Image source, PA Media

Since the start of the pandemic, nearly half of the 9,000 staff employed by Birmingham Airport have lost their jobs.

And the airport is running at just 5% of pre-Covid flight levels.

This means the airport's losing an "eye-watering" amount of money, says its chief executive officer Nick Barton.

In 2020, turnover dipped from £160.7m to £159.5m and the airport received an £18.5m emergency loan in February from Birmingham City Council to help avoid the threat of insolvency.

It has also used the government's furlough scheme and the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme which helps cover fixed costs, such as business rates - but that's not enough, says Barton.

The airport is still losing "millions" of pounds as the costs of running the airport when nearly closed "are very close to the costs you incur when you are running it when it is quite full", he explains.

You can read more on this story here.

Soutik Biswas
India Correspondent

Image source, Reuters

India has classified a new variant of coronavirus as a "variant of concern", but it's too early to tell whether it poses a significant threat.

India's health ministry says studies showed that the so-called Delta plus, external variant - also known as AY.1 - spreads more easily, binds more easily to lung cells and is potentially resistant to monoclonal antibody therapy, a potent intravenous infusion of antibodies to neutralise the virus.

The variant is related to the Delta variant, which was first identified in India last year.

The health ministry says the Delta plus variant, first found in India in April, has been detected in around 40 samples from six districts in three states - Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. At least 16 of these samples were found in Maharashtra, one of the states hardest hit by the pandemic.

Delta plus has also been found in nine other countries - the US, UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Poland, Nepal, Russia and China. The original highly contagious Delta strain has now spread to 80 countries.

Read more.

Image source, Getty Images

The Danish Football Association expects to receive an extra allocation of tickets for their Euro 2020 match against Wales because Welsh fans are not allowed to travel to attend it.

Wales and Denmark meet in the last 16 round in Amsterdam on Saturday, but the Netherlands currently bars non-essential visitors from the UK.

Danish fans can enter if they stay in the country for less than 12 hours.

Tickets for the game have gone on general sale in Denmark.

Read more.

Dave Harvey
Business Correspondent, BBC West

More than a hundred pilots and cabin crew, baggage handlers and firefighters came out to join the protest at Bristol Airport today.

They stood, two metres apart, on the tarmac between two planes.

The aircraft aren’t going anywhere today, and nor are the pilots. Some are still on furlough. They all say the understand they need for safety.

But with 60% of UK adults now double vaccinated, they are pressing the government to allow more people to fly.

Otherwise, one pilot told me, global Britain will become grounded Britain.

Greig Watson
BBC News Online, East Midlands

A hospital's longest-staying - and currently last - Covid-19 critical care patient has finally left the unit after 115 days.

George Paterson, 54, from Mansfield, was brought into Nottinghamshire's King's Mill Hospital after being diagnosed in February.

As well as being mechanically ventilated, he was put into an induced coma and needed dialysis when his kidneys started to fail.

His family was even told at one stage his condition had deteriorated so much he might not make it through the night.

Image source, Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Mr Paterson's wife, Tonia, said: "All I kept thinking about before seeing George was whether it would look like him as we hadn't seen him in so long.

"But the nurses were fantastic and I spent time talking to him at his bedside and I told him that if he had anything left to please keep fighting for us."

His condition improved and in April, Mr Paterson was brought out of the coma.

Two months after that, on 10 June, Mr Paterson was moved out of critical care and can now breathe on his own.

The hospital said it was still unknown how long he will be on a ward for, but was making steady progress.

Debbie Jackson, one of the sisters on the critical care unit, said: "What made George leaving critical care even more special was that after almost 15 months of caring for patients with Covid-19 on our critical care unit, he was the very last patient with Covid-19 remaining on the unit."

Image source, Getty Images

An "urgent and significant pay rise" is vital for NHS workers to reward staff and stop them leaving jobs, unions say.

"In the past year, Covid-19 has taken a terrible toll on our society. Many have sadly lost their lives and no-one has been untouched by the pandemic," says Welsh Partnership Forum, external chairman Paul Summers.

Nine trade unions have signed an open letter to the Welsh government.

They will give a presentation to health minister Eluned Morgan today.

The Welsh government is still to make an announcement on potential pay rises, with reports from independent pay review bodies (PRBs) yet to be published.

Read more

Back to travel now, and to College Green outside the Houses of Parliament where hundreds of people from the travel industry are gathered.

Lana Bennett, CEO of family-run business Tours International, is among them.

She tells the BBC that for the past 15 or so months her company has taken zero revenue - and that will continue until the government opens up the borders.

She wants to see an expansion of the green list and doesn't see an issue for double-jabbed people to travel.

