this is bbc news. this the headlines: the israeli military says about 300,000 palestinians have left the city of rafah since it ordered them to evacuate on monday. but the un warns they're moving to an area, which lacks basic infrastructure. morning these are the live pictures in malmo, sweden, where more than 10,000 people are protesting israel's involvement in the eurovision song contest. almost 2,000 people have been evacuated from ukraine's kharkiv region as clashes continue, a day after russia sent troops across the border to break through defensive lines. the most powerful solar storm in more than two decades hits the earth, triggering spectacular celestial light shows

in many parts of the world. a police officer has been shot in the leg with a crossbow and a man was stabbed in what was described as a "serious assault and weapons incident". police shot and arrested a 54—year—old suspect who is now in hospital. the incident happened last night near high wycombe, in buckinghamshire. from where frances read sent this report. 0fficers now on the scene after one of their own was shot with a crossbow. in this quiet cul de sac yesterday evening, police were first called to a stabbing. it was when they got here that the officer was shot in the leg. armed police then shot a 54—year—old man and arrested him on suspicion of attempted murder, as families ran for cover. i got out of the car and he said,

"get back in the car. there's somebody with a crossbow." and then ijust phoned my daughter and said to her, "just lock all the doors, shut the windows," and we just had to wait. ijust grabbed my son and told my partner to quickly get home. we got home and then within minutes it wasjust all kicking off and there was pandemonium everywhere. children still aren't on the play park this weekend. it, too, has been sealed off. the swings are empty and families have to find somewhere else to play. thames valley police has now referred itself to the independent office for police conduct. that's usual practice after any police shooting. forensic officers have now started their work here. police have said the man, who was arrested, remains in hospital under a police guard. frances read, bbc news, high wickham. if you looked into the sky last night you may well have been greeted by a stunning array of colours. one of the strongest geomagnetic storms for years meant that the northern lights could be seen across parts of the uk, as our correspondent

louisa pilbeam reports. technicolor skies not seen in parts of the uk for more than 20 years. this the scene injersey, as a spectacular solar show was sent from the sun. as far south as padstow, in cornwall, a dazzling display shone another light on our world. look at the colours overnight in saffron walden in essex, and this burst of colour in hertfordshire! and in london late last night. who you the northern lights are rare enough. further north, in crosby beach, in liverpool, people gathered to watch. this was the forth bridge in scotland. the colours are caused by solar storms on the surface of the sun. the story started 93 million miles away and two days ago. what happened was the magnetic fields on the sun rearranged themselves, releasing a lot of energy and ejecting billions of tonnes of charged particles out from the sun.

and, in europe, these shades dancing across the skies of southern germany. this was manchester, the city bathed in a bright glow, and stunning aurora activity above hornsey, in yorkshire, as rays fell, too, on basingstoke, in hampshire. i think we might be in with a chance again tonight. it might not be quite as spectacular as last night but it's probably worth trying and, because of the way the geometry works, we're always most likely to see it at around midnight. so if you can stay up till midnight and get yourself into a dark place, that would be the thing to do. and, if you do, you may be treated to a rare gift from our universe. louisa pilbeam, bbc news. i'm joined by my colleague tomasz schafernaker, from bbc weather, who was lucky enough to see the aurora borealis in london last night. enough to see the aurora borealis

just described those magical pictures for eyes. i just described those magical pictures for eyes.— just described those magical pictures for eyes. i tell you what. it was a dream _ pictures for eyes. i tell you what. it was a dream come _ pictures for eyes. i tell you what. it was a dream come true. - pictures for eyes. i tell you what. it was a dream come true. many| it was a dream come true. many people dream is to see the northern lights but in the big city, at home, from your own garden, from the park, it was fantastic and about 10:30pm i started to see a green tint in the sky and bill knew it was going to happen but you never really quite believe it and then i went to the park. i got my very important the eyes used to the dark sky and we saw that spectacular display and, do you know what the amazing thing about this aurora was? it is just so special. normally, we do get auroras in the south of the uk occasionally. 0f in the south of the uk occasionally. of course they are better further north but, in the south, folks tend to see just a bit of a tent low on the horizon and that is the best we get whereas i had the aurora right above my head. you get whereas i had the aurora right above my head-— above my head. you can literally lick it. above my head. you can literally lick it- we _ above my head. you can literally lick it. we can _ above my head. you can literally lick it. we can see _ above my head. you can literally lick it. we can see the _ above my head. you can literally lick it. we can see the pictures l lick it. we can see the pictures there. just right above your head. and obviously people watching like me who missed the show, what luck to

