live from washington. this is bbc news. the eurovision song contest crowns switzerland the winner — we'll have the latest from malmo in sweden. israel orders more evacuations in rafah as it intensifies military operations. sweeping pro—europe protests in tbilisi, georgia, as the country moves forward with a bill critics say will clamp down on dissent. hello. i'm helena humphrey. glad you could join me. israel has ordered thousands more people to leave the city of rafah in southern gaza, as it presses on with its military campaign there against hamas. the israel defense forces have declared a narrow coastal strip at al—mawasi to be a safe humanitarian zone, but the un says it has no running water or proper sanitation.

israel says that since monday, about 300,000 palestinians have already fled rafah. the us is still urging israel not to mount a full—scale assault on the city. and in the north — there are evacuations in the city of jabalia as the idf says that it has been carrying out air strikes. it says hamas fighters are regrouping there. from jerusalem, here's our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. another desperate exodus. palestinians fleeing in their thousands, as israel signals it is now set to push further into the gaza's southernmost city, issuing new evacuation orders. "what should we do?" hanan asks. "do we wait until we all die on top of each other? we've decided it is better to leave." israel has said it's taking action against hamas in one of its last strongholds and trying to bring home hostages.

but today hamas said british israeli captured from his home last october had died of wounds from an israeli air strike. meanwhile, with israel's capture of one main border crossing and another blocked off by fighting, no aid is getting into southern gaza. there are now severe shortages of food, deepening the humanitarian crisis. so far, israel's military is describing its offensive in rafah as limited but the world is watching, to see if this turns into the full scale invasion that the country's allies have been warning against. and as israeli tanks and troops await orders near the gaza border, there has been another strong statement from washington. it says that with some of the strikes in gaza, israel may have used american supplied weapons in breach of international law. israel has consistently denied any violations and yet, the new report may have an impact on plans back here in rafah, where there is already a growing sense of emergency.

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. joining me now to discuss is aaron david miller, a senior fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace and a former us state department official. welcome to you. great to have you with us. i want to start with what we are seeing on the ground in gaza. there appears to be moved ahead of a broader offensive on the ground in rafah. as we know, it is something washington has said would be a red line if it goes ahead in that full—scale capacity. if it does happen, what does that mean that we could see from washington, do you think?— could see from washington, do ou think? ~ _, , ., you think? when it comes to the us israeli relationship, - you think? when it comes to the us israeli relationship, red - us israeli relationship, red lines sometimes turn pink. they are clearly expanding their area of operations down from the east end to the southern part of rafah. and they are

engaging hamas fighters. whether or not what the israelis plan to do as they expand will remain under what the biden administration believes to be is their bottom line, the redline, which would involve a major israeli ground campaign into densely populated areas where hamas is coordinating its military assets, the remaining four battalions of its organised structure in rafah, that is the question. we don't know the answer to that. in the next several days we will probably find out. the other point is hamas is researching in gaza in the north. israeli have cleared jabalia and they had to play it again and that's the real problem with the entire israeli operation. they can be clear, they can't hold and they don't want to build. that really raises questions about where this will go.

raises questions about where this will go— this will go. just coming back to that operation _ this will go. just coming back to that operation there - this will go. just coming back to that operation there in - to that operation there in rafah, it appears to be the biden administration may be trying to offer the war cabinet some way back, saying for example, we could give you instead pinpoint intelligence about the whereabouts of hamas leaders for example. do you think that the war cabinet, that netanyahu may decide to go with that as opposed to a broader offensive there in rafah? �* , , ., rafah? i'd be stunned to the oint of rafah? i'd be stunned to the point of head _ rafah? i'd be stunned to the point of head explosion - rafah? i'd be stunned to the point of head explosion if. rafah? i'd be stunned to the | point of head explosion if the administration or the long since october seven hadn't been helping the israelis identify where these people are, the key three leaders in the october terrace surge. i suspect they have been feeding israelis information. it is seven months now. israelis are on the ground

