this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 10pm. a major clean—up operation is taking place in the west midlands after heavy rain and flash flooding. to see my neighbours going through this, again, it's awful. everything out on the street. many of them have only just moved back in from the flood, two years ago. i don't know how they're going to cope. a man in his 80s died, after his car was submerged by flood water in walsall. and another driver was rescued earlierfrom his car on the same stretch of road, by this man. he couldn't get out, so i opened the door, told him to take a breath and dragged him out. a new interim prime minister for italy, as the country tries to pull itself out of its deep political crisis. fresh protests in northern ireland to relax the country's strict abortion laws, as labour increases the pressure on theresa may. and in the next hour, the man from mali, who's become a national hero, in france.

the migrant is to be made a french citizen, after scaling a building in paris with his bare hands, to rescue a dangling child. i asked him, wasn't he frightened for his own life? he said, no, he wasn't thinking of himself, he was thinking of the child. and in sport, liverpool have signed the brazilian midfielder fabinho from the french side monaco, in a deal worth nearly £40 million. good evening and welcome to bbc news. a man in his 80s has died, after his car was submerged by flash floods in walsall, in the west midlands. it happened as more than a month's rainfall deluged parts of birmingham this weekend, after

widespread storms and rain. the met office issued yellow weather warnings of rain and storms for southern england and wales earlier today, although some areas of the country basked in warm sunshine and high temperatures. our correspondent, sima kotecha, reports from birmingham. their precious possessions destroyed and discarded. 2a hours after violent thunderstorms and heavy downpours swept across the country, the clean—up operation is under way. and some of those worst affected feel deflated. we did have about an hour, as we watched the water come up and moved as much of our possessions as we could upstairs and then the water came into the house. and once it started coming in, it got higher and higher and it was above the level of the windows, there. it was above the level of the doors, at the back and then it started coming in as a torrent.

like a river breaking its banks, basically. the houses on this street are particularly vulnerable. if you go to the end of the road, there is the bourne brook. many of the homes here have been flooded now three times over the last decade. on this street, some are calling it a deluge of biblical proportions. violent storms meant water gushing into the neighbouring river and, in some cases, causing maximum damage. absolutely devastated for my neighbours. i mean, i'm quite fortunate that my house wasn't flooded, but to see my neighbours going through this, again, it's awful. everything out on the street, and many of them have onlyjust moved back in from the flood two years ago. i don't know how they're going to cope, i really don't. in parts of this area, a month's rain injust one hour. 15 miles away, in walsall, a man in his 80s died after reportedly being stuck in his vehicle, which was

submerged in flooded water. the fire brigade went to rescue a man who was trapped in his car. took him out, put him on a plastic raft and brought him here. i later learned that this man died. u nfortu nately. the environment agency in the west midlands had issued multiple flood warnings, as smaller rivers filled up, after the downpours. for those affected the most, it's likely to take months before they are able to get their homes back to the way they once were. sima kotecha, bbc news, birmingham. we heard there about the man in his 80s who died in the floods in walsall. well, on the same street, another driver was pulled to safety from his submerged car, hours earlier. his rescuer, ben lees, explained how he dived into six—foot—deep waters to reach the stranded man. i was on my way home and then i avoided the road closure, like everyone else does,

and i went down side streets and i came across the floods. and people coming up to the car asking if you can swim. i said, yes. they said, "there's children in the car". because i've got a son, ijust got out straight away and went in. but there was no children in there, there was just an old guy, like. the man in the car, how high was the water in the car? i'd say there was probably about two inches of breathing space in the car, to the roof of the car. so, what did you do? i opened the back doors, because i thought there were kids in there and had a feel round both sides and i couldn't feel anything. he said, "it'sjust me, i'm in the front", but he couldn't get out. so, i opened the door, told him to take a breath and dragged him out. what was his reaction? i think he was more shocked, to be honest. because he didn't say much, but he thanked me. i spoke to him this morning. what did he say?

he was very grateful. i understand you're thinking of asking him to go for a pint. yeah, go fora pint, but it all depends when i'm free. what was the state of the roads? did you have any concerns about how it was being dealt with? i got there... i got him out before any emergency services turned up, but i understand it has been stretched, so that's understandable with response times. you were saying something like you thought it should have been closed off? yeah, the roads should have been closed off, properly, everything, all the side roads. i don't think they should use cones, i think they should, like, put metal barriers down, so you can't get tthem hrough or move them. but it's money and everything's stretched. everyone‘s hailing you as a hero. what do you think of that? it's overwhelming. ijust done what i had to do. was there no hesitation in your mind? because you went underwater.

