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. the grand final of the eurovision song contest is under way in malmo, sweden — against a background of protests over israel's participation. thousands of demonstrators in georgia take to the streets of tbilisi, in the latest protest against legislation they say will stifle opposition. the un's world food programme says hundreds of people have been killed and thousands of homes destroyed by major flooding in northern afghanistan. and the most powerful solar storm in 21 years — triggers celestial light—shows in many parts of the world — with scientists expecting another display later this evening.

hello, i'm samantha simmonds. the israeli military says about 300,000 palestinians have left the city of rafah since monday — when israel told them to move to a nearby district of gaza. the israel defence forces have declared a narrow coastal strip at al—mawasi to be a safe humanitarian zone, but the un says it has no running water or proper sanitation. israel is planning an assault on hamas fighters in rafah and has ordered tens of thousands more residents — from eastern districts of the city to leave. evacuation orders have also been issued for thousands of people in parts of northern gaza. last night, a us government report criticised israel's use of american—supplied weapons in the gaza war, saying it's reasonable to assess they have been used in breach of international humanitarian law in some instances. israel launched its war on hamas following their attack in israel on october the 7th.

from jerusalem, here's our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. another desperate exodus, palestinians fleeing in their thousands as israel signals it's now set to push further into gaza's southernmost city, issuing new evacuation orders. "what should we do?" hanan asks. "do we wait until we all die on top of each other? we've decided it's better to leave." israel has said it's taking action against hamas in one of its last strongholds and trying to bring hostages home. but with israel's capture of one main border crossing and another blocked off by fighting, this is the fifth day with no aid getting into southern gaza. there are now severe shortages of food, deepening the humanitarian crisis. so far, israel's military is describing its offensive in rafah as limited. but the world is watching to see if this turns into the full scale invasion that the country's allies

have warned against. and as israeli tanks and troops await orders near the gaza border, there's been another strong statement from washington. it says that with some of its strikes on gaza, israel may have used american supplied weapons in breach of international law. israel has consistently denied any violations. and yet the new report may have an impact on plans back here in rafah, where there's already a growing sense of emergency. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. let's speak to farhal ahmed. he is the community fundraising and volunteers manager at the charity muslim aid. welcome, good to have you on the programme. i understand you have just arrived back in london after being in cairo trying to facilitate and help with the aid going into the rough, tell us about your experiences.— rough, tell us about your exeriences. , , ., experiences. yes, “ust landed in the mornin:. experiences. yes, 'ust landed in the morning. we — experiences. yes, 'ust landed in the morning. we were— experiences. yes, just landed in the morning. we were in _ experiences. yes, just landed in the

morning. we were in cairo - experiences. yes, just landed in the | morning. we were in cairo preparing aid at our warehouses to be distributed into rough as soon as possible. —— into rafah. we are waiting for our warehouses to open to take them over the border into rafah. ~ ., ., ,, to take them over the border into rafah. ~ ., ., , ., rafah. what do you understand the situation to be _ rafah. what do you understand the situation to be in _ rafah. what do you understand the situation to be in rafah _ rafah. what do you understand the situation to be in rafah right - rafah. what do you understand the situation to be in rafah right now? | situation to be in rafah right now? at the moment it seems everything is blocked off, as mentioned, and the only thing we did hear that kind of went through was fuel, yesterday, and that was pretty much it, no aide has gone through at the moment. so we are hopeful that the border will open soon. we are hopeful that the border will oen soon. ~ . . we are hopeful that the border will open soon-— open soon. what aid in particular are ou open soon. what aid in particular are you trying — open soon. what aid in particular are you trying to _ open soon. what aid in particular are you trying to get _ open soon. what aid in particular are you trying to get in? - open soon. what aid in particular are you trying to get in? our- open soon. what aid in particular| are you trying to get in? our main focus is food _ are you trying to get in? our main focus is food packs, _ are you trying to get in? our main focus is food packs, hygiene - are you trying to get in? our main focus is food packs, hygiene kits, | focus is food packs, hygiene kits, also gluten free food as well, which is really important for those that suffer from coeliac disease, especially in the situation currently, a lot of people with dietary needs have unfortunately need gluten free food. we are also

