hello. welcome to the programme. we start this hour here in the uk with the general election campaign. labour says it's committed to reducing the number of people legally migrating to britain if it forms the next government. but speaking earlier, the shadow home secretary yvette cooper refused to set a target or any date by which a reduction would be achieved. net migration, the difference between the number of people arriving in the uk and leaving, stood at 685,000 last year. labour's plans include more apprenticeships in jobs that are currently reliant on a significant level of migrant workers. here's our political correspondent ione wells. immigration is a sticky issue in this election campaign, and both major parties say they want to control it. labour says it would train more uk workers to fill skills shortages and it says firms that pay exploitative wages would be banned from hiring foreign workers. but labour have not put a figure on how much they would reduce it by, a or a timeframe for when. i know that you are effectively trying to suggest i set a target or a broad target, i am not going to do that. we are going to be clear, net migration must come down, we believe it is important, and what keir has set out is commitments that we will bring migration down. the conservatives and the liberal democrats have announced their own migration policies. with this announcement today it seems that they are copying - and pasting policies that - are already in place, so we have tried through the introduction - of salary thresholds and increasing the salary threshold is we have seen already a real impact on legal - migration because we understand that there is a balancing act - | between attracting the brightestj to the united kingdom but doing so in a way that we i are able to deal with. net migration is forecast to fall anyway in the next coming years, but what is critically important from the liberal democrats�* point of view is that we actually start to pay our care workers properly and that is why we are pledging to give them an increased minimum wage, £2 higher than the minimum wage for other sectors, and only by doing that, by investing in our care workers here in our domestic workforce, can we reduce the demand for foreign workers to come and fill those vacancies. the snp have accused labour and the conservatives of blaming migrants rather than the westminster government for the country's problems. and reform uk have proposed a tax on businesses employing overseas workers. labour intends to firmly park its tanks on the conservatives�* lawn. with legal migration numbers sky—high, it is set to be a key issue in this campaign. ione wells, bbc news. staying with the election, the conservatives have said they want to build 100 new gp surgeries and 50 community diagnostic centres in an effort to increase appointments and reduce the pressure on a&e services. the health secretary victoria atkins said it would be funded by cutting the number of nhs managers. she outlined the policy on this morning's laura kuenssberg programme. iam i am reforming our national health service to be faster, simpler and fairer. �* ., ., , ., fairer. and one of the ways we are doinu fairer. and one of the ways we are doin: this fairer. and one of the ways we are doing this is _ fairer. and one of the ways we are doing this is to _ fairer. and one of the ways we are doing this is to build _ fairer. and one of the ways we are doing this is to build new - fairer. and one of the ways we are doing this is to build new gp - doing this is to build new gp practices. we also want to ensure that we bring health care closer into our communities. if we can have the most basic conditions treated in pharmacies, then that frees up gp appointment times.— appointment times. since the conservatives _ appointment times. since the conservatives have _ appointment times. since the conservatives have been - appointment times. since the conservatives have been in i appointment times. since the - conservatives have been in charge, there have been many closures of gp surgeries. there have been many closures of pharmacies. thei;i surgeries. there have been many closures of pharmacies.— surgeries. there have been many closures of pharmacies. they will be turnaround. — closures of pharmacies. they will be turnaround, in _ closures of pharmacies. they will be turnaround, in a _ closures of pharmacies. they will be turnaround, in a population - closures of pharmacies. they will be turnaround, in a population of... - closures of pharmacies. they will be turnaround, in a population of... it i turnaround, in a population of... it is 450. turnaround, in a population of... it is 450- we — turnaround, in a population of... it is 450. we will — turnaround, in a population of... it is 450. we will be _ turnaround, in a population of... it is 450. we will be building - turnaround, in a population of... it is 450. we will be building new - turnaround, in a population of... it is 450. we will be building new gp| is 450. we will be building new gp ractices is 450. we will be building new gp practices so _ is 450. we will be building new gp practices so we — is 450. we will be building new gp practices so we can _ is 450. we will be building new gp practices so we can offer— is 450. we will be building new gp practices so we can offer