no. i knew i would be all right, because i can swim. it's just the guy was trapped, so i had to get him out. that was ben lees speaking to our reporter, lindsey doyle. and we'll find out how this story, and many others, are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 11:30pm this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are the political correspondent at the financial times, henry mance, and the whitehall mance, and the whitehall correspondent at the sun, lynn davidson. italy's president, sergio mattarella, has asked a former economist to form a caretaker government, in a bid to pull the country out of political turmoil. italy has had no government since elections in march. two eurosceptic parties tried to form a coalition, but mr mattarella vetoed their choice of finance minister, as he backed abandoning the euro. and as james reynolds reports, fresh elections are likely soon. this is italy's newest

prime minister designate. carlo cottarelli is a pro—euro economist and a non—populist. the president has picked him to maintain italy's current relationship with the european union. translation: it's essential to defend our interests in europe and be constructive. italy is a founding country. our role is essential, as is our continued participation in the euro. but the populists, led here by the league's salvini, have the numbers to reject the president's choice and force early elections. mr salvini, who has been going up in the polls, wants the freedom to govern his way. translation: if the president of the republic tells us, "do as you want, but don't touch

the european rules", we have a problem with democracy. because the people in italy are sovereign and don't depend entirely on european markets and bureaucracies. wherever you look here, there are signs of italy's six decade—long partnership with europe. but this country has begun to shift. this is the country that helped to found the european union. why are the populist parties turning against it? because people think that germany rules all europe and germany rules italy. and they want to control italy and the agreements on european union is an advantage for germany and a disadvantage for italy. italy is used to changing prime ministers, but this is much more serious than that. an election later this year may become an unofficial referendum on italy's membership of the euro and on its place in

the european union, that this country helped to create. james reynolds, bbc news, rome. police have arrested three people suspected of drug dealing at a dance music festival in portsmouth, where people died at the weekend. where two people died at the weekend. the news comes after 18—year—old georgia jones and 20—year—old tommy cowan were named as those who died after falling ill at the mutiny festival on saturday night. they were among 15 revellers admitted to hospital from the event with organisers issuing a warning over a "high strength or bad batch" of drugs. a young man has been hailed as a hero in paris after scaling a building to rescue a small boy who was dangling from a balcony. for saving the four—year—old and is now to be made a french citizen. today, he met the french president emmanuel macron, who honoured him with a medal of courage.

from paris, lucy williamson reports. france has nicknamed him spiderman. his real name is mamoudou gassama. when he saw a toddler dangling from a fourth floor balcony, the malian immigrant ran straight past the crowd of onlookers and began to climb. in less than a minute, he'd scaled the outside of the building, a neighbour holding onto the toddler, until he arrived. with one leg swung across the balcony, mamoudou swept the child to safety. cheering. the child's father is now being questioned for apparently leaving him at home alone. this morning, mr gassama was invited to meet president macron, who asked him whether he had stopped to think, before climbing the building. translation: no, i wasn't thinking about anything.

ijust climbed. once i started, god gave me the courage to continue. the president awarded mr gassama a bravery medal and certificate and offered him a role in the french fire service. he also invited him to apply for french citizenship. mr gassama had documents allowing him to work in italy, but not to enter france. translation: i am glad, because it is my first time to win an award like this. i'm happy. thank you. translation: i asked him the question about being afraid and he told me, "no, i didn't think about myself. i was thinking about the child." when he started climbing, he got scared that the child would get tired and let go. and after months of living in the shadows, mamoudou gassama is, tonight, tasting sudden celebrity. the video of his dramatic ascent, which has spread like wildfire on social media, made him a nationwide hero — before the french state even knew he was here.

cheering and applause. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news this evening. a murder investigation‘s begun into the death of a man who was hit by a car, which drove into pedestrians outside a nightclub in the brinnington area of stockport, last night. the dead man was in his 30s. several other people were hurt. the vehicle was found abandoned on the m60. a man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering an 11—year—old girl and her mother. 31—year—old laura mortimer and her daughter, ella dalby were found seriously injured by police at a property in gloucester just before 5am this morning, and declared dead at the scene. police are appealing for witnesses. a teenager has appeared in court following the death of 15—year—old sam baker, who was stabbed in the chest

in sheffield on thursday. the boy, who's also 15, appeared before magistrates in the city, charged with murder and is due to appear at crown court tomorrow. pressure to relax northern ireland's strict abortion laws is intensifying, following friday's referendum in the irish republic. labour has added its voice to calls for women to be given the same rights across the uk and this evening, campaigners who want to see the law changed, held a demonstration in belfast. from there, our ireland correspondent, chris page reports. what do we want? crowd: the right to choose! when do we want it? crowd: now! the calls for change have become louder. in northern ireland, abortions remain illegal, unless there's a serious or permanent risk to a woman's health. protesters say the law's outdated and unfair. i feel we're dragging behind the rest of europe, the rest of the western world.

