hello, i'm lucy gray. we start this hour here in the uk, where party leaders are kicking off a weekend of campaigning around the country ahead of the general election on the 4th ofjuly. so far today, rishi sunak has been in the north of england, where he delivered his message to voters at a pub. it comes after the cabinet minister michael gove announced that he was joining a growing list of conservative mps who will be standing down at the election. meanwhile, the labour leader sir keir starmer has been out meeting voters in the west midlands, speaking to voters at a local football ground. let's speak to our political correspondent harry farley who is in the west midlands now. what's been going on there? sir keir starmer has — what's been going on there? sir keir starmer has made _ what's been going on there? sir keir starmer has made a _ what's been going on there? sir keir starmer has made a bit _ what's been going on there? sir keir starmer has made a bit of _ what's been going on there? sir keir starmer has made a bit of a - what's been going on there? sir keir starmer has made a bit of a habit - what's been going on there? sir keir starmer has made a bit of a habit of| starmer has made a bit of a habit of making campaign visits to lower

league football grounds. we are here at staff at rangers, sir keir starmer wrapping up his visit behind me —— stafford rangers. he was talking to a handful of voters who said they voted conservative last time and were considering voting labour at this one. there are a number of labour campaigners here as well. the focus for him today was the economy, he is making the accusation that under the conservatives, britain has got poor. rishi sunak also focusing on the economy, he is making the case is planned for the economy is working —— keir starmer alleges that under the conservatives, britain has become poorer. conservative mps in particular are stepping down, among them michael gove. i asked keir starmerfor his reaction them michael gove. i asked keir starmer for his reaction to that decision.

michael gove is stepping down and i obviously— michael gove is stepping down and i obviously wish him well but i think it's significant he is stepping down because _ it's significant he is stepping down because i— it's significant he is stepping down because i think he's got a reputation of delivering in government and when someone of his senior— government and when someone of his senior reputation effectively says that he _ senior reputation effectively says that he doesn't have faith in what rishi _ that he doesn't have faith in what rishi sunak is putting forward in this election, it does beg the question. _ this election, it does beg the question, why should voters have faith in_ question, why should voters have faith in what rishi sunak is putting forward _ faith in what rishi sunak is putting forward when his senior politicians don't _ forward when his senior politicians don't have — forward when his senior politicians don't have faith and are basically getting _ don't have faith and are basically getting off the bus? sir keir starmer talking about his view on michael gove's decision to step down. it's worth saying that michael gove made a point in his resignation letter of praising rishi sunak and his chances in this general election. the liberal democrats obviously targeting michael gove's seat in surrey heath, they are making the claim that michael gove is running scared of him. obviously michael gove would

dispute that. but here in the west midlands, this is exactly the kind of seats that labour needs to win if they are going to win that majority in the general election. we are at stafford rangers football club, currently a conservative held seat with a conservative mp, and this is exactly the kind of place that sir keir starmer will be focusing his campaign over the next few weeks, areas that labour need to win if they are going to win that majority injuly the 4th. let's cross to chichester. ijust missed sir ed davey walking past you, i believe, the liberal democrats out in force today. they certainly are. _ democrats out in force today. they certainly are, ed _ democrats out in force today. they certainly are, ed davey _ democrats out in force today. they certainly are, ed davey has - democrats out in force today. tie: certainly are, ed davey has been out on a boat, this boat behind me, with the lib dems candidate called jess brown fuller, on a little boat trip around the harbour, highlighting the beauties of this area and this is a

beautiful constituency for the lib dems because they are hoping to make inroads here. it's going to be a tough task because the tories have a majority of 21,000. the incumbent at the moment is the education secretary gillian keegan through the lib dems really are going to have their work cut out to make inroads but they have some things on their side, they did really well in local council elections last year, they controlled the district council and the city council of chichester. today, they will be launching their sewage policy, it is kind of relevant that he has been out on the water. sir ed davey wants to bring home that liberal democrat message that they will be looking after water, lakes, rivers, seas, they are concerned about clean water in the uk so they are launching their policy today, one plank of that policy today, one plank of that policy will be to replace the water regulator ofwat with a new oversight organisation which would involve local grassroots organisations such

