have a general and we will have a general election on 4 and we will have a general election on ajuly. spain, ireland, and norway say they will recognise an independent palestinian state. israel reacts angrily, recalling its ambassadors. president emmanuel macron arrives in the french pacific territory of new caledonia to take personal charge of a crisis that's seen more than a week of unrest. hello and thank you forjoining us. we begin in the uk, where british prime minister rishi sunak has set a general election for 4july, ending months of speculation. he made the announcement in the pouring rain outside ten downing street, where the conservative party leader hailed his economic record. the prime minister, who has the power to choose an election date within a five year period, is facing a large deficit in the polls to the opposing labour party. the bbc�*s political editor chris mason has been following the day's

developments from westminster. the lectern in place after a downpour of anticipation. cameras, reporters, brollies, the downpours coming from the skies too. at teatime, this. earlier today, i spoke with his majesty the king to request the dissolution of parliament. the king has granted this request and we will have a general election on the fourth ofjuly. music blaring from campaigners in nearby whitehall, rain tumbling onto the prime minister's sodden suit. you must choose in this election who has that plan. who is prepared to take the bold action necessary to secure a better future for our country and our children? now, i cannot and will not claim that we have got everything right. no government should. but i am proud of what we have achieved together.

the bold actions we have taken, and i am confident about what we can do in the future. over the next few weeks, i will fight for every vote. i will earn your trust, and i will prove to you that only a conservative government led by me will not put our hard—earned economic stability at risk, can restore pride and confidence in our country, and with a clear plan and bold action, will deliver a secure future for you, yourfamily and our united kingdom. so, this is it — a general election is on. power will leave this most powerful of streets, and you will be able to decide whether he stays or whether he goes. and so the arguments, the persuasion begins. on days like this, one lectern leads to another, and the thrust of labour's message hangs on one word.

a chance to change for the better. your future, your community, your country. it will feel like a long campaign, i'm sure of that. but no matter what else is said and done, that opportunity for change is what this election is about. over the course of the last four years, we have changed the labour party, returned it once more to the service of working people. all we ask now, humbly, is to do exactly the same for our country, and return britain to the service of working people. and of course, the next six weeks are about lots of parties, notjust labour and the conservatives. the liberal democrat

leader has been in surrey. in so many parts of the country, it's the liberal democrats who can beat the conservatives, and i think people are crying out for change. they want to vote for someone who championed them, theirfamily and community, to sort out the crisis in the nhs and care, to get our economy back on track and end environmental scandals like the sewage scandal. it's a welcome opportunity to remove the tory government and to put scotland first. and that's what i will be saying to the public. but i also have to say that i think this is perhaps the latest act of disrespect from a conservative government, to call an election during the scottish school holidays. tonight, campaigning is already under way. prepare to see plenty of events like this. friends, friends, thank you, it is great to be with you all this evening. elsewhere, from norfolk to london, placards of a different colour, a different message. the promising and persuasion starts here. polling day is six weeks tomorrow.

here goes. chris mason, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to our political correspondent harry farley about the expectations from the upcoming elections. well, it was a surprise. not only to us, people like me who watch political events in westminster here every day, but also think too many of rishi sunak, uk prime minister's own cabinet ministers as well. some cabinet ministers as well. some cabinet ministers as well. some cabinet ministers even had to delay or cut short trips abroad. the uk foreign secretary, david cameron, cutting a visit to albania short. it was only actually in the country for a couple of hours before he was called back for an emergency cabinet meeting where they were all told about rishi sunak�*s decision to call, as you say, an election earlier than expected. delay before this one uk will go to the polls, six weeks away, and already we have

a shape of the campaign to come. rishi sunak using inflation figures that were out this morning here in the uk showing a fall in inflation to 2.3%, that is close to the bank of england's target of 2%. using those inflation figures to hail what he described as a major milestone that shows our plan is working, our plenty means the conservative government was matt legg. sir keir starmer, the leader of the main opposition party of the uk, the labour party, responding to that announcement by rishi sunak stood above a one word on it "change". and i that's how we can summarise his election bits to voters here in the uk. he will say that after 14 years of conservative government or conservative led government's it is time for change. we will argue that people are not better off than they were 14 years ago. and that's really, i suppose, the main picture of the election battles to come. we also heard

