welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm steve lai. the headlines. at least 30 people, including children, have been reportedly killed in israeli airstrikes on rafah. the idf says they targeted a hamas controlled compound. in the uk — labour discusses their plans for the economy, promising not to increase income tax if they win the general election. meanwhile rishi sunak says he'll bring back mandatory national service for 18—year olds if the conservatives win. rescue teams search for survivors in the aftermath of a huge landslide in papua new guinea — where almost 700 people are feared dead.

we start in the middle east. palestinian officials have accused the israeli military of carrying out a deadly air strike on an area for displaced people near rafah in southern gaza. dozens of people have reportedly been killed, including children. a spokesperson with the palestinian red crescent society said the death toll was likely to increase as search and rescue efforts continued in rafah�*s tal al sultan neighbourhood west of the city centre. in a statement, israel's military said an idf aircraft struck a hamas compound in rafah, adding: the idf earlier on sunday, hamas launched rocket attacks towards tel aviv for the first time in months. the israeli military said at least eight rockets were launched from the rafah

area of southern gaza. all the projectiles were either intercepted by air defence systems or fell in fields. so very early early days the the gaza authorities are accusing israel of carrying out a strike on what that say was an area where internally displaced people from the fighting had been sheltering, gaza's government information office as you said, was saying morgue than 30 people have died, dozens have been injured in an area north—west of rafah and it said 100,000 people were sheltering there, certainly the number of casualties seems to be backed up by hospitals, by red reseptember workers who say that are transporting large numbers of dead and injured and it was a designated humanitarian area. clearly there are still a large number of questions to be answered and we assume there will be a response coming very soon. i should just say this has happened in the context of israel's ongoing military operation in rafah, which it says it needs to carry out to target remaining hamas bat lops but there has been stiff resistance

and earlier today we saw a barrage of rocks fired from rafah towards central towns in israel, including towards tel aviv. to the uk, where on the fourth day of campaigning ahead of the general election on the 4th ofjuly, the labour party said it won't raise income tax or national insurance, if it wins the election. the pledge was made by the shadow chancellor, rachel reeves, who didn't rule out some spending cuts, saying there would be "difficult decisions" to make. leila nathoo reports. who do you trust with your money? which party should be given control of the public purse? thank you very much. she wants the chance to make decisions on tax and spending. rachel reeves making her pitch in west yorkshire this afternoon, promising a labour government would ensure economic stability. today she said if she became chancellor, there would be no rises in income tax or national insurance.

but she acknowledged she would face difficult decisions, and that public services were struggling. we're not going to be bringing back austerity. but we have got that immediate injection of cash into our frontline public services. that's a down payment on the changes that we want to make. but in the end we'll have to grow the economy. rachel reeves insisted all her plans would be fully costed. she didn't rule out having to make cuts to public spending. there was no public campaigning from the tories today, butjunior treasury minister bimn afolami said in a statement in response... "this is just the same old labour party who have no plan to cut taxes and instead are leaving hard—working families to foot the bill for their unfunded spending commitments". both labour and the conservatives are committed to getting debt falling as a share of national income. but there's a warning whichever party gets into government would find itself hemmed in. rachel reeves and jeremy hunt are both desperately trying to square a very difficult circle at the moment. if there's going to be no tax increases over

the next several years, then it's going to be desperately difficult to find enough moneyjust to avoid cutting spending on some public services, let alone finding money to increase them. this is how the liberal democrats will be getting from a to b during this election campaign. an echo of labour's promise from them, too. well, we were already pledged not to raise taxes for ordinary people. i people are paying far too much tax under the conservatives. _ the conservatives have raised taxes to record i amounts in this parliament. and during the cost—of—living crisis, that's hurting - people really hard. a long road ahead to polling day. all parties will be trying to attract attention until then. leila nathoo, bbc news.

to the uk, where on the fourth day of campaigning ahead of the general election on the 4th ofjuly, the labour party said it and the home secretary, james cleverly, says conservative plans to introduce a form of mandatory national service if they win the election, would get young people "out of their bubble." under the plans, 18 year olds would be given the choice of either joining the military for a year, or taking part in community service. helen catt reports.... the return of national service is certainly an eye—catching policy, but it wouldn't be national service quite like these men experienced between 1949 and 1963. instead all 18—year—olds would have to choose between a year's military service or volunteer work in public services. it's about addressing the fragmentation that we have seen in society. too many young people living in their own bubble, whether it be a digital bubble or a social bubble, and we want to get back to the situation where people are mixing with young people from different areas, different economic groupser different religions. under the plans, 30,000 18—year—olds would do full—time one year placements in the armed forces or cyber—defence. they would have to apply for selection. everybody else would have to volunteer for the equivalent

