live from london, this is bbc news. israel orders the evacuation of more areas of rafah in gaza, where over a million palestinians are sheltering. it comes as washington says israel may have used american—supplied weapons in breach of international humanitarian law in gaza. hundreds of people are fleeing continued clashes in ukraine's kharkiv region, a day after russia sent troops across the border. iam i am live in malmo in sweden where the eurovision song contest final is about to take place. i the eurovision song contest final is about to take place.— a contestant under investigation and protests on the streets — will controversy overshadow

tonight's eurovision song contest final? and the most powerful solar storm in 21 years triggers spectacular celestial light shows in many parts of the world. hello, i'm sarah campbell. israel has called on residents in new parts of eastern rafah in the gaza strip to evacuate and head to what it describes as a "humanitarian zone" on the coast. the move comes as a un official warns that supplies are hitting "the bottom of the barrel" with no aid able to enter via gaza's southern border crossings. this is the scene live at a location which has been labelled an "expanded humanitarian area" by the israel defence forces. in a separate evacuation order on monday, thousands were told to leave rafah, ahead of what israel called a "limited" operation. there's been fighting in parts since.

these developments have happened as a long—awaited us government report has criticised israel's use of american—supplied weapons in the gaza war, saying it's reasonable to assess they have been used in breach of international humanitarian law in some instances. ourjerusalem correspondent yolande knell has more detail on what's going on in rafah. ok, so these new evacuation orders are still in the eastern part of rafah, but they suggest the israeli military is expanding its offensive there. we've already been hearing that there's been artillery shelling in the centre of the city as well as in the east, israeli air strikes as well, and also israeli gunships off the coast have been opening fire, one of the residents there was telling us. but already israeli tanks have encircled an area to the east of rafah which they had told residents to evacuate from earlier in the week,

so now those tanks do seem to be advancing. we have been told in recent days by the israeli military that this is still a limited offensive that they're carrying out in rafah against hamas which they see as a hamas stronghold, this southernmost city, and they say they have killed a number of what they call terrorists. they've found terror tunnels, they say, in this area. and this does fall short, indications are at the moment, from the full—scale ground invasion of rafah that the us and other world powers have really been warning israel against, but already we are seeing this crisis developing in humanitarian operations with, you know, the severe shortages of food and clean water and fuel which has a big effect on the hospitals, because we have had no aid coming in certainly since tuesday when the rafah border crossing was captured

by israeli forces. the kerem shalom crossing down in the south—eastern corner of the gaza strip, well, israel says that's reopened, but because of the fighting that's going on nearby, the security situation means that no supplies can get into gaza that way either. and yolande, these people, thousands of people on the move and there are concerns that where they're being asked to go to, muwasi, that there aren't the facilities there to deal with such a large influx of people, so concerns there as well. the israeli military calls this a humanitarian zone but it is really not recognised internationally as being such. the israeli military says it has been expanded in recent days but those arriving in this coastal area in this sort of tent city have told us there are shortages of everything, they are not finding any supplies there, they've got nothing to feed their children and that situation is not going to improve as long as these border crossings remain closed.

can ijust ask one more thing about this, this is all happening obviously as this us government report was published saying it's reasonable to assess that arms have been used in ways inconsistent with israel's obligations under humanitarian law, has there been any reaction from israel to this? we've not had an official reaction from israel at this point, but israel has been saying consistently that it keeps to international law, that it investigates any alleged abuses of international law and that the force that it's using in gaza is proportionate to the threat that it sees from hamas, in effect an existential threat. that was our middle east correspondent. russian forces have launched a surprise new ground offensive in ukraine, crossing the border into the north—eastern kharkiv region.

for months, fighting has been focused in the east, where russia occupies large areas. friday's attack may be an attempt to open a new front and intensify pressure on kharkiv, which is the country's second largest city. small groups of russian troops with armoured vehicles pushed through the front line — military sources say they advanced a kilometre before being pushed back amid reports of sustained russian shelling. these are pictures of volunteers helping people in settlements around kharkiv evacuate, getting out before the fighting gets worse. our defence correspondent jonathan beale sent this report from kharkiv in north—eastern ukraine. well, there's no doubt these are dangerous and difficult times for ukraine. remember, since the start of this year, russia has taken about 300 square miles of ukrainian territory. the focus of its efforts have been in the east, where it's been making slow but significant progress.