from the liberal democrats, the snp, we will hearfrom other parties as well in the coming days. but as well as the economy i think we can expect immigration to be a major point of debate in the coming weeks. housing, crime, and the national health service as well. that is the shape of the debate to come. as you say, a surprise today in the uk going to the polls earlier than expected on july the fourth. that was our political correspondent harry farley they're talking about the expectations from the coming elections. we will keep you updated throughout the day here on bbc news as the election campaign begins. but first: ireland, norway, and spain have all announced plans to recognise a palestinian state next week. spain and ireland said the decision was not against israel — or in favour of hamas — but in support of peace. israel has reacted angrily and recalled its ambassadors to the three countries. lucy williamson reports. there are things a future palestinian state won't change.

the loss of a daughter. a son—in—law. her grandchildren. ten members of this family, bombed in deir al—balah as they sought shelter from the war. but the creation of a palestinian state living peacefully alongside israel is, for many western nations, the only way to end decades of conflict. spain's prime minister today said it was time to recognise that future state. benjamin netanyahu, he said, was creating so much pain, destruction and bitterness in gaza and the rest of palestine, and the two—state solution was in danger of becoming unviable. but there is little support in israel, the mood dominated today by newly released footage from the bodycams of hamas attackers as they took female soldiers hostage on the seventh of october.

translation: the intention| of several european countries to recognise a palestinian state is a reward for terrorism. 80% of the palestinians injudaea and samaria support the terrible massacre of october the seventh. this evil cannot be given a state. more than 140 countries have already recognised a palestinian state, but in the west bank town of ramallah, full of palestinian flags and ministries but lacking power, faith in diplomatic gestures was mixed. translation: i welcome this recognition with much respectj and appreciation for these countries, and i ask other states to follow their example and recognise palestine. translation: palestinian diplomacy is weak. - we have embassies in many countries across the world, but they are just useless. theyjust hire employees

who live a luxury life. in the west bank too, near daily reminders of dwindling peace and israel's increasing control, of an unresolved conflict that ends lives and starts wars. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. let's turn to the french pacific territory of new caledonia, where president emmanuel macron has arrived for talks, aimed at taking control of the unrest triggered by a contested electoral reform. you can see president macron speaking here. he is speaking in french and will bring you the highlights later on or bbc news. the territory is under a state of emergency after the worst civil disturbances in a0 years. it's unclear if pro—independence groups from the indigenous kana community will agree to meet mr macron. the unrest was started by separatists angry at paris's

plan's to widen new caledonia's franchise to more non—native people. speaking to reporters at the airport, mr macron said ensuring peace and security to the territory was his government's main priority. for weeks, all commercial flights have been halted, cutting the island off from the rest of the world. the australian royal air force has evacuated australian nationals from the territory, but others remain stranded. among them are maxwell and tiffany winchester, an australian couple who have been stuck in their resort for the last week. maxwell and tiffany, thank you for your time today. get us up to speed with how it has been for you there. what have you been experiencing?— for you there. what have you been experiencing? thank you, steve. been experiencing? thank you, steve- we _ been experiencing? thank you, steve. we have _ been experiencing? thank you, steve. we have basically - been experiencing? thank you, steve. we have basically been l steve. we have basically been trapped in our resort. we meant to stay here just for one night before flying back to australia and we got stuck here when the riots started. we're now on day 11, it is nearly two weeks being stuck here.- 11, it is nearly two weeks being stuck here. how have you been treated, _

being stuck here. how have you been treated, due _ being stuck here. how have you been treated, due feel- being stuck here. how have you been treated, due feel unsafe l been treated, due feel unsafe or safe ausmat what is the situation?— or safe ausmat what is the situation? the people at the resort have _ situation? the people at the resort have treated - situation? the people at the resort have treated us - resort have treated us amazingly, the people have been absolutely fantastic stock but that doesn't stop the volatile nature — that doesn't stop the volatile nature of what's happening just outside — nature of what's happening just outside our resort we have had gunfire — outside our resort we have had gunfire exchange, we have had blockades set up, it's not safe anywhere _ blockades set up, it's not safe anywhere outside of within 100 anywhere outside ofwithin100 metres— anywhere outside of within 100 metres of where we are right now — metres of where we are right now. ~ . , metres of where we are right now. ~ ., , ., . now. we have seen that french president _ now. we have seen that french president emmanuel _ now. we have seen that french president emmanuel macron i now. we have seen that french. president emmanuel macron has arrived on the island. he has been speaking as well as we have seen in the last few moments. you get a sense or is there a feeling that since his arrival things may improve? well, we're worried it could go either way. well, we're worried it could go eitherway. if well, we're worried it could go either way. if he says the right things that it might calm down, but he has been rather clumsy and handling this whole situation and our point of view, so we're worried the whole thing mightjust explode again and the australian government are leaving it to the french government to evacuate us right now and given what we are seeing we are

