president putin is given a red—carpet welcome on his state visit to china — and signs a joint declaration with president xi, outlining the two countries�* strategic alliance. the israeli army says five of its soldiers were mistakenly killed by one of its own tanks in the north of gaza. within the next hour, labour leader sir keir starmer is to outline the first steps he would take if his party wins the next election. we'll bring you more on this. hello. lam sarah i am sarah campbell. slovakia's prime minister, robert fico, remains in hospital after hours of surgery to save his life, following an apparent assassination attempt. the deputy prime minister says the pm's condition "stabilised" overnight, but he's still in a "serious condition".

slovakia's cabinet is meeting this morning to discuss the political implications. mr fico was shot several times as he was leaving a government meeting yesterday, in what the interior minister described as a "politically motivated attack". local media are reporting that a man in his 70s has been charged with attempted murder. speaking outside of the hospital where mr fico is receiving treatment, deputy prime minster robert kalinak gave an update on his condition. translation: over the course of the night, the doctors - managed to stabilise the patient�*s condition. and at this moment, further procedures are under way that should aim towards improvement of his condition. the situation is really serious. live to the slovak capital, bratislava, and our correspondent bethany bell. bethany, hello to you. let's start with that news that we received that local media are reporting that a mild in his 70s has been charged

with attempted milder, do we know any more than that? == with attempted milder, do we know any more than that?— any more than that? -- attempted murder. any more than that? -- attempted murder- the _ any more than that? -- attempted murder. the police _ any more than that? -- attempted murder. the police have _ any more than that? -- attempted murder. the police have told - any more than that? -- attempted murder. the police have told the l any more than that? -- attempted i murder. the police have told the bbc they won't be commenting on those reports until after the meeting of the security council that is taking place, due to start around now, when ministers will discuss the situation following this attack on mr fico. and the many, many people here in bratislava of course extremely worried about the outcome of this shooting. it has come at a time of great political turmoil. polarisation here in this country. and people are waiting to hear very much, they want to understand what the motivations of this attack might have been. what we have seen so far, it reports on local media suggesting that whilst a man in his 70s, but really, we don't have official confirmation at this moment. find confirmation at this moment. and “ust confirmation at this moment. and just reminded _ confirmation at this moment. and just reminded again of the latest

situation in terms of mr fico and his recovery in hospital. == situation in terms of mr fico and his recovery in hospital.- his recovery in hospital. -- 'ust remind us �* his recovery in hospital. -- 'ust remind us again. i his recovery in hospital. -- 'ust remind us again. well, i his recovery in hospital. -- 'ust remind us again. well, we h his recovery in hospital. -- just| remind us again. well, we have his recovery in hospital. -- just - remind us again. well, we have been told by the defence minister that he remains in a critical condition, but that his condition did stabilise overnight. doctors were able to help him. but he said that his injuries were complicated. and another one of slovakia's deputy prime minister is said that mr fico was shot at very close range in the stomach. and the injuries were complicated and it would take a lot of time for the situation to be stabilised.- situation to be stabilised. and, bethan , situation to be stabilised. and, bethany. just _ situation to be stabilised. and, bethany, just sum _ situation to be stabilised. and, bethany, just sum up - situation to be stabilised. and, bethany, just sum up the - situation to be stabilised. and, bethany, just sum up the political reaction over the last day, or since this happened yesterday afternoon. well, mr fico has been seen very much as a divisive figure here in slovakia. and there have been accusations by his allies that this

was, in the words of the interior minister, a politically motivated attack. slovakia's outgoing president, who is not in the camp of mr fico, appealed for calm. she said people should wait for the result of the police inquiries. and that she also cautioned against what she called an atmosphere of hate speech in the country. she said hate speech led to hateful acts and we must stop it. �* ., , �* ., , ., led to hateful acts and we must stop it. bethany bell, as we have 'ust said, it. bethany bell, as we have 'ust said. from — it. bethany bell, as we have 'ust said, from bratislava, * it. bethany bell, as we have 'ust said, from bratislava, thankh it. bethany bell, as we havejust| said, from bratislava, thank you. earlier, i spoke to milan nic, former adviser to the deputy foreign minister of slovakia, now with the german council on foreign relations. i asked him, what did he make to the political reaction in slovakia since the shooting? the death threats to leading politicians in slovakia unfortunately were not a rare thing. they were becoming normal. and the ruling coalition was not

