earthquake—ravaged nation. and the number of payments made using cash has risen for the first time in a decade — but plastic still reigns supreme. the head of the un's world meteorological organisation says most of the deaths from the libya floods could have been avoided. there are fears that the number of people who've died in the catastrophic floods in libya, could reach as many as 20,000. a tsunami—like river of floodwater swept through the port—city of derna on sunday after two dams burst. the un says warnings should have been issued and if they were, people could have been evacuated. joe inwood has this report. derna is a city overwhelmed. first by water. then, by the scale of

the humanitarian catastrophe the flooding has caused. and finally, overwhelmed by grief at the loss of life. "god give me patience. my heart is with you," this man cries as he sees the body of his young son. it's now becoming clearer that this was a natural disaster, but enabled by human actions. the wadi derna river had two dams — both failed. the upper one, ten kilometres from the town, had a capacity of about 1.5 million cubic metres of water. when that burst, that water, with a weight of about 1.5 million tonnes, rushed to the sea, sweeping the second dam and about a quarter of the city with it. translation: we had warned the authorities since last - week — no, for years — that the dam had cracks and needs to be maintained. we said it and nobody listened to us. and now the whole of derna is flooded. the blame will inevitably fall on the politicians and warlords who have tried, and failed,

to run this country since the fall of the dictator, muammar gaddafi. it is blame they will try and avoid. translation: there would have been losses, massive losses. while the overwhelming majority of victims will be libyans, others were caught up in the disaster. 7a egyptians, all from the same town, were swept out to sea. "i've lost four members of my family," hassan says. "my son called his brother last thursday for the last time, telling him that he will get clothes for the children. "oh, my dear son," he finishes. international aid is starting to arrive. but the same crumbling

infrastructure that allowed this disaster to happen, also prevents the help getting through. when you walk on the ground in derna, what you smell is the smell of corpses. and what you hear is the screams of women and children. and we don't have what it takes. we need more rescue teams. the situation is way worse than it seems in the media. it is hard to comprehend the full scale of this tragedy. the force of nature, and the failings of government, saw entire families, entire communities, simply washed into the sea. joe inwood, bbc news. live now to amira fathalla, our middle east specialist from bbc monitoring. very good to see you. what have regional newspapers, social media be insane? , ., ., insane? this morning we found we were seeing _ insane? this morning we found we were seeing these _ insane? this morning we found we were seeing these reports - insane? this morning we found we were seeing these reports on - insane? this morning we found we | were seeing these reports on these varying death tolls —— been saying.

there is a parallel government that rivals the government base in the capital tripoli which controls eastern libya. it held a press conference last night, which announced overall, in terms of deaths and missing, they gave the figure of 5300. we suspect this is subject to measures in order to officially document that, that is why it is relatively lower than the number given by the military forces commanding the eastern region, which are put at around 7000 at least. meanwhile, other localfigures, the meanwhile, other local figures, the mayor, meanwhile, other localfigures, the mayor, and a local matter, saying it is likely to be nearer 20,000. the mayor of derna was saying last night they are basing the estimate of the scale of destruction to derna, which

many report suggesting it is a population of 100000 and about a quarter of the city has been swept away. quarter of the city has been swept awa . ~ �* , , . , ., quarter of the city has been swept awa., ,. away. we've seen pictures of aid bein: away. we've seen pictures of aid being delivered, _ away. we've seen pictures of aid being delivered, and _ away. we've seen pictures of aid being delivered, and some - away. we've seen pictures of aid being delivered, and some is - away. we've seen pictures of aid i being delivered, and some is basic, coming from local people. how much other governments cooperate in question this is interesting because since around tuesday, we were seeing the government in tripoli sending a two the east and them receiving it. so far, we are seeing crews to help extract water because so much of the city and homes are underwater. help assisting recovering bodies, which is a difficult task. and also sending convoys of electrical supplies because power and internet were disrupted. another thing has

been taken shape, which we may see threat in this fragile moment of unity between the two authorities, and that is the government in the capital tripoli has ordered the prosecutor, also based in the same city, to investigate how these dams collapsed. was there any negligence? has there been any hampering of aid deliveries? this is likely to point the finger at the authorities who govern the region whether dams were, and as i was saying, this could harm and as i was saying, this could harm a bit of solidarity we are seeing. thank you so much. let's return to morroco where relief efforts are under way after friday's earthquake. there were aftershocks again this morning in marrakesh. you can see the live pictures. this is a blood donor centre in marrakesh. people queueing up to