in gaza. i don't think that will be enough of an incentive. i think the americans have been doing that already. again, the question is how restraint will be israelis be under these circumstances? frankly, idon�*t think there is a really good answer, i don't have one to that question. i answer, i don't have one to that question.— answer, i don't have one to that question. i want to ask ou, that question. i want to ask you. who — that question. i want to ask you. who do _ that question. i want to ask you, who do you _ that question. i want to ask you, who do you think - that question. i want to ask you, who do you think has. that question. i want to ask- you, who do you think has more sway over mr netanyahu? we know that far right ministers in his war cabinet wantan that far right ministers in his war cabinet want an all—out ground offensive there in rafah. we know what washington has said as world and the possibility to withhold military supplies. ultimately who do think netanyahu will listen to more? mil who do think netanyahu will listen to more?— who do think netanyahu will listen to more? all politics is local and _ listen to more? all politics is local and it — listen to more? all politics is local and it seems _ listen to more? all politics is local and it seems to - listen to more? all politics is local and it seems to me - listen to more? all politics is| local and it seems to me that most important constituency benjamin netanyahu has is not

in washington, it is not at the united nations, not the international communities, probably not the hostage families. it is the reality that without this government staying in a coherent form or if they went to elections, netanyahu would probably lose. neta nyahu would probably lose. so netanyahu would probably lose. so the reality is the constituency that counts for him is his own political constituency,.- him is his own political constituency, . constituency,. do you think that could _ constituency,. do you think that could potentially - constituency,. do you think that could potentially hurtl constituency,. do you think. that could potentially hurt the us — israeli relationship going forward? i us - israeli relationship going forward? ~ ., us - israeli relationship going forward? ~' ., ., forward? i think there are all kinds of potential— forward? i think there are all kinds of potential friction - kinds of potential friction points as we move forward but i think the biden administration, for any number of reasons, does not want a sustained, open breach, fracture with this government because the president has concluded that if he wants to de—escalate israeli military activity, search

humanitarian assistance into gaza, free the hostages, including six americans and open the door potentially for a broader regional initiative, which involves the israeli saudi normalisation, however fanciful that may appear to be at the moment, he will add to figure out a way to get the israelis and hamas into a negotiated agreement. that is the only mechanism that will extricate the president and frankly, everyone else who is affected by this terrible ongoing conflict, out of it, to broaden some space to move into something hopefully may be in a biden second term, may be with new leadership in israel, the pathway, i know it's hard to envision but i think that is the hope. it begins with a

ceasefire, six weeks may be at the beginning, in gaza.- the beginning, in gaza. david miller, the beginning, in gaza. david miller. as _ the beginning, in gaza. david miller, as ever, _ the beginning, in gaza. david miller, as ever, great - the beginning, in gaza. david miller, as ever, great to - the beginning, in gaza. davidj miller, as ever, great to have your thoughts. now, after protests and controversy, the winner of the 68th eurovision song contest in sweden has been announced. representing switzerland, nemo took the title, with their song the code. they came top of the leaderboard, followed by france's slimane in second place and croatia's baby lasagna landed third. the event hosted in the city of malmo has seen divisions over israel's involvement, sparking pro—palestinian demonstrations — and a last—minute disqualification of the netherlands. 0ur chief presenter maryam moshiri joins me now from malmo in sweden. as ever, we always love seeing you at eurovision. how is the vibe? i

you at eurovision. how is the vibe? ., , ., ., vibe? i love being here and one ofthe vibe? i love being here and one of the reasons _ vibe? i love being here and one of the reasons i _ vibe? i love being here and one of the reasons i love _ vibe? i love being here and one of the reasons i love being - of the reasons i love being here is because the atmosphere is amazing. here at the media centre, the atmosphere was 100% electric. the music was brilliant, the song is amazing after a week of high drama and high controversy, at last it all boiled down to who sang for besar —— according to the jury is audiences. the winner, switzerland, winning by a good margin over croatia which came second and france which came third. it was an amazing competition and nemo, the swiss act, they were absolutely brilliant. they literally won the majority of all the jury votes and ended up coming first. it was a nail—biting final when you saw the split screen, croatia and switzerland. switzerland needed 183 points from the audience vote to win and they got that.