as environmental groups which would be on the board of this regulator. they also want to see what your boss is' bonuses cut and feel that water bosses' bonuses should not happen if there are sewage outages so that's just part of the lib dems' policy that they are outlined today in chichester.— that they are outlined today in chichester. ., , ., chichester. you definitely got the aood chichester. you definitely got the good send. _ chichester. you definitely got the good send, getting _ chichester. you definitely got the good send, getting sent - chichester. you definitely got the good send, getting sent down - chichester. you definitely got the good send, getting sent down to| chichester. you definitely got the i good send, getting sent down to the coast in chichester! jack fenwick is in the newsroom, he didn't get a very good send at all! from the windowless newsroom, tell me what everyone else has been doing. let's focus on rishi sunak, he has been in yorkshire. has he been addressing any of the conversations about the number of tory mps who are going to be standing down, michael gove in particular? be standing down, michael gove in articular? ~' , particular? unlike ed davey in chichester. — particular? unlike ed davey in chichester, i— particular? unlike ed davey in chichester, i don't _ particular? unlike ed davey in chichester, i don't think - particular? unlike ed davey in i chichester, i don't think there's

much chance of rishi sunak walking through shot in the newsroom here, he's been talking to veterans in a pub. in truth, it's been a quieter day for the prime minister than the last few days, he had been sitting around the country but we are not expecting to hear any more from him today after this morning which was pretty low—key. he didn't address michael gove and others are standing down. what we have heard from the conservatives today is more of a focus on the economy. that comes after the influential think—tank the institute for fiscal studies said that the public finances are hanging over this campaign like a dark cloud. we have a chance lejeremy hunt in an interview with the daily telegraph this morning saying he would be focusing on tax cuts for working people —— the chancellor jeremy hunt. that's on top of the two he has already done. he also talked about tax cuts that would boost growth and tax cuts for people who earn between 100000 and 125,000 a year. not so much on the

conservatives are stepping down which i'm sure will be at the forefront of the prime minister and other conservatives' mines but lots more on the economy. fine other conservatives' mines but lots more on the economy.— other conservatives' mines but lots more on the economy. one person who has been talking _ more on the economy. one person who has been talking about _ more on the economy. one person who has been talking about it _ more on the economy. one person who has been talking about it is _ has been talking about it is scottish conservative leader douglas ross who was asked about the high number of mps stepping down including significant numbers from the prime minister's partyand here's what he had to say. we are seeing mps from all parties are standing down, some who have served _ are standing down, some who have served in— are standing down, some who have served in parliament for a long tinre, — served in parliament for a long time, there another labour mp a few days ago— time, there another labour mp a few days ago who i think is from the 2016. _ days ago who i think is from the 2016. 2017— days ago who i think is from the 2016, 2017 intake is not standing again— 2016, 2017 intake is not standing again but— 2016, 2017 intake is not standing again but in scotland we have a great _ again but in scotland we have a great slate of candidates who are getting _ great slate of candidates who are getting out there, fighting for votes — getting out there, fighting for votes because in key seats is going to be _ votes because in key seats is going to be close — votes because in key seats is going to be close between us and the snp, they can _ to be close between us and the snp, they can vote for a local scottish conservative champion for their area or a nationalist focused on independence.