focusing on temporary shelter as well, and mattresses. figs focusing on temporary shelter as well, and mattresses.— focusing on temporary shelter as well, and mattresses. as you say, ou're well, and mattresses. as you say, you're waiting _ well, and mattresses. as you say, you're waiting for _ well, and mattresses. as you say, you're waiting for this _ well, and mattresses. as you say, you're waiting for this age - well, and mattresses. as you say, you're waiting for this age to - well, and mattresses. as you say, you're waiting for this age to go i you're waiting for this age to go through. what eight have you seen go through. what eight have you seen go through in recent weeks? fiur through. what eight have you seen go through in recent weeks?— through in recent weeks? our first arcel of through in recent weeks? our first parcel of aid. _ through in recent weeks? our first parcel of aid, delivering _ through in recent weeks? our first parcel of aid, delivering food - parcel of aid, delivering food parcels and shelter and hygiene kits, they have gone through from outside. ., , ., , ., kits, they have gone through from outside. ., , ., ., outside. how helpful are you that this current _ outside. how helpful are you that this current aid _ outside. how helpful are you that this current aid will _ outside. how helpful are you that this current aid will start - outside. how helpful are you that this current aid will start to - outside. how helpful are you that this current aid will start to go i this current aid will start to go through soon? the this current aid will start to go through soon?— this current aid will start to go throu~h soon? . , ., , through soon? the teams are very ho eful. through soon? the teams are very hopeful- we _ through soon? the teams are very hopeful. we are _ through soon? the teams are very hopeful. we are hoping _ through soon? the teams are very hopeful. we are hoping the - through soon? the teams are very i hopeful. we are hoping the blockade finishes as soon as possible. and we are able to get a lot of our aid in as soon as possible.— are able to get a lot of our aid in as soon as possible. thank you for “oininu as soon as possible. thank you for joining us- — the final of the eurovision song contest is now under way in sweden. throughout the day, an estimated 10,000 people marched through the city of malmo, protesting against israel's participation in the competition. the israeli performer, eden golan, is in tonight's final, but was met with booing when she performed her song,

hurricane, yesterday. a norwegianjury spokesperson has resigned over the war and the finnish jury spokesperson said he has stepped down from the role, as announcing the points "does not feel right". earlier the french contestant stopped singing mon amour during the dress rehearsals to call for peace. meanwhile, the dutch artistjoost klein has been disqualified from the contest after a backstage incident. an allegation of intimidation was made to swedish police by a female member of the production crew. avrotros, the dutch radio and television broadcaster, has now announced it will no longer be announcing the points of the dutch jury at the eurovision song contest. 0ur correspondent sarah rainsford has more on the protests in malmo. it was a large march, as you said, around about 10,000 protesters. that's pretty much the same as we saw, i think, on thursday. they marched right through the heart of malmo, down the main shopping street, waving palestinian flags and chanting the main chants, the fundamental ones, "free palestine" and also "boycott israel". so a lot of passionate feelings, a lot of people who came out because they don't believe israel should be taking part in this year's eurovision whilst gaza is being bombed by the israeli military,

and they wanted their voices to be heard. it was peaceful. there were lots of children in the crowd, people had come and draped flags over pushchairs. there were bicycles, there were people who had come with their pets, with their dogs, lots of pets in the crowd, too. there were also a lot of police. we saw plainclothed policemen keeping an eye on things, we saw riot police hanging backjust in case, and there were these dialogue police, the community police liaison officers, all along the route. but it was an authorised protest and it was a controlled protest. so strong feelings, strong voices, strong opinions being shouted out across malmo today but it all has passed off peacefully. of course, this is very different to the usual sort of eurovision party weekend. the atmosphere is very different here in malmo, and i was actually talking earlier to an israeli fan who has come to malmo for the eurovision song contest despite concerns before this week, essentially, about security here.

now, he said he felt israel did have a right to be represented. he said he was cautious, though, himself. he is not covering his face in blue—and—white face paint and glitter as he said he would normally do. he called himself a superfan of eurovision and he is, he says, feeling tension here and feeling animosity from other eurovision fans. he also was very upset that people inside the arena were turning their back when eden golan goes on stage. he didn't like the fact that people were walking out and protesting. but it was only in the arena that he felt he could wave his israeli flag safely. he did say he felt safe here in malmo because there are so many police, but obviously doesn't like the tension and these protests. but it was a peaceful protest, as i say. it's a big one. to our north america correspondent now — will vernon is at a eurovision watching party in new york. i am at a eurovision song contest watch party here in new york city. eurovision is becoming more popular in america. i've been speaking to event organisers here, bar owners, they tell me that with each passing year, the interest is going up. there are more parties, more events too.

loud cheering. now, it must be said that many americans have never even heard of the eurovision song contest, believe it or not. but one event organiser told me that once people do learn about it, once they learn about the camp, the colour, the craziness of it all, many americans are then hooked. now, in terms... audio drops out. ..a mixture of the lgbt+ community, expats here, too. but overall americans are becoming more interested in eurovision, especially since the release of the film with will ferrell about four years ago. that really boosted interest here. now, believe it or not, the americans actually tried to do their own version of the eurovision song contest two years ago, that was called the american song contest. they had singers from every single us state and territory, plus washington, dc, competing in a singing contest. unfortunately it was a bit of a flop. it was actually cancelled after just one season. but there's lots of events

