rebecca morelle, bbc news.virus cases around the world has now passed six million. the latest milestone was announced byjohn hopkins university in the united states. more than 367,000 people are known to have died, with the us continuing to top the list of both infections and deaths. brazil, russia, the united kingdom, spain, and italy are the other worst affected countries. brazil itself has posted another record number of confirmed cases in the past 2a hours with more than 33,000. it's also recorded a further 956 deaths in the last day bringing the total number there to more than 28,000 800 which is more than france. -- 28,800. england's deputy chief medical officer, has warned the nation is facing a "very dangerous moment" in the fight against coronavirus. professorjonathan van tam said the scientific consensus was that easing the lockdown in england next week would not affect the infection rate, but he urged the public not to "tear the pants" out of the new guidelines. our political correspondent, chris mas

rebecca morelle, bbc news. do stay with us on bbc news.the unifying power of music — how a choir in the uk is uplifting people with special needs, even from afar. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand. but the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now, the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in underfour minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the uk records the highest number of deaths, linked to coronavirus of any european country. ministers say it's too early to compare. one of the british government's senior scientif

rebecca morelle, bbc news.ed, but places of worship remain closed. it's meant britain's 50,000 bell ringers have been unable to practice their ancient tradition, but as our religion editor martin bashir reports, they've turned to modern technology to resolve the issue. they call us to celebrate and toll sadly in our grief. but for the first time since the second world war church bells are silent. southwark cathedral is typical of 5,000 bell towers across the country. when you look through the history of britain and you see these old films, you hear a sound track of bells, and still to this day the ringing of the bells before the service happens, happens on special occasions such as ve day or christmas or easter or moments of remembrance. but with bell towers sealed, an ancient practice has suddenly been sustained by modern technology. everybody just make sure everybodyjust make sure that your bell rings... this is the ringing room, a virtual bell—ringing platform created by bryn, who has a phd in computer scien

rebecca morelle, bbc news.llion in their finances by september, according to chairman rick parry. the efl consists of 72 clubs across england and wales in three divisions below the premier league, and mr parry says it was difficult to answer how many clubs might go out of business because of the pandemic. 0ur sports editor dan roan has the story. match—going fans have always been the lifeblood of sport, but nowhere are they more important than here in the football league where clubs are far more dependent on ticket sales than broadcast revenue. and seven weeks after the season was suspended, the true cost of the coronavirus crisis was today laid bare. we are heading for a financial hole of about £200 million by the end of september. we need a rescue package, but i do think we also, at the same time, need to address the longer term. we can'tjust go from one bailout to another bailout, we have to look at the structure and assess it root and branch. parry told mps an overhaul of english football finances was now r

here's our science correspondent, rebecca morelle. getting ready for launch.. nasa's bob behnken and doug hurley will be at the controls. they'll be heading to the international space station. i was asking them a few hours ago, is there anything you want us to do? they're cool as a cucumber. they have nerves of steel. but this mission is about seeing if the technology works. its high—stakes stuff. but these astronauts have been training for this moment for yea rs. at any time you have the first flight of a brand—new vehicle, it's exciting. it's a bit more risky, which is why we're using people like bob and doug, who are very experienced test pilots, they can handle anything that maybe happens that we didn't expect. but it's what test pilots live for, you know, the chance to be the first one to fly a new, shiny vehicle is a test pilot's dream. lift off, we have a lift off. the united states has a long history of space flight. from the apollo missions, which took astronauts to the moon, to the space shuttle programme, which ferried men and women to low—earth orb

rebecca morelle, bbc news.play—off remaining as planned. decided on points per game with the play-off remaining as planned. any move needs to be ratified by the english football league and the football association. league 1 side to face further talks after failing to face further talks after failing to come to an agreement over their season. communities across the uk have found different ways to come together during the pandemic — from the clap for carers to teddy bears and rainbows in windows. now, one family hit by coronavirus has come up with a poignant way of remembering many who‘ve died — as jon kay reports. sheila died with coronavirus last month. she was 83. she was a kind and open person and she loved being in the mountains and forests. i think becky is somewhere as well. her husband david and granddaughter becky told me they wanted sheila to be remembered for how she was — not just as another statistic. she was always smiling, laughing, right to the end. she definitely had a lot of people in fits. i th