to israel now — where has the military has continued its attacks across gaza — including in the city of rafah — despite the un's top court ordering it to immediately stop its offensive there on friday. the european union's top diplomat says the bloc will have to make a choice between supporting israel, or international institutions and the rule of law. josep borrell was speaking after the un's highest court ruled that israel had to halt its military offensive in response to a case brought by south africa. they've accused israel of violating the un genocide convention in gaza. israel has said no power on earth will stop it going after hamas. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams is injerusalem. there's certainly no sign yet of a letup in israel's military campaign in the southern gaza strip. we've heard reports this morning of fresh air strikes in the rafah area. what we don't yet know is the situation on the ground. we know that israeli troops and armour are poised very close to the center of rafah, but they haven't yet gone into the center of that built—up area. and we don't know exactly what the military�*s plans are. israel continues to say

that the operation is limited. it highlights the fact that it has given civilians lots of opportunity to move out of harm's way. but the un's humanitarian affairs boss, martin griffiths, tweeted last night that there is nothing limited about this campaign. he said, and i quote, "the ground incursion in rafah has displaced more than 800,000 people, fleeing once again in fear for their lives and arriving in areas without adequate shelter, latrines and clean water". so the un's view is that this is having a major impact on the civilian population of the southern gaza strip and one that is not being properly addressed from the point of view of aid and shelter and everything else that people need. of course, there is still the fear of what happens to the hundreds of thousands of people who are still in rafah, who have yet to flee, who have yet to be told to flee by the israelis. what happens to them if indeed

a full—scale invasion of the city takes place? one slight development on the aid situation last night following a call betweenjoe biden and the egyptian leader abdel fattah el—sisi. egypt has agreed to send trucks that were backed—up, waiting to go into through the rafah crossing, which is closed has been for the last two or three weeks, egypt has agreed to send those trucks round to the kerem shalom crossing, that is the israeli crossing nearby that could help the flow of aid into the southern gaza strip, but it's a little early to know. political rallies are taking place across south africa today as parties make theirfinal attemps to win support ahead of wednesday's election. it's expected to be the most tightly contested poll since democracy was introduced 30 years ago. analysts say the governing african national congressis is at risk of losing its overall majority for the first time. let's cross to my colleague catherine byaruhanga, who is following events

from the anc�*s final pre—election rally in johannesburg. you are inside the stadium now, what's the atmosphere like, catherine?— what's the atmosphere like, catherine? ., , , catherine? the atmosphere is electric. there _ catherine? the atmosphere is electric. there is _ catherine? the atmosphere is electric. there is pumping - catherine? the atmosphere is i electric. there is pumping music playing out from the speakers. i'm sure people around the world would know of south africa's piano music. the crowds have been dancing. this has been a bruising election for the anc though, poll after poll shows the party losing its outright majority in parliament. the last poll was just from a few days ago and shows that it would gain about 40% of the seats. this is a huge come—down from the 57% it was able to win last time back in 2019. now there are huge challenges for the anc as it holds rallies like this,

trying to convince south africans to vote for it. on the one hand, there are questions about what it has done during the last three decades in power. there are questions about creating jobs, the lack of electricity and poor health services as well. but there have also been divisions within the anc, some of its biggest leaders of the former presidentjacob zuma, have its biggest leaders of the former president jacob zuma, have left. its biggest leaders of the former presidentjacob zuma, have left. he has started his own party that is competing against anc for the same votes. there is also the party of julius malema, who used to be a youth leader within the anc, he formed the eff, they are holding their own rally today. the big question is with these elections, there is the prospect that the anc would lose its majority, this will be a first for south africa since its democratic elections, and it would have to form a coalition with other parties and that could possibly cause instability for governance in the country. today as you can see behind me, the anc is

saying it's ready to go to the polls on wednesday and it anticipates it will get a majority of the votes come wednesday. extreme temperatures are continuing to grip pakistan, with some parts of the country expected to reach 50 degrees celsius. punjab and sindh provinces are the worst affected. schools in punjab are closing a week early for the summer holidays, although exams will go ahead as planned. people have been told to avoid direct sunlight and advised to stay indoors during the hottest times of the day. our bbc urdu correspondent saher baloch has more. pakistan is in the middle of an intense heat wave with hundreds of heat stroke victims being treated in hospitals across the country. temperatures soar to 49 celsius this week in mohenjo daro, which is in the southern sindh province of pakistan. these temperatures are more than eight centigrade above may's average daytime temperature. authorities in punjab have been forced to close the schools