women are being denied human rights. it's like the dark ages, it's incredible we are still in this position. the huge shift in attitudes on the other side of the irish border has given new momentum to these demonstrators, but there has been no devolved government here for more than 500 days now and in the absence of stormont, campaigners are focusing on westminster. this woman's story made a big impact on the debate, sarah travelled to england to end her pregnancy, when doctors said that her unborn child couldn't survive outside the womb. it was a terrifying time and more traumatic than it should have been. if stormont was up and running, we would be up there, begging for their help, but it's not, so we're asking theresa may and westminster now to help us. we need the help, now. activists in dublin were already turning their attention to belfast as the landslide referendum result was becoming clear on saturday. two thirds voting to liberalise the abortion laws. several former tory cabinet

ministers are among a number of cross—party mps who want parliament to pass legislation to give women greater access to terminations in northern ireland. but the democratic unionist party, on whom the prime minister relies for her parliamentary majority, are intent on keeping the restrictions. my message for the prime minister is that this is a matter, a sensitive matter, which the people of northern ireland have the right to make a decision on, under the devolution settlement. and she should not, just because there are a siren voices from the liberals and the left wing and westminster, she should not bow to that. the government says abortion law is an issue for politicians in northern ireland and it shows the need to restore devolution. this most personal of matters has become highly political. the social revolution in the irish republic is having repercussions north of the border and across the irish sea.

chris paige, bbc news, belfast. the headlines on bbc news: a major clean—up operation is taking place in the west midlands following heavy rain and flash flooding. in birmingham, more than a month's worth of rainfall hit the city in an hour. in walsall, one man in his 80s died after his car was submerged in the rising water. italy's president appoints a new interim prime minister, as the country tries to pulls itself out of its deep political crisis. and pressure to relax northern ireland's strict abortion laws is intensifying, following friday's referendum in the irish republic. sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. we start with news of the first major signing

of the summer transfer window with liverpool agreeing a deal to sign monaco midfielder fabinho for around £39 million. the brazilian will formally seal a switch to the champions league finalists on the ist ofjuly after finalising terms on a long term contract at melwood. the 24—year—old's arrival at anfield will all but guarantee emre can leaves the club, with his contract set to expire. coventry city have secured their return to league i, their first promotion from any division in 51 years. they beat exeter 3—1 in a thrilling finale to the football season at wembley. jordan willis gave coventry the lead, with the academy graduate scoring early in the second half. five minutes later, jordan shipley‘s deflected efffort made it 2—0, before jack grimmer added a third to seal promotion for the sky blues, as they return to the third division of english football. believe it or not, it's just over two and a half weeks now until the world cup gets under way. with that in mind, there'll be plenty of interest in tonight's international friendlies.

let's take a look at some of the scores. france starting their preparations for russia with a win over the republic of ireland. 2—0 in paris, earlier. england fans may have been watching portugal—tunisia rather closely. england's opener against tunisia in just three weeks' time. in a game that saw tunisia came from two goals down to make it 2—2 all in braga. and saudi arabia who face russia in their world cup opener were beaten 2—1 by italy who of course failed to qualify for the world cup finals. engtland's first warm up game against nigeria takes place on saturday so the squad were back in training at st george's park earlier. gareth southgate's squad was joined by chelsea teenager trevor chalobah following the withdrawal of burnley‘s james tarkowski who requires surgery. also present, defender gary cahill who got the call up despite being overlooked by the england managerfor two friendlies earlier this year. missing out on that squad,

especially the last squad just before you meet up was kind of a big squad to miss out on. so, i realised that maybe it took a little knock. i really had to dig deep to try and perform from then until the end of the season to get myself back into the season to get myself back into the frame. and that's the way it's worked out. last time i was disappointed, there was a lot going on at that moment in time. i mist the squad. but i never had... didn't have the belief i couldn't make the squad —— i missed out on the squad. tennis now and britain's heather watson and cameron norrie are through to the second round of the french open — both with relative ease. watson, the british number two, put on a dominant display to beat oceane dodin in straight sets while debutant norrie said his victory saw him play the best tennis of his life. joe lynskey has the latest from roland garros. the way to the top in pro tennis

comes one major at a time. this is only cameron norrie's third appearance. roland garros is the place to make a solo statement. norrie's climbed into the wilds top 100 this year partly by embracing the clay. he faced a player ranked 1:2 the clay. he faced a player ranked 42 places higher but troubled by injuries. at one point, peter he could barely serve. a bruising defeat in more ways than one. this week, fewer brits are in parisian contention several norrie it's the time and place to seize the spotlight. novak djokovic has spent his career at the top but the last few months has seen him toil with body and mind. he admitted struggling for confidence coming back from injury but this sport's

great venues where he is most at home. this felt like the clinical performance the world has got used to come a straight sets victory to go through to round two. djokovic has slid out of the top 20 this year but on the grandstands, they hope and they sensed the revival will come. in heather watson's korea, great days on the great stage have been too fleeting. —— career. but in paris she is on the way with a convincing first—round win. the challenges turning promising to performances. for watson and norrie, success performances. for watson and norrie, su ccess co m es performances. for watson and norrie, success comes one round at a performances. for watson and norrie, success comes one round at a time. that's all for the moment — more on breakfast from 6am withjohn watson tomorrow but for now lukwaysa back to you. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has been in brussels today, discussing brexit with the european union's chief negotiator, michel barnier. accusing the british government of "floundering about" over negotiations to leave the eu, she warned that time is running out for the uk to strike a trade deal.