even - is 450. we will be building new gp| practices so we can offer even more appointments than we are already doing. appointments than we are already doinu. . . appointments than we are already doinu. , ., , ., , appointments than we are already doing. the liberal democrats are already focusing _ doing. the liberal democrats are already focusing on _ doing. the liberal democrats are already focusing on health - doing. the liberal democrats arej already focusing on health today. earlier i spoke to our political correspondent tony bonsignore. the lib dems are promising to spend £1 million a year on the public health grant, saying that this will reverse real terms cuts to that grant in the past decade, and it will be spent on things like health checks for 74—year—olds, wider access to blood pressure test. the lib dems say _ access to blood pressure test. the lib dems say it — access to blood pressure test. tie: lib dems say it will be access to blood pressure test. tue: lib dems say it will be funded by access to blood pressure test. tue lib dems say it will be funded by a clampdown on tax avoidance, and it will reduce pressure on the nhs by preventing people becoming ill in the first place. on the conservatives proposal, which you have just heard from victoria atkins, the lib dems accuse the government of already failing on promises to train up more doctors, build more hospitals. they also point out that hundreds of community pharmacies have already closed in recent years. labour meanwhile is calling it the latest empty promise from the conservatives. the scottish national party leader, john swinney, will formally launch the party's general election campaign in the next hour or so. let me take you live to the scene in glasgow, where the speeches have begun. he will urge people to vote snp to put scotland's interests first — and will say independence offers the country a "better future". let's speak to liz lloyd, former chief of staff to former snp leader and first minister nicola sturgeon. thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. i mention independence will be part of his message. how do you think that independence message will be from the snp in the general election campaign? t will be from the snp in the general election campaign?— election campaign? i don't think independence _ election campaign? i don't think independence will— election campaign? i don't think independence will be _ election campaign? i don't think independence will be the - election campaign? i don't think l independence will be the forefront of this campaign. i think they are talking about it today to say, independence can be an answer in the long term, but in this election, what they want the viewer to hear, the voter to hear, is that it is about putting scotland first against about putting scotland first against a labour government that looks likely to win, and won't have scotland's interest at heart. that is what the snp want voters to hear this afternoon.— this afternoon. how worried at the snp about losing _ this afternoon. how worried at the snp about losing seats _ this afternoon. how worried at the snp about losing seats to - this afternoon. how worried at the snp about losing seats to labour. this afternoon. how worried at the l snp about losing seats to labour in scotland? . :, , ., ., , snp about losing seats to labour in scotland? . :, ., ., scotland? elections are always hard for the snp when _ scotland? elections are always hard for the snp when labour _ scotland? elections are always hard for the snp when labour are - scotland? elections are always hard for the snp when labour are on - scotland? elections are always hard for the snp when labour are on the | for the snp when labour are on the rise. last time labour looked like they could form a government and the snp only got six gps, so anything better than that is an improvement, it has been a difficult year for the party but with the new leaderjohn swinney there seems to be a new enthusiasm around the party and a belief that they can stop the decline, hold on to more seats than they might otherwise have done and may be pushed back a little at labour who they see as not offering anything different for people in scotland than the conservatives have. : :, ., , ., scotland than the conservatives have. : :, ., , :, :, , have. and how hard is it going to be for mr swinney _ have. and how hard is it going to be for mr swinney himself? _ have. and how hard is it going to be for mr swinney himself? he - have. and how hard is it going to be for mr swinney himself? he has - have. and how hard is it going to be| for mr swinney himself? he has only beenin for mr swinney himself? he has only been in thejob for mr swinney himself? he has only been in the job a few weeks, and he has got to go out in front this whole campaign. fin has got to go out in front this whole campaign.— has got to go out in front this whole cam airn. :, ., whole campaign. on the one hand, that is incredibly _ whole campaign. on the one hand, that is incredibly difficult. - whole campaign. on the one hand, that is incredibly difficult. he - that is incredibly difficult. he hasn't had time to establish himself as first minister, as snp leader. 