaccinations for covid, and leading the campaign to try to get the whole world vaccinated by the end of next year. support for vaccinations is incredibly welcome, but vaccines don't administer themselves. so whilst it's fantastic news to see the government coming forward to share doses, what we need is support for nurses and clinicians to actually getjabs into arms. in country after country, on issue after issue, the uk government is stepping back its support when it should be stepping up its support. their argument that there is a pandemic, and that therefore

makes the case to cut, is not one that's recognised by their g7 partners. the uk is currently the only g7 country that is scaling back aid during a pandemic. every other partner is maintaining or increasing their aid, precisely because we face this devastating global health concern. the headlines on bbc news... the uk's health secretary says thejune 2ist decision on easing restrictions has become "more difficult" because the delta variant is 40% more transmissible. vaccinations are being opened up to the under—30s this week in the drive to offer covid jabs to all adults in england. a two—minute's silence has been held at the normandy memorial to honour more than 22,000 members of the british armed forces, who died after the d—day landings. staying with that — a memorial honouring british and commonwealth service who died on d—day has been

unveiled in normandy. they play part set the last post. more than 22,000 soldiers died on this day exactly 77 years ago, and in the fighting that followed. events have taken place in britain and france. the memorial at ver—sur—mar was officially opened by the prince of wales. in a recorded message, prince charles spoke of the importance of preserving the memory of the �*remarkable individuals' who lost their lives on d—day. i particularly wanted to address my first remarks directly to those whose presence today, either in person or online, really matters the most. i knowjust how much our incomparable veterans had hoped to be in normandy today to see their memorial for themselves. despite having to watch via satellite link, this in no way

obscures the enormous regard and admiration in which we hold our veterans or diminishes our debt of gratitude to the more than 22,000 men and women whose names are now permanently inscribed in stone in this place of honour above gold beach. as i said when i first became aware of the plans for this long overdue british memorial, it has for many years been a concern to me that the memory of these remarkable individuals should be preserved for future generations as an example of personal courage and sacrifice for the benefit of the wider national, and indeed international, community. many of the veterans and their families couldn't make the journey over to normandy this year because of the pandemic. many of them watched today's ceremony at the national memorial arboretum in staffordshire — from where our correspondent graham satchell sent this update.

very poignant service here in the national memorial arboretum this morning, more than 100 veterans of d—day here, along with families of those who died in normandy. to see the unveiling of the new memorial in normandy, something that they have long campaigned for, and a long fought for at, and finally has come to pass, and with me now is the veterans minister, what did you make of the ceremony today? it veterans minister, what did you make of the ceremony today?— of the ceremony today? it was a really moving — of the ceremony today? it was a really moving so _ of the ceremony today? it was a really moving so many, - of the ceremony today? it was a really moving so many, it - of the ceremony today? it was a really moving so many, it was . of the ceremony today? it was a - really moving so many, it was great, it you say, got to see so many veterans there today, and really just to see this, to be reminded of the scale of sacrifice, really, for the scale of sacrifice, really, for the 22,000 names on the memorial in normandy. it will be a permanent reminder of the sacrifice of the normandy generation. it is important. _ normandy generation. it is important, isn't _ normandy generation. it is important, isn't it, - normandy generation. it is important, isn't it, that's l normandy generation. it is important, isn't it, that's notjust to remember this generation, but we never forget?— never forget? indeed, anything, it is also an inspiration, _ never forget? indeed, anything, it is also an inspiration, a _ is also an inspiration, a commemoration as well, too young

service people, the action that is the gold standard of sacrifice and courage, and it is something that, that example lives on in the way they will do their business and i think people make reference and can bear their amazing example in mind, so whilst it is a historic event, there is also a very living, and very contemporary relevance, actually, to the actions of those 77 summers ago. actually, to the actions of those 77 summers age-— actually, to the actions of those 77 summers ago. interesting when you talk to the veterans, _ summers ago. interesting when you talk to the veterans, how _ summers ago. interesting when you talk to the veterans, how hard - summers ago. interesting when you talk to the veterans, how hard they | talk to the veterans, how hard they had to fight for this tomorrow, so that a source of regret for you as well? ., ., , , that a source of regret for you as well? ., , , . ., well? today is very much a celebration, _ well? today is very much a celebration, but _ well? today is very much a celebration, but i - well? today is very much a celebration, but i think- well? today is very much a celebration, but i think it l well? today is very much a i celebration, but i think it took well? today is very much a - celebration, but i think it took a while, as there was a living cohort of veterans, in that meantime, on that agenda, i think it is actually right and proper that it is in place now. i think what is also very encouraging and special is the way that it encouraging and special is the way thatitis encouraging and special is the way that it is very much an anglo—french endeavour, it was excellent to see the french defence attache to award the french defence attache to award the medals, and also normally, it

