good afternoon. the health secretary, matt hancock, has said that the new delta variant of coronavirus, first recorded in india, is about 40% more infectious than the version detected in kent. mr hancock said increased transmissabiltiy was making the decision on whether to lift all remaining restrictions in england on the 21st ofjune more difficult, and that the government is open to a delay if needed. but he told the bbc that the number of people needing hospital treatment was broadly flat, which means vaccines are working. our political correspondent

helen catt reports. it's been nearly three weeks that people in england have been able to socialise more freely. it's not yet been decided if the remaining businesses can reopen in a fortnight and the legal limits on how many people can meet up lifted. cases of coronavirus have risen and the health secretary this morning confirmed that the delta variant which first originated in india is significantly more transmissible than the previously dominant kent variant. , , , ., ., variant. the best estimate of the urowth variant. the best estimate of the growth advantage _ variant. the best estimate of the growth advantage as _ variant. the best estimate of the growth advantage as we - variant. the best estimate of the growth advantage as we call - variant. the best estimate of the growth advantage as we call it i variant. the best estimate of the growth advantage as we call it ofi growth advantage as we call it of the delta variant from sage is around a0%, so that does make life more challenging for everybody. and you have seen 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 have had both jabs. small minority are people who have had both jam-— had both 'abs. ministers have seen nothin: had both jabs. ministers have seen nothin: in had both jabs. ministers have seen nothing in the _ had both jabs. ministers have seen nothing in the data _ had both jabs. ministers have seen nothing in the data yet _ had both jabs. ministers have seen nothing in the data yet to - had both jabs. ministers have seen nothing in the data yet to suggest | nothing in the data yet to suggest june 21st would not happen but mr hancock said he was open to delaying if required. hancock said he was open to delaying if reuuired. ., ,., ., , if required. there are some worrying sins in if required. there are some worrying signs in the — if required. there are some worrying signs in the community. _ if required. there are some worrying signs in the community. we - if required. there are some worrying signs in the community. we know i if required. there are some worrying | signs in the community. we know the new indian variant is definitely more transmissible and there is some evidence it increases your risk of going into hospital as well, so that is a concern. there's also some early data show, thanks to vaccination, we could have broken the link between disease and hospitalisations. but we just haven't got quite enough data. social distancing guidance is also being reviewed ahead ofjune 21st. the government is not ruling out keeping measures like wearing face coverings or working from home in place beyond then. the vaccination programme will move onto the under 30s list —— this week. labour says

some areas need more help. we 30s list -- this week. labour says some areas need more help. we have like b rne, some areas need more help. we have like byrne. bury _ some areas need more help. we have like byrne, bury and _ some areas need more help. we have like byrne, bury and bolton _ some areas need more help. we have like byrne, bury and bolton in - some areas need more help. we have like byrne, bury and bolton in the - like byrne, bury and bolton in the north—west where i live seeing a rise in infection rate, particularly among young people. we have front line health officials being ignored again by the government when they have requested help.— have requested help. ministers are concerned about _ have requested help. ministers are concerned about the _ have requested help. ministers are concerned about the impact - have requested help. ministers are concerned about the impact of - concerned about the impact of children returning to school tomorrow after half term. this age group had made up a large proportion of cases although they are less likely to become ill. the government is urging parents to make sure children test themselves tonight before they go back. helen catt, bbc news. more than 1,700 charities, business people and academics have signed a letter to borisjohnson warning that the government's foreign aid cut means families are going hungry. last year, ministers reduced foreign aid from 0.7% of national income to 0.5% — a cut of four billion pounds. the government, which is facing a rebellion by conservative mps

on the issue in the commons tomorrow, says it's committed to returning to higher levels of spending when the economy allows. the prime minister, borisjohnson, will urge leaders at the upcoming g7 summit to commit to vaccinating the whole world against coronavirus by the end of next year. mrjohnson will lay out his plan at a summit of advanced economies in cornwall on friday — the first face—to—face meeting of the g7 since the start of the pandemic. the british normandy memorial for those who died in the d—day campaign has been officially opened in northern france, on the 77th anniversary of the allied invasion of nazi—occupied france. the names of nearly 22,500 servicemen and women are inscribed on 160 columns overlooking "gold beach" — one of the three british landing sites. hugh schofield reports from the town of ver—sur—mer. it was a small gathering at