0n the other hand, someone likejohn swinney will find that quite freeing. this is his chance to use the campaign to reintroduce himself to the people of scotland, to tell them who he is going to be as their first minister, and i think he will try and combine the campaigning for the westminster election with establishing himself as scotland's new first minister. but it also means that whatever the result, it is difficult to hold john swinney accountable for it, and he can then build from there to the 2026 elections in scotland. interesting oint as elections in scotland. interesting point as you _ elections in scotland. interesting point as you make. _ elections in scotland. interesting point as you make. if— elections in scotland. interesting point as you make. if the - elections in scotland. interesting point as you make. if the blame l elections in scotland. interesting - point as you make. if the blame does fly around, it won't hit him if he is a relatively new. a lot of people forget that the snp are the third largest party at the moment in the westminster parliament.— largest party at the moment in the westminster parliament. indeed, and one of the challenges _ westminster parliament. indeed, and one of the challenges for _ westminster parliament. indeed, and one of the challenges for the - westminster parliament. indeed, and one of the challenges for the snp - westminster parliament. indeed, and one of the challenges for the snp in l one of the challenges for the snp in this election despite being the third largest party, for example you will have tv debates this week with star man zunic that in the snp's mind, john swinney should be in, because he is the third largest party and he is not. one of the issues that the snp has to deal with them campaigners finding cut—throat in the uk wide media so that they don't get drowned out by this idea that it can only be rishi sunak or keir starmer, that the snp has no influence. actually the snp wants voters to understand that they can have a lot of influence, and that they could hold westminster governments to account, and without them there, scotland's voice won't be heard, and that's what i'm expected to hear from john swinney this afternoon. liz expected to hear from john swinney this afternoon.— this afternoon. liz lloyd, former deu to this afternoon. liz lloyd, former deputy to nicola _ this afternoon. liz lloyd, former deputy to nicola sturgeon, - this afternoon. liz lloyd, former| deputy to nicola sturgeon, thank this afternoon. liz lloyd, former- deputy to nicola sturgeon, thank you very much indeed. we are expecting thatjohn swinney speech in the next hour or so. this is the scene live at that rally in glasgow where he will formally launch the party's general election campaign. if you are watching in the uk, you will be able to see that life here on bbc news, and if you are around the rest of the world, you can follow it on the bbc news website and app. let's turn to the middle east now, where two key right wing members of israel's coalition government have threatened to bring it down if the prime minister agrees to the latest peace deal offer. the finance minister and national security minister said they were opposed to striking any deal unless hamas was wiped out. last night in tel aviv, tens of thousands of people gathered to urge the prime minister to accept the ceasefire proposal unveiled by the us presidentjoe biden. groups of protesters were dispersed by mounted police and water cannon. let's speak now to our middle east correspondent hugo bachega, who joins us from jerusalem. hugo, how serious is this threat, and what impact would it have? so it is no surprise that these two far right ministers have expressed their opposition. the proposal announced by president biden was called reckless, and he said it would be a victory for terrorism. the finance minister said the war must continue, and again he said he would not accept any kind of deal before hamas is completely destroyed. and now they are threatening to quit the coalition government, and this could lead to the collapse of the netanyahu government. what is interesting is that yesterday, and obviously knowing that these two ministers would oppose this deal, the head of the opposition in parliament said that if these ministers do go ahead with these resignations, his party would be giving support to the government of prime minister netanyahu in parliament, so it was an important intervention, but it is interesting that this is something that prime minister netanyahu is keen to avoid, because the head of the opposition, yair lapid, has been extremely critical of the involvement in the war, and so netanyahu will want to avoid having to rely on the opposition. we haven't heard from the prime minister yet since the reaction from these two ministers, and so far since this proposal was announced by president biden on friday, we have had only two short, vague statements from the prime minister's office. he hasn't embraced deal, hasn't specifically said he supports the deal, but he also hasn't expressed his denial, rejection of the deal. so we are still waiting to hear what the prime minister has to say, and to hear a clear position from benjamin netanyahu. but honestly he is under a lot of political pressure, not only from these far right ministers who support his government, but also from other members of his government. meanwhile we have had tens _ members of his