israel says eight of its soldiers were killed during �*operational activity�* in rafah. the hamas—run health ministry says 30 palestinians were killed across gaza in the past 2a hours. the leaders of italy and germany reject the ceasefire terms laid out by vladimir putin — while dozens of countries gather in switzerland to explore peace prospects in ukraine. and muslim pilgrims in mecca struggle with extreme temperatures at the climax of the annual hajj. hello, i'm tanya beckett. thousands of people lined the streets of london for the trooping the colour parade, where the princess of wales made her first official public appearance since announcing she was being treated for cancer. catherine joined the rest of the royal family

at the annual event to mark the king's official birthday. it's the first royal engagement she has carried out this year. the king — who is also having cancer treatment — travelled by carriage, instead of riding on horseback, as he has done in the past. charlotte gallagher reports. a much—anticipated moment — the princess of wales back in the public eye. all eyes on her for her first appearance since she announced her cancer diagnosis. she was a huge draw for the crowds in central london today. this is a day full of tradition and spectacle, but it's also about family. the king and queen in their carriage. it's his first trooping the colour since his own cancer diagnosis and he chose not to travel on horseback. national anthem plays

the troops taking part in this annual celebration of the king's official birthday have been rehearsing for months. every step, drumbeat and musical note has to be perfect. the irish guards led the event this year and their colour, or regimentalflag, was on full display. their royal colonel, the princess of wales, looked on with her children, as the king took the salute from the parade ground, next to his son and heir to the throne, prince william — himself, the royal colonel of the welsh guards. the princess of wales only announced she was attending the parade yesterday and it's a welcome sign about her recovery and recuperation. but this isn't a return

to full public duties. although the weather wasn't ideal, the pageantry of trooping the colour was the same, with the king braving the elements outside buckingham palace. cheering and as if on cue, the torrential rain stopped just in time for the traditional end to the day — a balcony appearance and fly—past. the king and princess of wales stood next to each other as they took in the red arrows display. a family united, after what's been an incredibly difficult six months. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. the israeli army says eight of its soldiers have been killed in a blast, during what it called �*operational activity�* in the city of rafah, in southern gaza. it identified one captain and said

the names of the others would be released later. israeli forces have been attacking rafah for weeks, saying hamas�*s last—remaining battalions are based there. the hamas—run health ministry in gaza says 30 palestinians have been killed in the past 2a hours. israel�*s prime minister addressed the nation — following the deaths of the soldiers. here�*s what he said. translation: with deep sorrow, | in heavy mourning, i bow my head together with all the citizens of israel and mourn the fall of our heroic warriors. deputy company commander in the engineering battalion captain wassem mahmoud, and other heroic soldiers, whose names have not yet been released. don�*t let anyone distract you from the simple and clear fact. despite the heavy and staggering cost, we must stick to the goals of the war. destroying the military and governmental capabilities of hamas, returning all our hostages, making sure that gaza will no longer pose a threat to israel and returning our residents safely to their homes, both in the north and in the south.

benjamin netanyahu. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent hugo bachega in jerusalem. he gave us this update. this is the deadliest incident involving the israeli military since january and one of the deadliest in this war. so the military gave some details about what happened earlier today. it said these soldiers were members of an engineering unit and their armoured vehicle was hit by a large explosion. and this explosion then triggered the detonation of explosive material, engineering material in the car. so this is under investigation. apparently, this was in breach of the standard practice, and an investigation continues. but daniel hagari, a military spokesman, said that this initial explosion was most likely caused by an explosive device in the area

or by an anti—tank missile. and we know that earlier today, the armed wing of hamas claim to have carried out an attack on an israeli convoy with an anti—tank missile, after setting up an ambush. so, a huge incident in gaza. again, the military described it as a "significant explosion". it was difficult to locate and identify the bodies. the families of the eight soldiers who have been killed have already been notified. and this happened at around five o�*clock in the morning local time in the tel al—sultan neighbourhood in rafah. and obviously, this is a city that has been a key focus of the israeli military in southern gaza. as i said, this is where the israeli authorities say hamas�*s last—remaining battalions are active. this is also where hundreds of thousands of palestinians have been sheltering, many have fled other parts