ver—sur—mer but the significance of the emotion of the moment were lost on no one. here at the normandy memorial, there's finally a place of great beauty where for future generations british commemorations of d—day and the normandy campaign will have single focus. because of covid, virtually no veterans were in france. instead, in rather less clement weather, many gathered at the national memorial arboretum in staffordshire and watched the ceremony via live transmission, including a message from the prince of wales. i including a message from the prince of wales. . ., including a message from the prince of wales. u, ., , including a message from the prince of wales. _, ., , .,, , of wales. i could only hope this serves to _ of wales. i could only hope this serves to commemorate - of wales. i could only hope this serves to commemorate all - of wales. i could only hope this i serves to commemorate all those whose lives ofjune199li and serves to commemorate all those whose lives ofjune 1994 and between d—day whose lives ofjune1994 and between d—day and the liberation of paris at the end of august 1944. find d-day and the liberation of paris at the end of august 1944.— the end of august 1944. and in the mornin: , the end of august 1944. and in the morning. we _ the end of august 1944. and in the morning, we will— the end of august 1944. and in the morning, we will remember- the end of august 1944. and in the morning, we will remember them. j the end of august 1944. and in the - morning, we will remember them. we will rememberthem.

morning, we will remember them. we will remember them.— will remember them. there was a two minute silence — will remember them. there was a two minute silence to _ will remember them. there was a two minute silence to honour— will remember them. there was a two minute silence to honour the - will remember them. there was a two minute silence to honour the 22,442 | minute silence to honour the 22,442 names that are engraved on the columns of the memorial, and then, accompanied by the french defence minister, the british ambassador to paris, lord llewellyn, laid a wreath to declare the memorial officially open. the press has been very deliberately kept away, and because of covid there are very few visitors in normandy at the moment who can spread the word. as a result, the scale and beauty of this place have come to many as a monumental surprise. it is set on a hill looking down on gold beach where thousands came ashore on d—day. for the veterans watching today, a fit place to remember their friends and comrades. �* , ., , ., , ., comrades. there's lots of young lads, comrades. there's lots of young lads. their— comrades. there's lots of young lads, their memory, _ comrades. there's lots of young lads, their memory, people - comrades. there's lots of young lads, their memory, people likej comrades. there's lots of young i lads, their memory, people like to remember them. lads, their memory, people like to rememberthem. i lads, their memory, people like to remember them.— remember them. i think it's wonderful. _ remember them. i think it's wonderful, it _ remember them. i think it's wonderful, it is _ remember them. i think it's wonderful, it is marvellousl remember them. i think it's i wonderful, it is marvellous they

have _ wonderful, it is marvellous they have put— wonderful, it is marvellous they have put the show on like this 77 years— have put the show on like this 77 years aften _ have put the show on like this 77 years after-— years after. the red arrows flew overhead in _ years after. the red arrows flew overhead in homage _ years after. the red arrows flew overhead in homage to - years after. the red arrows flew overhead in homage to the i years after. the red arrows flew| overhead in homage to the dead, years after. the red arrows flew i overhead in homage to the dead, the memorial becomes what it is destined to be. a place of contemplation and quiet memory. hugh schofield, bbc news, in normandy. two teenage boys have been charged with the murder of dea—john reid who was stabbed on monday. in total five people have now been charged in connection with his death. the fourteen—year—old was killed in the kingstanding area of birmingham. west midlands police are appealing for more information from the public. market traders are calling on councils not to price out the poor when town centres undergo redevelopment. new retail is often targeted at more affluent consumers, but research has highlighted the importance of traditional markets for low—income groups and the elderly, as coletta smith reports. at one end, it's chips and gravy. at the other, ciabatta. different menus being dished up at either end of preston market. the victorian hall got an expensive face—lift three years ago, but they kept the cheaper outside

trading area too. i think it's great. i think the building here's really good. i think they've done a really good job of it. it means you can have trendy cafes... it's nice to see something that looks a bit more modern. ..and traditional traders. i prefer the old market, though. there's not a lot in here. there's no clothes. there's only one clothes stall, isn't there? - like lots of towns, it's tough to get that balance right. the difference between the stalls inside and outside, you do have a good mixture here, don't you? this one's changed around... so academics from the university of leeds have spent three years researching market customers across the uk. low income groups, elderly people, elderly women, and also ethnic minorities and new migrants. so these people are particularly benefiting from affordable produce and also social interaction. councils are facing a conundrum. they need to attract more people into town centres, and lots are pinning their hopes

