this is bbc news. the headlines at four... a cabinet minister indicates that the use of face coverings will become a personal choice when lockdown restrictions in england are eased. we trust the british public to exercise good judgment. people will come to different conclusions. more than 20 million people watched england's brilliant night in rome, as they thrashed ukraine, and moved on to the semi finals of the euros. it's been a long year for everybody, and i'm chuffed the two performances we have put on have brought so much enjoyment and happiness to people. it was a saturday night

to celebrate for fans — football now is coming home — with england facing denmark at wembley on wednesday night. a military transport plane has crashed in the philippines, killing at least 45 people. ministers extend the period in which legal action can be taken against housing developers in light of the cladding crisis. greece, italy and israel send planes to cyprus to tackle a fatal wildfire on its south coast. and coming up at 16:30, it's hardtalk with zeinab badawi. good afternoon. the government is giving strong signals that all legal restrictions around covid protection will end on the 19thjuly in england as we learn to live with the virus. the housing secretary robertjenrick

said this morning that the public must start to exercise personal responsibility, including overfacemasks, rather than the government telling people what to do. our political correspondent, nick eardley, has the details. masks and social distancing have become part of our lives. but for how much longer? with shops open again, pubs serving pints, the government wants to go further, lifting all legal restrictions in england. this morning, ministers suggested legal rules around face coverings were among those likely to go. it does look as if, thanks to the success of the vaccine programme, that we now have the scope to roll back those restrictions and return to a normality as far as possible. we should all be prepared, though, that cases may continue to rise. they may continue to rise significantly. but we do now have to move into a different period where we learn to live with the virus, we take precautions, and we, as individuals, take personal responsibility. as this graph shows, the number of positive cases is rising.

but look at this line, too. hospitalisations, a key test for the government, aren't rising as quickly. that gives ministers some confidence that restrictions can be lifted without overwhelming the health service. the link is not totally broken. there are people in hospital who have been vaccinated, but it is severely weakened. the key aim now is to get as many people vaccinated beforejuly 19. but some are still urging caution. the british medical association has said that some measures should be kept in place later this month. labour said it wants to see the evidence. i want the economy and society to open up again. we are all getting sick and tired of the restrictions on our everyday lives to do the things we love. but it is important that if the qr codes are going to stop, if the masks are going to come off, but we are absolutely confident that that is the right thing to do. at the moment, all we're hearing

is briefings from ministers rather than the science behind it. we need to see science. the prime minister will detail more of the government's thinking in the next few days. separate decisions will be made for scotland, wales, northern ireland. the period of unprecedented restrictions on our lives looks set to be coming to an end. joe twyman is the co—founder of deltapoll, a public opinion consultancy. he says that while currently public support for masks wearing remains high. this may change once restrictions are lifted in england on the 19th ofjuly. consistently, a majority of people have said that they support the rule is that people should wear masks in public places. but, of course, there is a distinction, as with so many areas of survey work, there is a distinction between people who say yes, they support policy, the actual practice and behaviour of people wearing them. a lot will come down to exactly what is seen on the

streets. it is all very well in the abstract concept of a survey instrument saying, i will or won't do this, but i think when people actually see changes in behaviour, as a result of what we assume will happen on the 19th ofjuly, then, i think we will see an even greater evolution of public opinion. it may well be that if people stop sticking masks of, then the snowball effect will occur. and, indeed, the opposite may be true. if people see that, actually, most people keep their masks on, particularly on things like public transport, that may bring about a change as well. it will be interesting. it is impossible to predict. this is such a complicated situation. there are so many different elements at play. we have just have the latest government coronavirus figures. there were 2a,000 248,000 ——

government coronavirus figures. there were 24,000 248,000 —— 24,000 480 cases. this is a leader in global public health at the university of sheffield. from a public health point of view, how wise is it to keep on personal choice and the restrictions that people keep on observing? i restrictions that people keep on observing?— observing? i do have some reservations. _ observing? i do have some reservations. this - observing? i do have some reservations. this gives - observing? i do have some - reservations. this gives people the idea that the risk is zero. we know that the risk is not zero. yes, vaccinations have dropped the mess comes very low levels of the most of us, but higher risks remain for those who are unvaccinated and those with pre—existing medical conditions. with pre-existing medical conditions.— with pre-existing medical conditions. ., conditions. but at some point, --eole conditions. but at some point, peeple will _ conditions. but at some point, people will expect _ conditions. but at some point, people will expect to - conditions. but at some point, people will expect to be - conditions. but at some point, i people will expect to be released from some of these obligations. surely some is the best time to do it? i

