good morning from germany where we are waking up with the scotland fans ahead _ are waking up with the scotland fans ahead of— are waking up with the scotland fans ahead of their second match in the european — ahead of their second match in the european championship. will the scotland — european championship. will the scotland party continue? we will find out — scotland party continue? we will find out this morning. it's wednesday, the 19th ofjune. the latest inflation figures will be released this morning, giving an idea of the state of the economy before voters head to the polls in just over two weeks. analysts are expecting the figures for last month to show that inflation has fallen back to the bank of england's 2% target for the first time in nearly three years. our chief economics correspondent dharshini david has more. have you got food left or is it all gone? gary in sussex used to have seven butchers shops. now he has four. forced to make cuts as he's been caught between soaring costs over the last few years and hard—pressed customers. it's still challenging. thank you, sir. prices are probably 10 to 15% more than they were at the beginning of covid, but the actual price of the product is pretty much stationary now. well, we hope it's stationary. it'd be nice if it would come down, but i can't say that — not in the foreseeable future anyway. which means that value is at stake. the choice cuts may be out of reach. people are shopping with their pockets rather than their eyes now. they're looking for the bargain products, quality product at a bargain price. that's happening across the high street, where prices are settling as the impact of the war in ukraine on energy and food wears off. so total inflation has come down a long way from the 11% it hit in late 2022. but that still means prices generally remain far above what they were. smaller rises in the price of goods has helped bring down overall inflation this year. but some fear that could rebound a bit in the coming months for other prices — those of services from hotel stays to restaurants and cafes and travel fairs are still rising more quickly as those businesses pass on higher costs. which is a challenge here at the bank of england for those who set interest rates. they have to be sure inflation is notjust coming down but will stay down further out before they start cutting rates. so those borrowers hoping that we could see the first cut announced as soon as tomorrow are likely to be disappointed. dharshini david, bbc news. we get those figures at exactly seven o'clock. then we'll be speaking to traders and we will hear from various political parties about what will happen as far as the election campaign committee impact of inflation numbers on politics. talking of the election campaign, sally has more of today's news. thank you. the labour party has suspended one of its candidates after reports he'd shared pro—russian material online. the party said it is investigating andy brown, who is standing in aberdeen and moray east. our chief political correspondent henry zeffman is with us this morning. henry, what more do we know? these are posts from 2018 when mr brown, who is standing in aberdeenshire north and marie east was talking about the salisbury poisonings which were dominating the news. he shared an article on social media from the media outlet rt, which claims the toxin novichok was not produced in russia but was in service in the us and the uk. he also shared a post downplaying anti—semitism in labour. 0nce his social media posts were reported yesterday, scottish labour rapidly disowned him. in a statement they said the scottish labour leader and keir starmer had to change the labour party and this action shows they mean it. nominations have closed for this general election. he will still be on the ballot paper and he will still be on the ballot paper with labour next to his name. they will hope people realise the party is no longer aligned with him. in happier news, last night that labour party rebeljohn caldwell, the founder of verne's for you, he has never voted labour in 50 years of political activism, he will in this general election vote labour. he said rishi sunak is an absolute dad to come in his words and keir starmer really hit the spot with a lot of issues for me.— starmer really hit the spot with a lot of issues for me. thank you very much. the scottish national party will launch its general election manifesto in edinburgh today with a call for an additional £1 billion a yearfor the health service in scotland. with more on this, here's our scotland correspondent lorna gordon. john swinney has been leader of the snp forjust over six weeks. he's now leading it into a general election and aware that photo opportunities while out campaigning can have challenges. i'm very concerned about alliances. his party, though, argue the challenges will come from policies devised at westminster and claim that both the conservatives and labour present a danger to the nhs. mr swinney argues the snp will fight any cuts, which it says are coming, and will today propose ways to increase funding on health. its manifesto will, he says, include measures to protect the nhs against privatisation. it will set out support for families struggling with the cost of living and will also detail plans for investment in public services. we want to make sure that the damage that's been done to our country, for example, from brexit, is reversed by this westminster election, so that we can rejoin the european union. i want us to take measures to assess the cost of living, such as implementing a social tariff that will protect vulnerable households from high energy costs and from connectivity costs. these are some of the ideas that would make a difference to people's lives in scotland. and, of course, all of that could be achieved if scotland was an independent country and the possibility of independence will be right at the heart of the snp manifesto. the snp say they offer an alternative to the spending squeeze both the conservatives and labour will, the party claims, implement should they win. mr swinney points to policies they've brought in at holyrood, like the scottish child payment, as proof that his party is different. you stole my seat! have i stolen your seat? i'm so sorry. child's play here, but manifestos are a serious moment to set out a party's stall. the aim for the snp to win seats through the measures being proposed today. lorna gordonjoins us from edinburgh now. lorna, who are the snp hoping to win over with this manifesto? well, the