but at the same time, russia has been massing forces, tens of thousands of troops just across the borderfrom here, about 20 miles from the city of kharkiv, where i'm speaking to you now from. and in the early hours of this morning, some of those troops crossed the border, followed by what we're told from ukraine, massive air and artillery strikes, and that they now have a foothold in the kharkiv region. president zelensky says they have repelled those initial attacks. but there are concerns there will be another wave in the coming days. but there's no doubt president putin believes he has a window of opportunity here, notjust because ukraine is outgunned and outmanned, but also because of that delay in us military support, a delay of six months and that aid is only slowly coming to the front line. so these, as i say, are going to be difficult, dangerous months for ukraine. and already they're being stretched

right across this 800 mile front. our correspondent in kyiv, james waterhouse, gave us this update. it creates for ukraine an unwanted new north—eastern access to the front line and this is a front line at the moment which is more than ioookm long and it is a front line which ukrainian forces are struggling to contain, with the delays of the arrival of american ammunition and weaponry and with russia continuing to make its size count and taking ukrainian territory further south. crucially for kyiv, it is having to redeploy already stretched personnel to the kharkiv region to contain this incursion which we are told is being contained for now. there has been heavy fighting really for the past 2a hours and i think while few think they are able, even with the gathering of tens of thousands of russian troops across the border, few think they are able to take cities like kharkiv because they failed the first time around. but it appears for now to be russia

trying to form a buffer zone, try to extend the distance between russian territory and the fighting it is waging in ukraine, because ukrainian forces have been increasingly shelling targets inside russia. so the question really, as president zelensky admits, is what is going to happen next, we are containing it for now but is this russia building for something more? more than 150 people in afghanistan have died in flash floods in the northern province of baghlan, according to the taliban. thousands of houses were destroyed or damaged when heavy rains on friday sparked massive flooding. brazil's sports minister has asked the football confederation to temporarily suspend all national football competitions because of the floods that have devastated the state of rio grande do sul. at least 126 people have died and more than 400,000 have been forced to leave their homes.

prince harry and meghan are in nigeria this weekend as part of the duke's promotion of the invictus games. on friday, they launched their tour in the capital, abuja, with a visit to the lightway academy college, which receives support from their foundation to educate young girls affected by conflict. later today they will meet wounded soldiers who are representing the country at next year's event in canada. 0ur africa correspondent simijolaoso has more. they have been getting a really warm welcome here in abuja. prince harry went to the ministry of defence headquarters where he received a military salute and they are the department behind their visit. and as you mentioned, they went to a school here in abuja where they were greeted by a group of really excited and enthusiastic schoolchildren there. they spoke about mental health and prince harry told the students to promise to be open about their mental health and not to lock in their emotions and also

to kind of kick the stigma around mental health into the long grass, he said. he also told them that he wants them to remember that it's ok to not be ok. after their visit, i spoke to a couple of the students. one girl told me that she was left really inspired by their message, especially having such a high calibre couple come to visit their school and that she herself had suffered or struggled with anxiety and depression. and now she feels the courage to be able to speak out about her mental health. the most powerful solar storm in more than two decades has been hitting the earth, triggering spectacular celestial light shows in many parts of the world and bringing possible disruptions to satellites and power grids. such storms occur when the sun emits large clouds of particles, known as "coronal mass ejections" with scientists expecting this one to persist into the weekend. it's meant many people

across britain have been able to see the northern lights, a phenomenon which isn't normally visible to people in southern england. this was the scene in the skies over 0xford. but these scenes in switzerland may have trumped the skies over the uk. these are pictures of the northern lights over swiss alps. absolutely glorious. helena wilkinson reports. a tantalising glimpse of the spectacular light show that was about to unfold across the uk. at crosby beach in liverpool, people gathered to witness the breathtaking sight, a burst of colour lighting up the clear overnight sky. the northern lights made a rare appearance across the uk. this was manchester, the city bathed in a bright, colourful glow. clear conditions meant parts of the country were treated to dramatic displays. this was the dazzling scene in hornsey in yorkshire. liam james, who captured the moment,

described it as the best display he'd ever seen. even more southerly areas like basingstoke in hampshire were treated to the spectacle. the northern lights are caused by the earth's atmosphere reacting to charged particles from the sun. this is sort of a huge explosion that can be associated with the flare. but basically what happens is part of the sun actually lifts off the surface. so this plasma, the charged particles, the magnetic field that makes up the sun, part of it actually lifts off the sun and streams away into space. if you missed last night's display, there might be a chance to capture it this evening. helena wilkinson, bbc news. which is great news for all of us who missed it all because they were asleep! we will try again tonight. now it's time for a look