going on across this country today. the swedish embassy in the us, as we know, eurovision is in sweden this year, they are throwing a big party. they are setting up something called an abba lounge. i'm not quite sure what that is but i like it! and they said they had been overwhelmed with interest, tickets sold out long ago, lots of events here in new york city, too. so more interest in eurovision in the united states. cheering. there have even been rumours in recent years perhaps america could soon join the contest. so i don't know about you, but i can imagine someone like taylor swift doing rather well on the eurovision stage. will having quite a good time there at a bar in new york. in georgia, thousand of protesters have taken to the streets to take part in the "march for europe", demmonstrating against the government's plan to adopt a controversial law

on foreign funding. it comes after nearly three weeks of continual protests, with critics describing it as the "russian law", saying the legislation would target civil society and ultimately silence critical voices. the third and final reading of the bill will happen next monday. earlier our south caucasus and central asia correspondent rayhan demytri in tblisi sent us this update. this is the meeting point of these protests that are taking place, and people will be marching to tbilisi's europe square. this protest is taking place after a few days of a major campaign of intimidation against opponents of this controversial law, which people are protesting against. georgia has been swept with protest against the proposed bill on foreign funding for nearly three weeks now. the reason why people oppose this law is because it targets civil society organisations and people are really worried it will shrink the democratic space in georgia, but most importantly that it will close this window of opportunity, which this

country has right now, tojoin the european union. georgia was granted eu candidate status last year, and most of its western partners, most eu institutions, have urged the georgian government not to adopt this law. but the georgian government says that it is its sovereign decision, that it wants to ensure transparency of non—governmental organisations, and it is set to adopt this controversial law on monday. russia says it's captured five settlements in the northeastern ukrainian region of kharkiv, since it sent troops over the border there on friday. ukraine disputes the claim. the local governor acknowledged heavy fighting was continuing, but described the situation as �*under control�*. more than 1700 people have been evacuated. the us—based think tank, the institute for the study of war, reported that russia had likely taken several villages. these are pictures of volunteers helping people

in settlements around kharkiv evacuate. russia also claimed to have captured a village further south in the donetsk region. in the russian—occupied city of donetsk, the authorities say three civilians were killed and others injured in ukrainian missile strikes, one of which hit a restaurant. 0ur correspondent in kyiv james waterhouse has more. it creates for ukraine an unwanted new north—eastern access to the front line and this is a front line at the moment which is more than 1000km long and it is a front line which ukrainian forces are struggling to contain, with the delays of the arrival of american ammunition and weaponry and with russia continuing to make its size count and taking ukrainian territory further south. crucially for kyiv, it is having to redeploy already stretched personnel to the kharkiv region to contain this incursion which we are told is being contained for now. there has been heavy fighting really for the past 2a hours and i think

while few think they are able, even with the gathering of tens of thousands of russian troops across the border, few think they are able to take cities like kharkiv because they failed the first time around. but it appears for now to be russia trying to form a buffer zone, try to extend the distance between russian territory and the fighting it is waging in ukraine, because ukrainian forces have been increasingly shelling targets inside russia. so the question really, as president zelensky admits, is what is going to happen next, we are containing it for now but is this russia building for something more? now it's time for a look at today's sport with hugh. hello. the english premier league has new leaders, but now also two teams relegated, after burnley�*s fate was decided on yesteday. was decided on saturday. they're very likely to bejoined by luton, but nottingham forest couldn't confirm their survival with a game to spare. all three lost their games, but burnley�*s 2—1 defeat at spurs was terminal.

burnley actually took the lead at the tottenham hotspur stadium as they searched for the win that would keep them alive, but micky van der ven scored spurs' winner late on to send burnley to the championship after one season back in the top flight. i'm very lucky to be surrounded by good people, hard—working players, hard—working staff, and fans that have backed the club for generations. so that is kind of who we try to do it for every single weekend. and, yeah, today the premier league is over, but tomorrow we start day one of doing everything we can to get back to the premier league. day one of next season starts tomorrow, sunday, for me, personally. luton are all but down, and while it isn't mathematically confirmed, their 3—1 defeat at west ham will very likely be the final nail. they also took the lead but conceded three goals in the second half to sit three points from safety,

and with a significantly worse goal difference than their rivals. i was emotional at the end, i'm an emotional person. first of all, giving locks a hug on the touchline, started getting me, and then when i saw our supporters react the way they did, itjust got me. what i've just said to the players in the dressing room, and to the staff, was thank you. they've given me the best 18 months of my life. and so have our supporters. a point for nottingham forest in their match against chelsea at the city ground would havebeen enough to confirm luton's relegation. at one point it looked like forest were heading for victory but late goals from raheem sterling and nicolas jackson secured a 3—2 win for chelsea. forest though are all but safe with one game to go. manchester city have returned to the top of the table — for a day at least — after thumping fulham a—nil. two goals from josko gvardiol,

one from phil foden and a latejulian alvarez penalty means pep guardiola's side are two points clear of arsenal, having played the same number of games. they've won their last seven premier league matches, averaging four goals a game. wins too for crystal palace and everton, and there were three goals from the 87th minute onwards at bournemouth, who were beaten 2—1 by brentford. newcastle and brighton drew. england won their first women's t20 international against pakistan in birmingham. the home side rallied after being 11 for 4, posting 163 for 6 thanks mainly to captain heather knight and danielle gibson. pakistan regularly lost wickets in their chase, mainly to england's spinners with sarah glenn taking four to help her team to a win by 53 runs. rafa nadal has cast doubt on whether he'll compete at the french open after another disappointing defeat on what is very likely to be his final year before retiring. he lost in straight sets at the italian 0pen to hubert hurkacz.

