brit award winner raye set to headline today. and she is due on the main stage at nine o'clock tonight. i have found myself a texture. we are also getting excited for other acts. hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. 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 lithjuly. 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 keir starmer has been out meeting voters in the west midlands

where he told voters that stabilising the economy would be a number one priority. here's our political correspondent helen catt. the labour leader arriving at a football club in the west midlands, here to put the boot into the tories�* economic record and to explain what a labour government would do. stability is change. it's strange to say that in 2024 but a stable economy has to be the first step of an incoming labour government, and that is what will government, and that is what we will make an absolute priority if we are privileged enough to come in to serve. it comes as a leading think tank, the ifs, urged both labour and the tories to be open about the tough choices they will face over the country's finances if elected. for rishi sunak it was a low—key visit, a cuppa with veterans in the north of england. he answered some gentle concerns about his drenching in downing street... it was wet. the amount of people who've given me an umbrella in the last couple of days. ..but no questions from journalists.

instead, a treasury minister defended the government. inflation when they came in was ii.i%, now it's down to almost target, 2.3%, and that doesn't happen by accident. it's not all the government working in partnership with the bank of england. we are now back into a situation where things can start to get better. the liberal democrat leader, ed davey, was in chichester harbour in west sussex to announce plans for a new water regulator and to highlight his campaign issue of sewage dumping. today's campaign visits have had a more laid—back vibe in an election which is going to be very far from plain sailing. helen catt, bbc news. and a reminder you can follow all the latest on the general election on our website. we're running a live page with continuous updates. you can find that on the bbc news app or bbc.com/news.

political rallies are taking place across south africa as parties make their final attempts to win support ahead of wednesday's election. they are seen as the most tightly contested elections since the advent of democracy in 1994. south africa's president, cyril ramaphosa, has promised to focus on job creation if the governing african national congress is voted back into power next week. the main opposition democratic alliance and two anc break away parties are also holding final rallies over the weekend. let's cross to my colleague catherine byaruhanga who is following events from the anc�*s final pre—election rally in johannesburg. tell us what is happening now. hello, lewis. it is a different kind of election campaign here in south africa compared to what you are reporting on in the uk. we have had musicians on stage and the crowds have left the stands and it has been a party atmosphere here, where president cyril ramaphosa has been addressing the crowd. he spoke for

about an hour addressing the crowd. he spoke for aboutan hourand addressing the crowd. he spoke for about an hour and a half and he really went through some of the key issues that the anc is trying to focus on. at the core of it is the economy. even though this is africa's biggest economy, south africans are struggling through a lot of things at the moment. whether it is high unemployment rates, around 36 people do not have a job, 50% when it comes to young people. there is pressure to access education. health care as well, there are crumbling facilities across the country. this is the reason why today with just eight days to the elections, the anc, which has been the dominant party in the country, you see it support dwindling away. when you read some of the latest polls they talk about a 40% vote share for the anc, far below what they are used to achieving. president cyril ramaphosa took the stage behind me and he was trying to convince south africans to

give the anc a chance to extend their three decades in power. over the next five years, working with all_ over the next five years, working with all south africans, we will implement a jobs plan to put more south _ implement a jobs plan to put more south africans to work. we will build _ south africans to work. we will build our — south africans to work. we will build our industries and invest in an inclusive _ build our industries and invest in an inclusive economy will stop we will tackle — an inclusive economy will stop we will tackle the high cost of living. we will _ will tackle the high cost of living. we will invest in our people and provide — we will invest in our people and provide services that our people need _ provide services that our people need we — provide services that our people need. we will continue to defend our democracy— need. we will continue to defend our democracy and advance the freedom that we _ democracy and advance the freedom that we fought so hard. we will continue — that we fought so hard. we will continue to build a better africa and a _ continue to build a better africa and a better world for all our

chitdreh_ and a better world for all our children to grow up in. tell us a bit about the other parties campaigning. this tell us a bit about the other parties campaigning. fissi tell us a bit about the other arties camaiuanin. a ., parties campaigning. as i mentioned, the olls parties campaigning. as i mentioned, the polls show— parties campaigning. as i mentioned, the polls show the _ parties campaigning. as i mentioned, the polls show the anc— parties campaigning. as i mentioned, the polls show the anc is _ parties campaigning. as i mentioned, the polls show the anc is losing - the polls show the anc is losing some of it support. where are those voters turning to? it is interesting that they are actually choosing to vote for parties that broke away from the anc. we have the mk party led by the former presidentjacob zuma. they have a strong showing, about eight or 9% of the polls. he is talking about changing the constitution. that is one of his key pledges. the other party that is dominant in south african politics is the eff, led byjulius malema. he was actually a youth league leader born in the anc and they are holding rallies in limpopo, the north of the country. when we look at the other