westminster political rap, which was labour red for decades, tanned snp yellow back in 2015. the snp wants to keep it that way. they came first or second in every single constituency here at the last general election. the polling would suggest they had got a fight on their hands in many of the central belt constituencies, the strip of land that sits between glasgow and edinburgh and that labour fancy their chances in many of those seats. the snp has been very explicit in their messaging, they're signalling throughout their campaigning so far. in a manifesto today they say their party is different and their manifesto will be the only centre—left manifesto in this campaign. they are trying to argue that labour and conservatives might wear jackets of a argue that labour and conservatives might wearjackets of a different colour but they are cut from the same cloth and that both parties, whoever gets into government at westminster is promising and will deliver billions of pounds of cuts down the way. the snp will campaign on independence, as you heard in a clip from john swinney, but also saying they are best placed to protect the interests of scotland going forward. protect the interests of scotland going forward-— protect the interests of scotland auoin forward. . ~ , . going forward. thank you very much indeed. george galloway�*s workers party is also presenting its manifesto today in manchester, titled britain deserves better. mr galloway has described the manifesto as a bold and comprehensive plan to redistribute wealth and power. the party had one mp in the last parliament — its leader, george galloway — who won the rochdale by—election in february. the party is fielding more than 150 candidates in this campaign. and the third manifesto being launched today is sinn fein's. in the past two years, it has won the most seats in northern ireland's devolved government and on local councils for the first time. the party will be defending seven westminster seats. anyone intending to vote by post but hasn't yet applied for a ballot paper online, only has a few hours left to do so. the deadline to submit a postal vote application for people in england, scotland and wales is 5pm today. the deadline for people in northern ireland has already passed. applications can be made online at gov.uk. russia's president vladimir putin is beginning the first full day of his highly—anticipated trip to north korea. he's due to attend a series of meetings with the north korean leader, kim jong un. 0ur tokyo correspondent shaimaa khalil is in seoul. it's been a busy and colorful morning in pyongyang's central square as both kim jong—un and vladimir putin attended the welcoming ceremony. we've seen pictures shared by the russian news agency showing both men at the kim il—sung square. pictures also showing floating balloons in the area and the surrounding buildings decorated with the flags of both countries and portraits of the two leaders. the military orchestra played the national anthems of both countries and the artillery fired welcoming salvos as well. but apart from the pomp and circumstance, which started very late last night, pyongyang time, when the russian leader arrived with red carpet and red roses and a motorcade that took him through the streets of pyongyang. now, we know the two leaders have sat down for negotiations. this is really the crucial part. there are two things that these two isolated leaders want to achieve. one is the optics of this meeting — a show of unity, of togetherness. comrades in arms as kim jong un has put it before. they want to show the west, specifically the united states, that they still have friends on which they can rely, that they're not as isolated as the west touts them to be. but practically speaking, those two men have very urgent shopping lists for one another. each knows that the other leader has something that they want. the public inquiry into the post office horizon it scandal will hear from two former executives at fujitsu — the company which built the flawed computer system. today, former chief executives richard christou and duncan tait will be asked what they knew about the faults that led to hundreds of sub—postmasters being wrongly convicted of fraud. popstarjustin timberlake has been arrested in new york for driving while intoxicated. the singer was formally charged and released without bail yesterday and is scheduled to appear virtually in court again on the 26th ofjuly. sir ian mckellen is expected to return to the stage today afterfalling during a performance of player kings on monday evening. the actor had been performing in a fight scene at the noel coward theatre in london when he seemed to lose his footing. a theatre spokesperson said sir ian is in good spirits. it was a rocky start for scotland in the euros after losing 5—1 to the hosts but fans will be hoping for a better result tonight when they take on switzerland. john watson is in germany this morning. iam not i am not sure how much sleep you or any of those people will have had. john, what's the mood like? good morning from a campsite in germany. preparing for that big game today. scotland against switzerland in the second group match. i was getting up probably when these people are going to bed. good morning! how are we doing? ahead of the game with switzerland, martyn, this was your camper van. thank you for having us here this morning. what is on the menu for breakfast? cider, red wine, red bull, lager. baton— cider, red wine, red bull, lager. bacon sandwich, perhaps? so i creating is cheating. are you looking good spirits. are you optimistic about your hopes today? we are. we went in on opening night with our— we are. we went in on opening night with our kilts and bagpipes and unfortunately we didn't produce the goods _ unfortunately we didn't produce the goods we — unfortunately we didn't produce the goods. we knew there was a distance between _ goods. we knew there was a distance between us _ goods. we knew there was a distance between us and germany but it was a lot more _ between us and germany but it was a lot more than we hoped. i do believe the scottish— lot more than we hoped. i do believe the scottish team today will do that tartan _ the scottish team today will do that tartan army proud. i the scottish team today will do that tartan army proud.