this is bbc news, the headlines at 6.00. theresa may says the conservatives are a ‘low—tax party‘ as she addresses claims by labour that she's planning a ‘tax bombshell‘ if re—elected. they have a choice between a conservative party that takes taxes down for working people... the tories are handing 70 billion back in tax to businesses and corporations. we won't do that. tight security across france as the country prepares for the first round of the presidential election. more than 100 afghan soldiers are killed or wounded in one of the worst attacks on an army base in the country. also this hour —— fans gear up for an fa cup clash at wembley. it's a clash between the premier

league's top two teams — as chelsea face spurs in the semifinal of the fa cup. and romania's tennis captain ilie nastase is banned from the rest of the fed cup —— after foul—mouthed comments which left britonjohanna konta in tears. good afternoon. 0n the first weekend of campaigning for the general election, the focus has been on taxes. theresa may in the west midlands today, refused to be drawn on whether she would raise income tax, vat or national insurance. meanwhile the labour leader jeremy corbyn in manchester, has promised that the tax burden will fall on those with the broadest shoulders, if he wins onjune eighth. here's our political correspondent ben wright. get ready for the knock at your door. today the prime minister took her campaign message to dudley and

one voter may have spoken for many. i couldn't understand why you called another election with three years to go. i need the strongest possible negotiating hand in europe. this general election is notjust about brexit and the parties are writing manifestos full of pledges and promises. the issue of tax will be prominent and theresa may was asked whether she will be keeping the tories 2015 manifesto pledge not to raise any of the three main taxes. at this election people have a very clear choice, between a conservative party which always has been, is and will continue to be a party that believes in low taxes, in keeping taxes down for ordinary working people or the choices are labour party whose natural instinct is always to raise taxes.

two years ago david cameron said it would be no vat, national insurance or income tax rises, theresa may's comments today suggest that guarantee must not be in a new manifesto and follows the chancellor philip hammond saying he wants more flexibility in managing the economy. today is a flying start saturday and a general election campaign. already on his eighth campaign visit, jeremy corbyn was in warrington. wooing voters, insisting the election was not a foregone conclusion and sketching out labour's own approach to taxes. we will produce a manifesto very soon and you will see all the details on that but i a tell you this, our tax burdens will not on those on low incomes, they will not fall on those with the broadest shoulders who can bear the greatest burden.

at the last election more than 50 snps were swept into westminster and today the party said all but two of them have been reselected as candidates this time round. an election that will soon have competing policies to flesh out the slogans. let's talk now to sir vince cable, who was the business secretary in the coalition government, and who's bidding to recapture his former seat of twickenham for the lib dems. thanks forjoining us. what is your party's position on tax? we have heard from jeremy corbyn and theresa may today. i think we recognise the economy will slow down because brexit, more taxes will be needed maintaina brexit, more taxes will be needed maintain a respectable budget position is not just maintain a respectable budget position is notjust us, i think the other parties accept and agree to be raising taxes, the chancellor wanted to in the budget then run into this

problem because of his party's one ma nifesto problem because of his party's one manifesto so it is going to happen. the question is how it is done and ensure it is done fairly and where i would start as chancellor of the exchequer is stop the continued reduction in corporation tax perversely unnecessary, handing out tonnes of money to companies who sit on it because they are not investing in the current environment. we would you wanted the money to come from? what kind of water will pay more tax? i would start at by not having the captain reduction in corporation tax blow 20%, i would look at some of the freeloaders, the big internet platforms are not paying any tax, we need a tax base so they are brought within it. some of the tax cuts this government has broken, the mileage allowa nce government has broken, the mileage allowance is a good example, nothing to do with need responsibility but ideology, i think we all accept

including the conservatives that we are heading into an environment because of brexit the public finance position is going to be weaker and people have to be honest about ready tax revenue comes from. you told the radio 4 today programme earlier this week shortly after two reasonably‘s management at you want your party to wina management at you want your party to win a substantial bloc of seats to hold the government to account. isn't it fair enough to say that you would have to have a huge substantial bloc of seats, any opposition party would to hold the government act to account. after to lose me gets her way in the polls suggesting that she will, no one can hold the government to account particularly over brexit. that is why we want big numbers. there is already it around and there is a long way to go and the selection so we are going to do well, the question is how well. we need lots of mps, there are various stages