concerned about our safety in that regard. it is day 11 ali france government still have not managed to bring the situation under control and i would be worried if they had tickets to the olympics that the french government could manage safety at the olympics now. ~ ., , , . , now. we will leave the olympics for another _ now. we will leave the olympics for another day, _ now. we will leave the olympics for another day, just _ now. we will leave the olympics for another day, just coming - for another day, just coming back to where you are and the situation wonder. are you getting any word from authorities, are they advising you on what you should be doing? you on what you should be doinu ?, , you on what you should be doinu 7, , , . you on what you should be doin? , ,., doing? just shalt in place. there are _ doing? just shalt in place. there are no _ doing? just shalt in place. there are no flights - doing? just shalt in place. there are no flights until i there are no flights until emmanuel macron leaves. the luke anear suggest he may be more than 2a hours. it luke anear suggest he may be more than 24 hours.— more than 24 hours. it may be 'ust more than 24 hours. it may be just quite _ more than 24 hours. it may be just quite a — more than 24 hours. it may be just quite a concern _ more than 24 hours. it may be just quite a concern for- more than 24 hours. it may be just quite a concern for you - just quite a concern for you and families back in australia wondering what is going on. are you able to stay in communication with what is going on there and also with yourfamilies back home? going on there and also with your families back home? yeah, we have. your families back home? yeah, we have- we _ your families back home? yeah, we have. we have _ your families back home? yeah, we have. we have been - your families back home? yeah, we have. we have been in - we have. we have been in contact _ we have. we have been in contact with them as much as we can _ contact with them as much as we can we — contact with them as much as we can. we have been talking to our families back home as often as we _ our families back home as often as we possibly can. but again, what _ as we possibly can. but again, what is — as we possibly can. but again, what is the message we can send them _ what is the message we can send them other than it might be

today— them other than it might be today and then it's not today, maybe — today and then it's not today, maybe tomorrow then it's not tomorrow. we're not able to give — tomorrow. we're not able to give them a message as well, so it's ireen— give them a message as well, so it's been difficult for everyone.— it's been difficult for eve one. ., , , everyone. now, i presume you are not alone _ everyone. now, i presume you are not alone in _ everyone. now, i presume you are not alone in this _ everyone. now, i presume you are not alone in this resort. . are not alone in this resort. are there others with you in a similar predicament and what are the locals and the people working in the resort telling you? working in the resort telling ou? ~ . you? well, we have new zealanders _ you? well, we have new zealanders and - you? well, we have new zealanders and a - you? well, we have new zealanders and a french | you? well, we have new- zealanders and a french person here, there are not that many people here. but the resource employees have had to bring their family employees have had to bring theirfamily up to employees have had to bring their family up to keep them safe here and the families are slipping and open dining that looks down over the suburb we are near and they are a 24—hour watch. none of us are slipping because any noise that is happening we are wondering who is here and who is attacking. we don't sleep, they aren't sleeping, they get about an hour and night.— sleeping, they get about an hour and night. delegate could be an anxious _ hour and night. delegate could be an anxious situation. - hour and night. delegate could be an anxious situation. could | be an anxious situation. could you tell us about the security that you have at the resort?

