it's sunday, it's 10am. welcome to politics it's sunday, it's10am. welcome to politics north west. this morning... would stopping tenants buying their council homes mean more house—building? also on the programme... her inheritance was seized after she was over paid carer�*s allowance. now a whistle—blower says managers should have stepped in. this is how people have built up years and years of overpayments. at the very least, any convictions should be quashed. and the thousands of pounds of levelling—up funding spent on a chessboard near you.

live from london. this is bbc news live from london. israel continues to issue mass evacuation orders to palestinians — as airstrikes on the gaza strip rage on. meanwhile, the foreign office is investigating a hamas claim — that british—israeli hostage — nadav popplewell — has been killed in gaza it is switzerland! cheering after one of the most controversial eurovision song contests, switzerland are crowned this year's winners. emergency teams step up relief efforts to those hit hard by devastating flash floods in northern afghanistan. the un says more than 300 people have died. this is the scene live in barcelona, where people are voting in regional elections. the un says more than 300 people have died. this is the scene live in barcelona, where people are voting in regional elections. israel has continued its airstrikes on several parts of the gaza strip even as it continues issuing controversial evacuation orders to palestinians. the israeli military said its troops had found many tunnels used by hamas at the rafah crossing into egypt. had found many tunnels used by hamas the israel defense had found many tunnels used by hamas 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 thousand palestinians have already fled rafah. the us is still urging israel not

to mount a full—scale assault on the city. to mount a full—scale assault 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. meanwhile a top eu official, charles michel, has condemned israel's evacuation orders, saying people are being directed towards unsafe areas. 0ur middle east correspondent yolande knell reports from jerusalem 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. 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. the uk foreign office is investigating claims by hamas that a british—israeli hostage has died in gaza. nadav popplewell was seized with his mother on october 7th

from the nirim kibbutz in southern israel. hamas claims that mr popplewell died of wounds sustained in an israeli airstrike more than a month ago. the israeli military is yet to comment and a foreign 0ffice spokesperson said it was urgently seeking more information. like everyone else, i watched the video on twitter last night, put out by hamas of nadi out of answering a question as to who he was, and you watch the video and you just think of the callous people that they are to do that, to play with the family's emotions in that way. i met his family and his sister, and i know the heartbreak they have been going through for over 200 days and when you see what hamas are prepared to do you realise that the terrible, dreadful, inhuman people frankly we are dealing with.— are dealing with. david cameron the 're are dealing with. david cameron they're speaking _ are dealing with. david cameron they're speaking to _ are dealing with. david cameron they're speaking to laura - they're speaking to laura kuenssberg. 0ur diplomatic correspondent,

paul adams, has more. these were claims that emerged yesterday when hamas, as it has done repeatedly throughout this crisis, released a video in which they said that nadav popplewell, who's 51, was killed in an israeli airstrike. now, we have absolutely no way of verifying that. we don't know when the video that they released yesterday was shot. we need to be extremely careful about any assertions that hamas is making about the circumstances surrounding his death or indeed whether indeed nadav popplewell is dead. but that is what hamas said. we know that his brother was killed on 7th october. they were both attacked on 7th october. their mother was also abducted, but she was released later in the first of the ceasefire hostage negotiations. the foreign office, as you say,

is looking into this. but this kind of goes to the heart of one of the issues that still divides israel and hamas during these torturous negotiations aimed at getting a ceasefire organised, which is how many israeli hostages and dual—national hostages are there, how many are still alive, how many are dead? over the months, tragically, the number of dead hostages has risen, while the expectations for the number of live hostages has diminished somewhat. and this is a very live issue because the israelis want much more clarity about what they can expect from hamas in terms of the release of hostages alive and dead in return for a ceasefire deal. many parents in gaza are waiting to get their children out of the strip for medical treatment. israeli forces continue to control the rafah crossing, halting travel and humanitarian access to the strip. ru abbass reports on the case of one

child who is hoping to make it out and is currently in a hospital that is running out of fuel. somaya is ten years old and suffering with pain in her abdomen. she is in an overwhelmed hospital. israel has directed 100,000 people from rafah to relocate around the city. the idf says it is chasing down hamas fighters. somaya was at her home when the impact of shrapnel from an israeli strike on the house next door severed her left arm.