surely some is the best time to do it? 4' ., ., ., . it? i think we have to watch the conditions- _ it? i think we have to watch the conditions. this _ it? i think we have to watch the conditions. this point _ it? i think we have to watch the conditions. this point in - it? i think we have to watch the conditions. this point in time, i it? i think we have to watch the l conditions. this point in time, we have a rising number of delta variant cases in this country. as you mentioned, there are still deaths occurring at this point in time. if the intention is to promote personal responsibility, we need to continue to communicate to the public so that they can take appropriate measures. given that a lot of peeple _ appropriate measures. given that a lot of peeple say — appropriate measures. given that a lot of people say they _ appropriate measures. given that a lot of people say they are - appropriate measures. given that a lot of people say they are very - lot of people say they are very happy to wear a mask, for example, i'm very happy to observe social distancing, just because they are no longer mandated to do it, why would they stop for believing it? it is interesting. — they stop for believing it? it is interesting, when _ they stop for believing it? it 3 interesting, when you look at social norms. i think we all try to fit in. that's human nature. we find a lot of people not wanting to wear a mask, or, indeed, discouraging, perhaps, the use of masks in social settings. that might have a negative

impact on people's compliance with facemasks. ., ~ , , facemasks. how likely is it too will be see the — facemasks. how likely is it too will be see the introduction _ facemasks. how likely is it too will be see the introduction of- facemasks. how likely is it too will be see the introduction of some i facemasks. how likely is it too will be see the introduction of some of these restrictions being lifted if these restrictions being lifted if the delta variant keeps hold? element there is always a possibility. look, we're only 18 months into this pandemic. it is still a relatively new pandemic. it continues to evolve. who knows what threats will emerge in the coming months or years are? key here is to continue vigilance. and the flexibility to change our measures according to riske.— according to riske. housing secretary — according to riske. housing secretary told _ according to riske. housing secretary told the - according to riske. housing secretary told the bbc - according to riske. housing| secretary told the bbc today according to riske. housing - secretary told the bbc today that the government will look again at the government will look again at the use of bubbles within schools. we have seen how disruptive that has been when one child in the bubble test positive, and all of the children in the bubble to go home. how keen are you to see that dispensed with?—

how keen are you to see that dispensed with? such a difficult decision. schooling _ dispensed with? such a difficult decision. schooling has- dispensed with? such a difficult decision. schooling has been i decision. schooling has been disrupted for many children, the impacts are quite considerable, but we do need to find a balance between appropriate measures that can continue to keep schools fairly safe, and it might be the use of public, it might be better ventilation, we have got to look at all of this in the mix as to how we keep schools safe and open. i realise you are speaking to us in professional capacity. but from a personal point of view, which restrictions will you keep achieving to even if they are no longer restrictions?— to even if they are no longer restrictions? for me, it is the three thieves. _ restrictions? for me, it is the three thieves. minimising - restrictions? for me, it is the - three thieves. minimising contact with crowds, minimising close contacts, and trying to minimise the time spent in confined spaces. thanks very much. the england team are back home after their stunning euro 2020 quarter final victory over ukraine in rome last night. it was the most—watched live sporting tv event of the year,

attracting a peak audience of 20.9 million people. england are now the bookies favourites to win the championships. they are due to meet denmark at wembley on wednesday in the semi—finals. 0lly foster reports. gareth southgate was right. he said a change of scene, a first match away from wembley would be good for the players. and this was of rome sweet rome. because of quarantine restrictions, there were only a few thousand england fans inside the stadium, but millions were packed into the fan parks and beer gardens back home. this is just a taste of what could be a very special week ahead. i know what will be happening at home, that's great. it's lovely to see everybody on a saturday night, beer in hand, in the air, wherever it is. and they should. they should enjoy it. england have been moving through the gears at this tournament. they are now accelerating fast. cheering if there had

