this is bbc news. the headlines at 10pm: on the campaign trail. labour and the conservatives spar over the possibility of tax rises. both parties promise fair policies. they will have a choice between a conservative party which always has been, is and will continue to be a party that believes in lower taxes, in keeping taxes down for ordinary working people. our tax burdens will not follow until then —— on low incomes. they will follow most of the broader shoulders or can be in the heaviest burden. 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 by the taliban on an army base in the country. also this hour, we'll take a look at tomorrow's front pages, including the sunday times. it reports the tories will promise

to cut energy bills for 70% of households. and elation for chelsea as they're through to the fa cup final after a thrilling 4—2 win over spurs at wembley. good evening and welcome to bbc news. 0n the first weekend of campaigning for the general election, the focus has been on taxes. theresa may, campaigning in the west midlands today, refused to be drawn on whether she would raise income tax, vat or national insurance. meanwhile, the labour leaderjeremy corbyn was campaigning in manchester and promised that the tax burden will fall on those with the broadest shoulders, if he wins onjune 8th. 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 an election within three years to go. i think we need a stronger negotiating hand in europe. but this general election is notjust about brexit and all the parties are rapidly writing manifesto is full —— and all the parties are rapidly writing manifestos full of pledges and promises. the issue of tax will be prominent and theresa may was asked whether she would be keeping the 20 15th pledge not to raise any of the three main taxes. at this election people will have a clear choice, between a conservative party which always has been, is and will continue to be a party that believes in lower taxes,

keeping taxes down for ordinary people. or, the choice is, a labour party whose natural instinct is to raise taxes. two years ago david cameron said there would be no vat, national insurance or income tax rises. theresa may's comments today suggest that guarantee might not be in the new manifesto and it follows philip hammond yesterday saying he wanted more flexibility in managing the economy. good morning, everybody. today is flying start saturday in our campaign. already on his eighth campaign visit of the campaign, jeremy corbyn was in warrington. nice to see you. a lovely house. wooing voters, insisting the election was not a foregone conclusion and sketching out the labour approach to taxes. we will produce our manifesto very soon and you will see all the details. i will tell you this, our tax burdens will not fall on those on low incomes, they will fall on those with the broadest shoulders who can bear the greatest burden. the liberal democrats have infected

their plans already. but they were no more taxes will be needed. whoever is in power will need to increase taxation. the effect of brexit would reduce government reve nu es brexit would reduce government revenues are more taxes will have to be raised. the tories will have two and it was clear from the budget. where i would start was not with those taxes but with corporation tax. at the last election more than 50 snp mps were swept into westminster and today the party announced all but two of them who sit as independents have been reselected as candidates this time in an election that will soon have competing policies to flesh out the slogans. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30pm this evening

evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are bonnie greer, playwright and writer for the new european newspaper and former tabloid editor eve pollard. the people of france go to the polls tomorrow, in the first round of one of the most important, and unpredictable presidential elections of recent times. combating terrorism is a key issue, after the killing of a police officer in the capital on thursday, and additional security forces will back up 50,000 police officers nationwide, for tomorrow's poll. lucy williamson is in paris for us tonight. in the lull before france's presidential vote, those

out campaigning today were not supporting politicians. this rally was for the police. black balloons for those killed in the line of duty. pink for the family they leave behind. their message, the police need protecting too. one of the balloons was for xavierjugele, the —— one of the balloons was for xavierjugele, attacked on the champs elysees this week. xavier was on duty near the bataclan during the 2015 paris attacks and went back for a concert when the hall reopened one year on, where he spoke to a bbc reporter. that's why we are here with my friend to celebrate life and to say no to terrorism. the police union says their members need protecting

from everyday risks too. exhaustion, overwork and stress. the state of emergency following a string of attacks here has taken its toll. boosting police numbers has been an issue for the presidential campaigns. but this election has gone beyond questions of security, the economy or immigration. it's opened up a debate about the meaning of french values and how to define being french. all the more surprising, then, that the number of people expected to abstain from voting tomorrow is high. when you ask them why they refuse 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 reborn as polling stations for tomorrow's vote. what happens here could shape the

political future of europe. after all the rhetoric and surprises, it is time for france to decide. 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. at least eight other fighters, dressed in afghan army uniforms, used heavy machine guns to attack the dining area of the base and the mosque. the taliban has claimed responsibility and issued this picture of the men it claims were behind it. one was captured,

the rest are now dead. afghan troops have been pouring in to secure the area today. 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 that 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 army helicopter landed special forces troops on the roof of the military hospital in kabul after it was stormed by gunmen disguised as doctors.