somaya's doctors say her recovery is slow due to a lack of staff and medical equipment. despite her obstacles, somaya remains hopeful about herfuture, and dreams of receiving medical treatment in the united arab emirates. with no prospect of a ceasefire, such freedoms

remain out of reach, not just for somaya, but so many other children like her. ru abbass, bbc news. and forfurther coverage and for further coverage of the israel and gaza war, visit the bbc news app and you can also go to the website forfurther news app and you can also go to the website for further updates. the taliban say 315 people have now died in devastating flash floods in the north of afghanistan. a spokesman for the interior ministry told the bbc that most of the casualties were in the province of baghlan. emergency teams have been sent to rescue those stranded by the floodwaters. on friday, a massive torrent of water swept away hundreds of houses in several villages. dozens of people are still missing. 0ur south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan has more.

emergency teams have intensified the relief to thousands of people who have been displaced by this calamitous flood and on friday rivers carrying water and mud and storms tore through villages sweeping away houses, livestock and vital infrastructure and the aid agencies estimate that nearly half a million people have been severely affected and dozens are still missing and pictures on social media showed how desperate the situation was where people were totally drenched in mud and were rescued, women and children, from these flood waters and at the same time people were crying after seeing their entire houses wiped away. one resident said his wife and four children were swept away by this torrent while he was watching helplessly from the other side of the river, so there have been very

tragic all coming at a time in afghanistan where the economy is in tatters after the taliban took over in august 2021, so this repeated disaster has put the entirety of northern afghanistan in a difficult situation. , . ., ., situation. extremely and harrowing situations, and _ situation. extremely and harrowing situations, and in _ situation. extremely and harrowing situations, and in terms _ situation. extremely and harrowing situations, and in terms of- situation. extremely and harrowing situations, and in terms of the - situations, and in terms of the taliban, are they able to cope in any way with this?— any way with this? they are struggling _ any way with this? they are struggling because - any way with this? they are struggling because they - any way with this? they are l struggling because they have any way with this? they are - struggling because they have not been recognised by the international community and have deployed helicopters to bring relief but the scale is huge, the enormous scale of the relief operation, they will struggle to get all of the aid which is why even the aid agencies are asking for more help to bring first of all food and water and also clothes and some temporary accommodation for those who have been displaced by these floods and afghanistan, the economy is in bad

shape and there are sanctions and afghan money is still stuck in many western countries and not been released because of the taliban's record of human rights, particularly on women's rights where they have banned women in schools and universities in most places of work, so these are hampering the relief efforts which is why aid agencies are calling for more international effort and help for those people affected in places like herod provinces in northern arras guard —— northern afghanistan. provinces in northern arras guard -- northern afghanistan.— northern afghanistan. since the taliban takeover, _ northern afghanistan. since the taliban takeover, remind - northern afghanistan. since the taliban takeover, remind us, i northern afghanistan. since the l taliban takeover, remind us, our foreign aid organisations able to offer aid assistance in the country? there are many agencies still working in the country. there are certain restrictions. for example, with some agencies all of the women workers accepting core areas like health and other sectors are being asked to stay away from work and there are restrictions, even though

there are restrictions, even though the aid agencies say they find it difficult to work but because the people of afghanistan need help and the taliban alone cannot manage the administration of the entire country and there are millions of people all facing a very dire situation. food aid is required and medical help is required and various health centres are being managed previously by the aid agencies and theyjust cannot leave and walk away from afghanistan which is why they are still engaging with the taliban and they are also asking, the taliban, aid agencies to help them but the economy has not really grown in the last few years because there are no businesses in the taliban also face the problem of returning people from countries like pakistan and afghanistan where undocumented people without proper papers, afghans are being sent back, so there are very difficult situations both for the taliban authorities and also for the people. that was our south asia editor.

