"on its own territory" and called the comments by us defence secretary james mattis "irresponsible." thousands of gazans have turned out for the funeral of a palestinian nurse who was killed by israeli fire during protests. 21—year—old razan al—najar was shot dead as she hurried to the side of a casualty at the border fence. the israeli military says it will investigate her killing. the spanish prime minister, mariano rajoy, was forced out of office earlier week. one pressing issue facing his successor is the future of the northeastern region of catalonia, where an unsanctioned referendum on independence was held last year. niall o'gallagher reports for our world. barcelona, capital of catalonia, one of the most prosperous parts of spain.

it has a distinct culture and its own language. but under the dictatorship, general franco said speaking catalan was banned and the region's autonomy, lost. when democracy was restored, catalonia was able to govern itself within spain, and most people here accepted that. but recently, support for independence has risen and the region's people are now split on whether they should remain part of spain. with political tension rising, a referendum on independence was called for the 1st of october, 2017. i reported on that referendum and met people personally involved on both sides of the debate.

this programme tells the story of that struggle and asks — what next for catalonia? to understand what happened on the day of the referendum, you have to travel to france, to a small town called elna. it's north of the pyrenees, just over the borderfrom catalonia in north—eastern spain. this part of france was once catalan too. many still speak catalan and feel loyal to those south of the border. so, when the spanish authorities declared the catalan referendum illegal, the people of elna stepped in to help. so, when the spanish authorities declared the catalan referendum illegal, the people of elna stepped in to help. some of those involved agreed to talk to us, on the condition of anonymity. even in a small town like elna

conspirators identities were kept secret from each other. the operation lasted months, culminating on the night before the vote. spain had refused to allow voters to use official ballot boxes and ballot papers were seized, so replacements were printed in secret in elna. ballot boxes were brought

in from china, through marseille and hidden in the countryside around town. everything needed to hold the referendum was then driven across the border to volunteers waiting in spain. some here will talk openly about their involvement. they're proud that a few volunteers from elna could outwit the spanish police. jordi shows me a video about the operation. jordi believes the police‘s

embarrassment of being outsmarted led directly to the violence that was to follow. with the ballot boxes and papers safely across the mountains, the referendum could go ahead. queues formed as people waited in the rain to cast their vote. but the spanish authorities were determined to stop it. police brought in from the rest of spain used batons and rubber bullets to try and prevent people from voting, pulling voters from polling stations and confiscating ballot boxes. the catalan government said that nearly 1000 people were injured, around a quarter of them here. marta was helping a polling station

at her children's school. some of the worst violence happened at this school, where the then president of catalonia, carles puigdemont, was due to vote. the spanish government's representative in catolnia comes from girona. some here have always supported independence. catalonia accounts for a fifth of spain's gdp, giving them confidence the region could prosper as an independent country. but until recently, that was a minority view. then, nearly ten years ago, europe was rocked by the financial

crisis and spain's highest court downgraded a new law, catalonia's statute of autonomy, that would have given more power to the region. this brought catala ns to the streets, insisting that they should decide how the region is governed. after last year's referendum, empty ballot boxes were carried in from the street in celebration. many votes confiscated by the police were never counted. those that were, accounted forjust 42% of the population as pro spain voters stayed at home. those who did take part overwhelmingly backed independence, but triumph on the streets was short lived as europe refused to recognise the result. in the weeks that followed,

the world waited to see whether catalonia would declare independence unilaterally. rumours circulated that colours puja mum was holding back but he came under pressure from supporters of independence. and may 27 of october, after crowds had waited for hours in the heat, the catalan parliament declared the region an independent republic. but almost as soon as the parliament had declared independence, the spanish senate voted to suspend catalan autonomy and remove carles puigdemont‘s government from office. for the first time since the dictatorship, the government assumed control of catalonia. by the end of the week, four catalan leaders were in jail where they have remained ever since. she was sent back to prison shortly after we spoke.

