faisal islam, bbc news, on the wirral.ngland to receive a pioneering gene therapy. zolgensma has been called the world's most expensive medicine, costing almost £1.8 million. but now the nhs has started using it to treat babies with a rare, fatal genetic disorder which causes progressive muscle weakness. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh reports. this is the dawn of a new era in the treatment of genetic disorders. baby cries arthur has spinal muscular atrophy, sma, a devastating condition which causes progressive muscle weakness. untreated, children rarely live beyond the age of two. arthur, who's five months old, struggles to move his arms and legs, but this single infusion of zolgensma should halt further damage. it's been massive, massive ups and downs, but being able to now have the treatment is just going to be a game—changerfor us and give arthur the best possible life he could have. so, this is the world's most expensive medicine, with a list price of almost £1.8 million. the nhs has negotiated a confidential discount

our economics editor faisal islam is in central london, where the deal was struck. faisal. over decades the world's biggest multinationals have effectively been able to pick and choose the rate of tax they pay on hundreds of billions of pounds of global sales and that is even more the case in the past few years with the big digital tech giants. now as a result of this deal of the world's biggest democracies and their economies, they say that this will end here and now, or at least start to end, and that is because the pandemic crisis has led to a big hole in the finances for these finance ministers and also many of these companies have done quite well during the past year. so here at lancaster house in a place steeped in 20th—century british diplomatic history, a piece of 21st—century economic history. multinational companies, especially the big tech giants, have become more powerful than some governments, especially in their ability to pay minimal tax bills. today, the finance ministers of the seven leading economies, the g7, hit back with an historic deal brokered by the

faisal islam, at the g7 meeting in london.cts has found no evidence of alien activity , but, intriguingly, does not rule it out. the product of a us military task force established last year to investigate decades of unexplained aerial sightings, the report reviewed 120 incidents, and is expected to conclude that us technology was, in most cases, not involved. beyond that, however, the report makes no definitive assessments about what the objects might be. joining me now from winnipeg in canada is mj banias, author of the ufo people: : a curious culture, and a freelance tech journalist specializing in paranormal culture thank you forjoining us. thank thank you for “oining us. thank ou for thank you forjoining us. thank you for having _ thank you forjoining us. thank you for having me. _ thank you forjoining us. thank you for having me. conclusionl you for having me. conclusion of this report _ you for having me. conclusion of this report seems - you for having me. conclusion of this report seems to - you for having me. conclus

faisal islam, at the g7 meeting in london.the streets of hong kong to stop people commemorating the anniversary of the 1989 massacre in tiananmen square in beijing. the authorities have banned vigils, citing coronavirus restrictions — and areas where people usually gather have been closed off. from hong kong, danny vincent reports. june 4th was once a day hong kongers dared not to forget. victoria park once looked like this on the anniversary of the deadly crackdown. this is victoria park onjune 4th 2021. this former british colony is the only place on chinese soil that officially marks the tiananmen square crackdown. this year, the authorities threatened to imprison anyone who attended the vigil. they cited covid—i9 restrictions, but it's seen as a part of a wider attack on dissent. some were determined to mark the day. translation: we're taking risks but you have to keep going. - if not, history willjust be rewritten and forgotten. gunfire. hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed when the chinese army opened fire on their

faisal islam, at the g7 meeting in london.london stage — as the principal dancers reveal how they stayed in shape during the pandemic the queen and her husband began their royal progress to westminster. the moment of crowning, in accordance with the order of service, via a signal given with the great guns of the tower. tributes have been paid around the world to muhammad ali who has died at the age of 74. 0utspoken but rarely out—fought, ali transcended the sport of boxing of which he was three times world champion. he was a good fighter, he fought all the way to the end — even through his illness. yes, he did. uefa imposes an indefinite ban on english clubs playing in europe. today is the 20th anniversary of the release of the beatles lp sgt peppers lonely hearts club band, a record described as the album of the century. this is bbc news — our top story... banned for two years. facebook says donald trump's suspension — following the capitol hill riots — will stay in place — and could be extended if there's still a risk to pub

faisal islam, bbc news, at the g7. in england says the decision on easing restrictions on the 21st ofjune is finely balanced. chris hopson warned that the delta variant, first discovered in india, is still spreading but he said vaccines appear to be breaking the link between coronavirus cases and serious illness. our health correspondent naomi grimley reports. it's the big question of the summer — can hospitals still cope with the numbers of people who'll fall seriously ill with covid—i9 before the full effects of mass vaccination are felt? hospital admissions are well below the levels we saw in winter and today, one of those representing health trusts appeared to strike an optimistic note. it does look as though the vaccines have kind of broken the chain between catching covid—i9 and potentially being very, very seriously ill and potentially dying. bolton is the area hit hardest by covid's more transmissible delta variant, first discovered in india. looking at what's happening in hospitals is a gauge to whether the nh