of one weekend a month, 25 days a year, in places like the nhs, charities or the police. the conservatives say they would start piloting the scheme from september 2025. much of the detail wouldn't be decided until after the election. at the great manchester run, there was a mixed reaction. if i've to do it and i've got no choice, yeah. i wouldn't mind. | look at all the world wars we have got going on and about to get into, it is a way of dragging young people into that way of living _ so they don't have a choice further down the line. - i think it's a good idea in theory, but i think you will get a lot of backlash. i don't think people will be happy with suddenly turning their lives upside down and making them either go into the armed force or volunteer. i think people are busy enough as it is. three days ago a defence minister said there were no current plans for the restoration of any form of national service. labour says it's desperate.

this isjust another gimmick, a desperate gimmick from the conservative party with no viable means of funding it. 0ther opposition parties say the conservative party should be investing more in the armed forces. they're trying to put a sticking plaster on the future of young | people and also a sticking plaster on the armed forces _ and it's not going to work. we want professional soldiers, not people who are there for one year. if you talk to military chiefs, they want a professional army and that's what the liberal democrats would provide. the conservatives believe their national service programme would put a modern spin on an old idea for their first policy announced in is in this campaign. rescue teams are searching for any survivors in the aftermath of a huge landslide which swept away a village in papua new guinea. the united nations says about 670 people may have died. dozens of houses are thought to have been buried in rock and earth. the disaster was sparked by an earthquake that hit enga province, some 370 miles north west of the capital port moresby. this report is from our

correspondent katy watson. a scene of total devastation. in an area so remote and with land here still unstable, rescuers are struggling to do theirjob. more than two days after the landslide, villagers aren't giving up in their hunt for survivors but the situation on the ground is difficult. the landslide struck in the early hours of friday morning. more than 100 houses were buried at a time when most of the villagers would have been asleep butjust a few bodies have been recovered so far. debris from the landslide is up to eight metres deep in some places but getting heavy machinery to this remote area of highlands is difficult. people are using whatever tools they can get their hands on, be it shovels or sticks, to help dig victims out. to make matters worse, nearby tribal violence which is totally unrelated to the landslide is also complicating the delivery of relief materials.

but in the search for survivors, some good news. a husband and wife that were buried were rescued and thankfully their three children were not at the scene when the landslip happened. understanding the true scale of this disaster and finding those thought to have died among this rubble will take some time. katy watson, bbc news, sydney. for more on the situation, i'm joined byjustine mcmahon from care international, a humanitarian agency helping with relief efforts. what are the main priorities to help survivors at this stage? my my understanding is that the authorities are still conducting assessments and also launched rescue missions for the survivors and the priority at the moment is to move

the survivors the safety grounds because the correspondent is quite unstable. what challenges do rescuers face? 0ne one is the access road where you can get to the affected areas which has been destroyed and they are desperately trying to repair that section of the road and another one is on the ground which means the rescuers have to certainly go with great urgency and also great caution and it isjust great urgency and also great caution and it is just the style of the emergency is an immense challenge for the rescuers. what is care australia doing to help communities affected?

at the moment, we're waiting for approval of the authorities before we can go in and once that approval is given, we will provide immediate food, water and some hygiene and over the next few weeks, we will increase that support and also introduce some child protection work and putting some additional shelter. what does that involved and how big of an issue is it in regards to the landslide of the aftermath of it was yellow one of the great risks in the aftermath of a disaster like this is that there is an increased number of. , ., , ., that there is an increased number of. ,., , that there is an increased number of. ., that there is an increased number of. orphans and people who are vulnerable _ of. orphans and people who are vulnerable particularly - of. orphans and people who are vulnerable particularly single i of. orphans and people who are - vulnerable particularly single women and that increases the risk of abuse that they may be subjected to and we are working with unicef already for

the areas affected by violence for family protection spaces which we anticipate in this location. i5 family protection spaces which we anticipate in this location.- anticipate in this location. is that another challenger _ anticipate in this location. is that another challenger facing - anticipate in this location. is that another challenger facing and - another challenger facing and talking about fighting in communities as well as into helping the situation also a concern for you? the situation also a concern for ou? , ., . ., . , the situation also a concern for ou? , ., you? there is a concern but a heavy resence you? there is a concern but a heavy presence of — you? there is a concern but a heavy presence of the _ you? there is a concern but a heavy presence of the defence _ you? there is a concern but a heavy presence of the defence force - you? there is a concern but a heavy presence of the defence force and l you? there is a concern but a heavy presence of the defence force and i | presence of the defence force and i anticipate that while they are there, and a violence will be mitigated however, when they move on, the risks certainly increases. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