of gaza because of this constant military activity. so, one of the deadliest incidents for the israeli military in this war. hugo, meanwhile, there have been mass protests in tel aviv, people taking to the streets to push for a truce and release of the hostages. exactly. and it was very interesting that this late—night statement by the prime minister, who said that this was a difficult war, that there was a heavy price. but he said that the country must stick to the goals of this war. the destruction of hamas�*s military and governing capabilities in gaza and the release of hostages who remain in captivity. so these tens of thousands of protesters again in another demonstration, demanding a deal for the hostages to be freed. we know that these negotiations are difficult. president biden last month laid out

a proposal that he said was an israeli proposal that would see the release of hostages and pave the way for a permanent ceasefire, which has been a key obstacle here in these negotiations. hamas has responded to that proposal. but again, it is sticking with its initial demands. it wants a permanent ceasefire, which is a contentious point here in israel, and also, the complete withdrawal of israeli forces from gaza. and i think this protest again shows that the prime minister is under pressure from multiple sides. from the families of the hostages, who say that the time is running out to rescue the hostages. but also, from members of his coalition. far—right members of the coalition who have threatened to leave the government if this deal goes ahead, which could lead to the collapse of his government. and many believe that the prime minister is more interested in keeping his coalition alive, rather than securing the release of the hostages. hugo bachega joining us from

jerusalem earlier. the leaders of italy and germany have strongly rejected ceasefire terms laid out by vladimir putin to stop the war in ukraine if kyiv withdraws its troops from four regions russia partially occupies. dozens of countries have gathered in switzerland for a summit to explore how to bring peace to ukraine. president volodymyr zelensky is hoping to sustain the momentum of this week�*s g7 meeting, when leaders pledged $50 billion of loans — made up from the interest accrued on seized russian assets. he also signed a ten—year security deal with president biden. but no—one from russia was invited, and china is staying away. in his first address to the summit, president zelensky was highly critical of russia�*s president. putin has taken the lives of thousands of our people. why? because he wants to take over a neighbouring country. i do not wish this to anyone. i sincerely wish that all of you, all the peoples of the world,

every child, every family could simply live without war, and i want this for all ukrainians. ukraine have the right to peace, just like all of you. ladies and gentlemen, we must stop this war, based on the un charter, respect for international law, the just interests of the ukrainian people and the idea of the undeniable value of human life. life, not war. president zelensky speaking earlier. mr zelensky received full support from the us vice—president, kamala harris. russia's aggression is not only an attack on the lives and the freedom of the people of ukraine. it is not only an attack on global food security and energy supplies. russia's aggression is also an attack on international rules and norms and the principles embodied in the un charter. kamala harris speaking.

0ur correspondent sarah rainsford has been following the summit in burgenstock. in switzerland. well, certainly in their public statements, both russia and ukraine are sticking to absolutely maximalist positions. ukraine saying, in fact, the head of the presidential administration telling me earlier today that there was no room for negotiation on ukraine�*s territorial integrity or on its independence and its sovereignty. and, of course, we heard before this summit from vladimir putin essentially calling on kyiv to capitulate, saying it had to hand over four massive chunks of territory and give up its ambitions ofjoining nato. so on paper, it sounds like the two sides are as far apart as they ever were and that there�*s no chance of bridging the gap. but that is what this summit is trying, at least, to begin to do. the hashtag they�*ve chosen is path to peace, and it�*s obviously going to be a very long one. but i think what ukraine is trying to do is to basically seize the agenda, to be the one who�*s taking the initiative on this and to try to set the parameters

