the operations of the aljazeera television network in the country. entire communities are ordered to evacuate after devastating deadly floods hit brazil with waters continuing to rise. # love is all you need...# # love is all we need...# and madonna has staged her biggest—ever concert to an audience of more than a million fans on copacabana beach in rio. hello, i'm nicky schiller. come to the programme. -- welcome to the programme- — we start this hour with the fall out from the local elections in england. the former home secretary, suella braverman has told the bbc the conservatives will be lucky to have any mps left at the next

general election if rishi sunak doesn't change course. the tories are reeling after one of their worst performances in a local election in decades. labour has been celebrating a key win in the west midlands mayoral race after its candidate, richard parker, narrowly beat the conservative's andy street — who had served two terms in the role. the labour mayor of london, sadiq khan, was re—elected for a historic third term. overall, the conservatives lost hundreds of councillors in the local elections in england. this morning, the transport secretary, mark harper, said while the results were disappointing, the general election was still "all to play for". speaking to the bbc, suella braverman insisted her party faced electoral oblivion without a change in direction. our political corresponsdent, damian grammaticas, reports. parker, richard — labour and co—operative party, 225,590. it's a result that will send a shudder through conservatives. street, andrew — the conservative party candidate, 224,082.

labour victorious in the west midlands mayoral race by 1,508 votes — a tiny margin in a region of two million people. one of the conservatives�* high—profile metro mayors, andy street, toppled. the labour leader was there to celebrate. the message out of these elections — the last elections now, the last stop, before we go into that general election — is the country wants change. i hope the prime minister is listening and gives the opportunity to the country to vote as a whole in a general election as soon as possible. mr street said conservatives should not respond to defeat by shifting further right, but follow his moderate policies. the famous words "i did it my way". and it was always going to be like that and, in the end, it wasn't quite enough, but i tell you what, it was bloody close — pardon my language — and no—one would have expected that. to be clear, do you want rishi sunak to lead the conservatives into the general election? yes, it would be complete

madness to have another moment of introspection. in total, labour won ten of the 11 mayoral races, including london — a third term for sadiq khan. labour also topped the results in the english local council elections, gaining more than 180 seats. liberal democrats captured over 100, putting them into second place in the tally of total seats won. that pushed the conservatives, who lost more than a70 councillors, into third place — a dire set of results for them and, with andy street's loss, deprived of a final consolation. damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. the former home secretary, suella braverman has been speaking to the bbc. she insisted her party was facing electoral oblivion without a change.

we are, at this rate, you know, we'll be lucky to have any conservative mps at the next election, and we need to fight, and i'm not willing to give up. you know, it does me no favours to come here and say it how it is, to set out the difficult situation that we are in, but i owe that honesty to my colleagues, i owe that to you, and the british people who are crying out for a conservative party to vote for. in response to ms braverman�*s comments calling for change, the acting editor of the political news website conservative home, henry hill, told us it's not clear what the prime minister could do at this point with the time available. it's difficult to see what change you could do at this point. six months out from a general election with 1a years of government sort of behind you. it's not clear what rishi sunak could really do to change the course of events at this point, which is one of the reasons that the attempt to get rid of him, which so many people have been talking about for weeks, if these results were terrible, has not happened because there isn't a candidate for it.

there isn't time to do it. it's certainly the case that the effort the prime minister has been making over the last year and a bit is clearly not working. the conservatives�* pole position has not only not started closing with labour, it hasn't even stabilised, it's still sort of trending downwards. so there's clearly deep cause for concern. but tory mp that i've spoken to are a little bit fatalistic about the upcoming election, they don't see that there's all that much they can do at this point to turn things around. so, do you think that they have a plan to try and turn things around? well, they will obviously be.... they'll try something. the hope from people in downing street is that if you give it another six months, the economic situation will start improving and people will feel that in their wallets. there's also, if they have an election in november, an opportunity to have another so—called fiscal event like the budget wherejeremy hunt can deliver ,some ideally, very well targeted tax cuts and spending interventions and other policies which might make voters think again about switching to labour. but you've just got to think about where the conservatives are. they've been in power in one form

