this is bbc news with the latest 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 does make life more challenging for everybody. 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. 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, the families and all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice as a result of the operations around d—day and during the battle of normandy. around 100 veterans, who were unable to travel to france because of the pandemic, laid wreaths at the national memorial arboretum. and the vast system of camps scattered across the united states holding more than 20,000 migrant children. that's �*detained in america' in half an hour, here on bbc news.

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 transmissability was making the decision on whether to lift all remaining restrictions in england on the 21st ofjune "more difficult", and that the government was "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. 0ur 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�*s time, 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 or alpha variant. the best estimate of the growth advantage, as we call it, of the delta variant from sage is around a0%. 40%? 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. ministers had said they have seen nothing in the data yet to suggest june 21st could not happen, but mr hancock said he was absolutely open to delaying if required. there are some worrying signs in the community. we know that the new indian variant is definitely more transmissible, and there is some evidence that it increases your risk of going into hospital as well,

so that is a concern. and 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 2ist. the government is not ruling out keeping measures like wearing face coverings or working from home in place beyond then. menawhile, the vaccination programme will move onto the under 30s this week. labour says some areas need more help. we have got blackburn, bury, bolton in the north—west, wigan, where i live, seeing a rise in infection rate, particularly among young people, which is driving a lot of the transmission. we have areas that have run out of vaccine. we have front line health officials being ignored again by the government when they have requested help. ministers are concerned about the impact of children returning to school tomorrow after half term. this age group have made up a large proportion of cases,

although they are less likely to become ill. the government is urging parents to make sure their children test themselves tonight before they go back. helen catt, bbc news. paul hunter is a professor of medicine at the university of east anglia. very welcome to you again, thank you forjoining us. this 40% figure for transmissibility, i have heard it calculated as being higher, how to cite hiss work it out? —— how do scientists. it cite hiss work it out? -- how do scientists-_ cite hiss work it out? -- how do scientists. it is not always easy, the look scientists. it is not always easy, they look at _ scientists. it is not always easy, they look at how _ scientists. it is not always easy, they look at how rapidly - scientists. it is not always easy, they look at how rapidly the - they look at how rapidly the infection is spreading in the community and how rapidly it is increasing, but of course when you have got a large proportion of the population who have already had vaccines, that does not always give you the right answer, so what you do is compare it to the alpha variant, the kent variant, and try and

estimate how much more infectious it is, and the 40% figure is about where most people have been suggesting it is, a0—50% give or take, about what most of the estimates to date have been coming out with, estimates to date have been coming outwith, but there is a big uncertainty around that. out with, but there is a big uncertainty around that. knowing what we know — uncertainty around that. knowing what we know now, _ uncertainty around that. knowing what we know now, how - uncertainty around that. knowing what we know now, how likely i uncertainty around that. knowing what we know now, how likely is| uncertainty around that. knowing | what we know now, how likely is it that the restrictions will be lifted in eglin onjune 21? the health secretary said today it is making it difficult with the delta variant. == difficult with the delta variant. -- in difficult with the delta variant. » in england. 0n the one hand we have, numbers are low, they are increasing rapidly from one week to the other in percentage terms. that is a big worry because if that carries on for many weeks, we would end up with large numbers of cases. 0n the other hand, as the health secretary actually said, hospitalisation rates have been pretty flat, may be a very slight uptake towards the end of

last week, but nothing that looks dramatic. if cases are going up for hospitalisation, —— hospita nations are not going up, trying tojudge how much pressure it will bring is not actually that straightforward. hopefully things will become a little bit clearer within a week. if hospitalisation rates remain flat, i think there will be substantial further easing of restrictions. possibly retaining the need to wear face coverings in public transport, maybe still encouraging people to work from home if possible, but if hospitalisation is start to increase rapidly, then of course that would change the decisions and hopefully that will not happen and we will find out this time next week. we understand the aim is now to offer vaccines to all adults. what about

the need to vaccinate children? they tend not to suffer too badly, some people think you should not vaccinate children to protect adults, do they? because of this ethical implications of that. yes. ethical implications of that. yes, and i think— ethical implications of that. yes, and i think there _ ethical implications of that. yes, and i think there is _ ethical implications of that. yes, and i think there is an _ ethical implications of that. 1&1: and i think there is an element of truth in both those arguments, in principle vaccinating people, that doesn't actually give them any benefit, isn't generally something we would want to do. me getting you to have the vaccine to protect myself is not really ethically sound. and i think the evidence on balance is in favour of teenagers receiving the vaccine, i think the benefits to teenagers of vaccinations do outweigh the risks. i think under 11 is, i thick it is

getting very uncertain, personally i suspect we will be offering vaccinations to teenagers but maybe not for young children younger than that. ., ,., ., ., ., not for young children younger than that. ., ., ., ~ that. paul hunter, so good to talk to ou, that. paul hunter, so good to talk to you. thank _ that. paul hunter, so good to talk to you, thank you _ that. paul hunter, so good to talk to you, thank you very _ that. paul hunter, so good to talk to you, thank you very much. - that. paul hunter, so good to talk to you, thank you very much. i. to you, thank you very much. i treasure. —— my pleasure. 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. more than 1,700 charities, businesspeople 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 £4 billion. 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. 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. kirsty mcneill, who is the executive director of policy, advocacy and campaigns there, 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 prime minister boris johnson 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 norman town of ver—sur—mer.