of what a peace might look like. now, that peace is the formula that volodymyr zelensky set out back in 2022 when, actually, on the battleground, ukraine had the upper hand. that situation has changed since then, which makes it a rather more complicated peace to try to negotiate. and certainly, as we�*ve heard from putin in russia, russia, at this point, doesn�*t appear to see any need to negotiate. sarah rainsford. ukraine was a big part of the g7 summit of world leaders that has been taking place in italy. it has just wrapped up after tackling the topics of migration, chinese trade policy, and artificial intelligence on friday. here�*s italy�*s prime minister, giorgia meloni, speaking at the final news conference of the event. translation: we know that areas of conflict - are multiplying around the world. and we know that some saw things

differently and didn�*t believe that we would continue to show support for ukraine as we have. we continue to have a comprehensive, integrated, unified approach to help this nation, which has been attacked, to look to the future. james landale gave us this update from the g7. as ever, these summits are a mixture of an awful lot of issues they pack into two or three days. they talked about migration, they talked about artificial intelligence, they talked about the threat from china, notjust in terms of its support for russia and ukraine, but also, its threat to global markets. but the central focus of many of the discussions that took place here both formally as part of the g7 and also bilaterally, in the margins and the corridors here, was of course the war in ukraine. the italian prime minister, summing everything up today, said that there had been a comprehensive and united approach to defend ukraine. she also said that the g7 sends

a strong signal that people would support ukraine for as long as is necessary. now, those are the words. in terms of the actions at this summit, they have agreed to raise $50 billion in a loan for ukraine that�*s going to be paid off, if you like, by using interest made on frozen russian assets. we got a bit more information about that today from the italian prime minister. she said that the united states, canada, the uk and japan would be the main countries providing that loan. and then the european countries would join in, in terms of sharing that debt. she also, in her press conference summing the summit up, addressed the so—called peace offering, the offer of ceasefire and peace talks made by president putin just 2a hours ago. she described this as a propaganda move, not something that should

be taken seriously. effectively, she said, it was like saying to ukraine that you can leave ukraine if you want to sit down at the peace talks. so giorgia meloni joining others in the west in dismissing this attempt by president putin to try and get ahead of the peace conference that�*s taking place in switzerland to discuss ukraine�*s own ideas for peace. so that was the broad perspective that we got today from this g7. the italians are very happy with the way it went. i think the problem, though, is this. this is a weaker g7 than other years. many of the leaders, apart from giorgia meloni, face electoral challenges. it�*s very unlikely that the same seven people will be sitting around this table again. so the summit has demonstrated some unity on ukraine, but as ever, the question will be, will what�*s been decided here in italy actually last and have an impact in the years to come?

james landale. here in the uk, we�*re at the halfway point in the general election campaign — with three weeks until the next government is formed. rishi sunak has been at the g7 and is now at the ukraine peace summit. but the other politicial parties have been out campaigning today. labour leader sir keir starmer visited a hospital in nottinghamshire, together with the shadow health secretary, wes streeting. they�*ve been promoting their plans for the nhs. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has ruled out raising capital gains tax on people�*s main homes, should his party win the election. it comes after the conservatives repeatedly raised questions over labour�*s tax policies. we�*ve been clear about the 40,000 extra appointments each and every week, how we�*ll pay for them. that will make a massive difference to those people on waiting lists. that�*s two million a year.

and just as we did when we were last in government, we brought the waiting lists down, so we will do so again. 0n the broader area, yes, of course we need money for the nhs, but we also need to reform. i ran a public service for five years, i know that more money in the top does give you a slightly better service, but you only get a materially better service if you reform. as far as health is concerned, we need to reform, to go to the preventative model, we need much more in our communities. we have got fully—funded mental health support in our communities that�*s set out in our manifesto, but we need to change the model and use much better technology. keir starmer. meanwhile, the prime minister has shrugged off questions about the conservative polls ratings. speaking at the ukraine peace summit in switzerland, rishi sunak said the election was a clear choice between the tories and labour. what we've seen over the last week is manifestos from both the major parties and the clear choice at this election between a conservative manifesto that offers a clear plan to deliver a secure future for britain, taking bold actions and, notably,

