to reach a deal with hamas — the palestinian armed group is reported to have accepted a us proposal to begin talks of a release. and england will face the netherlands in the semi finals of euro 2a, beating switzerland after extra time and penalties. hello, i'm geeta guru—murthy. polls are open in france as people across the country cast their ballots in the second round of parliamentary elections. in the last hour president macron has cast his vote in le touquet. turnout so far has been significantly higher than in the second round of the last election in 2022, according to the interior ministry. final opinion polls suggest marine le pen's far—right national rally will secure the most votes, but it's thought it's

unlikely to win an outright majority in the national assembly. such an outcome could plunge the country into a chaotic hung parliament, severely denting the authority of president emmanuel macron. the anti—immigration national rally scored historic gains in last sunday's first—round vote, giving le pen and the party's 28—year—old leaderjordan bardella their first realistic chance of running the government and taking control of the national assembly. however, after hundreds of rival candidates from centrist and leftist parties dropped out to give their allies a better chance of defeating the far—right, le pen's hopes of winning an absolute majority seem less certain. which is going to show some live shots from france, because president macron is just leaving with shots from france, because president macron isjust leaving with his shots from france, because president macron is just leaving with his wife after voting there. he called the snap election that had a lot of discussion about whether it was the

right move and his reasons for doing that. it does potentially lay the path forward to power for the far right. we see president macron there greeting crowds after voting. where is political power would be by the end of today, we will see. let's speak to our correspondent andrew harding who's outside a polling station in paris. andrew, what is the sense there in terms of both turnout and how this vote could go. there are a number of possibilities, aren't they? yes. possibilities, aren't they? yes, there are- _ possibilities, aren't they? yes, there are. and _ possibilities, aren't they? yes, there are. and a _ possibilities, aren't they? yes, there are. and a lot _ possibilities, aren't they? yes, there are. and a lot of- possibilities, aren't they? yes, j there are. and a lot of anxiety. possibilities, aren't they? yes there are. and a lot of anxiety. a really strong sense of unpredictability, as you say. higher turnout than last week, which is pretty much already unprecedented. a sign of how worried and invested french people are in the snap election. will it mean that, as president macron hoped, millions of

ferocious people will now come out to back the centre. a clarification that he sought, he claimed he sought, when he cut the snap poll, that they will return to the centre ground of centre politics where the set and has been comfortable for so many years, or is it a sign that the party has had all the energy and momentum for the last year or two, the national rally of marine le pen will continue that momentum? and the people in the countryside, rural areas, are turning out to voting for her, and they could come close to getting a working majority in the parliament. that could be a historic moment. it parliament. that could be a historic moment. , ., �* ., moment. if they don't achieve that absolute majority, _ moment. if they don't achieve that absolute majority, what _ moment. if they don't achieve that absolute majority, what happens i moment. if they don't achieve that absolute majority, what happens ifj absolute majority, what happens if there is a hung parliament? how will that operate? it there is a hung parliament? how will that operate?— that operate? it will be messy, unstable. _ that operate? it will be messy, unstable. it — that operate? it will be messy, unstable, it way _

that operate? it will be messy, unstable, it way could - that operate? it will be messy, unstable, it way could be - that operate? it will be messy, unstable, it way could be shortj unstable, it way could be short lived. there will be some political turmoil. it's possible the centrists, some of the right—wing parties and some of the left can warm some working agreements, some sort of working governments. it is going to be very fractious and very difficult. it's possible, as well, the far right, if they do get the majority is expected will be invited to form a government. this young, 28—year—old jordan bardella from marine le pen's national rally might become prime minister, which would become prime minister, which would be remarkable for france, and could find enough votes in the centre to stay prime minister. it will be decided in the next few hours as the french people make a diff current and significant choice. it french people make a diff current and significant choice.— and significant choice. if jordan bardella was _ and significant choice. if jordan bardella was to _ and significant choice. if jordan bardella was to be _ and significant choice. if jordan bardella was to be the - and significant choice. if jordan bardella was to be the new. and significant choice. if jordan i bardella was to be the new french prime minister, what would that mean for daily life for any legislation, how would france change a result?

that is the big question. there's a sense thatjordan bardella and his party and we think much more to the centre ground of french politics, that they don't want to introduce the sort of reform that, for a start, might get blocked by the constitutional system is here in france, or might cause a run on the bank or chaos, which may well be what president macron wants. he wants, if the national rally is to come into power, see them discredited quickly. the bigger battle here is coming in three years' time in the presidential election. marine le pen sii and the presidency, and the centre ground and the left are also fighting for thejob. it's always been and the left are also fighting for the job. it's always been seen as the job. it's always been seen as the most powerfuljob in french politics, but right now that is beginning to change as the parliament, clearly, becomes the focus of what is likely to be a prolonged tussle for power in the coming weeks, possibly months, maybe even years.