voting is under way in catalonia where pro—independence supporters wanting to break away from spain are hoping to maintain their majority in the regional parliament. catalonia made a failed attempt to break away from spain in 2017, and the election comes as the parliament in madrid is expected to approve a controversial amnesty law for separatist catalans facing legal action. 0ur correspondent, guy hedgeco, is in madrid. i asked him what choices the voters have in these regional elections. well, catalonia has quite an unusual political landscape because you have a division between the left and the right, which you see across the rest of the country. but it also has that division between those who want independence and those who don't. so, for example, the party of prime minister, spanish prime minister pedro sanchez. the socialist party, which looks like it could win this election, is opposed to independence and self—determination.

so that could mean that it makes it very difficult for it to form a new government after the election. even if it wins. there are two major pro—independence parties vying to be the main nationalist party in the region. but the big question is whether, together with those parties, together along with other smaller nationalist parties, whether they can hang on to that pro—independence majority, which pro—independence parties have had for about a decade and a half. 0k. just talk us through, in your opinion, how much appetite is there for independence for the region? well, certainly support for independence is lower than it was back in 2017. you mentioned that failed attempt for independence back then, led by carles puigdemont. around that time, support for independence was close to 50%. recent polls suggest it's more like a1, 42%. so there is less support for it. and we've seen that reflected

in a way on the campaign trail. independence has been talked about to a certain extent by the nationalist parties and that territorial issue. but there have been other issues which have sort of muscled in on the campaign agenda. there's a very serious drought in catalonia, the most serious drought the region has ever had. and that has been an important issue which the parties have had to talk about. also, there's a housing crisis in catalonia, the same as a housing crisis across the rest of spain. and the issue of education has been talked about a lot as well, because their concerns about catalonia's performance in education. so other issues have been muscling in on the campaign trail and that has pushed independence to one side slightly. so it's still there, but it's really not a not the dominant issue. 0k. and when it comes to

carles puigdemont, he, of course, you mentioned after that ill fated attempt back in 2017, he had to leave spain. where's he watching the results from? well, he's been based in belgium ever since 2017. but just for the last few weeks, he has been campaigning as a candidate for his together for catalonia party from just across the border in france, in the south of france. he's been holding campaign rallies there pretty much every day for supporters who've been bussed over from catalonia, from spanish, catalonia into france to see him talk. so he's been there and he's hoping that this amnesty, which were expected to be approved by the spanish parliament quite soon, will allow him to return to spain. and he's hoping he'll perform well enough in this election to not just be able to return, but also to become the next president of catalonia. and when do we find out whether that's been achieved? because, of course, polls have onlyjust opened. well, that's right. we've got voting throughout the day closes at 8:00 tonight. we may not have a clear result

until quite late on tonight. and because of the fragmented nature of catalan politics, it could be quite some time before we know exactly who will form the next government. and it is possible that there could be some kind of impasse because the parties can't agree on the formation of a new government. if that were the case, then we would have new elections. and i'm sure catalans don't want to see that, but it is seen as quite a real possibility. at the eurovision song contest final pro—palestinian protesters have clashed with police over israel's participation and the israeli entrant, eden golan, was booed at the malmo arena in sweden. the build—up to the show also saw the dutch entry disqualified for a backstage incident. but ultimately, switzerland were crowned the winners of this year's competition — one of the most controversial song contests of recent times. 0ur arts correspondent, david sillito, reports from malmo. switzerland, winning one of the most extraordinary