shearer, including the so—called great repeal bill going through parliament which needs mps who are committed to europe and preventing the damage of a heart brexit to fight this clause by clause. we will get to a point where we have negotiations coming to conclusion, they could be bad. we could crash out of the european union entirely with catastrophic consequences. we need a block of mps who are com pletely need a block of mps who are completely matter to the principle that if this happens, the process has to be stopped and the people have to be consulted again. your doctorfor a coalition have to be consulted again. your doctor for a coalition with have to be consulted again. your doctorfor a coalition with labour wouldn't you 7 doctorfor a coalition with labour wouldn't you? we're not forming a coalition with jeremy corbyn‘s labour party or the conservatives. we liberal democrats are doing on their own terms within our party and we will be competing as an independent party and the selection, but as a party to equality. why is that your position? is it because a new experience coalitions don't work

question mark the coalition i was pa rt question mark the coalition i was part of something i was proud to be pa rt part of something i was proud to be part of, it was totally justified part of something i was proud to be part of, it was totallyjustified by the circumstances in 2010, i have no regrets about that at all. it wasn't great for the politics of the liberal democrats but it was the right thing to do any national interest. we know any totally different situation, theresa may has committed her party as the country to rehab brexit and necessary and very damaging and there is no way we can work with our as colleagues. jeremy corbyn equally has been extremely unhelpful, erratic on that issue and on other national issues shall be not interested in going to a coalition with either of those two. thank you. the french government has mobilised additional security forces, including elite units, to back up 50,000 police officers for tomorrow's presidential election. terrorism dominated the final day of campaigning, after the killing of a police officer in the capital on thursday.

i was taking a look behind me, thousands of people are out today getting shopping and if that is anything to go by the french are from themselves to be very resilient and talk about to vote tomorrow as they have been asked to do. campaigning stopped at midnight but we are focusing on the last poll published last night, the one we are allowed to tell you about, one of 1500 people and that last poll put macron out in front, two points ahead of le pen of the national front and she was just ahead of the former prime minster and the hard left candidate. very little to choose between them and it could come down to if users and votes at

the end of the day saw these candidates have been urging their respective supporters to come out and vote and it is the abstentions that could make all the difference. lucy williamson reports from paris. those out campaign today weren't supporting politicians, this rally was for the police. black balloons for those killed in the line of duty, pink for the family nearly behind. their message, the police need protecting too. one of the balloons was for a policeman targeted by a gunman this week. he was on duty in 2015 paris attacks and went back for a concert when the hall reopened one year on when he spoke to the bbc reporter. we are here and here with my friends to celebrate life and say no to terrorism. the police union say members need protecting from everyday risk, exhaustion,

overwork and stress. the state of emergency following the attacks has taken its toll, boosting police numbers has been an issue for the president to campaigns. this election has gone beyond questions of security, the economy or immigration. it has opened up a debate about the meaning of french values and how to define being french. all the more surprising that the number of people expected to abstain from voting tomorrow as high. people who decide to abstain are not people who don't care about politics. when you ask them why they refused to vote, they always tell you the same thing, they are all the same. they lie to us, we have tried everything, nothing changes, which are political arguments. it is not because they don't care, it is because they care a lot.

across the country, buildings are being used as polling stations for tomorrow's vote. the one still moment in a presidential campaign when rhetoric is redundant and people are honoured as the true holders of power. the government have confirmed they will put 50,000. tomorrow tens of thousands of people reporting and london, quit an important constituency. macron was in london recently campaigning there. just don't tell you that he will be here tomorrow night as the polls of

structure cause, especial results programmers begins at 630 uk team tomorrow. the first projection, seven o'clock, they take projectionists from various polling stations around the country counting the first few hundred watts and will bring that to you at 7pm but given that it bring that to you at 7pm but given thatitis bring that to you at 7pm but given that it is so tight, that projection may well change through the evening but should be pretty exciting. the afghan government has declared tomorrow a day of national mourning, after the deaths of more than 140 soldiers, killed in a taliban attack. it happened at a military base in the north of the country, with the militants apparently disguised as soldiers. 0ur south asia correspondent justin rowlatt reports. it was during afternoon prayers that two suicide bombers blasted open the entrance to this army base in the north of afghanistan yesterday. eight other fighters, dressed in afghan army uniforms, used heavy machine guns to attack the dining areas of

the base and the mosque. the taliban has claimed responsibility and issued this picture of the men they claim was behind it. afghan troops have been pouring into the area. the battle lasted for five hours, and today dozens of injured soldiers were being treated in a local hospital. translation: when i came out of the mosque after prayers, three people with army uniforms and an army vehicle started shooting at us. islamic tradition requires the burials take place as soon as possible and the bodies of many of the victims have already been placed in coffins. the assault on the army base is a shocking reminder ofjust how tough the ongoing battle in afghanistan is. last month an afghan special forces helicopter landed on top

