the netherlands is out of the eurovision song contest after dutch singerjoost klein is disqualified. and with further protests on the streets over israel competing — will politics overshadow tonight's competition final? i'm sarah campbell in london. our other headlines... 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.

hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm maryam moshiri live in malmo outside the arena where the eurovision grand final will be taking place. some breaking news now, and the dutch artistjoost klein has been disqualified from the eurovision song contest. this all happened after the contestant, joost klein, the dutch contestant, joost klein, the dutch contestant was disqualified from the competition after what the ebu, the organisers describe as an incident just before one of the rehearsals yesterday. confusion was around this area yesterday when people were told he wouldn't be performing and yet no one really knew exactly the reason why. now we are hearing from the

dutch press that the swedish police have confirmed there is an investigation ongoing into an incident involving joost klein and a team member, a member of crew at the malmo arena. let's get more on all of this. adrian bradley. you have been in the media centre for the whole of this week practically, what are people saying about this latest development, why has the dutch axe been this qualified?— has the dutch axe been this uualified? , , _, , , qualified? this is completely unprecedented _ qualified? this is completely unprecedented for _ qualified? this is completely unprecedented for a - qualified? this is completely unprecedented for a start. . qualified? this is completely| unprecedented for a start. -- qualified? this is completely - unprecedented for a start. -- why unprecedented for a start. —— why has the dutch act been disqualified? we have never got so close to the final and then had an act kicked out so a lot of unanswered questions. the dutch representative, they trust to put out a statement saying that they are shocked by the decision. they also say they plan to come back to this later so this is not the end of it as far as the dutch broadcaster and the ebu is

concerned. dutch media reporting there is a police investigation and i now understand the police have handed over the files to the swedish prosecutors and said they will be expedited court process for that. we don't know if there will be charges, that will be for swedish prosecutors and that is the latest i'm aware of. ebu saying this is not involved any other delegation, this is about inappropriate behaviour against a team member working production and they have a zero tolerance approach to that. we know that the netherlands won't perform but we don't know what that means about dutch viewers and voters, will they be able to vote? we dutch viewers and voters, will they be able to vote?— dutch viewers and voters, will they be able to vote? we are waiting for answers on — be able to vote? we are waiting for answers on that. _ be able to vote? we are waiting for answers on that. the _ be able to vote? we are waiting for answers on that. the dutch - answers on that. the dutch broadcaster furious, answers on that. the dutch broadcasterfurious, and answers on that. the dutch broadcaster furious, and they? answers on that. the dutch broadcasterfurious, and they? what have they said? broadcaster furious, and they? what have they said?— have they said? furious, they are completely _ have they said? furious, they are completely shocked _ have they said? furious, they are completely shocked as _ have they said? furious, they are completely shocked as i - have they said? furious, they are completely shocked as i was - have they said? furious, they are i completely shocked as i was saying, they say this is disproportionate and they said they will come back to this. so this isn't the end of this argument and i this. so this isn't the end of this argumentand i imagine this. so this isn't the end of this argument and i imagine there is going to be postmortems and

disagreements about this in the days and weeks to come, it will not finish tonight.— and weeks to come, it will not finish toniaht. ., , finish tonight. there were rumours that had to — finish tonight. there were rumours that had to do _ finish tonight. there were rumours that had to do with _ finish tonight. there were rumours that had to do with another- that had to do with another delegation, potentially the israeli delegation, potentially the israeli delegation but those rumours have been proven to be completely false? the ebu has made it clear it was not about another delegation, it was about another delegation, it was about another delegation, it was about a member of the production team that are putting on the show, that includes people from ebu, the tv company making eurovision, not any of the delegation in participating countries. 25 can countries are _ participating countries. 25 can countries are now _ participating countries. 25 can countries are now competing l participating countries. 25 can i countries are now competing too participating countries. 25 can - countries are now competing too late to bring someone else in. this controversy has put a damper on the whole mood, hasn't it? yes. controversy has put a damper on the whole mood, hasn't it?— whole mood, hasn't it? yes, this controversy _ whole mood, hasn't it? yes, this controversy and _ whole mood, hasn't it? yes, this controversy and the _ whole mood, hasn't it? yes, this controversy and the whole - whole mood, hasn't it? yes, thisj controversy and the whole week, whole mood, hasn't it? yes, this. controversy and the whole week, at the jury final last night when it was announced thatjoost wouldn't be performing, the crowd booed and then started singing the song. while they were still deciding, they played the song on video in the arena so the juries could vote on it if it was