on a gentrified market to generate that money. local authorities are driven by accountants... butjoe's worried posh markets will price people out. we need to make sure that we don't take away from people that need access to that affordable food and just have swanky looking artisan markets and that's all that will exist. stallholders here certainly think they provide good value, as well as that all—important chat. they look upon you more as a friend than a trader. you know, i'm on first—name terms with a lot of people. you get brought things. i've had somebody bring me a couple of pork pies for my lunch today. stallholders have knowledge and experience. they can actually talk to the customer and give advice. you'll be here every week now! a big thing for us that i seems to be very popular is locally grown produce, because we can keep- the cost down because we go straight to the growers. i for regular market shoppers, these stalls are likely to feed friendships as well as filling fridges.

colletta smith, bbc news, in preston. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. the next news on bbc one is at 5.35. bye for now. hello. you're watching the bbc news channel. i metjohn gosling. let's get more on today's d—day commemorations and the unveiling of the british normandy memorial. many of the veterans and their families couldn't make the journey over to northern france 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. we've seen a very poignant service here at 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 long fought for, and finally has come to pass. with me now is the veterans minister, leo docherty. leo, what did you make of the ceremony today? it was a really moving ceremony, and it was great, as you say, to see so many veterans here today, and reallyjust to see this, to be reminded of the scale of sacrifice, really, for more than 22,000 names on the memorial in normandy. it will be a permanent reminder of the sacrifice of the normandy generation. it is important, isn't it, that notjust to remember this generation, but we neverforget. indeed, and i think it is also an inspiration, a commemoration, but it's also an inspiration to young service people that that is the gold standard of sacrifice and courage. and it is something that, that example lives on in the way that they will do their business and i think people will make reference

and beartheiramazing example in mind. so whilst it is a historic event, there is also a very living and very contemporary relevance, actually, to the actions that took place 77 summers ago. interesting, when you talk to the veterans, how hard they had to fight for this memorial. is that a source of some regret for you, do you think? no, i think today is very much a celebration. i think it took a while because whilst there was a larger, living cohort of veterans, it was less on the agenda. but i think it is absolutely right and proper that it is in place now. i think also what is very encouraging and very special is the way that it is very much an anglo—french endeavour. it was excellent to see the french defence attache here awarding the legion d'honneur to nine different veterans. and also normandy, it was lovely to see the red arrows flying over the memorial,

trailing the tricolour flag and smoke, i think a fitting reminder of the bond between our two countries and the very long lasting defensive security relationship we still have today. why do you think 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 think of it took us a bit longer to get around to it, but i do not think there is any reflection of disinterest. i think we can celebrate the fact that it will be a permanent reminder of something very special. so i think we should celebrate that. thank you very much. no worries. as the minister says, it will be a permanent reminder, something that will be there for generations to come. let's get more on whether or not the final stage of lifting of coronavirus restrictions in england can go ahead on 21stjune as planned. earlier, the health secretary matt hancock spoke to the bbc�*s andrew marr programme. he was asked whether concerns over the delta variant first discovered in india was likely to delay

the easing of restrictions. the best estimate of the growth advantage, as we call it, of the delta variant, from sage, is around 40%, 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. ——jabs. 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. just picking up on that 40% figure, because there are some good news from what you said there. sage said on the 13th of may, they said, if this variant

were to have a 40 to 50% transmission advantage, which you say it probably does have, it is likely that progressing with step three alone on the 17th of may would lead to a substantial resurgence of hospitalisations, similar to or larger than previous peaks. progressing with both steps three and four at the earliest date could lead to a much larger peak. you think they are wrong. that is a few weeks ago and we have more data since then. the thing we're watching incredibly carefully is of course the case rate, but also the rate at which that translates into hospitalisations. and thankfully, that link, which was absolutely rock solid, sadly, over the autumn, that link now is, is that it, severed but not broken. there are some people in hospital, that have been double vaccinated, but very few. the majority of people in hospital have not, and critically,