i don't know if you can hear this but the swiss act might be walking through the media centre. i have another amazing act here, charlotte gallagher, the bbc�*s arts correspondent. charlotte is a good singer, she has sung to us before. but next ear i has sung to us before. but next year i will _ has sung to us before. but next year i will go — has sung to us before. but next year i will go for _ has sung to us before. but next year i will go for the _ has sung to us before. but next year i will go for the uk - year i will go for the uk entry. _ year i will go for the uk entry, what do you reckon? you would do _ entry, what do you reckon? you would do better— entry, what do you reckon? ym. would do better than 0lly alexander. he would do better than olly alexander.— would do better than olly alexander. ., ., , alexander. he got no points. he did ok in alexander. he got no points. he did 0k in the — alexander. he got no points. he did ok in the jury _ alexander. he got no points. he did ok in the jury vote, - alexander. he got no points. he did ok in the jury vote, he - alexander. he got no points. he did ok in the jury vote, he got i did 0k in the jury vote, he got quite— did 0k in the jury vote, he got quite a— did 0k in the jury vote, he got quite a view points in the internationaljuries but when then— internationaljuries but when then as _ internationaljuries but when then as the public vote, he got nothing — then as the public vote, he got nothing i_ then as the public vote, he got nothing. i felt so sorry for him _ nothing. i felt so sorry for him we _ nothing. i felt so sorry for him. we met his mum and best friend — him. we met his mum and best friend. they will have been really — friend. they will have been really upset by that. he is such— really upset by that. he is such a _ really upset by that. he is such a good performer and he seems — such a good performer and he seems so _ such a good performer and he seems so nice as well. i always hate _ seems so nice as well. i always hate that— seems so nice as well. i always hate that when someone either -ets hate that when someone either gets no— hate that when someone either gets no points or hardly any points, _ gets no points or hardly any points, no matter what country,

i points, no matter what country, ialways — points, no matter what country, i always kind of feel for them. i always kind of feel for them. i did _ i always kind of feel for them. i did feel— i always kind of feel for them. i did feel for croatia as well because _ i did feel for croatia as well because switzerland is amazing, nemo— because switzerland is amazing, nemo incredible but baby lasagne, they really wanted to win it — lasagne, they really wanted to win it for— lasagne, they really wanted to win it for croatia for the first _ win it for croatia for the first time and take eurovision to croatia _ first time and take eurovision to croatia next year. so when it came — to croatia next year. so when it came down to those two, for me it _ it came down to those two, for me it was _ it came down to those two, for me it was impossible to pick because _ me it was impossible to pick because they are both incredible. . . incredible. switzerland next ear. incredible. switzerland next year. switzerland _ incredible. switzerland next year. switzerland next - incredible. switzerland next year. switzerland next year| incredible. switzerland next - year. switzerland next year and it has been _ year. switzerland next year and it has been a — year. switzerland next year and it has been a tough _ year. switzerland next year and it has been a tough week. - year. switzerland next year and it has been a tough week. it's l it has been a tough week. it's been a difficult week for the ebu who organised the competition but tonight the music spoke for itself. it did. the performances _ music spoke for itself. it did. the performances on - music spoke for itself. it did. the performances on stage l music spoke for itself. it did. . the performances on stage were incredible — the performances on stage were incredible and at times, it seemed _ incredible and at times, it seemed like all the controversy had been — seemed like all the controversy had been forgotten, like when we saw— had been forgotten, like when we saw switzerland, france did an incredible performance, ukraine, _ an incredible performance, ukraine, ireland. there were some — ukraine, ireland. there were some moments, there was booming again— some moments, there was booming again in— some moments, there was booming again in the — some moments, there was booming again in the audience for the israeli — again in the audience for the israeli act and also for the executive director of eurovision. he was loudly booed at points, — eurovision. he was loudly booed at points, which i think is the