still in, and at that point the crowd sang along and cheered but immediately afterwards came israel with perhaps some of the loudest negative reaction of the night. there was boeing? aha, negative reaction of the night. there was boeing?— negative reaction of the night. there was boeing? a los of bearing and “eerina there was boeing? a los of bearing and jeering at _ there was boeing? a los of bearing and jeering at a _ there was boeing? a los of bearing and jeering at a level— there was boeing? a los of bearing and jeering at a level that - there was boeing? a los of bearing and jeering at a level that in - there was boeing? a los of bearing and jeering at a level that in the . and jeering at a level that in the past had not come through to the broadcasters but it deftly had its last night. also last night, the executive director in ebu, when askedif executive director in ebu, when asked if they were good to go on the rehearsal he was booed in the arena at such a large level which is completely unprecedented, first that they know who he is and that he would be booed when in the past something like that gets a little appreciative tears or love from the audience. this is a very strange mood and there will be thousands of dutch fans that have come to malmo, but these tickets. i dutch fans that have come to malmo, but these tickets.— but these tickets. i have seen them, i can see them _ but these tickets. i have seen them, i can see them from _ but these tickets. i have seen them, i can see them from here, _ but these tickets. i have seen them, i can see them from here, from - but these tickets. i have seen them, i can see them from here, from the| i can see them from here, from the window if you look behind us, there are dutch fans queueing up and they will be bitterly disappointed. can be a little bit about this event,

because you used the word unprecedented there, this has never happened before, has it? ida. unprecedented there, this has never happened before, has it? no, nothing like this has happened _ happened before, has it? no, nothing like this has happened before. - happened before, has it? no, nothing like this has happened before. this i like this has happened before. this is normally a joyous event, yes, it is normally a joyous event, yes, it is a competition and people take the competition very seriously, they care about winning, but what you never get are these angry scenes between different delegations, the situation is at the press conference where artists did not want to take photos of each other, they seemed to roll their eyes at other artists' answers and things like this. you saw a press conference from the irish contestant saying she cried when she saw israel qualify... it is not what eurovision _ when she saw israel qualify... it is not what eurovision is about. no, | not what eurovision is about. no, and the ebu _ not what eurovision is about. no, and the ebu will _ not what eurovision is about. iifr, and the ebu will have not what eurovision is about. mr, and the ebu will have to think seriously about what happened and how we ended up in the situation. what i will say is the city itself has done a good job in making everyone from all over europe feel welcome. there have been protestss

which have been incredibly calm, people have made their point of view, that side of things has been very good. the show itself, for the dutch artist and the ebu there are questions to answer. we dutch artist and the ebu there are questions to answer.— dutch artist and the ebu there are questions to answer. we see pictures ofthe questions to answer. we see pictures of the israeli — questions to answer. we see pictures of the israeli act _ questions to answer. we see pictures of the israeli act getting _ questions to answer. we see pictures of the israeli act getting through i of the israeli act getting through to the final, i wonder if our producer in london can take us to the live scene outside the hotel where the dutch act, joost klein, is staying. i want to take you there because i think there is a lot of the world's press outside their looking to see ifjoost is going to come out and talk. this hotel is very a lot of the acts are staying this time. he has not said anything so far, but what the world's press are really wondering is what could it have been that would make the ebu disqualify him, because that is quite a big move to make? yes. disqualify him, because that is quite a big move to make? yes, it is a hue quite a big move to make? yes, it is a huge move — quite a big move to make? yes, it is a huge move and — quite a big move to make? yes, it is a huge move and that _ quite a big move to make? yes, it is a huge move and that is _ quite a big move to make? yes, it is a huge move and that is the - quite a big move to make? yes, it is| a huge move and that is the question that everyone wants to know. all we