doing enough to stop this. so this needs to be a big wake—up call. and i was encouraged to see a press conference of the interior minister and defence minister last night, or in the evening, with the right message — stop spreading hatred. both politicians from the ruling camp or the opposition, or people in the social media reacting on this assassination attempt. the country has to unite and has to move beyond this. you talked about the press conference. we heard the deputy prime minister of slovakia, tomas taraba, he is accusing opposition parties of using false narrative, painting the prime minister almost as a monster. other people blaming media whipping up hysteria against the prime minister. does slovakia feel more

or less divided today? well, the deputy prime minister you quoted is from the far—right nationalist party. and there is an internal infighting within the three—party coalition how to take this. mr taraba is a less important part of the coalition. what was crucial is that the deputy to prime minister robert fico from his party, defence minister kalinak and the interior minister sutaj estok came with a different message. they need to reinforce this message within the ruling coalition. the ministry of interior has increased security detail to most leading politicians and the media as well. because i think they are aware what will happen if there is a backlash to this. within the society. there is a crucial moment

coming politically, which is a handover of a presidency, a liberal president zuzana caputova, the outgoing president that called this an attack on democracy, she herself was the subject of death threats before. that was the reason why she decided not to run for president again. and the incoming president from the camp peter pellegrini, who was abroad. they, together, as a tandem have the capacity to project unity and an appealfor calm, for spreading the hatred. the handover ceremony is at the end of monday of zuzana caputova, is set for the 15th ofjune. but de facto, i think, a dual presidency, a shared presidency informally has already started. i expect them to lead, including with parts of the coalition, especially the more moderate party within it of president pellegrini.

milan nic. speaking to me earlier. and they remind you can get much more from slovakia online, including this article from our correspondent in the region on how robert fico rose to dominate slovak politics. that is on the bbc news website or the app. to china now, where russia's president putin is on a state visit — his first foreign trip since his unprecedented re—election for a fifth term, and his second visit to china in six months. mr putin and china's president xi jinping signed a joint declaration, stressing the importance of the two countries' strategic partnership, the chinese president talked about the two countries' long history, saying the nations are deepening their support for one another. president xi also said that he and president putin agreed

on the need for a "political solution" to the ukraine conflict. president putin thanked china for a "warm" reception, adding that the talks were also "pragmatic". earlier, i spoke to our beijing correspondent, stephen mcdonell, and asked him about the significance of the meeting. well, the overall message is just all about the symbolism. i mean, the biden administration has already accused the chinese government of offering serious material support for vladimir putin's invasion of ukraine. so equipment which is not only helping russia, but also, according to the us government, helping russia to build more tanks, to build more drones. direct material support from china. and now this visit is also all about offering moral support for an isolated vladimir putin. he can't go to many countries because he risks being detained and sent to the international criminal court because of that invasion.

and, yet, when he comes to china, he can be in the great hall of the people, appearing to his own people as more of a statesman than a global pariah. and then, when he has his meeting with xi jinping, he says, and i'll give you a bit of a taste of it, "our cooperation in world affairs is one of the main stabilising factors on the international stage." stabilising, so he's saying this while he's instigating a bloody, destructive war in the middle of europe. "together, we'll defend the principles of fairness and the democratic world order, based on international law." now, i'm sure the ukraine government would not agree with that, nor would many people in ukraine. but he can see that here — and the chinese government thinks that, well, that's ok — and xi jinping responds that these two governments are actually upholding justice in the world.

now, i know these are alljust words, but to many analysts, they would seem to conflict wildly with reality and, yet, they're able to do this. and even, for example, when it comes to trade cooperation, now, they're talking it up, talking up the idea that this partnership is getting better and better and that trade is significant. really, they're still well short of china's trade with the us, or the importance of china's trade with europe. that said, there's russia, it's isolated, has sanctions placed on it, who's going to buy all its gas? well, china, acording to the latest statistics, has increased imports of gas from russia by a0%. vladimir putin spoke today about how great it was that more russian food was being sent to china. and so, while the numbers are still not massive, you can see how crucial the support can be, if you're a country like russia.