0fficials officials of accuse them of carrying out the deadly air strike on an area of displaced people near rafah in southern gaza and dozens of people have reportedly been killed, including children. israel said the attack targeted a compound or a hamas official said gathered in early on sunday, the fired missiles from rafah and a lot of the missiles fell in the field. at least 14 people have been killed after tornadoes ripped through central us, destroying buildings and a petrol station that was sheltering dozens of people. severe storms formed over texas and oklahoma on saturday. at least seven were killed in texasafter a tornado ploughed in texas after a tornado ploughed through a rural area near a mobile home park.

two people were also confirmed dead in arkansas. there was major damage to homes and businesses. emergency teams are searching for those missing. forecasters have warned of more severe weather over what is the memorial day holiday weekend. in india's most populous state, uttar pradesh, for children is under threat. the state has stopped paying the salaries of 21,000 teachers who taught modern subjects such as english, maths and science at muslim religious schools, known as madrasas. archana shukla travelled to some of these madrasas in varanasi, which is also the constituency of prime minister narendra modi. p, e, r, a... the future is cast in shadow for nearly two million children studying in madrasas.

the government has cut funding for their teacher salaries and cuts mean the teachers might lose theirjobs. madrassas have often been the only source of education for millions of muslim children coming from poor and marginalised backgrounds. but in many towns and villages like this one, free education in madrasas has also helped poor children from other communities. these madrassas have filled the void. in a country where public schools are short on both resources and tutors and private schools expensive for many. i spoke to the families in the neighborhood. they were anxious. translation: | can't send my - daughter to government high school. it's very far away. we're poor, have meagre incomes. we can't afford private schools. the teachers taught maths, science and english under a government programme aimed to bring madrassa students at par with modern education.

the federal government has now ended this two decade old scheme. salaries stopped much earlier. science teacher arjun sharma didn't get a regular pay for over five years. his state stipend of $36 a month has been stopped too, leaving him with no income. translation: even with a postgraduate degree. l i work as a farm labour after school. we're struggling financially, but no one listens to us. the stipend was her last hope. the ministry of minority affairs, which governs these schools, has not responded to bbc queries. muslims are a minority in mainly hindu india, as the majoritarian political rhetoric grows louder. critics say madrassas are losing government favor. only 4% children they go to madrassas. poorest of the poor among muslims. but the impact on communities 100%.

i think we need a national law that regulates madrassas and give some kind of reform, not only reform them, give them a fresh lease of life rather than trying to obstruct it. between the politics and the bureaucracy, the promise of education that reaches every child in india is becoming harder to achieve. archana shukla, bbc news, varanasi. ukraine says it's managing to hold back russian forces, near the northern city of kharkiv, and inflicting severe casualty numbers. the russians are being pushed back using artillery, but also drones, which are playing a key role in the war. jonathan beale tells the story of one ukrainian drone unit, on the frontline, in the kharkiv region. they are now one of the most potent weapons of this war. cheap, mass—produced drones being used to deadly effect. and here on the front, they're helping ukraine

slow russia's advance — but still not enough. translation: we can hold them back with drones and hurt them badly. - but win with them, unfortunately, no. what do you call them? this is peaky blinders. it's what they call themselves — peaky blinders, after the cult tv series. but flat caps are where the similarity ends. they've been trained by western special forces. in just a few weeks, they've hunted down more than 100 russian soldiers. terror from the sky. today, they appear to be hiding, so they look for something else. so you're stealing russian rifles from the russians, yes? yes, yes. it's russian, 0k. this is the second time that

0leksandr�*s fought for this territory, his home. he once farmed the fields nearby. then, he grew strawberries. now, he's planting bombs. but he knows what they're doing won't end this war. translation: right now, - it's like two more or less equal gladiators fighting each other, and neither can defeat the other. yes, the conflict might be frozen maybe for several years or even decades, but this war will last a very long time. the russians are learning too. when the peaky blinders tried to fly a kamikaze drone into a target... ..their signal gets jammed. continuous bleep. russian drones are as much of a threat to ukrainian forces. most take shelter under trees. easy now, but harder in the winter.

