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. 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 we'll be taking a look at tomorrow's front pages at 11:30pm in the papers, with tonight's guests, henry mance from the financial times and the sun's lynn davidson. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the clean—up is underway 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. 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. 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. police have arrested three people suspected of drug dealing at a dance music festival in portsmouth 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 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. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news this afternoon. 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 thirties. 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 a 31—year—old woman. the pair were found seriously injured by police at a property in gloucesterjust before 5:00am this morning, and declared dead at the scene. the arrested man is 28—years—old. 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 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. 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 eighties 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. 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. 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. president trump and the japanese prime minister, shinzo abe, have discussed the prospect of a us and north korea summit. they agreed during a phone call that it was "imperative" to completely dismantle pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program. the white house said the two leaders confirmed they would meet ahead of any talks between president trump and kim jong—un of north korea, in order 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 doctor tasked with leading a review into the gender pay gap in the nhs in england, has admitted

there will not be a quick or easy fix to the problem. professorjane dacre, who's president of the royal college of physicians, will draw—up recommendations for the government by early next year but she says changing culture and attitudes may take a long time. at present, male doctors are paid on average £10,000 more than their female colleagues. here's simonjones. the nhs is the uk's biggest employer, but there are still big concerns about the gender pay gap in england. men still hold the most senior positions, with the large pay packets. overall, female staff earn nearly a quarter less than their male colleagues, even though the nhs employs far more women than men. junior doctor ali edits medical women, a magazine forfemale doctors. because i wonder what women are thinking about their worth in line with a male doctor, and how they compare. i mean, we put in the same number of hours, i think,

in terms of the hours spent studying in medical school, the exams passed, the commitment we put in. this review will concentrate on medical staff. the average pay for a male doctor isjust over £67,700. but at £57,500, the average pay for a female doctor is £10,000 less. across all medical professions, including doctors, the pay gap is 15%. the government says such inequality has no place in a modern employer. we need to ensure that people are really supportive to progress in work. also, we need to make sure that if women have to take time out of the workplace to have children, that we've got the policies in place to support things like flexible working, shared parental leave and we are recruiting people back into our house service after they may have taken a career gap for any reason. this is the doctor tasked with leading the independent review. she's warning there may be no quick fix. well, the nhs has been around for 70 years. let's hope it is fixed

in the next 70 years. before the next 70 years. that long? well, it may be. some of these societal and cultural things actually take quite a long time to change and are difficult to change effectively. the nhs is not alone in grappling with big pay disparities between men and women, but the government makes it clear, with its unique position in british society, there is no place for it to hide. the review will deliver its recommendations, early next year. simon jones, bbc news. 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' i70—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—up? i'm wearing it, actually do you know what? i'm actually 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 somone shouldn't be making a movie about his life. scott ellis, bbc points west, bristol. chris fawkes has the weather after the severe thunderstorms by hit in birmingham bringing flash flooding here, today has been a

quieter day. in the sunshine it felt warm with highs of 26 in east anglia and south—east england and also part of highland scotland as well. around some of the north sea coasts, highs reached 14 degrees and the skies we re grey reached 14 degrees and the skies were grey and drab underneath the layer of low cloud for good part of the day. we did have a few thunderstorms, just handful but nowhere near as widespread as they have been. but a few downpours in the afternoon. overnight it will be dry with the low cloud reforming and working its way west, coming back and across the skies of england reaching eastern wales, the bristol channel with fog around some of the coastal areas, perhaps the east midlands as well. it will be mild and muggy in the south and then tomorrow, the low cloud burning off with plenty of sunshine. for many, the day will be similar to the weather we had on monday. there is the risk of heavy, thundery showers

across parts of the south but it is uncertain how many we will see across the south and they may even stay in the english channel. but if they reform we may have localised flooding. they will be the exception rather than the rule but the most of us rather than the rule but the most of us it is warm sunshine and exception to that is around the north sea coastline where it could stay grey for most of the day with mist patches keeping temperatures pegged back. there will be a change in the weather as we move into wednesday. low pressure weather as we move into wednesday. low pressure moves weather as we move into wednesday. low pressure moves in weather as we move into wednesday. low pressure moves in over weather as we move into wednesday. low pressure moves in over england and wales and it will encourage a greater number of downpours across england and some downpours so localised flooding is a possibility. wednesday is your greatest chance of seeing heavy rain. on thursday, temperatures are in the mid to late 20s. there is the risk of a few showers, maybe 12 reaching scotland but the lion's share of them will be

further south. it will feel humid and between the showers and be sunshine temperatures will be in the midst mid to low 20s. that is your latest weather. hello. this is bbc news. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow mornings papers in a moment — first the headlines. a major clean—up operation is taking place in the west midlands after heavy rain and flash flooding. a man in his 80s died after his car was submerged by flood water in walsall. italy's president appoints a new interim prime minister as the country tries to pulls itself out of its deep political crisis. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be

bringing us tomorrow. with me are the political correspondent at the financial times, henry mance, and the whitehall correspondent at the sun, lynn davidson. it is lovely to have you both, let me remind you of those front pages and what they are looking like. the telegraph leads on comments from the most senior doctor at the nhs who says the health service is guilty of a "ridiculous waste of resources" and could improve without spending a penny more. the i says the government could begin a multi—billion pound sale of its stake in royal bank of scotland as early as this week, despite taxpayers being left short—changed. italian market turmoil, the ft reports investors have ditched italian bonds and equities today as italy's president asks a former imf official

to run a technocratic government. the metro carries a statement from a transport group behind the development of hs2 claiming that the creation of multiple high—speed rail lines would inject ‘rocket fuel‘ into the economy. ‘the secret is to stay on your feet‘, pictured in yellow, the times captures the winner of the cheese chasing race on cooper‘s hill in gloucestershire and also has details of a leaked official united nations report that alleges more than a dozen international aid organisations are implicated in a ‘so—called‘ sex—for—food scandal. analysis by the guardian reveals oxford and cambridge university have access to a pool of wealth totalling almost 21 billion pounds. in the mirror, the widow of gary newlove, who was beaten to death in 2007, reveals her anguish as the paper reports two of his killers are prepared to be released next year. and the daily mail leads

on new figures that suggests 22,000 children leave primary school severely obese. so an unusual situation tonight with different headlines for each paper. we will start off with the telegraph. nhs woes, we had the nhs on the papers this morning, and tomorrow morning as well. what are we talking about? a free lunch, everybody wants to know how you fix the nhs. somebody is offering without spending any addition to the £120 billion budget that the nhs has, the medical director of acute ca re has, the medical director of acute care in the nhs says that part of the problem is bed blocking, surgeons cannot do the operations they want to because they do