give blood. there are different reports from around the country that some of the centres have been overwhelmed, lines of people showing up overwhelmed, lines of people showing up to donate blood. it was scary for some this morning because there were some this morning because there were some aftershocks there, also felt in the atlas mountains. and i'm nowjoined by bouchra guetbach, who felt the tremors this morning. did you experience those aftershocks this morning?— this morning? yes, i felt them. it was seven — this morning? yes, i felt them. it was seven o'clock _ this morning? yes, i felt them. it was seven o'clock in _ this morning? yes, i felt them. it was seven o'clock in the - this morning? yes, i felt them. it| was seven o'clock in the morning, the house was moving, so i got panicked again. i took my daughter and then suddenly it stopped. it was and then suddenly it stopped. it was a quick aftershock, it was 4.7. it was a scary moment because fortunately it was just maybe ten or 15 seconds, but to feel that. i couldn't go in, i stood for one hour outside because i panicked at what

was happening. is it happening again? it was happening. is it happening auain? ., , was happening. is it happening auain? y . ., was happening. is it happening auain? my . ., was happening. is it happening aain? my ~ m, again? it was scary. what did you tell our again? it was scary. what did you tell your daughter? _ again? it was scary. what did you tell your daughter? nothing. - again? it was scary. what did you tell your daughter? nothing. i- tell your daughter? nothing. i tried... you _ tell your daughter? nothing. i tried... you have _ tell your daughter? nothing. i tried... you have to _ tell your daughter? nothing. i tried... you have to wake - tell your daughter? nothing. i tried... you have to wake up i tell your daughter? nothing. i. tried... you have to wake up for school. i didn't want to give her my panic attack because children sense everything. when i took her of, i said you have to get to school. i went outside, tried to be as careful as i could. i as i could. our children in marrakesh _ as i could. our children in marrakesh still _ as i could. our children in marrakesh still going - as i could. our children in marrakesh still going to l as i could. our children in - marrakesh still going to school? some schools are closed for security measures, because some schools have been hit. they are waiting to have official approval that the building is still good and safe for the children. my daughter's school is open. everything on monday was close, but she is back at school. i

couldn't see her at home to see the stress. she needs to continue with her life. we don't want to traumatise our children. my daughter is five. she didn't feel anything during the earthquakes, so i am happy she is ok. during the earthquakes, so i am happy she is 0k-_ happy she is ok. that sense of normalcy is — happy she is ok. that sense of normalcy is so _ happy she is ok. that sense of normalcy is so reporting - happy she is ok. that sense of normalcy is so reporting for. normalcy is so reporting for children, particularly when they are seeing the worry and panic. it is good to hear she is ok. i know you been to the villages affected badly by the earthquake, and thank you for sending us pictures. tell us what you saw and what the experience was like. ~ . you saw and what the experience was like. ~ m, m, like. well, we gathered together from some _ like. well, we gathered together from some friends _ like. well, we gathered together from some friends and _ like. well, we gathered together from some friends and family. i l like. well, we gathered together- from some friends and family. i have a lot of dutch friends, because i am living in morocco from holland. we decided to check out which village didn't receive help yet. we created a group. i received a lot of

donation from friends and family in holland. they reached out. when we got there, we had a lot of authorities, military comes there. we saw a lot of help, a lot of residents from all over morocco. i saw license plates from all over. when you get the, you guys see them on the video, and when you are there and speak to the people, they have seen nobody yet since the earthquake past. they hug you. i had women and children hugging me. they said, i am sorry we bothered you to come here. they apologised that we came all the way to them. thank you so much, sorry to bother you. so heartbreaking. we did two villages, but it took us a day to arrive

there. happy enough when we called back, because we got their numbers. we gave them food. now the authorities gave them tents. we were still gathering money to give them tense, but the authorities arrived, so now they are safely sleeping under tents. there are still villages that need help. many, many months of hard _ villages that need help. many, many months of hard work _ villages that need help. many, many months of hard work ahead - villages that need help. many, many months of hard work ahead to - villages that need help. many, many| months of hard work ahead to rebuild those villages. thank you for sharing your experiences. the family of a colombian man believed to have taken his own life in an immigration facility in march has told the bbc he begged for help and was willing to leave the uk. frank 0spina died within a month of being locked up, despite, his family said, having no existing mental health problems. next week a public inquiry will report on abuse at a gatwick centre following a bbc investigation. but more pressure is expected in detention centres as the government toughens its approach to immigration. here's our home affairs correspondent tom symonds.