parties, there are about 70 parties altogether contesting the elections. there is the democratic alliance which is strong in the western cape around cape town. they used to take about 20% of the vote and they are holding a rally this weekend. they tend to be on the centre—right politics in south africa, looking at ending what is called the black economic empowerment programme, a socialist programme led by the anc. but then you have smaller parties and some of them have only existed for a year, lewis. they are out campaigning this weekend and they promise they can take some of the votes away from the dominant anc. catherine, thank you for that. to israel now where 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. and trying to get back israeli hostages seized by hamas on october the 7th. extreme temperatures are continuing to grip pakistan, with some parts of the country expected to reach fifty 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. 0ur bbc urdu correspondent saher baloch has more. pakistan is in the middle of an intense heatwave with hundreds of heat stroke victims being treated in hospitals across the country. it reached 49 celsius this week in the southern sindh province of pakistan. these temperatures are more than eight centigrade above the average daytime temperature.

authorities in punjab have been forced to close schools for a week and are advising people to remain indoors and remain hydrated at the same time. many people 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 wide changes in weather patterns have been attributed to human—made climate change which has led to record—breaking temperatures across the country which is also caused... to high temperatures are forecast to continue this week and into next weekend and they are expected to exceed 46 degrees. now, those high temperatures we've been hearing about in pakistand have extended into india, too, where 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. 0ur south asia correspondent samira hussain is following develpoments from delhi. with the sixth phase of voting done and dusted there is only one more phase left. until we get the results for india's general election. that final phase, phase number seven, is due to take place onjune the 1st and we should start getting initial exit polls after that point. the overall counting will happen injune the 4th. as we know, prime minister narendra modi is looking to get a third consecutive term in office. the indian national congress party

is mounting and opposition and what they have done is they have banded together with several other parties together with several other parties to try and counter narendra modi's continuing and enduring popularity. remember, this last phase has come at a time in which the country is experiencing an enormous heatwave. there are parts of the country that even hit almost 50 celsius. and so we saw actually that both political parties were delivering the same message, which is to encourage people to go out and cast a ballot despite the extreme heat. as a precaution we saw there at polling booths there were water stations set up, they were offering cold drinks and often misting fans for those standing in line as they were to cast their ballot. just how many people are going to brave the heat to go and vote for something that was concerning even the election commission of india that went to great pains to make sure that people

understood there were precautions being taken at polling stations and that the heat should not be a deterrent for people to go out and vote. now it's time for a look at today's sport. hello from the bbc sport centre. manchester city and manchester united are going head—to—head in london and it could be erik ten hag's final match in charge with reports saying he will be set whatever the results. there are 12 minutes on the clock and it is 0—0. the scottish cup final is also taking place with glasgow rivals rangers and celtic battling it out at hampden park. they are about 12 minutes into that one and that is also goalless. bbc sport understands that vincent kompany has agreed a deal in principle to become the new bayern munich coach. the german side moved for kompany after a series of rejections in their search for a successor to thomas tuchel. kompany�*s new deal is believed

to run through until 2027, with bayern set to pay burnley over 10m pounds in compensation. and it has also been confirmed that manchester united's record goalscorer wayne rooney has been appointed as the new head coach of plymouth argyle. rooney is keen to re—establish his reputation after a disastrous spell at birmingham city when he lost nine games out of 15. it's his fourth managerial role since retiring three years ago. yes, really excited, i think, obviously to go in as head coach. it was a full process, we had a lot of managers interviewed for the job and, thankfully, the club found i was the best person for the job. i am excited to get started. england and pakistan are continuing their preparations for the t20 world cup. after the first match, the series was abandoned because of bad

weather. this match is at edgbaston and pakistan won the toss and they chose to field and a short while ago england were on 96—2 after ten overs. willjax hasjust gone england were on 96—2 after ten overs. willjax has just gone at edgbaston. in formula one, charles leclerc has topped final practice ahead of qualifying for the monaco grand prix, despite an improved showing by world champion max verstappen. the red bull driver has struggled so far in the principality, but was second, just under two—tenths behind leclerc. mercedes�* lewis hamilton continued his strong weekend by finishing third. you can follow live text updates from qualifying later on the bbc sport website. it's been dubbed one of the biggest grudge matches in british boxing history. jack catterall will get his chance for revenge when he faces josh taylor in a re match of their light welterweight clash on saturday. the pairfought in february 2022 with many observers believing that catterall won the fight,