know from the ebu is that it involved intimidation towards a member of the team depending on your vision. there are rumours obviously swanning round the press centre and we have heard suggestions of altercation of physical behaviour, aggressive behaviour stop what actually happens though we don't know. it is now a matterfor the police and it is a matter for prosecutors and if it goes to court we will perhaps get more details but there are a lot of unanswered questions. and joost himself has not spoken, i saw a journalist yesterday from the swedish used paper —— newspaper who tried to doorstep him, he has headphones on and refused to answer questions. he has not said anything and it wouldn't be surprised if he is not already back in the netherlands or will be back incredibly soon. fine in the netherlands or will be back incredibly soon.— in the netherlands or will be back incredibly soon. one of the things that lets incredibly soon. one of the things that gets to _ incredibly soon. one of the things that gets to me _ incredibly soon. one of the things that gets to me is _ incredibly soon. one of the things that gets to me is the _ incredibly soon. one of the things that gets to me is the song i incredibly soon. one of the things that gets to me is the song he i

incredibly soon. one of the things i that gets to me is the song he sung is all about peace, love, getting on with each other and this seems such a sad end to his eurovision story. it does and it was a fun song. kids love it. it does and it was a fun song. kids love it- the _ it does and it was a fun song. kids love it. the netherlands _ it does and it was a fun song. kids love it. the netherlands song i it does and it was a fun song. kids love it. the netherlands song was | love it. the netherlands song was one of the favourites _ love it. the netherlands song was one of the favourites and - love it. the netherlands song was one of the favourites and it - love it. the netherlands song was one of the favourites and it was i one of the favourites and it was kind ofjoyous, silly, it had a fun repeating sound that was easy to sing along with and a very nice message about his parents at the end of the song, so the juxtaposition, the difference between that and him being involved in the situation, and he is just 26, being involved in the situation, and he isjust 26, a relatively young quy- he isjust 26, a relatively young guy. a lot of performers here are in their 20s, won only 17, so this is a huge stage and it is an incredibly difficult situation and i wonder what the repercussions of this might be for him after this, it will be tough as well. i be for him after this, it will be tough as well.— be for him after this, it will be tough as well. be for him after this, it will be tou~h as well. ., ., ., ., tough as well. i want to ask you one more quick— tough as well. i want to ask you one more quick question, _ tough as well. i want to ask you one more quick question, 25 _ tough as well. i want to ask you one

more quick question, 25 countries . more quick question, 25 countries competing tonight, does this change anything in terms of favourites? who was the favourite? the anything in terms of favourites? who was the favourite?— was the favourite? the favourite is still croatia. _ was the favourite? the favourite is still croatia, they _ was the favourite? the favourite is still croatia, they have _ was the favourite? the favourite is still croatia, they have been i still croatia, they have been favourites for quite a long time and remain so. in the betting odds, israel i believe are currently second favourite, a lot of that after the semifinal when there were some partial data leaked from the italian phone vote which suggested they were giving a lot of phone vote. france and other countries like that are there and thereabouts, but there are a lot of great numbers on the, but will the moment be overshadowed by what is going on here? ., ~' ,, overshadowed by what is going on here? ., ~ i. , . overshadowed by what is going on here? ., ~ , . ~ ., here? thank you very much, adrian. we have talked _ here? thank you very much, adrian. we have talked about _ here? thank you very much, adrian. we have talked about the _ here? thank you very much, adrian. | we have talked about the controversy surrounding joost klein, that breaking story that the netherlands are no longer going to be participating in the eurovision, but another headache for the organisers tonight and that is another anti—israel protest, pro—palestinian

protest excuse me, in malmo which is planned for later on today. there was one a couple of days ago when the semifinal was held here. sarah rainsford is in central malmo for us. we are seeing pictures of the protest that happened the other day, they were loud but peaceful protest, what are we expecting today? i think we are exoecting _ what are we expecting today? i think we are expecting the _ what are we expecting today? i think we are expecting the same. - what are we expecting today? i t i “ia; we are expecting the same. possibly a slightly bigger protest this time because it is a weekend and the big final day for eurovision, we were there a couple of days ago in the centre of malmo and around about 10,000 protesters came together according to police. they marched through the city centre, they were passionate, feel very strongly about their main thesis which is they don't believe israel should be taking part in this eurovision song contest while gaza is being bombed ljy contest while gaza is being bombed by the israeli military. they talk about humanitarian crisis, lots of very passionate language and

