this is bbc news, the headlines... israel orders the evacuation of more areas of rafah in the gaza strip, where over a million palestinians are sheltering. that comes just after a government report which says israel's use of american—supplied weapons in the war in gaza may have breached international humanitarian law. hundreds of people are fleeing continued clashes in ukraine's kharkiv region, a day after russia sent troops across the border seeking to break through defensive lines. this comes as president biden gives the go ahead for more aid for ukraine. the most powerful solar storm in more than two decades hits the earth, triggering spectacular celestial light shows in many parts of the world. these storms occur when the sun emits large clouds of particles.

and prince harry and meghan are in nigeria — as part of the duke's promotion of the invictus games. you are watching bbc news. more on those solar storms with an expert explaining how that happens, the link between the sun and those storms, in the next 15 minutes or so. let's talk about ukraine for now. more now on russian forces launching a surprise new ground offensive in ukraine — crossing the border into the northeastern kharkiv region. for months fighting has been focussed in the east — where russia occupies large areas. friday's attack may be an attempt to open a new front — and intensify pressure on kharkiv, which is the country's second largest city. small groups of russian troops with armoured vehicles pushed through the front line — military sources say they advanced a kilometre, before being pushed back — amid reports of sustained

russian shelling. earlier i spoke to maria avdeeva, a security analyst from ukraine. i asked her to explain, what is happening in kharkiv city and in the region the situation is different for the city itself and the cities and areas around the border. because the constant shelling from the russian side is going on for more than a day now, russia has moved into ukrainian territory and captured several villages. but these villages are just on the border between russia and ukraine, so in a way for almost two years they were a grey zone with few people living in the area. but now because of the constant threat and intensified attacks, there is evacuation from this area, so these are mostly elderly people who ukraine evacuates to the city of kharkiv. the situation in kharkiv

remains more or less calm, yesterday there was the longest air raid alert for the whole period of the war, for more than 12 hours, but the situation is calm, there is no panic. it didn't catch people by surprise, this russian attack, there were numerous reports that russia was amassing troops, so this was known that they will attack, distilling catch people in shock like in the beginning of the invasion because people who returned back from having evacuated, they know what to prepare for. is there a concern about what happens next? ukraine has prepared for this attack. there are numerous lines of defence

and president zelensky has inspected them himself a month ago. there is no chance that russia can go further, closer to the city but they will try. we know that the amount of troops on the russian side around 50,000, this is a big group of troops and there is a question where the main attack will happen. what is happening now looks more like a probing and testing the defence lines here and there, in multiple directions, but there will be another move and for that move ukraine is preparing because all the troops already in the kharkiv region are also deployed more and more troops are concentrated around the city. here in the uk, a police officer has been shot in the leg with a crossbow in buckinghamshire. after responding to a reported

stabbing in high wycombe last night. 0ur reporter frances read has the latest from the scene the police officer was apparently responding to reports of a stabbing in this area when he was then shot in the leg with a crossbow. armed police then shot a 54—year—old man who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. he was taken to hospital with his injuries and is under police guard. as you can see, behind me, there is still a big police presence at the moment, there is a cordion in place as well. but we spoke to terrified neighbours, including neilwho run indoors with his two—year—old son. i wasjust playing in the park with my son and my partner, i saw someone hiding in a bush. i could see they were wearing a tactical helmet. i knew something was about to go down, but in the park it was silent and normal. i grabbed my son and told them to get home and in a few minutes

it was all kicking off and it was pandemonium everywhere. and then a couple of minutes later, there was gunshots and the suspect was shot in the park where we with their families were playing moments earlier. police say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. the force has made a mandatory referral for itself to the independent office for police conduct. that is normal under circumstances where a firearm is discharged, so they will take a look at that case. prince harry and meghan are in nigeria this weekend as part of the duke's promotion of the invictus games. on friday they launched their tour in the capital abuja with a visit to the lightway academy college — which receives support from their foundation to educate young girls affected by conflict. later today they will meet wounded