"The government shouts about the success and effectiveness of the vaccination programme and yet we are the last country to open up," she says.

She also says the industry needs financial support from the government.

Lynn Southerby, cabin crew with Virgin Atlantic, agrees travel needs to be opened up as soon as possible.

Her colleague Andrea Burton adds: "We miss our customers. And people want to return to the skies - people miss that."

Image source, House of Commons

Labour's Bell Ribeiro-Addy asks if the prime minister will reconsider the global rollout of the vaccine - in the face of new variants and questions over vaccine efficacy.

She calls the PM's promise to put people over profit when considering global vaccine donations "lousy" and says intellectual property is driving the global supply shortages.

She says it's no use for the G7 to promise a billion doses "at some point in the future, when people are dying now" - and calls on Boris Johnson to reconsider "his negligible vaccine donation policy" and join more than 100 countries in supporting the vaccine intellectual property waiver.

The PM calls it "satirical" to say the G7 efforts have been negligible - stressing that the seven leaders agreed "another billion" on top of the billion contributed.

He says all the advice we have at present "suggests the vaccines are effective against all the variants we can currently see".

And that's the end of the coronavirus-related questions at PMQs this week.

Image source, House of Commons

Prime Minister's Questions is well under way - no questions from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on the pandemic.

The first Covid question comes from SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford who asks whether the UK government used a Covid contract to conduct polling on the union.

He's referring to a newspaper article in the Herald, external.

Boris Johnson replies that the union and benefits of the union have been incalculable. And the vaccination programme "is a tribute to the union that he seeks to undermine".

Blackford says Johnson's just demonstrated he "hasn't a clue".

He goes on to say these emergency covid contracts were "supposed to be used for PPE, instead the contracts were used to commission political research on attitudes to the union".

Blackford asks for a public inquiry on "this gross misuse of public funds".

The PM replies: "I can't think of a better use of funds".

"I believe the story of this last two years has shown the incalculable value of our union - and that we are better together."

Image source, PA Media

It is too early to say if Covid-19 restrictions in the Republic of Ireland will ease on 5 July as planned, the country's health minister has said.

Stephen Donnelly says the spread of the Delta variant means there is a rapidly evolving situation in the country.

Under the easing, pubs and restaurants could open for indoor service.

The minister says the government will be briefed by its health advisers and will make a decision next week.

He tells Irish national broadcaster RTÉ that "we don't want to go backwards".

Donnelly says he is concerned that despite a fall in overall numbers of coronavirus cases "we are now surrounded by the Delta variant".

He says the data indicates one in five new cases in the past seven days has been of the variant.

It has emerged about 50% of neighbouring Northern Ireland's coronavirus cases are now linked to the variant.

The minister praises the "phenomenal results" afforded by the vaccine, with cases falling in all age groups except those aged 19-24 years, where he says more focus is needed.

Read more about Ireland's planned easing from 5 July.

Image source, Getty Images

For most of the year, the people of Sydney, Australia's largest city, have enjoyed almost no restrictions on daily life.

But a sharp case rise in the past week has prompted authorities to reinstate distancing rules.

Today, authorities - already concerned about the "extremely contagious" Delta variant - have reported 16 new infections, which brings the cluster there to 37 cases.

Now the city's 5.3 million residents will have to wear masks indoors, and many will be banned from travelling out of the city.

"Please abandon non-essential activities, please don't attend social gatherings unless you absolutely must," says New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

You can read more on the story here.

Image source, Netflix

How different was your life 12 months on from the start of the first lockdown in March 2020? Had you grown bored of those box sets and started enjoying getting out and about more?

That's what the Office for National Statistics has found., external

It says Britons were spending more time working and less time sleeping a year on from the first lockdown. They were watching less TV and not playing computer games for as long.

Instead there was more travelling, socialising or shopping - a reflection of the start of the easing of restrictions.

As for working from home, men were working an extra 18 minutes a day one year on - while women were doing no more than they had been.

And men, so the survey says, were doing more household chores (note: women still do more than 40% more than men which works out as over three hours on average per day).

Image source, Reuters

Boris Johnson will be stepping up to the despatch box for his weekly wrangle with the opposition in Prime Minister's Questions at 12:00 BST.

Possible hot topics include capacity crowds at Wembley and how and when foreign travel restrictions might be lifted.

We'll be here to bring you any pandemic-related coverage - or, for a blow-by-blow account from the Commons, check out our Politics live page.

Robbie Meredith
BBC News NI Education Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

A girls' grammar school in Belfast is to restrict pupils' use of mobile phones for the rest of term in order "to get them talking again".