in what she termed a "constructive and positive discussion" she said scotland's government believes britain should stay within the customs union and single market after brexit. with every week that passes without the uk being clear and focused and realistic about what it wants to achieve, that prospect of a damaging no deal seems to me to get greater, and that's in nobody‘s interests. i don't think there's support for it in the uk and there's certainly no preparedness for it in the uk, so sooner or later reality is going to bite for the uk government. my view is we should try and make that sooner rather than later. our europe correspondent, damian grammaticus, was in brussels today and had this to say when asked whether scotland's first minister was echoing the concerns expressed by europe's chief negotiator, michel barnier. it wasn't part of the negotiations, nicola sturgeon doesn't have a role in that. this was michel barnier

briefing her. and where the government says that progress is being made, they both disagree. eu officials here are preparing for a summit in four weeks' time, which is meant to sign off on the broad progress on those outstanding issues, the irish border and the legal underpinnings of an exit deal, how any disputes will be governed. will the european court be involved? mr barnier‘s team and nicola sturgeon both say that time is running out, progress isn't being made, and there's a real risk that if it isn't and the deadline is missed, the only one that remains is in october and the uk could risk exiting with no deal, which would also mean no transition period that follows that. those things are not nailed down, contrary to perceptions that some have. now, nicola sturgeon said today that, in her view, of course she's said this before, the answer to the difficulties in the negotiations is that the uk should stay in the single market and in the customs union with the eu. that, of course, is the red line the government has set and it's already ruled those out.

president trump and the japanese prime minister, shinzo abe, have discussed the forthcoming us—north korea summit. they agreed that it was "imperative" to completely dismantle pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programme. the white house said the two leaders confirmed they would meet ahead of president trump's talks with kimjong—un of north korea, to co—ordinate their positions. the announcement comes after us and north korean officials held their second consecutive day of talks in order to finalise plans for their heads of state to meet. the owner of chelsea football club, roman abramovich, has flown to israel after being found eligible for citizenship in the country. the russian billionaire had faced delays in renewing his uk visa and did not attend the fa cup final at wembley earlier this month when chelsea beat manchester united.

mr abramovich was reportedly given an identity card under the law of return, which allowsjews to become citizens of israel. stars of the big and small screen have spent their bank holiday monday walking the streets of bristol, re—enacting the speeches of a prominent anti—slavery campaigner. frederick douglass was an american who came to bristol in the 1840's as part of his civil rights campaign. scott ellis reports. america will not allow her children to love her. she seems bent on compelling those who would be her warmest friends to be her worst enemies. film actor danny sapani of star wars and black panther fame, cast today as abolitionist frederick douglass. so, too, the former casualty star, kwame kwei—armah. .. we are two races that cannot be excluded from any part of the globe,

so we might as well decide to live together. ..who thinks douglass'170—year—old speeches are still relevant. it's part of the discussion about how communities come together and how communities heal and about how communities think about tomorrow. and how'd you like to get— thing up? i'm wearing it, actually do you know what? i'm actually going to wear it all day. i could get in and out of my clothes but i think, i do this one and i do one at the end of the day. i think i'm going to stay in it. frederick douglass' speeches saw him climb from slave to high ranking us official. and yet many of us have never heard of him... men who benefited from the trade in flesh... ..including the reverend rose — who you might recognise from the service at the recent royal wedding. it's a great thing for me to learn about somebody else who is... who picked up the fight, as it were, and wasn'tjust content that he was himself free

but that he wanted all to be free. frederick douglass lived long enough to see slavery abolished in the us. his civil rights campaigning is up there with martin luther king and malcolm x. you wonder if someone shouldn't be making a movie about his life. scott ellis, bbc points west, bristol. in a moment, viewers on bbc one willjoin us for a round up of the news with reeta chakrabarti. but first, a look at the weather with chris fawkes. following on from yesterday's severe storms, which brought flash flooding in the birmingham area, today has been a much quieter day. the early morning low cloud burnt elements off. we saw some sunshine and only a few very isolated thunderstorms through the afternoon, not as many as we have seen ovei’ the last 2a hours, for sure.