or another since 2010 and that's a very difficult position for any government, because it means that every time you attack the status quo, every time you declare that this or that is unacceptable, or needs to change, voters quite understandably say, "well, you've been in power for almost 15 years". "why haven't you done anything about it?" so, not all of that is rishi sunak�*s fault by any means. but he is in an extremely difficult position where every time he really goes for something as a policy issue, really says, right, that's it, this is unacceptable. voters are just going to ask why the conservatives haven't done something about it before. you can get more reaction to the fallout of the elections on the website. the israel prime minister benjamin netanyahu says he cannot accept hamas�* demands for an end to the war in gaza. his comments come as talks to secure a ceasefire in gaza and the release of israeli hostages resume in cairo. so far, lengthy negotiations have failed to yield any breakthrough.

and in the last few minutes, the reuters news agency has said hamas is still keen on reaching a comprehensive ceasefire. one of the main sticking points appears to be whether the deal would be temporary or permanent, with hamas saying it would not accept any deal that did not explicitly include an end to the war in gaza. but in an interview with the bbc, an israeli minister said that even if all the hostages were released, they would not end the war in gaza — and the operation on rafah would still go ahead. a reminder — rafah is a city in southern gaza, where more than a million palestinians are sheltering, after being moved there from other parts of gaza as it was designated a safe zone earlier in the conflict. it's currently being subjected to intense israeli air strikes, and israel says it intend to carry out a full—blown offensive there. israel's main ally, the us, opposes the plan because it fears the civilian toll will be too great. the un warns it could lead to a slaughter. let's hear some of that interview

with the israeli minister. so, the terror organisation of hamas is... thinks... is thinking that it can force the state of israel to stop the war or to escape from an operation in rafah to eliminate the five or four battalions that remain for the terror army of hamas. that's not going to happen. we said clearly that we are going to eliminate hamas, and that's our obligations for the victims of october 7th and for the future generations of the citizens of israel, especially the residents of the region of western negev next to gaza. so, are you saying even if all of the hostages were released, your operation in rafah would still go ahead? these are two separate issues. we have full commitment to do everything we can

to bring back the hostages. this is our moral obligations. these people were abducted by hamas terrorists, and we will do everything to bring them back. but, on the same time, we cannot allow a situation that we have a military threat from a terror organisation from gaza strip whatsoever. 0ur security correspondent, frank gardner, is injerusalem. let's hear his assessment on the ongoing ceasefire negotiations. where do we stand on the ceasefire deal right now? hamas want an end to the fighting and a total israeli withdrawal. now, of course, there's no guarantee that that isn't going to be a one—sided ceasefire. in other words, they get israel to stop fighting and somewhere down the line they start lobbing rockets into israel again. that is a fear here in israel, that, you know, they commit to this deal only for the cycle of violence to start all over again.

israel wants its hostages out and it also wants to see the destruction of hamas. and it also wants to see now, those two are not necessarily completely compatible because hamas holds a key bargaining chip in the form of the roughly 90—plus hostages, who are thought to still be alive, held probably in tunnels somewhere in gaza, probably in rafah below ground. the protesters, the tens of thousands of protesters, that we saw here last night in israel demanding a deal now, regardless of what your minister says, the vast majority of them, the overwhelming message from those protesters is — stop delaying, make a deal now, get the hostages out. and the deal that is on the table is a 40—day pause in the fighting, release of roughly 33 israeli hostages, that's around a third of those thought to still be alive. and, in exchange, palestinians would be allowed to move north

from where they're currently concentrated in rafah. they'd be allowed to move north back to their homes in gaza. and there would be a release of large numbers of palestinians from israeli jails. what israel won't currently commit to is an end to the fighting and the hardline right in the government here want to see an immediate or imminent assault on rafah. that was our correspondent security correspondent frank gardner in jerusalem. in the last hour, the israeli cabinet has decided to close down the operations of the aljazeera television network in the country. with me is sebastian usher — middle east analyst at the bbc world service. what has benjamin netanyahu sent? basically, he gave the information in a very brief tweet, saying that it was a unanimous decision to close down what he called a channel of incitement. it follows this decision by the cabinet, a vote that was