government. meanwhile we have had tens of _ members of his government. meanwhile we have had tens of thousands - members of his government. meanwhile we have had tens of thousands of- we have had tens of thousands of people, as they have done since october the 7th, out on the streets of tel aviv last night demanding that the prime minister accept this deal. .,. , that the prime minister accept this deal. , ~ ., ,, that the prime minister accept this deal. ,~~ ., ,, deal. exactly so. we talked about olitical deal. exactly so. we talked about political pressure, _ deal. exactly so. we talked about political pressure, but _ deal. exactly so. we talked about political pressure, but there - deal. exactly so. we talked about political pressure, but there is . political pressure, but there is also pressure from the streets. there is also pressure from the families of the hostages who remain in captivity in gaza. they have been organising regular protests urging the government to accept a deal. last night in tel aviv, tens of thousands of people urged the prime minister to accept this deal. there was a line by president biden. they say the time is running out for the government to reach a deal to secure the release of the hostages, and for them to return to israel alive. and many of them say that the prime minister in fact is not really interested in reaching a deal. he is only interested in his political survival, and that is why he wants to keep the war going. so the prime minister again is facing political pressure, pressure from his international allies, including the united states, but also pressure from a big pressure from the families, and also from the public here. :, 1, now it's time for a look at today's sport. hello from the bbc sport centre. real madrid will parade the champions league trophy through the streets of the spanish capital later after winning european football's top tier competition for the 15th time. and the party started after the match in madrid, with fans gathering at cibeles square following real�*s 2—0 win over borussia dortmund at wembley, thanks to goals from danny carvajal and vincius junior. it means head coach carlo ancelotti has now won five champions league trophies, three whilst in charge of real. this competition gave to me fantastic happiness. as a player, as a manager, and... my target is to try to repeat the same emotion that we had the week after this game. and so this is the target. i have the luck to be in the best club in the world. staying with football. england step up their prepartions for euro 2024 with a friendly against bosnia—herzegovina on monday. the game will be played at stjames's park, home of newcastle united, so england have been getting ready at the training ground of nearby middlesbrough today. harry maguire, luke shaw and anthony gordon didn't take part in the session due to injury. kobbie mainoo, phil foden, kyle walker and jude bellingham willjoin the squad next week. to tennis now. defending champion iga swiatek is through to the quarter finals of the women's singles at the french open. the world number one blew away anastasia potapova, ranked 41st in the world, in straight sets. a double bagel, 6—0, 6—0 for swiatek, top of your screen, at her ruthless best, getting the job done injust 40 minutes. i was playing in an efficient way, and i didn't lose any points that i didn't need to, so i am happy with the way i was disciplined, and i just stick to my tactics through the whole match. meanwhile, coco gauff breezed past elizabette cocciaretto to reach the last eight. the number three seed won 6—1, 6—2 injust over an hour. gauff and swiatek are joined in the quarter—finals by wimbledon champion marketa vondrousova who beat qualifier 0lga danilovic in straight sets. and carlos alcaraz, the men's number three in action against felix augur aliassime. he recovered from a break down to take the first set 6—3. and it is currently 2—1, going on serve in the second. the winner facing either matteo arnaldi or stefanos tsitipas in the quarters. the men's cricket t20 world cup is under way and co—hosts west indies take on papua new guinea in the second match later. the first saw the tournament's other hosts, the usa, beat canada by seven wickets in texas. aaronjones hitting an unbeaten 94 as they reached their target of 195 with over a couple of overs to spare. it is always a great feeling when you play at home. 0bviously it is always a great feeling when you play at home. obviously the majority of the fans are obviously backing us. i also wanted especially because america is not really a cricketing country, in quotes, i wanted to win the first game of the tournament, and against canada for ourfans, and we did that. we have some great players, to be honest with you, and we want to just keep winning as much as possible. of course it we can't win every single game for the rest of our lives, but we want to win as many games as possible and beat as many teams as possible and beat as many teams as possible and beat as many teams as possible and really show the world that the usa have a great cricket team. and we're under way on the final day of the us women's 0pen, where there's a three—way tie for the lead in pennsylvania. australian minjee lee carded an impressive round of 66 and sits on five under par, with thailand's