cutting taxes for people at every stage of their lives. for people in work, who are self—employed, buying their first home, families and, indeed, who are retired as well. in contrast, there are no ideas from the labour party, just higher taxes. £2,000 worth of higher taxes for every working family. i don't want to see that happening. that is the choice at this election. earlier, i spoke to our political correspondent susan hulme. in a funny sort of way, the interest now is not those manifestos which we were very excited to see last week because they are now in a bare—knuckle fight, really, the conservatives and labour, over who can win the argument. and you heard in that clip we have just heard from rishi sunak that he is very, very keen to talk about something that was not really in the labour manifesto at all, and that is tax. they are pummelling away on tax, and that is because he feels that it is looking at the fear

factor, always a very powerful thing in election campaigns, to put a fear of the unknown, of the other, of the unknown quantity into voters�* minds. now, he has been doing that for a little while. whether that has really made a huge difference is hard to say. there are some more polls coming out, all the caveats, you can�*t really put too much credence on polls, they can be wrong, but we have had a lot of them predicting a really very poor results for the conservatives. and i�*m not sure that there has been a lot of change so far. it may be that the conservatives will do what we did here last week from grant shapps and double—down on that and have that warning for voters — you don�*t want to give labour a supermajority. and what about this question of the reform party? well, it is very interesting that neither labour nor the conservatives really want to mention reform, i don�*t think they really want to give them too much publicity and do nigel farage�*sjob for him.

however, where you have seen conservatives talk about it, it is again warning the potential conservative voters that it is not safe to have a bit of a flutter on reform, that that is actually really going to be another vote for keir starmer because if you split the votes that could go to the conservatives, you are more likely to give labour this supermajority. in scotland, the snp�*s kate forbes has been campaigning in south lanarkshire, from where bbc scotland political correspondent andrew kerr sent this report. much of scotland is in quite a despondent mood today after last night�*s football. but of course, the general election campaign begins again in earnest. kate forbes has been here in larkhall, in south lanarkshire. she�*s from the snp.

she�*s the deputy first minister in the snp scottish government. here at this distribution depot, they handle lots of scottish seafood. in fact, the majority of scottish salmon and a host of other seafoods, sending it down to the continent and across the world. now, miss forbes, from the snp, has been highlighting what she calls a brexit red tape. she says it costs the salmon industry £3 million every year. she�*s also highlighting a lack of skilled migrants coming from the eu to work here. of course, the snp have a long—standing opposition to brexit. she has been saying only snp mps will stand up for the food and drinks sector in westminster. and she says that only snp mps can promise a way back into the european union, through scottish independence. of course, political opponents disagree with how that might work out. and finally, just on the football, miss forbes was saying it was a rough night

for the tartan army, but she was saying they never give up. and a reminder that like every day during the election campaign, we have a special live page up and running online, where you can get the latest from the campaigns, as well as analysis from our correspondents, whilst the bbc verify team will look at the claims made by the politicians. you can find that on the bbc news website or app. in france, hundreds of thousands of people have marched against marine le pen�*s far—right national rally party. there were protests in towns and cities across the country after the party�*s success in european elections prompted president macron to call a snap parliamentary election. the demonstrations were called by trade unions and left—wing parties, who have formed an alliance to counter the far—right in the election. in paris, riot police scuffled with protesters. seven people were arrested. —— nine people. to south africa now,

and cyril ramaphosa has spoken of a new era of hope for the country, after being re—elected president as leader of a national unity government. his african national congress party was forced to reach a power—sharing agreement after it lost its outright majority in last month�*s elections. the anc�*s main partner is its former long—time opponent, the democratic alliance. mr ramphosa said the south african people expected the parties involved to work together to tackle poverty, unemployment and inequality. it is with pleasure that i accept. it will once again be a privilege and a pleasure to serve this great nation in the position of president. i accept this as a big responsibility, and i wish to thank all leaders for your congratulatory messages delivered here at this podium.