steve mcdonnell reporting from beijing. let's speak to kerry brown, professor of chinese studies and director of the lau china institute at king's college london. hello to you, thank you forjoining me here on bbc news. you will have seen the pictures and heard what has been said this morning, what do you make of the relationship notjust between the two countries, but between the two countries, but between the two leaders? well, they have always — between the two leaders? well, they have always said _ between the two leaders? well, they have always said they _ between the two leaders? well, they have always said they have _ between the two leaders? well, they have always said they have a - between the two leaders? well, they have always said they have a strong i have always said they have a strong relationship. i mean, xijinping is a consummate politician, whatever anyone thinks of him, he adapts and changes to whoever he is talking to, he get somewhere with narendra modi of india and victor aubin, the prime minister of hungary as he did last week in europe. he gets on with trump, apparently —— viktor orban. he gets on with putin, i think that is because these two countries share a massive border. historically, they have had enormous influence on each other, so they have to have a relationship. at the moment, china's

economy is nine times i believe the size of russia's economy, this is not an equal relationship. china has a bigger picture to look at, it has biggerfish to fry a bigger picture to look at, it has bigger fish to fry and it has two main some relationship with russia. and as by doing that —— and the way to do that is to up the trade, which is a big opportunity at the moment. i guess it is who needs who more, why does president xi jinping need vladimir putin on side and does he need him onside? it is vladimir putin on side and does he need him onside?— need him onside? it is what he doesnt need him onside? it is what he doesn't need. _ need him onside? it is what he doesn't need. he _ need him onside? it is what he doesn't need. he doesn't - need him onside? it is what he doesn't need. he doesn't need j need him onside? it is what he i doesn't need. he doesn't need a need him onside? it is what he - doesn't need. he doesn't need a big, big conflagration to continue between russia and ukraine. so the political settlement they talked about today whatever that ultimately means, it is kind of importance. for russia. as for china, the pressure from the united states about supplying russia with support is significant. the russia china relationship is not as important china the china and us relationship in the end, so it does have to work

out something. it does not want to overtly put russia in a vulnerable position. it has talked about a kind of win—win outcome where everyone walks away saying that they have won the conflict all done 0k. walks away saying that they have won the conflict all done ok. i don't think that is very likely to happen, but it is likely that china wants an resolution to this issue at some point because it is very destabilising infill —— in its interest. destabilising infill -- in its interest-— destabilising infill -- in its interest. , ., ,, interest. they gave a press conference, _ interest. they gave a press conference, there - interest. they gave a press conference, there were - interest. they gave a press conference, there were no | interest. they gave a press - conference, there were no questions invited by the media, but they gave sort of statements. was there any particular point that you picked out that you read from either of the two leaders that you thought of as particularly significant or telling? i mean, just the language about a political settlement is kind of interesting. political settlement is more than a kind of a peace deal, i think. it is talking about something quite complicated. i mean, ithink what china is trying to do is to craft a solution where russia might get at least something from this conflict. but it does kind of walk

away saying it is the total victor. —— it doesn't. so we have to see how this pans out, this political settlement. but i think your correspondent is right, this is symbolic visit, it is laden with symbolism. what matters is afterwards, xijinping has received afterwards, xijinping has received a putin big delegation of business people, trade ministers, new cabinet positions. so there is a lot to unpack after this visit and that is really where the significance come from. ., , ,., , really where the significance come from. ., , �* ., from. professor kerry brown, i really appreciate _ from. professor kerry brown, i really appreciate your - from. professor kerry brown, i really appreciate your time, i from. professor kerry brown, i. really appreciate your time, thank you. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

the israeli army says five of its soldiers were killed when they were mistakenly fired on by one of its own tanks in northern gaza. two shells were fired

at the paratroopers injabalia. these images show the aftermath of an israeli strike injabalia. israeli ground forces re—entered the area earlier this month. our correspondent injerusalem, danjohnson, gave us more on this incident. we know this happened yesterday, as israeli soldiers were sent back into one of the areas that had been declared cleared and free of hamas fighters as early as january. so somewhere that the idf had completed its operations, but had had to return to because of the reappearance of hamas fighters in that area. and it's in clearing buildings there that this group of israeli soldiers were fired on, shelled at by an israeli tank. that's certainly the early indications, that this was a tragic friendly—fire incident. perhaps the worst friendly—fire incident that we've seen since the start of this conflict in gaza in october. five young soldiers — aged just 20, 21, 22 — killed by that tank shelling. seven other soldiers wounded. three of them are seriously injured

and receiving treatment. and the idf is reviewing the full circumstances of how this happened. it is another reminder of the israeli lives that are at risk in gaza and the threat that is still posed to the palestinian population there, as the idf returns to areas that it had previously declared safe. and that is why there is growing discussion of how successful, how sustainable israel's military strategy is now in gaza. what its aims are, what its chances of success are and, particularly, what the future plans for gaza are, once the military operation is concluded. yes, you have been talking about the fact it is on the front pages, really gathering momentum, the discussion, within israeli politics, the israeli government about this issue. yes, we've got open criticism and challenge to the way benjamin netanyahu is running this military operation, from his own defence minister, yoav gallant.