iis i isjust reaching i is just reaching a0 degrees and the skies were grey and dragged underneath that layer of low cloud for a good part of the day. a few thunderstorms, a handful, nowhere near as widespread over the last 2a hours but one or two downpours! it will stay dry. the low cloud reforming and working its way westward, sloshing back in across the skies of england, reaching eastern wales, the bristol channel, central and eastern scotland by the end of the night with fog around coastal areas, the east midlands as well. it will be a mild and muggy night in the south but tomorrow, low cloud burning off with plenty of sunshine. for many of us, the day will be similar to the weather we had on monday. there is a risk of heavy and thundery showers in parts of the south but it is uncertain how many we will see across the south, might even stay in the english channel but if they form, they could

bring torrential rain and localised flooding is a possibility. they will be the exception rather than the wall but for most of us warm sunshine, the exception to that is the north sea coasts where it could stay rather grey for most of the day with mr patch is keeping temperatures pegged back. some changes in the weather pattern in wednesday, low pressure in parts of england and wales and it will encourage a greater number of downpours across england and wales. the rain could become the need by some thunder and bring some local and torrential downpours. localised flooding is a possibility and wednesday is probably your greatest chance of seeing some heavy rain. scotland, northern england, it will have temperatures in the low to mid 20s. first a risk of some showers, maybe one or two even reaching scotla nd maybe one or two even reaching scotland but the lion's share will be further south as the heat of the day builds and it will feel humid. between this showers in the sunshine, temperatures will be low to mid 20s.

the political crisis in italy deepens, prompting further concern on european financial markets. a caretaker leader is proposed, but the country's heading for fresh elections, and its relationship with europe will be a key issue. we'll be asking why the turbulence in italy is causing nervousness in brussels. also tonight... clearing up after a month's rainfall in one hour in birmingham — flash floods claimed the life of an elderly man. to see my neighbours going through this again, it is awful. everything out on the street... many of them have only

just moved back in from the flood two years ago. i don't know how they are going to cope. the spiderman of paris. how a migrant from mali became a french hero after saving the life of a toddler. more protests in northern ireland over its restrictive abortion laws, as labour piles new pressure on theresa may to act. and the growing demands from the black majority in south africa for more land, that's causing fear among white farmers. good evening. europe and the financial markets looked on anxiously today, as the political crisis in italy — europe's fourth biggest economy — deepened. the country's president nominated

an unelected economist as caretaker prime minister. but italy's two main anti—establishment parties promised to block him. if that happens, there will be fresh elections — with italy's membership of the eurozone, and its wider relationship with the eu, key issues. our rome correspondent james reynolds reports. for six decades, the lands which once had an empire of its own has been a part of every move towards a united europe. italy's constitutional crisis threatens to have an effect across the european union. italy's president, sergio mattarella, has vetoed a eurosceptic government line—up presented by populist parties. this morning he picked a pro—euro economist as a stopgap prime minister. the president has picked him to maintain italy's current relationship with the european union. translation: it's essential to defend our interests in europe

and be constructive. italy is a founding country. our role is essential, as is our continued participation in the euro. but the populists, led here by the league's matteo salvini, have the numbers to reject the president's choice and force early elections. mr salvini, who's been going up in the polls, wants the freedom to govern his way. translation: if the president of the republic tells us, do as you want but don't touch the european rules, we have a problem with democracy because i think in italy, the people are sovereign and don't depend entirely on european markets and bureaucracies. wherever you look here, there are signs of italy's long partnership with europe. but this country has begun to shift. this is the country that helped found the european union. why are the populist

parties turning against it? because people think that germany rules all europe and germany rules italy and they want to control italy and the agreements on the european union are an advantage for germany and a disadvantage for italy. tonight, this country realises that it now faces a sudden choice, an early election later this year may become an unofficial referendum on italy's membership of the eu and this country's relationship with the union it helped to found. james reynolds, bbc news, rome. our europe editor katya adler is in brussels tonight. katya, a complex picture, what's your assessment? well, in italy and across much of

europe tonight everyone is asking, what is going on? the short answer is the political chaos we were talking about last week, two populist party is trying to form a coalition government, has turned into full—blown political crisis. what does that mean? it means different things for different people. those who are running scared at the idea of a eurosceptic, populist nationalist of italy, the third last largest economy in the eurozone, big business and industry, they are breathing a sigh of relief to light now that the italian president has chosen an eu friendly establishment friendly technocrat a former government instead. but for those many, many italians who voted loudly and clearly the their general election, a break from loudly and clearly the their general election, a breakfrom italy's pass, corruption, this same old faces, putting brussels' rules and regulations ahead, they think, of the italian people are furious to my and feel betrayed. their parties are calling them out onto the streets as

they can. the five star movement is looking into the possibility of trying to impeach the italian president. it will be very hard this technocrat government to get off the ground so fresh elections look likely and that means that those who are breathing that sigh of relief tonight should think again, because the current mood in italy could well mean more powei’ for the current mood in italy could well mean more power for the the current mood in italy could well mean more powerfor the populists next time round. thank you. katya adler there. the clean—up is under way in the midlands after torrential rain caused flash flooding. a man in his ‘80s died after his car was submerged in walsall. the met office issued multiple flood warnings and alerts covering much of central england today, although some areas of the country basked in warm sunshine and high temperatures. our correspondent sima kotecha reports. their precious possessions destroyed and discarded. 2a hours after violent thunderstorms and heavy downpours swept across the country, the clean—up operation is under way. and some of those worst affected feel deflated.