first— at points, which i think is the first time _ at points, which i think is the first time that has happened and the _ first time that has happened and the crowd have been so annoyed _ and the crowd have been so annoyed with how they feel some parts _ annoyed with how they feel some parts of— annoyed with how they feel some parts of the event have been mist — parts of the event have been mist managed and also with the netherlands act been kicked out — netherlands act been kicked out. joost klein a real fan favourite, europapa. they were removed — favourite, europapa. they were removed from the contest. there was an— removed from the contest. there was an incident backstage involving a member of the production crew. the dutch broadcaster said joost klein didn't— broadcaster said joost klein didn't want to be filmed and made — didn't want to be filmed and made a _ didn't want to be filmed and made a threatening movement towards — made a threatening movement towards this camera person, because _ towards this camera person, because of that he was kicked out of— because of that he was kicked out of the competition. the dutch — out of the competition. the dutch broadcaster said that was disproportionate and in the media _ disproportionate and in the media centre, some of the dutch journalists — media centre, some of the dutch journalists had justice for joost— journalists had justice for joost klein on top of their laptops. in fact the eurovision executive _ laptops. in fact the eurovision executive director had to read

out the — executive director had to read out the netherlands points because the netherlands refused to read _ because the netherlands refused to read out the points because they— to read out the points because they are — to read out the points because they are so angryjoost klein was — they are so angryjoost klein was kicked out. all they are so angry joost klein was kicked out.— they are so angry joost klein was kicked out. all over now. switzerland — was kicked out. all over now. switzerland are _ was kicked out. all over now. switzerland are the _ was kicked out. all over now. switzerland are the winners l was kicked out. all over now. | switzerland are the winners of the 68th eurovision song contest. the big question now is, switzerland next year, which city will they host it in? whereabouts would it be hosted and will the bbc sending once to eurovision? marvin, the producer is shaking his head and i will have a go at him in and i will have a go at him in a minute. and i will have a go at him in a minute-— and i will have a go at him in a minute. charlotte gallagher -auttin a minute. charlotte gallagher putting her— a minute. charlotte gallagher putting her hat _ a minute. charlotte gallagher putting her hat potentially - a minute. charlotte gallagher putting her hat potentially in | putting her hat potentially in the ring. if she teams up with you, the uk might finally have a chance. thank you both so much. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, says his forces are now fighting to defend seven villages in its kharkiv region. his comments come a day after russia launched a surprise incursion across the border. in his nightly video address on saturday, mr zelensky claimed none of the villages have been lost.

but the institute for the study of war, an independent think tank, says it's likely russia now controls at least five. the local government says least 1,800 people have been evacuated. kyiv has been expecting a russian summer offensive for some time — including a possible attempt to capture kharkiv, ukraine's second city. our correspondent in kyiv — james waterhouse has more. 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 1000km 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? in georgia, protestors have taken to the streets to take part in pro—european demonstrations against the government's plan to adopt a controversial law which critics say would push it farther from joining the eu and silence dissent. the third and final reading of the bill will happen next monday. let's turn to some important news

around the world. thousands of canadians have been ordered to leave their homes at fort nelson in the province of british columbia, which is under threat from a wildfire. the blaze began on friday and was described by officials as "exhibiting extreme fire behaviour". wildfires have also led to evacuation alerts in the neighbouring province of alberta. five days after a deadly building collapsed in south african a survivor has been pulled from the rubble. the premier of western cape province, described the rescue as �*nothing short of a miracle.�* the condition of the man is unclear. at least fourteen people are confirmed to have died. many others are still unaccounted for. prince harry and meghan are in nigeria this weekend as part of the duke's promotion of the invictus games. earlier, harry played a seated volleyball match with army veterans, many of whom were wounded in battles against the country's islamist insurgency. harry's team — dressed in yellow — took on a squad led by nigeria's chief of defence staff,

the country's top commander. 0ur west africa correspondent simijolosho reports. well, the duke and duchess have had a pretty busy second day here in abuja. they started off by meeting members of a local organisation that they support called nigeria unconquered, which helps wounded and injured service members and veterans, of course, that we know is close to prince harry's heart. there he actually took part in a sitting volleyball game with the team, and they were really enthusiastic. they were chanting "team harry, team harry!" and afterwards he and meghan spoke to the families of those athletes. one girl offered meghan a bouquet of roses, to which meghan gave her a rose back and said that she was really happy to be there. then afterwards, they attended a reception that was hosted by the ministry of defence. that ministry is behind their visit to nigeria