if i show you the front pages this morning. this paper says a military government in gaza would mean only blood and sacrifice, without purpose. you've got gallant and benjamin netanyahu there with the headline, "this is no way to run a war". and the jerusalem post saying, "gallant slams netanyahu's indecisiveness on gaza". and that's all about the question of who will govern gaza in the long run, once the military operation has concluded. who will represent the palestinian people? who will coordinate the rebuilding of gaza's infrastructure? what actually is the future role for israel there, for future international organisations? and for other nations as well? these are the big questions which gallant says benjamin netanyahu needs to answer, he needs to lay out a clear plan. so far, netanyahu's response has been to say he won't work with the palestinian authority that represents palestinians in the west bank that and his priority now is purely

the elimination of hamas. there are reports of heavy fighting and shelling in the city of el fasher in sudan's darfur region. the paramilitary rapid support forces — or rsf — are trying to capture the city, which is currently controlled by the army. these are images of people fleeing the region. medical workers say that since friday more than 50 people have been killed and about 400 injured. the united states government has just imposed sanctions on two rsf commanders, who it says are in charge of the fighters around el fasher. let's speak to our africa correspondent barbara plett usher, who's in nairobi. barbara, if you could explain to us the significance of this latest news and the significance of el fasher. yes. well, el fasher, as you

mentioned, is the last major city in the western darfur region that the army still controls. the rss has taken over the rest of darfur and there have been many reports of killings and lack of humanitarian aid in the wake of that. el fasher in the meantime, because of its stance, has become a humanitarian hub for the region. and it is also packed with civilians because people fleeing fighting elsewhere have come there. so humanitarian officials have been one for weeks about the situation because the rss has been besieging the city since mid april. basically, food and medical aid has not been able to get in, so there is a humanitarian crisis there at the moment. and again, the warnings had been if this siege turns into active combat in the city, things will get far worse. combat in the city, things will get farworse. so combat in the city, things will get far worse. so we have seen since last friday the combat has increased and again today, there is quite a lot of fighting reported. we understand the rsf has positions in

the eastern part of the city and is firing heavy shells into populated areas in the south and west of the city. the army says it has been firing air strikes in response and it claims to be pushing the rsf forces back. but in the meantime, the casualty numbers grow. we have been speaking to people who are dealing with the medical situation there and they have given us revise casualty figures. they say there are now nearly 500 injured, more than 60 dead, but those numbers probably don't entail the whole of it because people cannot get to the hospital. there is only one hospital operating and it is overflowing. the sudanese authorities have also cut internet in the last 2a hours. before that happens, we had contact with one resident who said that basically, people are hunkering down in the homes if they can, —— out to the supermarket whenever there is a break. although food is very expensive and supplies are limited. —— rushing out to the supermarket. basically, the people are in great danger and you have many, many warnings from the international

humanitarians and governments about what might happen if the fighting conditions. it is what might happen if the fighting conditions. , ., , �* conditions. it is a reminder, isn't it, although _ conditions. it is a reminder, isn't it, although sudan _ conditions. it is a reminder, isn't it, although sudan has _ conditions. it is a reminder, isn't it, although sudan has been - conditions. it is a reminder, isn't it, although sudan has been out| conditions. it is a reminder, isn't i it, although sudan has been out of the headlines for the last few weeks, the fighting is very much ongoing? weeks, the fighting is very much onauoin ? , weeks, the fighting is very much onuuoin? , . , , weeks, the fighting is very much onuuoin? , . ,, ,, ., weeks, the fighting is very much onuuoin? , ,, ., , ongoing? yes. the crisis in sudan is ma'or. ongoing? yes. the crisis in sudan is major- biggest _ ongoing? yes. the crisis in sudan is major. biggest displacement - ongoing? yes. the crisis in sudan is major. biggest displacement crisis i major. biggest displacement crisis in the world. hunger crisis, lack of food. again, warnings that famine is imminent in parts of the country. and the war between the sudanese army and its rival, the paramilitary rsf, does continue in places in the capital, khartoum. here in el fasher as we have been talking about, also in another state culture zero, the agricultural hub of the country. so thatis agricultural hub of the country. so that is affecting food production. so the situation is extremely dire and as you said, it has not been in the headlines, there have been other stories and headlines that are also quite terrible. 0bviously, gaza and ukraine, but sudan is very much one