we did have about an hour as we watched the water come up and moved as much of our possessions as we could, upstairs, and then the water came into the house. once it started coming in, it got higher and higher. it was above the level of the windows there, it was above the level of the doors at the back and then it started coming in as a torrent, yeah, like a river breaking its banks, basically. the houses on this street are particularly vulnerable. if you go to the end of the road, there is the bourne brook. many of the homes here have been flooded now three times over the last decade. on this street, some are calling it a deluge of biblical proportions. violent storms meant water gushing into the neighbouring river and, in some cases, causing maximum damage. absolutely devastated for my neighbours. i mean, i'm quite fortunate that my house wasn't flooded, but to see my neighbours

going through this again, it's awful. everything out on the street and many of them have onlyjust moved back in from the flood two years ago. i don't know how they're going to cope, i really don't. in parts of this area, a month's rain injust one hour. at a leisure club, water cascaded down a staircase. the pressure of the torrential rain also forced a nearby wall to collapse. 15 miles away in walsall, a man in his 80s died after reportedly being stuck in his vehicle, which was submerged in flood water. the fire brigade went to rescue a man who was trapped in his car, took him out, put him on a plastic rafter and brought him here. i later learned that this man died, unfortunately. the environment agency in the west midlands had issued multiple flood warnings, as smaller rivers filled up after the downpours.

for those affected the most, it's likely to take months before they're able to get their homes back to the way they once were. sima kotecha, bbc news, birmingham. a young man has been hailed a hero in paris after scaling a building to rescue a small boy who was dangling from a balcony. mamoudou gassama, who's a migrant from mali, will be made a french citizen, after meeting president emmanuel macron at the elysee palace, where he was honoured with a medal of courage. from paris, lucy williamson reports. france has nicknamed him spiderman. his real name is mamoudou gassama. when he saw a toddler dangling from a fourth floor balcony, the malian immigrant ran straight past the crowd of onlookers and began to climb. in less than a minute, he'd scaled the outside of the building, a neighbour holding

onto the toddler, until he arrived. with one leg swung across the balcony, mamoudou swept the child to safety. cheering. the child's father is now being questioned for apparently leaving him at home alone. this morning, mr gassama was invited to meet president macron, who asked him whether he had stopped to think, before climbing the building. translation: no, i wasn't thinking about anything. ijust climbed. once i started, god gave me the courage to continue. the president awarded mr gassama a bravery medal and certificate and offered him a role in the french fire service. he also invited him to apply for french citizenship. mr gassama had documents allowing him to work in italy but not to enter france. translation: i am glad, because it is my first time to win an award like this. i'm happy. thank you. translation: i asked him the question about being afraid and he told me, "no,

i didn't think about myself. i was thinking about the child." when he started climbing, he got scared that the child would get tired and let go. and after months of living in the shadows, mamoudou gassama is, tonight, tasting sudden celebrity. the video of his dramatic ascent, which has spread like wildfire on social media, made him a nationwide hero — before the french state even knew he was here. cheering and applause lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. a brief look at some of the day's other other news stories... police have arrested three people suspected of dealing class—a drugs at a music festival in portsmouth, where a man and a woman died on saturday. georgia jones, who was 18, and 20—year—old tommy cowan fell ill at the mutiny festival. a third person remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital. scotland's first

minister nicola sturgeon has raised her concerns over brexit in a meeting with the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier in brussels. ms sturgeon, who wants to remain in the customs union and single market, warned that time is running out for the uk to strike a deal with the eu. the russian billionaire and owner of chelsea football club, roman abramovich, has flown to israel after being found eligible for citizenship there. he has faced delays extending his british visa, although it's not clear whether that's connected to diplomatic tensions with russia. israel passport holders are allowed to enter britain visa—free. pressure to relax northern ireland's strict abortion laws is intensifying following friday's referendum in the irish republic. labour has added its voice to calls for women to be given the same rights across the uk, and tonight, campaigners who want to see the law change held a demonstration in belfast. from there, our ireland correspondent chris page reports. what do we want?