coming weeks, possibly months, maybe even ears. ~ �* , coming weeks, possibly months, maybe even ears. �* , ., . even years. we're 'ust watching macron greeting _ even years. we're just watching macron greeting crowds - even years. we're just watching macron greeting crowds in - even years. we're just watching i macron greeting crowds in france, after we saw him voting with his wife. he has faced a lot of criticism for calling the snap election. can you just explain for us the political system in terms of how power works between the presidency and parliament? that is somethin: presidency and parliament? that is something a _ presidency and parliament? that is something a lot _ presidency and parliament? that is something a lot of _ presidency and parliament? that is something a lot of french - presidency and parliament? that is something a lot of french people l presidency and parliament? that is i something a lot of french people are wondering about. for so long now, for 20 odd years, the presidency and the parliament has been on the same side. they have elections at the same time, is normally the same side that wins, it's normally, frankly, being somewhere in the centre right of the centre—left. right now, there's the possibility of macron remaining president and having to cohabit possibly with a far—right party, certainly right—wing coalition, that is bitterly opposed to his eurocentric agenda. and then, we are frankly going to enter into

sort of incessant territory as the boundaries of presidential and parliamentary power are tested. in theory, the president sticks to foreign policy, defence, security, and as the government that focuses on the day—to—day running of the country in the budget. of course, there's an overlap. for instance when it comes to ukraine, jordan bardella, marine le pen every lukewarm on support for ukraine. they used to be until very pro kremlin. there are all could be to limit the budgets apply for funding, of weapons, support for ukraine which could make it difficult for president macron, who has become a very, very firm backer of ukraine's fight against russia. we very, very firm backer of ukraine's fight against russia.— very, very firm backer of ukraine's fight against russia. we are seeing this wave of _ fight against russia. we are seeing this wave of populism, _ fight against russia. we are seeing this wave of populism, extremist i this wave of populism, extremist politics and some will put it, in europe, the us, we've seen elements of it some will say, of course, on both wings in the uk elections that we have seen here. in terms of what

is happening in france today, how much has marine le pen and jordan bardella, how much have they modified, moderated their party? is itjust modified, moderated their party? is it just superficial modified, moderated their party? is itjust superficial in order to get more support, or is it a real change?— more support, or is it a real change? more support, or is it a real chance? , . , ~ ., ., change? we shall see. a lot of --eole change? we shall see. a lot of peeple susaect _ change? we shall see. a lot of people suspect it _ change? we shall see. a lot of people suspect it superficial, l change? we shall see. a lot of l people suspect it superficial, but change? we shall see. a lot of - people suspect it superficial, but a lot of people acknowledge that marine le pen in particular, over the last decade, has worked very hard to bring her party away from the extreme, to moderate its stance, to get rid of anti—semitism that her father was so known for. yet it remains a populist party, profoundly anti—in upgrades, and raising important questions about what it means to be a french person, the identity question, that really alarms so many people in some immigrant neighbourhoods in france. a lot of people on the left of the

centre say this is a party that remains at its core very right—wing, and does worry people. it's why you see, once again in french politics, it's tactical voting. the centre on the left united to try and deny the rightful control in this election. just briefly. is there any threat of violence, or is it depending on the outcome later today? it’s violence, or is it depending on the outcome later today? it's definitely auoin to be outcome later today? it's definitely going to be some — outcome later today? it's definitely going to be some protest _ outcome later today? it's definitely going to be some protest tonight. i going to be some protest tonight. it's likely the far right, marine le pen's party will do very well. there is always the risk here in france, but i don't think anyone, at this stage, given the way the polls are going expecting an overwhelming sweep of power by certain national rally. sweep of power by certain national rall . �* ., sweep of power by certain national rall . �* . ., , rally. andrew harding in paris, thank you _ rally. andrew harding in paris, thank you very _ rally. andrew harding in paris, thank you very much _ rally. andrew harding in paris, thank you very much indeed. i rally. andrew harding in paris, - thank you very much indeed. which is leaving this pictures of president macron greeting the crowd in france. 0ur correspondent azadeh moshiri has sent this report from auxerre — which is a rassemblement national stronghold. we're here in front of a polling