as spain escalated its response to the crisis in march this year. there are now nine catalan leaders held without charge in spanishjails. the yellow ribbon has become a recognisable symbol of the campaign to free them. despite massive protests in catalonia and criticism abroad, the spanish government denies that those in jail are political prisoners. catalans are deeply split on independence. since the autumn, many have taken to the streets to insist that catalonia is part of spain and that they have the right to be both catalan and spanish. those sentiments are especially strong in the region's industrial cities. i am on my way to l'hospitalet, on the outskirts of the catalan capital, barcelona. this area has a long history

of migration from the rest of spain. most people here speak spanish before catalan, and few back independence. i've been invited to meet the local history society to find out how the area's history influences attitudes to independence. 0n the day of the referendum, jesus stayed at home. manuel, whose parents came to catalonia in the ‘60s, thinks the attitude of an older generation of catalan leaders towards the incomers remains a problem for present—day independence campaigners. in december, elections to the catalan parliament were held

and people in places like l'hospitalet came out in large numbers to assert their spanish identity at the ballot box. pro—independence parties kept their majority but, for the first time, the largest party was pro—spain. deposed catalan president carles puigdemont missed the election. after the declaration of independence, he fled for brussels. in march, he was arrested in germany and subsequently let out on bail. speaking on his release,

he called for a political solution to the crisis. the time for dialogue has arrived! we have demanded the dialogue from the last years and we only received a violent and repressive response. now, seeing the fall of that response, it's time to do politics. if the german court agrees to his extradition, mr puigdemont could spend years in a spanishjail. independent commentator josep ramoneda blames a failure of leadership on both sides for the current crisis. after months of stalemate, mr puigdemont nominated a new president, quim torra, a decisive figure who has had to apologise for comments he made about spanish speakers in the past. the appointment of a new government means rule from madrid will end.

mr torra continues to press for the release of those in prison. so far, politicians have been unable, or unwilling, to break the deadlock. so far, politicians have been unable, or unwilling, to break the deadlock. back in girona, the weekly vigils continue. and ordinary catalans on both sides harbour serious doubts about the future. catalonia's autonomy is set to be restored, but the crisis goes on. spain continues to press its case in the courts but a political solution seems more distant than ever. and for ordinary catalans, it's unclear how or when the issue of independence will be resolved. hello. the weather contrast continued on saturday. thundery downpours once more, a few for scotland and northern ireland and northern and eastern parts of england. there will be fewer to come for the first half of the week. some sunny spells, too, on saturday. pretty warm and there will be more of those on offer in the day ahead. it will feel a bit warmer, too.

starting the day warm, 10—14 degrees. the area of cloud and rain still with us the further north you are in england and southern scotland. it is not moving much in the day ahead. the rain will ease but for some of us, it will still be there into the afternoon. north of the central belt we'll get sunshine in scotland but a few thunderstorms developing. northern ireland, the rest of england and wales, warm, sunny spells. low to mid—20s, maybe an isolated shower, most of us will stay dry. it's late afternoon i want to focus on, the thunderstorms in scotland. slow—moving, frequent lightning and hail. not everyone will see them but if you do, you will know about it. then the cloudy, wet zone in parts of southern scotland and northern england. for northern ireland, the rest of england and wales, you can see the lack of cloud, plenty of sunshine around and the chance of picking up an isolated shower. most of us will avoid them and stay dry. these thunderstorms in scotland fade

away on sunday evening and the rain eventually gives up in northern england and southern scotland but you will notice the increase in cloud from the east as we go through the night and into monday morning. similar temperatures on monday morning but then again, there will be a different look to the weather with all of that cloud around. the reason why, low pressure to the south us responsible for delivering thunderstorm in the past week and less of a player of the first half of the week ahead. high pressure still with us. to the north, it is around that. north—easterly flow coming into the uk and we will see on monday, plenty of the cloud and lower temperatures as a result. some of the cloud will thin and break at times. particularly, the north sea coast will be cloudy and misty and murky. west is best, sunny spells on monday although there will be an isolated shower developing. most of us will avoid them and stay dry. as we go through the week, the temperatures will gradually recover as some of the cloud

begins to clear away, particularly by the time we get to wednesday. while the emphasis is on plenty of dry weather, later in the week, the risk again of some showers and maybe thunderstorms across southern parts of the uk. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is nkem ifejika. our top stories: finance ministers from the g7 warn america that its steel and aluminium tariffs could spark a trade war within days. china rejects allegations by the us that it's trying to intimidate neighbours in disputed areas of the south china sea. thousands of palestinians attend the funeral of a nurse killed by israeli gunfire. her mother says she was trying to help injured protestors in gaza. translation: this is what she was resisting with. on what basis did the soldier kill her? she has been targeted since the first day of the protests. after decades of communist rule in cuba, could the new president be

about to bring in significant changes to the way the country