it was a small gathering at ver—sur—mer, but the significance and the emotion of the moment were lost on no one. here at the normandy memorial, there's finally a place — and 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 of them gathered at the national memorial arboretum in staffordshire and watched the ceremony via a live transmission, including a message from the prince of wales. i could only hope that this serves to commemorate all those whose lives were lost during the events ofjune 1994 and between d—day and the liberation of paris at the end of august 19114. and in the morning, we will rememberthem. we will rememberthem.

there was a two—minute silence to honour the 22,4112 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 memorial was only completed a few weeks ago. the press has been very deliberately kept away, and because of covid there are very few visitors in normandy at the moment who could spread the word. as a result, the scale and the beauty of this place have come to many as a monumental surprise. it's 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. there's lots of young lads, their memory, people like to remember them. i think it's wonderful,

it's marvellous that they have put a show on like this 77 years after. the red arrows flew 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. as we heard, any of the veterans and theirfamilies 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. a 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, the veterans minister leo docherty. leo, what did you make

of the ceremony today? it was a really moving ceremony. it was great, as you say, to see so many veterans there today. and really to be reminded of the scale of sacrifice, really, more than 22,000 names on the memorial in normandy. it will be a permanent reminder of the sacrifice of the normandy generation. it's important, isn't it, to not just remember this generation, but that we never forget? indeed, and i think it's also an inspiration... it's a commemoration, but also an inspiration to young service people that actually that's the gold standard of sacrifice and courage. that example lives on in the way they will do their business, and i think people will make reference and bear their amazing example in mind. so, while it's a historic event, it's also a very living, very contemporary relevance 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? 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's absolutely right and proper that it is in place now. i think what's also very special is the way it's very much an anglo—french endeavour. excellent to see the french defence attache here awarding the legion d'honneur to nine different veterans, and also in normandy it was lovely to see the red arrows flying over the memorial, trailing a smoke screen of the tricolore flag, a really fitting and moving reminder of the deep bond between our two countries, and the very long lasting defence and security relationship we still have to this day. why do you think it is that the americans have had their memorial on the beach of normandy, the canadians theirs, for years and years now, and it's taken us 77 years to get the british memorial?

well, obviously it took us a bit longer to get round to it, but i don't think that's any disinterest, i think we can celebrate the fact that now it will be a permanent reminder of something very, very special, so i think we should celebrate that. minister, thank you very much indeed. ., ., , and as the minister said, it will be a permanent reminder, something that will be there for generations to come. 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 14—year—old was killed in the kingstanding area of birmingham. west midlands police are appealing for more information from the public. the headlines on bbc news... the uk's health secretary says thejune 21st 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. 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 president of el salvador has told a bitcoin conference in florida that he'll make the cryptocurrency 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. aru na iyengar reports. miami, and a bitcoin conference generates huge interest not least because of this announcement from the salvadoran president. heat because of this announcement from the salvadoran president. next week i will send to — the salvadoran president. next week i will send to congress _ the salvadoran president. next week i will send to congress a _ the salvadoran president. next week i will send to congress a bill- the salvadoran president. next week i will send to congress a bill that - i will send to congress a bill that will make bitcoin legal tender. in the short—term this will generate jobs and help financial inclusion. he says that using bitcoin would make it easier and cheaperfor

salvadorans living abroad to send money home, about one quarter of el salvador and live in the us, at last year they sent home nearly $6 billion in remittances. this involves costly fees, the president also says bitcoin will help attract investment and open up financial services to the 70% of the population who don't have bank accounts. it is a bold move, he is a young media savvy and popular leader who is keen to be seen as an innovator. his new ideas party took control of congress after midterm elections in february. he has made it clear his intention to make his country truly sovereign. some have reservations, saying bitcoin transactions take too long to process. transactions take too long to rocess. , , ., , , process. this is absolutely fantastic _ process. this is absolutely fantastic news _ process. this is absolutely fantastic news for - process. this is absolutely fantastic news for crypto l process. this is absolutely - fantastic news for crypto currencies in general but most of the world doesn't realise that bitcoin does not work as currency any more, it is a joke, and i not work as currency any more, it is ajoke, and i say not work as currency any more, it is a joke, and i say that is the first best in the world to start investing