station in auxerre in burgundy. the national rally has dominated politics here, local politics, since 2020 and many people we've spoken to, like others across france, are hoping that the far right comes to power in an historic election and takes over the national assembly. now, it wasn't always this way. yes, daniel grenon, the incumbent national rally, has taken more than 40% of the vote in the first round. but before this used to be fertile ground for the left, auxerre had a socialist mayor for nearly two decades. but people decided, as we've spoken to them, that life has become too difficult and they needed change. that feeling is spreading like wildfire across france. and what about emmanuel macron's politics, his centrist project? well, his candidate didn't even make it to the second round here. here's what one resident, anne, had to say about the president. translation: and the fact is,

he did not take into account. day to day hardships for families and people who are having trouble, especially in small towns and the rural areas. translation: and what are those hardships? - translation: difficulty to make it to the end . of the month to pay electricity and gas bills. difficulty to find work. here it's really hard to find work. another told us he thought emmanuel macron was arrogant, thought he believed he was a king. sensing we were from britain, said he thinks he's charles iii. we'll see tonight whether that feeling, that rejection to such a scale of emmanuel macron's centrist project will be reflected in tonight's results. we'll continue to cover the french election throughout the day and bbc news, once the voting ends at 6pm, we will have the projected results come up political reaction, and

analysis on the ground. yesterday the prime minister keir starmer held his first cabinet meeting, and spent his first full day in downing street. today he sets off on a tour of the four nations, travelling to edinburgh to meet first ministerjohn swinney. he'll then head to belfast and cardiff tomorrow, before meeting with regional mayors. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley told me more about keir starmer�*s regional tour and the party's relationship with scotland. the election of a labour government, many people in the labour party hope anyway, sort of slightly undermines the argument for independence, because you've had a big contrast between a conservative government with fairly low representation in scotland and an snp government with huge representation in scotland. you've now got a labour government with significant representation and an snp government with significant representation. so the contrast is less stark. doesn't mean the independence question will go away. it doesn't mean independence support has gone down, by the way, if you look

at the pollings, it's not suffered in the same way that the snp have. but ijust wonder if keir starmer might actually have a bit more success in finding that cooperative working with the devolved governments. and of course, the new government has got a lot of work to do on policy and getting the detail framed in terms of what they're going to do. but already, of course, they're hitting the interview studios this morning and being asked about specific issues. so today we heard jonathan reynolds talking about tata and potential job losses. and he said there is potentially more money there. what does that mean? what could that mean? conditional money for tata steel if it can find private investment and it guarantees some jobs, not all the jobs at that steel plant in port talbot, but some jobs seem to be whatjohnny reynolds was saying there. i think it's a really stark reminder, actually, that although the new government has only been in office for, what, 48 hours or so, it has to hit the ground running and there are big

imminent, important questions that need to be answered. tata steel is one of them. there's a lot of pressure coming from the welsh government to try and kick on with that. keir starmer will be in wales tomorrow and i'm sure we'll be asked a lot of questions aboutjust how much money he's prepared to stump up to help people keep theirjobs and what the conditions of that investment might be. but there are plenty of other things in the in—tray. the nhs is a big one. the court system is a big one. prisons, small boats, legal immigration. uh, the list, i suspect, could go on and on and on. we'd be here all day if we were talking about all the challenges, but a reminder that it's a pretty stark change for all those shadow cabinet ministers that are now cabinet ministers. they've got big decisions to make from day one. wes streeting also off the mark pretty quick, saying that he's going to try and get into talks on the doctors strike. but also talk of alan milburn,

a former labour minister under tony blair on health, who's been advising them, coming back into government in some form. what does that tell us? tells us that labour is prepared to work closely with the private sector. in some ways, that's what alan milburn was best known for. it's what wes streeting has said he's prepared to do as well. i think that's something that labour have been working on for a while. i know that alan milburn and wes streeting have been talking for a while and it is an interesting thing actually, because if we're trying to open the curtain a bit and figure out what keir starmer�*s strategy to his first government is, it's pretty clear to me that he's prepared to bring back people from the past to give himself a bit experience. look atjacqui smith, the former home secretary who's been brought back to do an education minister job, given a seat in the house of lords to make that happen. douglas alexander, former cabinet minister, is back as an mp and straight in to the business department as a junior minister. we've got patrick vallance, the chief scientific. . .the former