in chile, 5,000 miles from london, a family is mourning. translation: he wanted to return to colombia to continue his work. i he was a civil engineer, a professional. the sister and brother—in—law of frank 0spina are bewildered by his death in a british immigration detention centre. but they are sure he wasn't an asylum seeker. translation: he said - he could pay his ticket out, but they said he would have stayed there for months. they say he'd come to the uk from colombia to visit his mother before studying in spain, but he was caught working illegally and sent to the detention centres at heathrow where his family say his mental health rapidly went downhill. translation: he didn't ask for help - _ he begged for help, and he was begging for help not only to us but also to the people there, like the guards.

on march 26th he was found dead. his family have been told he took his own life. they believe a critical factor was being detained. immigration removal centres are where the government holds people it expects to deport. the government has toughened the law. 0ne change — it'll be removing more migrants who use deception to come to the uk, small boats for example. it says these centres are essential to that policy, so they will be filling up. but it's six years since this. whispers: callum tulley, 21 years old. _ i work in an immigration removal centre. secret bbc filming of brutal treatment by detention officers. are you going to stop being an idiot?! yes or no?! a public inquiry reports next week, highly significant because six years on, doctors who examine detainees are warning the way they are treated as making poor mental health worse. in detention, the first recourse is often to increase custodial processes. put them in a cell?

put them in a cell, put them with someone watching them, or frequent intrusive checks, which are not by a health professional, they are by a custodial member of staff. in the last year, medicaljustice assessed 66 detainees in six centres, including this one at harmondsworth. 13 had attempted suicide and one factor stood out — the lack of a release date. that kind of sudden nature of detention and the indefinite nature of detention can really be a crisis in their mental health and really can cause a great deal of stress and exacerbation of any current mental health problems. detainees, including this man, have already noticed the system getting tougher. last year he was identified to be sent to rwanda. translation: i haven't done any | crime, i din't murdered anyone, | crime, i didn't murdered anyone, i didn't rape anyone or assault anyone. i don't know why i was treated this way. great britain is supposed to be the greatest country in the world. the home office said its policy is to detain for the shortest period

necessary with risk assessments when detainees arrive and systems for raising subsequent concerns. it said, "our staff are rigorously trained to ensure the safety of residents." but the family of frank 0spina believe that if the government is looking up someone who wants to leave britain, something may have gone wrong. tom symonds, bbc news, harmondsworth. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. studying, natural beauty but it comes at a cost. the popularity for second homes and holiday let is one of the reasons people often can't afford to buy in their own communities. the council once fewer second homes and to force people to have planning permission to own one in future, but it admits it might lower house prices which could hit current homeowners. there's a feeling of, why the

council doing this to my property? it is easy to take it personally. changing to plateau laws means councils have more control over property use. second homeowners pay more council tax year, and the council wanted use an article for direction to bring in new rules. it saysis direction to bring in new rules. it says is a huge housing crisis and will use whatever tools it can to let people live in their own communities.— let people live in their own communities. they need to do something _ communities. they need to do something because _ communities. they need to do something because they - communities. they need to do something because they are l communities. they need to do - something because they are villages that are empty. something because they are villages that are empty-— something because they are villages that are empty. we've been here four ears, that are empty. we've been here four years. going — that are empty. we've been here four years. going to _ that are empty. we've been here four years. going to the — that are empty. we've been here four years, going to the same _ that are empty. we've been here four years, going to the same cottage. - years, going to the same cottage. the council— years, going to the same cottage. the council tax and has tipped the owner_ the council tax and has tipped the owner over— the council tax and has tipped the owner over the edge and she will no longer— owner over the edge and she will no longer let_ owner over the edge and she will no longer let her house out. if the council decides _ longer let her house out. if the council decides to _ longer let her house out. if the council decides to press - longer let her house out. if the council decides to press ahead | longer let her house out. if ii�*uéi council decides to press ahead with the controversial move, it will come into force a year from now. thank you for being with us on bbc news. 0pposition leader keir starmer has

had a future labour government would end the use of hotels for asylum seekers within 12 months of coming into office. he is in europe at the moment in the hague was up he denied talks meant he was reversing his position on brexit. he rejected claims the uk would be forced to accept thousands more asylum seekers as part of an agreement. he told the bbc how his government would end the use of hotels for migrants. the bbc how his government would end the use of hotels for migrants.— use of hotels for migrants. the way to do is to process _ use of hotels for migrants. the way to do is to process the _ use of hotels for migrants. the way to do is to process the claims - to do is to process the claims quickly. the government has lost control of it. the cost now to the taxpayer, year—on—year, for hotel accommodation is £2 billion. what i would do is use a small amount of that money to recruit more caseworkers, to get the case of through and ensure within a reasonable short period of time, let's say 12 months, we would clear

