the uk's foreign secretary, lord cameron, tells the bbc it's an opportunity that must be seized to bring the conflict to an end. polls close in india — after nearly six weeks of voting in the country's general election. almost a billion people were eligible to vote. the uk election campaign ramps up — labour launches a 5,000 mile battle bus tour — and promises to create wealth across the uk. the prime minister, rishi sunak, is in north east england — pledging millions of pounds in funding for local towns if the conservatives hold on to power. and in south africa, the ruling anc loses its majority for the first time since apartheid ended 30 years ago. the party has won around 40% of the vote — and will now have to hold coalition talks. now on bbc news, the travel show.

on a sunny day, a ride around paris takes some beating, that's for sure. france's capital is transforming. in a few weeks�* time, the city will host the summer olympics and paralympics, and the organisers are busy turning landmarks into stadiums. so this beautiful building is the grand palais, and that is where the fencing and taekwondo are happening. still looks like they've got lots of work to do on it. the organisers of this year's competition have promised it will have a lasting impact on this iconic city. i'm steve brown and i'm here to find out how paris is changing. from the suburbs... you can see it's really quite busy. there's so much hustle and bustle. ..to the seine... beautiful. ..and up into the sky. it's 2024 and this is paris.

paris is already one of the world's most—visited cities. but this year, they're expecting around 15 million people during the competition. here at porte de la chapelle arena, it's the start of olympic and paralympic week. merci, monsieur. more than 4,000 children have gathered to try their hand at a range of activities, including para sports. i bet none of these kids have played sitting volleyball before. i mean, i never played wheelchair

rugby before my injury. it's been a while since i captained team gb at london 2012, and i'm here to meet another former athlete. hey! hello, steve! how are you? are you well? ludivine won 12 medals for swimming. it's just my second moment in english since my life. no! yes, it is, so... well, you're doing very well. she's now the head of paralympic integration at this year's games. it's a very amazing opportunity. the name of myjob is how i can integrate the olympic and paralympic competition. like two parts of the same competition. yes. and is there a sense of transformation in paris? do you think there's been a change in the understanding of disability? i'm sure. i'm certain of that. we progress on the children understanding of the disability and the para sport.

well, like today, for me, it's a very important legacy to change the view of the different populations. 0rganisers have promised that this will be the most sustainable and inclusive games ever. wild cheering that this summer of sport will leave a positive legacy across paris. he mouths so they've scaled back on construction... ..up on accessibility, at least in certain places... i'm allowed on this one. big step. ..and invested in some experimental new technology to suck pollution out of the air. to find out more, i'm meeting one of the inventors. hey, matthieu! how are you today, ca va? tres bien!

this is matthieu gobbi, and this is one of his company's giant helium balloons. here at andre—citroen park, they carry up to 1,000 tourists a day. we're going to fly and make some readings. is it safe? yeah, of course it's safe. the balloon is going up and it is connected to the ground with a cable, actioned by a winch. so perfectly safe, especially with this beautiful weather. ok, so we can come down again in the same spot, no problem? hopefully. that is music to my ears. can you help me up here, please? is that 0k? yeah, sure. thank you, matthieu. yep, you're welcome. you're ready for take—off? i am as ready as i'll ever be. he—e—y! are you sure that winch is going to hold you? i guess so. yeah, we guess so, yeah. matthieu laughs ifeel like phileas fogg. you are.

look at that already, you can start to see the buildings appearing behind buildings. exactly. your view is getting further and further. yeah, yeah. oh, man! this is my first time up in a balloon, whether it's tethered or not. you've been doing it for 30 years. does it still feel exciting to you? yes, very much so. it is always different. so, ok, it's a lot of fun, but we're here for work, aren't we? there's readings to be taken. absolutely. we have an instrument on board of the gondola, and they keep measuring the pollution while we go up. so every second we have the readings of the concentration of small particles and even, erm, greenhouse gases. wow.