well, i don't think anybody has any security at this point. we don't particularly have any and the australians stuck in the city have no security and some of them have no food so they're having to go out and get coconuts off the ground or one shot went to a supermarket the only thing he could get was nurdles and he had to eat them dry. it is quite desperate, people are running out of medication. it's not a great situation to be in.— medication. it's not a great situation to be in. thank you. under the _ situation to be in. thank you. under the circumstances, - situation to be in. thank you. i under the circumstances, thank you very much was speaking to us and during what is going on in new caledonia. maxwell and tiffany winchester an australian couple who have been stuck in new caledonia for the last week. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

you're live with bbc news. to iran now and its supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei has presided over a funeral for the country's president, foreign minister and others

killed in a helicopter crash on sunday. he led prayers at tehran university, where caskets carrying the dead were draped in iranian flags. many of those who've walked through the streets held photos of mr raisi or carried the iranian flag. iranians had been sent text messages urging them to attend. among those attended has been the hamas leader ismail haniyeh, who said he'd come to represent the palestinian people. to the uk now, and the former chief executive of the post office, paula vennells, has been in tears at the public inquiry into its it scandal. she admitted she'd "made mistakes", but denied there'd been a conspiracy to cover up problems with the horizon system. ms vennells, who was chief executive from 2012 to 2019, apologised to sub—postmasters, after hundreds of were wrongly prosecuted when faulty technology made it appear that money was missing from their branches. our business correspondent emma simpson was at the inquiry. a warning — this report

contains flash photography. you said they were disturbing, didn't you, miss vennells? paula vennells has come to face the music, but she first had to get past the cameras... anything to say at all to the people who suffered so greatly? ..to finally explain her role in the scandal. it's been a long time coming for the subpostmasters whose lives have been wrecked. why, why has she let this go on? did she put profits before people, is the big question. it is important that the truth is there, that she is allowed| to speak, that she can put over what she, you know, | was seeing at the time. i swear by almighty god... sworn in, the part—time priest was then given a warning about self—incrimination. do you understand all that? thank you, sirwyn, and i plan to answer all the questions. but there were also tears and apology for what she said.

the post office knew that, i completely accept it. personally, i did not know that and i'm incredibly sorry that that happened to those people and to so many others. but what did she know and when? was there a conspiracy at the post office, which lasted for nearly 12 years, involving a wide range of people, differing over time, to deny you information and to deny you documents, and to falsely give you reassurance 7 no, i don't believe that was the case. under her leadership, a lot of evidence emerged about flaws with horizon, but at key points, she said she wasn't aware of much of it, including crucial legal advice. do you think you are the unluckiest ceo in the uk? i was too trusting. i did probe and i did ask questions. and...

iam... ..disappointed where information was not shared. but former royal mail boss and colleague dame moya greene is not so sure. the inquiry was shown a text chat between both of them earlier this year. "i think you knew," says moya, to which paula replies, "that isn't the case." moya then asks, "how could you not have known?" before saying, "i supported you all these years". adding, "i can't support you now". and then she was asked about the case of subpostmaster martin griffiths, who took his own life after the post office ruined him. and i imagine that... i'm sorry. i imagine that i was probably... just pause. yes, ok. try to compose yourself if you can and then continue your evidence, please. thank you. she apologised to alan bates, too. she said he was right to persevere.

i wonder about these apologies. these are just words. the big problem at the moment is trying to get money for the victims in all of this, and anything that does that will make a real difference, rather than a few words. and here's another thing. when paula vennells first joined the post office in 2007 as a director, she said it was another five years before she found out they did their own private prosecutions. and the inquiry heard that when she left herjob in 2019, she still believed there had not been any miscarriages of justice. her thinking and decision—making will be tested again tomorrow. emma simpson, bbc news. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. us presidentjoe biden has welcomed the kenyan president, william ruto, to the white house. this meeting marks the first state visit of an african leader to washington in 15 years, and comes at a time when the us is losing influence in west africa to russia. the us has a long—standing

partnership with kenya on counter—terrorism. ajudge in tennessee has halted thursday's planned auction of elvis presley's estate of graceland. a bank was seeking to sell it off, claiming the property had been put up as collateral for a loan by elvis's late daughter, lisa marie. the rock �*n roll legend's granddaughter sought to stop the auction, saying the loan documents were fraudulent. breakdancing — or breaking, to give it its official name — makes its olympic debut in paris this year. among the competitors will be manizha talash, afg hanistan's only female breaker. she was forced to leave her country when the taliban returned to power and is part of the refugee team. kawoon khamoosh saw hertraining in spain. an intense work—out for the world's biggest competition. manizha is training nonstop to develop and master her skills.