been any nerves against ukraine last night, harry kane settled it within five minutes. in the world cup three years ago, england's other harry scored his first international goal. another quarterfinal, another thumping header. kane was picked out for england's third and his third at these euros. jordan henderson had never scored for his country. another headed goal at england were heading into the semifinals with their biggest knockout win the tournament. we want to go further this time that we did in the world cup. of course, it is a great feeling to win here and the way we have done it shows the big progress we are making. so impressive from the guys. harry kane leading from the front. we are not really used to that. but very comfortable and comprehensive. never in doubt. the atmosphere has been incredible.

england fans have - come up the football. we can't wait for the game on wednesday night. - the players will have returned to a nation unified in praise. they should be in no doubt of the support they will have going into the semifinal. this is what you look forward to as a kid. don't use it as a point of fear, use it as a point of excitement to prove to the world how good you are. i think that changing mentality shows the players are going out and expressing themselves. they did that last night, but they must do it again for potentially one of the greatest games in the history. three weeks into the tournament, england finally have lift off. they're notjust expected to beat denmark on wednesday, but they are favourites to become

european champions. six former mps of work and pensions secretary is have asked rishi sunak to keep the extra £20 to universal credit. teams are preparing to explore explosives today in what is left in an collapsed apartment block in miami for controlled demolition. the decision was taken to demolish the building following fears of an approaching tropical storm that could endanger the lives of rescue teams. 120 people are still missing. 24 people were killed in the collapse. at least 45 people have died after a military plane crashed in southern philippines. the aircraft with more than 90 people on board crashed as it tried to land on the island ofjolo. three civilians on the ground

are among the victims. david campa nale reports. a large ball of black smoke was seen above the wreckage of a transport plane, a lockhead c130 hercules, supplied to the philippines by the united states. the head of the armed forces said it had missed the runway. it's not clear why. and then it's tried to regain power but it had failed and hit the ground. many of those on board were soldiers. they were flying from mindanao to the provincial airport ofjolo, when the plane came down in patikul. remarkably, a number of soldiers were seenjumping out of the aircraft before it hit the ground, sparing them from explosion caused by the crash according to an army statement. dozens of soldiers were pulled from the site of the burning wreckage. they are now receiving hospital treatment. the soldiers were part of the military�*s stepped up presence in the philippines to combat islamist militants, stepped up such as the abu sayyaf group. 0fficials there said there was no sign that the aircraft had been attacked, and an investigation would start once the rescue

operation was complete. many of those on board had only recently completed basic military training. the headlines on bbc news... a cabinet minister indicates that the use of face coverings will become a personal choice when lockdown restrictions in england are eased. more than 20 million people watched england's brilliant night in rome, as they thrashed ukraine, and moved on to the semi finals of the euros. a military transport plane has crashed in the philippines, killing at least 29 people. -- 35 —— 35 people. —— 45 people. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's jane dougall. good afternoon. for a third successive formula one race, max verstappen is celebrating at the chequered flag. after starting on pole, the dutchman dominated from start to finish to win

the race in austria. valterri bottas came second, with britain's lando norris in third. lewis hamilton was fourth. the victory extends verstappen�*s lead at the top of the drivers championship to 32 points. rain has delayed play in bristol as england prepare to reply to sri lanka's total of 166 in their third and final one day international. it was a poor batting performance from the visitors who were bowled out for 166 after 41 overs. england's bowlers made hay with chris woakes, david willey, tom curran and adil rashid taking wickets. england already have an unassailable 2—0 lead in the series. england have beaten the usa 43—29 at twickenham in front of a crowd of 10,000 fans. with so many players on lions duty, it left room for eight debutants. three of them managed to get a try; marcus smith, jamie blamire and this one from man—of—the—match harry randall. next up for england is canada

at twickenham on saturday. england manager gareth southgate says england in a semi—final will be great for the moral of the country. it comes after 20.9 million people watched on television as england beat ukraine 4—0 last night, putting england's men through to a first european championship semi—final since 1996. 0lly foster is at england's training base for us. southgate said he switched his attention to denmark as soon as the final whistle was blown. we have had atonement with denmark before. they are obviously riding a wave of emotion with christian. that's understandable. it's going to be a big game to be a part of. we have got more experience. individually, the players are very