soldiers who are representing the country at next year's event in canada. 0ur africa correspondent simijolaoso has more. they have been getting a really warm welcome here in abuja. prince harry went to the ministry of defence headquarters where he received a military salute and they are the department behind their visit. and as you mentioned, they went to a school here in abuja where they were greeted by a group of really excited and enthusiastic schoolchildren there. they spoke about mental health and prince harry told the students to promise to be open about their mental health and not to lock in their emotions and also to kind of kick the stigma around mental health into the long grass, he said. he also told them that he wants them to remember that it's ok to not be ok. after their visit, i spoke to a couple of the students. one girl told me that she was left really inspired by their message,

especially having such a high calibre couple come to visit their school and that she herself had suffered or struggled with anxiety and depression. and now she feels the courage to be able to speak out about her mental health. lets return now to the spectacular northern lights which could be seen as far as kent and plymouth last night — as earth was battered by the biggest solar storm in more than 20 years. let's speak now to mathew 0wens. he's a professor of space physics at the university of reading. thank you for talking to us. take us through the science of all this, why do the northern lights happen and what is the link with the sun? thank ou for what is the link with the sun? thank you for having _ what is the link with the sun? thank you for having me _ what is the link with the sun? thank you for having me on. _ what is the link with the sun? thank you for having me on. the _ what is the link with the sun? t�*ia'ia; you for having me on. the northern lights are very similar to how a neon light works, you put an

electric current through a gas and it emits light. the reason we have these electrical currents in the atmosphere is because the earth's magnetic field is being battered by these eruptions from the sun and they left about three days ago. we knew they were coming and focused on quite well. knew they were coming and focused on uuite well. ,., quite well. there were some quite wor in: quite well. there were some quite worrying warnings _ quite well. there were some quite worrying warnings about _ quite well. there were some quite worrying warnings about what - quite well. there were some quite i worrying warnings about what effect this solar storm could have on satellites and power circuits, has any of that come to pass? having the advance warning _ any of that come to pass? having the advance warning forecast _ any of that come to pass? having the advance warning forecast helps, - advance warning forecast helps, certain amount of preparation can be done. we are not really going to know the full... nothing disastrous has happened as far as we know. 0ver has happened as far as we know. over the next few weeks we will dig into what the effects were critically on the power grid. irate what the effects were critically on the power grid-— what the effects were critically on the power grid. we are 'ust looking at the pictures. h the power grid. we are just looking at the pictures, absolutely - at the pictures, absolutely stunning. we were surprised by how

extensive the northern lights were in terms of how far south people could see them?— in terms of how far south people could see them? definitely, i was tellin: could see them? definitely, i was telling people _ could see them? definitely, i was telling people to _ could see them? definitely, i was telling people to go _ could see them? definitely, i was telling people to go out _ could see them? definitely, i was telling people to go out and - could see them? definitely, i was telling people to go out and look| telling people to go out and look north thinking they were going to squint at a green haze and then you went out and there was this amazing light show. everywhere you looked in the sky, it was just everywhere. glues which are quite rare, that requires stimulating nitrogen in the atmosphere. really impressive. i’m atmosphere. really impressive. i'm interested by the nitrogen, why are there so many colours and how unusual the display was? the different colours _ unusual the display was? tue: different colours come unusual the display was? tte: different colours come from different colours come from different parts of the atmosphere. you normally get the greens and the reds from oxygen, just occasionally you can see the pinks and blues from nitrogen which requires a bit more energy to stimulate the emission. it wasjust such an energy to stimulate the emission. it was just such an intense storm that

