this is bbc news, i'm ben mundy. the headlines: the health secretary apologises and admits breaching social distancing guidelines, after being caught on camera in an embrace with a close aide. labour say he should be sacked. now is the time when the prime minister needs to get a grip on this situation. he simply has not done so until now. he needs to act. in the past half hour downing street said the prime minister had accepted mr hancock's apology and considered the matter closed. our other top stories this afternoon: there's a surge in bookings to destinations including the balearic islands and malta, after they were moved onto the travel green list. four people have died after a block of flats collapsed in miami. a british woman is among over 150 people still missing. we are going to work as hard as we

can to continue our search and rescue effort. that is our priority, thatis rescue effort. that is our priority, that is where we are focused and protecting our first responders who are the scene. the number of people infected with the delta variant of coronavirus rises by 46% in a week across the uk. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the health secretary matt hancock has apologised and admitted he breached social distancing guidelines, after the sun newspaper published a photograph of him in an embrace with one his closest aides. the photo is said to have been taken in may, in mr hancock's whitehall office. the prime minister's official spokesman has said

the prime minister has accepted the health secretary's apology and considers the matter closed. in a statement, the health secretary said... let's get more from our political correspondent, ben wright. despite what the prime minister says, this isn't really closed, is it? no, and labour will keep up the pressure, they feel there are more questions to answer, not least over at how the aide, who matt hancock is photographed basing on the front page of the son in his department backin page of the son in his department back in may, how she was appointed in the first place as an unpaid adviser and then appointed to the board that oversees the work of the department is an executive director. the two are old friends, go back more than 20 years, known each other very well. labour think they could

beissues very well. labour think they could be issues here about conflict of interest and transparency that the government still need to answer. and we have seen the pictures today in the sun, there could be more. i think the feeling is that matt hancock and number ten want to treat this as a personal issue which needs to be dealt with privately between him and his family and that is where it ends, but i imagine that as far as the newspapers are concerned, it does not end there, even though, and it is very important, number ten, as you say, considered the matter closed and the prime minister has given matt hancock his backing today. of course we have been through a period where grandparents haven't been able to hug their grandchildren. i've just come off a call right now with some of my local nurses, who have been following the rules to the letter, who are really struggling, currently, to deal with the impact of covid still. i honestly think that now is the time when the prime minister needs to get a grip on the situation. he simply hasn't done so until now. he needs to act.

that is the chair of the labour party explaining why she thinks that this is not over and why they want matt hancock to resign and i think they are clearly going to be keeping up they are clearly going to be keeping up the pressure on matt hancock, or trying to over the weekend. that up the pressure on matt hancock, or trying to over the weekend.- trying to over the weekend. that is an obvious — trying to over the weekend. that is an obvious claim _ trying to over the weekend. that is an obvious claim from _ trying to over the weekend. that is an obvious claim from labour, - trying to over the weekend. that is | an obvious claim from labour, they want matt hancock to go. i'm keen to get the moved amongst the conservative party, we had from the premier and minister's it spokesman, but what about the rest of the party? but what about the rest of the .a ? ., ., ., ., ., , but what about the rest of the party? hard to gauge what tory mps are feelin: party? hard to gauge what tory mps are feeling about _ party? hard to gauge what tory mps are feeling about this, _ party? hard to gauge what tory mps are feeling about this, they - party? hard to gauge what tory mps are feeling about this, they will - party? hard to gauge what tory mps are feeling about this, they will be l are feeling about this, they will be well aware though that matt hancock has been under some pressure recently. there was for one thing all the claims made by dominic cummings at the select 28 a few weeks ago about what he said what the primer minister's views about mr hancock's performance and in mr cummings multi macro view he should have been sacked in the early days of the pandemic, there are a

catalogue of things that can be pinned on mr hancock. mr hancock then had a robust performance as he answered back those criticisms and he had through that rather dicey couple of weeks the full backing of number ten and the committee said there was no evidence for mr cummings multi—macro claims, but mr hancock has been on the rack the last few weeks. he has wanted to tough it out, he likes fighting back, he is an ambitious politician, sees a future ahead of him and i think he would be very determined this morning not to let this and his career. as we have been saying so far, numberten career. as we have been saying so far, number ten seem to be behind him. —— not to let this end his career. adam wagner is a barrister and has been going through the covid rules which were in place at the time the health secretary was pictured with his aide. good afternoon. your reaction first to this? good _ good afternoon. your reaction first to this? good afternoon. _ good afternoon. your reaction first to this? good afternoon. i'm - good afternoon. your reaction first| to this? good afternoon. i'm pretty clear, although you never know for

sure, that there was a rule breach here, a breach of the regulations, on the basis that at the time, it was illegal to have any gathering of more than one person anywhere indoors unless an exception applied and the only one that could reasonably be said to apply or possibly said to apply would be that this was reasonably necessary for work purposes, but based on what we know and what we can see in the images, it does not seem that that was reasonably necessary for work purposes. the was reasonably necessary for work --uroses. ,, ,., ., purposes. the sun reporting that ha--ened purposes. the sun reporting that happened in _ purposes. the sun reporting that happened in early _ purposes. the sun reporting that happened in early may, - purposes. the sun reporting that happened in early may, only - purposes. the sun reporting that| happened in early may, only their word on that at this stage. there is a difference here between the legality and the guidelines, right? yes, so at the time, beginning of may, we were in step two, so it was still illegal to meet indoors with more than one person. the guidelines that matt hancock has said he has admitted he breached related to hugging and kissing, obviously,

which were not part of the law and changed around the same time that the law changed around the 17th of may, which i what you look at it he has breached guidance and probably law as well. ., , ., law as well. from your understanding, - law as well. from your understanding, what l law as well. from your i understanding, what are law as well. from your - understanding, what are the consequences?— understanding, what are the consequences? two things, first whether any _ consequences? two things, first whether any retrospective - consequences? two things, firsti whether any retrospective action would be taken against him by the police. i really doubt there would be. but there is potentially a series of criminal offences that have been committed if this was something that was happening repeatedly and particularly if it was happening in different places. that was what the sun article said, that this was not the first time it had been happening and in those circumstances, i do think... i have always sympathised with this ban on relationships, effective ban on relationships, effective ban on relationships between people that did not live together, and i had written about it a lot and a lot of people suffered because of that, but ultimately it was against the law to meet up indoors with someone for an

affair, a relationship, for sex, so i do think there is a case to answer and i think it is fair to ask the health secretary who signed these laws, his name is at the bottom of these laws, whether there were other instances, whether to place, how long they happen for and which rules were in place at the same time, because there is potentially a cause for criminal conduct.— because there is potentially a cause for criminal conduct. speculation on the lenath for criminal conduct. speculation on the length is _ for criminal conduct. speculation on the length is what _ for criminal conduct. speculation on the length is what you're _ for criminal conduct. speculation on the length is what you're hinting - for criminal conduct. speculation on the length is what you're hinting at| the length is what you're hinting at there. what we do know is the minister has accepted mr hancock's apology for stock as far as he is concerned the matter is closed. how do you think this will play out with the public and freighters? in do you think this will play out with the public and freighters?- the public and freighters? in the summer, when _ the public and freighters? in the summer, when it _ the public and freighters? in the summer, when it dominic- the public and freighters? in the - summer, when it dominic cummings the public and freighters? ii�*u ii�*ué summer, when it dominic cummings was found out to have breached the rules as people saw it, going to barnard castle, there was a study done by ucl who found that the public

confidence in the sun rules went down dramatically after that, because people thought if there is one rule for them and one for me why should ifollow the rules one rule for them and one for me why should i follow the rules at all? . —— covid rules. the really important thing is people keep confidence with the rules and ultimately, the buck stops with the health secretary for doing that, so it puts him in a difficult position i think legally and i think in terms of his influence on public behaviour, trust and credibility which is so important in getting us out of this pandemic. fist important in getting us out of this andemic. �* . ~ important in getting us out of this andemic. �* ., ~ , ., important in getting us out of this andemic. �* ., ~' , ., ., pandemic. at him, thank you for “oininu us pandemic. at him, thank you for joining us on _ pandemic. at him, thank you for joining us on bbc— pandemic. at him, thank you for joining us on bbc news, - pandemic. at him, thank you for joining us on bbc news, good i pandemic. at him, thank you for joining us on bbc news, good to pandemic. at him, thank you for - joining us on bbc news, good to talk to you this afternoon.— to you this afternoon. thank you. -- adam. holiday companies have expressed frustration at the government's easing of travel restrictions, saying the changes

don't go far enough. 16 destinations have been added to the green list, including the spanish balearic islands of ibiza, menorca and majorca, as well as malta and madeira. theo leggett has this report. they are quiet right now, but the beaches and bars of ibiza are getting ready for a wave of new arrivals from britain. the balearic island is one of a number of new destinations travellers from the uk will be able to visit without having to quarantine on their return, although they will have to take covid tests before and after their journey. duncan says he can't wait to go on holiday with his wife without having to go into quarantine afterwards. i have worked all the way through the pandemic, i have had a few holidays cancelled. but certainly myself and my wife are looking so much forward to having a bit of sun, sea and relaxation, and a few cheeky drinks on a nice terrace somewhere, enjoying the sun. relaxation, that is what i want. but there's a catch — a warning that nearly all of the new green list countries may not stay on that

list for very long. there are some concerns in these particular locations. and therefore, be aware that when you book, things may have to change, they may have to change at short notice. we have said they are on the green list, but we have said they are on the green watchlist, so people can see exactly what we are seeing in terms of concern. travel companies have given the changes a lukewarm welcome. there are concerns the policy is confusing, and the lack of certainty will deter people from booking holidays. why do we not have the canary islands? where is cyprus and where are the greek islands? all of whom have equally low covid case rates as malta and the balearics. the other question is why is the traffic light system being further compromised? it used to be green, amber and red, now we have green and green watch, whatever the hell that is all about. so it is continuing to sow more confusion in peoples' minds. the west minster government says it is preparing to relax the westminster government says

it is preparing to relax quarantine rules more widely, by allowing fully—vaccinated travellers to come from medium risk amber countries without needing to isolate. but it hasn't said when this will happen. and in some parts of the uk, school holidays begin next week. it is just really confusing, as to why we are flip—flopping around with all the different promises we have been given and still no clarity or detail, and no financial support for the industry that is just in absolute dire distress, knowing that we are literally on the brink of a summer that possibly may be worse than last year. and not all countries want to open their borders to travellers from the uk. germany is lobbying for tighter restrictions across the eu, to control the spread of the so—called delta variant of covid. but, for the moment at least, tourist hotspots like spain and greece seem eager to have british holiday—makers back as soon as possible. theo leggett, bbc news.

0ur transport correspondent caroline davies says foreign travel remains uncertain. this is the longest that the green list has been since the traffic light system was introduced and travel operators have seen some cases of more people booking, more interest in some of these destinations, so that is on the positive side, but as we heard in at 30's peace, plenty of lukewarm reaction as well. the betterment of europe is still not on the list, the same goes for the rest of the world, including america which is a particular sore point for the travel industry. —— the best part of europe. there on the green watchlist, you can still travel there, but they are at more risk of being able to tip into amber. how much more risk is really difficult for people to assess, because this is the first time we have had any countries on the green watchlist and we previously saw portugal go straight from green into amber, which are still heavily possible at

the moment as well. the other uncertainty is this is notjust about what the uk decides to do and the uk's green list, it is also about what other countries decide to do and whether they will let s in. the uk government has control over what happens when people arrive here, we do not have any control over whether we are letting to other countries as well. so plenty of uncertainty over the course of the summer, with maybe small steps forward, but no guarantee we cannot go backwards too. 0ur correspondent in madrid, guy hedgecoe, says businesses in spanish tourist destinations are hoping restrictions on travel from the uk will be eased soon. iam in i am in central madrid which is normally a big magnet for tourists, you can see there are people wandering around, but certainly many fewer out than you would normally expect. people certainly here have been very encouraged by the inclusion of the balearics under that green list which is seen by

good news by the balearic islands and the spanish economy as a whole. british tourists are the single biggest market, biggest foreign market, for the spanish tourism industry. spain is absolutely desperate to get british tourists visiting again and so this is seen as a big boost, potentially big beast, for the spanish economy overall. i think speaking to businesses here, they are optimistic, but this does not affect madrid itself, it is the balearic islands will stop the spanish government has been lobbying the uk government a lot over the last few weeks, asking it to include those areas of spain on the green list which have particularly low infection rates which need tourists, the balearics is one of those, the canary islands is another. so as the valencia region on the mediterranean coast. people are pleased about that, but they would like to see more areas included on the greenest. the headlines on bbc news...

the health secretary apologises for breaching distancing guidelines, after being caught on camera in an embrace with a close aide. a spokesman for borisjohnson has said the prime minister has accepted matt hancock's apology and that the matter was now closed. there's a surge in bookings to destinations including the balearic islands and malta, after they were moved onto the travel green list. four people have died after a block of flats collapsed in miami. a british woman is among over 150 people still missing. let's get more on that story. rescue efforts are continuing as 159 people remain unaccounted for, after the collapse of a 12—storey building in miami. the apartment block came down without warning early yesterday morning, destroying dozens of homes in a matter of seconds. four people are now known to have died, and the cause of the collapse remains unclear. among those missing are a british woman and her husband and daughter. 0ur correspondent will grant reports now from miami —

just to warn you, you may find some of these images distressing. the entire sea—facing wing of champlain towers collapsed in the early hours of the morning. 12 storeys of apartments concertinaed in seconds. the shocking moment caught on cctv. within minutes, scores of firefighters and search and rescue teams began scouring the tonnes of debris for survivors. miraculously, a young boy was pulled from the rubble — among ten to be treated at the scene and then transferred to hospitalfor his injuries. as the hours pass, emergency rescue teams are working through the night at the collapsed apartment block, relentlessly trying to locate anyone still trapped. they have even burrowed into the rubble from beneath, via the basement. as the search goes on, this sobering assessment. i will tell you after spending the bulk of the day here, that this is a tragedy without precedent in the united states of america.

the devastation that i witnessed today is the likes of which i have never seen. for the desperate family members though, the wait for information is nothing short of unbearable. i found out that my nephew was here, with wife and three small children — two, six and nine. only god is one who saved them. so you never lose hope, and i'm not losing my hope. i think they are gone. i don't want to be pessimistic, but we have been calling them like nonstop, no reply, nobody knows anything. we don't have information right now. the site of this building so destroyed is a terrible reminder to the people of this community of what they have lost. and it's a sign to the authorities they must begin to establish what happened here, no matter where it leads. this tragic incident has affected

everyone in this small community, which never saw the disaster coming. before long, they will need a full explanation of exactly why it did. will grant, bbc news, miami. in the last hour officials have been giving an update to journalists. u nfortu nately, unfortunately, this has been a tragic night. we do have 120 people now accounted for, which is very good news, but our unaccounted for number has gone up to 159. in addition, we can tragically report the death count is now four. i want to be very clear about the numbers, they are very fluid, we will continue to update you as we have them, but we have confirmed four deaths. the search and rescue team worked throughout the night and it

was a very active scene from above and below. we also brought heavy machinery on to the site to assist with the operation. cases of covid—19 have risen by 46% in a week across the uk. the latest figures from public health england show 117 deaths of people with the delta variant in england, within 28 days of a positive test. the drive to get more people vaccinated is being stepped up this weekend, as our health correspondent katharine da costa reports. no need to book, just walk in and grab a jab. that is the message from the nhs this weekend, as this pop up vaccination centre in halifax joins hundreds of venues across the country. in london, arsenal's emirates stadium is open to all adults, with those under a0 offered pfizer and moderna jabs. i'm only 22 years old, this is the earliest i could get it. when i saw it, i took the opportunity. in the beginning, there

were rumours, is it safe, what is in the vaccine? but i think the more people get it, the confidence grows. also, being arsenal supporters, you get to see the stadium! - what we have learned is that the easier we make it four people, the closer we have these vaccine centres to where they live, the more likely they are to come and get a jab. the latest figures from public health england show that cases of the delta variant were up 46% in the week to the 21st ofjune. a further 540 people were admitted to hospital with the virus. of those, 60% haven't had a vaccine, while 20% were fully vaccinated. infection rates are still rising in england and scotland, according to the latest survey from the office for national statistics. rates are highest in the north—west and north—east of england, and among 16—24—year—olds. surge testing has been ramped up in the worst—affected areas,

but a report by the spending watchdog has found that there are still weaknesses in the test and trace system. there is a huge amount that has been spent on these tests. they have been sent out and we don't know if they have been used. there is use of expensive consultants, and also underused contact tracers and laboratory. there are issues in terms of if we are getting the most for our money. the department of health says vaccines, together with test and trace, are central to the road map out of the pandemic. but health officials say it is still too soon to let your guard down. four men have appeared in court charged with conspiracy to murder, after an equal rights activist was shot in the head at a house party in south london. 27—year—old sasha johnson remains in a critical condition in hospital more than a month after the shooting. cameron deriggs and devonte brown, who are both 18 and from london, appeared at the old bailey and were remanded in custody along with 19—year—old troy reid, also from london, and prince dixon who's 25 and from kent.