but the judges gave it in favour of taylor who was then the undisputed king of the division. he has since lost the belt. catterall has long called for a re—match and will finally get the chance to avenge that controversial loss. it will be a relief come saturday, it is a fight talked about way before the first fight. and then two years in the aftermath since the first fight, so our names have been linked in roundabout ways. it is good for boxing and good for us, the rivalry that we have created. but to win on saturday, draw a line under it and move on with my career, that will be good. he is talking about, he is going to come _ he is talking about, he is going to come out — he is talking about, he is going to come out and engage and that will be great _ come out and engage and that will be great. because i saw a lot of gaps in his— great. because i saw a lot of gaps in his offence came. he leaves a lot of gaps— in his offence came. he leaves a lot of gaps and — in his offence came. he leaves a lot of gaps and a lot of holes for me to walk into _ of gaps and a lot of holes for me to walk into a — of gaps and a lot of holes for me to walk into a nice, sweet short and for it— walk into a nice, sweet short and for it to _ walk into a nice, sweet short and for it to be — walk into a nice, sweet short and for it to be a _ walk into a nice, sweet short and for it to be a winner again. it is music— for it to be a winner again. it is music two— for it to be a winner again. it is music two years if that is what he wants— music two years if that is what he wants do. — music two years if that is what he wants do, great. it is good for

boxihd — wants do, great. it is good for boxing. but we have been smart as welt _ and that's all the sport for now. it is still goalless in the english and the scottish fa cup finals. singapore airlines has decided not to serve meals when the seat belts sign is on. it comes after a singapore airlines flight... singapore airlines flight... singapore airlines has moved quite swiftly after this incident. the turbulence you mentioned on the flight from london to singapore on thursday, they have a huge in—flight safety protocol and they have come up with a set of new guidelines. essentially, as you said, no meals or hot drinks will be served when the seat belt sign is on. also,

cabin crew will be asked to go and sit back in their seats and buckle up sit back in their seats and buckle up themselves and any loose items around the galley or the cabin will be made secure. essentially they are doing this because it is thought that when this turbulence hits this flight meals were being served just at that time and so a lot of people were getting their food and they were getting their food and they were not strapped into their seats. if you look at the pictures of the aeroplane afterwards, there is food strewn all over the place. 0bviously singapore airlines have identified this as an area where they can improve in—flight safety. and; improve in-flight safety. any implications— improve in-flight safety. any implications for _ improve in-flight safety. any implications for any - improve in—flight safety. sin; implications for any other improve in—flight safety. jifiy implications for any other airlines? i am sure other airlines will be looking at this. it is not a singapore airlines alone that faces turbulence. a lot of the time it can be predicted and that is why you see when you are on a flight the seat

belt sign goes on and people are asked to buckle up before they hit the turbulence. in this particular case it is thought the seat belt sign only came on a few seconds before the turbulence hit, not allowing people time to prepare for this turbulence. but of course other airlines will be looking at this and saying, we don't want a similar thing to happen. as you mentioned, one person has died and there are still a0 or so people in hospital in bangkok where the plane was forced to divert to and land. and quite a few people are still in hospital, some of them with quite serious injuries. no airline passenger wants this to happen. to the us now and the city of uvalde in texas remembered the second anniversary of one of the deadliest school shootings in us history. the anniversary comes as uvalde reached a $2 million settlement with families of the victims of the 2022 mass shooting. meanwhile, families of the victims

of the uvalde school massacre 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. let's speak to our us correspondent will vernon. just talk us through this action. this is two lawsuits that have been filed on behalf of the families of the victims of the shooting. 0ne filed on behalf of the families of the victims of the shooting. one is against instagram who make the call of duty video game, shooting game which many people consider very violent. the gunman was playing that before the attack. the other is against daniel defence, the manufacturer that made the ar 15 semiautomatic rifle used in the shooting and as you say, matter, the parent company of facebook is also involved. they are accused of essentially training and equipping the 18—year—old gunman who was

responsible for this attack, grooming is the phase used in the lawsuit. the central allegations are that the gun maker manufactured the weapon and then the two tech companies essentially trained him in how to use it. the allegations are these tech companies and weapons manufacturers are essentially socially engineering a whole generation of young people, socially vulnerable young people, to live out violent video game fantasies in the real world. so an unusual lawsuit and we will have to see what happens, but this is quite unprecedented. just happens, but this is quite unprecedented. happens, but this is quite unrecedented. , , ., unprecedented. just remind us of those events _ unprecedented. just remind us of those events two _ unprecedented. just remind us of those events two years _ unprecedented. just remind us of those events two years ago. - unprecedented. just remind us of those events two years ago. two | those events two years ago. two ears those events two years ago. two years ago. — those events two years ago. two years ago. the — those events two years ago. twr years ago, the gunman, salvador ramos, went into a school and killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers. a few days ago the families reached a settlement with the city of vivaldi, a $2 million settlement. it