nadal has won this tournament ten times but has struggled to reach his normal formidable levels on clay this season. he struggled from the outset against the polish seventh seed, losing his first service game and then on two further occasions as he lost the first set 6—1, then the second 6—3. if in my mind, if it's closer one way or the other way, i've got to say... try my best, because it's not... physically, i have some issues. but not, probably, yet enough to say... not playing in the most important event of my tennis career. just before we go, time to tell you that there have been back—to—back victories at the giro d'italia, the slovenian with elite extended to two

minutes and a0 seconds —— a lead. more on that and over day's sport on the bbc sport website. hundreds of people have died in devastating flash floods in the north of afghanistan. 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. let's cross to kabul, to speak to avand azeez agha from the international organisation for migration. welcome, thank you for being with us. what do you know about these floods and where they have taken place, and how many people they've affected? ., ~ , ., ., ., affected? thank you for having me. the images — affected? thank you for having me. the images coming _ affected? thank you for having me. the images coming in _ affected? thank you for having me. the images coming in are _ affected? thank you for having me. the images coming in are truly - the images coming in are truly devastating. according to initial reports from the national disaster management authority, as well as our

teams on the ground, floods in several provinces have resulted in over 300 deaths, and sadly we expect this number to rise. the flooding also destroyed some 2000 homes, so it has been quite catastrophic. along with our humanitarian partners, we have teams on the ground assessing the damage, and providing urgent aid to those impacted. providing urgent aid to those im acted. ~ ., providing urgent aid to those impacted-— providing urgent aid to those imacted. ~ . . . ., , impacted. what are the challenges in trainin impacted. what are the challenges in gaining access _ impacted. what are the challenges in gaining access to _ impacted. what are the challenges in gaining access to this _ impacted. what are the challenges in gaining access to this area? - impacted. what are the challenges in gaining access to this area? we - impacted. what are the challenges in gaining access to this area? we have| gaining access to this area? we have 16 warehouses _ gaining access to this area? we have 16 warehouses across _ gaining access to this area? we have 16 warehouses across the _ gaining access to this area? we have 16 warehouses across the country, i 16 warehouses across the country, across afghanistan, where we are working closely to reposition emergency aid for situations just like this, and thanks to that we have already been able to reach many affected communities with life—saving aid. we have many more trucks loaded with supplies ready to

go but unfortunately some of the flood affected areas have many roads completely destroyed, reaching these areas is a significant challenge. however we are actively working with our humanitarian partners to find alternative roads and solutions to ensure the aid reaches those most in need. afghanistan continues to face multiple challenges including ongoing displacement, very high rates of first returns, extreme poverty and food insecurity, and of course the disaster of climate change. this year alone an estimated 22.7 million people in afghanistan require humanitarian assistance. that's half the population. and the humanitarian community at large is in need of funding support. to put

it into perspective, for the year 2020 for the community secured only 8% of the funding required. —— for the year 202a. 896 of the funding required. -- for the year 2024-— the year 2024. when it comes to humanitarian _ the year 2024. when it comes to humanitarian aid, _ the year 2024. when it comes to humanitarian aid, when - the year 2024. when it comes to humanitarian aid, when the - the year 2024. when it comes to i humanitarian aid, when the taliban took control of the country, there was a drop of. has not returned? we are was a drop of. has not returned? - are working closely with our donors to ensure that people who are most in need are assisted and at the moment we are focusing on basically reaching and delivering life—saving aid to those impacted and we are working closely with our humanitarian partners to ensure that. we have received funding support from our donors. however the needs are increasing and more support is needed.— needs are increasing and more support is needed. thank you for “oininu us support is needed. thank you for joining us from — support is needed. thank you for joining us from kabul. _ 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. for more on the tour, i spoke earlier to our africa correspondent simi jolaosho in abuja. well, the duke and duchess have had a pretty busy second day here in abuja. they started off by meeting members of a local organisation that they support called nigeria unconquered, which helps wounded and injured service members and veterans, of course, that we know is close to prince harry's heart. there he actually took part in a sitting volleyball game with the team, and they were really enthusiastic. they were chanting "team harry, team harry!" and afterwards he and meghan spoke to the families of those athletes. one girl offered meghan a bouquet of roses, to which meghan gave her a rose back and said that she was really happy to be there.