for both sides, it's a constant game of hide and seek. explosion. ukraine says it has now slowed down the russian front line. it has stabilized the situation, but there's still quite a fierce artillery battle going on. the much harder task will be to push the russians back. explosions nearby. they might just weather this storm with the arrival of more western weapons. but what ukraine really wants is permission to use those weapons to strike inside russia. just a mile from the border they're doing the best to intercept russian resupplies, but they're hamstrung. we can't stop the preparing of attack. so you need to target inside russia

to stop them advancing here? of course. but you're not allowed to? no. and does that make sense to you? laughing: no. not at all. ukraine remains determined to fight, but they're still looking to the west to give them the tools to win. jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. mass protests have continued in georgia, against a controversial, so—called "foreign agents" law — which opponents believe would put the country's independence at risk. earlier, georgia celebrated the anniversary of its independence from russia with official ceremonies being held in the capital tbilisi. a fire at a children's hospital in the indian capital, delhi, has killed at least six babies. several other newborns are receiving treatment after being rescued from the burning building. the cause of the fire

is not yet clear. a severe cyclone has made landfall in southern bangladesh triggering heavy rains and gusting winds. wind speeds of up to ninety kilometres per hour have been recorded. more than 800— thousand people have been evacuated more than 800—thousand people have been evacuated from vulnerable areas. tributes are being paid to one of hollywood's most successful songwriters, richard m sherman, who has died at the age of 95. he wrote over 150 songs with his brother robert for classic films such as mary poppins, jungle book and chitty chitty bang bang. our culture reporter victoria bourne looks back at his career. # it's... supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. # generations of families will be familiar with the work of richard m sherman. alongside his late brother robert he won two 0scars in 1965 for the score of mary poppins. # now i'm the king of the swingers, oh. # the jungle vip... some of their best—known songs include thejungle book's i wanna be like you.

# i wanna be a man, man cub. # stroll right into town. and chitty chitty bang bang. # chitty chitty bang bang, we love you. during his long career he won numerous awards, including three grammys, and received 2a gold and platinum albums. he was described as being a key member of walt disney's inner circle of creative talents. the boss of the walt disney company, bob iger, paid tribute to him, saying, "his music captured the hearts of generations of audiences." his musical legacy will no doubt be enjoyed by old and young for years to come. richard m sherman who has died at the age of 95. and just before we go — let's leave you with these pictures. it's a giant picnic on paris's most famous avenue — the champs—elysees.

you can see here — the french capital's iconic boulevard was laid with a 216—meter—long red—and—white chequered rug — thought to be the world's largest tablecloth. hello. thanks forjoining me. the weather, this bank holiday weekend has been a little hit and miss. this is what we had earlier on during the course of saturday. storms breaking out quite widely across england, parts of wales, some across the irish sea as well, and outbreaks of rain in scotland. now further showers are expected not just on bank holiday monday, but indeed the rest of the week. temperatures will be near normal, nothing spectacular. but at least by the end of the week, it does look as though these low pressures should finally pull away as we see high pressure building. but the winds will still come in from the north. so there's certainly no major warm up in the forecast. ok, let's have a look at the forecast then for the short term. so by the end of the night through the morning, we will have had some clearer

weather in the south, further north, always more cloud and some showers first thing. and these are the temperatures around seven am, typically double figures in most of our major towns and cities. so clouds will be bubbling up through the morning. there'll be plenty of sunshine in most areas right from the word go. but storms will also develop, particularly across northern and eastern parts of scotland. now the showers will be very hit and miss as far as the temperatures go. no real change compared to what we've had in the last few days. so typically mid or high teens, a little on the cool side. now, the thunderstorms may continue into monday evening across parts of northern and eastern scotland. elsewhere, the sky should turn clear before the next area of low pressure rolls in first thing on tuesday morning. and you can see outbreaks of rain crossing the country as the weather fronts sweep in. i think the year's going to be quite close. temperatures on tuesday despite the cloud still getting up

to about 18 degrees in some spots. and actually later in the day, we'll probably see sunshine developing or at least a little bit. now, wednesday midweek, we're expecting showers to develop almost anywhere, but more especially across eastern parts of the uk. one or two rumbles of thunder can be expected. i think come the late afternoon the skies should clear out towards the west and it should be a fine, sunny end to the day, for example, in cardiff, plymouth and along the south coast of england. so here's the summary for the week ahead. plenty of shower clouds most days and those temperatures hovering near normal, perhaps a little bit low at times. that's it for me. bye bye.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines at the top of the hour, as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. barely a month goes by without new data illustrating the scale of the climate emergency confronting us. records are being consistently broken, be it in the warming seas, the melting ice caps or average global temperatures. at the same time, worldwide greenhouse gas emissions are still rising. my guest isjim skea, chair of the un's intergovernmental panel on climate change.

a recent poll of international climate scientists pointed