out all those currently in hotel accommodation.— out all those currently in hotel accommodation. , ., accommodation. responding to keir starmer's comments _ accommodation. responding to keir starmer's comments about - accommodation. responding to keir starmer's comments about the - starmer's comments about the handling of illegal immigration, the prime minister was critical of labour. ,, ., , , , labour. keir starmer has spent this ear labour. keir starmer has spent this year voting — labour. keir starmer has spent this year voting against _ labour. keir starmer has spent this year voting against our _ labour. keir starmer has spent this year voting against our stop - labour. keir starmer has spent this year voting against our stop the . year voting against our stop the boats bill, the toughest legislation any government has passed. i think he spent last year voting against the previous bill, which has led to 700 arrests related to illegal immigration. it is incredible he wants to sort this problem. his plans seem to amount to saying one day we will accept 100,000 eu migrants every year. that doesn't seem credible. meanwhile, we are delivering for the first time ever, the number of small boats arrivals is down, illegal migrants from albania is down 90%. our plan is delivering and i'm determined to stop the boats. the

delivering and i'm determined to stop the boats.— delivering and i'm determined to sto the boats. ., ., , stop the boats. the government has resonded stop the boats. the government has responded to _ stop the boats. the government has responded to a _ stop the boats. the government has responded to a court _ stop the boats. the government has responded to a court report - stop the boats. the government has responded to a court report which i responded to a court report which found its approach to the threat posed by china was inadequate. it said chinese spies on targeting british officials as part of a spying operation to get access to secrets and their specialised knowledge. as a result, the government says it will update its approach to china to take account of the criticisms from a report. the 48 page response comes after it did emerge a parliamentary researcher was one of two people arrested in march this under the official secrets act amid claims of spying for china. the researcher is not being named by the bbc, he denied the claims. rishi sunak had said it was a priority for the british government to protect uk from foreign state interference, including from beijing.

the number of people in england waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a record high. nhs figures released today show an estimated 7.68 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end ofjuly.. up from 7.57 million injune. it is the highest number since records began in august 2007. it's estimated that at the end ofjuly, 7,289 people in england had been waiting more than 18 months for routine treatment. that number was also up onjune's figure. 0ur health correspondent, jim reed, told me what these latest figures mean. a big political issue across the uk, but particularly in england at the moment, because one of rishi sunak, the prime minister's big pledges, is to start to reduce waiting lists in england. the overall waiting list, as you just outlined, really clearly keeps going up at the moment. so 7.7 million people are waiting for what's called consultant—led treatment. now, that could be an operation.

it could be they've gone to their gp and the gp said, look, this is too complicated for me to look at. you need to go to hospital to see a specialist. so they could be on the waiting list for diagnosis, for an appointment to talk about their problem or for an operation at the end of that process. butjust to put this in context, 7.7 million people is one in every seven people in england. so you can see why this is a big political issue across notjust england, but the rest of the uk as well, where waiting lists have also been very high and rising. the government says an extra £200 million is being put in to help deal with this, to help deal with winter pressures as the nhs starts to get into that period, november, december, january, which is often very difficult for doctors and nurses because more people come forward with colds, with bugs, more slips and falls in the winter and that kind of thing as well, which is why you're seeing this pledge today for an extra 200 million in england. i should say that when you look at the statistics on this,

the government say that a lot of this is about industrial action. we've had junior doctors and more senior consultant doctors on strike in august at the time that this data was taken. but actually, when you look at a graph for the overall waiting list in england, it was going up well before the pandemic hit in 2020. then there was a sharp increase over that pandemic period, and then the number seems to still be ticking up, not at quite the same pace, but still be rising. the government says it has had some success and the nhs is saying this as well. are reducing the longest wait. so those are waiting more than two years those those who are waiting more than 18 months. but overall this waiting list is still going up and that is proving to be quite a difficult political issue for the government with an election around the corner probably next year in across the uk. the number of payments made using cash has risen for the first time in a decade, according to the banking trade body, uk finance. however, its latest figures make clear that plastic

is still king. 0ur cost of living correspondent kevin peachey is in the newsroom for us. i sometimes dish out some cash for pocket money, not much else. why are people using cash again?— people using cash again? something of a comeback— people using cash again? something of a comeback or _ people using cash again? something of a comeback or cash, _ people using cash again? something of a comeback or cash, a _ people using cash again? something of a comeback or cash, a 7% - people using cash again? something of a comeback or cash, a 7% rise - people using cash again? something of a comeback or cash, a 7% rise in l of a comeback or cash, a 7% rise in another of times people use notes and coins last year, which is the first rise for a decade. while they doing it? two reasons, the first is this emergence from the pandemic, more opportunities to spend that cash. i think more significantly, it is all to do with the cost of living. people feeling the pressure on their finances, living. people feeling the pressure on theirfinances, and many of living. people feeling the pressure on their finances, and many of those find it a lot easier to budget using cash. they know what is coming in and going out. that said, it is still only one in seven payments made using cash. it is very much