then afterwards, they attended a reception that was hosted by the ministry of defence. that ministry is behind their visit to nigeria in the first place. there the duke of sussex gave a kind of recap of his visit to a military rehab hospital yesterday. he said when he was there, he met 50 injured soldiers that were lying in their beds. and he said he could feel the sort of low morale in the room. but two of those soldiers stood out to him because they were smiling. he said one of them was even doing push ups. and that visit kind of reminded him of why he started the invictus games foundation. and afterwards, the duchess, meghan, she attended a women in leadership event where she co—hosted with the director—general of the world trade organization, dr ngozi 0konjo—iweala. and there she spoke about her nigerian heritage and the day she found out that she was a3% nigerian. she said she was really happy

and the first thing she did was call her mother. and she just said that she was happy to be in the country and to find out more about her heritage, as well as interact with other nigerians. when she was asked whether she would come back, she said "absolutely." barron trump, the youngest son of the former us president, donald trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at the republican national convention. the florida republican party had announced that the 18—year—old would be among those selecting donald trump as the party's presidential nominee — alongside some of his other children. but the office of former first lady melania trump now appears to have shot down the idea, citing �*prior commitments'. stay with us here on bbc news. in the meantime keep across all of

the day's stories on the website and app. thank you for watching. hello. well, the show�*s not over yet. we have both a music spectacle on and, of course, a light display in the heavens. and once again, saturday night, a pretty good chance of catching a glimpse of the aurora borealis, or the northern lights. the viewing conditions will be good, if not excellent, across much of the uk with the clear skies and try about 11pm onwards. get your eyes used to that dark sky, away from any bright city lights if you can. now, here's the probability of the aurora occurring. this is just an approximation. so, the red colour is pretty much 90% to 100%, and then that chance drops off somewhat as you head southwards across the uk. but it really could happen almost anywhere, and there's some uncertainty even with that. now, the weekend weather forecast, some uncertainty, too. and the weather is going to produce a spectacle of its own.

in fact, thunderstorms in the forecast for sunday. now, let's get the outlook, then, for the rest of the evening and into the overnight hours. so, let's take a tour across the uk. around about midnight, where we are expecting the clear skies. you can see much of scotland, the aurora should be visible easily here and certainly out of town. beautiful displays of green and purple and violet, also a chance of catching it further south. very little in the way of cloud. if you are unlucky, you mightjust have to wait for that bank of cloud to clear away. and remember, the aurora isn't just a brief occurrence. it can last over a couple of hours, so there'll be plenty of opportunity to go out and check again. now, the temperatures first thing in the morning, typically around 9 to 13 degrees. so a relatively mild start to sunday with a lot of sunshine. and on sunday we start with high pressure just about in charge of the weather. and thanks to this high pressure, we will have had the clear skies and the chance to catch glimpses of the aurora. but it is slipping away, that high,

low pressure is moving in as are weather fronts, and these weather fronts will be responsible for sparking off some thunderstorms during the course of sunday. and some of them could be heavy, indeed, pretty nasty across western areas of the uk. and the temperatures every bit as warm if not warmer. highs up to about 26 degrees in london. that's it from me. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines... the grand final of the eurovision song contest is underway in malmo, sweden against a background of protests over israel's participation. 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. the un's world food programme says hundreds of people have been killed and thousands of homes destroyed by major flooding in northern afghanistan. tens of thousands of demonstrators in georgia take to the streets of tbilisi in the latest protest against legislation they say will stifle opposition. and the most powerful solar storm in 21 years triggers celestial light—shows in many parts of the world with scientists expecting another display later this evening. hello i'm samantha simmonds.

let's return now to georgia where thousands of demonstrators have again taken to the streets, in the latest protest against legislation that would force organisations to declare foreign funding. 0pponents say the bill, which they're calling the �*russian law', aims to silence critical voices in civil society and independent media. for more on the protests, i spoke earlier to giorgi tskhadaia, a professor of political science at caucasus university. foreign agents law will label non—governmental organisations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad, from foreign sources as the organisations that advance foreign interests. so basically, the agents of foreign states. and this law first was introduced in russia in 2012, as you know, and after the introduction of this law, most non—government organisations in georgia will not voluntarily register as foreign agents, so they will close down. and the others who will register

as foreign agents will be marginalised and disappear soon. so i believe... yeah. sorry, go on. and so many, many georgians took to the streets to protest the law because they consider it to be undemocratic. and also, there is another reason why they protest against the law. it's a it has a very deep geopolitical implications. georgia received an eu candidate status last year after the government gave up on its attempt to introduce a foreign agents law. and now, if the law is adopted, georgia's status as a eu candidate country will lose its value. and for georgia, it's very important. membership of the european union is very important as a safeguard against russian aggression because georgia alone cannot defend without the help — western support — cannot defend

against russian aggression. so it requires support and assistance from the european union and other western entities. and georgians aptly labelled this law the russian law because of its geopolitical implications because many, many, many... sure. but the prime minister there has sort of denied these accusations and said, in fact, the country does want to move closer to the west. so we have a classic zero sum game in this region, as i already mentioned. georgia alone cannot resist russian aggression, cannot defeat russian aggression. so it requires western support. and if georgia loses western support, it automatically means that it will be drawn into the russian sphere of influence.