we got that. for wasjust such an intense storm that we got that-— wasjust such an intense storm that we got that. for people like me who were in bed — we got that. for people like me who were in bed and _ we got that. for people like me who were in bed and managed _ we got that. for people like me who were in bed and managed to - we got that. for people like me who l were in bed and managed to miss the whole thing, will we get another opportunity may be tonight to step outside and see them? the pictures we have had coming in from all over the uk are absolutely stunning. there are a few more of these solar eruptions en route, they have been so many of them in the last few days, space was just a mess yesterday. there are a few more ebbing through, they should arrive tonight, but i don't expect it to be anything as impressive as last night unfortunately. t anything as impressive as last night unfortunately-— unfortunately. i will live with that, not _ unfortunately. i will live with that, not quite _ unfortunately. i will live with that, not quite as _ unfortunately. i will live with that, not quite as good - unfortunately. i will live with that, not quite as good as i unfortunately. i will live with i that, not quite as good as last night but still hopefully be able to see them. good to speak to you, thank you. this week, the uk's media regulator, 0fcom, set out new rules for social media companies — aimed at protecting children from harmful content online. 0ver a0 measures have been set out — including making firms

change their algorithms and perform more rigorous age checks. around the world, governments are considering — or have already passed — similar legislation. analysis editor ros atkins looks at what other countries are doing to try and protect children online. in many countries we're seeing a new approach to protecting children online. governments are saying this is no longer a mystery to us. governments are now saying, 0k, we feel like we know what the levers of control are and we're willing to pull them. in the uk, new rules are being proposed. at the moment, teenagers, younger children up and down the country can experience harmful content on their social media feeds again and again. and this has become normalised, and that has to change. to do that, over a0 steps for tech firms have been set out, including robust age checks and changing their algorithms so harmful content isn't recommended to children. these proposed rules follow the uk's 0nline safety act,

which was passed last year. the us is in a different position, one industry commentator notes, "we're in 2024 and the us has virtually no regulation." injanuary, five tech ceos were asked by us senators about keeping children safe. one was mark zuckerberg who had this exchange. senator, ourjob and what we take seriously is making sure that we build industry leading tools to find harmful... to make money. ..take it off the services... to make money. and to build tools that empower parents. but to many politicians in washington, it's not enough to rely on the tech firms. they're seeking to do more with the kids 0nline safety act. among many provisions, it wants to ensure that platforms are required to enable the strongest privacy settings for kids by default, as well as creating a duty for online platforms to prevent and mitigate specific dangers to minors. and while this act has bipartisan support, it's not law, yet. many hurdles remain.

not least, as one analyst says, this bill still rests on the premise that there's a consensus around the types of content and design features that cause harm. there isn't, they add. and if the us is considering legislation to keep children safe online, the eu is already acting. it is really the time now for europe for us to set our own rules. we will make the online environment saferfor everyone in europe. the eu's digital services act was passed two years ago. it's a vast piece of legislation. it includes a raft of rules to protect children. the eu calls this a world first instrument, addressing issues such as cyber bullying, illegal content and the simplification of terms and conditions. and then within the eu, each country can set further rules. for example, in france, parental controls are mandatory on all new devices. social media platforms must verify a user's age and obtain parental

permission for under 15. in fact, president macron wants to go further with a curb on children's screen time and social media use. and he's compared the online world with a jungle. translation: does anyone send their child into the jungle at five, | ten or 12 years old? no—one. today, for several hours a day, we open the door to the jungle. but getting political consensus on what to do about this is hard. that's not an issue in authoritarian states like china, children there can only play online games for an hour on fridays, weekends and holidays. the chinese version of tiktok, douyin, limits under 1a to a0 minutes a day. and across all platforms, china has screen time limits by age. so if you between the ages of 16 to 18, you can spend 2 hours a day on social media platforms. if you're between the ages of 18 and 16, you can spend one hour,

and if you're under eight, you can only spend a0 minutes a day on social media platforms. these restrictions in china require users to provide a lot of personal data. in the west, the issue of users data and privacy is contested, as are many aspects of how best to keep children safe online. and the challenge keeps changing. regulation probably needs to move quickly. it needs to be highly responsive, it needs to be empowered with sufficient resources and to try and ensure that regulation is as agile and as versatile as the tech firms it's trying to regulate. even if governments are agile, enforcing new regulations brings challenges of its own. but there's no doubt a period of increased regulation is beginning. it's an acknowledgement that the approach to keeping children safe online so far hasn't been enough. a section of the m25 motorway around london is closed