a us judge will sentence former police office derek chauvin for the murder of george floyd in minneapolis today. floyd was killed in may last year when chauvin? knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes. the horrific incident, caught on camera, spurred a reckoning with america's history of racial injustice and sparked a global movement. prosecutors have asked the court for a sentence of 30 years in prison. nada tawfik has more. i find the defendant guilty. this is the moment derek chauvin became the first white police officer in the state of minnesota to be convicted of killing a black man. it was a positive step, many felt, towards justice. his upcoming sentencing has the potential to set a precedent for real accountability. the judge might think this is just such a serious case of such notoriety that he is just going to give a greater time, i think he will go above 25 years, 25—30. the judge has said he will consider how much chauvin abused his position of trust and authority and how

he treated george floyd, with particular cruelty. george floyd: i cannot. breathe, i cannot breathe. this became a place for the community together and try to heal. it is clear speaking with residents though that there is still a deep distrust of the police and it's a problem that won't be solved by one court holding one man accountable. nobody that got killed by the police is coming back so it's like, we all know how they feel. if that had been a white guy, he wouldn't have did that. he did it because he was a black and he thought he could get away with it. the former officer has never expressed remorse and could choose to speak for the first time at his sentencing. his lawyers are pushing for probation instead ofjail time. once more, the citizens of minneapolis will be waiting anxiously for a decision out of this courthouse. it will be a defining moment for america. nada tawfik, bbc news, minneapolis. doctors are warning that hospital a&e departments

are being flooded with young children, many of them with mild fevers. the royal college of paediatrics and child health says many of the children could be treated at home and that youngsters are catching viruses now there's more social mixing. 0ur health correspodent philippa roxby reports. record numbers of young children are being seen at accident and emergency departments across the uk. doctors say most have a mild fever, which can be treated at home. they say they're overwhelmed. i was on a couple of mondays ago, we saw nearly 300 patients in a day. we are seeing lots of young children, less than one—year—old, with fevers, a bit of vomiting, maybe a bit of diarrhoea, who generally look quite well but there is parental anxiety about their symptoms. and we simply don't have enough staff to keep up with that demand. a&e doctors across the uk have told the royal college of paediatricians and child health they've seen large increases in children attending, particularly those under five. in some places, demand

is double normal levels. 0ne doctor in belfast said she was extremely worried about what would happen if numbers continued to rise. in liverpool, there are reports of pressure on inpatient beds. and a doctor in edinburgh spoke of lots of children with viral illnesses that don't need hospital treatment. children going to a&e are not unwell with covid, but with other infections normally seen in winter. children have been in lockdown since the early part of last year. and particularly younger children, their immune systems just haven't been challenged in any kind of way by the normal viruses we always have around us all the time. and now that lockdown has been eased, they are now being exposed to what are just the usual viruses. and of course now they are becoming unwell. 1a—month—old theo was seriously unwell. two weeks ago, he ended up in a&e.

i was really frightened. very scared. especially because he had all the spots all over his body. you always think the worst. and with a high temperature, as high as it was, you know, we were thinking that it was something seriously wrong. a&e is the correct place to take a child in an emergency. but there are times when parents should trust their instincts. fever phobia is so common. and it is everywhere in the community, where people get worried about the fever, rather than the child. and what i try to tell people is, if you'rejust worried about the symptom, if you think your child is fine, but it is just a fever you are worried about, or just the diarrhoea, orjust the vomiting, actually, your child is likely to be ok, because you know your child best. and if they are well, they probably will be well. susie did the right thing. she gave theo liquid paracetamol to try to bring his temperature down. then called 111 for advice when he didn't improve. doctors say a&e services should be freed up to help seriously

ill children like him. philippa roxby, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. good afternoon. the weekend is just around the corner and the weather is going to bring us a mixed bag over the next few days. spells of sunshine throughout the weekend, a few showers here and there on saturday and more persistent rain in the far south on sunday. back to the here and now, a lot of cloud through the rest of the afternoon into the evening. showery rain parts of northern england, wales, thunderstorm through the midlands, east anglia, as we head into this evening. 0vernight, most of the main tent cities, it will stay quite cloudy with a mist and fog around for many. slightly clearer skies in the south and far north—west, but temperature are staying in double figures over night. into saturday, slow—moving front still with us, quite a week by the front, is not bringing too much rain, but a lot of

cloud across much of the uk. eight few at sharp showers through central england, perhaps wales. sunny skies towards the far north—west and temperatures between 1a to 22 degrees. goodbye.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the health secretary apologises for breaching distancing guidelines, after being caught on camera in an embrace with a close aide. a spokesman for borisjohnson has said the prime minister has accepted matt hancock's apology and that the matter was now closed. now is the time when the prime minister needs to get a grip on this situation. he simply has not done so until now. he needs to act. there's a surge in bookings to destinations including the balearic islands and malta, after they were moved onto the travel green list. four people have died after a block of flats

collapsed in miami. a british woman is among over 150 people still missing. we are going to work as hard as we can to continue our search and rescue effort. that is our priority, that is where we are focused and protecting our first responders who are the scene. the number of people infected with the delta variant of coronavirus rises by 46% in a week across the uk. sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's chetan. all eyes on wales. a big game for wales in 2a hours against denmark. we will come back to that. jos buttler will miss the rest of england's white—ball series against sri lanka. he led them to a comfortable win in the first t20 game on wednesday but he picked up a calf injury during that match —

and missed yesterday's second win. there's one more t20 to come tomorrow, followed by three one—day internationals. dawid malan has been added to the 0di squad. the defending women's champion simona halep has pulled out of wimbledon because of a calf injury. the 29—year—old had been at the all england club this week, raising hopes she'd be fit to defend her title from 2019, but she was unable to recover from the injury she sustained earlier this year which forced her to miss the french open. the former british number one anne keothavong gave her reaction to clare balding on bbc two. i real loss for the tournament and forfans. i personally was i real loss for the tournament and for fans. i personally was looking forward to seeing her back in action but the calf injury she sustained as an issue. she was at wimbledon practising and preparing and trying to get ready but she knows her body better than anyone and if she knows she cannot play back—to—back matches, seven matches to win, then there is no point.

the draw for wimbledon took place this morning and we now know andy murray will face the georgian 24th seed nikoloz basilashvili in the first round. murray will play his first singles match at wimbledon since 2017 and had to rely on a wild card to get into the championships, with his ranking having dropped outside the top 100 due to injury. there's a baptism of fire for british wildcard jack draper — the 19—year—old, who reached the quarter finals at queen's, willl make his wimbledon main—draw debut against the defending champion novak djokovic. and francesca jones also has a big opening round match on her debut — she'll be up against 17—year—old american coco gauff, who created a sensation two years ago at the all england club when she beat venus williams. katie swan has become the first british woman in 20 years to come through qualifying at wimbledon. she reached the main draw with a comfortable victory over arina rodionova at roehampton, dropping just four games. swan has played at wimbledon three

times before as a wild card. i knew for sure she was going to make it really tough for me. she is a really tricky player and i was aware coming into the match but she was going to mix it up if i started to play well and i couldn't have asked for more in the first set. i was so focused and then i was ready to battle it out in the second. i was dealing with a lot of nerves. it was dealing with a lot of nerves. it was probably pretty obvious. i cannot tell you how happy i am to come through. mo farah has one last chance to make the tokyo 0lympics, as he races an invitational race in manchester tonight. the four—time olympic champion hopes to defend his 10,000 metres title injapan, but he missed the qualification mark by 22 seconds at the trials two weeks ago. he swapped track running for the marathon in 2017, but switched back two years later. tonight, pace—makers will try to help him make the qualifying time. middle—distance runner guy learmonth has been forced to pull out of the olympic trials due to the after—effects of covid—19.

he caught the virus during the european indoor championships in march and says he should have taken time out earlier to recover. and england's charley hull is one shot off the pace after the opening round of the women's pga championship in atlanta, georgia — the third major of the season. she shot a four—under—par 68, to finishjust behind the american lizette salas, on a very congested leaderboard — there's a seven—way tie for third place. that's all the sport for now but there's more on the bbc sport website where you can also follow second practice at the styrian grand prix. max verstappen fastest at the moment i can see. and that is built up on the website for wales against denmark at euro 2020 tomorrow. i'll be back later. let's get more now on the sentencing of a former police officer

for the murder of george floyd in minneapolis last year. mr floyd died after derek chauvin? knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes. prosecutors have asked the judge to sentence chauvin to 30 years for actions that "shocked the nation's conscience". i'm nowjoined by defence lawyer and former state prosecutor david weinstein. those seeking justice believe a tough sentence could be given today. they have asked for more than double. they have pointed out aggravating factors he has already found exist and would provide him with the rationale and justification for imposing such a high sentence. talk to us about this because the maximum sentence for second—degree and intentional murder is a0 years in prison. derek chauvin? has no previous convictions so guidelines suggest between ten and 15, but the

judge considered a tougher sentence, why? he judge considered a tougher sentence, wh ? . , judge considered a tougher sentence, wh ? ., , ., . ., why? he has found there were certain an auravatin why? he has found there were certain aggravating factors — why? he has found there were certain aggravating factors that _ why? he has found there were certain aggravating factors that exist - why? he has found there were certain aggravating factors that exist that - aggravating factors that exist that would allow him to exceed the guidelines are a guidepost for the judge to decide what is an appropriate sentence taking into account factors like the defendant, his age, physical health characteristic, the message being sent to others in the community who would consider committing similar types of offences. the factors include chauvin?'s abuse of his position of trust, the fact he acted in concert with others, the fact it was carried out in front of children. those are all individually justify exceeding the guidelines, so with the four factors he is certainly within his discretion to impose such a high sentence. the defence described the killing is an

error made in good faith based on chauvin?'s trading so how much consideration do you think the judge will give to that? consideration do you think the 'udge will give to thawfi will give to that? those are factors the 'u will give to that? those are factors the jury has _ will give to that? those are factors the jury has already _ will give to that? those are factors the jury has already considered - will give to that? those are factors| the jury has already considered and they disregarded those factors when they disregarded those factors when they came back with their verdict as to all of the accounts charged in the indictment are turned against him, so thejudge is going to fight for perhaps some of that in. the defence has taken a real gamble here by not only trying to justify what happened based on the factors that you havejust happened based on the factors that you have just elucidated happened based on the factors that you havejust elucidated but happened based on the factors that you have just elucidated but also asking for a probationary sentence which is an incredibly large downward departure. the problem when you do that, although you may believe that is what is just for your client, as you tend to lose a bit of credibility by going down to five. thejury bit of credibility by going down to five. the jury rejected the argument he was operating in good faith and doing what was called upon hamburg as a police officer and so i think thejudge is going to do the as a police officer and so i think the judge is going to do the same thing as well. he may take into account his years of service as a

police officer in the military, his age, what the defence describes as his health conditions, reducing his expected time of life, but i do not think he is going to get into any of those arguments hard. we are going to see a sentence i think that is at the top end of the guidelines. derek chauvin? has— the top end of the guidelines. derek chauvin? has the _ the top end of the guidelines. derek chauvin? has the right _ the top end of the guidelines. derek chauvin? has the right to _ the top end of the guidelines. derek chauvin? has the right to address the court before the sentencing later. do you think we will hear from him? i later. do you think we will hear from him?— later. do you think we will hear from him? ., ., , ~ from him? i am not sure we will. all defendants — from him? i am not sure we will. all defendants have _ from him? i am not sure we will. all defendants have a _ from him? i am not sure we will. all defendants have a right _ from him? i am not sure we will. all defendants have a right to _ from him? i am not sure we will. all defendants have a right to say - defendants have a right to say something to thejudge. defendants have a right to say something to the judge. we defendants have a right to say something to thejudge. we may hear from him apologising to his family, to the people in the community, but the problem is he has pled not guilty, he has taken the case to trial, his lawyers want to appeal the conviction. if they succeed in appealing his conviction and he makes a statement admitting his guilt during the sentencing in the hopes of getting a lesser sentence when they try the case again that statement will be admissible against

him in the second trial if there is one. it is a tight line he is going to have to walk to decide how much he wants to say and how much contrition he wants to show to this judge. contrition he wants to show to this 'udie, . .,, contrition he wants to show to this 'udue. . ., , contrition he wants to show to this 'udie, . ., , ., contrition he wants to show to this 'udue. . ., , ., , ~ judge. prosecutors saying that derek chauvin?'s actions _ judge. prosecutors saying that derek chauvin?'s actions shocked - judge. prosecutors saying that derek chauvin?'s actions shocked the - chauvin?'s actions shocked the nation's conscience. how important is it for thejudge nation's conscience. how important is it for the judge to get that right? it is it for the 'udge to get that ri . ht? , , is it for the 'udge to get that riuht? , , ., ., right? it is very important for him to continue _ right? it is very important for him to continue to _ right? it is very important for him to continue to do _ right? it is very important for him to continue to do what _ right? it is very important for him to continue to do what he - right? it is very important for him to continue to do what he has - right? it is very important for him l to continue to do what he has done all along. to continue to do what he has done allalong. so to continue to do what he has done all along. so far he has gotjust about everything right from controlling the outside influences in this case by keeping both the prosecution and the defence in mind, and this is really the final piece thatis and this is really the final piece that is going to be put in place because the appeal is not only going to look at the trial itself and the finding of guilt but they are going to look at whether or not the sentence was justified based to look at whether or not the sentence wasjustified based on to look at whether or not the sentence was justified based on the aggravating and mitigating factors and whether he abused his discretion in imposing a sentence that was too severe, but again he is going to send a message not only to the

community but to others similarly situated, other police officers who may consider the actions they take when arresting another individual or encountering another individual, so this is a message that is going to be heard far across the country and not just within the be heard far across the country and notjust within the confines of this court room. not just within the confines of this court room-— not just within the confines of this court room. ., ,, i. , . ., court room. thank you very much for 'oinin: court room. thank you very much for joining us- — officials in russia are worried about a? new wave of coronavirus infections — causing a record number of deaths, in recent days. some regions are introducing restrictions — including moscow, where many workers are being obliged to get vaccinated. ?meanwhile, ?st petersburg is hosting football fans for euro 2020 and is reluctant to bring in any tough measures, as the bbc s sarah rainsford reports. they are partying like there is no pandemic in st petersburg. the city is hosting the euros, welcoming football fans

to town in their thousands. the vibe, it's the same. to be honest, it doesn't feel like it is covid. except in the arenas. not full capacity. all this as officials call the infection rate explosive and talk openly now about the record number of deaths. look at this place. it is packed out. and it's the same all the way up the street. and yet, this is a city in the midst of a covid crisis. there's been no lockdown here in over a year. covid was supposedly under control. but as st petersburg is hit by a heatwave, there's a new wave of the virus as well. so we found this outside just one city hospital. ambulances waiting at least three hours under a sweltering sun. the more infectious delta variant as it is known is spreading fast and, in russia, just 11% of people have been fully vaccinated.