faisal islam, bbc news, at the g7.o stephaniejohnston, chief correspondent for tax notes today which is a news service for tax professionals. i asked her how significant she thought this agreement is. it sort of depends on who you ask. landmark in the fact that countries are able, the seven largest economies are able to agree on something so major, but it's not the final word, let's just say this. because, you know, this plan still needs to go to 139 countries for considerations, for further tweaks. and then to the g20 finance ministers for them to agree this plan... so still hoops to jump through, but how likely do you think something approximating what we've heard about today will actually come into force? political agreement i think is very likelyjust because this project has gone on for so long and the issue and stakes are so high. this problem, these problems that this agreement is trying to address have been going on for years and decades. you know, countries agree a change is needed to the international tax corp

our economics editor faisal islam reports.ultinational companies, especially the big tech giants, have become more powerful than some governments, especially in their ability to pay minimal tax bills. today, the finance ministers of the seven leading economies, the g7, hit back with an historic deal brokered by the chancellor rishi sunak. i'm delighted to announce that today after years of discussion, g7 finance ministers have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system, to make it fit for the global digital age but crucially to make sure it is fair, so that the right companies pay the right tax in the right places. they agreed to the principle of a global minimum corporation tax of at least 15%. as well as rules to make the largest companies with profits of more than 10% pay more tax in countries where sales are made, notjust where they declare their profits. the us had initially wanted a higher minimum rate of 21%. what do you say to those campaigners who say 15% isn't really going to be the transformative c

faisal islam, at the g7 meeting in london.found no evidence of alien activity , but, intriguingly, does not rule it out. the product of a us military task force established last year to investigate decades of unexplained aerial sightings, the report reviewed 120 incidents, and is expected to conclude that us technology was, in most cases, not involved. mj banias the author of the ufo people: : a curious culture, and a freelance tech journalist specializing in paranormal culture. he gave me his reaction to the report. yes, said the report as yet, but the new york times seems to have had a sneak peak or at least some information has gone to them. it seems to indicate that right now the us government is not going down the road that ufos be long to an alien species from another planet but potentially a foreign adversary but it has kind of left everyone with a kind of question of they simply don't know what is going on and we are not really sure what to do. we cannot say categorically they don't exist. well, what a think we have, t

faisal islam, bbc news, on the wirral. for helping school pupils in england catch up after a year of disrupted education. 0ur education editor branwenjeffreys is with me. before we come to the plan, let's recap on what the problem is. we know recap on what the problem is. - know even by last autumn, children were up to two months behind on reading and three months behind on primary maths and that was before the big lockdown injanuary and even more disruption. the government has already said it will spend £1.7 billion this year and next with some of that going on tutoring and early next —— this year they appointed an adviser to shape a big bold ambitious plans, he was talking about things like adding extra time to the school day for learning and also things like sport and music and activities to support children's mental health. tonight it seems as though those ambitions have been massively scaled down and i've been speaking to people close to the discussions in government and they say as recently as last week plans involvi

faisal islam, bbc news, at the g7. now with jayati ghosh, professor of economics at the university of massachusetts and member of the independent commission for the reform of international corporate taxation. professor, of international corporate taxation. good to have y today. professor, good to have you with us today. contrary to other descriptions of this deal as being historic, you don't say it is, do you? historic, you don't say it is, do ou? ., ., historic, you don't say it is, do ou? ., . ., historic, you don't say it is, do ou? ., ., ., ,, historic, you don't say it is, do ou? ., ., ,, ., you? no, i have to confess we are uuite you? no, i have to confess we are quite disappointed. _ you? no, i have to confess we are quite disappointed. to _ you? no, i have to confess we are quite disappointed. to put - you? no, i have to confess we are quite disappointed. to put it - quite disappointed. to put it frankly, it is a bit of a sell—out. i am not surprised google, facebook and all of the other digital companies are p

faisal islam, at the g7 meeting in london.fighting in the tigray region between local rebels and government troops. the un says without significant help, things could deteriorate to levels of malnutrition not seen since 1984 when michael buerk�*s reports for the bbc prompted the live aid concert. the situation has been made worse by the government limiting access to aid agencies to go into the tigray region, leaving civilians trapped by the fighting without sufficient food and water supplies. here's our africa correspondent andrew harding. the men with guns are bringing starvation once again to ethiopia. across the fragile northern region of tigray, months of conflict have destroyed farms, crops and clinics. with access limited, much of the suffering here is hidden from the outside world. fears of famine have been growing steadily, but today the un told us that famine conditions have now arrived. their farms have been destroyed, their harvest was destroyed, their bank accounts don't exist any more. there's hundreds of thousand