this weekend as part of a 300 million pound upgrade. drivers are being warned to follow official diversion routes and expect delays, until the motorway reopens on monday morning. the road will be shut between junctions nine and ten in both directions until six o'clock on monday morning. grassroots music venues should be supported by a levy on tickets at larger arenas and stadiums, according to mps. a report recommends the industry should arrange the payments and make sure the cost isn't passed on to concert—goers. it suggests if there's no agreement by september, the government should step in. meanwhile — the owner of the co—op live arena in manchester, which has faced delays and technical problems, says the venue is finally ready. tens of thousands of people have seen gigs cancelled, but organisers say it will open for a concert by elbow on tuesday.

for decades, conservationists across the uk have been culling grey squirrels to help protect the remaining red squirrel population. however there's bad news for the reds at a sanctuary on anglesey, where after a long abscence, a breeding colony of greys has been discovered. 0ur climate editor, justin rowlatt, has more. the island of anglesey is the last stronghold of red squirrels in wales, thanks to this man. dr craig shuttleworth has been trapping and killing grey squirrels since 1997. we're using live traps. in fact, we've got one in here. i can here it growling away. we take boxes like these we put them up on the trees. his aim was to clear the island so these guys could flourish. and it worked! craig and his colleagues caught the last grey in 2013, the a0 reds that were left have multiplied to 800. but a couple of weeks ago

and islander sent craig this — a photo of a mature male grey squirrels. and he isn't alone! camera traps caught images of these guys too. we've had animals on the island before, but this was different. when i saw the images i thought "this is a breeding colony." why is it so urgent? the urgency is because they breed, they compete with the red squirrel but also they can carry squirrelpox virus, which always kills reds. now, craig has caught eight grey squirrels in the last couple of days, but you know there are more out there, don't you? unfortunately, yes, we've got some images on a camera trap. so he's put some real traps out and we're going to see if we have caught any. there is something in the first trap. but it's a red. nothing in those, but you can see the doors are still open. the other traps are empty, but craig says he will keep

on going until he catches these rogue squirrels. so you are a red squirrel warrior. i'm one of a number. there are hundreds of groups of individuals as well who do this — in northumberland, in cumbria, lancashire, north wales. that's why red squirrels are still persisting when there are greys, because of our determination to make sure the reds survive. but craig does have another plan. he wants to release more of these in north wales — pine martens. they eat some greys and mightjust help hold back the invaders. in the meantime, though, craig will be relying on his traps. justin rowlatt, bbc news, anglesey. for more on this, let's speak to dr craig shuttleworth, a research scientist at bangor university in wales. hello, it is a worrying situation on

anglesey at the moment. it is very much so because _ anglesey at the moment. it is very much so because grey _ anglesey at the moment. it is very much so because grey squirrels - anglesey at the moment. it is very l much so because grey squirrels carry a virus which doesn't harm them, they don't show any symptoms but if they don't show any symptoms but if they spread it to the reds, it kills them fairly quickly. and also they spread it to one another, it goes through the reds very rapidly. do you have any idea how the greys got there? anglesey must be slightly easier to control because it is harder to get in and out because it is essentially an island. yes harder to get in and out because it is essentially an island.— is essentially an island. yes but it has two bridges _ is essentially an island. yes but it has two bridges over, _ is essentially an island. yes but it has two bridges over, grey - has two bridges over, grey squirrels, can swim, when they can get over, there is video of grey squirrels in vehicles. we suspect one of them arrived on a freight train, so they are very determined and they can turn up anywhere. t and they can turn up anywhere. i have a certain amount of admiration, if they can swim, get on a train or