this ladyjust said to me if she hadn't been vaccinated she thinks she would have died, she says she's got double pneumonia now and that's after having been vaccinated back injanuary. she said it's awful. translation: there's no beds i anywhere now, everywhere is full. more people getting sick. we need a strict lockdown. maybe they will bring it in when the football is over. for now, i don't see them doing anything! what they are doing is pushing people to get vaccinated. there have been pop—up clinics like this for months here but no queues until now. russia has always hailed its sputnik vaccine as world beating but few here actually wanted it. now some are signing up voluntarily but many more are being forced to get a jab or lose theirjob.

translation: trust in _ the authorities has been undermined for many years and if you look at how few people are getting vaccinated it's dangerous. especially now there is a third wave of covid. the reminders are all around. though many are partying on regardless. russia has been playing down this pandemic for so long it's struggling to convince people now of the danger. sarah rainsford, bbc news. more than one million people in sydney's central and eastern suburbs, including bondi beach, will be locked down after a jump in covid cases. the australian city is battling to contain an outbreak of the highly—infectious delta variant. 0fficials reported 17 new cases on friday, taking the cluster to 65 cases. the premier for the state of new south wales says they are in control

of the situation. the advice from health is we don't want to see this situation linger for weeks. we would like to see this situation end sooner rather than later. and we are on top of all the cases at the moment bar that one. but this is really to make sure that we can prevent further spread, prevent further dislocation and it does help us having school holidays, it might not help parents who otherwise had plans. 0ur correspondent in sydney shaimaa khalil gave more details on the new lockdown. well, it means that four main areas in sydney are going to be under that stay—at—home order which affects around a million people in sydney. it does not help parents or families who had plans because of school holidays that start around australia but, as you have heard there, the authorities want to contain that virus. there is now 65 cases in that bondi

cluster so the lockdown will affect the bondi area, other eastern suburbs and the inner city as well. this is really what worries the health authorities here, the fact this is the delta variant that has spread from the eastern suburbs into the inner city and into the western fringes. i always say this when i talk about covid—19 numbers in australia, 65 is a fairly low number compared to other countries around the world but remember — this is a country that has managed to eliminate the virus at times, really kept a good control on the number of cases. life has been pretty much back to normal here for many, many months so that's why when these outbreaks happen they want to jump on them as quickly as possible and they've stopped short of a full lockdown but authorities here say this localised stay—at—home order will enable them to control the virus. it's interesting though because we did see disagreement from some health experts who said this does not go far enough

and sydney should have done what melbourne did a few weeks ago which is to introduce a full lockdown. they were asking for a snap cycle breaker for about three days where everybody follows the same rules, everybody stays at home because there has been some confusion as to who stays home and who does not, for people who live in some areas under the lockdown and people who work in other areas as well. but i think what it really goes to, the heart of it, not enough australians have been vaccinated and, until they do, this is always going to be a worry. shaimaa khalil there. we've all been forced to use technology more than ever, as a result of the pandemic. even something as simple as ordering a drink at the bar can now mean downloading an app to your phone. but that's causing problems for people who'd previously managed to avoid the online revolution. fiona lamdin has been to meet those overcoming the digital divide. 82—year—old ray has

always loved to paint. but when the country went into lockdown, all his art classes were cancelled and he had nothing to do. you tend to feel a bit lonely. i didn't go out. well, we couldn't at the time cos of covid, there was nowhere to go anyway. and i was sat here and all i had to do really was watch the television. so he took the plunge and went online. i feel now that the world's my oyster, really. as i zoom more and more, i go further afield. it's giving me more get up and go, you know, because i've got something else to do. hiya, ray, how are you today? and on the other side of the screen is lloyd, a digital champion who's taught him everything. ray, what are you painting today? well, this is a quick acrylic painting. anybody can do this one. the latest figures from 0fcom show

that only 55% of over—65—year—olds use a smartphone, while a6% of over—75—year—olds haven't used the internet recently, with 39% of those never having used it before. phone rings. like 86—year—old brenda. during lockdown, she's been part of this weekly telephone group. we've got the topic of the bristol dinosaur today, so that should be interesting. 0h, right, 0k. but last week when brenda wanted to order a birthday meal out, with no smartphone or internet access, she was stuck. got to the pub door, restaurant. and i said to her, "right, i know exactly what i want." my favourite food. so, "hang on, mum." the woman come out and she said, "oh, you've got to do it through..." is it the app? whatever it is. i said, "that rules me out." that was ok, but it made me

feel a bit inadequate. back in wales with restrictions easing, this digital duo are now able to meet in person. but ray is now so comfortable online, he's in no rush to leave his new virtual world. if i can do it, anyone can do it. i mean, i'm 82, but there are people on zoom who are 90, 92, 96. so i think it's something for everybody. fiona lamdin, bbc news. now, we all like to be beside the seaside. and for many families a break away includes a few fairground rides on the pier. but hundreds of holiday makers in brighton found they had been charged more than £2,000 to go on the rides — because of a card payment error. 0ur correspondent chrissy reidy explained what happened. it is extraordinary. you think you are popping out for a spin on the wall serves and before you know what

your bank account has been debited £2000. i guess in a more serious note this has affected a lot of people, around 500 customers, and in some cases their bank accounts completely wiped out. the brighton pier group who own this attraction have apologised profusely and say it happened because the processing company mistakenly entered the transaction date as the price of the tickets or the wristbands. we have spoken to some people affected this morning. 0ne lady, a student, said she was left unable to pay her utility bills and very critical as well of how it had been handled. another lady as well visited here in april she said with her two sons and only this week was her bank account deducted twice, on two occasions, £2,100. worldpay payment processing have told us that it is an isolated error and they say they are working as a matter of urgency with card holders to refund any

money and bank charges, but it could take up to five days. when margaret sherlock opened her hair salon in lancashire in 1956, popular styles included the bouffant, the bubble cut and the classic wave. fashions have changed since then but the salon is still going strong — and so is margaret, who is now the uk's oldest hairdresser at the age of 91. ian haslam went to meet her. 91—years—old and still working hard in a salon she opened in 1956. margaret sherlock loves herjob. and this is the end—of—row terrace where it's all been happening for 65 years. come inside with me. how does it feel that you are britain's oldest hairdresser? i never think about it, i never bother whether i'm the oldest or the youngest — ijust get on with it. i love every minute of it. it's company, as well. got a lot of nice customers

come in and if i wasn't here they'd be sad, i know. the salon used to double up as the family home — it was here in 1962 margaret's son adrian was born, after she had cut the midwife's hair. and this big irish woman come in with a big mop of hair on her. she said, "my hair's a mess!" i said, "yeah, it is — come on, i'll do it for you." so i got her in here and got it cut and set, sorted her out. and half an hour later you had a baby. yeah. but that's what she come for! laughter. 59 years on, adrian couldn't be more proud of his mum. to come over from ireland, as she did, and start up this little business and still be going, still with many of the original clients — i think that just sums it all up. "my friends weren't happy i was pregnant." who wrote that? not me. catherine, just tell me how long you've been coming here for, then. 0h, over60 years. if you have a problem, - margaret is the one that'll sort your problem out for you. very wise lady. she enjoys her work, and she makes everybody feel as though they are friends.

is that true, margaret? yeah, that's right. margaret used to work alongside her late husband frank, but it's not all been plain sailing. have you ever chopped anyone's ear off with your scissors or anything like that? no, i didn't, but my husband did once. no! laughter. he nipped mrs gibson's ear. she was going to spain that weekend! she said, "it's only my ear, it'll stop." if it was now, they'd have sued us, probably! yes, there are so many tales that margaret's daughter's written a book about her. i could write a dozen books, really. and you used to be a teacher and now you are your mum's glamorous assistant. well, lam. i don't know so much about the glamorous. a lot of the people that come in have known me since i was a baby, and ijust love being here every day. i can understand now why she likes it so much. and she's still a hairdressing trendsetter. now this year, the latest is the bob. but i'll do any hairstyle — as long as i'm getting paid for it, i don't mind what i do. long may she continue.

ian haslam, bbc news, chorley. scientists in israel say they've discovered a previously unknown form of early human — after studying fragments of a fossilised skull and jawbone. they were found at an archaeological site near tel aviv. it's thought they could explain genetic links between modern humans and neanderthals. the bbc�*s tim allman has the story. isn't it amazing how something so small can be so significant? a skull fragment is analysed by scientists in tel aviv, but this is no ordinary skull fragment. along with part of the jawbone, it was unearthed at nesher ramla, an archaeological site once used by a cement plant, and they may well answer the questions about the development of human life on earth. nesher ramla findings are the missing piece in the puzzle that can help us

explain open questions in human evolutionary history and can give us an indication of the origin, the source population of neanderthals that lived later in europe. it is believed neanderthals, the cousins of modern humans, died out around a0,000 years ago. but these fragments are from a species much older than that and suggest the neanderthal story may be different to what we previously imagined. now we can say that it's probably that they originate in the levant, in our region, rather than in europe, as many researchers thought until now. nesher ramla may have lived alongside and even mated with homo sapiens for more than 100,000 years. these aren't just fragments of bone, they are pieces of an evolutionary jigsaw. tim allman, bbc news. now it's time for

a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. good afternoon. it is a day of mixed fortunes out there weather—wise. some of us are keeping a lot of cloud which is bringing some outbreaks of rain. in other areas the cloud will break up and things will brighten up. in cornwall at the moment there is some blue sky. through the course of the weekend we are expecting that mix of weather types to continue. a few showers here and there on saturday, perhaps more persistent rain in the south by the time we get to sunday. back to the here and now, we have low pressure in charge at the moment. these fronts are slow moving. there will be outbreaks of rain in northern england and into wales. further south and east about 21 degrees. for the north and west that will be high teens. most of the rain does tend to ease overnight, but it stays quite cloudy with mist and fog around the coasts and hills,

certainly quite mild with temperatures between ten and 12 degrees to start off your weekend. into saturday, that area of low pressure that is with us today is still lingering, but it will tend to fill a little bit. these weather fronts are not producing too much in the way of rainfall. quite cloudy conditions for many of us, patchy rain for southern scotland and northern england. some showers popping up in the midlands. there will be some sunshine in the southern half of the uk. cloudier for northern ireland and southern scotland. some brightness for the far north—west. moving through saturday night and into sunday, this area of low pressure is still with us. it might get a bit of a pep up as we see some rain moving in from the south. a bit of uncertainty about where we'll see these outbreaks of rain on sunday. certainly along the english channel coast we will see some showers.

generally, the further north you are it should stay predominantly dry with sunny spells on sunday and temperatures on the up, about 21 degrees for glasgow, 22 in london, but there will be rain lingering in the south. we will continue to see heavy showers for southern england for the first part of the working week, but turning drier and warmer later on.

this is bbc news. i'm ben mundy. the headlines: matt hancock says sorry for breaching distancing guidelines, after he was caught on camera in an embrace with a close aide. borisjohnson's spokesman has said the prime minister has accepted matt hancock's apology and that the matter was now closed. now is the time when the prime minister needs to get a grip on this situation. he simply has not done so until now. he needs to act. there's a surge in bookings to destinations including the balearic islands and malta, after they were moved onto the travel green list. four people have died after a block of flats collapsed in miami. a british woman is among over 150 people still missing. we are going to work as hard as we can to continue our search and rescue effort. that is our priority, that is where we are focused

and protecting ourfirst responders who are on the scene. the number of people infected with the delta variant of coronavirus rises by a6% in a week across the uk. and wales captain gareth bale says his team are feeling good ahead of their round of 16 match against denmark tomorrow. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the health secretary matt hancock has apologised and admitted he breached social distancing guidlines, after the sun newspaper published a photograph of him in an embrace with one his closest aides. the photo is said to have been taken in may, in mr hancock's whitehall office.

the prime minister's official spokesman has said the prime minister has accepted the health secretary's apology and considers the matter closed. in a statement the health secretary said... 0ur political correspondent ben wright is following developments in westminster. labour will keep up the pressure. they feel there are more questions to answer, not least over how the aide, who matt hancock is photographed embracing on the front page of the sun in his department back in may, how she was appointed in the first place as an unpaid adviser and then appointed to the board that oversees the work of the department as a non—executive director. the two are old friends, they go back more than 20 years,

know each other very well. labour think there could be issues here about conflict of interest and transparency that the government still need to answer. and we have seen the pictures today in the sun, there could be more. i think the feeling is that matt hancock and number ten want to treat this as a personal issue which needs to be dealt with privately between him and his family and that is where it ends, but i imagine that as far as the newspapers are concerned, it does not end there, even though, and it is very important, number ten, as you say, considered the matter closed and the prime minister has given matt hancock his backing today. of course we have been through a period where grandparents haven't been able to hug their grandchildren. i've just come off a call right now with some of my local nurses, who have been following the rules to the letter, who are really struggling, currently, to deal with the impact of covid still. i honestly think that now is the time when the prime minister needs to get a grip on the situation. he simply hasn't done so until now. he needs to act.

that was the chair of the labour party explaining why she thinks that this is not over and why they want matt hancock to resign and i think they are clearly going to be keeping up the pressure on matt hancock, or trying to over the weekend. ben, that is an obvious claim from labour, they want matt hancock to go. i'm just keen to get the moved amongst the conservative party, we heard from the prime and minister's spokesman, but what about the rest of the party? hard to gauge what tory mps are feeling about this, they will be well aware though that matt hancock has been under some pressure recently. there was for one thing all the claims made by dominic cummings at the select committee few weeks ago about what he said were the prime minister's views about mr hancock's performance and in mr cummings' view he should have been sacked

in the early days of the pandemic, that there are a catalogue of mistakes that can be pinned on mr hancock. mr hancock then had a robust performance as he answered back those criticisms and he had through that rather dicey couple of weeks the full backing of number ten and the committee he spoke to said there was no evidence for mr cummings' claims, but mr hancock has been on the rack the last few weeks. he has wanted to tough it out, he likes fighting back, he is an ambitious politician, sees a future ahead of him and i think he would have been very determined this morning not to let this end his career. as we have been saying so far, number ten seem to be behind him. i can now speak tojoe twyman who's director of the polling organisation, deltapoll. good afternoon, thanks forjoining us on bbc news. good afternoon, thanks for 'oining us on bbc news.�* us on bbc news. good afternoon. first, what _ us on bbc news. good afternoon. first, what will _ us on bbc news. good afternoon. first, what will be _ us on bbc news. good afternoon. first, what will be reactionary - first, what will be reactionary amongst the public and voters to this news? it amongst the public and voters to this news? , ., ., amongst the public and voters to this news?—

this news? it is too early to tell so far, this news? it is too early to tell so far. but _ this news? it is too early to tell so far. but my _ this news? it is too early to tell so far, but my sense _ this news? it is too early to tell so far, but my sense is - this news? it is too early to tell so far, but my sense is while i this news? it is too early to tell. so far, but my sense is while there may be an initial negative reaction it was matt hancock personally, and particularly the public are likely to take a very dim view of what he has done, in terms of lasting impact, i think it is unlikely that this individual event will have a lasting impact on at the government's performance and indeed the share of the vote that pollsters like me are so interested in. 0ften like me are so interested in. often when we look at the long—term trends in voting, we are looking at the distinctions between the talking point and a turning point. throughout the covid pandemic, we have had a number of talking points, be it barnard castle and dominic cummings, orthe be it barnard castle and dominic cummings, or the issues around ppe and perhaps even lobbying scandals with david cameron, but none of those have as yet had a lasting impact. they have been talking points, but not turning points. the question for the government however is a longer term, once the public�*s attention moves away from being

monopolised by covid, once people start to think about normal things, if you like, will their attention and then turn to the cumulative effect of these incidents and will that have a lasting impact? it is a long way off, the point is we just do not know. long way off, the point is we 'ust do not know.�* do not know. what is the significance _ do not know. what is the significance of _ do not know. what is the significance of the i do not know. what is the significance of the timing do not know. what is the i significance of the timing of the response, the apology from matt hancock and the backing of the prime minister, so quickly after this story started to emerge? theo;r story started to emerge? they clearly want — story started to emerge? they clearly want to _ story started to emerge? they clearly want to present - story started to emerge? they clearly want to present this, i story started to emerge? tue: clearly want to present this, the government, is a personal matter. there is a lot of evidence to suggest alleged sexual impropriety and scandals such as this are not a barrier to someone holding high office, or indeed at the highest office, or indeed at the highest office in the country. so it may well be that the government believes they can effectively brush this under the carpet and move on in the hope this does not sufficiently resonate for long enough with the public to make a difference. it certainly has the potential to cause trouble, but as i say, my sense is