so is this a good day for pollution? today is a good visibility. pollution is pretty low. because. . .yesterday was very windy. but most of the time in spring or summer, uh, the particles get really high. in paris and in many other european cities, the air quality falls below the standards set by the world health organization. and even on a clear day like today, the balloon�*s instruments find unsafe levels of pm 2.5, the tiny particles of pollution given off by burning fuel in vehicles or buildings. it's been linked to a range of serious health conditions. welcome to the office. thank you very much. but matthieu thinks he has a solution to improving the air quality in built—up areas. so there's a bar here?

yeah. and p0p: p0p: p0p: p0p- easy. yeah. so he's invited me to his office to show me the designs for their new experimental air—purifiers. so this is where the magic happens, is it? yes, absolutely. wow! you see how it works? so there is a fan in the centre to suck the air in. and in this module we have the electric field, you know, to attract the dust, like a magnet. yeah. the air is cleaned and flows out in the centre. yeah. looks like a spaceship. they won a tender to install some prototypes in the new olympic village. actually, it's part of the role of the olympics to boost innovation. is this a training ground for you to see how this works and where it can be used?

yes, absolutely. according to matthieu, the initial results are promising, with daily readings of pm 2.5 around the village as much as halved. there is some wind, but... but there are still some limits to its effectiveness. this is only local. the first priority is to decrease the emission of pollution, of course. if this summer's trials are a success, matthieu hopes these devices will become a common sight in busy parts of paris... ..transforming the very air we breathe. here we go! my next stop is the parisian

suburb of saint—denis. you can see out the window here, the brand—new olympic village, and it looks awesome! wow. the memories of london are coming flooding back. the experience of staying in the olympic village is something else. just down the road, the stade de france will host the athletics events. but this isn't a destination that appears on many tourist itineraries, at least not yet. while saint—denis is rich in culture, i think it's fair to say that it's maybe not the most affluent area. in fact, this is one of the poorest places in all of france. nearly a third of its residents live below the poverty line. the organisers of the games put the regeneration of saint—denis front and centre of their winning bid, so they're giving public spaces a face—lift.

and, after the summer, the olympic village will be converted into homes for around 6,000 people. but this transformation hasn't been without controversy. to find out more, i'm meeting someone who's protesting this year's games. i've only ever experienced the games as a competitor, or as a pundit — it's always been very positive for me. it's going to be funny maybe meeting somebody that's got a different perspective. hey. hey, paul. hi. lovely to meet you. nice to meet you. great spot. looks like there's a bit of work going on. yeah. here you have the cathedral. and they used to bury royalty here. i think they're getting ready for the tourists, you know, some renovation going on. wow! paul alauzy works for aid organisation doctors of the world, and interacts with some of saint—denis�* most vulnerable residents.

there's a lot of things happening. they are renovating the city, you know, to make it look good for the cameras. but on the other hand, we already know that there is gentrification coming up. we have homeless people. we have people from sudan, from afghanistan — they are being harassed and pushed away from paris, and their livelihood. their lives are being destroyed. so, tell me about your part in all of this. well, with the olympics coming, we built a collective. uh, it's called le revers de la medaille. and the goal is to, you know, try to hold accountable the organiser of the games. uh, they were promising the most inclusive games ever, i love it. social inheritance. come on, bring it on. like, we want that, you know? they need to fulfil these promises. le revers de la medaille — or the other side of the medal — has become known for colourful demonstrations across paris.

paul takes me to l'ile saint—denis, just across the water from the olympic village, to see a former cement factory. this is the place where, for us, a year ago, the social cleansing caused by the organisation of the olympics began. coming back is a bit cathartic for me because it's been a year, i haven't been here. so how did this look a year ago? it used to be the house of 500 people, and it was actually the biggest squat in the whole territory of france, you know? so, starting in 2020, we had a big community of african nationalities. it was quite lively, you know? there were so many bikes, some cars and scooters. also a lot of people, they were, you know, like, doing deliveries, that kind of stuff. for me, this was a base of autonomy, and this was also a place where the people could stand proud. five in the morning, you know, big lights and everything. and they kicked everybody out.