rebecca morelle, bbc news. off their august wedding because of fears their family would be unable to attend, jann and annalan decided to hold their nuptials early in the grade 2 listed chapel, at st thomas' hospital. they described the day as "intimate" and "lovely", but said it felt "surreal" getting married at work. congratulations to them. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello there. it's been a dry day for most of the country again today, the sunshine has been beating down. this was the weather watcher picture taken in shropshire earlier on and not a cloud in the sky. some areas have been seeing some cloud here, for example, in cambridgeshire and east anglia we had some cloud, limiting the temperature rise for a while but that has been thinning and breaking. we have got high pressure still in charge of our weather, this little weather front is approaching into the north—west, mind you, and that will probably steer to the north of northern ireland but it will bring more cloud this evening and overni

rebecca morelle, bbc news.ave been desperately trying to get hold of personal protective equipment — or ppe. that's the gloves, facemasks and gowns needed for doctors, nurses and carers. but what happens when these items, mostly made of plastic, get thrown away? the bbc‘s tim allman reports on the potential hazards of discarded ppe. in the waters off the coast of southern france, a perhaps unexpected consequence of covid—i9. this video, shot by an environmentalist called laurent lombard, appears to show disposable gloves on the seabed, near the resort of antibes. and it's notjust gloves. there are face masks, too, in amongst the usual plastic pollution of the mediterranean. laurent lombard is part ofa group called operation clean sea, which describes the oceans as our heritage that must be respected. this is what he found during just two hours of snorkelling, dozens of plastic bottles and, lying in a row at the front, face masks and latex gloves. the demand for personal protective equipment has been, understand

our scienceorrespondent rebecca morel has the story.ot think climate change is something i was very concerned about. have this year cou ver impact on tlihee esshe spends most of her time the start of the year, she hase taken part in the u.k.'s first climate assembly. >> we need something that will .ork, not juestip p damre bersalrom work outk m f to how the u.k. can reduce its ring house gas emissions to net zero by 205 looking at everything from how we generate electricity to transports. >> there a a lot of different opinions on how we should go about getting to net zero. we do t alyst could be london ac transport, electric, or a rural area where there is no public transport so you have no choice but to have a car. rebecca: what personal choicesak would theyto cut emissions? >> lessas m leakit at electric cars. s quality over quantity.he >> there is no financial benefit of improving your house, environmentally. the heat down by couple degrees and making the kids put their jumpern. becca: the climate assembly in march, but then the pand

rebecca morelle has more. these are steps towards a new era of space flight.rican soil in almost a decade. and this is the rocket, a company about to make history by carrying people into space. have an amazing flight, enjoy the views of our beautiful planet. three, two, one, ignition, lift off. godspeed! this is a huge step for us, a huge step for the commercial ventures and i think it is important for the world to realise that we are going into space to stay and we are going into space to stay and we are going to continue on to the moon and then onto mars. about ten minutes into the flight and the pull of the earth is gone. dragon separation confirmed. in the wreckage gently detaches. dragon is now officially making its way to the international space station today. but this is just the start. they have to be able to come home safely and make sure all the systems and parachutes get them home safely, it is not until that mission is back on earth that we will know that it is a complete success. we will know that it is a complete success. we hope you enjoyed the

our science correspondent rebecca morelle has that story.s something that i was very concerned about. i was a little bit concerned about it but it definitely wasn't something i thought about every day. leah could have a big impact on the way we live our lives. she spends most of her time looking after horses, but since the start of the year, she's been taking part in the uk's first climate assembly. we need something that will work, notjust a pipe dream. there are 110 climate citizens, chosen from a large pool of randomly selected people to represent all walks of life from across the uk. they are being asked to work out how the uk can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, looking at everything from how we generate electricity to choices about transport. there's a lot of different opinions of how we should go about getting to net zero, and we don't always agree. you could be in london and public transport could be all electric, and you could be in a rural area where there may be no public transport, so you have no choice bu

our science correspondent rebecca morelle has that story.e was something that i was very concerned about. i was a little bit concerned about it but it definitely wasn't something i thought about every day. leah could have a big impact on the way we live our lives. she spends most of her time looking after horses, but, since the start of the year, she's been taking part in the uk's first climate assembly. we need something that will work, notjust a pipe dream. there are 110 assembly members, chosen from randomly selected people to represent all walks of life from across the uk. they are being asked to work out how the uk can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, looking at everything from how we generate electricity to choices about transport. there's a lot of different opinions of how we should go about getting to net zero, and we don't always agree. you could be in london and public transport could be all electric, and you could be in a rural area where there may be no public transport, so you have no choice but to have a