it probably will not have a long lasting effect at this time. horde lasting effect at this time. how does it matt — lasting effect at this time. how does it matt hancock _ lasting effect at this time. how does it matt hancock fair amongst other senior politicians when it comes to those voters? th at other senior politicians when it comes to those voters? in at the ooollin comes to those voters? in at the polling that _ comes to those voters? in at the polling that deltapoll _ comes to those voters? in at the polling that deltapoll and - comes to those voters? in at the polling that deltapoll and others| polling that deltapoll and others have conducted, what we consistently see is among those majorfigures have conducted, what we consistently see is among those major figures of the covid crisis, all of them are in positive territory when it comes to her approval ratings when dealing with the pandemic. however, consistently it is a matt hancock who is the least popular of those figures. he is still doing very well by political standards, but he does come behind borisjohnson himself consistently and also he comes behind the vaccine at minister and rishi sunak, the chancellor. he does not have the same kind of protection in a public opinion terms that they have, but still i think he has enough to get through this crisis. what would it take, we have labour

and the lib dems urging the prime minister to sack matt hancock over this, how does that translate to those voters? it is just westminster noise to many of them? or is it loud enough to resonate with voters? resonate, cut through, howeveryou want to characterise it, that can take many different forms. people outside the westminster bubble may be aware of a story, they may think negatively about it, but will it necessarily connect with them at an emotional level? possibly not. will it bring about a change in their behaviour, change their vote? it bring about a change in their behaviour, change theirvote? i think it is unlikely. will that change stick longer term? i think at the moment it is very unlikely that will be the case and so for many people, this will be seen as a negative, they were not like what has happened, they will not approve of it matt hancock's behaviour, they may even believe he should resign and be replaced, but will that have and be replaced, but will that have a long lasting impact on whether people are voting conservative or not? i think it is unlikely., the

next election, imagine that there are very few people who will say i'm not going to vote for matt hancock because during the current vice crisis he did things that i did not approve of. —— coronavirus crisis. we will have to leave it there, thank you very much forjoining us. holiday companies have expressed frustration at the government's easing of travel restrictions, saying the changes don't go far enough. 16 destinations have been added to the green list, including the spanish balearic islands of ibiza, menorca and majorca — as well as malta and madeira. theo leggett has this report. they are quiet right now, but the beaches and bars of ibiza are getting ready for a wave of new arrivals from britain. the balearic island is one of a number of new destinations travellers from the uk will be able to visit without having to quarantine on their return, although they will have to take covid tests before and after their journey. duncan says he can't wait to go

on holiday with his wife without having to go into quarantine afterwards. i have worked all the way through the pandemic, i have had a few holidays cancelled. but certainly myself and my wife are looking so much forward to having a bit of sun, sea and relaxation, and a few cheeky drinks on a nice terrace somewhere, enjoying the sun. relaxation, that is what i want. but there's a catch — a warning that nearly all of the new green list countries may not stay on that list for very long. there are some concerns in these particular locations. and therefore, be aware that when you book, things may have to change, they may have to change at short notice. we have said they are on the green list, but we have said they are on the green watchlist, so people can see exactly what we are seeing in terms of concern. travel companies have given the changes a lukewarm welcome. there are concerns the policy is confusing, and the lack of certainty will deter people from booking holidays. why do we not have the canary islands?

where is cyprus and where are the greek islands? all of whom have equally low covid case rates as malta and the balearics. the other question is why is the traffic light system being further compromised? it used to be green, amber and red, now we have green and green watch, whatever the hell that is all about. so it is continuing to sow more confusion in peoples' minds. the westminster government says it is preparing to relax quarantine rules more widely, by allowing fully—vaccinated travellers to come from medium risk amber countries without needing to isolate. but it hasn't said when this will happen. and in some parts of the uk, school holidays begin next week. it is just really confusing, as to why we are flip—flopping around with all the different promises we have been given and still no clarity or detail, and no financial support for the industry that is just in absolute dire distress, knowing that we are literally on the brink of a summer that possibly may be worse than last year.

and not all countries want to open their borders to travellers from the uk. germany is lobbying for tighter restrictions across the eu, to control the spread of the so—called delta variant of covid. but, for the moment at least, tourist hotspots like spain and greece seem eager to have british holiday—makers back as soon as possible. theo leggett, bbc news. 0ur transport correspondent caroline davies says foreign travel remains uncertain. this is the longest that the green list has been since the traffic light system was introduced and travel operators have seen some cases of more people booking, more interest in some of these destinations, so that is on the positive side, but as we heard in theo's piece, plenty of lukewarm reaction as well. the vast amount of europe is still not on the list, the same goes for the rest of the world, including america, which is a particularly sore point for the travel industry at the moment. the majority of the countries

have also been added to the green watchlist, not necessarilyjust green. it means they are green, you can still travel there, but of course they are at more risk of being able to tip into amber. how much more risk is really difficult for people to assess at the moment, because this is the first time we have had any countries on the green watchlist and of course we previously saw portugal go straight from green into amber, which is still perfectly possible at the moment as well. the other uncertainty is this is not just about what the uk decides to do and the uk's green list, it is also about what other countries decide to do and whether they will let us in. the uk government has control over what happens when people arrive here, they do not have any control over whether we are let in to other countries as well. so plenty of uncertainty around the course of the summer, with maybe some small steps forward, but no guarantee we cannot go backwards too. 0ur correspondent in madrid, guy hedgecoe, says businesses in spanish tourist destinations are hoping restrictions on travel from the uk will be eased soon.

i am in the plaza de santa ana in central madrid which is normally a big magnet for tourists. you can see there are people wandering around, but certainly many fewer than you would normally expect. people certainly here have been very encouraged by the inclusion of the balearics on that green list, that is seen by good news by the balearic islands and the spanish economy as a whole. british tourists are the single biggest market, biggest foreign market, for the spanish tourism industry. spain is absolutely desperate to get british tourists visiting again and so this is seen as a big boost, potentially a big boost, for the spanish economy overall. i think speaking to businesses here, they are optimistic about this, but obviously this does not affect madrid itself, it affects the balearic islands. the spanish government has been lobbying the uk government a lot over the last few weeks, asking it to include those areas of spain on the green list

which have particularly low infection rates which need tourists — the balearics is one of those, but the canary islands is another, so is the valencia region on the mediterranean coast. so people are pleased about that, but they would like to see more areas included on the green list. the headlines on bbc news... the health secretary apologises for breaching distancing guidelines, after being caught on camera in an embrace with a close aide. a spokesman for borisjohnson has said the prime minister has accepted matt hancock's apology and that the matter was now closed. labour has called for action to be taken. there's a surge in bookings to destinations including the baleariac islands and malta, after they were moved onto the travel green list. four people have died after a block of flats collapsed in miami. a british woman is among over 150 people still missing.

let's stay on that story. rescue efforts are continuing as 159 people remain unaccounted for, after the collapse of a 12—storey building in miami. the apartment block came down without warning early yesterday morning, destroying dozens of homes in a matter of seconds. four people are now known to have died and the cause of the collapse remains unclear. among those missing are a british woman and her husband and daughter. 0ur correspondent will grant reports now from miami — just to warn you, you may find some of these images distressing. the entire sea—facing wing of champlain towers collapsed in the early hours of the morning. 12 storeys of apartments concertinaed in seconds. the shocking moment caught on cctv. within minutes, scores of firefighters and search and rescue teams began scouring the tonnes of debris for survivors. miraculously, a young boy was pulled from the rubble — among ten to be treated at the scene and then transferred to hospitalfor his injuries.

as the hours pass, emergency rescue teams are working through the night at the collapsed apartment block, relentlessly trying to locate anyone still trapped. they have even burrowed into the rubble from beneath, via the basement. as the search goes on, this sobering assessment. i will tell you after spending the bulk of the day here, that this is a tragedy without precedent in the united states of america. the devastation that i witnessed today is the likes of which i have never seen. for the desperate family members though, the wait for information is nothing short of unbearable. i found out that my nephew was here, with wife and three small children — two, six and nine. only god is one who saved them. so you never lose hope, and i'm not losing my hope.

i think they are gone. i don't want to be pessimistic, but we have been calling them like nonstop, no reply, nobody knows anything. we don't have information right now. the site of this building so destroyed is a terrible reminder to the people of this community of what they have lost. and it's a sign to the authorities they must begin to establish what happened here, no matter where it leads. this tragic incident has affected everyone in this small community, which never saw the disaster coming. before long, they will need a full explanation of exactly why it did. will grant, bbc news, miami. this is the scene in miami right now where rescue workers are still hoping to find people alive. search teams are working around the clock. president joe biden proving an emergency declaration for florida, meaning the

federal emergency management agency helps state agencies without relief effort, but constant rain and storms have further complicated the work of the search and rescue teams. the local mayor gave an update to journalists eight few hours ago. unfortunately, this has been a tragic night. we do have 120 people now accounted for, which is very, very good news, but our unaccounted for number has gone up to 159. in addition, we can tragically report the death count is now four. i want to be very clear about the numbers, they are very fluid, we will continue to update you as we have them, but we have confirmed four deaths. the search and rescue team worked throughout the night and it was a very active scene from above and below. we also brought heavy machinery onto the site to assist with the operation.

cases of covid—19 have risen by a6% in a week across the uk. the latest figures from public health england show 117 deaths of people with the delta variant in england within 28 days of a positive test. the drive to get more people vaccinated is being stepped up this weekend, as our health correspondent katharine da costa reports. no need to book, just walk in and grab a jab. that is the message from the nhs this weekend, as this pop up vaccination centre in halifaxjoins hundreds of venues across the country. in london, arsenal's emirates stadium is open to all adults, with those under a0 offered pfizer and moderna jabs. i'm only 22 years old, so this is the earliest i could get it. when i saw it, i took the opportunity. in the beginning, there were rumours, is it safe, what is in the vaccine? but i think the more people get it, the confidence grows.

also, being arsenal supporters, you get to see the stadium! i what we have learned is that the easier we make it for people, the closer we have these vaccine centres to where they live, the more likely they are to come and get a jab. the latest figures from public health england show that cases of the delta variant were up a6% in the week to the 21st ofjune. a further 5a0 people were admitted to hospital with the virus. --51a. of those, 60% hadn't had a vaccine, while 20% were fully vaccinated. infection rates are still rising in england and scotland, according to the latest survey from the office for national statistics. rates are highest in the north—west and north—east of england, and among 16—2a—year—olds. surge testing has been ramped up in the worst—affected areas, but a report by the spending watchdog has found that there are still weaknesses in the test and trace system. there is a huge amount that has been spent on these tests. they have been sent out and we don't

know if they have been used. there is use of expensive consultants, and also underused contact tracers and laboratories. there are real issues in terms of if we are getting the most for our money. the department of health says vaccines, together with test and trace, are central to the road map out of the pandemic. but health officials say it is still too soon to let your guard down. four men have appeared in court charged with conspiracy to murder, after an equal rights activist was shot in the head at a house party in south london. 27—year—old sasha johnson remains in a critical condition in hospital more than a month after the shooting. cameron deriggs and devonte brown, who are both 18 and from london, appeared at the old bailey and were remanded in custody along with 19—year—old troy reid, also from london, and prince dixon who's 25 and from kent. a us judge will sentence former police office derek chauvin police officer derek chauvin

for the murder of george floyd in minneapolis today. floyd was killed in may last year when chauvin? knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes. the horrific incident, caught on camera, spurred a reckoning with america's history of racial injustice and sparked a global movement. prosecutors have asked the court for a sentence of 30 years in prison. nada tawfik has more. i find the defendant guilty. this is the moment derek chauvin became the first white police officer in the state of minnesota to be convicted of killing a black man. it was a positive step, many felt, towards justice. his upcoming sentencing has the potential to set a precedent for real accountability. the judge might think this is just such a serious case of such notoriety that he is just going to give a greater time, i think he will go above 25 years, 25—30. the judge has said he will consider how much chauvin abused his position of trust and authority and how he treated george floyd with particular cruelty. george floyd: i cannot.

breathe, i cannot breathe. this became a place for the community to gather and try to heal. it is clear speaking with residents though that there is still a deep distrust of the police and it's a problem that won't be solved by one court holding one man accountable. nobody that got killed by the police is coming back so it's like, we all know how they feel. if that had been a white guy, he wouldn't have did that. he did it because he was black and he thought he could get away with it. the former officer has never expressed remorse and could choose to speak for the first time at his sentencing. his lawyers are pushing for probation instead ofjail time. once more, the citizens of minneapolis will be waiting anxiously for a decision out of this courthouse. it will be a defining moment for america. nada tawfik, bbc news, minneapolis. and we'll be live in minneapolis later for full coverage of the sentencing of former police officer derek chauvin for the murder of george floyd,

starting at around 7.30pm. now, we all like to be beside the seaside. and for many families, a break away includes a few fairground rides on the pier. but hundreds of holiday makers in brighton found they had been charged more than £2,000 to go on the rides because of a card payment error. 0ur correspondent chrissy reidy explained what happened. it is extraordinary. you think you are popping out for an spin on the waltzers, perhaps some doughnuts and some candy floss and before you know it, your bank account has been debited £2,000. i guess on a more serious note, this has affected a lot of people, around 500 customers, and in some cases their bank accounts completely wiped out. now the brighton pier group, who own this attraction, have apologised profusely, and say it happened because the processing company worldpay mistakenly entered the transaction date as the price of the tickets, or the wrist bands.

we have spoken to some people affected this morning. 0ne lady, a student, said she was left unable to pay her utility bills and very critical as well of how it had been handled. another lady as well visited here in april she said with her two sons and only this week was her bank account deducted twice, on two occasions, £2,100. worldpay payment processing have told us that it is an isolated error and they say they are working as a matter of urgency with card holders to refund any money and bank charges, but it could take up to five days. 0rganisers of latitude have announced the festival will go ahead next month as part of the government's series of test events. the four—day event is due to be held at henham park in suffolk from 22nd july, three days after the government expects to lift all limits on social contact. more than half of all uk festivals

have been cancelled this summer. musical headliners include wolf alice, the chemical brothers, and bombay bicycle club. it will be part of the government event research programme. everyone attending will either have to have a negative lateral flow test or proof of two covid vaccinations. the department for culture says the people that provided nine events, only 28 cases of covid were subsequently recorded. 11 were identified as potentially infected whereas the others were potentially at times around than. these include the world snooker championship and three football matches at wembley as well as the brit awards at london's 02 arena.