in fact, many kremlin politicians and propagandists openly hailed the introduction of georgia's foreign agents law because they understand that it plays into their interests that eventually georgia giving up on its pro—european aspirations will contribute to georgia's... to drawing georgia to to to the into the russian sphere of influence. natalie elphicke — the new labour mp for dover — has been accused of lobbying ministers over her husband's sexual assault court case. ms elphicke is accused of asking the then justice secretary — sir robert buckland — to help move the date of the case at southwark crown court, apparently to avoid publicity. with me is our political correspodent nick eardley. hi, nick. firstly, explain who she is a. ., ., hi, nick. firstly, explain who she is a. . . , hi, nick. firstly, explain who she isa. w, , , hi, nick. firstly, explain who she isa. w, , , ~ hi, nick. firstly, explain who she isa. w, , , ~ ., is a. natalie elphicke is the mp for dover. if is a. natalie elphicke is the mp for dover- if we _ is a. natalie elphicke is the mp for dover. if we were _ is a. natalie elphicke is the mp for dover. if we were speaking - is a. natalie elphicke is the mp for dover. if we were speaking this i

is a. natalie elphicke is the mp for l dover. if we were speaking this time last week, she would have been the conservative mp for dover, seen actually on the right of the conservative party but she is now the labour mp for dover. she changed parties on wednesday. it was a proper, well, moment. it shocked a lot of people in westminster and the labour party. she has decided to make that journey and labour party. she has decided to make thatjourney and been warmly embraced by sir keir starmer as you can see. ~ ., .,,, embraced by sir keir starmer as you can see, ~ ., , , embraced by sir keir starmer as you cansee. . , , can see. what has she been accused of tonight? — can see. what has she been accused of tonight? this _ can see. what has she been accused of tonight? this is _ can see. what has she been accused of tonight? this is to _ can see. what has she been accused of tonight? this is to do _ can see. what has she been accused of tonight? this is to do with - can see. what has she been accused of tonight? this is to do with the - of tonight? this is to do with the trial of her _ of tonight? this is to do with the trial of her husband _ of tonight? this is to do with the trial of her husband on _ of tonight? this is to do with the trial of her husband on sexual i trial of her husband on sexual assault allegations back in 2020. her husband is a man called charlie elphicke, used to be the mp for dover, he was the mp for dover before her. the allegation is when that case was about to be heard in london, she went to sir robert buckland who was then thejustice secretary and suggested that the case should be changed, the timing, because she was worried thatjust

after pandemic restrictions had been lifted in southwark crown court in london, this would mean a lot of publicity for the case. now, sir robert buckland has told the sunday times, he told her and no such uncertain terms it would have been completely inappropriate to speak to thejudge completely inappropriate to speak to the judge about the trial at all. we have spoken to sir robert buckland tonight that he has confirmed that a count of things so the allegation is she asked him to intervene to move the timing of the case. a spokesman says that is nonsense and labour have asked why this has only emerged now, after she defected. pond have asked why this has only emerged now, after she defected.— now, after she defected. and there has been some _ now, after she defected. and there has been some rumblings - now, after she defected. and there has been some rumblings in - now, after she defected. and there has been some rumblings in the i has been some rumblings in the labour party about the fact that they accepted her, some mps are unhappy about that. what does this mean, if anything, now that this story has come out?— mean, if anything, now that this story has come out? there is more ressure story has come out? there is more pressure on _ story has come out? there is more pressure on the — story has come out? there is more pressure on the labour _ story has come out? there is more pressure on the labour party - pressure on the labour party actually and i think it will lead to more questions over the decision to embrace her as a labour mp. partly because this isn't the first allegation to emerge about her involvement in the case. you might

remember, when she became an mp, she was found to have breached common standards by writing to senior members of thejudiciary standards by writing to senior members of the judiciary and saying that character references that mps had given to her husband at the time, charlie elphicke, shouldn't be made public. she was suspended from parliament for doing that because it was seen as a breach of the rules. there will be questions over her judgment, over labour�*sjudgment in judgment, over labour�*s judgment in the judgment, over labour�*sjudgment in the way that it embraced. as i say, she denies wrongdoing here but it's another awkward one for the labour party. another awkward one for the labour pa . . ~ another awkward one for the labour pa . w ~' ., another awkward one for the labour pa . ~ ., another awkward one for the labour pa . w, ~' , party. nick, i know you will keep across this _ party. nick, i know you will keep across this for _ party. nick, i know you will keep across this for us, _ party. nick, i know you will keep across this for us, thank - party. nick, i know you will keep across this for us, thank you. - 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 5a—year—old suspect who is now in hospital. the incident happened last night near high wycombe, 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 5a—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. two men are being held on suspicion of murder after two women died and four people were injured in a house fire in wolverhampton in central england. emergency services were called to a house in the dunstall hill area in the early hours of the morning. police said the women, who were in their 20s, died at the scene. it's understood the men who've been arrested were known to the victims. 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 are 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 are 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. 0ne industry commentator notes... 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 content...