wichanee meechai and andrea lee the american, who was bogey—free on the back nine. japan's hinako shibuno trails the leaders by two shots, with compatriot yuka saso a further stroke back. and you can keep up—to—date with all that on the bbc sport website. and that's all the sport for now. thank you, gavin. we turn our attention to south africa next. the ruling anc says it's willing to talk to all political parties to create a coalition government — after it lost its parliamentary majority in the elections for the first time in 30 years. its secretary—general said his party had nothing to celebrate from the election but was not down and out. he denied underestimating the threat from the former president, jacob zuma. mr zuma's mk party got almost 15% of the vote and was a major factor in the anc�*s poor performance. the mk party has said it would only work in a coalition with the anc if president cyril ramaphosa stepped down. they said this demand was out of the question. here's some of what he said. the anc is committed to the creation of a government that reflects the anc is committed to the formation of that reflects the will of the people, that is stable and that is open to govern effectively. the anc is committed to pursue a path of fundamental social and economic change, for which it has received a firm mandate. over the next few days, the anc will be in discussions the anc will be having discussions within the organisation and with other parties and stakeholders on how best to establish national and provincial governments that reflect the will of the people, and that are able to take the country forward. my colleague catherine byaruhanga is monitoring developments in johannesburg. this is shaping up to be a historic day in south africa, which has had key moments in its history that have shifted the direction of this country, and today what we are expecting to hear is the final declaration of the results from wednesday's election by the election commission. the expectation is that for the first time in 30 years, the ruling african national congress party is going to lose its majority in parliament. what that means is that the system of politics here is expected to shift to one of coalitions, not simply having a majority dominant party. that changes dynamics here in south africa, and as we have been hearing from the secretary general of the anc, fikile mbalula, we need to start looking at how different models work around the world. for example in europe when many countries have coalition governments. what happens is at the government in south africa has to make a decision quickly, within 14 days from today's announcement, on how it is going to govern within parliament. that's because on the first sitting that happens in 14 days, the parties have to elect a president. of course, cyril ramaphosa would like to continue as president of south africa, but he has to get a majority vote in parliament. so that means that his anc party has to find alliances. that could take the shape of a formal coalition government, where you have ministers from different parties all governing together. it could also be some kind of power—sharing agreement, some kind of loose alliance. all of that is still to be played for, and of course when cyril ramaphosa takes the stage today here in south africa, this isn't only about party politics. this is all so a key moment for the nation, so what we are hearing from his party is that even though he is the leader of the anc, he really had to take stock of this moment, essentially a kind of transition of power in south africa, and mark this moment with his comments to the nation. that report from johannesburg, _ comments to the nation. that report from johannesburg, and _ comments to the nation. that report from johannesburg, and we - comments to the nation. that report from johannesburg, and we have - comments to the nation. that report from johannesburg, and we have a l from johannesburg, and we have a live page up and running on the bbc news website with the latest from south africa and its election results. the latest detail from catherine and other correspondence around the country. south africa into uncharted waters after the election. the ukrainian president has accused china of prolonging the war in his country by supporting russia. volodymyr zelensky said beijing was not only refusing to take part in a planned summit in switzerland later this month, but was trying to prevent others from attending. china has denied taking sides in the war. president zelensky was speaking at the shangri—la security gathering in singapore, which was attended by senior officials from around the world including the us defence secretary lloyd austin. here's some of what president zelensky had to say. yes, we are disappointed that some world leaders have not yet confirmed their participation in the peace summit. unfortunately, there are also attempts to disrupt the summit. we do not want to believe that this is a desire for monopolistic power in the world to deny the global community the opportunity to decide on war and peace, and to leave this power in the hands of one or two. president zelensky. until now, the dark side of the moon has been relatively unexplored — except perhaps by pink floyd — but now the chinese have landed a spacecraft on the far side of the