be had to catch it tonight? it is definitely going _ be had to catch it tonight? it 3 definitely going to happen be had to catch it tonight? it 1 definitely going to happen tonight for sure. greatest chance is always a little bit further north across the uk but almost anywhere is likely. if you look at that graphic, the red colours is pretty much 90-100% and the red colours is pretty much 90—100% and then slightly less of a chance in the south but i think if you are out there, you get your eyes used to the diet, you should just about catch it. try to search it with your phone first because our eyes are not as sensitive at the beginning. eyes are not as sensitive at the beginning-— eyes are not as sensitive at the beaainnin. , ,., ., ., , beginning. just explain that for us. how do you — beginning. just explain that for us. how do you train _ beginning. just explain that for us. how do you train your _ beginning. just explain that for us. how do you train your eyes? - beginning. just explain that for us. | how do you train your eyes? trying to think of an _ how do you train your eyes? trying to think of an analogy _ how do you train your eyes? trying to think of an analogy that - how do you train your eyes? trying to think of an analogy that ibm - how do you train your eyes? trying to think of an analogy that ibm and you suddenly switch the lights off and go to bed at night in your bedroom put up you cannot see anything, you know. you can barely walk. but after a few minutes, after five minutes, your eyes start to see everything. you can almost read in the moonlight. the same goes with

our eyes. they need time to adapt so our eyes. they need time to adapt so our fans will see it but a little bit of a lag with our eyes and they are not quite as bright as what we see on some of the pictures. i think people tend to turn up the saturation the colours a little bit but look, it is fantastic.- saturation the colours a little bit but look, it is fantastic. once in a lifetime for _ but look, it is fantastic. once in a lifetime for some _ but look, it is fantastic. once in a lifetime for some buyers. - but look, it is fantastic. once in a lifetime for some buyers. very i lifetime for some buyers. very exciting. thank you so much. thank you so much. doctor darren baskill is a lecturer in astrophysics at the university of sussex. hejoins me now from brighton where he's running onjust a few hours sleep after observing the lights all night! iam i am really sad i missed out. explain the science for as. how rare is an event like this?— is an event like this? what an amazin: is an event like this? what an amazing diapiay _ is an event like this? what an amazing display we _ is an event like this? what an amazing display we had - is an event like this? what an amazing display we had last l is an event like this? what an - amazing display we had last night. what is happening is the sun is has a really complicated magnetic field and that magnetic field come inside the sun, over 11 years, with colic the sun, over 11 years, with colic the cycle. we are by approaching the

peak of this solar cycle which will happen in the next year or so. so the sun is making massive bubbles of gas in our general direction and we were lucky enough last night for that magnetic bubble to hit the earth. it squeezes particles into the earth's atmosphere and when those particles, like electrons, collide with the gases inside our atmosphere, it makes this guy glows to the different colours you can see, myself, we were lucky here with the university of sussex in that we are surrounded by the countryside so it was a good night to observe the night sky. last night i could see greens and reds and purples and the green colours, are caused by oxygen. the red colour is caused by nitrogen in our purple colours are caused by hydrogen and helium so those vibrant

colours we can see last night are all caused by the different chemicals in our atmosphere. we can actuall , chemicals in our atmosphere. we can actually. our — chemicals in our atmosphere. we can actually, our viewers _ chemicals in our atmosphere. we can actually, our viewers can _ chemicals in our atmosphere. we can actually, our viewers can see - chemicals in our atmosphere. we can actually, our viewers can see the - actually, our viewers can see the pictures that you send to us. they are really incredible. these are things that you might see in a country like finland or norway but you had people around the world, not only the uk but also in the united states. earlierwe only the uk but also in the united states. earlier we heard of people in ukraine also able to see these pictures. how did that happen? 50. pictures. how did that happen? so, because pictures. how did that happen? srr, because the pictures. how did that happen? s57, because the sun pictures. how did that happen? s513, because the sun is pictures. how did that happen? sr3, because the sun is reaching its maximum peak in its cycle, these bubbles of gas are getting more energetic when they come in our direction. we tend to see from the uk, we can see the aurora maybe once or twice every solar cycle, once or twice every 11 years and last solar cycle 11 years ago is back in 2013, i could see some aurora but they