now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. good afternoon. the weekend is just around the corner and the weather is going to bring us a mixed bag over the next few days. spells of sunshine throughout the weekend, a few showers here and there on saturday and more persistent rain in the far south on sunday. back to the here and now, a lot of cloud through the rest of the afternoon into the evening. showery rain for parts of northern england, wales, odd thunderstorm through the midlands, east anglia, as we head into this evening. 0vernight, most of the rain eases, it will stay quite cloudy with a mist and fog around for many. slightly clearer skies in the south and far north—west, but temperature are staying in double figures over night. into saturday, slow—moving front still with us, quite a weak weather front, is not bringing too much rain, but a lot of cloud across much of the uk. a few sharp showers through central england, perhaps wales. sunny skies towards the far north—west and temperatures between 1a to 22 degrees. goodbye.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: matt hancock says sorry for breaching distancing guidelines, after he was caught on camera in an embrace with a close aide. borisjohnson's spokesman has said the prime minister has accepted matt hancock's apology and that the matter was now closed. labour has called for action to be taken. now is the time when the prime minister needs to get a grip on this situation. he simply has not done so until now. he needs to act. there's a surge in bookings to destinations including the balearic islands and malta, after they were moved onto the travel green list. four people have died after a block of flats collapsed in miami. a british woman is among over 150 people still missing. we are going to work as hard as we can to continue our search and rescue effort. that is our priority, that is where we are focused and

protecting our first responders who are the scene. the number of people infected with the delta variant of coronavirus rises by a6% in a week across the uk. and wales captain gareth bale says his team are feeling good ahead of their match against denmark tomorrow in the knockout stage of the euros. sport and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. wales are continuing their preparations in amsterdam ahead of tomorrow's euro 2020 last 16 match against denmark. no fans are allowed to travel to the city from wales. in the last half an hour we've heard from the interim manager rob page the support we have had from back

home, as much as it is frustrating for everybody, really frustrating they cannot be out here, the supporters, the messages we have had, the social media with the kids in school today singing the anthem for us, it is a montage of clips we are going to show the players and we know come kick—off all of wales will be behind us. max verstappen was quickest in both practice sessions ahead of this weekend's styrian grand prix in austria. the champioship leader was a third of a second quicker than anyone else at the red bull ring, while world champion lewis hamilton was fourth. things were even worse for his mercedes team mate valtteri bottas who's being investigated for this spin in the pitlane and could only manage 12th. we've also heard today that the turkish grand prix has been added to the calendar on 3rd october — replacing the cancelled singapore race. wimbledon begins on monday but simona halep will not be there to defend her 2019 title. she's pulled out because of a calf injury.

the 29—year—old had been at the all england club this week, raising hopes she'd be fit in time. but she was unable to recover from the injury she sustained earlier this year which forced her to miss the french open. the draw for wimbledon took place this morning and we now know andy murray will face the georgian 2ath seed nikoloz basilashvili in the first round. murray — who was beaten by italy's matteo berretinni in the second round at the queen's club last week — will play his first singles match at wimbledon since 2017. he had to rely on a wild card after his ranking dropped outside the top 100 due to injury. former british number one annabel croft gave her reaction to clare balding on bbc two. he can really disrupt quite a lot of the players out there so if you can just get through a couple of rounds the key factor will be how does his body respond as he has not played a lot of tennis and that is probably the most frustrating aspect for him.

his heart and mind wants to but will his body allow him to get out for a five set match and come back a couple of days later and do it all again? that will be very tough. there's a baptism of fire for british wildcard jack draper — the 19—year—old, who reached the quarter finals at queen's, willl make his wimbledon main—draw debut against the defending champion novak djokovic. and francesca jones also has a big opening round match on her debut — she'll be up against 17—year—old american coco gauff, who created a sensation two years ago at the all england club when she beat venus williams. katie swan has become the first british woman in 20 years to come through qualifying at wimbledon. she reached the main draw with a comfortable victory over arina rodionova at roehampton, dropping just four games. she will face the 2017 us open finalist madison keys in the first round. you can take a look at the full draw on the bbc sport website. jos buttler will miss the rest of england's white—ball series

against sri lanka. he led them to a comfortable win in the first t20 game on wednesday but he picked up a calf injury during that match — and missed yesterday's second win. there's one more t20 to come tomorrow, followed by three one—day internationals. dawid malan has been added to the 0d! squad. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. the health secretary, matt hancock, has apologised for breaching social distancing rules after the sun published a photo of him in a close embrace with one of his aides. in a statement, mr hancock, said... and a little earlier, the prime minister's official spokesman said

the prime minister has accepted the health secretary's apology and considers the matter closed. iam i am pretty clear, although you never know for sure, there was a real breach here. a breach of the regulations, on the basis that at the time, it was illegal to have any gathering of more than one person anywhere indoors unless an exception applied and the only one that could reasonably be said to apply or possibly said to apply would be that this was reasonably necessary for work purposes, but based on what we know and what we can see in the images, it does not seem that that was reasonably necessary for work purposes. the sun reporting that happened in early may, only their word on that at this stage. there is a difference here between the legality and the guidelines, right? yes, so, at the time, beginning of may, we were in step two, so it was still illegal to meet indoors with more than one person.

the guidelines that matt hancock has said he has admitted he breached relate to hugging and kissing, obviously, which were not part of the law and changed around the same time that the law changed around the 17th of may, whichever way you look at it he has breached guidance and probably law as well. from your understanding, what are the consequences? two things, first whether any retrospective action would be taken against him by the police. i really doubt there would be. but there is potentially a series of criminal offences that have been committed if this was something that was happening repeatedly and particularly if it was happening in different places. that was what the sun article said, that this had been happening and in those circumstances, i do think... i have always sympathised with this ban on relationships,

effective ban on relationships between people that do not live together, and i had written about it a lot and a lot of people suffered because of that, but ultimately it was against the law to meet up indoors with someone for an affair, a relationship, for sex, so i do think there is a case to answer and i think it is fair to ask the health secretary, who signed these laws, his name is at the bottom of these laws, whether there were other instances, where they took place, how long they happened for and which rules were in place at the same time, because there is potentially a cause for criminal conduct. speculation on the length is what you're hinting at there. what we do know is the prime minister has accepted mr hancock's apology. as far as he is concerned the matter is closed. how do you think this will play out

with the public and voters? in the summer, when dominic cummings was found out to have breached the rules, as people saw it, going to barnard castle, there was a study done by ucl who found that the public confidence in the rules went down dramatically after that, because people thought if there is one rule for them and one for me why should i follow the rules at all? the police only have a certain amount of capacity to enforce these rules. the really important thing is people keep confidence with the rules and, ultimately, the buck stops with the health secretary for doing that, so it puts him in a difficult position i think legally and i think in terms of his influence on public behaviour, trust and credibility, which is so important in getting us out of this pandemic.

barrister adam wagner talking to me a little earlier. more on that apology from the health secretary through the afternoon. doctors are warning that hospital a&e departments are being flooded with young children, many of them with mild fevers. the royal college of paediatrics and child health says many of the children could be treated at home — and that youngsters are catching viruses now there's more social mixing. our health correspodent philippa roxby reports. record numbers of young children are being seen at accident and emergency departments across the uk. doctors say most have a mild fever, which can be treated at home. they say they're overwhelmed. i was on a couple of mondays ago, we saw nearly 300 patients in a day. we are seeing lots of young children, less than one—year—old, with fevers, a bit of vomiting, maybe a bit of diarrhoea, who generally look quite well but there is parental anxiety about their symptoms. and we simply don't have enough staff to keep up with that demand. a&e doctors across the uk have told the royal college of paediatricians

and child health they've seen large increases in children attending, particularly those under five. in some places, demand is double normal levels. 0ne doctor in belfast said she was extremely worried about what would happen if numbers continued to rise. in liverpool, there are reports of pressure on inpatient beds. and a doctor in edinburgh spoke of lots of children with viral illnesses that don't need hospital treatment. children going to a&e are not unwell with covid, but with other infections normally seen in winter. children have been in lockdown since the early part of last year. and, particularly younger children, their immune systems just haven't been challenged in any kind of way by the normal viruses we always have around us all the time. and now that lockdown has been eased, they are now being exposed to what are just the usual viruses. and of course now they are becoming unwell. 1a—month—old theo

was seriously unwell. two weeks ago, he ended up in a&e. i was really frightened. very scared. especially because he had all the spots all over his body. you always think the worst. and with a high temperature, as high as it was, you know, we were thinking that it was something seriously wrong. a&e is the correct place to take a child in an emergency. but there are times when parents should trust their instincts. fever phobia is so common. and it is everywhere in the community, where people get worried about the fever, rather than the child. and what i try to tell people is, if you'rejust worried about the symptom, if you think your child is fine, but it is just a fever you are worried about, or just the diarrhoea, orjust the vomiting, actually, your child is likely to be ok, because you know your child best. and if they are well, they probably will be well. susie did the right thing. she gave theo liquid paracetamol to try to bring his temperature down. then called 111 for advice

when he didn't improve. doctors say a&e services should be freed up to help seriously ill children like him. philippa roxby, bbc news. the father of the belarusian opposition blogger roman protasevich, who was arrested last month when his plane was diverted to minsk, has told the bbc his son has been moved from prison to house arrest. the blogger�*s girlfriend, sofia sapega, is also said to have been moved out of a detention facility and into a rented flat in the belarusian capital. three weeks ago, mr protasevich was put on state television where he was seen confessing to organizing anti—government protests — a confession that his family say was coerced. 0lga ivshina from the bbc�*s russian service has more on what mr protasevich's father told the bbc. he told that they found out that he had been moved under house arrest. they don't know much, you know?

they also knew that his girlfriend, sofia sapega, was also moved to house arrest and we also managed to speak to her parents and they were able to travel to belarus from russia and they saw their daughter at a restaurant. the time of that visit wasn't limited. it all started with a picture, a photo published yesterday online where some people saw in the park two people resembling protasevich and sapega talking to one of the journalists on camera. what happens next is unclear, but the parents of roman protasevich are sure that it is a positive sign in terms of the wellbeing of roman, but they think some bargaining is going on. the parents say there are no communications, no—one is talking to them. they were not able to speak to roman yet, so they are completely in the dark, but an opposition leader said according to her sources some of the russian diplomats were calling some european

diplomats yesterday and saying that some political prisoners would be moved under arrest. these are all small signs which give hints that this might be a part of a bigger game by the russian authorities, but the exact terms of this game is of course unclear, and the fact is that this game involves human lives. in canada, an indigenous group says it has found hundreds of unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school. it's not known how many of them contain the remains of children. the discovery comes just weeks after the remains of 215 children were found at the site of another former residential school in british columbia. indigenous leaders say it's likely many more unmarked graves will be discovered. charlotte lam reports. almost 800 unmarked graves undiscovered for decades,

until ground—penetrating radars unearthed the secrets of the burial ground. in 1960, there may have been marks on these graves. the catholic church representatives removed these headstones and, today, they are unmarked graves. the discovery was made near the marieval indian residential school. it was built in 1889 by the catholic church and is one of more than 130 compulsory boarding schools in canada where children were taken after being separated from their parents as part of a policy of forced integration. canada's past policies were thrown into the spotlight in may after the discovery of 215 children's remains at the site of a former residential school in kamloops. it is estimated that 6,000 children died while attending these schools, largely because of the squalid health conditions inside. there are also reports

of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of school authorities. in a statement, prime minister justin trudeau said... the schools were funded by the canadian government and, in 2008, it apologised for the system. but the roman catholic church was responsible for the operations of up to 70% of these schools and indigenous groups want a formal apology from the pope. this was a crime against humanity, an assault on our first nation people. we are proud people. we are very proud people. the only crime we ever committed as children was being born indigenous. pope francis said earlier this month that he was pained by the discovery at kamloops but stopped short of

a formal apology. now, on bbc news, it's time for your questions answered. we've been asking you to send in your questions about the restrictions on foreign travel — and the recent changes to the green list travel destinations. with me now to answer some of them are virginia messina, the senior vice presdent at the world travel and tourism council, and kate halden, who's the director of transcend travel. good afternoon to both of you. thank you forjoining us. i wonder if we could start with a sense of what the travel industry has been like over the last few months.— the last few months. yeah, unfortunately _ the last few months. yeah, unfortunately our _ the last few months. yeah, unfortunately our sector i the last few months. yeah, | unfortunately our sector has the last few months. yeah, i unfortunately our sector has been devastated not only by the pandemic

but by all these changing grills that have just not allowed confidence to pick up and has just created more confusion. confidence to pick up and has 'ust created more confusion.i created more confusion. kate, a reaction to _ created more confusion. kate, a reaction to those _ created more confusion. kate, a reaction to those changes i created more confusion. kate, a i reaction to those changes announced in the last 2a hours, relief? qt in the last 24 hours, relief? of course. in the last 24 hours, relief? of course. it is positive, a step in the right— course. it is positive, a step in the right direction. the difficulty is the _ the right direction. the difficulty is the damage to people's confidence. will it stay that way. can i_ confidence. will it stay that way. can i make — confidence. will it stay that way. can i make plans? what does it mean? there _ can i make plans? what does it mean? there are _ can i make plans? what does it mean? there are still— can i make plans? what does it mean? there are still a lot of confusion. i do there are still a lot of confusion. i do not — there are still a lot of confusion. i do not want to be pessimistic and want _ i do not want to be pessimistic and want to— i do not want to be pessimistic and want to find — i do not want to be pessimistic and want to find the positive and things. — want to find the positive and things, of course it is living in the right— things, of course it is living in the right direction. all things, of course it is living in the right direction.— things, of course it is living in the right direction. all about the oositivi . the right direction. all about the positivity. lots _ the right direction. all about the positivity. lots of _ the right direction. all about the positivity. lots of questions. i the right direction. all about the l positivity. lots of questions. keith from bournemouth asks, about the travel situation, from bournemouth asks, about the travelsituation, i from bournemouth asks, about the travel situation, i haven't seen my son for two years, he lives in spain

near benidorm, when will i be able to get to see him again? keep pointing out we are notjust talking about holidays, lots of people have family to see, business matters to address abroad.— family to see, business matters to address abroad. yeah, unfortunately the uk doesn't _ address abroad. yeah, unfortunately the uk doesn't yet _ address abroad. yeah, unfortunately the uk doesn't yet have _ address abroad. yeah, unfortunately the uk doesn't yet have a _ address abroad. yeah, unfortunatelyj the uk doesn't yet have a quarantine free travel for fully vaccinated citizens. that is what we are hoping for well taken ideally by august so at that point all fully vaccinated people will be able to travel at least within europe. at the moment obviously if he decides to travel to spain he would have to face attendee quarantine plus highly costly pcr tests on return. fin quarantine plus highly costly pcr tests on return.— tests on return. on the testing, patsy says _ tests on return. on the testing, patsy says how _ tests on return. on the testing, patsy says how come _ tests on return. on the testing, patsy says how come nobody i tests on return. on the testing, l patsy says how come nobody has tests on return. on the testing, - patsy says how come nobody has asked why the testing to leave the country you holiday and it's so expensive when you can get tested for free if

you are showing symptoms in a supermarket car park? the price of testing does seem to vary country to country and even location in the country and even location in the country back here. t country and even location in the country back here.— country back here. i guess my response _ country back here. i guess my response to — country back here. i guess my response to that _ country back here. i guess my response to that is _ country back here. i guess my response to that is very i country back here. i guess my response to that is very good | response to that is very good question _ response to that is very good question. i agree. response to that is very good question. iagree. it is response to that is very good question. i agree. it is like a lot of these — question. i agree. it is like a lot of these things. one scenario where something _ of these things. one scenario where something applies and another where something applies and another where something else applies. the travel industry— something else applies. the travel industry has been saying that the cost of— industry has been saying that the cost of testing is another barrier to people — cost of testing is another barrier to people for travelling and unfortunately our hands are tied on that in_ unfortunately our hands are tied on that in many ways and i can understand her frustration. that in many ways and i can understand herfrustration. it that in many ways and i can understand her frustration. it makes little sense — understand her frustration. it makes little sense to me either. there are test costs _ little sense to me either. there are test costs varying and then we have to be _ test costs varying and then we have to be making sure we need to be confident— to be making sure we need to be confident is going to be a test that is going _ confident is going to be a test that is going to — confident is going to be a test that is going to be accepted, but is not going _ is going to be accepted, but is not going to _

is going to be accepted, but is not going to be — is going to be accepted, but is not going to be rejected meaning travel plans are _ going to be rejected meaning travel plans are thwarted. this is the enoct— plans are thwarted. this is the exact kind _ plans are thwarted. this is the exact kind of thing that is impacting people's confidence to actually— impacting people's confidence to actually work, whether it is a holiday— actually work, whether it is a holiday or _ actually work, whether it is a holiday or with keith making plans to go— holiday or with keith making plans to go and — holiday or with keith making plans to go and see family. it is kind of a little _ to go and see family. it is kind of a little bit — to go and see family. it is kind of a little bit treacherous and that is what _ a little bit treacherous and that is what dell — a little bit treacherous and that is what dell not what travel is meant to be _ what dell not what travel is meant to be like — what dell not what travel is meant to be like. a what dell not what travel is meant to be like. �* ., .,, , ., to be like. a lot has been made about the _ to be like. a lot has been made about the quarantine _ to be like. a lot has been made about the quarantine period i to be like. a lot has been made j about the quarantine period but to be like. a lot has been made i about the quarantine period but is it the testing price and process thatis it the testing price and process that is putting people off travelling?— that is putting people off travellin: ? ~ , , ., travelling? absolutely. there are two -es travelling? absolutely. there are two types of _ travelling? absolutely. there are two types of test. _ travelling? absolutely. there are two types of test. when - travelling? absolutely. there are two types of test. when we i travelling? absolutely. there are two types of test. when we talk. two types of test. when we talk about testing and when it comes to travel the government is only allowing pcr tests so these tests are obviously lab handle done for that reason they are more expensive and they take longer so when it comes to obvious where the cost of that that becomes really restrictive but on the other hand the government is going with that because those tests are perhaps more precise and are able to help the government in their genomic sequencing which is

very important in this country to identify variants. that is the reason why they have only allowed pcr so far but antigen tests or molecular tests, the rapid tests we are taking on our day to day to get back to school and offices which are effectively free from the nhs or evenif effectively free from the nhs or even if purchased much cheaper, they are quite close in terms of their accuracy. i would agree. from the perspective of our organisation we have been pushing for these rapid tests to be used for travel because it is very similar in terms of accuracy. quarantine is damaging and we need to remove quarantine because at this point i do not think it is helping curb the spread of the pandemic especially when we are talking about more than 60% of the aduu talking about more than 60% of the adult population being vaccinated.