chanting, but it was pleased very carefully and there were a lot of police officers there, but it was pretty, i won't stay relaxed, that is the wrong word, but it was intense, and organised protest, large, loud, but there was no trouble at all. it was a peaceful rally. we have seen a lot of smaller rallies since then and before that, so a lot of people who feel passionately that israel shouldn't be in the competition. i havejust been speaking to an israeli found here in malmo he says around about 100 what he described as super fans of your eurovision have come despite the controversy. he said normally he would paint his face in the colours of israeli flag but he is not doing that this time because he said he was pretty nervous and was feeling hate from the general crowd here,

particularly in the auditorium. he said it was difficult for him to see people telling their back on the stage when eden golan took to the stage when eden golan took to the stage to perform her song fits well. lots of people booing, turning their backs, blocking their ears and the israeli found were saying it was difficult to cope with but he could only display his flag inside the auditorium, that was only the place he felt safe to display that. i have seen a lot of people with palestinian flags and a lot of people voicing solidarity with palestine and protesting about israel being in eurovision at all this year. israel being in eurovision at all this ear. ., ~ , ., , israel being in eurovision at all this ear. ., , . this year. thank you very much indeed for _ this year. thank you very much indeed for that. _ this year. thank you very much indeed for that. sarah - this year. thank you very much indeed for that. sarah is i this year. thank you very much indeed for that. sarah is right, | this year. thank you very much | indeed for that. sarah is right, i haven't really seen any israeli flags out and about. as the countdown begins ahead of that grand final this evening, the news that the netherlands will no longer be

competing. there is bound to be a lot of disappointment and they're well i am sure ba a postmortem on how this entire eurovision song contest has been handled this year ljy contest has been handled this year by the ebu, but the fans queueing up once his music, the final rehearsal is in a few minutes' time and i'm sure they will enjoy themselves. unprecedented news there from malmo. to the middle east now. and israel's call to residents in new parts of eastern rafah in gaza to evacuate. it comes as the un warns supplies are hitting the "bottom of the barrel" with no aid entering via the territory's southern border crossings. this is where people have been told to go, muwasi, which has been labelled an "expanded humanitarian area" by the israel defence forces. it now says 300,000 gazans have moved towards there since the first evacuation orders on monday.

these developments have happened as a long—awaited us government report has criticised israel's use of american—supplied weapons in the gaza war, saying its reasonable to assess they have been used in breach of international humanitarian law in some instances. 0urjerusalem correspondent yolande knell has more on the situation in rafah. ok, so these new evacuation orders are still in the eastern parts of rafah, but they suggest the israeli military is expanding its offensive there. we've already been hearing that there's been artillery shelling in the centre of the city as well as in the east, israeli air strikes as well, and also israeli gunships off the coast have been opening fire, one of the residents there was telling us. but already israeli tanks have encircled an area which is to the east of rafah which they had told residents to evacuate from earlier in the week, so now those tanks do seem to be advancing.

we have been told in recent days by the israeli military that this is still a limited offensive that they're carrying out in rafah against hamas which they see as a hamas stronghold, this southernmost city, and they say they have killed a number of what they call terrorists. they've found terror tunnels, they say, in this area. and this does fall short, indications are at the moment, from the full—scale ground invasion of rafah that the us and other world powers have really been warning israel against, but already we are seeing this crisis developing in humanitarian operations with, you know, the severe shortages of food and clean water and fuel which has a big effect on the hospitals, because we've had no aid coming in certainly since tuesday when the rafah border crossing was captured by israeli forces.

the kerem shalom crossing down in the south—eastern corner of the gaza strip, well, israel says that's reopened, but because of the fighting that's going on nearby, the security situation means that no supplies can get into gaza that way either. and yolande, these people, thousands of people on the move and there are concerns that where they're being asked to go to, muwasi, that there aren't the facilities there to deal with such a large influx of people, so concerns there as well. the israeli military calls this a humanitarian zone but it is really not recognised internationally as being such. the israeli military says it has been expanded in recent days but those arriving in this coastal area in this sort of tent city have told us there are shortages of everything, they are not finding any supplies there, they've got nothing to feed their children and that situation is not going to improve as long as these border crossings remain closed. can ijust ask one more thing

about this, this is all happening obviously as this us government report was published saying it's reasonable to assess that arms have been used in ways inconsistent with israel's obligations under humanitarian law, has there been any reaction from israel to this? we've not had an official reaction from israel at this point, but israel has been saying consistently that it keeps to international law, that it investigates any alleged abuses of international law and that the force that it's using in gaza is proportionate to the threat that it sees from hamas, in effect an existential threat. you can follow all the latest on the bbc news app and website — we've got a live page there with all the developments as they happen.