thatis ukraine, but sudan is very much one that is as serious, if not more serious. and you mentioned that the americans havejoined, have been part of the calls for the fighting to stop in for humanitarian aid to get in. they have sanctioned two rsf commanders, specifically mentioning el fasher and saying both sides have been firing on each other, at the cost of civilians, and saying that there needs to be humanitarian aid brought in, casualties, no more civilian casualties and they are ready to take more steps if it continues. ready to take more steps if it continues-— ready to take more steps if it continues. 1, ., , continues. barbara plett usher in nairobi, thank— continues. barbara plett usher in nairobi, thank you. _ here, in the uk, the labour leader, sir keir starmer, will outline his party's core messages for a general election in a speech shortly. he will set out his "first steps" for government, at the start of what he calls a "decade of national renewal". earlier, i spoke to to our chief political correspondent henry zeffman, who told me what we're expecting to hear from keir starmer today.

we are not going to learn anything new from keir starmer about how he intends to campaign to get into government. because what he is unveiling and calling six key steps, first steps but in practice, they are pledges and that is what they used to be called, it is his pledge card. they are going to be the key messages he will hammer home again and again until polling day, whenever it is. so economic stability, the nhs, border security, energy, anti—social behaviour and recruiting new teachers. that is what we are going to hear on repeat from sir keir starmer because that is what he thinks the priorities of the british public and crucially the swing voters he wants to win over from the conservatives are in this election campaign. stay with us here on bbc news. hello again. low pressure has been in charge of our weather as we've gone through this week,

and today, once again, it's going to do the same. in fact, for the next few days, we are looking at spells of warm sunshine. but there'll be some rain around, some heavy showers which have the potential to be thundery. so this is the low pressure driving our weather. we've got this weather front wrapped all the way around it and, currently, it's producing some rain. rain especially across parts of the south—east, east anglia, into the midlands. and it's drifting westwards into wales through the day. now, to the south of that, we're looking at some bright spells, some sunshine, but heavy showers. to the north of it, a lot of dry weather, a fair bit of sunshine, but you could still catch the odd sharp shower across north—west england, in through parts of northern ireland and western scotland. temperatures, widely, 13 to about 20, 21 degrees. but we could well see 23 or 2a somewhere in the highlands. now, through this evening and overnight, the rain will continue to push through wales and clear. more low cloud, mist and murk will come in from the north sea and we'll have some clear skies. so here, too, you could see some patchy fog form.

temperatures falling away between seven and about ten degrees. so for some, slightly lower than last night. so a fresher start to the day tomorrow. tomorrow, essentially, is going to be a day of sunshine and some showers. not all of us, of course, will see the showers. and at times, we'll have some haar and also some fret coming in from the north sea just lapping onshore. temperatures tomorrow, not too dissimilar to today. again, we could see a 23 somewhere in the highlands, 21 in london, 22 in glasgow. so then as we head on into saturday, well, we've got rain coming into the south, and through the day, that's going to be drifting westwards. it will turn more showery, but it could still be heavy, with some thunder in it. further north, we're looking at some brighter skies. still some low cloud, mist and murk coming in from the north sea. some sunshine as well. temperatures — 12 to about 22 degrees. then as we move on into sunday, we've got more of a north—easterly flow and that's going to drag in more low cloud, mist and murk from the north sea.

but it will be largely dry. you could catch the odd shower across southern england at times. there'll be some sunshine as well. and these are our temperatures. so coming down in the north—west. we're looking at a range, 11 to 20.

you're watching bbc news. i'm nicky schiller. very shortly we will be live in essex as the labour leader sir keir starmer is giving a speech to to outline labour's main commitments to voters as the party

gears up for a general election. this is the scene live in essex as the build—up to the speech — which is due to begin in around 20 minutes — continues. that is ed miliband, the shadow energy secretary. a number of the shadow ministers are giving speeches. just below where you can see the time, 10:30am, that is sir keir starmer�*s head. he is sitting watching all of these shadow ministers and there is another shot where you can see the deputy leader angela rayner also there along with the shadow chancellor rachel reeves and wes streeting, who speaks for help for the labour party. they are listening to that ed miliband speech at the moment. we expect sir keir starmer to begin his speech in about 20 minutes. there is a large banner with labour first step changes. 0ur political editor chris mason is in the audience watching and he said pretty much the entire set of has turned up for this and you can, as

you can see, they are