marilyn touching on the vaccination programme with regards to travel. seeing my son works as a teacher in dubai, he has had two vaccinations and is checked every day, why does he have to quarantine in a hotel and not a home?— not a home? yeah, so i can totally understand — not a home? yeah, so i can totally understand on _ not a home? yeah, so i can totally understand on that _ not a home? yeah, so i can totally understand on that individual i not a home? yeah, so i can totallyj understand on that individual basis it seemsm — understand on that individual basis it seemsm i— understand on that individual basis it seems... i can understand why that— it seems... i can understand why that would — it seems... i can understand why that would seem unnecessary. the united _ that would seem unnecessary. the united arab emirates is on the red list and _ united arab emirates is on the red list and so — united arab emirates is on the red list and so that is based upon we are advised on the infection levels, the gene _ are advised on the infection levels, the gene sequencing and so on, so it is very— the gene sequencing and so on, so it is very difficult, as much as i appreciate that individual's situation, how does the government make~ _ situation, how does the government make~ you — situation, how does the government make... you are complicating it by saying _ make... you are complicating it by saying in— make... you are complicating it by saying in the — make... you are complicating it by saying in the centre circumstance we would _ saying in the centre circumstance we would have _ saying in the centre circumstance we would have to do something different. i can totally understand

how that — different. i can totally understand how that would be frustrating. the answer _ how that would be frustrating. the answer is — how that would be frustrating. the answer is i — how that would be frustrating. the answer is i do not really know unfortunately. we are kind of tide in that— unfortunately. we are kind of tide in that position and the frustration being _ in that position and the frustration being that — in that position and the frustration being that there are lots and lots of anomalies on people's personal circumstances. like the vaccine relate — circumstances. like the vaccine relate we _ circumstances. like the vaccine relate, we are getting on so well with that, — relate, we are getting on so well with that, but we still have different restrictions. it is 100% a frustrating — different restrictions. it is 100% a frustrating possession but unfortunately as it stands that is exactly — unfortunately as it stands that is exactly what he would need to do irrespective of his daily testing and covid three status hopefully. on and covid three status hopefully. frustration, and covid three status hopefully. on frustration, best the viewer says he has been an er car since the end of may and it to the uk on sunday, when

the restrictions change on wednesday, but as i understand that he is travelling before the restrictions change. he is travelling before the restrictions chance. ., , ., restrictions change. ma'orca is not adoin onto restrictions change. ma'orca is not going onto the h restrictions change. ma'orca is not going onto the green i restrictions change. majorca is not going onto the green list - restrictions change. majorca is not going onto the green list until- going onto the green list until wednesday at aam so effectively any time before then he will still have to quarantine for ten days and do two pcr tests and have a third test if he wants on day five to be released. i would suggest he extends his stay for a few more days and thenit his stay for a few more days and then it would just be one test and no quarantine from wednesday. still lots of questions. lots of unanswered questions but thank you forjoining us. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. good afternoon.

the weather is going to bring is a mixed bag over the next few days. spells of sunshine throughout the weekend, a few showers here and there on saturday and more persistent rain in the far south on sunday. back to the here and now, a lot of cloud through the rest of the afternoon into the evening. showery rain for parts of northern england, wales, the odd thunderstorm through the midlands, east anglia, as we head into this evening. overnight, most of the rain eases, it will stay quite cloudy with mist and fog around for many. slightly clearer skies in the south and far north—west, but temperatures staying in double figures overnight. into saturday, slow—moving front still with us, quite a weak weather front, it's not bringing too much rain, but a lot of cloud across much of the uk. a few sharp showers through central england, perhaps wales. sunny skies towards the far north—west and temperatures between 1a to 22 degrees. goodbye.

this is bbc news. i'm ben mundy. the headlines: matt hancock says sorry for breaching distancing guidelines, after he was caught on camera in an embrace with a close aide. borisjohnson's spokesman has said the prime minister has accepted matt hancock's apology and that the matter was now closed. labour has called for action to be taken. now is the time when the prime minister needs to get a grip on this situation. he simply has not done so until now. he needs to act. there's a surge in bookings to destinations including the balearic islands and malta, after they were moved onto the travel green list. four people have died after a block of flats collapsed in miami. a british woman is among over 150 people still missing. we are going to work as hard as we can to continue our search and rescue effort. that is our priority, that is where we are focused

and protecting ourfirst responders who are on the scene. the number of people infected with the delta variant of coronavirus rises by a6% in a week across the uk. and wales captain gareth bale says his team are feeling good ahead of their match against denmark tomorrow in the knockout stage of the euros. and could dragon man be our closest ancestor? scientists in china discover a new species of human that could reshape the understanding of human evolution. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the health secretary matt hancock has apologised and admitted he breached social distancing guidelines, after the sun newspaper published a photograph

of him in an embrace with one his closest aides. the photo is said to have been taken in may, in mr hancock's whitehall office. the prime minister's official spokesman has said the prime minister has accepted the health secretary's apology and considers the matter closed. in a statement, the health secretary said... let's get more from our political correspondent jonathan blake. the prime minister says it is closed, is it?— the prime minister says it is closed, is it? downing street is ho-oin closed, is it? downing street is hoping so. _ closed, is it? downing street is hoping so. but _ closed, is it? downing street is hoping so, but there _ closed, is it? downing street is hoping so, but there are i closed, is it? downing street is hoping so, but there are more | hoping so, but there are more questions really hanging over matt hancock's actions, beyond what he has admitted it to in the statement which you just read out, released this morning, apologising for

letting people down, admitting breaking the social distancing guidelines following the publication of that picture in the the sun this morning, in which he is seen in an embrace with gina coladangelo who was an aide to him and went on to be placed on a roll of the department of health which is funded by taxpayers' money, and never the less it is at this point clear that downing street and matt hancock are intending, he certainly has no intention of resigning, and are intending him to stay in the role of. there is huge political pressure coming from other sides, labour and the liberal democrats have both come out and called the matt hancock to either resign or be sacked and the chair of the labour party, anneliese dodds, has described the prime minister as spineless for not firing the health secretary. of course we have been through a period where grandparents haven't been able to hug their grandchildren. i've just come off a call right now

with some of my local nurses, who have been following the rules to the letter, who are really struggling, currently, to deal with the impact of covid still. i honestly think that now is the time when the prime minister needs to get a grip on the situation. he simply hasn't done so until now. he needs to act. matt hancock cancelled a planned appearance in his constituency in suffolk this morning, but at some point, although he has appealed for privacy in that statement he released this morning, he is going to have to answer questions on this. those questions will centre on his credibility and authority, or what many suggest is the lack of it, after his actions. these latest revelations come at a very difficult time for the health secretary anyway, he has faced criticism recently over his conduct in office in the government response to the pandemic, which of course he has been at the forefront of and only

recently it emerged that dominic cummings, the former senior adviser to the prime minister, had according to the prime minister, had according to mr hancock briefed the newspapers against him and called the prime minister to sack him over his previous, what mr cummings, previous behaviour had fallen short. this is the most difficult spot yet the health secretary has found himself in and it will only be a matter of time before he has to answer more questions about his conduct in detail. , , , ~ , detail. despite the prime minister wantin: to detail. despite the prime minister wanting to close _ detail. despite the prime minister wanting to close this _ detail. despite the prime minister wanting to close this down, i detail. despite the prime minister wanting to close this down, as i detail. despite the prime minister| wanting to close this down, as you touched on, the pressure is mounting. work at this? does make a whack? as made _ mounting. work at this? does make a whack? as made clear— mounting. work at this? does make a whack? as made clear from _ mounting. work at this? does make a whack? as made clear from the i whack? as made clear from the statement, the prime minister considers this closed and is attending for nowt to keep the health secretary in his job and matt hancock also mixed it, clearly intends to stay in his job. as

hancock also mixed it, clearly intends to stay in hisjob. as i have said, there are questions over the appointment of gina coladangelo into the role and the process that was followed around that. the department of health has said all procedures were followed correctly and rules have not been broken, but i suspect it will be around that and also around whether matt hancock really can sustain his position, given that he has admitted breaking the social distancing guidelines at this time that cctv was taken. given he has been at the forefront of the government response urging people, calling on people, to follow the rules as closely as they possibly can, repeatedly, only to have himself found out as having broken those rules. himself found out as having broken those rules-— we can speak to munira wilson, the liberal democrat mp for twickenham.

good afternoon, thank you for joining us. your party calling for matt hancock to quit. your initial reaction to all of this today? well, i think his position _ reaction to all of this today? well, i think his position is _ reaction to all of this today? well, i think his position is untenable, i i think his position is untenable, it isjust i think his position is untenable, it is just absolutely hypocritical when he is the man making the rules at the top of government that all of us have had to follow and the sacrifices that the british people have made for many, many months, it has happened at a time when people who are in a couple not living together could spend the night with each other, grandparents could not hug their grandchildren. —— could not spend the night. and here we have a clear breach of the guidelines, potentially a breach of the law, i do not think his position is tenable any longer. of course this comes on the back of a catalogue of failures through the pandemic, whether that is leaving care homes exposed, lack of ppe for

the front line, test of trace are failing so many times, i really do think his time is up and he has to go. think his time is up and he has to to. . think his time is up and he has to .o_ . ., ., think his time is up and he has to go. we had a pollster saying earlier this would die _ go. we had a pollster saying earlier this would die down _ go. we had a pollster saying earlier this would die down with _ go. we had a pollster saying earlier this would die down with the i go. we had a pollster saying earlier| this would die down with the public, the prime minister quick to react, so you do not believe this is a closed matter?— so you do not believe this is a closed matter? ., ~ , , ., closed matter? no, i think this is a fundamental _ closed matter? no, i think this is a fundamental breach _ closed matter? no, i think this is a fundamental breach of _ closed matter? no, i think this is a fundamental breach of trust. i closed matter? no, i think this is a fundamental breach of trust. we i closed matter? no, i think this is a i fundamental breach of trust. we have seen time and again through the pandemic, one rule for them and one for us. this is yet another example of it and i think it is a particularly serious example because it is coming from the man who makes the rules and urging the british people to keep going and maintain all the restrictions despite the emotional and mental hell being impact on all of us of having to do these things, the impact of having

this. —— mentalwell—being. i do think this is a breach of trust and i think he really must consider his position if borisjohnson will not sack him. position if boris johnson will not sack him. ~ . . position if boris johnson will not sack him. ~ ., ., ,, sack him. what have your constituents _ sack him. what have your constituents been - sack him. what have your constituents been telling | sack him. what have your i constituents been telling you sack him. what have your _ constituents been telling you today? i have had some e—mails and messages on social media thanking me for coming out and calling out the hypocrisy that is clear for all to see and calling on him to go. i suspect i will be getting more of those over the weekend.- those over the weekend. munira wilson, those over the weekend. munira wilson. thank— those over the weekend. munira wilson, thank you _ those over the weekend. munira wilson, thank you for _ those over the weekend. munira wilson, thank you forjoining - those over the weekend. munira wilson, thank you forjoining us | those over the weekend. munira i wilson, thank you forjoining us on bbc news. let's bring you the latest coronavirus data for the uk. in the latest 2a hour period there have been 15,810 new covid—19 cases and 18 deaths within 20 days of a positive test. that is compared to

16,703 cases and 21 deaths reported yesterday. holiday companies have expressed frustration at the government's easing of travel restrictions, saying the changes don't go far enough. 16 destinations have been added to the green list, including the spanish balearic islands of ibiza, menorca and majorca — as well as malta and madeira. theo leggett has this report. they are quiet right now, but the beaches and bars of ibiza are getting ready for a wave of new arrivals from britain. the balearic island is one of a number of new destinations travellers from the uk will be able to visit without having to quarantine on their return, although they will have to take covid tests before and after their journey. duncan lyon says he can't wait to go on holiday with his wife without having to go into quarantine afterwards. i have worked all the way through the pandemic, i have had a few holidays cancelled. but certainly myself and my wife

are looking so much forward to having a bit of sun, sea and relaxation, and a few cheeky drinks sitting on a nice terrace somewhere, enjoying the sun. relaxation, that is what i want. but there's a catch — a warning that nearly all of the new green list countries may not stay on that list for very long. there are some concerns in these particular locations. and therefore, be aware that when you book, things may have to change, they may have to change at short notice. we have said they are on the green list, but we have said they are on the green watchlist, so people can see exactly what we are seeing in terms of concern. travel companies have given the changes a lukewarm welcome. there are concerns the policy is confusing, and the lack of certainty will deter people from booking holidays. why do we not have the canary islands? where is cyprus and where are the greek islands? all of whom have equally low covid case rates as malta and the balearics. the other question is why is the traffic light system

being further compromised? it used to be green, amber and red, now we have green and green watch, whatever the hell that is all about. so it is continuing to sow more confusion in peoples' minds. the westminster government says it is preparing to relax quarantine rules more widely, by allowing fully—vaccinated travellers to come from medium risk amber countries without needing to isolate. but it hasn't said when this will happen. and in some parts of the uk, school holidays begin next week. it is just really confusing, as to why we are flip—flopping around with all the different promises we have been given and still no clarity or detail, and no financial support for the industry that is just in absolute dire distress, knowing that we are literally on the brink of a summer that possibly may be worse than last year. and not all countries want to open their borders to travellers from the uk. germany is lobbying for tighter restrictions across the eu,

to control the spread of the so—called delta variant of covid. but, for the moment at least, tourist hotspots like spain and greece seem eager to have british holiday—makers back as soon as possible. theo leggett, bbc news. 0ur transport correspondent caroline davies says foreign 0ur correspondent in madrid, guy hedgecoe, says businesses in spanish tourist destinations are hoping restrictions on travel from the uk will be eased soon. i am in the plaza de santa ana in central madrid which is normally a big magnet for tourists. you can see there are people wandering around, but certainly many fewer than you would normally expect. people certainly here have been very encouraged by the inclusion of the balearics on that green list, that is seen as good news by the balearic islands and the spanish economy as a whole. british tourists are the single biggest market, biggest foreign market, for the spanish tourism industry. spain is absolutely desperate to get

british tourists visiting again and so this is seen as a big boost, potentially a big boost, for the spanish economy overall. i think speaking to businesses here, they are optimistic about this, but obviously this does not affect madrid itself, it affects the balearic islands. the spanish government has been lobbying the uk government a lot over the last few weeks, asking it to include those areas of spain on the green list which have particularly low infection rates which need tourists — the balearics is obviously one of those, but the canary islands is another, so is the valencia region on the mediterranean coast. so people are pleased about that, but they would like to see more areas included on the green list. the headlines on bbc news: matt hancock says sorry for breaching distancing guidelines after he was caught on camera in an embrace with a close aide. boris

johnson's spokesman says the apology has been accepted on the matter is now closed. labour has called for action to be taken. a surge in bookings to destinations including the balearic islands and malta after they were moved on the travel greenest. four people have died after a block of flats collapsed in miami, a british woman is among 150 people still missing. cases of covid—19 have risen by a6% in a week across the uk. the latest figures from public health england show 117 deaths of people with the delta variant in england within 28 days of a positive test. the drive to get more people vaccinated is being stepped up this weekend, as our health correspondent katharine da costa reports. no need to book, just walk in and grab a jab. that is the message from the nhs this weekend, as this pop—up vaccination centre in halifaxjoins hundreds of venues across the country. in london, arsenal's emirates

stadium is open to all adults, with those under a0 offered pfizer and moderna jabs. i'm only 22 years old, so this is the earliest i could get it. when i saw it, i took the opportunity. in the beginning, there were rumours, is it safe, what is in the vaccine? but i think the more people get it, the confidence grows. also, being arsenal supporters, you get to see the stadium! - what we have learned is that the easier we make it for people, the closer we have these vaccine centres to where they live, the more likely they are to come and get a jab. the latest figures from public health england show that cases of the delta variant were up a6% in the week to the 21st ofjune. a further 514 people were admitted to hospital with the virus. of those, 60% hadn't had a vaccine, while 20% were fully vaccinated. infection rates are still rising in england and scotland, according to the latest survey from the office for national statistics.