of the military hospital in kabul after it was stormed by gunmen disguised as doctors. about 50 people died in that attack. two and a half years after the international combat mission in afghanistan ended and the taliban now controls more than a third of the country. and with casualties amongst the afghan forces running at almost 7,000 a year there are questions about how long the afghan army can continue to defend the ground it still holds. clashes have broken out in the german city of cologne as tens of thousands of demonstrators picket a hall where the anti—immigration afd party is holding a conference. a huge police operation is being mounted, with up to 50 thousand protesters expected in cologne during the two day conference. two officers have been injured in the clashes. 0ur correspondent

jenny hill is there. what you can see behind me is cologne's response to germany's most controversial political party. there are tens of thousands of people on the streets of cologne today, many of them held back by armed police officers some of them on right here, in fact we are told to officers were injured during minor scuffles although the protests have by and large passed off peacefully. the mood inside was far more fractures, because afd is really a party increases. it is not only slipping in the polls,, it seems its anti—immigrant platform is not longer enough to attract the german electorate bust is also a

party bitterly divided over its future political direction. there are still a great deal of discussion about how the party is going to move forward. if you look at the polls, afd is still on course to win seats in the general election but really its chances of significant political success rests its chances of significant political su ccess rests no its chances of significant political success rests no envelope can come together, agree on first of all a candidate to go into that election to stand against angela merkel but perhaps more importantly to agree on a very political identity of the party itself. tight security across across france. and more than 100 afghan soldiers are killed or wounded attack on the country. the american vice—president has confirmed that the us will honour

a promise by former president 0bama to accept more than twelve hundred refugees from australian detention camps. after meeting the australian prime minister, malcolm turnbull, he also spoke about north korea's nuclear ambitions. mr pence said the uss carl vinson carrier group would be in the sea of japan "before the end of this month". from sydney, the bbc‘s hywel griffith reports. in australia, they call it the mateship, a special relationship which has seen it fight side—by—side with the us for nearly a century. and with tension rising on the korean peninsula, america wants to reaffirm those old alliances. after false claims and confusion of the whereabouts of its aircraft carrier, the vice president today said the uss carl vinson was now on the way to the sea of japan, building up its capabilities in the region. the one thing that nations, most especially the regime in north korea, should make no mistake about, is that the united states has the resources,

the personnel and the presence in this region of the world to see to our interests and to see to the security of those interests and our allies. military might was backed up with some diplomatic pressure, a joint call on china to impose economic sanctions. it is self—evident that china has the opportunity and we say the responsibility to bring pressure to bear on north korea, to stop this reckless and dangerous trajectory upon which they are embarked. the fate of hundreds of refugees was also on the agenda. the agreement for america to resettle those at australia's offshore detention centres has been questioned by president trump. a ‘dumb deal‘ in his words, but one which he will honour. let me make it clear, the united states intends to honour the agreement.

subject to the results of the vetting processes that now apply to all refugees considered for admission to the united states of america. the vice president will leave australia knowing he is likely to retain its support whatever the next few months may bring. the mateship unlikely to waver. hywel griffith, bbc news, sydney. for the first time since the industrial revolution britain has gone an entire 2a hours without using coal to generate electricity. taxes on co2 emissions and the falling cost of renewable energy have made coal plants less economical in recent years. it‘s been described as a "watershed moment" by duncan burt — from national grid. turkey‘s largest opposition party is meeting to discuss its next move after last weekend‘s referendum. a slight majority voted in favour of new powers for the country‘s head of state — a campaign spearheaded by president erdogan. benjames reports from istanbul.

cancel the referendum, the message at the heart of this protest in istanbul. those here are against new powers for turkey‘s president, and afraid of transforming his role from symbolic head of state to executive leader. but the count on sunday left these no campaigners on the losing side, just. these people feel they were cheated out of a result that they wanted. they say they didn‘t get the media exposure the campaign deserved and complain some of the leaders were in jail and the acceptance of unstamped ballot papers made a crucial difference to the result. there they are working out what to do to challenge the official outcome. a relatively small street protest is one thing, opposition politicians also talk about making the case at the european court of human rights. how do you oppose a president who is undoubtedly popular and powerful? we need a political

superman, someone who can reach people in the south—east and national in the west is and not alienate voters in the middle of the country. we believe the president has nothing new to say and that will help us win the next election. at the last election they were 16 points behind the party this man helped to found and supporters of president erdogan say the referendum was fair and square, that it was the will of the people. it doesn‘t matter that it is 1—0 or 5—0 zero, the ultimate goal is to win the game. the discussion to come me tell us how his opponents will prepare for the next encounter. a sports 0mbudsman should be appointed to protect athletes from abuse and bullying. that‘s one of the recommendations of a year—long review commissioned by the government. it was led by the 11—time

paralympic gold medallist baroness grey—thompson following a spate of bullying allegations against coaches, mounting concern over the treatment of injuries, and the child sex abuse scandal in football. winning medals is something that everyone in the uk would celebrate but i think over the last few years, duty of care is something that has slipped away, not intentional or malicious, there are hard targets out there and we want to see british athletes do well. if you get a duty of care right, we can do as well as not better. two men have been arrested in connection with an acid attack, which left two people blinded in one eye.