they were here saying to the media that this is a humanitarian operation. of course, everyone is going to be housed for the long term. and they were saying that this was done for the security of the people. so, in your mind, they're making excuses and reasons that weren't valid? yeah, obviously, it's not. it's really 100 metres, right next to the olympic village. for them, it's not a pretty picture, you know? so, yeah, for me, it's related to the games. paul's group have alleged that what happened here is part of a wider effort to clear the streets ahead of the games. french officials have denied any link, and the international olympic committee have stressed they're not responsible for paris�* homeless policy. i'll tell you a truth, 0k? i've only ever seen that shiny side of the games you talk about. i've stayed in an olympic village, with all of the privileges that come with being an athlete, and sitting and listening to you has really made me think about who benefits and how that

benefit comes to a city. and i think we need to elaborate on that. like, you know, the goal is not to say, uh, "we should stop the olympics, cancel them." no, the goal is to say, "i think it brings a joy to a lot of people in the world." there'sjust the need to be, now, when we're going to organise olympics, the need to be social and, come on, i mean, we could do it. hey, hey. this is cool, eh? the weather can't make up its mind. one minute, it's raining and now look at it! blue skies. beautiful. the seine is due to play a major role at the 2024 games. for the first time, the opening ceremony isn't going to be in a stadium, it's going to be here on the river —

and the athletes�* parade, believe it or not, is going to be a huge flotilla of boats. at least, that's the plan. it could be moved because of security fears, but the river itself is set to become one of the games�* biggest legacies. for the first time in 100 years, the seine could open up to public swimming after the city spent around 1.5 billion euros upgrading its sewage system. athletes in the triathlon are supposed to take a dip this summer. so if the organisers hit all their targets, you'll be able to have a swim in the seine as early as 2025. swimming in the river isn't for me, i don't think. i don't like being cold. i'm a fair—weather kind of guy. if it's 38 degrees, i might think about it. but how do everyday parisians feel about it? ha—ha. salut.

bonjour. bonjour, steve. alex. raf. ca va? nice to meet you. 0h. thank you. rafael and his dad, alex, have a special relationship with the river. not for olympic games, but for usually every day. so how long have you been cleaning the river? since four years ago now. four years. he was.... he was nine when we started. they've become famous for fishing rubbish out of the river and posting about it on instagram under the tag raf—sur—seine. so... and this is the magnet? yeah, this magnet is so strong, but you can try here. oh, wow! you're pulling the bridge over!

wow! that's magic. and... but how do you pull it up? ah, just with the strength. so what kind of things have you found? let me show you. oh, come on! in a top—secret location... ..raf and alex stow a selection of their most interesting finds. raf, this is some amazing bits. tell me about what we've

got on the table. these are the eiffel towers that you see the tourists buy. so not very much age there, but this looks far older. what's that? it's supposed to be a lantern. that was in the beginning of the last century to light the horse cart. how does it feel when you pull something like that out on your magnet? very exciting, like, sometimes to start to... "what's happened ? " yeah. what's happened ? over the years, they estimate they've pulled well over 30 tonnes of waste from the seine, including dozens of bicycles! but some of the objects are a bit more sinister.

and, uh, we find maybe 20, 30 guns in the river. no way! yeah, i understand. in fact, the authorities have forbidden magnet fishing in paris because of safety concerns.

but in recognition of his efforts to clean the seine, raf has been awarded the city of paris medal and congratulated by president macron. so, raf, are you going to be swimming in the river soon? no, no. definitely not. it'll never be clean enough. no. myjourney across paris is drawing to an end. but i have one last stop to make. i thought, while i'm here, i'd drop in on some old friends. ryadh, what a fantastic surprise, my friend! when did we first meet? 2010? yeah. europeans. yeah, exactly. that was the first time we played against each other. yeah.

and you were impossible to catch. this is a training session of the capsaaa wheelchair rugby team. my friend ryadh sallem founded the club. it's partly made up of former paralympians like himself and a couple of members of france's 2024 squad. can we go and meet the team? this is what the games represents to me. how are you? lovely to see you. i'm talking about the coming together, the being united, the camaraderie. sorry, my english is bad. hey, that's all right. my french is bad. 0h. it's a draw. nice, easy!

