UK-China 'golden era' over - PM | Harmful online content plan axed | Wales v England

Plus, read the secret World Cup diary of a gay football fan

Having trouble reading this email? View it in your browser. You can unsubscribe here.

By Andrew McFarlane

Sunak declares UK-China 'golden era' over     It's only seven years (although four prime ministers) since David Cameron declared a "golden era" in the UK's relationship with China. But after footage emerged of a BBC journalist being beaten and arrested by Chinese police while covering protests over Beijing's strict Covid laws, Rishi Sunak offered a very different view of UK-China ties. In his first major foreign policy speech since becoming prime minister, Mr Sunak said the previous decade's hope that closer economic ties would lead to political reform had been "naive". Such wishful thinking must be replaced with "robust pragmatism" towards competitors, he said. "China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests, a challenge that grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism," Mr Sunak told the Lord Mayor's Banquet, in London. Even so, he warned against "Cold War rhetoric", adding China's global significance could not be ignored. We don't yet know what this new approach will amount to. Mr Sunak's predecessor Liz Truss had reportedly been planning to re-categorise China as a "threat". Labour's shadow foreign secretary David Lammy is accusing the government of "flip-flopping its rhetoric". Meanwhile, former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith suggests "robust pragmatism now sounds more and more like appeasement". Here's the story.   Analysis Chris Mason detects a "gentle pop" at Boris Johnson China latest Police clamp down after days of protests

Harmful online content plan axed     Ministers working on laws aimed at policing the internet have dropped plans to force big tech platforms to take down material classed as legal but harmful. The requirement would have meant the likes of Facebook, Instagram and YouTube being tasked with preventing people being exposed to content deemed harmful on topics such as self-harm and eating disorders. But critics of this section of the Online Safety Bill had claimed it would allow tech companies to censor legal speech. Now, adults will be able to access and post anything legal, within a platform's terms of service, although children must still be protected from viewing harmful material. The government says the law will offer "a triple shield" but some charities aren't happy - read our report for their reaction.

World Cup crunch time for Wales and England     It's a big day for football fans - the first match between home nations at a World Cup. Wales need a win - and results elsewhere to go their way - to qualify for the knockout stage. England just need to avoid a 4-0 defeat but want a victory to go through as group winners. Follow the build-up.       Preview Wales and England to go head-to-head in Group B       Permutations What do the sides need to qualify for last 16?       Pundits "Welsh will try to win with emotion, not tactics"       Secret diary "Being a gay fan in Doha is so taboo we're invisible"

What's behind the bird flu outbreak?   More wild birds than ever before have been killed by bird flu this year - with sea birds being especially hard hit. The current virus has affected 80 different bird species," says Professor Munir Iqbal of the UK's Pirbright Institute, which specialises in animal welfare. "For example, it has killed 40% of the skua population in Scotland, and 2,000 Dalmatian pelicans in Greece." This "huge outbreak" has also spread into species such as seals and foxes, says veterinary expert Dr Louise Moncla of the University of Pennsylvania, in the US. "These outbreaks began in Europe, then spread to North America and - unlike past outbreaks - have not died out," she says. We are in the middle of an "unprecedented wildlife disease outbreak, the breadth and scope of which is staggering", says Dr Rebecca Poulson, of the University of Georgia, US. Scientists are unsure why this outbreak is so much worse than others. It may be that the virus has mutated to enable it to spread more readily from bird to bird, or to hang around longer in the environment.           Read full analysis >         Helen Briggs Environment correspondent

What the papers say     "Two teams, two proud countries, one Battle of Britain..." That's how the Daily Star looks ahead to this evening's World Cup football fixture between Wales and England. The Sun opts to play on a traditional Welsh name by declaring it: "Do or Dai". According to the Daily Mirror, Britain will "come to a standstill" for the first match between home nations at the tournament. Similarly, the Daily Mail says the nation will "grind to a halt as St George takes on the Dragon". See what else is on front pages.

Daily digest         Russia Anger as Pope labels ethnic groups "cruel"       Watch World's largest active volcano erupts       Living costs "We can only buy one school meal a week"       Nasa Orion lunar capsule breaks distance record

If you watch one thing today How retirees spent two decades building a fighter

If you listen to one thing today Demystifying paranoid schizophrenia

If you read one thing today Philippines sees pandemic child sex abuse boom

Need something different?     Artist Mari Gwenllian had always been self-conscious about her body shape until she tried making nude art. Now, she says, she has found her self-confidence and is determined to spread the feeling by representing asw many body types as she can in her work. Here's her story. And RAF veteran Ben Wilson needed a different type of body confidence - the faith he wouldn't succumb to injury - to complete a charity challenge he started in lockdown. The 46-year-old has just climbed Snowdon - it's the latest of 100 mountains he's conquered, but he did all the others without leaving his house. Confused? Our video explains all.

On this day         1999 Northern Ireland moves a step closer to ending 25 years of direct rule from London after appointing 10 members onto the power-sharing executive in Stormont.

From elsewhere       Nato’s looming fault line: China (Politico)         AI experts are increasingly afraid of what they’re creating (Vox)             Point of return: A Bolshoi Ballet Academy graduate's mission to bring dance to the masses (Big Issue North)       Where’s the moral outrage at England’s cricket tour of Pakistan? (Spectator)

Let us know what you think of this newsletter by emailing bbcnewsdaily@bbc.co.uk. If you’d like to recommend it to a friend, forward this email. New subscribers can sign up here.

UK News World News Politics Climate Coronavirus Long Reads         News Sport Weather iPlayer Sounds Arts         Terms of use    |    Privacy and Cookies    |    Unsubscribe       .   To stop receiving 'BBC News Daily' newsletters click here to unsubscribe. Or you can update your email preferences in your BBC account settings. Please note that some features and content in this newsletter are only available to people in the UK. You can update your personal details including your postcode and email address in your account settings. Find out everything you need to know about using your BBC account, all in one place. BBC Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London W1A 1AA Copyright © 2‌022 BBC   .