does not sound like a lot, does it? this is a small town in the families and the victims did not want to bankrupt the town in which they lived. but that was a controversial response by the police to the shooting. it took many dozens of police officers who were sent to the school, rob elementary school, over 70 minutes to confront the gunman. he was barricaded in one of the classrooms and the family say that was an inexcusably long period of time to wait before confronting someone who was shooting children. in addition to that claim, that $2 million settlement a few days ago, the families are also taking legal action against 92 individual officers for their part in that response. the family say there were shocking and extensive failures during the shooting response. thank ou ve during the shooting response. thank you very much _ during the shooting response. thank you very much for — during the shooting response. thank

you very much for that. _ radio 1's big weekend kicked off yesterday for a jam—packed bank holiday, a warning to our viewers, the pictures in this material might include some flashing images. let's speak to bbc newsbeat presenter pria rai over at the festival in luton. hello, yes, welcome to luton, we are at radio 1's big we can. it is day number two. we are not so far from london and so many people have come here. 35,000 people are expected here. 35,000 people are expected here today. the word on everybody�*s lips, the name of a brit award—winning artist, raye. she is the headliner tonight, expected to take the stage at nine o'clock. so many other names to look out for as well. aitch will be having an eye on the manchester city and manchester

united cup final as a manchester united cup final as a manchester united fan. we have got shy girl, i could go on. the day is only getting started. fourstages could go on. the day is only getting started. four stages across three daysin started. four stages across three days in luton. the first big weekend here in luton and it is one of the biggest. fun fact, here in luton and it is one of the biggest. funfact, radio 1's here in luton and it is one of the biggest. fun fact, radio 1's big weekend started back in 2003. pink closed the whole thing then. we have come a long way from one tent there to four stages here in luton. a real mixed crowd as well. the sun has just gone in as i say this, but the sun has been shining quite nicely for people. some fears for some drizzle tomorrow, so there are a few welly boots are knocking around to keep people dancing. chasing status were first on and they were on 15 years ago in 2000 and 91 it was in swindon. so a real heritage and

legacy for this festival which, in many ways, does really start the uk festival season and it starts with a bang. many people dream of turning left as they board a flight, but a new airline has got a first class flight for dogs. bark air took off for its maiden flight from new york to los angeles with ten dogs. prices start at $6,000 for a us flight. it is $8,000 for a one—way ticket from new york to london. there are no dog—eared in—flight magazines dog—ea red in—flight magazines apparently, dog—eared in—flight magazines apparently, but there is an on—board spa for the dogs as well as tasty 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 as well. that is it from me. stay with

us, plenty more coming up. i am lewis vaughanjones, this is bbc news. the headline for the rest of the bank holiday weekend is it is going to be a mixture of warm sunshine but we will see heavy and thundery showers as well. this is what has been happening recently. this cloud is heading into the south—west, starting to bring some rain. also this cloud is spoiling the weather in east anglia and moving up towards the north—east of england. we could make 20 degrees in the moray firth, perhaps down towards london as well where we are seeing some sunshine. 0ne where we are seeing some sunshine. one or two showers. there is the first area of cloud coming in from the north sea and that will bring heavy rain northwards into scotland

overnight and this rain comes in from the south—west and will pivot northwards and eastwards across england and wales. it will be turning wetter overnight and those bridges typically down to ten or 11. we start with those areas of rain and they will be moving northwards through the day and it should move away from scotland. following on from that we will get some sunshine and some showers. they could turn heavy and thundery. the greater risk of those slow moving, thundery downpours will be in northern england, parts of midlands and perhaps into suffolk as well. these are the temperatures we are looking at. because there are more showers, the temperatures will not be as high as today. it could make 19 across the south—east. the showers will fade away in the early evening and the wet weather moves into scotland and clears away overnight. heading into bank holiday monday we await more weather fronts coming in from the atlantic next week. still got low pressure close by and that will bring with it more showers. maybe

not quite as wet as it was earlier on, most heavy and thundery showers in scotland and the north—east of england. it is likely to be a better day for bank holiday monday across northern england, the midlands and for east anglia. the temperatures around or 17. those temperatures will not change a great deal through the rest of next week. we have a south—westerly wind for a while and later in week it may turn north—westerly and cool down. but the week ahead is unsettled. there will be sunshine at times, but there will be sunshine at times, but there will be sunshine at times, but there will be spells of rain and showers, some perhaps on the heavy side.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the amount of people that gave me an umbrella over the last couple of days. party leaders hit the campaign trail in the uk's general election amidst a growing exodus of conservative mps. campaigning out in west midlands — sir keir starmer says labour will lower the voting age to sixteen if its party wins. 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?

and two big football finals are underway — man city and man united going head to head in the fa cup and celtic and rangers face off in the scottish fa cup. 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. let's cross to the newsroom and speak to our political correspondent, jack fenwick. jack, good to see you. let's start

with the announcement by labour