for a week and are advising people to remain indoors and to remain hydrated at the same time. many labourers, however, have continued to work out of financial necessity and are out on the streets. these high may temperatures have followed the country's wettest april since 1961, with more than double the usual monthly rainfall. these wild changes in weather patterns have been attributed to human—made climate change, which has led to significant flooding and record breaking high temperatures across the country, which has also caused devastation across the country in recent years. the high temperatures are forecast to continue through through this weekend and into next week with temperatures in the capital city of islamabad, for instance, expected to exceed a0 centigrade at the moment. voting has begun in the sixth round of india's general election. people across the country are casting their votes, including in the capital, delhi. the six—week long campaign began in april with prime minister, narendra modi's ruling bjp party, looking to secure a third term in office.

more than 111 million people in 58 constituencies across eight states and federal territories are eligible to vote in the sixth phase. the results are expected onjune 4th. our south asia correspondent samira hussainjoins me now from delhi. it is really scorching hot as we heard from pakistan. those same temperatures are scorching parts of india, one part of the country hit nearly 50 celsius. there are heat warnings happening all across the country and it is under these extreme heat temperatures that you are seeing this voting that is taking place. it is this heat that actually has all political parties united on one thing, trying to encourage people to come out to vote despite the extreme temperatures. and they've made a lot of

precautions at polling booths, they have created misting stations, they are passing out water and cold drinks as people stand in line to go and cast a ballot. this is the sixth phase and voting, talk us through how it all works. —— in voting. the element because this is such a mammoth endeavour to get almost1 billion people eligible to vote —— who are eligible, to get them to vote, it's impossible for that to happen in one day which is why you have this cascading voting pattern. this time we saw that the election is happening in seven phases. the sixth phase is under way right now then you will have the seventh phase which happens on during the first. it is average in the first that we should start seeing some of the exit polling data but the actual results are meant to come out on during the fourth and as

you pointed out, prime minister narendra modi is looking to secure a third term in office and then you have the opposition, which is mainly in nationally the indian national congress party, they have banded together with several other political parties to counter narendra modi's enduring popularity. so the aim is to go for a large coalition, is that what they are aiming for?— coalition, is that what they are aimin: for? . , ., , ., aiming for? that is what they are t in: to aiming for? that is what they are trying to aim _ aiming for? that is what they are trying to aim for, _ aiming for? that is what they are trying to aim for, creating - aiming for? that is what they are trying to aim for, creating a - trying to aim for, creating a coalition with other regional parties that perhaps they can put some kind of a dent in the bjp's rule over india. don't forget that the bjp has also banded together with other political parties in other parts of the country to do the same. it is a battle of coalitions and a battle of regional parties in certain parts of the country. thank ou ve certain parts of the country. thank you very much. — certain parts of the country. thank you very much, samira _ certain parts of the country. thank you very much, samira hussain . certain parts of the country. thank you very much, samira hussain in|

you very much, samira hussain in delhi. families of the victims of the uvalde school massacre in texas two years ago, are taking legal action against several major companies. they accuse the social media firm, meta, the maker of the call of duty video games, and a gun manufacturer of promoting dangerous weapons to teens like the attacker. our north america correspondent peter bowes sent this update(tx) this was one of the worst school shootings in us history. and these are wrongful death lawsuits targeting not only the gun manufacturer — daniel defense — the 18—year—old responsible for this shooting had one of their guns, but also in these lawsuits targeting the developers of the video game call of duty and instagram. and the claim being that, in effect, these three organisations collaborated to market assault—style weapons to teenage boys, that these adolescent boys were, in effect, groomed to carry out the violent video game experiences,