were very faint and low on the horizon. last night was something completely different and i saw the news reports of being able to see the order and expecting something just a little hint of something like that so initially i did not care about but then i got a text message from a couple older students from the university of sussex and they sent me messages ijust go outside with your camera, it had let the entire sky. this is an event that will happen maybe four or five times a century. so a big thank you to alex and rachel for encouraging me to go outside with my camera. thank ou for to go outside with my camera. thank you forjoining _ to go outside with my camera. thank you forjoining us _ to go outside with my camera. thank you forjoining us on _ to go outside with my camera. thank you forjoining us on bbc _ to go outside with my camera. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. - to go outside with my camera. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. for a guide on how and where you will have the best chance of seeing the northern lights across the uk tonight, you can visit the bbc news

website. the charity, help for heroes, says many veterans living with chronic pain are not receiving the compensation they deserve from the uk government. it's calling on the ministry of defence to recognise the condition in its own right and to expand financial support for those affected. ministers say they're continually reviewing policies, and owe a debt of gratitude to all veterans, as john maguire reports. vicki ross lives her life in constant pain. always active and fiercely competitive, she plays wheelchair rugby, which you may be amazed to hear helps her to deal with the pain. it's a distraction, but not a cure. is that ever a time where you're not in pain? er, i don't think so, other than when i'm on the operating table. so, yeah, everything hurts at some point.

especially in my knees and my feet and kind of in my shoulder as well. butjust depending on what i do through the day, so whether i'm sitting down too much or whether i stand too much or whether i walk — you know, that increases the pain and increases the time to recover back to that kind of baseline of pain. she had a very successful military career, but was medically discharged after 22 years. the army had followed playing football for manchester city. a lifetime of sport and physical endurance has taken its toll and despite the scars, she says chronic pain affects her life in so many ways. the kind of mental health impact it has, you know, itjust makes everything a lot more difficult, so it makes socialising difficult, it makes work difficult, and then, you know, you start to doubt yourself. even when you have this pain, it changes your life, it changes the person you once were.

you know, that has its own kind of mental health impact. she's backing the campaign by help for heroes, a charity for the armed forces, to have chronic pain diagnosed as a medical condition in its own right. it's one of those, i guess, disabilities that you can't see, and people just don't understand. so it has a huge impact on your life — notjust your life, if you look wider, yourfamily, yourjob, how you are as a member of society. it can be crippling for some people. having achieved so much in her personal, professional, and sporting life, vicki's determined to continue being as active as she possibly can. and when chronic pain is doing its utmost to defeat her, that determination is this former soldier's most valuable weapon. john maguire, bbc news, staffordshire. the taliban in afghanistan say more than 300 people are now known to have died in devastating flash floods in the north of the country. a spokesman for the interior

ministry told the bbc that most of the casualties were in the province of baghlan. emergency teams have been sent to rescue those stranded by the floodwaters. on friday, a massive torrent of water swept away hundreds of houses in several villages. dozens of people are still missing. with me is our reporter sofia bettiza who has been following the story. this sounds like a desperate situation. what more can you tell us? that is right. desperate and devastating few hours for thousands of people in afghanistan put up essentially, what happened is that the northern part of the country has been hit by unusually heavy rainfall and that has caused the flooding that we are looking at. now, the bbc has been sent several videos and images from some people in the country and those show the scale of the damage and in those images we

can see violent torrents of water sweeping through houses. people trapped in their own homes trying to get to safety by climbing on top of their rooftops but also people who are believed to be trapped under the mud and under the rubble. now, as you said, the un is saying that more than 300 people are believed to have died and we also understand that more than 2000 houses have been destroyed. bud more than 2000 houses have been destro ed. �* _, ., destroyed. and we continue to report on natural disasters _ destroyed. and we continue to report on natural disasters in _ destroyed. and we continue to report on natural disasters in afghanistan i on natural disasters in afghanistan with these earthquakes and floods like this. how common is flooding in particular, there have been conversations about whether this is linked to climate change?— conversations about whether this is linked to climate change? there are several factors _ linked to climate change? there are several factors that _ linked to climate change? there are several factors that cause _ linked to climate change? there are several factors that cause flooding l several factors that cause flooding but climate change is definitely a key reason why this is happening at the moment. and this is because of the moment. and this is because of the fact that it is getting hotter, it is causing more extreme rainfall but also, interestingly, according to experts, is one of the countries