at today's sport. it could be a weekend in the english premier league title race too. the leaders arsenal don't play at manchester united until sunday, so manchester city, currently one point behind, have the chance to go top of the table in the next few hours. fulham are their opponents. if city win their final three games they will be champions for the fourth time in a row. manager pep guardiola's trying to take it all in his stride. these guys we still rely on them and we can do it, and here we are. a week left to finish the premier league and give all we have in our bones to perform, a sunny day in london. last season it was so dry, so we have to fly back with three points. in the fight to avoid relegation from the premier league, nottingham forest know victory for them over chelsea will see them all but safe. as for rob edwards and luton town, they need forest to slip up

and to get something themselves at west ham. we will concentrate on ourselves and obviously we will need help, but we all know how difficult it is to win in the premier league and we have got to try and do that and see forest, burnley, got difficult games as well, but they are all tough, but without as doing ourjob it doesn't matter what anyone else does. for burnley and manager vincent kompany, the maths is simple — they have to win their final two games if they're to have any chance of staying in the premier league, starting at tottenham later. we will have plenty of time to talk about what the season has been for us, good or bad, but right now i don't think we have to play out any scenarios. the only thing i know is we will keep going, that i guarantee you, no matter what. you just keep going and rewards don't get distributed in life because you've

done something exceptional in that one given season, it is because you have prepared yourself for a long time to have that one moment. this could be the day celtic effectively win the title in the scottish premiership. if they win the old firm derby which kicks off in little over an hour, they'll go six points clear at the top with two games remaining and a better goal difference. but victory for rangers would bring them level with the leaders. it is about being there as a player, it is about taking the moment, it is about being there is a group of players and grabbing the moments and you know there are always at small margins that decide this kind of game and you need to take all these things as much as possible. there is much more build—up to the weekend pass football over on the bbc sport website. but for now, that is all your sport.

talking about build—up. .. the eurovision song contest reaches its grand final on saturday night, with croatia, israel and switzerland among the favourites to win. crowds are gearing up in the swedish host city malmo. maryam moshiri is there. i remember watching you last year and on the day of the final, the atmosphere was glorious, joyous, happy, is there any sense this year that things feel slightly different? it will always be different, liverpool was amazing, the best week ever. it is amazing here as well, the eurovision bubble is still around, but there is a different feeling this year. the city of malmo has hosted eurovision three times, sweden has hosted seven times, this is the seventh time, but this is one of the most controversial contests we have ever seen, take a quick trip behind me if you can. look at the crowds, they are snaking, meandering, whatever word you want to use come across this square into

the arena behind me. the final rehearsals are going to take place imminently of the final 26 acts, but will there be 26 acts, we don't know. we are still waiting for the organisers to tell us whether the dutch act, joost klein, will be singing into night's final. we'll know what happened yesterday, there was huge amount of confusion just before the second rehearsal when he was taken off air and was not allowed to rehearse with the other contestants. the latest line we are hearing today is that the dutch press are saying swedish police are investigating an incident which occurred involving joost klein just moments before the dutch act was supposed to go on air. my colleague arts correspondent has the story. malmo and its giant cross stage. the lighting cube above it weighs around 200 tonnes.

modern eurovision is all about spectacle, and the people in charge are florian and frederick. i've got one word for this, wow. the new design with all the lights and technical wizardry is there to give countries more options, something which ireland has truly embraced. that is what makes this year's show so difficult and complex and challenging for the entire team, because there are so many options of what you can potentially do with this. each act, how long have they got to get onstage and get sorted? it's a very short time frame. 40 seconds. a0 seconds? # i went to hell and back.# and the spectacle has changed the way performers write songs. switzerland's nemo, for instance, wrote his song the code like a film script. going with the approach of writing

something and imagining how it . could look onstage is not something i have ever done before. _ you wrote the song thinking, "how is this going to look on a big stage", and how to create an event. yeah! i think that was definitely a big part of it. _ # rim tim tagi dim...# but while staging is important, so too is a catchy song, a good performance — and then there are the other factors. take the netherlands — joost klein and europapa. following an incident that the swedish host broadcaster described as an altercation with a photographer, it was decided to pull him from the dress rehearsal while investigation took place. the fans were not pleased. crowd boos and the conversation about israel's presence in this year's contest has had little to do with the quality