in the first place. there the duke of sussex gave a kind of recap of his visit to a military rehab hospital yesterday. he said when he was there, he met 50 injured soldiers that were lying in their beds. and he said he could feel the sort of low morale in the room. but two of those soldiers stood out to him because they were smiling. he said one of them was even doing push ups. and that visit kind of reminded him of why he started the invictus games foundation. and afterwards, the duchess, meghan, she attended a women in leadership event where she co—hosted with the director—general of the world trade organization, dr ngozi 0konjo—iweala. and there she spoke about her nigerian heritage and the day she found out that she was 43% nigerian. she said she was really happy and the first thing she did was call her mother. and she just said that she was happy to be in the country and to find out more

about her heritage, as well as interact with other nigerians. when she was asked whether she would come back, she said "absolutely." the northern lights dazzled millions across the globe on friday with people being able to see extraordinary colors across europe, the us and new zealand. in germany, people were treated to a display of pinkish—green hues to blueish—green hues in a matter of hours. in the us — you can see this beautiful pink and green display in nashville, tennessee. lights were exposed after one of the strongest geomagnetic storms in decades hit the earth. the last time there was such a strong storm was in 2003. but if you missed last night's display — don't worry. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration predicts the lights will continue through the weekend. live now to boulder, colorado to speak to shawn dahl — a space weather forecaster at the national oceanic and atmospheric administration.

a warm welcome to you. some really extraordinary scenes. northern lights dazzling, southern lights in some cases as well. how rare is something like this? . ~', as well. how rare is something like this? . ., ., , like this? thanks for having us on our like this? thanks for having us on your show. _ like this? thanks for having us on your show. it's _ like this? thanks for having us on your show. it's great - like this? thanks for having us on your show. it's great to - like this? thanks for having us on your show. it's great to be | on your show. it's great to be here. it's very rare. this is the last time we had this level of activity was 2003. when we were expecting this type of activity, when we put the g4 watch, that was the first time since 2005. material from the sun in a strong magnetic field coming towards earth and that's what arrived with some force earlier yesterday and it worked its way on through the night where everybody almost globally got to see the aurora at much further equatorial latitudes than usual. it further equatorial latitudes than usual.— than usual. it has been extraordinary. - than usual. it has been extraordinary. some i than usual. it has been - extraordinary. some gorgeous scenes but ijust wonder, with

this there is the potential for communications for example to be disrupted, satellites and so on, something the biden administration has said it is monitoring. have we seen anything disrupted through this solar storm?— anything disrupted through this solar storm? yes, we sure have. reorts solar storm? yes, we sure have. reports have _ solar storm? yes, we sure have. reports have been _ solar storm? yes, we sure have. reports have been coming - solar storm? yes, we sure have. reports have been coming in - solar storm? yes, we sure have. reports have been coming in for| reports have been coming in for exactly that, communications issues, whether it's signal loss, disruption is on certain frequencies, we expect this with high frequency communications and that's no surprise because our protective atmosphere is very messed up right now for this storm and it is making signals wobbly as they try to go through the atmosphere. we have also had reports from the power grid trying to work to make sure electricity still flows on the grid here in north america and they have been doing so because we warned them to make sure they are able to do that. gps

signals, we've got reports from farmers in the plain states operating their tractors with precision gps and they were badly affected on timing signal loss and accuracy. they couldn't use their systems yesterday but fortunately they are able to do so today because we are in a bit of a lull between these storms. you mentioned _ between these storms. you mentioned wobbly - between these storms. you mentioned wobbly signals and the effect they can help. how long could we potentially see an impact because of this? like ou an impact because of this? like you said. _ an impact because of this? like you said. we — an impact because of this? like you said, we are _ an impact because of this? i as: you said, we are expecting this to go through the weekend just at varying levels of intensity. yesterday we kept hitting those 64 yesterday we kept hitting those g4 and g5 levels routinely so things were connected favourably to the sun and to do that, that magnetic field has to be opposite arthur's that was the case for almost 2a hours. right now it has turned a bit. they are repelling so things are in a logical it's not as active but we are still