experienced in those games. that is helpful. we've got to do that is now on wednesday night. i'm conscious it is notjust our country that has been through so much difficulty. but we have also had a lot of division for a little while. i know that these england nights and nights that bring everyone together. communities, families, and so, to give them enjoyment over the last two matches, in particular, and i think there once before, as well, and to have them looking forward with hope is part of the privilege of being on thejob, really. crystal palace has confirmed that former arsenal midfielder patrick vieira will be their new manager. the club posted the news on social media. it had been widely speculated that the arsenal legend would replace roy hodegeson at crystal palace, confirmation now that he has signed a three year contract. considered one of the best players of his generation, vieira won three premier league titles and four f.a. cups at arsenal.

he also won the world cup with france in 1998. the all england club has announced that there will be 100 per cent full capacity at wimbledon next week. centre court will have crowds of almost 15,000, while court one will hold more than 12,300 for the quarter—finals, semi—finals and finals. the tournament is part of the government's events research programme and operated at 50% capacity last week. it'll be the first time outdoor sporting stadiums will be full in the uk since the pandemic began. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. the government wants to give people living in flats with flammable cladding and other fire safety defects up to 15 years to sue developers for their poor construction. it's the ministry of housing's latest attempt to solve the cladding crisis in the wake of the grenfell fire.

the proposal is in building safety legislation being presented to parliament tomorrow. here's our business correspondent katy austin. four years on from the grenfell fire, hundreds of other buildings still haven't been made safe. the government says it is putting £5 billion towards the removal of dangerous cladding. today, the housing secretary announced a change that would increase the current six—year time limit for homeowners to seek compensation from developers. for substandard building work. it is not right that either the leaseholder or the taxpayer has to step up. i am announcing today that we are going to change the law retrospectively to give every homeowner 15 years in which to take action against the people who built their building, if there is shoddy workmanship. but some flat owners say this won't help them. this building in sheffield is set to receive £6 million from the government's building safety fund

for cladding removal. however, to fix others fire safety defects, they face another £6 million on bills. which is an average of £50,000 each. willis one of them. it won't help me. my building is over 15 years. it won't help me. mrjenrick said this morning, that the majority of these buildings were built in the two thousands. it doesn't take a mathematician to work out that by the time the bill is implemented, many of those buildings will not benefit from this, because they will be over 15 years old. this morning, robert jenerick was challenged on how much power the legal change would actually give leaseholders. all this does is it allows groups of leaseholders and tenants to get together and take a legal case against a very, very powerful, well funded, well located development company. that is not a level playing field. i don't think there is any easy way out of this situation,

you're absolutely right. i want the companies to pay up. i want shoddy workmanship to be paid for by the people who did it, not by the leaseholders. but it will take time for a change in the law to come into effect, longer still for legal cases to get going. there is a step in flammable flats they can't sell say they need help much sooner. katy austin, bbc news. at least four people have been killed in a wildfire in cyprus. the blaze has been spreading through an area north of the cities of limassol and larnaca and has forced the evacuation of several villages, though rescue workers say people are no longer at risk. police have arrested a man on suspicion of arson, after he was seen driving away from a village near limmasol as the fire started. sodaba haidare reports on what the country's president has described as the worst tragedy on the island in decades. flames raging out of control and the seven area of cyprus.

wildfires broke out about 2pm local time. they raged through the village. visiting an effort coordination centre, the cypriot president said it is the worst tragedy that this country had seen in decades. translation: the services responded immediately. they did everything possible in order to prevent deaths. unfortunately, this was not avoided, as we now know a deadly incident has been reported. the fires ravaged homes and cars and destroyed a large, forested area. it also forced evacuation of several nearby villages. translation: civil defence - volunteers fund for burnt bodies and a mountain area in the outskirts of the village. according to information, it seems the bodies belong to the four egyptians