this ecosystem, someone who bought number a dollar less each now others do betterjob of acting as a currency. do better “0b of acting as a curren . �* ., , , currency. bitcoin would be used alonuside currency. bitcoin would be used alongside the _ currency. bitcoin would be used alongside the us _ currency. bitcoin would be used alongside the us dollar, - currency. bitcoin would be used alongside the us dollar, el- alongside the us dollar, el salvador�*s formal currency, the country will be digitally —— partnering with strike. there are concerns over the viability of bitcoin as an alternative to traditional currencies. 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. i 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. we can speak now to the tv critic and broadcaster, toby earle. nice to see you. who are you particularly looking out for is a probable winner? i particularly looking out for is a probable winner?— particularly looking out for is a probable winner? i would be really surrised probable winner? i would be really surprised if— probable winner? i would be really surprised if michaela _ probable winner? i would be really surprised if michaela coel - probable winner? i would be really surprised if michaela coel does - probable winner? i would be reallyj surprised if michaela coel does not take home pretty much everything, i may destroy you is nominated for. i think it was such a challenging, thrilling and sometimes even very funny story, and it generated so much word—of—mouth that people were drawn to it by the rave reviews, friends and family were giving it as

much as the critics, and it did very well at the royal television society awards, the broadcasting press guild awards, the broadcasting press guild awards, it was bizarrely shut out entirely from the golden globes. i think it is a point of restitution for that series to come back and scoop what is very much deserved. the other really big name i suppose we should account for is steve mcqueen, another side that there is more diversity in these nominations this year. —— another sign. data this year. -- another sign. data representation, _ this year. -- another sign. data representation, small- this year. -- another sign. data representation, small axe, - this year. —— another sign. dist: representation, small axe, the anthology of films from steve mcqueen featuring some incredible performances, with shaun parkes and john by yeager nominated in the best actor category, teacher right nominated as well, in another year you might say that would be the runaway winner, to the virtue of its quality of film—making,

performances, but i do feel that it may well be michaela coel plasma year, but that was broadcast on bbc one, eight showed real purpose and 0ne, eight showed real purpose and intent to have this anthology of films covering black british experiences and stories on the bbc on a sunday night, and these were films, these are actual films, lover's rock particularly, and again it was a really bold connection of tales. m . , it was a really bold connection of tales. ~ ,, it was a really bold connection of tales. accuracy keeps coming back, liven how tales. accuracy keeps coming back, given how much — tales. accuracy keeps coming back, given how much they _ tales. accuracy keeps coming back, given how much they are _ tales. accuracy keeps coming back, given how much they are spent - tales. accuracy keeps coming back, given how much they are spent on | tales. accuracy keeps coming back, i given how much they are spent on it, they will be glad to see another award. ., .., , ., they will be glad to see another award. ., , ., , ., ., award. you can see on the sea and how much — award. you can see on the sea and how much money _ award. you can see on the sea and how much money has _ award. you can see on the sea and how much money has been - award. you can see on the sea and how much money has been thrownj award. you can see on the sea and i how much money has been thrown at it, although despite the quality of the performances, it appears to be becoming more and more west end as, a very expensive but well—paid soap opera, particularly as we kind of

bridge the gap between then and now added because of a closer. 0f bridge the gap between then and now added because of a closer. of course you could it has become apposite because the last year has dealt with charles and diana's relationship, from when they were courting to today marriage, and after, and all of a sudden this year we have heard of a sudden this year we have heard of another princess who felt unsupported by the family, unsupported by the family, unsupported in that role, and that has suddenly become very relevant in its own way. fine has suddenly become very relevant in its own way-— its own way. one award i think will be hu:el its own way. one award i think will be hugely popular— its own way. one award i think will be hugely popular is _ its own way. one award i think will be hugely popular is the _ its own way. one award i think will i be hugely popular is the posthumous award for paul writer. yes. be hugely popular is the posthumous award for paul writer.— award for paul writer. yes, what a performer — award for paul writer. yes, what a performer across _ award for paul writer. yes, what a performer across all _ award for paul writer. yes, what a performer across all genres, - award for paul writer. yes, what a performer across all genres, you | performer across all genres, you only had to see tributes paid to him —— paul ritter, not only marker as a man of great decency of the highest quality when it came to performances. he is also nominated in comedy, best male performance,

yet only had to see him in chernobyl to see the variety of roles he was able to shoulder and give one had percent to and be so utterly convincing. this last year, 18 months, television is convincing. this last year, 18 months, television— months, television is in very difficult times, _ months, television is in very difficult times, benefited - months, television is in very l difficult times, benefited from months, television is in very - difficult times, benefited from us being stuck at home yes, i do hope people over the last year has grown to appreciate the artistry and craft which goes into making the programmes, many of which are featuring this evening, been nominated, and the sheer range of talent available in the uk, both in front of screen and behind as well. i hope that people really sort of do not think the tv as being a secondary medium in some ways, still inferior to film, i think that ideology has patched long past, and certainly here you have pieces which stand up and will be standing up to

repeated viewing time and time again. we repeated viewing time and time aaain. ~ . . repeated viewing time and time aainr ., ., , repeated viewing time and time auain.~ ., ., , ., ., again. we are a big fan of television _ again. we are a big fan of television here, _ again. we are a big fan of television here, toby, - again. we are a big fan of - television here, toby, thank you very much. 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 the way. translation: such a situation has happened for the first time - in history. it has never happened before, so everyone is thinking about the reasons. it remains to be further observed and studied.

it is not entirely clear when their odyssey began but some suggest they 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 have now reached a major city of more than six million people. what they plan to do next is anyone's guess. tim allman, bbc news. 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.