chief scientific adviser of covid press conference fame. he's been brought in despite not being a hugely political figure in the past. he is now a member of the labour government. richard timpson, the chief executive of timpsons, where you might have gone to get your keys cut or your shoes fixed. in the past, a big prison reform campaigner. again, not someone who's been prominent in labour circles, but who has now been brought in to do a job for them trying to reform prisons. so the message keir starmer is trying to send there is that he's prepared to bring experts and people with experience in, even if they're not mps, because he hopes that it will help him deliver some progress pretty quickly. and there is obviously a lot of people with experience from the blair—brown years. tony blair himself has been very active on the policy front through his own work, and he's written in the sunday times today urging labour really to focus now on policy, on delivery, on al and tech and all that that can give in terms of sort

of economic growth. but he's also talking about the need to fight against populism. so one of the interesting challenges that labour will face over its first term in power, we know that the conservatives, we just heard it in those clips that were played there are going through this period of introspection. one of the interesting things about the result is reform. nigel farage's reform party got 4 million votes. that is a lot of votes. it's a significant percentage of the votes that were cast last thursday, and they will use that as a launch pad to try and say that more action needs to be taken on both legal and illegal immigration. tony blair saying today that the labour party in power has to have a plan to combat those challenges. protesters in israel are demonstrating across the country — demanding the government reach a deal with hamas to ensure the release of the remaining hostages in gaza. demonstrators have been blocking

roads and picketing the homes of government ministers. sources from hamas say the palestinian armed group has accepted washington's proposal to begin talks on releasing hostages and have also dropped their demand that israel first commit to a permanent ceasefire. for more on the latest diplomatic developments, i spoke to the bbc�*s sebastian usher injerusalem. we've been getting these hamas sources speaking for the past two or three days. i think it's very clear that hamas wants to get this message across. not officially, not 100% confirming it, in its, you know, an official statement as yet, but that it has essentially accepted this compromise that it will not demand a permanent ceasefire at the very beginning of a temporary ceasefire — the first phase as outlined in president biden's proposal several weeks ago, which would also see the release of the remaining civilian hostages in gaza. talks would then continue towards a permanent ceasefire and, in the second phase,

if all went well, that could be nailed down and the remaining hostages, the israeli soldiers, would also be released. now, this would be a big breakthrough. but, you know, one needs to be careful. we have had many false full starts before. we have had briefing before that has seen very, very positive. this does seem different. we were hearing, even before these hamas sources spoke, from us officials, israeli officials, that there had been a significant breakthrough. but israeli officials did say keep your expectations low. now, an israeli delegation went to qatar, which is a key mediator, on friday, the head of the spy agency, mossad, was there. they came back that same day. the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has authorised a negotiating team to continue talks in this coming week. and also we believe that the cia head, william burns, will attend those talks. so there is definitely movement. but on the ground, as you were saying, there was this strike on friday night, which israel said was targeting a command operation unit

in a school, but there were a number of people killed, at least 16 people were killed. there were many thousands of displaced palestinians sheltering there. there had been more strikes overnight. i've just been hearing the israeli army says it struck what it says, again, is a militant centre in the second city, khan younis. so in no way has the fighting come to any sort of an end, really, in gaza. and on israel's northern border, we've had quite a big barrage of rockets coming in to northern israel. that's in response, i think, to another killing by israel of a relatively senior hezbollah operative on saturday. and finally, in israel itself, building pressure on the israeli prime minister. there are mass protests across the whole country. they've been taking place since the early hours of the morning. this is to mark the nine—month anniversary of the hamas—led attacks on october the 7th on israel,

those devastating attacks which led to israel's war against hamas in gaza. those protests will continue throughout the day, and they are demanding, as we've heard many times before over the recent months, people out on the streets demanding that the israeli government prioritise the release of the remaining hostages in gaza, that they do it now. so that pressure is there. again, i think the ball is very much back in israel's court just at the moment, if we can believe what we're hearing from these hamas sources, whether it will accept or trust that hamas is speaking in good faith about this and will engage in these discussions and possibly offer concessions of its own. leading us democrats are reportedly set for emergency talks after president biden insisted he won't drop his bid for re—election. it comes amid growing unease amongst party colleagues after mr biden's poor tv debate against donald trump. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes has the latest. if the lord almighty came

down and said, "joe, get out of the race," i'd get out of the race. the lord almighty is not coming down. a high—profile tv interview but the uncertainty goes on. unless the lord almighty convinces him to step down, joe biden told abc news' george stephanopoulos in this exclusive interview he's going nowhere. and if you stay in, and trump is elected, and everything are you're warning about comes to pass, how will you feel in january? i'll feel as long as i gave it my all, and i did as good a job as i know i can do, this is what this is about. but since that interview, a fifth member of the house of representatives has urged mr biden to call it a day. this was angie craig from the state of minnesota after donald trump's awkward debate performance. the president needs to get out there and show the american people he is up to it. but now she says he has to go, explaining in a statement... the next few hours could be crucialfor mr biden.