The principal of Bloomfield Collegiate School has taken the action amid concerns about pupils' mental health and their ability to socialise.

Gary Greer says restrictions will be placed on mobile phone use "on site before school, in registration and in classroom activities".

"We have real concerns about mental health and the lack of ability to socialise due to too much screen time during lockdown," Mr Greer has written in a letter to parents, posted on the school website.

"It has been reported to me that there is absolute silence for 30 minutes on school buses as all girls are using mobile phones.

"I never thought that I would say it but we need to get the girls talking again."

A number of experts have warned of the "devastating effect" of some restrictions introduced during the coronavirus pandemic on children.

About 450 schools across Northern Ireland are to hold summer schemes for some pupils in 2021, partly to allow them to play and socialise with friends.

You can read more here.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Fiona Stewart, chief executive of Green Man festival, says the event may have to "close down without any insurance".

Talking to Rachel Burden on 5 Live, Stewart describes how she and other festival organisers thought they would hear about cancellation insurance on Friday, adding there "is no clear guidance" from the government.

The Public Accounts Committee are calling on ministers to set up a scheme for cancellation insurance. They say festivals face a "survival threat" without it.

Hear the full interview on BBC Sounds.

And you can read our guide to which festivals are currently still going ahead in the UK this year here.

Image source, PA Media

The government has told business leaders it will take a "cautious approach" to firms that owe it money in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The message comes in a letter from Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to the Institute of Directors and R3, which represents insolvency firms.

In the letter, seen by BBC News, he says enforcing insolvency will remain a last resort.

The government has spent billions protecting the economy from Covid - with measures preventing firms from being wound up if they fall into insolvency extended until the end of September 2021.

However, it is feared some companies could struggle to survive when emergency support measures begin to be removed.

The business secretary says he "recognises the path back to full trading and coming off government support will be difficult for many companies".

He adds the government will be flexible with companies that engage with it in order to manage their debt.

When company insolvencies involve unpaid VAT and income tax, HMRC has the status of "preferential creditor", which means it gets paid first.

Read more.

Image source, Getty Images

England boss Gareth Southgate has called it "a bizarre situation" that is "full of contradictions".

He was talking about the state of affairs following Scotland player Billy Gilmour's positive Covid test after his team's 0-0 draw against England last Friday.

He began self-isolating.

But not a single other Scotland player nor any of the team's staff had to self-isolate - while two England players did.

"I don't understand it because there are teams travelling around by planes, coach and by bus in enclosed spaces for hours and our two boys have been pinged," Southgate went on. "I really don't get it."

Our colleagues have been trying to make sense of it all here.

Image source, EPA

Independent travel businesses are calling on the government to expand the list of "green" destinations to which UK residents can travel quarantine-free, and make restrictions on international travel "more proportionate".

"Businesses in the outbound travel sector have been left out in the cold with a lack of financial support and ambiguity about a safe route to international travel," says Gary Lewis, CEO of The Travel Network Group, which represents 1,200 independent travel businesses.

Lewis says "calls for sector-specific financial support and clarity on the roadmap... have not been met" by government.

“Time is running out for UK travel businesses and we hope that the government will listen and respect the contribution we make to the UK economy.”

The industry body is taking part in today's Day of Action by the travel sector, calling on the government to ease the rules on foreign travel.

Abby Penston, boss of the Focus Travel Partnership, representing specialists in business travel, is calling on furlough and support needs to be extended until safe travel can resume - amid plummeting revenues and ticket sales.

Tom Jenkins, of the European Tourism Association - which represents European operators and suppliers - says recovery depends on red tape being lifted.

"The UK is in danger of losing 2021, and falling behind in 2022 and 2023,” he says.

You can read more on the rules for travelling (or not) to green, amber and red list countries here.

Image source, Reuters

We can now let you know that there will be a coronavirus press conference at Downing Street later today.

As usual, it will get under way at 17:00 BST. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi will lead it - no word yet on who will stand alongside him.

Image source, AFP

Zimbabwe has postponed the reopening of schools and other learning institutions by two weeks following a surge in new Covid-19 cases.

The schools were set to reopen on Monday.

Teachers' unions and health professionals had called for a postponement to prevent the spread of the virus.

This is the second time Zimbabwe has deferred the reopening of schools this year.

Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa also announced a lockdown in the south-western city of Bulawayo, with security forces being deployed to enforce the regulations.

The country has been recording an increase in virus cases and the government has blamed complacency.

Zimbabwe has so far recorded 42,714 confirmed cases, including 37,288 recoveries and 1,691 deaths. A total of 706,158 people have been vaccinated, according to data from the health ministry.