twenty people were hurt in the attack at the nightclub in east london on monday. the two men in their twenties have been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. police are still urging another man to hand himself in to police. the sun newspaper has printed a formal apology to everton footballer ross barkley. former editor kelvin mackenzie compared the footballer to a gorilla in an article for his column. ross barkley‘s grandfather is from nigeria but the newspaper says a racial slur was never intended. kelvin mackenzie remains suspended from the sun. police in nottingham say they‘re treating the death of a teenager on thursday night as murder. officers were called to a housing estate in aspley following reports a fourteen—year—old boy had suffered a cardiac arrest. he died in hospital later. a seventeen—year—old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder. scientists have been taking part in a "march for science" past london‘s most celebrated research institutions. 0rganisers said that the growth of "fake news" and misinformation made it crucial to highlight the vital role that science plays in our lives. they also say there‘s a need to respect and encourage research

that gives insight into the world. the authorities in venezuela say at least eleven people died in violence and looting on thursday, making it the bloodiest day in three weeks of anti—government protests. 0ver that period — tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets demanding new presidential elections. sarah corker reports. another day of deadly unrest on the streets of caracas, right police fitting running battles with protesters on thursday. the worst incidents took place here, ten people killed were trying to route a bakery, some reportedly electrocuted. residents were left to clea n electrocuted. residents were left to clean up after the chaos. we lost

everything. if only it were just the food, everything is gone and all feel and see if you at the edge of the slum. this latest wave of protests was triggered by a supreme court decision last month to take over powers from the opposition controlled national assembly. the decision was later reversed but it was too late to contain the demonstrations. the president has accused opponents of trying to topple him by force, no he has called for talks. translation: i hope they have the courage to step forward so we can sit at the negotiating table and tell each other the wrists and search for pathways to peace in venezuela. this isa pathways to peace in venezuela. this is a call for dialogue and peace. but venezuela is facing a serious economic crisis, shortages mean people having to do all day for food

and medicine. 0pposition leaders repeated the demand for new elections. translation: the government can‘t avoid its responsibilities. the violins sown by the government. what is its solution to this violence? the vote. 0ver solution to this violence? the vote. over the last three weeks 20 venezuela ‘s have died during the unrest, and there are plans for new protests for saturday and two erected roadblocks on monday to grade the country to a halt. as the alpine ski season comes to an end, one of the problems facing resorts is the effect of rising temperatures causing glacial melt. it‘s a lesser known side effect of climate change, but some glaciers have diminished by a quarter over the past forty years. sara thornton travelled to the austrian alps to a resort built on a glacier that‘s melting fast, where authorities are going to great lengths to halt its decline. for tens of millennia this tiralian glacier has carved its way slowly through the alps.

a century and a half ago it covered almost six square miles. now it‘s less than a third of that. i‘m at the top of this stubai glacier in the austrian alps at around 3000 metres high. it‘s an area that is very popular for skiing. and, actually, there are about 80 separate glaciers in this area. but there‘s a problem because in the last few years scientists have realised there‘s been unprecedented glacier melt. so the questions now are, how serious is that melt, and what can they do to stop it? dr andrea fischer is a world—renowned glaciologist, who‘s made it her life‘s work to halt the decline of this glacier. and she‘s hit upon a surprising answer. a blanket. covering the glacier and preventing ice melt. on a very small, very local scale, we could prevent some very tiny glacial areas by covering the glacier with geotextiles during summer. but only about 1% of a glacier area

of ski resorts can be preserved by this method. and, of course, it‘s very cost intensive and it needs much labour. to save 1% of the glacier seems almost futile, but with the local economy relying on skiing and tourism here, officials say it‘s worth it. it is expensive, but it is more expensive to do it not. so i think the costs of this protection is about 300,000 euros. the result is very good. on average, the melting is about one metre, 1.5 metre. with this we protect more than 50%. there are 5000 alpine glaciers in the world, and some scientists predict that at the current rate of melting in 20 years half will be gone and those that are left will be much smaller. but it‘s far from clear if this expensive local solution can work on a global scale.

let‘s go over to the other side for the weather forecast. here is the scene this afternoon ca ptu red here is the scene this afternoon captured by one of weather watchers in warwickshire. we‘ve had a lot of blue skies and sunshine by dave. 0vernight, that means temperatures will a tumble. away from the breezy, showery region