faisal islam, at the g7 meeting in london. a decision to suspend his social media accounts for two years is an insult to the millions of people who voted for him in the us election. the un has issued a stark warning that ethiopia is facing a repeat of the devastating famine of 1984 as a result of the continuing conflict in tigray. parents in the united states are being urged to get their children vaccinated against covid—19, after new data showed a rise in teenage hospitalisations. a report from the center for disease prevention suggested that figures rose sharply in april — and one in three teenagers admitted to hospital earlier this year have needed icu treatment. last month the us food and drug administration authorised the pfizer—biontech vaccine for use in adolescents, and moderna is seeking the same for its vaccine this month. it comes as regulators in the uk approve the pfizer jab for 12—to—15—year—olds. let's talk about all of this with dr allison messina. she chairs the infectious disease division atjohns hopkins all

faisal islam, bbc news, at the g7.peak now with stephanie johnston, chief correspondent for tax notes international, a news service for tax professionals. thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for coming on the programme-— thank you for coming on the rouramme. ., ~ i. ., ., programme. thank you for having me. it is described _ programme. thank you for having me. it is described as _ programme. thank you for having me. it is described as a _ me. it is described as a landmark _ me. it is described as a landmark deal, - me. it is described as a landmark deal, do - me. it is described as a landmark deal, do you | me. it is described as a - landmark deal, do you agree? landmark in the fact that countries are able to agree on something so major. not so much, it is not the final word. this agreement, this plan still needs to go to 139 countries for further consideration and further tweaks and then to the g 25 ministers who have to agree. g 25 ministers who have to auree. g 25 ministers who have to a . ree. . g 25 m

faisal islam, at the g7 meeting in london.dence of alien activity , but, intriguingly, does not rule it out. the product of a us military task force established last year to investigate decades of unexplained aerial sightings, the report reviewed 120 incidents, and is expected to conclude that us technology was, in most cases, not involved. beyond that, however, the report makes no definitive assessments about what the objects might be. sean cahill is a retired us navy chief who in 2004 says he saw an unidentified aerial phenomena event referred to as �*tic—tac�* in while onboard a us warship off the coast of san diego. when i was stationed on the uss princeton we spent a few days coordinating ships efforts to find these objects on our radar and then send aircraft i was able to witness five or seven lights and all blinked out individually. there seem to correspond to the data we were receiving on the radar. no screen to something called the tick tack. can you explain that? , ., _, tick tack. can you explain that? , ., ., that?

faisal islam, bbc news.healthy way to live with obesity, as findings show people who are seriously overweight have a 66% higher risk of chronic kidney disease. medical specialists?are calling for a greater understanding of the issue, saying that blame increases stigma, and that the condition should be acknowledged as an illness. ?our correspondentjeremy cooke reports on the mental and physical stress faced by people who are seriously obese. his report starts on images of surgery. grab the stomach. for those living with obesity, it is a last chance for new hope. just push the fat out the way. when all else fails, there's surgery. consultant shaw somers is operating to radically reduce the size of his patient�*s stomach, to suppress hunger, trigger dramatic weight loss. it's a life—changing event? for this gentleman, it'll be life—saving. for many of us, being a few pounds overweight can be sorted by diet and exercise. but for those of us who are chronically obese... that's the stomach removed. ..that just doe

faisal islam, bbc news, at the g7.director—general of the world trade organisation — pascal lamy — who's currently president of the paris peace forum — gave us his view on the deal. i do think this is a very important agreement. not that everything, every detail, is sorted out. there will be a lot of decisions to be made, but the political signal is, in my view, extremely important, for two reasons. one, because multinational companies will not be able, any more, to avoid paying taxes and this is a step forward in global governance at a time where, as we know, global governance is not in good shape so it is a good signal in this respect, and also because it is the end of the so—called regan—thatcher taboo according to which government was too big, and a good way to shrink government was to encourage tax competition. this is the end of this era. whatever new political paradigms there will be here or there now, for country x or y, the general view is that, big multinational companies making the so—called profit they make