of their song. but they are one of the favourites to win — it's going to be an interesting evening. david sillito, bbc news, malmo. as that piece by my colleague was playing, we have breaking news here in malmo and the dutch artistjoost klein who i mentioned earlier will not be competing in tonight's grand final of the eurovision song contest. swedish police have investigated a complaint made by a female member of the production crew after an incident following his performance on thursday night's semifinal. while the legal process takes its course, they say it is not appropriate for him to continue in the contest. the ebu are also saying they want to make it clear that contrary to some media reports and social media speculation, this incident does not involve any other performer or delegation member. they

go on to say we maintain a zero tolerance policy towards inappropriate behaviour at our event and are committed to providing a safe and secure working environment for all staff in the contest. in light of this, they say, joost klein's behaviour towards a team member is deemed in breach of contest rules. so the breaking news there is that the netherlands will not be competing in tonight's grand final. that is pretty unprecedented news. it also means there will only be 25 countries competing tonight. 0ne be 25 countries competing tonight. one of the things in that statement was talk of social media reports this may involve another delegation, there were rumours on social media this involved the israeli delegation but ebu saying that is not the case. regardless, there has been controversy over the involvement of israel and protests are planned here in malmo later today. we can cross live to sarah in malmo, what are we expecting in terms of

protests? i what are we expecting in terms of rotests? ~ , , ., protests? i think this is the main date as far _ protests? i think this is the main date as far as _ protests? i think this is the main date as far as protesters - protests? i think this is the main date as far as protesters are - date as far as protesters are concerned, there have been protests all week in malmo about eurovision, calling for israel to be banned, other artists to boycott the entire event. they have varied in size, in importance i guess. a couple of days ago there was a big one in the city centre, around 10,000 people took part according to police there. it was extremely peaceful in the sense that it was utterly controlled by the police, the march was authorised, the people marched through the city centre, it was very loud, passionate, people with strong feelings about this issue of course. their main point that they do not think israel should take part while the bombing of gaza continues. there are also talking about hypocrisy saying russia has been banned from the competition since the full—scale invasion of ukraine and demanding to know where that was not the case that as well. as i say, strong feelings and we are expecting to see similar scenes in malmo is yet another protest is planned through

the city centre, the same route and i expect the same sentiment. bringing a big element of politics to what eurovision always insist it is all about culture, the songs, unity, but this year it is very much about the politics.— about the politics. thank you very much indeed. _ about the politics. thank you very much indeed. politics _ about the politics. thank you very much indeed. politics may - about the politics. thank you very much indeed. politics may be - about the politics. thank you very much indeed. politics may be in l about the politics. thank you very i much indeed. politics may be in play this yet but it is about music and i'm very happy to say that i'm doing here in the studio next to the arena by amy and the over the water choir. thank you forjoining us here. tell us about what you guys do? we thank you forjoining us here. tell us about what you guys do? we set up a auiet us about what you guys do? we set up a quiet which — us about what you guys do? we set up a quiet which is _ us about what you guys do? we set up a quiet which is 34 _ us about what you guys do? we set up a quiet which is 34 strong, _ us about what you guys do? we set up a quiet which is 34 strong, we - us about what you guys do? we set up a quiet which is 34 strong, we are - a quiet which is 34 strong, we are based near liverpool and wanted to get involved and myself and my brother who run the choir are massive eurovision fans, so we set “p massive eurovision fans, so we set up the choir, put together a show which went well. you up the choir, put together a show which went well.— which went well. you have the eurovision _ which went well. you have the eurovision bug. _ which went well. you have the eurovision bug. we _ which went well. you have the eurovision bug. we have - which went well. you have the eurovision bug. we have beenj which went well. you have the - eurovision bug. we have been causing