but i've seen probably the best of paris the last few days. i've been up in an air balloon. i've been along the seine. they've got some really big, ambitious ideas — cleaner air, cleaner waters. using the power of sport as a catalyst to create change — and meaningful change. but is ambition going to turn into reality? that's what i'm wondering, sitting here, reflecting back on the last few days. the answer lies in paris in 2024 and beyond.

hello there. high pressure is going to play an important part in our weather over the weekend. for a start, an area of high pressure is moving closer to the uk this weekend, meaning it is going to be dry in most places, and there will be some warm sunshine as well. there's the area of high pressure just nudging up a bit closer, pushing away the stronger, northerly winds we had across north—eastern parts of england on friday, and bringing in a bit more sunshine here, as well. there's some cloud moving from south—east scotland into northern england and the midlands, that could give one or two light showers, otherwise it's dry, sunny spells for northern ireland, and plenty of sunshine over other parts of scotland. temperatures likely to reach 20 celsius across the central belt of scotland. here, the winds are light. the wins will be lighter across eastern parts of england, but still an northerly breeze pot head down towards london and the south—east and temperatures will be higher than on friday, up to 19

celsius. the centre of the high pressure is going to getjust a little bit further away on sunday. it allows all of this cloud to come in around the top of it and bring more cloud into scotland and northern ireland, and even a few spots of rain in the north—west. further south, across england and wales, still some sunshine, probably more sunshine across south—eastern areas, and the winds will continue to fall lighter so, it is going to get warmer here, temperatures up to a very pleasant 22, even 23 celsius. still quite warm for north—east england and eastern scotland, where we have got some sunshine but cooler in the north—west where we have got this cloud. and that cloud will push its way southwards overnight and into monday. the weather front is very weak, and there is little or no rain on it. it is more an area of cloud that is moving southwards, followed by sunshine in northern england, scotland and perhaps across northern ireland, where temperatures will reach 17—18. further south, where we have a bit more cloud, somewhat warmer air with temperatures at 20 celsius on monday. some high pressure continuing to decline and pushing away, and we pick up

north—westerly winds, which will be stronger on tuesday, bringing quite a few showers behind a band of rain. another band of rain that's coming in. and yes, those showers over the mountain tops in scotland could be a bit wintry, believe it or not. things are getting colder with polar maritime air for northern parts of the uk, some rain moving into england and wales but still warm in the south—east, with temperatures of 21 celsius. we have high pressure out in the atlantic by the state on wednesday, low pressure to the north of the uk, as that what front moves away and takes what rain there is on it overnight, across southern areas, that has gone then we get the sunshine in the south. showers are still continuing, particularly in scotland but also affecting northernmost parts of england and northern ireland. some of those showers could be quite heavy on wednesday. temperatures of 14—15 celsius. we're seeing something a little bit cooler coming in from the north, around the middle part of the week. perhaps continuing into thursday as well.

then we tend to lose those north—westerly winds. still essentially got lower pressure later next week, so we may well see a little more rain more widely, and this high pressure then tries to come into the west for the following weekend. it may start to dry things off a little bit, but if anything, as we head further into next week, we have that slightly cooler air. there will be more cloud around as well, and more parts of the uk will see some rain, although again, not very much at all for southern parts of england.

live from london. this is bbc news. israel and hamas give broadly positive responses to a new peace proposal as the uk throws its support behind it. we believe that this is an opportunity that we all must

seize to bring this conflict to a permanent end. in the uk election campaign, jobs, skills and funding for local towns takes centre stage as party leaders tour the country. polls close in india with nearly one billion people eligible to vote in the country's general election. in south africa, the ruling anc loses its majority for the first time since apartheid ended 30 years ago. five hours until kick off, i'm here at wembley stadium where real madrid are the huge favourites against borussia dortmund in the champions league final. hello, i'm anna foster. let's start in the middle east, where israel's opposition leader has urged the prime minister to accept a proposal unveiled by president biden aimed at securing a permanent ceasefire in gaza.