passed in the israeli parliament last month. it gave this law, that would give the government the power to close down for a period which would then be reviewed, around 40—50 days. essentially, it would close down the offices of aljazeera in israel. it would close down the broadcast of its english—language and arabic channels in israel. it would confiscate some of its equipment, some of its material. and access to its websites would be... i'm not sure entirely stopped but there would be moves to try and prevent that happening. this has been something which the israeli government has really been thinking of and working towards for quite a long time. of and working towards for quite a lona time. , , u, , of and working towards for quite a [on time. , , , , . long time. yes, because the israeli authorities have _ long time. yes, because the israeli authorities have attacked _ long time. yes, because the israeli authorities have attacked the - authorities have attacked the network, haven't they?- authorities have attacked the network, haven't they? yes, they have said for _ network, haven't they? yes, they have said for years _ network, haven't they? yes, they have said for years it _ network, haven't they? yes, they have said for years it is _ have said for years it is anti—israel, pro—palestinian, anti—semitic. to some degree you have heard some voices saying... al jazeera does present more than

perhaps most big tv networks in its english language incarnations. its arabic language carnation perhaps more palestinian voices, more pro—palestinian voices. perhaps with some less pushback than you get on some less pushback than you get on some other stations. aljazeera would say that is a powerfully justifiable thing to do, it is filling a gap and that those voices are absolutely part of its balanced approach of giving a sense of this is what is at stake of this is what people feel on the other side. they would absolutely deny it has an anti—semitic or even anti—israel message. but if you have watched since october seven, since the hamas led attacks, i mean, definitely its analysis has become more clear and harder edged perhaps even than its english—language version in terms of its strong condemnation of what israel has been doing in gaza. stronger than, as i say, you will see on most other channels. netanyahu in the past has described

it as a terrorist channel, very, very strong feelings against this. one reason there wasn't this move against it so much before is that it is backed by qatar. qatar is a major player in the middle east and a major player in the deal that might happen over the ceasefire. it has been a major mediator. there was a thought that the government hadn't wanted to act too fast and too hard against it because of those sensitivities. very briefly, al jazeera has not only been a target for israel, it has been a target in the arab world. saudi arabia, other gulf countries in the past have been very, very angry at its coverage. it's not as if aljazeera is only doing this one thing. again, al jazeera would see that as its remit. thank you. as we have been talking we had another line in on this. israel saying it has issued an order to seize aljazeera's broadcast equipment. israel saying that order has been issued to seize broadcast equipment from aljazeera. if we

have any further developments and i know sebastien will keep his eye across it and get back to us on bbc news. protests at us colleges continued on saturday — some conflicting with graduation ceremonies. pro—palestinian demonstrators interrupted a graduation ceremony at the university of michigan. some graduates held palestinian flags while chanting slogans in the packed stadium. amid growing demonstrations over the war in gaza — more universities are bracing for disruptions at graduation ceremonies. meanwhile, police at the university of virginia tore down tents and cleared out protesters after declaring the encampment an unlawful assembly. and columbia university in new york is rethinking its commencement plans. more than a0 us college campuses have seen student protests or encampments over the past two weeks. officials in brazil say they've doubled their rescue efforts in the southern state of rio grande do sul, which has been devastated by days of intense rain and flooding.

more than 500,000 people are without power and clean water. more than 50 people have died, with 70 others missing. in the regional capital, porto alegre, the main river broke its banks, submerging entire neighbourhoods. two people were killed in an explosion at a petrol station where emergency vehicles were being refuelled. 0ne dam has collapsed and others are at risk of failing with more rain forecast. officials say more than 10,000 people have been rescued as floodwaters continue to rise. these pictures show the moment emergency teams broke through the roof of a house to rescue a mother and her baby who were stranded in the floodwaters. the extreme weather has been caused by a rare combination of hotter than average temperatures, high humidity and strong winds. professor chris turney is an earth scientist, and pro vice—chancellor of research at the university of technology, sydney. he gave us his assessment of the impact of the flooding. it's a tragic situation.