— tartan army proud. i like the optimism- — tartan army proud. i like the optimism. we _ tartan army proud. i like the optimism. we know - tartan army proud. i like the optimism. we know the - tartan army proud. i like the| optimism. we know the party tartan army proud. i like the - optimism. we know the party was tartan army proud. i like the _ optimism. we know the party was huge when scotland kicked off the tournament against germany. not the result that scotland and yourselves were hoping for. i know you will show us around your camper van. you might be having some breakfast. we will be wallowing in optimism in a moment. this, the second group match of the european championship. not a must win but must not lose for scotland. they will want a result later. we are here all morning. back to ou. i later. we are here all morning. back to from i am — later. we are here all morning. back to from i am not— later. we are here all morning. back to you. i am not sure _ later. we are here all morning. back to you. i am not sure he _ later. we are here all morning. back to you. i am not sure he will be there all morning if you are drinking vodka, red wine, red bull, cider and beer. drinking vodka, red wine, red bull, ciderand beer. nearly drinking vodka, red wine, red bull, cider and beer. nearly lost him, haven't we? and it is only quarter past six. quite today! —— quite a day! the duke and duchess of edinburgh are celebrating their silver wedding anniversary, marking 25 years of married life. they've released a new official photograph, taken in the gardens of their bagshot park home in surrey. edward has described his wife as his rock, saying he is incredibly lucky that he found sophie and that she found him. he is not letting go. no, he is not. many parts of the world are seeing some extreme weather patterns at the moment. 0ur climate editor justin rowlatt is here. we're seeing some wild weather around the world for the time of year. temperatures are unexpectedly high in parts of the us and eastern canada, in greece and cyprus and northern india. in the us, more than 70 million people are under heat alerts, with temperatures as high as 41c forecast in some areas. scientists say many extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of climate change. it's a similar story in canada, where heat warnings have been issued across a swathe of southern and central parts of the country, as temperatures have soared as high as 35 celsius. americans and canadians are being warned to take precautions against heatstroke. we just don't have enough data yet to understand how heightened temperatures in the atmosphere and ocean are going to impact firefighting, coral reef die off, things like this. we're in a time extreme climate. searing temperatures in northern india pushed power demand to a record high, the government said on tuesday, with residents of the capital new delhi also struggling with water shortages. it's not unusual for the country to witness high temperatures, but the heat this year came early and hardly relented. it's a similar story across europe too. in greece, the early heatwave has coincided with a spate of disappearances and deaths of tourists across the mediterranean country, highlighting the dangers of heat exposure. we have heard about the recent deaths — we have heard about the recent deaths of— we have heard about the recent deaths of people going out walking in the _ deaths of people going out walking in the heat. it is tragic, incredibly sad. it is not sensible to go— incredibly sad. it is not sensible to go out— incredibly sad. it is not sensible to go out walking alone in the heat with no— to go out walking alone in the heat with no water. you know, be sensible _ with no water. you know, be sensible-— with no water. you know, be sensible. ., , ., ., ., sensible. there was a real warning with the disappearance _ sensible. there was a real warning with the disappearance and - sensible. there was a real warning with the disappearance and death | sensible. there was a real warning i with the disappearance and death of michael mosley. there were about ten other people died in greece and cyprus of heat exposure with complications later to heat exposure. much more dramatic is what is happening in saudi arabia. it is the hajj at the moment. we think about 500 people have died due to heat related issues in saudi arabia. a real warning. heat related issues in saudi arabia. a realwarning. if heat related issues in saudi arabia. a real warning. if you are out in this intense heat, make sure you keep to the shade and take water with you. do your best not to walk around in the heat of the day. is around in the heat of the day. is this something that people will have to consider? previously if you have gone on a hot mediterranean holiday, is it something people will have to think about more?— is it something people will have to think about more? absolutely. it is earl in think about more? absolutely. it is early in the — think about more? absolutely. it is early in the year, _ think about more? absolutely. it is early in the year, early _ think about more? absolutely. it is early in the year, early summer- think about more? absolutely. it is early in the year, early summer in l early in the year, early summer in greece and cyprus. we are already seen temperatures around a0 celsius. even hotter in greece and cyprus. you must take care when on holiday. a greekjournalist you must take care when on holiday. a greek journalist yesterday said the sort of temperatures they have at the moment other temperatures they would normally get injuly and august when people leave the big cities. right now they have to be in the big cities are now dealing with the big cities are now dealing with the same kind of heat. taste the big cities are now dealing with the same kind of heat.— the big cities are now dealing with the same kind of heat. we are seeing this with climate _ the same kind of heat. we are seeing this with climate change. _ this with climate change. temperatures are edging steadily upwards. every month said a global heat temperature every single day for more than a year, there has been a record daily temperature in terms of sea temperatures. we are seeing a period of extreme heat thanks to global warming. you had to take having that heat. taste global warming. you had to take having that heat.— having that heat. we know the situation in _ having that heat. we know the situation in america _ having that heat. we know the situation in america is - having that heat. we know the i situation in america is incredibly serious. ,, ., situation in america is incredibly serious. ., , ., ., . serious. some really dramatic wildfires- _ serious. some really dramatic wildfires. we _ serious. some really dramatic wildfires. we often _ serious. some really dramatic wildfires.