dominated by debit cards, which now account for a half of all payments, which is the first time that happened. which is the first time that happened-— which is the first time that happened. which is the first time that hauened. , , ., happened. these figures of payment oane happened. these figures of payment online question _ happened. these figures of payment online question no, _ online question no, across—the—board, many billions of them. across-the-board, many billions of them. , . ., ., , ., ,, them. they include going into shops, bu in: them. they include going into shops, buying online — them. they include going into shops, buying online and _ them. they include going into shops, buying online and so _ them. they include going into shops, buying online and so on. _ them. they include going into shops, buying online and so on. what - them. they include going into shops, buying online and so on. what we - them. they include going into shops, j buying online and so on. what we are seeing with debit cards is these cards are used more frequently. commuters, for example, may be making fewer trips into the office. they are using their card more often because they are paying for individual journeys because they are paying for individualjourneys rather than paying for a monthly or an annual season ticket. which would only mean using their card once. irate season ticket. which would only mean using their card once.— using their card once. we have to brina ou using their card once. we have to bring you news — using their card once. we have to bring you news from _ using their card once. we have to bring you news from the - using their card once. we have to bring you news from the ringo i using their card once. we have to i bring you news from the ringo starr of the bird world the male palm cockatoo. well new research has found they

create their own custom made tools — kinds of drumsticks. take a listen to this bird chirrups you can see the parrot tapping out rhythms on the tree — it's to woo potential mates. what the scientists from the australian national university found was the individual birds had different designs of sticks — some were long and thin, other short and stubby. they made them from wood and seed pods. the birds also have their own unique drumming patterns and are the only known species, other than humans, to make tools that are then used to make rhythmic sounds. quite mesmerising to watch. do stay with us on bbc news. do stay with us on bbc news. hello. we have a mixture of weather, it stays windy for northern ireland. the south of england in contrast will be dry with sunshine. between,

for wales and the midlands, we've got this weather front bringing rain. different trails to the atlantica to rain. different trails to the atla ntica to a rain. different trails to the atlantica to a developing area of low pressure, strengthening and moving to spain and portugal, bringing severe storms there. warmer air across england and wales, and it will control how much rain on the weekend. back to today, this weather front stretching across wales and the midlands, turning the rain heavier through the afternoon. potentially getting across north wales into north—west england. sunny for scotland and northern ireland, parts of east anglia have warm sunshine, feeling humid. as that low pressure develops overnight and towards portugal, we get milder air from england and wales, temperatures of 11 or 14, but we will see the rain extend across northern england, reaching further north into parts of northern ireland and southern

scotland. the process continues on friday, the rain could be heavy at times. to the south it is largely dry and sunny. this weather front separates what will be cool across the north, with temperatures of 13 or 15 degrees. from the warmer across england and wales, 22—25 c with a humid feel as well. into the weekend, the low pressure throws a few showers across southern areas of england, perhaps into wales as well. they could be heavy and thundery. some damper weather across scotland and northern england, and the weather turning brighter through the day across scotland and northern ireland. temperatures below par, 14 or16, ireland. temperatures below par, 14 or 16, and potentially warmer across the south—east, 26 else just. sunday, showers and thunderstorms merging together to give longer spells of heavy rain. the question is how far north it gets. it could

reach parts of scotland on sunday. we will keep a close eye. could be heavy to cause a few issues as well.

today at 1:00pm, the prime minister says his target of reducing nhs waiting lists is in doubt, blaming striking doctors. his comments come as the number of patients waiting to start routine hospital treatment hits a record high in england of almost 7.7 million.

with industrial action, it's very hard to continue to meet these targets, but what i would say is we are making very good progress despite industrial action. we'll ask what the prime minister's comments mean for patients. also on the programme... thousands of people could have been saved from libya's devastating flooding, says the un, as fears grow that 20,000 have died. two women arrested during a vigil for sarah everard on clapham common receive substantial damages from the metropolitan police. and, rumours of the death of cash are greatly exaggerated — payments with notes and coins rose last year. coming up on bbc news, trending in the right direction. england's captain says ben stokes's record innings is timely with just three weeks to go until their world cup defence begins.