this is actually the fourth major flooding these poor people in southern brazil have suffered from over the last year. and this one is the worst for 80 years. but it's very much falling into a pattern now, as you say. a combination of absolutely horrific conditions combining to create this extreme event. the first one is the el nino. people might be familiar with that. it's a warmer tropical pacific ocean. it's one of the biggest causes of climate variability on the planet. and it's basically shifting the wind planet, the wind belts at the moment. it's something that's just started to ease off. but this is a last hurrah, by the looks of it. and it's basically shifting the rains to the south. people might have remembered the awful drought the amazon suffered from. but in the south, it causes flooding. but on top of this, you're absolutely right, its global heating. it's basic physics. we're putting so much carbon pollution into the air, it's adding around four hiroshima bombs of energy to the atmosphere every second. now that's every second — and hotter air can hold more water and so that's got to go somewhere.

and, unfortunately, we're going to get more of these extreme events and they're going to be dropped on people around the world, causing these devastating impacts. we're having to build more resilience into our communities, into the way we live. we can't keep concreting over everything. you'll hear a lot of people talking about sponginess of cities and landscapes where we can absorb that moisture when it's wet and then give it out, release it, when it's drier. but it's something we're going to see a lot more of. people might be aware, the tropical atlantic ocean is a lot hotter than normal, at the moment. that doesn't bode well for the hurricane season in the us and the caribbean. we're going to have to do a lot more planning. it's not the new norm, because this is going to get worse. so we're going to have to build that resilience into our communities, but, at the same time, get that carbon down. but the good news is we can do it, but they cost an awful lot — not just financially, but humans — damage, as well, to the environment and our society and the tragic loss of life by not doing anything.

and time and time again, it's far cheaper and better value to build that infrastructure now, than wait for the effects and then try and build back. and we've got to build back better, as well. so, unfortunately, we don't have any choice. we've just got to get on with it. governments, communities, industry, we're all learning together. we've got to help each other and get on with it. more on the news that the israeli cabinet have decided to close down operations of the aljazeera network. let's speak to alon pinkas, who is the former israeli consul general in new york, who served as an adviser on us affairs to four israeli foreign ministers. alon is also a contributor to the israeli newspaper haaretz. thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. i wondered if i could first get your reaction to this news that has broken in the last hour that has broken in the last hour that they will close down the al jazeera network in israel? that they will close down the al jazeera network in israel? yeah, hi, aood to jazeera network in israel? yeah, hi, good to be — jazeera network in israel? yeah, hi, good to be with _ jazeera network in israel? yeah, hi, good to be with you. _ jazeera network in israel? yeah, hi, good to be with you. it _ jazeera network in israel? yeah, hi, good to be with you. it has - jazeera network in israel? yeah, hi, good to be with you. it has been - jazeera network in israel? yeah, hi, good to be with you. it has been in l good to be with you. it has been in the making for the last 30 or 45

days, this decision. but that does not diminish from the silliness and the senselessness of the decision. particularly pertaining to the timing. aljazeera, as you and our viewers know, is based in doha, qatar. qatar is playing a pivotal and central and important role in the hostage negotiations. even if israel has justified grievances and resentments and anger and disappointments, call it what you want, with aljazeera's reporting, the timing is horrible. the timing is bad. practically, it's not going to prevent aljazeera from reporting. it'sjust going to prevent aljazeera from reporting. it's just going to to prevent aljazeera from reporting. it'sjust going to make their lives more difficult. you mention to — their lives more difficult. you mention to the _ their lives more difficult. you mention to the talks - their lives more difficult. you mention to the talks over releasing the hostages, do you think this decision will have any impact on those? ., ., ., �*