prince harry and meghan are in nigeria this weekend as part of the duke's promotion of the invictus games. let's go live, pictures might be a little rough and ready because as i say these are live pictures just being brought in. you werejust say these are live pictures just being brought in. you were just see meghan there, you will be aware that nigeria is the latest country and the first african nation to join the invicta schemes, which is the initiative that prince harry founded around about ten years ago now. —— join the victors games. he was then travelling on with it meghan to nigeria, they have been to various events and he is looking at training events and he is looking at training events so he will be expected to attend a volleyball session at some

point today and he is meeting some of the competitors who will be taking part in the invictus games, the next one will be in vancouver in canada next year in 2025. we understand he is in talks as well because at some point it is hoped that nigeria will itself host one of the invictus games events. i'm not sure if we can hear anything, shall we take a listen and see if we can? asi as i say, it has been very busy, three days in nigeria and this is the second of three days. i can tell you some of the other things they have been doing. this morning, the duke received gifts from the nigerian government.

this included a portrait of his mother, diana, and a painted wedding picture. on friday the pair launched their tour in the capital, abuja, with a visit to a school which receives support from their foundation. so it has been a busy few days. it looks to me like they are going on to a volleyball court there, so as i say, this is really in celebration of the fact nigeria has joined the invictus games family, so they will be seeing a demonstration of some of those athletes in action. following the visit. 0ur africa correspondent simijolaoso has been following the visit. 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. we will bring you any more pictures we get from harry and meghan's visit as and when we get them. for the moment, let's go to ukraine. russian forces have launched a surprise new ground offensive in ukraine, crossing the border into

the north—eastern kharkiv region. for months fighting has been focused 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. these are pictures of volunteers helping people in settlements around kharkiv evacuate, getting out before the fighting gets worse. the most powerful solar storm in more than two decades has been hitting the earth, triggering spectacular celestial light shows in many parts of the world and bringing possible disruptions to satellites and power grids. such storms occur when the sun emits large clouds of particles, with scientists expecting this one to persist into the weekend. it means people across britain

have been able to see the northern lights, a phenomenon which isn't normally visible to people in southern england. this was the scene in the skies over 0xford. and in the east of england, this is ipswich. but these scenes in switzerland may have trumped the skies over the uk. these are pictures of the northern lights over the swiss alps. helena wilkinson has more. a tantalising glimpse of the spectacular light show that was about to unfold across the uk. at crosby beach in liverpool, people gathered to witness the breathtaking sight, a burst of colour lighting up the clear overnight sky. the northern lights made a rare appearance across the uk. this was manchester, the city bathed in a bright, colourful glow. clear conditions meant parts of the country were treated to dramatic displays. this was the dazzling scene in hornsey in yorkshire.

liam james, who captured the moment, described it as the best display he'd ever seen. even more southerly areas like basingstoke in hampshire were treated to the spectacle. the northern lights are caused by the earth's atmosphere reacting to charged particles from the sun. this is sort of a huge explosion that can be associated with the flare. but basically what happens is part of the sun actually lifts off the surface. so this plasma, the charged particles, the magnetic field that makes up the sun, part of it actually lifts off the sun and streams away into space. if you missed last night's display, there might be a chance to capture it this evening. helena wilkinson, bbc news. amazing pictures. thousands of you have been sending your images in to us here at the bbc. please keep them coming in, not least for those of us

like me who missed the light show entirely because we were sleeping. stay with us here on bbc news. 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 though 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, they 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 washout, no great big band of heavy rain spreading its way through. but there'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. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines... the netherlands is out of the eurovision song contest — after dutch singerjoost klein is disqualified. police are investigating a complaint made against the singer by a female member of the production team. meanwhile, the contest is taking place amid protests in the host city malmo over the participation of israel and the war in gaza. hundreds of people are fleeing continued clashes in ukraine's kharkiv region, a day after russia sent troops across the border to break through defensive lines. this comes as president biden gives the go—ahead for more aid to 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.