rates are highest in the north—west and north—east of england, and among 16—24—year—olds. surge testing has been ramped up in the worst—affected areas, but a report by the spending watchdog has found that there are still weaknesses in the test and trace system. there is a huge amount that has been spent on these tests. they have been sent out and we don't know if they have been used. there is use of expensive consultants, and also underused contact tracers and laboratories. there are real issues in terms of if we are getting the most for our money. the department of health says vaccines, together with test and trace, are central to the road map out of the pandemic. but health officials say it is still too soon to let your guard down. katharine da costa, bbc news. organisers of the latitude music festival say it will go ahead next month, as part of the government's series of test events. the four—day festival is due to be held at henham park in suffolk from 22nd july, three days after the government expects to lift all limits on social contact.

more than half of all uk festivals have been cancelled this summer. musical headliners include wolf alice, the chemical brothers and bombay bicycle club. it will be part of the government event research programme. everyone attending will either have to have a negative lateral flow test or proof of two covid vaccinations. rescue efforts are continuing as 159 people remain unaccounted for, after the collapse of a 12—storey building in miami. the apartment block came down without warning early yesterday morning, destroying dozens of homes in a matter of seconds. four people are now known to have died and the cause of the collapse remains unclear. among those missing are a british woman and her husband and daughter. 0ur correspondent will grant reports now from miami — just to warn you, you may find some of these images distressing. the entire sea—facing wing of champlain towers collapsed in the early hours of the morning. 12 storeys of apartments concertinaed in seconds.

the shocking moment caught on cctv. within minutes, scores of firefighters and search and rescue teams began scouring the tonnes of debris for survivors. miraculously, a young boy was pulled from the rubble — among ten to be treated at the scene and then transferred to hospitalfor his injuries. as the hours pass, emergency rescue teams are working through the night at the collapsed apartment block, relentlessly trying to locate anyone still trapped. they have even burrowed into the rubble from beneath, via the basement. as the search goes on, this sobering assessment. i will tell you after spending the bulk of the day here, that this is a tragedy without precedent in the united states of america. the devastation that i witnessed today is the likes of which i have never seen. for the desperate family members though, the wait for information

is nothing short of unbearable. i found out that my nephew was here, with wife and three small children — two, six and nine. only god is one who saved them. so you never lose hope, and i'm not losing my hope. i think they are gone. i don't want to be pessimistic, but we have been calling them like nonstop, no reply, nobody knows anything. we don't have information right now. the site of this building so destroyed is a terrible reminder to the people of this community of what they have lost. and it's a sign to the authorities they must begin to establish what happened here, no matter where it leads. this tragic incident has affected everyone in this small community, which never saw the disaster coming. before long, they will need a full explanation of exactly why it did. will grant, bbc news, miami.

rescue workers are still hoping to find people alive. officials have been updating journalists. unfortunately, this has been a tragic night. we do have 120 people now accounted for, which is very, very good news, but our unaccounted for number has gone up to 159. in addition, we can tragically report the death count is now four. i want to be very clear about the numbers, they are very fluid, we will continue to update you as we have them, but we have confirmed four deaths. the search and rescue team worked throughout the night and it was a very active scene from above and below. we also brought heavy machinery onto the site to assist with the operation. four men have appeared in court

charged with conspiracy to murder, after an equal rights activist was shot in the head at a house party in south london. 27—year—old sasha johnson remains in a critical condition in hospital more than a month after the shooting. cameron deriggs and devonte brown, who are both 18 and from london, appeared at the old bailey and were remanded in custody along with 19—year—old troy reid, also from london, and prince dixon who's 25 and from kent. the competition watchdog has opened a formal probe into amazon and google over concerns that they have not been doing enough to combat fake reviews on their sites. the competition and markets authority launched its initial inquiry last month and has now found grounds to investigate the online giants over the steps they have ta ken to prevent fake reviews, and punish those caught posting them. derek chauvin, the former police officer convicted of murdering george floyd during an arrest in minneapolis, will be sentenced today.

he was filmed kneeling on mr floyd's neck for more than nine minutes last may — the murder sparked worldwide protests over racism and police brutality. prosecutors have asked the court for a sentence of 30 years in prison. earlier i spoke to defence lawyer and former state prosecutor david weinstein. they david weinstein. have asked for a sentence that is they have asked for a sentence that is more than double the top end of the recommended guideline range. they pointed out to the judge a number of aggravating factors that he has found already exists and would provide him with the rationale and justification for imposing such and justification for imposing such a high sentence. just and justification for imposing such a high sentence.— a high sentence. just talk to us about this. _ a high sentence. just talk to us about this, because _ a high sentence. just talk to us about this, because the - a high sentence. just talk to us i about this, because the maximum sentence for second degree unintentional murder is a0 years in prison. chauvin has no previous convictions, so the guidelines suggest between ten and 15, but the judge considering a tougher sentence. why exactly? he judge considering a tougher sentence. why exactly? he has found that there are —

sentence. why exactly? he has found that there are certain _ sentence. why exactly? he has found that there are certain aggravating - that there are certain aggravating factors that exist that would allow him to exceed the guidelines sentencing range and remember, the guidelines are a guidepost for the judge to decide what is an appropriate sentence, taking into account factors that include the defendant, his age, physical health characteristics. the message that needs to be sent to others in the community who would consider committing the same types of offences. the four macro factors he found exist include chauvin's abuse of his position of trust. the fact he acted in concert with three or more others, the fact it was carried out in front of children and those are all individuallyjustify exceeding the guideline range at the top end and so with the four macro factors that exist, he certainly is within his discretion to impose such a high sentence. the within his discretion to impose such a high sentence.— a high sentence. the defence described _ a high sentence. the defence described the _ a high sentence. the defence described the killing - a high sentence. the defence described the killing as - a high sentence. the defence described the killing as an . a high sentence. the defence i described the killing as an error made in good faith based on a derek chauvin's training. how much consideration do think the judge

will give to that? consideration do think the 'udge will give to that?�* will give to that? there is a fact is that the _ will give to that? there is a fact is that the jury _ will give to that? there is a fact is that the jury has _ will give to that? there is a fact is that the jury has already - is that the jury has already considered and they have it disregarded at those factors when they came back with their verdict is that all of the accounts that were charged in the indictments that were returned against him, so the judge will factor out some of that in. the defence has taken a real gamble here by not only trying to justify what happened based on the fact is that you havejust happened based on the fact is that you have just elise abated, but asking for a probationary sentence. —— just outlined. when you do that, you tend to lose a bit of credibility by going down too far. thejury credibility by going down too far. the jury rejected this argument that he was operating in good faith and doing what was called upon him as a police officer, so i think thejudge will do the same thing as well. you may take into account his years of service as a police officer, in the military, his age, what the defence described as his health conditions,

reducing his expected time of life, but they do not think he... i think we will see a sentence that is at least at the top end of the guidelines.— least at the top end of the guidelines. least at the top end of the cuidelines. ~ ., ., ., guidelines. we did not hear from derek chauvin _ guidelines. we did not hear from derek chauvin during _ guidelines. we did not hear from derek chauvin during the - guidelines. we did not hear from derek chauvin during the trial, i guidelines. we did not hear from| derek chauvin during the trial, he does have the right to address the courts before the sentencing later today. do you think we will hear from him?— today. do you think we will hear from him? �* ., , ., from him? i'm not sure that we will. all defendants _ from him? i'm not sure that we will. all defendants have _ from him? i'm not sure that we will. all defendants have a _ from him? i'm not sure that we will. all defendants have a right - from him? i'm not sure that we will. all defendants have a right to - from him? i'm not sure that we will. all defendants have a right to what i all defendants have a right to what is called an elocution so they can say something to the judge. we may hearfrom him apologising say something to the judge. we may hear from him apologising to say something to the judge. we may hearfrom him apologising to his family, to the people in the community, but the problem is, he has pled not guilty, he has taken the case to trial, his lawyers are going to appeal the conviction, if they succeed in appealing this conviction and he makes a statement admitting his guilt during the sentencing in the hopes of getting a lesser sentence, and the case is reversed, when they try the case again, that statement will be admissible against him in the second trial if there is one. so it is a tight line that he is going to have to walk to decide how much he wants

to walk to decide how much he wants to say and how much contrition he wants to show to this judge. prosecutors saying that chauvin's actions shocked the nation's conscience. how important is it for thejudge to get conscience. how important is it for the judge to get this right today? it is very important for him to continue to do what he has done all along. so far, he has gottenjust about everything right from controlling the outside influences in this case, by keeping both the prosecution and the defence in line, and this is really the final piece that will be put in place, because the appeal is not only going to look at the trial itself and the finding of guilt, but they will look at whether or not the sentence was justified based on the aggravating and mitigating factors and whether he abused his discretion in opposing a sentence that is to survey. —— imposing a sentence. he will send a message to the community and other police officers who may consider the actions that they take when

arresting another individual or encountering another individual. this is a message that is going to be heard far across the country and not just within the be heard far across the country and notjust within the confines of this. and we'll be live in minneapolis later for full coverage of the sentencing of former police officer derek chauvin for the murder of george floyd, starting at around 7.30pm. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. good afternoon. the weekend is just around the corner now and the weather is going to bring us a real mixed bag over the next few days. there will be some spells of sunshine throughout the weekend, a few showers here and there on saturday and some more persistent rain in the far south i think on sunday. back to the here and now, quite a lot of cloud through the rest of the afternoon into the evening. some showery rain for parts of northern england, wales, could be the odd thunderstorm through the midlands, east anglia too, as we head into this evening. overnight, most of the rain tends to ease away, it will stay quite cloudy with some mist and hill fog around for many of us. slightly clearer skies in the far

south and far north—west, but temperatures staying in double figures overnight. into saturday, we have this slow—moving front still with us. it's quite a weak weather front, so it is not bringing too much rain, but a lot of cloud across much of the uk. a few sharp showers developing through central england, perhaps wales. sunnier skies towards the far north—west and the far south—east and temperatures between 1a to 22 degrees. bye— bye.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: matt hancock says sorry for breaching distancing guidelines, after he was caught on camera in an embrace with a close aide. borisjohnson's spokesman has said the prime minister has accepted matt hancock's apology and that the matter was now closed. labour has called for action to be taken. now is the time when the prime minister needs to get a grip on this situation. he simply has not done so until now. he needs to act.

there's a surge in bookings to destinations including the balearic islands and malta, after they were moved onto the travel green list. four people have died after a block of flats collapsed in miami. a british woman is among over 150 people still missing. we are going to work as hard as we can to continue our search and rescue effort. that is our priority, that is where we are focused and protecting our first responders who are on the scene. the number of people infected with the delta variant of coronavirus rises by a6% in a week across the uk. and could dragon man be our closest ancestor? scientists in china discover a new species of human that could reshape the understanding of human evolution. sport and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. wales are continuing

their preparations in amsterdam ahead of tomorrow's euro 2020 last 16 match against denmark. no fans are permitted to travel to the city from wales, but supporters from denmark are allowed to travel there. wales reached the semi finals at the last euros but welsh captain gareth bale says the team isn't thinking about how far they can go this time. we arejust thinking we are just thinking about the next game. we do not need to be dreaming about anything other than playing the game tomorrow. we have had experience in the past where we know to take each game as it comes, that is the most important thing for us. we are looking forward to tomorrow's game. they are a very good denmark team and we will be doing all we can to try and stop them. the support we have had from back home, as much as it is frustrating for everybody, really frustrating they cannot be out here, the supporters, the messages we have had, the social media with the kids in school today singing the anthem for us, it is a montage of clips

we are going to show the players and we know come kick—off all of wales will be behind us. the premier league has announced it will fund more than 2,000 defibrillators across grassroots football, following christian eriksen's cardiac arrest. the midfielder collapsed during denmark's opening euro 2020 game against finland. medics performed cpr and used a defibrillator to save his life. wimbledon begins on monday but simona halep will not be there to defend her 2019 title. she's pulled out because of a calf injury. the 29—year—old had been at the all england club this week, raising hopes she'd be fit in time, but she was unable to recover from the injury she sustained earlier this year which forced her to miss the french open. the draw for wimbledon took place this morning and we now know andy murray will face the georgian 2ath seed nikoloz basilashvili in the first round.

murray — who was beaten by italy's matteo berretinni in the second round at the queen's club last week — will play his first singles match at wimbledon since 2017. he had to rely on a wild card after his ranking dropped outside the top 100 due to injury. there's a baptism of fire for british wildcard jack draper — the 19—year—old, who reached the quarter finals at queen's, willl make his wimbledon main—draw debut against the defending champion novak djokovic. and francesca jones also has a big opening round match on her debut — she'll be up against 17—year—old american coco gauff, who created a sensation two years ago at the all england club when she beat venus williams. katie swan has become the first british woman in 20 years to come through qualifying at wimbledon. she reached the main draw with a comfortable victory over arina rodionova at roehampton, dropping just four games. she will face the 2017 us open finalist madison keys in the first round.

you can take a look at the full draw on the bbc sport website. max verstappen was quickest in both practice sessions ahead of this weekend's styrian grand prix in austria. the championship leader was a third of a second quicker than anyone else at the red bull ring, while world champion lewis hamilton was fourth. things were even worse for his mercedes team mate valtteri bottas, who's being investigated for this spin in the pitlane and could only manage 12th. we've also heard today that the turkish grand prix has been added to the calendar on 3rd october — replacing the cancelled singapore race. jos buttler will miss the rest of england's white—ball series against sri lanka. he led them to a comfortable win in the first t20 game on wednesday but he picked up a calf injury during that match — and missed yesterday's second win. there's one more t20 to come tomorrow, followed by three one—day internationals. dawid malan has been

added to the odi squad. that's all the sport for now. i will be back in an hour. the health secretary, matt hancock, has apologised for breaching social distancing rules after the sun published a photo of him in a close embrace with one of his aides. in a statement, mr hancock said... and a little earlier, the prime minister's official spokesman said the prime minister has accepted the health secretary's apology and considers the matter closed. i've been speaking to barrister adam wagner, who's been going through the covid rules which were in place at the time the health secretary was pictured with his aide. i'm pretty clear, although you never know for sure, that there was a rule breach here.