rebecca morelle has more. into their flight and they'e been live—streaming a tour of their capsule. now that we are in zero gravity, we were requested to doa gravity, we were requested to do a back flip, i am going to do a back flip, i am going to doa do a back flip, i am going to do a side spin which is a little bit of a permutation on that request so hopefully you can see what it is like to actually float in zero gravity and it was notjust doug and i who accomplished the launch here, we have others aboard. we have to boys who are super interested collecting dinosaurs between the two hours and the apatosauraus made the trip into space today with us and that is a supercool thing for us, for us a supercool thing for us, for us to do with both of our sons. ididn't us to do with both of our sons. i didn't think i would be talking about floating dinosaurs in space today. let's get more from florida, we can talk to garrett reisman who is a a veteran of several space shuttle and international space station missions

session is this weekend to finalise recommendations to the government. 0ur science correspondent rebecca morellet concerned about it but it definitely wasn‘t something i thought about every day. leah could have a big impact on the way we live our lives. she spends most of her time looking after horses, but, since the start of the year, she‘s been taking part in the uk‘s first climate assembly. we need something that will work, notjust a pipe dream. there are 110 assembly members, chosen from randomly selected people to represent all walks of life from across the uk. they are being asked to work out how the uk can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, looking at everything from how we generate electricity to choices about transport. there's a lot of different opinions of how we should go about getting to net zero, and we don't always agree. you could be in london and public transport could be all electric, and you could be in a rural area where there may be no public transport, so you have no choice but to have a car. so, what personal choices would these assembly members make

here's our science correspondent, rebecca morelle.et a much more serious illness than others. researchers are trying to find out why, and a key area they are looking at is age and sex. 0verall, coronaviruses having a worse impact on men than women. for covid—19 patients admitted to uk hospitals, 60% were men and a0% we re women and this is repeated in data looking at deaths across every age group, more men are dying with coronavirus than women, and this difference increases the older you get. this pattern is seen around the world. ageing affects the immune system, making it easier for the virus to infect cells. but, for men, there is a second factor. their sex hormones, unfortunately, give an extra boost to the virus allowing it to also enter their cells even more quickly and more efficiently. so the older male has this double hit, making them more susceptible and when they do have the infection, it's easier for the virus to replicate and spread. 0besity has also been linked to severe cases of covid—19 and the more obese, the higher t

rebecca morelle, bbc news.s of covid 19. if there is a flare—up in one particular community, and that could be on quite a small scale like a particular workplace or school, then measures can be introduced, which hopefully the public will get behind, enable us to control the virus in that locality. the uk prime minister, borisjohnson, will be questioned by senior mps later amid continued calls for his top adviser dominic cummings to resign. elsewhere, riot police in hong kong fire pepper pellets to break up protests over a law that would criminalise insulting china‘s national anthem. president trump accuses twitter of stifling free speech, after one of his tweets about postal voting was given a fact—check label. and nasa astronauts prepare to launch into space from the us for the first time in nearly a decade — we count down to the launch. police officers in the us city of minneapolis have fired tear gas at demonstrators protesting the death of an unarmed black man in police custody. soon after george floyd died

rebecca morelle, bbc news.een forced to cancel their wedding plans, but one doctor and nurse from south london were able to tie the knot this week, in the hospital chapel where they both work. after calling off their august wedding because of fears their family would be unable to attend, jann and annalan decided to hold their nuptials early in the grade 2 listed chapel, at st thomas' hospital. they described the day as "intimate" and "lovely", but said it felt "surreal" getting married at work. that's a beautiful little chapel. didn't realise that was in saint's. beautiful chapel and congratulations to both of them —— saint thomas's. thanks for adding that bit, louise! headteachers in england have told us that preparing schools to welcome more children back from next week has been the toughest challenge of their careers. staff rotas, school systems and physical changes to classrooms, they have all been considered to ensure pupils can return safely under social distancing guidelines. breakfast'sjohn maguire has