carto if they can swim, get on a train or car to anglesey, it will be hard keeping them out. in themselves they are amazin: keeping them out. in themselves they are amazing species, _ keeping them out. in themselves they are amazing species, they _ keeping them out. in themselves they are amazing species, they are - keeping them out. in themselves they are amazing species, they are bouncy| are amazing species, they are bouncy during the day, they are acrobatic but they should be in north america and unfortunately they are here and they are very adept at moving across they are very adept at moving across the landscape. the they are very adept at moving across the landscape-— the landscape. the problem being that once they _ the landscape. the problem being that once they take _ the landscape. the problem being that once they take over - the landscape. the problem being that once they take over the - the landscape. the problem beingj that once they take over the area, the red squirrel has no chance against them.— the red squirrel has no chance against them. the red squirrel has no chance auainst them. , ., , , against them. yes, that is why you mostly see — against them. yes, that is why you mostly see grey — against them. yes, that is why you mostly see grey squirrel, - against them. yes, that is why you mostly see grey squirrel, a - against them. yes, that is why you mostly see grey squirrel, a the - mostly see grey squirrel, a the greys carry the virus and they also compete for food.— greys carry the virus and they also compete for food. where does the ine compete for food. where does the pine marten _ compete for food. where does the pine marten coming? _ compete for food. where does the pine marten coming? research . compete for food. where does the l pine marten coming? research from ireland showed _ pine marten coming? research from ireland showed that _ pine marten coming? research from ireland showed that when _ pine marten coming? research from ireland showed that when the - pine marten coming? research from ireland showed that when the pine l ireland showed that when the pine martens return to woodlands the red squirrel is increased and the grey squirrels declined, the kind of patterns we have seen are similar in scotland. so we released some near bangor and the only thing is that

they are long—lived but they are slow breeders of this isn't a quick fix. ~ ,., slow breeders of this isn't a quick fix. ~ , ., slow breeders of this isn't a quick fix. ., fix. we saw you with the traps, have ou fix. we saw you with the traps, have you managed _ fix. we saw you with the traps, have you managed to _ fix. we saw you with the traps, have you managed to catch _ fix. we saw you with the traps, have you managed to catch any _ fix. we saw you with the traps, have you managed to catch any more - fix. we saw you with the traps, have i you managed to catch any more since? no, no, just red squirrels. itruth? you managed to catch any more since? no, no, just red squirrels.— no, no, 'ust red squirrels. why do red no, no, just red squirrels. why do red squirrels _ no, no, just red squirrels. why do red squirrels have _ no, no, just red squirrels. why do red squirrels have such _ no, no, just red squirrels. why do red squirrels have such a - no, no, just red squirrels. why do red squirrels have such a place - no, no, just red squirrels. why do red squirrels have such a place in | red squirrels have such a place in our heart? it is when those creatures, we are looking at pictures, it is not that different to the grey squirrel but there is something different about it. look, i think the story _ something different about it. look, i think the story of _ something different about it. look, i think the story of the _ something different about it. look, i think the story of the red - something different about it. look, i think the story of the red and - i think the story of the red and grey squirrel is that why you shouldn't move pieces around the globe. red squirrels are in serious trouble and people like them because they are very similar to the great but they are rare and they are very special in places like anglesey, the last refuges where you can find them. ,., ., x' last refuges where you can find them. , a i. last refuges where you can find them. ,., ., w i. ., them. good luck with your humane tra -|n~ them. good luck with your humane tra an: of them. good luck with your humane trapping of the _ them. good luck with your humane trapping of the grey _ them. good luck with your humane trapping of the grey squirrels, - trapping of the grey squirrels, thank you forjoining us. across the uk tonight,

there will be roars when 0lly alexander takes the stage for his eurovision performance. but the loudest cheers are likely to be from the people in the forest of dean, where the singer and actor was born and brought up. they'll be throwing their support behind him as he vies for glory at the helm of the biggest song content on the planet — and pupils at his old school have been gearing up for the big day. as our reporter, steve knibbs, found out... basing they sing getting into the eurovision spirit with a few classic winning songs. and 25 years ago, one of the children that sang in this very hall was 0lly alexander. # you make me dizzy from your kisses... and as a surprise before he took to the stage yesterday, we asked 0lly alexander to record a special message for his old school.