eurovision song contests of all time. fans had to file into the arena amidst a small melee of police and protesters, the presence of israel in the final has provoked demonstrations and discomfort from some of the competitors. but when israel's eden golan to the stage, it passed without incident and benjamin netanyahu said that her presence alone meant she already won. although there were jeers from some parts of the crowd. for eurovision organisers, always anxious to try to keep the event politics—free, there was a close eye on what was on stage. the word 'ceasefire' was asked to be removed from the irish contestant, in rehearsal, and in the end the performance was spectacular. in the end of the three minutes on stage were politics free and

spectacular. for the uk's 0lly alexander, the performance of dizzy was dizzying, and for the jury in the end, whatever the voters thought the uk's pride was intact. then the mysteries of eurovision voting began with booing. and the politics of the evening leading to some last—minute changes of presenters. but it was soon apparent there was a runaway victor, switzerland with the spinning, operatic the code, by nemo. the uk came 18th but after all the withdrawals and disqualification and protests, by the end, it feels very eurovision and very much switzerland's night. david sillito, bbc news, malmo. let's speak to tv critic and broadcaster, scott bryan. scott, it feels exhausting. having

watched just the recapture. has there ever been such a controversial contested and politicised eurovision? i contested and politicised eurovision?— contested and politicised eurovision? ~ 3 , contested and politicised eurovision? ~ �*, , ., eurovision? i think it's been a eurovision — eurovision? i think it's been a eurovision that _ eurovision? i think it's been a eurovision that may _ eurovision? i think it's been a eurovision that may be - eurovision? i think it's been a eurovision that may be we - eurovision? i think it's been a| eurovision that may be we will eurovision? i think it's been a - eurovision that may be we will look back on and think to themselves, my word. ifeel that, of course in the lead up to it on the weeks running up lead up to it on the weeks running up to with israel's participation with the protests and calls for a boycott whilst there are many people thinking the country should not remain within the contest. the last 24 remain within the contest. the last 2a hours with the spokespeople leaving the competition are not representing their country and a disqualification with regards to one of the acts taking place. and of course the booing for the person who runs the ebu towards the end of the ceremony. i think it has obviously been very difficult contest for them. but i think is a piece of tv

was quite smooth sailing. there were no interruptions and it went pretty smoothly and at the end of it ended up smoothly and at the end of it ended up with having a very standout winner. i think it became about the music towards the last part of the contest but it will be interesting because it shows to me that eurovision has been through the wringer and as we look ahead to next year, you wonder how it will be reflected in that by the time we go to switzerland.— to switzerland. there will be so much post-analysis _ to switzerland. there will be so much post-analysis and in - to switzerland. there will be so - much post-analysis and in terms of much post—analysis and in terms of focusing on the music. switzerland, you are saying that the code was a worthy winner and quite a performance. fix, worthy winner and quite a performance.— worthy winner and quite a erformance. �* . , ., ., . _ performance. a real performance by nemo. performance. a real performance by nemo- having _ performance. a real performance by nemo- having a _ performance. a real performance by nemo. having a really _ performance. a real performance by nemo. having a really high - performance. a real performance by nemo. having a really high score, i nemo. having a really high score, only narrowly ahead of croatia but the song had fantastic staging and a great resonance and the meaning behind the song, it's about nemo embracing becoming non—binary, and

it had a real heart to it and really stood out in a crowded field. of course with the uk, a bit of a surprise with zero points from the public but overall coming 18th is not bad. i think 0lly alexander was a wild card in the mix and we weren't entirely sure where we would be place but a bit of disappointment because of the established star participating in it and i guess questions about which direction to we take next. questions about which direction to we take next-— questions about which direction to we take next. absolutely. let's face it, he did a — we take next. absolutely. let's face it, he did a great _ we take next. absolutely. let's face it, he did a great job _ we take next. absolutely. let's face it, he did a great job but a - we take next. absolutely. let's face it, he did a great job but a shame i it, he did a greatjob but a shame about the zero points for the public but well done to everyone who took part and thank you for your input there. the northern lights have been visible in some parts of the uk for a second night after a stunning