in the world most at risk because of climate change. it has been a particularly dry winter and that makes it very hard for their soil to absorb such a huge amount of water but also, afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, ravaged by decades of war. when these things happen, you know, the country is not exactly well—equipped to deal with natural disasters. in terms of what happens next, we know more than 300 people are known to have died but there are still many who are missing and so the fear at the moment is that the death toll could rise significantly.— the moment is that the death toll could rise significantly. thank you for bringing _ could rise significantly. thank you for bringing us — could rise significantly. thank you for bringing us that _ could rise significantly. thank you for bringing us that update - could rise significantly. thank you for bringing us that update and i i could rise significantly. thank you i for bringing us that update and i am sure we will have more on that story you on bbc news. sure we will have more on that story you on bbc news. prince harry and meghan are in nigeria this weekend as part of the duke's promotion

of the invictus games. earlier, harry played a seated volleyball match with army veterans, many of whom were wounded in battles against the country's islamist insurgency. harry's team, dressed in yellow, took on a squad led by nigeria's chief of defence staff, the country's top commander. the prince's team took an early lead, but ending up losing the match 25—21. 0ur africa correspondent simijola—oso 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. 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. 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 9 and 10 in both directions until 6 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. away from the controversy at the eurovision song contest this evening, 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 brough up. pupils at his old school have been gearing up for the big day, as our reporter, steve knibbs, found out. 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 i 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! let's update you on what's going, at the eurovision song contest in the swedish city of malmo, where thousands of people are protesting about israel's involvement. the israeli performer, eden golan, is in tonight's final,

but was met with booing when she performed her song, hurricane, yesterday. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has wished her success, saying she had already won against an "ugly wave of antisemitism".the dutch artist joost klein has been disqualified from the eurovision song contest after a backstage incident. an allegation of intimidation was made to swedish now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. hello, let's start with the space forecast. there is a very high chance of the sky is being lit up once again by the aurora borealis. perfect conditions for many of us with clear skies, and the advice is to keep watching the sky from late evening onwards. but you need to get your eyes used to that dark sky, because the aurora isn't quite as bright as some of those photographs suggest. this is the probability

of seeing the aurora. the reds indicate 90—100% probability. and further south, 50—50. because it will be right above our heads, even people in the further south area, you might even still see it somewhere along the horizon. here is the forecast, dry for most today, but scattered thunderstorms on the way, some could be torrential. the forecast for the rest of the day and into the second half of the afternoon, some scattered showers, it may be some cracks of thunder in the forecast for the highlands, maybe one or two for the lowlands and southern uplands. but on the whole, a sunny and very warm day for many of us, temperatures in the low to mid 20s in some spots. even coastal areas will see temperatures of around 20 or more. the winds are very light. if you are unlucky you might be under some of the thicker shrouding the north sea coast. this evening, aurora time, not completely clear, so fingers crossed it won't be too cloudy.

the aurora could hang around for a good hour or two, so there is plenty of opportunity to go out again to try to catch a glimpse of that light spectacle. remember, it is not quite so vivid, you have to get used to it. high pressure slips away on a sunday, that has been on top so there is plenty of opportunity to go out again to try to catch a glimpse of that light spectacle. remember, it is not quite so vivid, you have to get used to it. high pressure slips away on a sunday, that has been on top of us giving us giving us the settled weather just in time for the aurora. on sunday we start to see storms developing across western parts of the uk, some will be torrential, the chance of some flash flooding out towards the west. but temperatures tomorrow perhaps as high as 26. bye— bye.

live from london. this is bbc news. the israeli military says about 300,000 palestinians have left the city of rafah since they've been ordered to evacuate on monday. but the un warns they're moving to an area — which lacks basic infrastructure. it comes as washington says israel may have used american—supplied weapons in breach of international humanitarian law in gaza. these are the live pictures in malmo, sweden, where more than ten—thousand people are protesting over israel's participation in the eurovision song contest. where the confusion continues as the

netherlands are disqualified.