things that they had watched, but they would carry out those fantasies in real life. that is the claim. and instagram's parent company, meta, are accused of having lax oversight of this process. now, these lawsuits are quite separate to another one, a $500 million lawsuit that has been filed against almost 100 law enforcement officers, the police officers who went to the scene of this shooting. but as has been now widely reported and criticized in a justice department report, it was a response that was lacking in urgency. it took more than an hour, 77 minutes, for those officers to eventually move in to the part of the school where the gunman was and where indeed young children had been dying. so a widely criticised response now the subject of this huge lawsuit. and what is happening here is that this is the accountability, accountability on the part of individuals or organisations that the families of the victims have been calling for for much

of the past two years. radio 1's big weekend kicked off yesterday for a jam—packed bank holiday, they've got a whole load of treats for music lovers lucky enough to get tickets to the festival. raye, rag'n'bone man and charlie xcx are just some of the artists set to perform today. let's speak to bbc newsbeat presenter prai over at the festival in luton. talk us through what we can expect today. talk us through what we can expect toda . ., . ., ., talk us through what we can expect toda . ., _, ., ., ., ., �*, today. hello, welcome to radio one's bic today. hello, welcome to radio one's big weekend — today. hello, welcome to radio one's big weekend in _ today. hello, welcome to radio one's big weekend in luton, _ today. hello, welcome to radio one's big weekend in luton, just _ today. hello, welcome to radio one's big weekend in luton, just outside l big weekend in luton, just outside london, not too far from london. big weekend in luton, just outside london, not too farfrom london. it has really got going. today, big names on the line—up, raye, ajay tracy, charli xcx, so a lot for people to look forward to today. you can see the view behind me, the main stage, but if i can set the scene

for you, last night, the field behind me that is slowly filling up as we get to lunchtime was full of people of all ages, parents with their kids, teenagers, everybody really enjoying chase and status, there were fireworks in flames, the set was incredible, and this was completely full, it was an incredible scene, a mixed audience here in luton. the first big weekend, we've got three days and we are on day two mac, we are recovering from day one a little bit, and four stages, you can see the main stage in the distance and the main stage in the distance and the red tent in the distance is the new music stage, the bbc introducing stage as well, so a real big celebration at a festival that really kicks off the festival season

here in the uk. bud really kicks off the festival season here in the uk.— really kicks off the festival season here in the uk. and a beautiful day for it as well _ here in the uk. and a beautiful day for it as well which _ here in the uk. and a beautiful day for it as well which is _ here in the uk. and a beautiful day for it as well which is very - for it as well which is very important at a festival. very important- _ important at a festival. very important. one _ important at a festival. very important. one of _ important at a festival. very important. one of the - important at a festival. - important. one of the number one questions yesterday was, what's the ground like? what shoes should i be wearing? from people listening on the radio. my assessment is that boots would be a good order to really allow consistent dancing. muddy in places but the sun, i thought it might make the odd guest appearance but it has really come out and treated us, we are a little bit nervous about tomorrow's weather, there could be rain but with coldplay headlining, i think spirits will be high nonetheless. and talk us through radio one's coverage, what have we got interviews wise?— coverage, what have we got interviews wise? w ., ., interviews wise? hosting throughout the da ou interviews wise? hosting throughout the day you will _ interviews wise? hosting throughout the day you will have _ interviews wise? hosting throughout the day you will have some - interviews wise? hosting throughout the day you will have some of- interviews wise? hosting throughout the day you will have some of your l the day you will have some of your much loved bbc radio 1 the day you will have some of your much loved bbc radio1 presenters from greg james to katie for sultan, dean and vicky —— katie thistleton,

and on stage, the big acts later on tonight, we will be closing the day with raye who i'm sure so many people are looking forward to seeing but we've also got some acts who have got very different audiences which i think is really important here, we've got thames, rag and bone man, saloni, a british asian artist on the introducing stage, so there's something for everybody.— on the introducing stage, so there's something for everybody. thanks for talkin: us something for everybody. thanks for talking us through _ something for everybody. thanks for talking us through the _ something for everybody. thanks for talking us through the big _ something for everybody. thanks for talking us through the big weekend | talking us through the big weekend in luton. many people dream about turning left as they board a flight into first class but now there is a flight for pampered pooches. bark air took off with ten dogs and their owners on—board on the way to los angeles,