faisal islam, at the g7 meeting in london.ctivity, but, intriguingly, does not rule it out. the product of a us military task force established last year to investigate decades of unexplained aerial sightings, the report reviewed 120 incidents, and is expected to conclude that us technology was, in most cases, not involved. beyond that, however, the report makes no definitive assessments about what the objects might be. let's speak to sean cahill, retired us navy chief—master—at—arms, who in 2004 witnessed your sightings in 2004, whilst off the coast of san diego trigger this investigation. what did you remember seeing? recorder into chips efforts to find these objects on our radar and then send a 15 year craft after nine —— f—15 aircraft. i was able to see lights of the port bow that moved towards the centre point and blinked out individually. they seem to correspond with the data we were receiving on the radar and any gun camera footage as well. and other screens is something called the tictac.— called the tictac. you're pro

faisal islam, at the g7 meeting, in london.olicy partner at deloitte. earlier, she told me the sticking points in the negotiations to reach a global tax deal. i think they are two big things here that the government needs to agree. the first is what companies are going to be included in the piece that looks to allocate profits to the countries in sales rather than the countries in sales rather than the country where the prophets are sitting at the moment. so, which companies will be in that? what is going to be this global minimum rate that all countries will agree they will either apply or if they don't apply, there will be measures that other countries can effectively take some of that tax and take it for themselves. some of that tax and take it for themselves-— some of that tax and take it for themselves. and the companies themselves. _ themselves. and the companies themselves, they _ themselves. and the companies themselves, they don't - themselves. and the companies themselves, they don't get - themselves. and the companie

faisal islam, thank you.vid pandemic. speaking in front of a committee of mps, he defended the timing of the first national lockdown in england, insisting that the government had been following expert advice. but he did reveal that he was being warned in january last year that there could be as many as 820,000 deaths. matt hancock also rejected a series of allegations by borisjohnson's former top adviser, dominic cummings. our deputy political editor vicki young reports. what more should the government have done to prepare for an emergency like this? when the covid pandemic hit, crucial decisions had to be taken fast. mps are trying to find out how that could have been done better. matt hancock recalled that, early last year, he'd told officials to prepare for a reasonable worst case scenario. that was a planning assumption for 820,000 deaths, and i was determined that that would not happen on my watch. so why wait so long before ordering a lockdown? mr hancock pointed out that there were very few confirmed c

faisal islam, at the g7 meeting, in london.just the summit that will have people pouring in. tourism is one of cornwall�*s main industries, and during the pandemic visitors have been hitting the beaches in huge numbers. but with foreign holidays looking increasingly doubtful this summer, just how sustainable is the boom? jon kay has been finding out. first thing every morning, the swannies take a dip. oh, this is beautiful. these local women swim before the tourists get up. and this summer will bring record numbers. where will they fit? i worry when you see people parking in mad places, and fire engines and ambulances can't get through. even the secret places we know in cornwall, i you'll go and you'll. still find it's rammed. even some of the campsites are charging £8,000 for two weeks in a caravan. and you sort of think, you know, who would pay that? but people are. because they are desperate to get away. cornwall has already had the busiest half—term anyone can remember. and next week the world will be here for the g7 summit

katy austin, bbc news. 0ur economics editor faisal islam is here. how significant a moment is this?y like to be part of history but i think it is fair to say that. it is very difficult to do these sorts of deals on tax, tax is the essence of deals on tax, tax is the essence of the sovereignty of a state, but it does seem like they have decided to come up with this international agreement that will have an impact. we are already hearing from the likes of facebook that they envisage having to pay more tax and pay that tax in different places as a result of this agreement, and it is clearly the context of the pandemic, of the fact that the exchequer is of the biggest economies in the world have been, not drained but very badly hit ljy been, not drained but very badly hit by the pandemic and by the lockdown is. that has changed the equation, as has the presence of a very different us administration, too. some will say it hasn't gone far enough, the rate of 15% seems quite low budget will have an impact particularly on tax havens, but it does depend on that fine detail that will be negot

tech companies google and facebook have welcomed the move. 0ur economics editor faisal islam reports.

it measured deaths above expected levels for a normal year. 0ur economics editor, faisal islam explainst has happened in different major economies and countries, and it tells a very interesting story. have a look at the us data. per 100,000 of population, there has been over 200 excess deaths — that is, deaths over and above what would have been normal the last five years. that's one in 500 of the population. the uk, which was in that top spot after the first wave, is now second, below the us, italy a little below that too. and then france, which is a bit below those top three countries — there was a better outcome in france, although still many people died. but then you get to germany, canada and japan, which are far lower — far fewer deaths there. asa as a point of comparison, even after one yearfor as a point of comparison, even after one year for those last three countries, the levels are still lower than what they reached in the first three months, the first wave, and the uk. professor peter hotez is the dean of the national school of tropical medicine at the baylor college of medi

