After the prime minister's official spokesman warned the Indian coronavirus variant could "pose a threat" to the plan to end all restrictions on social contact by 21 June, ministers are stepping up calls for people to accept a vaccination as soon as one is offered. Health Secretary Matt Hancock says 86 council areas have five or more cases of the variant and is urging people to "look at... Bolton" where, he says, most people in hospital with Covid have been eligible for the jab but chose not to have it.

However, Labour's Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi says the area was slow to receive the right vaccine rollout infrastructure, arguing jabs were initially administered "in one place in the town centre with only about six vaccinators to cover a huge area and a huge population". Recent days have seen long queues at vaccination centres in the town. Meanwhile, text messages are being sent later asking 37-year-olds across England to book a vaccination, with those aged 36 due to be contacted tomorrow. NHS England says 930,000 appointments have been made since the programme was opened to 38 and 39-year-olds.

How have you spent the last 24 hours? Not everyone will have thrown themselves headlong back into normal-ish life. But the easing of restrictions across England, Wales and most of Scotland has proven an exhilarating and emotional time for many. Take front-line NHS worker Viv Hudson. She hugged her daughter for the first time in over a year - and there were tears. Our picture gallery captures scenes from across the UK in bars, bingo halls and bowling alleys. Meanwhile, thousands of people jetted off as international travel resumed, albeit to a limited number of destinations. As one holidaymaker put it: "It feels unreal."
 

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US President Joe Biden has spoken to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and "expressed support for a ceasefire" in the conflict with Palestinian militants in Gaza, the White House says. But the US has for the third time blocked a UN Security Council statement calling for violence to end. At least 212 people, including 61 children, have died in Gaza in eight days, along with eight adults and two children in Israel. Israeli ministers say most killed in Gaza are militants and that civilian deaths are unintentional. Hamas, the militant group running the territory, disputes this. The White House says having "conversations behind the scenes" with Egypt and others is the most constructive approach. Our correspondent Barbara Plett-Usher says Mr Biden's stance follows a familiar pattern.

Front-page photos capture the step towards normality marked by the easing of coronavirus restrictions. A montage of people reunited with their loved-ones covers the Daily Mirror's front page. The Daily Telegraph focuses on a woman jetting off to Portugal, while the Times opts to show a man simply enjoying a coffee. Meanwhile, the sight of a pony enjoying a pint of lager inside a pub is the ultimate sign that "everything's back to normal", jokes the Daily Star. However, several front pages report fears the spread of the Indian variant could affect the timetable for coming out of lockdown.

We've all got used to working in different ways over the past year but would you swap the office for your car? Donna Powell retreated to the Ford Focus on her driveway to take a work call in peace and quiet - and she's since made it her permanent base. Plus, Great Britain won the 4x100m women's freestyle relay at the European Swimming Championships for the first time in 94 years. See how they clinched it.

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