chaos allover — eurovision bug. we have been causing chaos all over malmo. _ eurovision bug. we have been causing chaos all over malmo. been _ eurovision bug. we have been causing chaos all over malmo. been enjoying l chaos all over malmo. been en'oying it? we chaos all over malmo. been en'oying an we have, — chaos all over malmo. been en'oying it? we have, people i chaos all over malmo. been en'oying it? we have, people have h chaos all over malmo. been enjoying it? we have, people have been - chaos all over malmo. been enjoying it? we have, people have been so i it? we have, people have been so welcoming- _ it? we have, people have been so welcoming. who _ it? we have, people have been so welcoming. who are _ it? we have, people have been so welcoming. who are your - it? we have, people have been so| welcoming. who are your favourite acts? we met _ welcoming. who are your favourite acts? we met windows _ welcoming. who are your favourite acts? we met windows 95 - welcoming. who are your favourite i acts? we met windows 95 backstage. that is finland. _ acts? we met windows 95 backstage. that is finland. but _ acts? we met windows 95 backstage. that is finland. but we _ acts? we met windows 95 backstage. that is finland. but we are _ acts? we met windows 95 backstage. that is finland. but we are with - that is finland. but we are with olly alexander _ that is finland. but we are with olly alexander all _ that is finland. but we are with olly alexander all the _ that is finland. but we are with olly alexander all the way. - that is finland. but we are with olly alexander all the way. and j that is finland. but we are with - olly alexander all the way. and you 0lly alexander all the way. and you are going to sing a bit of a snippet of dizzy, his song. i are going to sing a bit of a snippet of dizzy. his song-— of dizzy, his song. i will close the show with you _ of dizzy, his song. i will close the show with you singing. _ of dizzy, his song. i will close the show with you singing. son - of dizzy, his song. i will close the show with you singing. son won't| of dizzy, his song. i will close the - show with you singing. son won't you make me dizzy _ show with you singing. son won't you make me dizzy from _ show with you singing. son won't you make me dizzy from your _ show with you singing. son won't you make me dizzy from your kisses - make me dizzy from your kisses # spin — make me dizzy from your kisses # spin me _ make me dizzy from your kisses # spin me round and round until the moment_ # spin me round and round until the moment never ends # make me dizzy from your kisses # make me dizzy from your kisses # will_ # make me dizzy from your kisses # will you — # make me dizzy from your kisses # will you take my hand and spin me?

it # n- # take me it # take me back to the be--innin # take me back to the beginning againm — again... #- again... # we are here, again... — # we are here, we are all alone in our universe — our universe # _ our universe # we are free, where everything a lot of— # we are free, where everything a lot of love — # we are free, where everything a lot of love that comes first # forever and ever, together, we sail into_ # forever and ever, together, we sail into infinity # _ sail into infinity # we are higher and higher and higher— higher # we are reaching higher— # we are reaching for... #. hello there. with the most extreme solar storm hitting earth last night in the last 20 years, we had the most incredible display of aurora. many thousands of weather watchers�* photograph sent in to us last night. that one from nottinghamshire. very vivid colors of the aurora. maybe a chance to see it again tonight. but for today we've had some low

clouds, mist and fog around eastern coastal counties that may well linger on across parts of the coast of lincolnshire, east anglia into the afternoon. elsewhere, though, looking at some sunshine, one or two showers there likely for southern, central and northern scotland, one or two of those could be heavy, perhaps thundery into the afternoon, but they'll be very hit and miss. for many of us, it's going to be another very warm day. maximum temperatures widely 23 to 25, maybe 26 celsius in the south east of england. now through tonight, we'll still have that cloud across eastern areas, just perhaps moving its way onshore a little bit, some cloud elsewhere. but on the whole, clear skies again through tonight. so perfect conditions weather wise to see the aurora again. this is the forecast, very high probability for seeing the aurora across many parts of the uk, perhaps not quite as bright or as strong as it was last night. the geomagnetic activity has decreased a little bit. nevertheless, still worth getting outside to have a look at that. 0vernight temperatures getting down to about nine to 12

or 13 degrees celsius. so then sunday, some changes to the weather. we've got some showers and some thunderstorms moving their way in across parts of western scotland, northern ireland, wales, south west england. one of those storms may drift their way further eastward. there'll be some sunny spells in between these storms, but where you catch one or two of those, there really will be very heavy and torrential further east, staying largely dry with some sunshine and temperatures here could reach 26 or 27 degrees celsius. but elsewhere, perhaps just a tad fresher compared to today. 0n into next week, low pressure moves in from the atlantic really changed the feel of the weather. more unsettled conditions with some showers or longer spells of rain. no washout, no great big band of heavy rain spreading its way through. but there'll certainly be some showers in the forecast and temperatures down a little bit from what we've had recently. so about 16 to 19 degrees celsius, but still pretty pleasant where you get some sunshine. bye— bye.

this is bbc news — the headlines... israel orders the evacuation of more areas of rafah, in the gaza strip — where over a million palestinians are sheltering. that comes just after a government report which says israel's use of american—supplied weapons in the war in gaza may have breached international humanitarian law. hundreds of people are fleeing continued clashes in

ukraine's kharkiv region — a day after russia sent troops