the right to choose! the calls for change have become louder. in northern ireland, abortions remain illegal, unless there's a serious or permanent risk to a woman's health. protesters say the law's outdated and unfair. i feel like we're dragging behind the rest of europe, the rest of the western world. it's like the dark ages. it'sjust incredible that we are still in this position here, especially now that the republic has moved on. the huge shift in attitudes on the other side of the irish border has given these campaigners new momentum, but there's been no devolved government here for more than 500 days now. in the absence of stormont, campaigners are turning their attention to westminster. this woman's story has made a big impact on the debate. sarah ewart travelled to england to end her pregnancy when doctors said her unborn child couldn't survive outside the womb. it was a terrifying time, more traumatic than it should have been. if stormont was up and running, we would be up there

begging for their help, but it's not, so we're now asking theresa may and westminster to help us. we need the help now. activists in dublin were already switching the focus to belfast as the landslide referendum result was becoming clear on saturday. two thirds voted to liberalise abortion laws. several former tory cabinet ministers are among a number of mps who want parliament to pass legislation to allow more access to terminations in northern ireland. but the democratic unionist party, on whom the prime minister relies for her parliamentary majority, are intent on keeping the restrictions. my message for the prime minister is that this is a matter, a sensitive matter, which the people of northern ireland have the right to make a decision on under the devolution settlement, and she should not, just because there are siren voices from the liberals and the left—wing at westminster, she should not bow to that.

the government says stormont should be deciding on the issue and that it shows the need to restore devolution. it is time for may to legislate! this most personal of matters has become highly political. the social revolution in the irish republic is having repercussions north of the border and across the irish sea. chris page, bbc news, belfast. britain's heather watson has qualified for the second round of the french open, after seeing off home favourite oceane dodin in straight sets. the british number two breezed through the second set, winning it 6—0 in only her second victory of the year. in south africa, there's been a surge in so—called "land invasions", with poor communities illegally occupying empty properties. the governing anc is under pressure to put more land in the hands of the black majority, and it's now considering confiscating land without paying compensation. that's causing alarm

among some white farmers, who fear echoes of the violence and intimidation that occurred in neighbouring zimbabwe under robert mugabe. our correspondent andrew harding reports. on the edge ofjohannesburg, an empty field is proving too much of a temptation. dozens of families have begun marking out plots for themselves. it's 20 feet, up to here, and from here, it's 15 to that stick over there. can you see that stick over there? yes. standing. they know land grabbing is illegal, but still... you just want a piece of land? just a piece of land. not so big, just a piece of land where i can put my family, build a house — live. within hours, the police arrive, and tempers flare. you will see the blood flowing like a river! this isn't some isolated incident, it's a pattern that's now spreading

across south africa. we need our land back, that's it, and we are going to grab it by force. they have to kill us. that sort of rhetoric is growing, along with a focus on the country's powerful white minority. it's so painful to us, man. if you can stand in my shoe and be emphatic enough, you'll understand the situation i'm living in, and you'll never be able to stand for it. you must be able to talk to our brothers and sisters who are white and exploiting us, man. that frustration may be understandable in a country where blacks still own just 8% of all farmland. now, under growing pressure, the governing anc is talking about changing the constitution, to enable it to seize white owned land. we can take the land, we should take the land using legal processes and being formal as a government — a responsible democratic government. but quick.

but quick, and also not be told, "go there", "don't go there". that kind of talk makes some south africans nervous. to the north ofjohannesburg, white landowners are on patrol. have you had security problems before? plenty. they cut our fence two weeks ago and also last week they tripped it. some fear a repeat of the chaotic land grabs that crippled zimbabwe, but others believe it's time to embrace reform. well, i think this, at this moment politically, is an enormous opportunity. we haven't seen this kind of opening up of debate around land, property relations for the past 20 years. and here's how it can work. south of johannesburg, this 26—year—old has taken over an abandoned farm with help from government. now it's thriving, an example for others.

i am confident. and convinced there's not going to be a zimbabwe style mess? i doubt it, i doubt it. like, i doubt it, seriously, i do. i just think that we, as people, we just need a little bit of push there and there, get a little bit of finance and start our productions. i don't think we'll fail. but there is still plenty that could go wrong here. after dithering for years on land reform, the government here insists it is now going to act urgently, but what if it fails? poor south africans may not be patient for much longer. some are already being pushed to the brink. this was another illegal settlement. we arrived just hours after it had been bulldozed by the authorities. we found a community in shock. where will you stay tonight? i don't know. let them come and talk to us, as humans!

we are humans over here! that's our country. our country, but not our land — that is the dilemma that south africa needs to confront, fast. andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. that's all from us tonight. here on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. hello. this is bbc news with lukwesa burak. silhouette portraits — profiles cut from black paper — have been around for centuries. but as an art form they've been pretty much ignored by museums. now, the smithsonian national portrait gallery in washington is changing that with a new show called black out — that features work dating from the 1700s to present day. jane o'brien reports. they look so simple but these most basic of portraits reveal a complex social history of america that might otherwise be hidden.