your messages are a clear clarion call for working together. your messages constitute what i see as a well of encouragement, of good advice and of wisdom. sweden and iran have carried out a prisoner exchange, with iran freeing two swedes — the diplomatjohan floderus, who was detained on charges of spying, and dual—national saeed azizi. the swap, which was mediated by 0man, also saw a former iranian official released. hamid nouri, who was convicted for his role in a mass execution of political prisoners in 1988 and sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes. swedish prime minister ulf kristersson said the two prisoners had been used as bargaining power. translation: iran has made them both

i pawns in a cynical negotiation game, l with the aim of getting iranian citizen hamid nouri released from prison in sweden. he is convicted of serious crimes committed in iran in the 1980s. to saudia arabia, where muslim pilgrims in mecca have been struggling with extreme temperatures at the climax of the annual hajj. 0ne—and—a—half million muslim pilgrims made the demanding assent of mount arafat on the fifth day of the hajj. temperatures reached 46 celsius. these events are all outside. the saudi authorities have warned that climate change is making the hajj almost half a degree warmer each decade. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. it�*s been cool and unsettled so far this month.

sunny spells and heavy thundery downpours still very much the theme for the rest of the weekend. now, with blustery conditions across the south of the uk earlier on today for trooping the colour, the showers rattled through fairly quickly, some sunny spells in—between. but further north, the winds were lighter, so the showers more slow—moving, leading to some very intense downpours in places. tomorrow, though, will feel a little drier and a bit warmer for many of us, with fewer showers around and, again, some more sunny spells. 0vernight tonight, then, the winds will start to ease a little in the south. still some more wet weather, particularly for eastern wales and across the midlands, but a lot of the showers tending to fade. some heavy, persistent rain moving in from the east across northern areas of scotland, too. that�*s all going to sink southwards tomorrow. but with more cloud for the north and the west, it will feel milder than it did last night. lows of seven to ten degrees. and then tomorrow, low pressure still very much centred across the uk, so more showers swirling around that low. that heavy rain for scotland

will push further southwards into central areas as we head through the morning, perhaps even into southern scotland, too. and it�*s a wet start for some across northern ireland, the rain turning more showery into the afternoon. more showers, too, across england and wales, but fewer of them than today, and the winds will be lighter, some of the showers still possibly thundery and slow—moving. there�*ll be some sunny spells and it will feel a little drier and a bit warmer for most of us — the high teens, maybe 20 degrees celsius. into monday, then, and another improvement generally, the low pressure pulling away into the north sea, so the focus of the showers across eastern scotland, down through north—east england. a few showers further south popping up here and there as well, but they�*ll tend to be more isolated in nature, bright and sunny spells in—between. and for the south—east of england, east anglia, we could see highs of 21 degrees celsius, which is back to the seasonal average. but it�*s these areas that need a bit of watching into the start of next week, with this weather front that�*s across the near continent that could send some spells of rain perhaps our way as we head through tuesday and even on wednesday.

low pressure, too, towards the north of the uk. but in—between, with high pressure starting to build in from the south—west, it is looking drier and there�*ll be a bit more in the way of sunshine. so, a gradual improvement into the middle of next week. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines... royal return — the princess of wales makes her first public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. it�*s arise, sir alan! alan bates — the man who campaigned to expose britain�*s post office scandal — receives a knighthood — joining dozens of famous names in the king�*s birthday honours. kevin campbell, the former striker for arsenal and everton, has died at the age of 5a after a short illness. both clubs have reacted to the news, paying tribute to him. and at the euros, italy beats albania 2 —i, while spain makes an emphatic start, beating croatia 3—0. let�*s get more on the general elections here in the uk. let�*s take a quick look at what�*s making the headlines in some of the first editions of the sunday papers. we start with the observer,

which leads on a warning about the national health service.