it's $8,000 from new york to london. there are no dog—eared magazines but an on—board spa for the dogs and treats including frothy milk drinks and even old shoes. the company says it is already planning new routes from the us to paris and milan. finally, a plant that became extinct in the wild has been reintroduced to the uk mainland. rosy saxifrag was last seen in the mountains of north wales in 1962, having been killed off by collectors, grazing animals and habitat loss. i cutting was saved by a schoolteacher who grew it in his garden and the charity plant life and the national trust have helped bring it back to the national park of snowdonia in wales when it was last seen and conservationists hope it will spread widely, allowing visitors to spot its dense leaves

and flowers with white petals. stay with us here on bbc news. thanks for watching. hello, there. plenty of sunny spells around at times this bank holiday weekend. today is probably the best looking day for the vast majority of the next few. a lot of sunshine to start off the morning here in north yorkshire. we will be seeing some showers. most of those showers will pop up on sunday and bank holiday monday and they could be heavy, thundery and also slow moving too. a little bit of wet weather around, as well, this afternoon across parts of norfolk, into lincolnshire, stretching up through the east midlands with plenty of cloud here. another weather front out towards the south—west of england bringing outbreaks of rain here. but there will be a lot of dry weather around. one or two isolated showers. sunny spells developing, variable amounts of cloud and highs in the best of the sunshine of 20

or 21 degrees celsius. through this evening and overnight, outbreaks of rain will continue to spread their way further northwards. it's quite a wet night to follow with plenty of cloud, a milder night than we saw last night. temperatures for the most part will stay in double figures as we head into sunday morning. on sunday, well, it's quite a disappointingly wet start to the day. we've still got these weather fronts around, so we are likely to see further outbreaks of rain. we'll see some some thundery showers spark off where we get the brightest spells. for much of the northern half of the uk there will be a lot of cloud around through the morning, with some outbreaks of rain. if we do see those brighter skies, then watch out for some cloud building, heavy, thundery downpours developing, but they will be mostly across the south of england and wales. some of those showers will be slow moving, as well. largely dry across the far north of scotland. here we could see highs of around 20 degrees celsius yet again. further south, of course, underneath the cloud and the rain it's always going to be feeling cooler.

still that leftover weather front as we head into bank holiday monday, so again we're expecting some heavy, thundery showers to develop as we head through the day, but also some sunny spells, it won't be raining all the time. in fact, a lot of those showers will be towards the north, they'll track eastwards, so towards western parts of the united kingdom we could even see a mostly dry end to the day perhaps. another slight drop in temperature, but still round about the seasonal average, which is where our temperatures will probably stay as we head through the week. it's half—term, of course. it won't be raining all the time, there will also be some sunny spells. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines... thank you. party leaders hit the campaign trail in the uk's general election— and there's a growing list of tory mps who say they'll be standing down. israel has continued its attacks in gaza, including in rafah, a day after the un's top court ordered it to stop its offensive in the city. with south africa's general election just days away, will nelson mandela's legacy be enough to secure another anc win, or will voters turn away? you are watching bbc news.

our top story this hour, party leaders are touring the country, as they take their message directly to voters, it is the third full day of election campiagn. rishi sunak has been to the north as sir keir starmer heads to the west midlands. michael gove and dame andrea leadsom have added their names to a list of more than 100 mps who say they won't contest their seats at the general election. the announcements came as the parliamentary session was officially closed last night, allowing full scale campaigning to get under way. the scottish conservative leader was asked about the high number of mps stepping down, including significant members from the conservative party as it is his response. we members from the conservative party as it is his response.— as it is his response. we are seeing mps from all _ as it is his response. we are seeing mps from all parties _ as it is his response. we are seeing mps from all parties standing - as it is his response. we are seeing | mps from all parties standing down. some have served the party for a long time. a labour mp was a 2015 intake, he has decided not to stand again. but in scotland we have great candidates that are fighting for

every single vote because in