to make money? ..and take it off the services... no, 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 are 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, its not law yet. many hurdles remain. not least, as one analyst said... 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 is a vast piece of legislation, it includes a raft of rules to protect children. the eu calls this a... 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 155. in fact, president macron wants to go further. with a curb on children's screen time and social media use and he has compared the online world with a jungle. translation: does i 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 one hour on fridays, weekends and holidays. the chinese version of tiktok, douyin, limits under 1as 1as to a0 minutes a day and across all platforms, china has screen time limits by age. if you are between the ages of 16 and 18, you can spend two hours a day on social media platforms. if you are between the ages of eight and 16, you can spend one hour. and if you are 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 user's data and privacy is contested. as 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 powered with sufficient resource and to try and ensure that regulation is as agile and as versatile as the tech firms it is trying to regulate. even if governments are agile, enforcing new regulations brings challenges of its own. but there is 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. ros atkins there. the northern lights might be visible in some parts of the uk again tonight after a stunning array of colours lit up the sky for many of us last night. one of the strongest geomagnetic storms for years meant they could be seen across large swathes of the country — as our science correspondent pallab ghosh reports. technicolour 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. the display is usually more visible in northern parts of britain, but such is the power

of the sun's current activity, it was seen in the south, even as far as padstow in cornwall. a more familiar sight further north in crosby beach in liverpool, people gathered to watch. this was the forth bridge in scotland. and in newry in northern ireland, this was the scene. the colours are caused by solar storms on the surface of the sun. they send charged particles across the solar system, which light up when they hit the earth's atmosphere. the story started 93 million miles away and two days ago. and 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. this is an actual video taken by nasa spacecraft and large particles are emitted like this one.

when they reach the earth the particles energise gases in the atmosphere making them glow in different colours. 0xygen will glow green while nitrogen will emit purple and pink light. those in scotland, northern ireland, and the far north of england should be able to see the display again tonight. it'll be visible from around 10:30 onwards and the weather conditions are expected to be ideal. pallab ghosh, bbc news. for more on the phenomena, drjenifer millard joins me now. welcome to you, good to see you. just explain what elements need to be in place for us to get a clear view? ., , , ., be in place for us to get a clear view? .,, , ., . ., view? so, hopefully no clout in the s . but view? so, hopefully no clout in the sky- but it's _ view? so, hopefully no clout in the sky. but it's something _ view? so, hopefully no clout in the sky. but it's something we - sky. but it's something we definitely need. and you want to look towards the northern horizon, it is a little bit different to last night because the activity isn't so intense tonight whereas last night we could kind of look straighter and we could kind of look straighter and we could kind of look straighter and we could see the aurora everywhere. we are back to that northern horizon more. you also need to wait for the skies to get a dark enough so

perhaps 1.5 hours after sunset for your particular location so approximately 10:30pm but if you can wait until the skies are even darker, when astronomical twilight ends around 11:30pm, that is even better. you don't need any telescopes or binoculars, just your eyes. telescopes or binoculars, 'ust your e es. , ., , , ., ., ., eyes. they have been seen all around the world and — eyes. they have been seen all around the world and unusually _ eyes. they have been seen all around the world and unusually here - eyes. they have been seen all around the world and unusually here in - eyes. they have been seen all around the world and unusually here in the i the world and unusually here in the uk as well, why is that?— uk as well, why is that? indeed, it is because — uk as well, why is that? indeed, it is because the _ uk as well, why is that? indeed, it is because the sun _ uk as well, why is that? indeed, it is because the sun has _ uk as well, why is that? indeed, it is because the sun has so - uk as well, why is that? indeed, it is because the sun has so much i is because the sun has so much activity at the minute. it has an 11 year cycle and we are near the peak of that activity cycle. that means there is lots of sun spots and activity on the service and all of this is driven by tangled magnetic field lines. sometimes these tangled magnetic field lines snap and reconnect. when this happens, essentially, it burps a load of material at ice, charged particles, and they go flying out into space and they go flying out into space and sometimes they are directed at our planet. these charged particles get trapped by our magnetic field and then funnelled down into atoms