decision will have any impact on those? ., ., , those? no, no, i don't because i think qatar _ those? no, no, i don't because i think qatar is _ those? no, no, i don't because i think qatar is doing _ those? no, no, i don't because i think qatar is doing this - those? no, no, i don't because i think qatar is doing this for - those? no, no, i don't because i think qatar is doing this for its i think qatar is doing this for its own interests. i think the qataris are being, well, not... pressured is perhaps the wrong word but the qataris is —— are being encouraged by the americans to do their best. and they are doing their best. even though it hasn't succeeded until now. in terms of the second deal. the first deal in november was 100% qatari encouraged by american mediation. i think that this decision is going to sour the atmosphere. it's going to make things a little more acrimonious. i doubt that it would have a significant bearing on the hostages themselves —— on the talks themselves. mr themselves -- on the talks themselves.— themselves -- on the talks themselves. ~ ., ,, ,. , themselves. mr netanyahu described it as a terrorist _ themselves. mr netanyahu described it as a terrorist channel _ themselves. mr netanyahu described it as a terrorist channel in _ themselves. mr netanyahu described it as a terrorist channel in the - it as a terrorist channel in the past, what is it that has angered the israeli government about their coverage? it’s the israeli government about their coveraue? v , the israeli government about their coveraue? h , , ., , the israeli government about their coveraue? h , , ., the israeli government about their coveraue? �*, , , ., ,., coverage? it's been years of israeli urievances coverage? it's been years of israeli grievances about _

coverage? it's been years of israeli grievances about one _ coverage? it's been years of israeli grievances about one sidedness, . coverage? it's been years of israeli i grievances about one sidedness, out of context reporting about dismissing the israeli aspect, about fabricating stories. i'm not talking about the veracity or the accuracy of these accusations, i'm just saying that there is a critical mass of israeli... indignant towards al jazeera. by the way, i think that, from a communications, strategic point of view, israel had ample opportunities to work with al jazeera. to befriend them, to co—opt them, to have an impact on how they report, by virtue of access and information and insight. instead, both sides chose, you know, a conflictual position. i understand where this is coming from in terms

of the angle. i question the wisdom of the angle. i question the wisdom of the angle. i question the wisdom of the decision. is of the angle. i question the wisdom of the decision.— of the decision. is there a wider messaue of the decision. is there a wider message you — of the decision. is there a wider message you think— of the decision. is there a wider message you think that - of the decision. is there a wider message you think that mr- of the decision. is there a wider - message you think that mr netanyahu is trying to portray by doing this? is it a message for within israel or the wider international community, as well? ~ ., �*, ., ., as well? well, that's a great question- — as well? well, that's a great question- i _ as well? well, that's a great question. i do _ as well? well, that's a great question. i do think- as well? well, that's a great question. i do think that, . as well? well, that's a great i question. i do think that, while this minor be a major component of his narrative, it certainly is a component in his alternative narrative —— this might be a major. this isn'tjust about israel and hamas, this has broader ramifications, seen from a wider perspective, this is a major confrontation in the middle east, in which aljazeera and qatar and the iranians and the muslim brotherhood, everyone is up against israel. that helps him, he thinks, politically, to distance himself from the catastrophe of october 7 by

enlarging it, by making it a bigger conflict, a wider conflict than it is. in this respect, yes, your question is right on the money. this helps him frame this as something much bigger than it is.— much bigger than it is. briefly, do ou think much bigger than it is. briefly, do you think that _ much bigger than it is. briefly, do you think that the _ much bigger than it is. briefly, do you think that the closure - much bigger than it is. briefly, do you think that the closure in - much bigger than it is. briefly, do| you think that the closure in israel will have an impact on other media operations within israel? i will have an impact on other media operations within israel?— operations within israel? i doubt that very much. _ operations within israel? i doubt that very much. 0k, _ operations within israel? i doubt that very much. 0k, thank - operations within israel? i doubt that very much. 0k, thank you l operations within israel? i doubt i that very much. 0k, thank you very much forjoining — that very much. 0k, thank you very much forjoining us _ that very much. 0k, thank you very much forjoining us on _ that very much. 0k, thank you very much forjoining us on bbc- that very much. 0k, thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news, l that very much. 0k, thank you very i much forjoining us on bbc news, we appreciate your time.— madonna has given a free concert on copacabana beach in rio before an estimated audience of 1.5 million fans. the brazilian show had been billed as a thank you to her fans for decades of support, and marks the end of her celebration world tour, which began in london in october last year. 0rganisers say copacabana beach transformed into the "world's largest dance floor" as madonna performed a string of hits from her 40—year career. with fans having travelled from far and wide, city officials said