around 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. justin rowlatt, bbc news. tens of thousands of people have taken part in marches in cities around the world, in support of science. the rallies began in australia and new zealand, eventually reaching london and edinburgh, and there have been big demonstrations in america. protestors say they're angry at what they believe are mounting political attacks against scientific thought, and factual arguments. there have been clashes in the german city of cologne

as thousands of demonstrators marched on the venue where the anti—immigration alternative for deutschland party, was holding a conference. huge numbers of police were sent in, and two officers were injured. jenny hill is in cologne and has been following events. it's been a day of protests here in cologne against germany's most controversial political party. you can see that the demonstrators are starting to disperse now but there were tens of thousands of people on the streets of cologne today, many of them held back from the city centre hotel where that conference is happening by armed police officers some of them in riot gear. in fact, two officers, we're told, were injured during minor scuffles although by and large the protests have passed off peacefully. far more fractious, it has to be said, was the mood inside the conference hall and that's because afd is really a party in crisis. not only is it only slipping in the polls, it seems

—— not only is it slipping in the polls, it seems that its very fierce anti—islam, anti—immigrant platform is no longer enough to attract the german electorate. but it's also a party bitterly divided over its future political direction. there's 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 rest now on whether it can come together, agree, if you like, on, first of all, a candidate to go into that election to stand against angela merkel but, perhaps more importantly, to agree on the very political identity of the party itself. the american vice president has confirmed that the us will honour a promise by former president 0bama to accept more than 1,200 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. the headlines on bbc news: theresa may says the conservatives are a low—tax party, but labour says any tax rises must be borne by those with the broadest shoulders. 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 by the taliban on an army base. sport now and a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. chelsea have reached the fa cup final, taking another big step towards a league and cup double.

the league leaders beat their title rivals tottenham 11—2 and will face either arsenal or manchester city who play tomorrow. hannah lupton reports. before the match, the remainder of more important matters. they honoured they are under 23 scorch. the former england defender died yesterday, aged 1m. football remembers. in the battle of the premier league pots top two, it was chelsea who were quickly on the front foot. ahead within five minutes, chelsea were off to totte n ha m tottenham have struggled at wembley and now needed to settle in quickly.

this header did just that. his 26th goal of the season sprung spas to life. on the big occasions, it is important to keep your composure. she was enjoying his day in the sunshine. cotton's equaliser came for a moment of magic. —— tottenham's equaliser came from a moment of magic. 0ne tottenham's equaliser came from a moment of magic. one of the assistance of the season, finished with a flourish. she was hazard off the bench and onto the scoresheet. the reload jaw—dropping moment came from an unlikely source. chelsea looking unstoppable and

still on for the double. aberdeen are through to their first scottish cup final for 17 years after a dramatic 3—2 win against hibernian. aberdeen were ahead at hampden after just 12 seconds when adam rooney caught everyone by surprise. they added another soon after but goals from grant holt and this from dylan mcgeog brought the cup holders level. but with just five minutes remaining a deflected shot from jonny hayes won it for the dons. they'll face either celtic or rangers in the final. there were four premier league matches this afternoon, with the focus very much down at the bottom of the table. bournemouth should be safe and middlebrough look doomed after a a—nil win for the cherries on the south coast. they were already two goals up by half—time and then marc pugh and charlie daniels

scored after the break. bournemouth leap up to 12th in the table, seven points clear of the relegation zone. boro are nine points off safety with five to play hull city have —— boro are nine points off safety with five to play. hull city have maintained their unbeaten home record under marco silva. they beat watford 2—nil despite playing most of the game with 10 men. they needed to win as swansea who are in 17th also won, 2—nil at home to stoke. west ham and everton drew nil—nil. there was drama in great britain's fed cup tie in romania. and the host's captain, former grand slam winner ilie nastase, has been banned from tomorrow's play as a result. during johanna konta's match, nastase was sent out of the stadium after swearing at the umpire and shouting abuse at konta and her captain anne keothavong. konta was visibly upset by the incident and after some confusion the match was halted for 25 minutes. when play resumed konta had recovered her composure and took

the match two sets to love. the tie is level at 1—1. heather watson had lost her rubber earlier on. saracens remain on course to retain their european champions cup title. they beat munster by 26 points to 10 in dublin to reach their third final in four years. they'll face clermont auvergne or leinster in the final, that second semi—final takes place tomorrow. ronnie 0'sullivan is comfortably through to the quarter—finals of the world snooker championship. he only needed three frames to complete victory when he resumed this morning against former champion shaun murphy and he hit a century break on his way to a 13—7 win. earlierjohn higgins beat mark allen 13—9 and ronnie o sullivan booked his place in the last 8 beating former champion shaun murphy 13—7. defending champion mark selby is coming to the end of the opening