reaching g3 conditions and tomorrow we are expecting the arrival of another fast moving, doubled the speed of anything we have seen recently, spin activity woke up again. i imagine once this is over, you and your team imagine once this is over, you and yourteam might imagine once this is over, you and your team might be breathing a sigh of relief but of course you are there in colorado, i do have to ask if you manage to get outside and catch a glimpse yourself. i sure did. i was working from home last night doing interviews and i stepped outside in a break and i could see the northern lights myself. they were faint but when i used my camera, i captured that beautiful red glow. my colleagues took turns and got magnificent pictures of the aurora to the north. than? magnificent pictures of the aurora to the north. any tips about the — aurora to the north. any tips about the best _ aurora to the north. any tips about the best way - aurora to the north. any tips about the best way to - aurora to the north. any tips about the best way to go - about the best way to go outside and enjoy them, to catch a sight of them? absolutely. the best time would be ten o'clock in the evening to two o'clock in the morning

local time is, that's usually the prime time to see them. the other thing is to get under a dark sky, we still have a very young moon, it is up there now but shouldn't be enough to contaminate anybody �*s view with too much light. if you're not seeing it, use your cell phone or digital camera because the technology will pick up signals that our eyes are not detecting. signals that our eyes are not detecting-— detecting. some great tips there. great _ detecting. some great tips there. great to _ detecting. some great tips there. great to have - detecting. some great tips there. great to have you . detecting. some great tips i there. great to have you with us, sean. thanks so much. you're watching bbc news. you can get the latest and have a look at pictures of the northern lights as well as the latest on your vision on our website. i will have more for you at the top of the hour, jointly then if you can. goodbye for now.

hello there. it's the warmest day of the year so far across all four nations on saturday, with temperatures peaking at 26 degrees celsius in the highlands and also in east sussex, too. but change is on its way on sunday in the form of heavy, thundery showers for much of the western half of the uk, whereas further east, it should stay largely dry. all this change is brought about, of course, because the high pressure that's been keeping us dry, settled and warm over the last few days is gradually drifting further eastwards towards scandinavia, allowing for these weather fronts to approach from the west. but it's a mostly dry start to the day on sunday with some sunny spells, any early mist and fog will lift and clear really quite readily. but it won't be too long through the late morning before we see the showers pop up across western scotland, down through northern ireland, wales and the south west of england. and if we just take a little tour at around four o'clock across northern and western scotland gradually drifting further east with some of

the showers really quite heavy. it's still quite warm, 22 degrees celsius in glasgow, but certainly cooler than on saturday. more showers across northern ireland, some of the showers particularly heavy across wales. there could be some localised flooding perhaps as well. more isolated showers for central southern england, maybe 26 or 27 degrees celsius in south east england. cooler and breezier towards those north sea facing coasts. and overnight, those showers will continue to drift further eastwards. but this is the main driver of monday's weather, this deep area of low pressure that's going to roll this weather run in from the south west. so, again, a largely dry start to the day for the vast majority, but cloud thickening from the south west, rain pushing into wales from south west england and eventually northern ireland through the afternoon, as well as scattering showers across scotland and northern england. but again across many eastern areas of england. it could stay largely dry, but it will be cooler across the board. but still temperatures peaking in the low twenties out towards the east. but the area of low pressure

just continues to roll its way further northwards and eastwards as we head through tuesday and into wednesday. so there will be further showers around at times for many in general. here's the outlook for our capital cities as we head through next week and see those temperatures really start to drop off. there will still be some sunshine around. lots of dry weather at times, but also some showers, too. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. hello, everybody, a very warm welcome to talking business weekly with me, aaron heslehurst. let's go take a look at what is on the show. ai presents what we think is potentially an existential threat to artists, to the music industry, to our culture, really. how do you like your music? downloaded, streamed ? or if you're old school, maybe a dash of vinyl or cd? or how about written by a robot? with artificial intelligence now able to generate music on command, replicating recording artists' voices, and even create avatars of famous musicians, it has never been a more exciting time for the music industry — nor a more uncertain one. so, just what does the future of music look like and who stands to profit?