a breach of the regulations, on the basis that at the time, it was illegal to have any gathering of more than one person anywhere indoors unless an exception applied and the only one that could reasonably be said to apply or possibly said to apply would be that this was reasonably necessary for work purposes, but based on what we know and what we can see in the images, it does not seem that that was reasonably necessary for work purposes. the sun reporting that happened in early may, only their word on that at this stage. there is a difference here between the legality and the guidelines, right? yes, so, at the time, beginning of may, we were in step two, so it was still illegal to meet indoors with more than one person. the guidelines that matt hancock has said he has admitted he breached relate to hugging and kissing, obviously, which were not part

of the law and changed around the same time that the law changed around the 17th of may, whichever way you look at it he has breached guidance and probably law as well. from your understanding, what are the consequences? two things, first whether any retrospective action would be taken against him by the police. i really doubt there would be. but there is potentially a series of criminal offences that have been committed if this was something that was happening repeatedly and particularly if it was happening in different places. that was what the sun article said, that this was not the first time it had been happening and in those circumstances, i do think... i have always sympathised with this ban on relationships, effective ban on relationships between people that do not live together, and i have written about it a lot

and a lot of people suffered because of that, but ultimately it was against the law to meet up indoors with someone for an affair, a relationship, for sex, so i do think there is a case to answer and i think it is fair to ask the health secretary, who signed these laws, his name is at the bottom of these laws, whether there were other instances, where they took place, how long they happened for and which rules were in place at the same time, because there is potentially a cause for criminal conduct. speculation on the length is what you're hinting at there. what we do know is the prime minister has accepted mr hancock's apology. as far as he is concerned the matter is closed. how do you think this will play out with the public and voters? in the summer, when dominic cummings was found out to have breached the rules, as people saw it, going to barnard castle, there was a study done by ucl who found that the public confidence

in the rules went down dramatically after that, because people thought if there is one rule for them and one for me why should i follow the rules at all? the police only have a certain amount of capacity to enforce these rules. the really important thing is people keep confidence with the rules and, ultimately, the buck stops with the health secretary for doing that, so it puts him in a difficult position i think legally and i think in terms of his influence on public behaviour, trust and credibility, which is so important in getting us out of this pandemic. barrister adam wagner there. officials in russia are sounding the alarm about a? new wave of coronavirus infections — causing a record number of deaths in recent days. some regions are introducing restrictions — including moscow,

where many workers are being obliged to get vaccinated. ?meanwhile, ?st petersburg is hosting football fans for euro 2020 and is reluctant to bring in any tough measures. sarah rainsford reports. they are partying like there is no pandemic in st petersburg. the city is hosting the euros, welcoming football fans to town in their thousands. the vibe, it's the same. to be honest, it doesn't feel like it is covid. except in the arenas. not full capacity. all this as officials call the infection rate explosive and talk openly now about the record number of deaths. look at this place. it is packed out. and it's the same all the way up the street. and yet, this is a city in the midst of a covid crisis. there's been no lockdown here in over a year. covid was supposedly under control. but as st petersburg is hit

by a heatwave, there's a new wave of the virus as well. so we found this outside just one city hospital. ambulances waiting at least three hours under a sweltering sun. the more infectious delta variant as it is known is spreading fast and, in russia, just 11% of people have been fully vaccinated. this ladyjust said to me if she hadn't been vaccinated she thinks she would have died, she says she's got double pneumonia now and that's after having been vaccinated back injanuary. she said it's awful. translation: there's no beds i anywhere now, everywhere is full. more people getting sick. we need a strict lockdown. maybe they will bring it

in when the football is over. for now, i don't see them doing anything! what they are doing is pushing people to get vaccinated. there have been pop—up clinics like this for months here but no queues until now. russia has always hailed its sputnik vaccine as world beating but few here actually wanted it. now some are signing up voluntarily but many more are being forced to get a jab or lose theirjob. translation: trust in _ the authorities has been undermined for many years and if you look at how few people are getting vaccinated it's dangerous. especially now there is a third wave of covid. the reminders are all around. though many are partying on regardless. russia has been playing down this pandemic for so long it's struggling to convince people now of the danger. sarah rainsford, bbc news.

the father of the belarusian opposition blogger roman protasevich, who was arrested last month when his plane was diverted to minsk, has told the bbc his son has been moved from prison to house arrest. the blogger�*s girlfriend, sofia sapega, is also said to have been moved out of a detention facility and into a rented flat in the belarusian capital. three weeks ago, mr protasevich was put on state television where he was seen confessing to organizing anti—government protests — a confession that his family say was coerced. olga ivshina from the bbc�*s russian service has more on what mr protasevich's father told the bbc. he told that they found out that he had been moved under house arrest. they don't know much, you know? they also knew that his girlfriend, sofia sapega, was also moved to house arrest and we also managed to speak to her parents and they were able to travel to belarus from russia and they saw their daughter at a restaurant. the time of that visit wasn't limited. it all started with a picture,

a photo published yesterday online where some people saw in the park two people resembling protasevich and sapega talking to one of the journalists on camera. what happens next is unclear, but the parents of roman protasevich are sure that it is a positive sign in terms of the wellbeing of roman, but they think some bargaining is going on. the parents say there are no communications, no—one is talking to them. they were not able to speak to roman yet, so they are completely in the dark, but an opposition leader said according to her sources some of the russian diplomats were calling some european diplomats yesterday and saying that some political prisoners would be moved under arrest. these are all small signs which give hints that this might be a part of a bigger game by the russian authorities, but the exact terms of this game is of course unclear,

and the fact is that this game involves human lives. the headlines on bbc news: matt hancock says sorry for breaching distancing guidelines, after he was caught on camera in an embrace with a close aide. borisjohnson's spokesman has said the prime minister has accepted matt hancock's apology and that the matter was now closed. labour has called for action to be taken. there's a surge in bookings to destinations including the balearic islands and malta, after they were moved onto the travel green list. four people have died after a block of flats collapsed in miami. a british woman is among over 150 people still missing. chinese researchers have discovered the skull of what they believe to be a new species of human that they claim is our closest evolutionary relative. if confirmed, the new human would displace neanderthals as our sister species. details have been published

in the journal the innovation. this report by our science correspondent, pallab ghosh. meet the dragon man, a perfectly preserved scale of what is not to be a species of you are not left in asia around 1a6,000 years ago. a huge head with a brain that was about the same size as ours. other features such as a prominent brow ridge around the eye socket suggest something more primitive. i ridge around the eye socket suggest something more primitive.— ridge around the eye socket suggest something more primitive. i said, my cosh, ou something more primitive. i said, my gosh. you cannot _ something more primitive. i said, my gosh, you cannot believe _ something more primitive. i said, my gosh, you cannot believe that. - something more primitive. i said, my gosh, you cannot believe that. it - something more primitive. i said, my gosh, you cannot believe that. it is i gosh, you cannot believe that. it is so well preserved you can see all the details. so well preserved you can see all the details-— the details. this is what researchers _ the details. this is what researchers think - the details. this is what researchers think he - the details. this is what - researchers think he looked like, stocky and powerfully built, able to withstand freezing temperatures of what is now north—eastern china. where does dragon man fit into the new human family tree? 7 million years ago the first humanlike

creatures emerged. they became progressively more developed until 2 million years ago our ancient ancestor emerged. dragon man, it is claimed, is a new species that lived alongside us. not only that, it is more closely related to us. one of britain's leading experts in the field as part of the research team. after examining this replica made from rice and he believes the dragon man is a hugely important discovery. i have been studying human revolution for the last 50 years or so and this for me is one of the most significant fossils i have seen and studied in all of that time. it really gets us a new view of human evolution because it looks like this is a sister species to homo sapiens, our species. is a sister species to homo sapiens, our species-—

is a sister species to homo sapiens, our secies. , ., ., ., our species. some believe dragon man miaht our species. some believe dragon man might belong — our species. some believe dragon man might belong to _ our species. some believe dragon man might belong to a _ our species. some believe dragon man might belong to a mysterious - our species. some believe dragon man might belong to a mysterious branch i might belong to a mysterious branch of humans. all we know about them is from a handful of human fossils. it is fascinating the steady from the past. they have found more suggesting that your, but now because dragon man looked like each other we might have the first face. these are early skulls found in china has baffled scientists until now. the discovery of dragon man suggests they might represent a gradual evolution of the latest member of the human family. well, you saw him in that report — professor chris stringer from the natural history museum. we can can speak to him now. good afternoon. quite a discovery.

why is it so significant? first good afternoon. quite a discovery. why is it so significant?— why is it so significant? first of all it is wonderfully _ why is it so significant? first of all it is wonderfully preserved. | why is it so significant? first of| all it is wonderfully preserved. it is missing most of its teeth but in other respects it is beautifully preserved and of course it is huge in size, the biggest fossil human skull i have ever seen, and it has an unusual combination of features. some very primitive and some like our own species homo sapiens. hagar our own species homo sapiens. how im ortant our own species homo sapiens. how important the _ our own species homo sapiens. how important the brain size? yes, - our own species homo sapiens. how important the brain size? yes, the l important the brain size? yes, the brain is very _ important the brain size? yes, the brain is very large, _ important the brain size? yes, the brain is very large, so _ important the brain size? yes, the brain is very large, so it _ important the brain size? yes, the brain is very large, so it is - brain is very large, so it is similar to the total�*s and to us, certainly what we would call a large brain for the body size, and in other ways in the face it is tucked under the bain case in a way that we find that modern humans and above the eyes there is a huge brow ridge, so a mixture of these primitive and what we would call advanced features. ., ., ., ., features. you mentioned the good condition it _ features. you mentioned the good condition it was _ features. you mentioned the good condition it was found. _ features. you mentioned the good condition it was found. how - features. you mentioned the good

condition it was found. how was i features. you mentioned the good condition it was found. how was it| condition it was found. how was it discovered and why was it found in such good condition? yes. discovered and why was it found in such good condition?— such good condition? yes, it is a remarkable _ such good condition? yes, it is a remarkable story. _ such good condition? yes, it is a remarkable story. apparently . such good condition? yes, it is a| remarkable story. apparently the japanese were occupying north—eastern china in 1933. a team of chinese workers were working to build a bridge across the river and the team found a skull in the river sediments beautifully preserved and they didn't want the japanese to get hold of it so the leader of the gang took it home and wrapped it up and apparently put it down an abandoned well and it sat there for over 80 years until near the end of his life there is none told his family. they went and looked and recovered this incredible fossil. in 2018 it came into the hands of a professor who started to build a research team and a year later i was invited to join in the study. a year later i was invited to 'oin in the study.�* a year later i was invited to 'oin inthestud. . , . ., in the study. incredible story. what can we learn _ in the study. incredible story. what can we learn from _ in the study. incredible story. what can we learn from its _ in the study. incredible story. what can we learn from its discovery? it |

can we learn from its discovery? it really does establish their third line of humans based on fossils that waste. ourwill line of humans based on fossils that waste. our will in africa, there neanderthals evolving in europe and in east asia we can interpret a number of other chinese fossils as part of the same group, best when each. as you have indicated, this group seems to be in some ways more closely related to us than the neanderthals so that is quite a finding. it is ourfirst neanderthals so that is quite a finding. it is our first set of results but we are going to carry on studying this fossil and each analysis we make, whether it is the brain or the teeth, will give us a new look at this fossil and test this idea of how it relates to us and to the neanderthals. i this idea of how it relates to us and to the neanderthals.- this idea of how it relates to us and to the neanderthals. i can tell ou are and to the neanderthals. i can tell you are excited _ and to the neanderthals. i can tell you are excited by _ and to the neanderthals. i can tell you are excited by the _ and to the neanderthals. i can tell you are excited by the discovery. i you are excited by the discovery. can you maybe put it into some kind

of context as to how important it is? i of context as to how important it is? ., ,., , of context as to how important it is? ., , , , of context as to how important it is? ., , is? i would say yes, in terms of the fossils i have _ is? i would say yes, in terms of the fossils i have looked _ is? i would say yes, in terms of the fossils i have looked at _ is? i would say yes, in terms of the fossils i have looked at in _ is? i would say yes, in terms of the fossils i have looked at in my - fossils i have looked at in my research career, which is 50 years or so, this is one of the most important for the last 500,000 years of human evolution, and very significant find, because it unlocks the potential of the whole of east asia. forvarious the potential of the whole of east asia. for various reasons this has been a neglected area. there are some wonderful fossils there and it can help us study those fossils and put them into the whole global picture of human evolution. professor chris stringer, thank you forjoining us. we've all been forced to use technology more than ever, as a result of the pandemic. even something as simple as ordering a drink at the bar can now mean downloading an app to your phone. but that's causing problems for people who'd previously managed to avoid the online revolution. fiona lamdin has been to meet those overcoming the digital divide.

82—year—old ray has always loved to paint. but when the country went into lockdown, all his art classes were cancelled and he had nothing to do. you tend to feel a bit lonely. i didn't go out. well, we couldn't at the time cos of covid, there was nowhere to go anyway. and i was sat here and all i had to do really was watch the television. so he took the plunge and went online. i feel now that the world's my oyster, really. as i zoom more and more, i go further afield. it's giving me more get up and go, you know, because i've got something else to do. hiya, ray, how are you today? and on the other side of the screen is lloyd, a digital champion who's taught him everything. ray, what are you painting today? well, this is a quick acrylic painting. anybody can do this one. the latest figures from 0fcom show

that only 55% of over—65—year—olds use a smartphone, while a6% of over—75—year—olds haven't used the internet recently, with 39% of those never having used it before. phone rings. like 86—year—old brenda. during lockdown, she's been part of this weekly telephone group. we've got the topic of the bristol dinosaur today, so that should be interesting. oh, right, ok. but last week when brenda wanted to order a birthday meal out, with no smartphone or internet access, she was stuck. got to the pub door, restaurant. and i said to her, "right, i know exactly what i want." my favourite food. so, "hang on, mum." the woman come out and she said, "oh, you've got to do it through..." is it the app? whatever it is. i said, "that rules me out." that was ok, but it made me

feel a bit inadequate. back in wales with restrictions easing, this digital duo are now able to meet in person. but ray is now so comfortable online, he's in no rush to leave his new virtual world. if i can do it, anyone can do it. i mean, i'm 82, but there are people on zoom who are 90, 92, 96. so i think it's something for everybody. fiona lamdin, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. good afternoon. it is a day of mixed fortunes out there weather—wise. some of us are keeping a lot of cloud which is bringing some outbreaks of rain. in other areas the cloud will break up and things will brighten up. in cornwall at the moment there is some blue sky. through the course of the weekend we are expecting that mix of weather types to continue. a few showers here and there

on saturday, perhaps more persistent rain in the south by the time we get to sunday. back to the here and now, we have low pressure in charge at the moment. these fronts are slow moving. there will be outbreaks of rain in northern england and into wales. for the moment these fronts are slow moving. further south and east about 21 degrees. for the north and west that will be high teens. most of the rain does tend to ease overnight, but it stays quite cloudy with mist and fog around the coasts and hills, certainly quite mild with temperatures between ten and 12 degrees to start off your weekend. into saturday, that area of low pressure that is with us today is still lingering, but it will tend to fill a little bit. these weather fronts are not producing too much in the way of rainfall. quite cloudy conditions for many of us, patchy rain for southern scotland and northern england. some showers popping

up in the midlands. there will be some sunshine in the southern half of the uk. cloudier for northern ireland and southern scotland. some brightness for the far north—west. moving through saturday night and into sunday, this area of low pressure is still with us. it might get a bit of a pep up as we see some rain moving in from the south. a bit of uncertainty about where we'll see these outbreaks of rain on sunday. certainly along the english channel coast we will see some showers. generally, the further north you are it should stay predominantly dry with sunny spells on sunday and temperatures on the up, about 21 degrees for glasgow, 22 in london, but there will be rain lingering in the south. we will continue to see heavy showers for southern england for the first part of the working week, but turning drier and warmer later on.

this is bbc news, i'mjane hill. the headlines at 5pm... matt hancock says sorry for breaching distancing guidelines, after he was caught on camera in an embrace with a close aide. the prime minister says the matter is now closed — labour says action needs to be taken. now is the time when the prime minister needs to get a grip on this situation. he simply has not done so until now. he needs to act. travel companies report a surge in bookings to destinations including the baleariac islands and malta, after they were moved onto the travel green list. four people have died after a block of flats collapsed in miami. a british woman is among more than 150 people still missing. we are going to work as hard as we can to continue our

search and rescue effort. that is our priority, that is where we are focused