array of colours lit up the sky for many of us on friday night. one of the strongest geomagnetic storms for years meant they could be seen across large swathes of the country — as our science correspondent pallab ghosh reports. technicolor skies — not seen in parts of the uk for more than 20 years. this, the scene injersey, as a spectacular solo show was sent from the sun. the display is usually more visible in northern parts of britain, but such is the power of the sun's current activity, it was seen in the south, even as far as padstow in cornwall. a more familiar sight further north in crosby beach in liverpool, people gathered to watch. this was the forth bridge in scotland. and in newry, northern ireland, this was the scene. the colours are caused by solar storms on the surface of the sun. the story started, 93 million miles away and two days ago. and what happened was the magnetic fields on the sun rearranged themselves, releasing a lot of energy and injecting billions of tonnes of charged particles out from the sun. this is an actual video of the sun

taken by a nasa spacecraft. when it's active it emits really large clouds of particles called coronal mass ejections, like this one. when they reach the earth the particles energise the gases in the atmosphere, making them glow different colours. oxygen glows green, while nitrogen emits purple, blue and pink light. experts say that the current solar storm is different to many others. normally we are looking for that one big eruption, but this was a series of small eruptions that seem to smash together in inter—planetary space before they arrived at earth and when they arrived they gave us this super storm that we saw last night. pallab ghosh, bbc news. spectacular images and i completely missed them, has all his.

stay with us here on bbc news. hello again. we started this morning with a bit of mist and fog, but that's largely clearing away. and for many of us today, it's not looking too bad again, there will be some sunny spells, but there are some changes that will come into western areas with some thunderstorms. but that was the scene this morning in 0xfordshire through yesterday. it was the warmest day of the year so far for all four nations of the uk. but we've got to 26 degrees celsius in the south east of england and the far north of scotland. there'll be some sunshine continuing for much of the day towards eastern areas of england today. but look at these showers around the the west of scotland, northern ireland, wales, south west england. some of these could be heavy torrential showers with some thunderstorms mixed in, some sunny spells in between. temperatures down by a few degrees in the west. but in the east with the sunshine again, we could see temperatures approaching 27 degrees celsius. so potentially the warmest day of the year so far. again, now through tonight,

we've got some clouds and those showers continuing across the midlands into northeast england, up into scotland. there's a chance of seeing the aurora again tonight, but the cloud cover may discover that slightly geomagnetic levels are expected to increase a little bit through tonight. 0vernight, temperatures down to about nine to 13 degrees. but for the week ahead, it's going to be much more unsettled than the weather we've had over the last few days. not quite as warm. temperatures coming down into the mid to the high teens for many of us. and on monday, we've got this area of low pressure moving in, bringing some rain towards the southwest and that will gradually push its way north and eastward. for much of the day across scotland, looking like a dry one or two showers here, mostly dry, too, for northern england, the midlands into eastern england with some warm sunshine. but that rain, you can see moving its way in through parts of the southwest. and as a result of that, with that rain, temperatures will be lower at about 15 or 16 degrees. but as i said, pleasantly warm

in the east, 20 to 23 degrees. this area of low pressure sticks around a little bit as we go through the week, just drifting southward and it's going to continue to bring us some unsettled weather. so that means there'll be some showers, perhaps some longer spells of rain, particularly on tuesday, turning a little bit drier as the week goes on. maximum temperatures there about 15 to 20 degrees celsius. that's it for me. bye bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: israel has carried out fresh strikes on several parts of gaza — as it tells palestinians to leave parts of the southern city of rafah. the foreign office is investigating a hamas claim — that british—israeli hostage, nadav popplewell, has been killed in gaza. the un says more than 300 people have died in flooding in northern afghanistan — as relief efforts are stepped up. voting is under way in catalonia where pro—independence supporters wanting to break away from spain are hoping to maintain their majority in the regional parliament. it's switzerland! cheering. and after one of the most controversial eurovision song contests — switzerland are crowned this year's winners.