session of his match against china's xiao guodong. he's currently leading by 5 frames to 2. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news this evening. two men have been arrested in connection with an acid attack, which left two people blinded in one eye. 20 people were hurt in the attack at the nightclub in east london on monday. the two men in their 20s have been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. police are still urging another man to hand himself in. 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. 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 14—year—old boy had suffered a cardiac arrest. he died in hospital later. a 17—year—old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder. over 50 hedgehogs have been released back into the wilds of east yorkshire after being nursed back to health in animal sanctuaries. the village of burton fleming, near bridlington, has also declared itself a hedgehog—friendly zone in a bid to boost numbers of the animals. tim muffett reports. residents of burton fleming await new arrivals. they are a bit prickly,

apparently, but in desperate need of a fresh start. are you excited? yes. it will keep the grubs down, hopefully. from an animal sanctuary a0 miles away, they finally arrived. 52 hedgehogs, all found sick or injured across the north of england. most of these have come in as babies, and we have hand—fed them, hand—reared them. this one... this one was in a really bad way when she came in. she was very tiny, very sick. veronica and her husband, frank, run the charity andrew's hedgehog hospital. they believe the village of burton fleming, now considered hedgehog—friendly, will give the animals the best chance. 0ur village doesn't have major roads around it, and hedgehogs need to travel and get around different gardens. provided everyone puts a hole in the garden fence, to make sure they can move around, we hope that the numbers will improve.

we are going to be putting the hedgehogs in our garden, because i have three little boys who have never seen a live hedgehog before. look at his face. do you like him? assessing hedgehog numbers is tricky, but in the 1950s, it is thought there were around 30 million in britain. but now, conservationists believe numbers have plummeted to under1 million. we are taking all the hedgerows away, which is what the hedgehogs need. roadkill, slug pellets, strimmers, bonfires. they have a tough time. the hedgehogs are temporarily marked as male or female, so they can be released in pairs, and then it is time to say goodbye. 0h, sweetheart. they are all out having the time of their lives. we have been through so much with them.

but they are now out where they should be. they are wild animals, we know they have to go. we know everyone in the village will be looking after them. other villages aiming for hedgehog—friendly status include windlesham in surrey and portreath in cornwall. we put them in this spot because it is very quiet, and they will be happy here, and they have access into our garden, into our neighbour's garden. dusk. time to let the hedgehogs go. what is it like when you see a hedgehog returned to the wild? it is what we aim for. our whole purpose in life is to take an injured or sick hedgehog, make it better, and return it back into the wild. all ready to go. back to nature, it is hoped, back for good. and now the weather.

another of oratory try out there and that they will continue. the temperature will dip down into next week. this is northamptonshire earlier this afternoon. blue skies and sunshine near. tomorrow will be and sunshine near. tomorrow will be a largely dry day with spells of sunshine. we have had clear skies for many idiots during the course of saturday. a bit of patchy cloud here and there but that means those temperatures will take a tumble this evening and overnight. elsewhere should stay largely dry. temperatures under clear skies will tumble. it will be four or five degrees lower than that in some spots. the london marathon tomorrow.

it looks like it will stay dry after a fresh start. let's take a look at sunday morning. quite cloudy across southern counties of england. temperatures around nine or 10 celsius for the start of the marathon. clear skies across wales and northern ireland —— england. for northern ireland, cloudier skies here with one to showers and the far north—west and a few showers across northern and western scotland. central suburban and easter and scotla nd central suburban and easter and scotland looking dry and bright. the rain will be heaviest across the north wales but elsewhere across the uk it is looking dry with spells of sunshine. likely to remain dry for the london marathon with the odd passing shower. in the mundy, this frontal system works its way in from the north. it will introduce cloud across much of the country, pushing southwards. to the north of that, a

written 20 —— wintry showers. turning a really cold across monday and it will be easy with outbreaks of rain in the south. 0nce and it will be easy with outbreaks of rain in the south. once that weather front clears away from and into tuesday, northerly airflow and called a. a wanted if you want a monday and tuesday with some sleet and snow showers over the high ground and a return to night—time frost. goodbye. hello. this is bbc news. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow mornings papers in a moment. first the headlines. theresa may says the conservatives are a ‘low—tax party‘ — as she addresses labour claims that she's planning a ‘tax bombshell‘. tight security across france as the country prepares for the first round of the presidential election. more than a hundred afghan soldiers

are killed or wounded in one of the worst attacks by the taliban on an army base. spurs are out of the fa cup after a thrilling 11—2 win for chelsea at wembley takes them into the cup final. britain's first coal—free day since the victorian era — the national grid says 2a hours—worth of electricity has been generated without using coal for the first time since 1882. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are bonnie greer, playwright and writer for the new european and former newspaper editor eve pollard.