she will be taking these moves to the olympics this summer. she knows the whole world will be watching her. translation: by going - to the olympics, i want to show that afghan girls will never surrender. they will win despite any challenge or obstacle. and this is how herjourney started four years ago. from this hip—hop club in kabul. the only girl on the stage, but already taking confident steps towards her olympic dream. but things haven't been easy. here's our club, a car explosion... in a conservative society, hip—hop fans have many enemies. many faced attacks. manizha continued despite the threats. but when the taliban returned to power, they banned women's sport. manizha and her friends were forced to flee. translation: this is my bedroom. -

i moved here a month ago, but i would like to be surrounded by the things i like. relics of home never far. translation: some posters that remind me of afghanistan - - like bombs and afghan dancing girls. i'd like to remember what i have been through. this is the moment the olympic committee made the announcement. and now it's my great honour to announce the athletes of the ioc refugee olympic team, paris 2024. manizha talash — breaking. a dream comes true. manizha will be part of the olympic refugee team and will represent all those who have been forced to flee their home country globally. it will be a tough competition, but it is a proud moment for the hip—hop community of afghanistan. for them and for many women in the country, it is already a big win.

kawoon khamoosh, bbc news, madrid. that's it for newsday. bbc business will be up next with a focus on nvidia and what it will mean for the ai industry. see you soon. hello there. for most of us, wednesday was a particularly miserable day. quite wet, in fact, in hertfordshire and warwickshire, we had a months worth of rain in a 24—hour period, ranging from 55 to almost 65 mm of rainfall. throughout the day, the rain gradually drifted its way steadily north and west. here, it is going to linger for quite some time, so we still have weather warnings out. in fact, the met office has an amber warning now, with the emphasis on the heavy and persistent rain across parts of north wales and northwest england. we could see, to higher ground,

as much as 100 mm or more, and that could lead to some localised flooding. so that weather warning and will remain in force until lunchtime on thursday. the brighter colours denoting the intensity of the rainfall. some clearer skies further south, so it could be a misty and murky start, but a relatively mild start to thursday morning. on the whole, quite grey for most of us and some of the rain persistent, but it will gradually start to ease as we go through the day, and hopefully the cloud across east anglia and southeast england should break up to allow for some glimpses sunshine from time to time. winds light to moderate, but the strongest gusts perhaps to the far northwest, where the heaviest bursts are likely to be. we are going to see temperatures peaking at around 18 or 19 degrees, but where the cloud and rain lingers, certainly a disappointing feel. as we go to thursday evening into the early hours of friday morning, gradually, that low pressure will drift its way further north and east and start to pull away, but it stays rather cloudy, damp and murky. so, a pretty murky start

to friday morning, and we will be chasing cloud around on friday. cloud thick enough further north for a spot or two of light drizzle at time to time. hopefully some brightness down to the south, but it will be dry here, and top temperatures once again likely into the high teens. into the start of the weekend, this little ridge of high pressure keeps things quite on sunday. it is a bank holiday weekend, i know, there is a weather front starting to push in from the west giving us a level of uncertainty. it is likely the beginning of the three—day weekend will be the best in terms of drier and sunny weather, and there is the potential for some sharp, possibly thundery showers to develop a little later on.

it was another blockbuster quarter for nvidia, as demand for its ai chips stays strong. as australia moves towards becoming a cashless society, we take a look at who's getting left behind. hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. nvidia shares are now at an all—time high, after the company's latest quarterly results beat sales and profit forecasts. the chip—maker also lifted its dividend and announced

a 10—for—1 stock split. the bbc�*s north america business correspondent michelle fleury has more on the stellar report card. the number of times that al has been mentioned on earnings call this quarter is up sharply from the previous one, which helps explain why investors are so obsessed with nvidia's earnings. it's seen as a bellwether for the ai industry, and the chip giant's latest results show that demand is off the charts. nvidia reported a net income of $14.9 billion. now, put that another way — the company is making around $6.8 million in profit every hour. as for its revenue for the last three months, it came in at $26 billion, up a whopping 262% on the previous year. about the results, founder and ceo said the next industrial revolution has begun. its business, once built around chips tailored to

gaming consoles, has been