it blows my mind you're going to stjohn's, it's been a long time since i went there, great school, great kids, great teachers. thank you for the support, i'mjust... yes, i'm overwhelmed. there is a lot of excitement here. the children particularly are amazed that one of their predecessors is the actual 0lly alexander. i think it's quite shocking because he was just a normal person and now he is going to be on eurovision. amazing and cool because he's one of my favourite singers. i don't really know a lot - of people that go to schools, celebrities that go to our school that i know _ he's a good role model to all of the children here at stjohn's right now. it shows everyone what kids at stjohn's can do. do you like the song? yeah! i play every morning. you play it every morning? it's really in your head, then. is 0lly alexander going to win? yes. brilliant. and it seems that all the answers 0lly�*s road to eurovision might have

just started here at stjohn's. really good with words. whilst he was here was when he first started writing some of the lyrics to some of his very early music. it's been great to be here at stjohn's and hear how excited everybody is about his chances at eurovision this week. so much so, the school has got a special message for him. all: good luck, olly! no pressure after that. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello there. with the most extreme solar storm hitting earth last night in the last 20 years, we had the most incredible display of aurora. many thousands of weather watchers�* photograph sent in to us last night. that one from nottinghamshire. very vivid colors of the aurora. maybe a chance to see it again tonight. but for today we've had some low

clouds, mist and fog around eastern coastal counties that may well linger on across parts of the coast of lincolnshire, east anglia into the afternoon. elsewhere, though, looking at some sunshine, one or two showers there likely for southern, central and northern scotland, one or two of those could be heavy, perhaps thundery into the afternoon, but they'll be very hit and miss. for many of us, it's going to be another very warm day. maximum temperatures widely 23 to 25, maybe 26 celsius in the south east of england. now through tonight, we'll still have that cloud across eastern areas, just perhaps moving its way onshore a little bit, some cloud elsewhere. but on the whole, clear skies again through tonight. so perfect conditions weather wise to see the aurora again. this is the forecast, very high probability for seeing the aurora across many parts of the uk, perhaps not quite as bright or as strong as it was last night. the geomagnetic activity has decreased a little bit. nevertheless, still worth getting outside to have a look at that. 0vernight temperatures getting down to about nine to 12

or 13 degrees celsius. so then sunday, some changes to the weather. we've got some showers and some thunderstorms moving their way in across parts of western scotland, northern ireland, wales, south west england. one of those storms may drift their way further eastward. there'll be some sunny spells in between these storms, but where you catch one or two of those, there really will be very heavy and torrential further east, staying largely dry with some sunshine and temperatures here could reach 26 or 27 degrees celsius. but elsewhere, perhaps just a tad fresher compared to today. 0n into next week, low pressure moves in from the atlantic really changed the feel of the weather. more unsettled conditions with some showers or longer spells of rain. no wash out, no great big band of heavy rain spreading its way through. but they'll certainly be some showers in the forecast and temperatures down a little bit from what we've had recently. so about 16 to 19 degrees celsius, but still pretty pleasant where you get some sunshine.

live from london, this is bbc news. israel orders the evacuation of more areas of rafah in gaza, where over a million palestinians are sheltering. it comes as washington says israel may have used american—supplied weapons in breach of international humanitarian law in gaza. hundreds of people are fleeing continued clashes in ukraine's kharkiv region, a day after russia sent troops across the border. iam i am live in malmo in sweden where the eurovision song contest final is about to take place. t the eurovision song contest final is about to take place.— a contestant under investigation and protests on the streets — will controversy overshadow

tonight's eurovision song contest final?