the leader of the democrats in the house, hakeem jeffries, is reported by us media to be planning an emergency meeting with senior colleagues. if they decide to try to convince him to drop out, the president could be facing a clarion call rather than the current low—key pressure to rethink his position. donald trump, meanwhile, has taken to social media to mock mr biden, suggesting he should... there are now less than four months till the election and if the democrats are to change their candidate, time is running out to launch an effective campaign with a new man or woman up against donald trump. peter bowes, bbc news. four volunteers have emerged from a small compound at a nasa base in texas, after spending more than a year living in conditions designed to simulate those on mars. they've been growing crops, operating equipment, and carrying out experiments, to help nasa prepare

for a future mission to mars. aina aslam reports. hey! this is the moment kelly haston, ross brockwell, nathanjones and anca selariu emerged from the mars simulator that's been their home for the past 378 days. as they left the 3d—printed habitat and finally reunited with theirfamilies, they appeared to be in high spirits. i am so proud and honoured to be part of this crew and project, and to be a part of a small, incremental part of the work being done here on earth that will one day enable humans to explore and live on mars. the volunteers spent most of their time in the small compound simulating operations future astronauts will have to do, including going for mars walks in a red sandpit, growing and harvesting vegetables, and dealing with a 22—minute communication lag with earth. nasa is eager to know how they got on with the experiments and their prolonged isolation. this mission is an important step

in nasa's plan to set foot on mars by the early 2040s. the volunteers were thanked for devoting a year of their lives to serve humanity's exploration of space. anna aslam, bbc news. in which this pictures from polling stations in i believe this polling stations in i believe this polling station is in paris, and we have seen president macron also voting early on. we also told by the interior ministry that voting turnout is significantly higher than the last election in 2022. we are back racing. this is bbc news. hello again. we've had some pretty heavy showers this morning — they are going to continue through the afternoon as well. some of those could be thundery in places, but really quite dramatic clouds in staffordshire this morning, some very dark and menacing

clouds bringing those showers. and you can see the showers are quite speckled and scattered across the uk this afternoon. look at some of the green blobs, indicative of the heaviest downpours, with the risk of some lightning and thunder. but there will be sunny spells in between the showers as they rattle through. maximum temperatures 15—17, maybe 18, so feeling quite cool for the time of year. at silverstone it could be interesting for some tyre choices, with showers moving through, some sunny spells in between. temperatures around 17 through the afternoon. tonight, the showers will gradually ease away and then we are looking at clear skies overnight. so with lighter winds and clear skies it could turn chilly — temperatures in the countryside down to around 5—8, in towns and cities 6—9. it means monday morning starts off chilly but plenty of sunshine to start off the week. we will see heavy thundery showers for scotland,

northern ireland, northern england, and with lighter winds these will be slow—moving. further south, cloud increasing from the south—west, with outbreaks of rain in southern england and south wales as the day goes on. maximum temperatures about 18—20, a degree or so higher than today, and it might feel more humid through into the early part of next week. low pressure moves north, the rain spreads into parts of central and southern scotland on tuesday and into northern ireland, being replaced by sunny spells and showers. but low pressure in charge means unsettled. keep the umbrella handy through tuesday. perhaps the north and west of scotland faring best, with the greatest amount of sunshine through the day. those showers could be heavy and thundery further south. maximum temperatures about 16—20, again below the average for the time of year. that continues through the week. but as we go through friday

into next weekend, it looks a little more settled, with drier and brighter weather, so perhaps feeling a bit more like summer.

this is bbc news, the headlines: president emmanuel macron casts his vote in the decisive second round of a snap—parliamentary election. 0pinion polls suggest the far— right national rally is unlikely to win an outright majority.

hamas are reported to have accepted a us proposal to begin talks on releasing israeli hostages. the group is also said to have dropped its demand that israel first commit to a permanent ceasefire in gaza. calls for president biden to end his re— election bid are gathering momentum. the leader of the democrats in the us house of representatives, has scheduled a virtual meeting with party members to discuss mr biden's candidacy. and england fans are overjoyed after the team beat switzerland to make it to the semi—finals at euro 2024 — but only after penalties. england will now play the netherlands. let's go back to the general election — and that huge and historic win for sir keir starmer after years of labour losses. yesterday, he made his first

speech as prime minister, emphasising his expectations of high moral standards of his cabinet