it measured deaths above expected levels for a normal year. 0ur economics editor, faisal islam explainshole year of data to compare what's happened in different major economies and countries, and it tells a very interesting story. have a look at the us data. per 100,000 of population, there's been over 200 excess deaths — that is, deaths over and above what would have been normal in the last five years. that's one in 500 of the population. the uk, which was in that top spot after the first wave, is now second, below the us, italy a little below that, too. and then france, which is a bit below those top three countries — there was a better outcome in france. although, still, many people died. but then you get to germany, canada and japan, which are far lower — far fewer deaths there. as a point of comparison, even after one year for those last three countries, the levels are still lower than what they reached in the first three months, the first wave, in the uk. well, professor peter hotez is the dean of the national school of tropical medicine at the baylor college of medicine and i ask

our economics editor faisal islam is at that meeting in central london, and joins me now. faisal, how big a moment is this? it isa it is a historic moment this deal. it is a historic moment this deal. it is a deal amongst the traditional biggest seven countries that command the biggest parts of the world economy. and it will have to go to other economies like china and russia and the saudis, and smaller economies like ireland, in order to make it work. the mere fact these seven big countries, three european powers, the us, canada, japan and the uk have come to this deal would have been unthinkable a few years ago. there were some finance ministers who came over to law the deal and were emotional, because for years they have tried to get these big multinationals, in particular the tech companies, who can move their personnel and technology and trade marks around the world, to get them to pay more tax. they did not think it would happen, they thought the americans would stand in the way, and the uk where politics has been about cutting corporation tax. that has changed today,

faisal islam, bbc news, on the wirral.ironment correspondent justin rowlett reports. watch out for signs like this. clean—air zones are coming to a town near you, and they mean charges for polluting vehicles. here in birmingham, polluting private cars and taxis will pay £8, buses and lorries £50. but minutes after a rather bizarre smoke bomb launch ceremony, the council said introduction would be delayed by two weeks. this is all about air pollution. back in march, the government was prosecuted for failing to meet standards for a really nasty polluting gas called nitrogen dioxide, very bad for your health. clean—air zones are designed to address the problem by restricting access to polluting vehicles. opponents say small businesses and those on low incomes will be hit hard. you're encouraged to buy diesel cars by the government over a number of years because they were more efficient and they emitted less carbon dioxide, and that was the priority. and now, despite these cars only being about a third of the way through their

our economics editor, faisal islam, has been speaking to the german finance minister, olaf scholz, about's historic agreement. this is a very good agreement. we worked so hard for many years to get there, but now this is the breakthrough we worked for. and what does it mean? does it actually mean that the big tech companies, for example, will pay more tax in europe, in germany, here in britain? tax evasion will be more difficult for big companies all over the world and this is a good message for the people of our countries and especially the big tech giants who have to pay their fair share, and this is also a good success. and how about in europe? you have got a very difficult discussion now within the european union for those jurisdictions, not least ireland, that have corporation tax rates below 15%. i'm sure the decision that is made today will be very successful. this is a train that has already started and anyone willjoin the train. and are you happy that it is at least 15%, that there is some negotiation to move potentially to up that 15% to a higher rate? it is clear now that we h

scholz told the bbc�*s economic editor faisal islam a global rollout of the vaccine was the safest waycovery. it was right that we gave very strong physicalfight it was right that we gave very strong physical fight against the pandemic, we supported the health of our people with the money was spent but also, the economy and manyjobs. and now, when the crisis is going over in our countries, when we see the pandemic might have vanished in the summer and we get many people vaccinated and the infection rates are going down, now it is necessary that we understand that the fight will be successful only if we make it for the whole globe so we have a responsibility for the rest of the world, we have to make it happen that the people are vaccinated also in the global south, otherwise the virus may come back and then we would not have won anything. the americans are pushing this idea of a waiver of the patents. it would be a difficult step, i imagine, for the finance minister of a country that has such high tech pharmaceutical sectors to say we should go along with that. are you resisting that?

katy austin, bbc news. 0ur economics editor faisal islam said it's fair to call this an �*historic agreementit is fair to say that, difficult to do these sorts of deals on tax. tax is the essence of the sovereignty of a state but it does seem like they have decided to come up seem like they have decided to come up with this international agreement that will have an impact. we are already hearing from the likes of facebook that they envisage having to pay more tax and pay that tax in different places as a result of this agreement and it is clearly in the context of the pandemic, of the fact that the exchequer is of the biggest countries in the world have been not drained but very badly hit by the pandemic and the lockdowns. that has changed the equation and the us administration is very different too. some say it has not gone far enoughin too. some say it has not gone far enough in the rate of 15% is fairly low but it will have an impact particularly on tax havens and depends upon the fine detail to be negotiated with a wider group of countries. i negotiated with a wider group of countries. ,