and then funnelled down into atoms and molecules in our atmosphere. they collide with these atoms and molecules, in part energy to them, get them excited about the universe is lazy, the atoms and monarchy was in our atmosphere don't like having this extra energy so they relaxed back down and get rid of that extra energy as photons, as light, and thatis energy as photons, as light, and that is the glowing light that we see is the aurora. that that is the glowing light that we see is the aurora.— see is the aurora. that is so special- _ see is the aurora. that is so special. probably _ see is the aurora. that is so special. probably because l see is the aurora. that is so special. probably because it see is the aurora. that is so i special. probably because it is see is the aurora. that is so - special. probably because it is so rare, did you see them last night? i did and it was incredible. it was the third time i have seen them from the third time i have seen them from the uk, i saw it again last year but this was the most intense. you don't see the colour so much with the eye, what you will see is kind of like a whitish silver ripple across the sky, kind of like search beams, almost brighter and then fade, you might see a red glow to the sky but not the intense colours of photos but you can get those intense photos even with your smartphone. dark mild, night mild, a couple of seconds, just hold your phone up to the sky and you can capture the aurora for yourself. so the sky and you can capture the aurora for yourself.— the sky and you can capture the aurora for yourself. so if people are watching — aurora for yourself. so if people are watching who _ aurora for yourself. so if people are watching who didn't - aurora for yourself. so if people are watching who didn't see -

aurora for yourself. so if people i are watching who didn't see them last night, like me, where should we be going to look tonight? bearing in mind, i am be going to look tonight? bearing in mind, iam in london be going to look tonight? bearing in mind, i am in london so point out where in london i might be able to see them but also obviously around the rest of the country. 50. see them but also obviously around the rest of the country.— the rest of the country. so, get away from _ the rest of the country. so, get away from as — the rest of the country. so, get away from as much _ the rest of the country. so, get away from as much of- the rest of the country. so, get away from as much of the - the rest of the country. so, get l away from as much of the human the rest of the country. so, get - away from as much of the human made light pollution as you possibly can. if you can get up high on on a hill something at that, that is also good. look towards the north, northern horizon, that is what you want. if you don't have much of that tonight because the intensity level isn't so great tonight, there is a possibility that more material from the sun is going to arrive tomorrow so possibly tomorrow night. just like we have trouble predicting weather on earth, space weather is also troublesome sometimes. it is worth giving it a go, get that smartphone out because it will definitely confirm those colours for you. 50 definitely confirm those colours for ou. ., ., ., ~ you. so i need to find a dark hill somewhere _ you. so i need to find a dark hill somewhere in _ you. so i need to find a dark hill somewhere in london _ you. so i need to find a dark hill somewhere in london at - you. so i need to find a dark hill i somewhere in london at 11:30pm? great, got it. doctor, thank you very much for taking us through that. 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. 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 absence, 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. do stay with us here on bbc news, we are going to have more from the eurovision song contest grand final in sweden coming up and you can keep across all of the developments there on the bbc news life page, at 22 slovenia is now performing, we are apparently on the home stretch, not many acts left to go, voting has been well under way for some time so we will keep across what is happening there, entrants from 37 countries across the globe competing throughout the week of course after two semifinals and a surprising disqualification, just down to 25 now. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello. well, the show�*s not over yet. we have both a music spectacle on and, of course, a light display in the heavens. and once again, saturday night, a pretty good chance of catching a glimpse of the aurora borealis, or the northern lights. the viewing conditions will be good, if not excellent, across much of the uk with the clear skies and try about 11pm onwards. get your eyes used to that dark sky, away from any bright city lights if you can. now, here's the probability of the aurora occurring. this is just an approximation. so, the red colour is pretty much 90% to 100%, and then that chance drops off somewhat as you head southwards across the uk. but it really could happen almost anywhere, and there's some uncertainty even with that. now, the weekend weather forecast, some uncertainty, too. and the weather is going to produce a spectacle of its own. in fact, thunderstorms

in the forecast for sunday. now, let's get the outlook, then, for the rest of the evening and into the overnight hours. so, let's take a tour across the uk. around about midnight, where we are expecting the clear skies. you can see much of scotland, the aurora should be visible easily here and certainly out of town. beautiful displays of green and purple and violet, also a chance of catching it further south. very little in the way of cloud. if you are unlucky, you mightjust have to wait for that bank of cloud to clear away. and remember, the aurora isn't just a brief occurrence. it can last over a couple of hours, so there'll be plenty of opportunity to go out and check again. now, the temperatures first thing in the morning, typically around nine to 13 degrees. so a relatively mild start to sunday with a lot of sunshine. and on sunday we start with high pressure just about in charge of the weather. and thanks to this high pressure, we will have had the clear skies and the chance to catch glimpses of the aurora. but it is slipping away, that high, low pressure is moving

in as are weather fronts, and these weather fronts will be responsible for sparking off some thunderstorms during the course of sunday. and some of them could be heavy, indeed, pretty nasty across western areas of the uk. and the temperatures every bit as warm if not warmer. highs up to about 26 degrees in london. that's it from me. 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. the grand final of the eurovision song contest is underway in malmo, sweden, against a background of protests over israel's participation. thousands of demonstrators in georgia take to the streets of tbilisi, in the latest protests against legislation they say will stifle opposition. the un's world food programme says hundreds of people have been killed and thousands of homes destroyed by major flooding in northern afghanistan. and the most powerful solar storm in 21 years triggers celestial light—shows in many parts of the world — with scientists expecting another display later this evening.