was lovely to see the red arrows flying over, the trickle of smoke, a fitting reminder of the bond between our two countries and the very long lasting defence of the security —— defensive security relationship we still have today. truths; defensive security relationship we still have today.— still have today. why do you think it is that the _ still have today. why do you think it is that the americans _ still have today. why do you think it is that the americans have - still have today. why do you think it is that the americans have had | it is that the americans have had their memorial on the beach of normandy, the canadians have had this for years and years now, and it has taken us 77 years to get the british memorial? i has taken us 77 years to get the british memorial?— has taken us 77 years to get the british memorial? i think of it took us a bit longer _ british memorial? i think of it took us a bit longer to _ british memorial? i think of it took us a bit longer to get _ british memorial? i think of it took us a bit longer to get around - british memorial? i think of it took us a bit longer to get around to - british memorial? i think of it took us a bit longer to get around to it, | us a bit longer to get around to it, but i do not think there is any reflection of this interest, i think we can celebrate the fact that it will be a permanent reminder of something very special. —— disinterest. something very special. -- disinterest.— something very special. -- disinterest. ., ,, , ., , . ~ , disinterest. thank you very much. as the minister— disinterest. thank you very much. as the minister says, _ disinterest. thank you very much. as the minister says, it _ disinterest. thank you very much. as the minister says, it will— disinterest. thank you very much. as the minister says, it will be - disinterest. thank you very much. as the minister says, it will be a - the minister says, it will be a permanent reminder that it will be there for generations to come. graham satchel in staffordshire. sport now — and england and scotland

are among a number of countries who play their theirfinal warm up matches, ahead of the european championship. while scotland are away to luxembourg, england face romania in middlesbrough this afternoon — at the same venue they beat austria 1—0 on wednesday. and the england manager is in optimistic mood. the future for our team, when you look at the age of all of those players, is exciting. it means that we can play in different ways, we have the balance of the squad to play different systems and ourjob again is to always prepare the team for each opposition, find the best way of playing, for each opponent, and we feel better equipped to cope with different sorts of tactical challenges as well. roger federer says he'll decide later today if he should pull out of the french open in paris, and rest his knee, ahead of wimbledon. federer, who recently returned to action after knee surgery, beat germany's dominik koepfer in the third round at roland garros, and is due to play his

last 16 match tomorrow. i have to reassess the situation after _ i have to reassess the situation after the — i have to reassess the situation after the match and see in the morning — after the match and see in the morning howl after the match and see in the morning how i wake up, how my is, you know. — morning how i wake up, how my is, you know, how it feels, the next morning — you know, how it feels, the next morning so _ you know, how it feels, the next morning. so from that standpoint, for me. _ morning. so from that standpoint, for me. it — morning. so from that standpoint, for me, it was... it always goes like _ for me, it was... it always goes like that, — for me, it was... it always goes like that, there is no difference aher— like that, there is no difference after a — like that, there is no difference after a match like this, but may be even _ after a match like this, but may be even more — after a match like this, but may be even more so after much like this, it has— even more so after much like this, it has been— even more so after much like this, it has been long,. cricket — and play's under way on the 5th and final day of the 1st test between england and new zealand at lord's. the tourists resumed on 62 for 2 in their second innings, and a short time ago, they were 131 for 4, giving them an overall lead of 234 runs. 0llie robinson and stuart broad have taken the wickets to fall today. and in rugby union, the england prop kyle sinckler has been called up to the british and irish lions squad for their tour of south africa. sinckler will replace ireland's andrew porter, who suffered an injury while playing for leinster on friday. he'lljoin up with the lions

following the conclusion of bristol bears' domestic season. the president of el salvador has told a bitcoin conference in florida that he'll make the crypto currency legal tender in his country alongside the us dollar. if congress backs his proposal, el salvador would become the first country in the world to formally adopt bitcoin. rohan grey, the vice—chair of the policy and governance working group at the digital currency global initiative explains how el salvador president's proposal has to pass through many contentious hurdles before it can become a reality. the first thing to be clear is that this is a bill proposal, it is not actual pass legislation, there are going to be a lot of details to work out, many of them are likely to be contentious, and there is no evidence that this proposal, however it ends up, is going to be acceptable to the broader public