those who are double vaccinated, also appear to be, even if they are in hospital, appear to be less seriously ill, so, you know, the vaccine is working, and it is our way through it, but the new variant, because it is more transmissible, is obviously making that calculation harder. we will look at the data for another week and then make a judgment. if the data turns bad, will you, would you delay the 21st ofjune? we are absolutely open to doing that if that's what needs to happen. we said in the road map that the 21st ofjune is the date by which we would not take step four before that date and we would look at the data. that is exactly what we are doing, so the road map was set up in order to be able to take the sort of changes into account. 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 40 million people had had theirfirstjab, while more than 27 million are now fully vaccinated. more than 1,000 charities, business leaders and academics in the uk have written to the government, asking it to reverse the decision to cut foreign aid this year. it comes after the uk's government said it would still spend more than £10 billion in foreign aid this year. one of the charities which has signed a 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. i've been speaking to kirsty mcneill who is the executive director of policy, advocacy and campaigns at the charity. 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 pandemic has really led to the argument being made, many times over, about the importance of ensuring that everybody is in a good position on covid—19. the argument is that often made

about charity beginning at home and while that is obviously a part of the picture, the global picture is also very firmly in the mix on what needs to happen with the vaccine to make everybody safe. but what would you say to those who will say that charity begins at home and the cuts have been made in the foreign aid budget, worth £4 billion per year, will have an impact elsewhere? but money is needed here because of the situation that we are currently going through economically as well as with the health picture? charity does begin at home, but it must not end there, because none of us are safe until all of us are safe and we see that with new variants reaching our shores. currently, in sub—saharan africa, only 2% of people have got the vaccines. there are doctors and nurses on the front line, trying to fight this pandemic without protection to stop in the end, until we are all protected, none of us, including here in the uk, can get back to normal. 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. roger ver, the founder of bitcoin.com news website says there are other better cryptocurrencies than bitcoin which will work as a global crypto currency. this is absolutely fantastic news for all cryptocurrencies in general but most of the world doesn't realise bitcoin doesn't work as currency any more, it is an absolute joke and i say that as the first person in the world to start investing in this ecosystem, someone who bought my bitcoins when they were less than $1 each. now others like bitcoin cash do a far betterjob working as a currency. they are all volatile because the market capture is still small but if you check out whybitcoincash.com, you can see how it can work as a currency for the entire world whereas bitcoin can only process three transactions per second. there is no way a network that can only process three transactions a second could ever become money

for the entire world so i'm glad the president is interested in bitcoin, i think it will spread to cryptocurrencies in general. this is fantastic for cryptocurrencies, but bitcoin doesn't work as a currency any more, so they're about a decade late on that one. 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. 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. the first cruise ship to leave venice since the pandemic began has set sail. while people are keen to get back to normality, not everyone was happy about the ship entering the canal. rachel stanton reports. "no big ships". that is what is on the flags being waved 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 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 0rchestra. 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 a 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 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 viable alternative outside the lagoon, relieving the traffic through venice. 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, its 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 to something that's captured the imagination of millions of people across china. a herd of wild elephants that has been moving northwards over the course of several months. they began theirjourney in a nature reserve in yunnan province and, after 500 kilometres, they've now reached the outskirts of the city of kunming. tim allman reports. day after day, week after week, month after month — the elephants are on the march. 15 of them heading northwards for reasons known only to themselves. occasionally the smaller members of the group need a helping hand — or trunk — to get them on their way. translation: such a situation has happened for the _

first time in history. it's never happened before, so everyone's thinking about the reasons. it remains to be further observed and studied. it's not entirely clear when their odyssey began. some suggest they may have set out as early as december. the animals, forging a trail through the chinese countryside, occasionally straying into towns and villages, even helping themselves to something to eat as theirjourney progressed. translation: they like to go | to areas frequented by humans, as there's plenty of food. the asian elephants take such areas as their habitats. the authorities have deployed thousands of people to evacuate homes, block off roads and try to lure the animals away from the local population. but they've now reached a major city of more than 6 million people. what they plan to do next, is anyone's guess. tim allman, bbc news.

will keep monitoring them, so is brilliant! some more animals now... here are 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. they were declared endangered in 1976 and there have been at many of them that have been bred in captivity. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. it isa it is a reversal of fortunes today, yesterday, we saw more cloud in northern ireland, parts of scotland, and today that with a front has pushed on into england and wales, so he will see some more cloud over what we had yesterday, this is a ridge of high pressure which has been settled weather for large parts of scotland and northern ireland. this afternoon, there could be the odd shower, perhaps into eastern, northern ireland, north—east of scotland, but mostly dry, global cloud, patchy rain for parts of england and wales when the sunshine does come through that cloud, it could set off the odd heavy shower. temperatures lower than yesterday

because of more