they expect the concert to pump around $60 million into the local economy. we saw from the pictures earlier, it looked like they were having fun on copacabana beach. you can get more information about that and other stories on the website. stay with us here on bbc news. hello, again. it has been a fine start to you sunday morning, especially across england and wales where we have had some sunny spells. for many of us, it will stay largely dry with sunshine into the afternoon but in parts of west sussex, while it's been sunny this morning, we will see the cloud increasing with this swirl of cloud that has been moving into the south—west of england through the morning. it will continue to push its way north and east, which will bring in some cloud and some showers.

those showers could be quite heavy, perhaps a bit thundery, later in the far south—west, as some sunny spells develop. sunny spells for much of north wales, the midlands, and eastern areas of england. just a small chance of a shower here. thundery showers in the north—east of scotland and maximum temperatures about 15—18 degrees. the warmest weather will be across north wales, the midlands, towards the east of england, where you'll have the best of the sunshine and this is where you'll have the highest pollen levels through today. elsewhere they will be moderate. bear that in mind if you suffer from hay fever. tonight, showers across eastern scotland, drifting their way a bit further southward. we will see quite a bit of cloud across england and wales tonight. it means it's not going to be quite as cold as last night. temperatures staying up at about nine or ten degrees celsius across many parts of the uk into bank holiday monday. we'll see this little area of low pressure going out into the low countries and that will clip the south—east of england. we will keep a close eye on that one because that could bring heavy and maybe thundery showers on monday. staying quite cloudy here. elsewhere, there could be the odd shower developing but mostly dry

for england and wales with some sunshine. a bit more cloud further further north in england, into the central southern scotland. here there will be some showers as well. some brighter weather, some sunnier skies to the far north of scotland. temperatures perhaps down by a degree or so through tomorrow. but still pleasantly warm where you have got those sunny spells. so about 17—18 celsius. but then through the rest of the week, this area of high pressure builds in, bringing lots of settled weather. fine conditions for many of us. one or two weather fronts coming over the top of that into scotland and northern ireland. that would generally bring just a bit more cloud, perhaps some outbreaks of rain as we go through the week. temperatures here about 15—19 degrees. but for england and wales, plenty of dry and sunny weather, with those temperatures rising, 20, 21 degrees. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: after heavy losses in the local elections in england, the former home secretary, suella braverman, has told the bbc rishi sunak needs to �*change course�* if the conservative party is to avoid a political wipeout. attempts to secure a ceasefire in gaza are continuing for another day in cairo, with the two sides still unable to agree the exact terms of a truce. lengthy negotiations on saturday failed to yield any breakthrough. the israeli cabinet has decided

to close down the operations of the aljazeera television network in the country. prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, had previously described it as a �*terrorist channel�*. aljazeera journalists have been among the only reporters inside gaza to report on the war. officials in brazil say more than 10,000 people have been rescued in the southern state of rio grande do sul as floodwaters continue to rise. let�*s get more on the political news let�*s get more on the political news in the last half an hour out of scotland. an snp leadership battle might happen after reports of a late entry into the race to replace humza yousaf. it was widely expected john swinney would become the next party leader and scotland�*s first minister unopposed. however, reports suggest veteran activist graeme mccormick believes he�*s likely to receive enough nominations before monday�*s noon deadline.