at a time when oil paintings were expensive and took weeks to complete, silhouettes were cheap and quick and travelling silhouettists made them accessible to everyone. we see activist women, enslaved people, we see free african—americans who are making incredible strides in commerce. we see dwarves, we see disability pioneers. these are people i feel that we get to shine a light on and they come out of the shadows through the art of silhouettes. in fact, the earliest known portrait of a same—sex couple is a silhouette, entwined with a braid of hair. and this, quite simply, is a national treasure, one of the oldest likenesses of an enslaved person in the country. flora was just 19 years old when she was sold in 1796 and this silhouette was created to market her.

for me the power of the medium is apparent in the way that this simple line has managed to capture the fear and apprehension and uncertainty that flora was clearly feeling about her future. silhouettes became even more popular with the emergence of physiognomy, the idea that the shape of somebody‘s profile could reveal character and personality. by the early 1800s, with the development of a machine called the physiognotrace, which traced the shape of your profile and literally was a technology that people were dying to see how it worked, there were lines out of the door, hundreds of people getting silhouettes made on any given day in any town in america. this exhibition shows how silhouettes have inspired contemporary artists. so, we're standing in the middle of my interactive installation. there's a depth camera on the ceiling that's looking down on us. camille utterback takes the abstract nature of silhouettes to explore

the virtual traces of our online profile. so my software then takes that data and extracts your silhouette as seen from above, from that information. cara walker looks at race through the blackness of silhouettes. while kumi yamashita creates shadows. and kristi malakoff lifts them from their flat surface to produce intricately beautiful sculptures. for such an ancient technique, silhouettes seem remarkable adaptable to modern ways of expressing ourselves. the journey to work on the number 8a0 bus in north yorkshire isn't your ordinary commute. it's just been crowned the ‘most scenic bus ride in britain'. however campaign groups are warning that rural services are in crisis. simon gompertz has hopped on board to find out how to keep the wheels turning. it's a bus driver's dream. the 8a0 coastliner starts in leeds,

takes in york, then heads over the north york moors here and out to whitby on the coast. driving what's been crowned our most beautiful bus route and getting paid for it, is adam davies. every day is a joy, every day is a joy on this route. it's just beautiful. are you going to york, love? ticket sales pay for this service, but only partly. whitby, that's lovely. thanks very much. it depends on public money. council subsidy over the winter, also the bus firm being reimbursed for letting on all the trippers with free bus passes. for anybody who hasn't got a car, or anybody who hasn't got a driving licence, it's the only way to get out and about in the area. if you didn't have the bus? well, if we didn't have the bus, we wouldn't go half of the time. this is a trophy service, it's scenic, it's popular.

so it has survived. but that is not the case with a lot of bus routes. bus funding has been cut by a third in the last eight years. and it is often the rural, most—needed services, ones that people don't have an alternative to, which tend to suffer. in whitby, volunteers have stepped in to provide services up to the places on the moors where people feel abandoned. every moors bus will have one of those. eden blythe is one of them. rebadging local buses and paying with donations. i think that somebody like us will always be needed. and we're happy to do it. but we don't really want to have to keep taking overfailing bus services, because that shouldn't be the case, should it? it's all the more reason then to cherish remaining routes like the 8a0 on which you can go where you need to, while soaking up the views. simon gompertz, bbc news, in north yorkshire. beautiful weather there.

time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello, again. most of us had a warm day with plenty of afternoon sunshine but there were just one or two thundery showers, that was one of the storms growing through the afternoon in haywards heath, west sussex. we had fairly heavy rain, but nothing like the torrential downpour that brought flash flooding across birmingham on sunday. the weather picture overnight tonight, this cloud across the north sea will come back inland, becoming extensive. there will be some fog patches around coastal areas, maybe the east midlands. a mild night for all of us, but quite muggy at times in the south. tuesday, sunny spells and showers, the best of the sunshine coming through in the afternoon, as the early morning cloud tends to slowly clear away. the main risk of showers will be across southern counties of england but there's uncertainty how far in across the south they will get. it could even stay out into the english channel

for the most part, but where they do form, there is potential for torrential bursts of rain and it could bring the best part of a month's rain in the space of a few hours and a threat of localised flooding. that's your weather. this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:00... a major clean—up operation is taking place in the west midlands after heavy rain and flash flooding. to see my neighbours going through this, again, it's awful. everything out on the street. many of them have only just moved back in from the flood, two years ago. i don't know how they're going to cope. a man in his 80s died after his car was submerged

by flood water in walsall. and another driver was rescued earlierfrom his car on the same stretch of road by this man. he couldn't get out, so i opened the door, told him to take a breath and dragged him out. a new interim prime minister for italy as the country tries to pull itself out of its deep political crisis. pressure intensifies to relax northern ireland's strict abortion laws following friday's referendum in the republic.