that we were searching for since yesterday afternoon. as various rescue teams attempted numerous efforts, the scene has been secured. coroners are rushing on site for an autopsy. helicopters tried to douse the wildfire, fanned by strong winds and high temperatures. cyprus has been experiencing a week—long heatwave and temperatures rising to 40 celsius. it's been a challenge for firefighters trying to tackle the blaze. planes assisted by british troops and equipment stationed on the mediterranean island are fighting the flames. cyprus has called for more help. israel has come to the rescue and eu neighbours are sending more planes to help put out the fires. borisjohnson may perform a u—turn on planned cuts to the foreign aid budget. a report in the sunday times says the prime minister will allow mps a vote on the issue before parliament breaks for the summer recess. there's been growing

controversy over the plans, which would see the uk's spending on aid slashed from 0.7% to 0.5% of national income. around 50 conservative mps, including the former prime minister theresa may are amongst those against the £4 billion cut. one of those mps is tobias ellwood. he says he would welcome a vote on the issue. the uk prides itself on its strengths to identify problems across the world, find solutions, and take them with us. this decision has caused huge harm, both on a strategic and operational level. it has damaged our hard—fought reputation as a superpower. it has sent a poor example to other nations, to us as a permanent member of the united nations security council. how do we persuade others to stand with this? we were the only g7 nation at the summit this summer to actually cut our budget. 0perationally, this saves lives. this money provides support

for clean water, polio vaccinations, for tackling hiv, and the critical humanitarian support in places like yemen, syria, and libya. those vaccums get filled, either by extremists, or by other nations with extremely different agendas. if china or russia push in, then they have a different agendas and is very difficult for us to get back in there. retail bosses are calling on the government to take action against violence and abuse aimed at shop staff. this security footage was released by boots pharmacy to highlight the problems workers face. some of the uk's biggest brands are campaigning for greater legal protection for employees. the government said courts should be increasing sentences for such assaults. chinese astronauts have conducted their first ever double spacewalk. it's only the second time chinese astronauts have stepped outside their craft while in space. the astronauts are testing next—generation spacesuits and installing equipment forfuture missions. the launch is a matter of huge

prestige for china which this month is marking the hundredth anniversary of the ruling communist party. paintings from andy warhol are being exhibited for the first time at the tehran museum of contemporary art in iran. the masterpieces had been left for decades in the museum's storage, away from the public�*s eye. sara monetta reports. bright colours, nervous lines, andy warhol's work is unmistakable. but these paintings are even more extraordinary because they've never been seen before. now they're on display for the first time in their home, tehran. translation: when i heard about a new exhibition on andy warhol, i thought it was happening abroad. but no, it's happening here. it's a real surprise. i didn't know we had any warhol work. these, like hundreds of other pieces, were bought in the 1960s, by iran's

empress, who posed for warhol herself. after the iranian revolution in 1979, these artworks remained locked away from sight in the museum's storage. the empress�* collection is one of the largest in the world, it counts 3,500 masterpieces and has been valued at over three billion euros. the museum's curators think it's time to start sharing their treasure with the public. people are much more up—to—date in iran than — about the west than west — about iran. andy warhol broke down barriers in the art world. the curators hope his work could do the same with some of the barriers between iran and the west. sara monetta, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick. hello. some torrential, thundery downpours in some spots going into this evening. the greatest chance of disruption from north wales across north midlands,

northern england, northern ireland, much of scotland away from the far north—east but further showers possible just about anywhere to end the day and overnight further spells of rain across northern ireland, northern england, scotland. north wales, south wales, turning drier, clearer, along with much of southern england as we go into monday morning after a mild night. that does mean, at least here, there'll be some early morning sunshine. a lot of cloud across northern england, northern ireland and scotland to start the day. further outbreaks of rain, some heavy bursts within this as well. northern england turning drier, brighter, along with the rest of england and wales. there'll be some sunny spells around — feeling pleasant in those. the chance of catching a shower but many places staying dry. winds for the most part are light but strengthening, with another area of rain moving into south—west england as we go on through the afternoon. and this with wet and windier weather pushing in across england and wales overnight and into tuesday morning.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines... a cabinet minister indicates that the use of face coverings will become a personal choice when lockdown restrictions in england are eased. more than 20 million people watched england's brilliant night in rome as they thrashed ukraine and moved on to the semi—finals of the euros.