or to the relevant stakeholders. this is also at administration, it is not in a good place. it fired a number of top officials and judges recently, and the number of bond investors expressed their concern, and in general, this is a country that is already dollarised and moving to bitcoin would further reduce the degree of political space available to policymakers that actually solve the financial problems in the country. i think remittances are a huge part of the motivation here, but it is important to remember that remittances only occur in the context of an international financial regulatory regime. and there is no reason to think that other countries are going to approve or support this kind of move and when you actually look at what is going on, it seems to be that this is a young president who is trying to capitalise on popular image and there is a lot of pr value in announcing something like this even if you have not actually worked out all the details or even if it isn't the best way to achieve goals like a financial inclusion and access. the former us president, donald trump, has demanded that china pay ten trillion dollars in payment to america and the world for the damage caused

by the coronavirus pandemic. emerging from political seclusion to speak at a republican party convention in north carolina, mr trump called on other nations to cancel their debts to beijing as a down payment. although he's been cut off from social networks, many republicans still see him as a valuable asset ahead of midterm elections next year. the time has come for america and the world to demand reparations... time has come for america and the world to demand reparations and accountability from the communist party of china. cheering and applause. we should all declare within one unified voice that china must pay, they must pay. now — there's always time here on bbc news to show you pictures of some cute animals. here 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. in1976,

in 1976, the mexican grey wolf was recognised as endangered and there are about 300 currently living in captivity. you're watching bbc news. the bafta awards ceremony will be broadcast later on bbc one, celebrating the best on—screen talent and tv programmes of 2020. steve mcqueen's five—part series small axe leads the way with six nominations. i may destroy you, normal people and the crown are also in the running, as our entertainment correspondent colin paterson reports. small axe, large bafta hopes. sir steve mcqueen's bbc one series of stand—alone films telling black british stories has the most nominations at today's bafta tv awards. six, including shaun parkes, best actor for the mangrove episode. he is thrilled the show has done so well. what can i say? it puts a smile on my face.

but for some reason puts the pressure on as well, i don't really know why, it makes me more nervous. now, if you say you're nervous, that suggests to me that you do care about whether you win or not. well, of course, because there's this build—up, right? there's everyone around you wishing you well. but that said, fortunately, the show is there to watch, as in, we did that. you know, that's the most important thing. and that's what i have to tell myself when i get a little bit too nervous about what's going to happen at the weekend! your majesty. these baftas are rewarding the best tv of 2020, the year of lockdown when people binge watched like never before. that's reflected here, with four nominations for the crown... two women running the shop. that's the last thing this country needs. how'd you smash your phone?

and four for i may destroy you, michaela coel�*s female revenge drama. how are you doing? great, as long as i'm around people. while bbc three's word—of—mouth hit normal people is up for three, with paul mescal in best actor. cool thing to be able to say. i know that's quite a trivial way of putting it, but it's like... it's very cool. ..huge, yeah, it's a huge... i don't know, it's like, if i ever have grandkids it's like, remember when i was young, i was nominated for a bafta. like, it's so exciting. today's ceremony will be different from usual, taking place in a covid—compliant tv studio. nominees in the performance categories can attend but in what's believed to be an award show first, those that can't make it have the option of appearing on the red carpet as a hologram. colin paterson, bbc news.

now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello. scotland and northern ireland will continue to see the best weather through the rest of today, it should stay dry with spells of sunshine, some brighter skies across parts of england and wales but more cloud, pockets of rain and drizzle and where it brightens up that could trigger some heavy thundery showers further south. best temperatures towards the south—east, 21 or 22 in the sunshine, for scotland and northern ireland, 17 or 18. still some wet weather threatening to run east across england this evening, first part of the night, then out into the north sea, it becomes dry later, more mist and fog around by the end of the night, lowest temperatures in scotland with clear skies. here some sunshine to come but we're likely to trigger a few heavy, perhaps thundery showers in the afternoon from east anglia into the north—east of england, one or two in scotland. the further west you are, a better chance of staying dry with sunshine,

temperatures tomorrow very similar to those of today. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... the uk's health secretary says thejune 21st decision on easing restrictions has become "more difficult" because the delta variant is 40% more transmissible. that doesn't make life more challenging for everybody, and you have cash back that does make life more challenging, and you have seen that the cases have risen, but the hospitalisations is probably flat. vaccinations are being opened up to the under—30s this week in the drive to offer covid jabs to all adults in england. borisjohnson will tell global leaders he wants the whole world to be vaccinated against coronavirus, by the end of next year.

a two—minute silence has been held at the british normandy memorial