lunar surface. the mission to discover and bring back rock samples and see if there is ice or water there. here's laura bicker. this is the view from the change vi space probe as it comes into land on the far side of the moon. now that it's here, it has work to do in what china is describing as an historic mission. every movement was monitored at beijing's aerospace control centre. landing on this part of the moon, as shown in this animation, is risky. this is a very impressive mission, because the thing about the far side of the moon is you've got no line of sight communication with the earth. but years earlier, china launched a satellite to relay messages from earth to solve that problem. after decades of preparation, the probe finally touched down. applause for the next two days, a mechanical arm will drill and collect rock and soil samples. this is a world first. scientists have never been able to study this side of the moon. the change vi began its mission in early may, and if the uncrewed craft makes it back later this month with the precious samples, china will know its leading the way in this type of lunar exploration, and the country is yet another step closer to putting their own man oi’ woman on the moon. laura bicker, bbc news, beijing. finally. there's a buzz over david beckham, who's been announced as a new ambassador for the king's foundation. after meeting the king at highgrove house, beckham said they bonded over a love of beekeeping and even compared tips on the hobby. the charity, created by the king, offers education programmes in traditional skills such as woodworking and embroidery. hello again. for the vast majority of you, the afternoon is looking fine and dry. there is a bit more cloud moving into northern ireland in western scotland compared to yesterday, but a lot more in the way of sunshine for central and eastern england, and this does have an impact on the temperatures. yesterday was a cool day for the east midlands, just 14 in bedford and lincoln, but today it is seven celsius warmer. it is going to feel very pleasant in that sunshine, and for many parts of england and wales, we have almost got clear blue skies with us, and that is how it will stay for the rest of the day. meanwhile for northern ireland, more in the way of cloud, bright enough but we end the day with a few patches of rain, and a slightly cooler feel. patches of rain, and a slightly coolerfeel. 20 degrees in aberdeen, still warm in the hazy sunshine here, top temperatures probably reaching 23 degrees or so in southern parts of eglin and wales. warm in that strong june sun. high levels of uv around as well, so if you are out for any length of time, it might be worth using some sun cream. 0vernight it does take quite cloudy, cloud keeping temperatures from falling, so for the vast majority we will see temperature is holding up into double figures. tomorrow much cloudier, certainly to start off with, occasional spots of drizzle around, clear whether working into scotland with just a few showers running into the far north of scotland, and through the day we will start to see a bit of this cloud breaking across parts of the east midlands, particularly to the east midlands, particularly to the east of high ground. when the sunshine comes out, it is still going to be warm with temperatures climbing into the low 20s. but as we get into the middle part of the week, much colder air is set to move on from the north, and with that there will be heavy showers or longer spells of rain in scotland, hailstorms mixed in, and some of that rain pushes southwards to reach parts of northern ireland, northern england, north wales, a few showers ahead of that and a big drop in temperatures on the way to scotland in particular, 14 in glasgow, so it will feel chilly particularly in the brisk winds. similarweatherfor wednesday, heavy showers and thunderstorms, some with hail mixed in. they will be most frequent across scotland, probably staying dry and bright across southern parts of finland, and when the sunshine comes out, it will continue to feel 0k. comes out, it will continue to feel ok. this pattern will continue for a while, temperature staying below average in scotland and northern ireland with showery conditions continuing. this is bbc news. the headlines... the general election campaign continues, with the labour leader pledging to reduce legal migration levels while the prime minister promises to build 100 new doctors' surgeries and boost the number of available appointments. scotland first ministerjohn swinney will launch the snp's election campaign in glasgow — we'll bring it to you live. two key far—right figures in israel's government threaten to leave their posts if benjamin netanyahu agrees to the us—backed peace proposal on gaza south africa's ruling anc says it will talk to all parties about forming a coalition government after losing its majority for the first time in 30 years. hello. the scottish national party leader, john swinney, will formally launch the party's general election campaign shortly. this is the scene the rally in glasgow, he will urge people to vote snp to put scotland's interests first — and will say independence offers the country a "better future". let's speak to liz lloyd — former chief of staff to former snp leader and first minister nicola sturgeon.