as some in his party voice serious concerns. we are, at this rate, we will be lucky to have any conservative mps at the next election. brazil's president lula surveys the damage left by deadly floods, as thousands are forced to evacuate. and the king of fruits under threat? a vicious heatwave jeopardises durian crops in south—east asia. it's 7am in singapore and 2am in israel, where the country's military says three soldiers were killed and several injured after hamas fired rockets from an area in southern gaza, near the rafah crossing. israel responded by closing the kerem shalom border point —

one of the few routes to get aid into the territory. it comes as the israeli government forced the news network aljazeera to shut down its operations in israel, calling it a mouthpiece for hamas. from jerusalem, frank gardner has the latest. in a country that prides itself on free speech and democracy, israeli police shut down the offices of aljazeera today, seizing its broadcast equipment. if you are watching this pre—recorded report, then aljazeera has been banned in the territory of israel. this was one of its final broadcasts from jerusalem before the police arrived. the government accused the qatar—based tv channel of incitement to terrorism, calling it a mouthpiece for hamas. its bureau chief called it a dangerous move. israel cannot claim all the time that it is a democracy, and at the same time they are cutting, and preventing the journalists to do theirjob. meanwhile, down on the gaza border, close to rafah,

a deadly rocket attack by hamas, on the very crossing point through which it was hoped more aid could flow into the territory. it has since been shut. at least three israeli soldiers were killed. today, israel's embattled prime minister reacted to the demands for a permanent ceasefire and an israel for a permanent ceasefire and an israeli withdrawal from gaza. the state of israel is not willing to accept this, he said, capitulating to the demands of hamas would be a terrible defeat for israel. but the government here is under pressure from parts of its own population. last night, tens of thousands of israelis rallied in protest at delays in getting the hostages out of gaza. they don't believe the government is making it a priority. the israeli government wants its hostages out but at the same time it has vowed to destroy hamas, which is why it will not agree to a permanent ceasefire. but hamas, which holds the hostages, says it

won't sign a deal unless the ceasefire is permanent, which is why the peace talks have stalled. a delegation from hamas hasjust been in cairo talking to mediators. they have now left to consult with their leadership. in gaza, the war continues, with airstrikes and deprivation. gazans are desperate for this war to end. so, too, are many israelis. but others in israel see this as unfinished business. they want this war pursued until hamas is utterly destroyed. frank gardner, bbc news, jerusalem. as you just heard in frank's report there, benjamin netanyahu ordered the closing down in israel of the broadcaster aljazeera — which has qatari owners — accusing it of incitement and of threatening national security. i spoke to carlos martinez de la serna, program director at committee

to protectjournalists. aljazeera in israel, this is an attack... it is completely unacceptable in a democratic country to ban and not allow its citizens to access different voices, those they might disagree with, those being controversial... that really enables press freedom. netanyahu is really undermining that. now put it in context. aljazeera is one of the most important of the most important news organisations reporting in gaza. journalists have already paid the ultimate price. many of them have been killed, including many family members of aljazeera journalists have been killed. they bring the facts about a war that is already more than eight months old. they bring the reporting, the consequences, how the war

is impacting civilians. that voice is being cut to israeli society. remind our viewers, reporting from gaza is extremely limited, isn't it? extremely limited. important reminders that no internationaljournalists are allowed into gaza. so for more than eight months, we have to rely on the reports of the local journalists. they are already suffering the war, taking care of themselves, taking care of theirfamilies in dire and extreme situations. almost 100 journalists have been killed. inaudible. aljazeera has been consistently producing some of the most important reports. now those reports won't be accessible for israeli society. what is israel trying

to achieve by doing this? i want to note as well that israel is not the only country in the middle east to ban aljazeera. i thinkjust ask israel for that question. i don't know what they are trying to achieve. i know the impact of their decisions, which is that the space for press freedom is shrinking... it is a form of censorship. in gaza and now inside israel. those are the consequences. this is not about whether aljazeera is banned countries, it's how do you protect democracy. this is not the way to do it. later on in newsday, we'll bring you a report from our special correspondent fergal keane about the looming crisis facing the people living in rafah. in the uk, the governing conservative party has been licking its wounds

after its drubbing in the local and mayoral elections. the former home secretary suella braverman urged prime minister rishi sunak to change course and move more to the right. but the transport secretary mark harper said it was still all to play for. here's our deputy political editor vicki young. across england and wales, labour won in style. mayors... councils... and police and crime commissioners. it was a terrible set of results for the conservatives, one of the few bright spots a victory for their mayor in the tees valley. the former home secretary, no fan of the prime minister's, warned today that the party faced a wipe—out at the general election, but that there was no point ousting him now. rishi sunak has been leading us for about 18 months. he's been making these decisions. these are the consequences of those decisions. he needs to own this, and therefore, he needs to fix it. and these are her suggestions. he needs to actually lower taxes in a way that people will feel,

not tweaking around the edges. if he's serious about migration, he needs to put a cap on legal migration. he needs to take us out of the european convention on human rights. that's how you actually send a message that he's serious about stopping the boats. not all tories agree. after his defeat, the now former mayor of the west midlands, andy street, urged the party to stick to the centre ground. ministers insist they are already acting decisively. we have a plan, and the plan is working. but voters are telling you they don't like it. but we're not all the way through yet. i think people want to see delivery, right, so they want to see inflation continue to come down. they want to see the boats stopped., for example, nhs waiting lists continue to fall. we've made a lot of progress on that, but we're not all of the way there yet. labour did see a drop in support in some areas where there's anger about its stance on the war in gaza. i do acknowledge that in some parts of the country, that was the case, and there will be some people who maybe voted labour in the past

who haven't in the local elections because of this issue, and where that's the case, we'll work to get people's support back. but overall, i do have to stress, these were tremendous local election results. rishi sunak�*s fiercest critics seem to have decided against an attempt to drive him out of here, but that doesn't mean the criticism will stop. the chinese president xijinping has arrived in france on his first state visit to an eu country in five years. he will next travel to hungary and serbia. we arejoined by a senior researcher at the foundation for strategic research, which describes itself as the main french centre for expertise in international security and

defence. this is xi's first trip to europe since the pandemic, why is france the first stop? pandemic, why is france the first step?— pandemic, why is france the first stop? pandemic, why is france the first sto? . ., .,, first stop? emmanuel macron was in china a year— first stop? emmanuel macron was in china a year ago, _ first stop? emmanuel macron was in china a year ago, but _ first stop? emmanuel macron was in china a year ago, but also - in china a year ago, but also its the 16th anniversary of diplomatic relations between france and china. in 1964 france and china. in 1964 france decided to recognise china. this is celebrating this. of course there are many reasons to discuss between france, many difficult reasons to discuss between france and china. it's not such a positive time for the visit, between trade issues, technology issues, but also the ukraine war. a lock on the plates of the two leaders in paris. what are both sides _ the two leaders in paris. what are both sides looking - the two leaders in paris. what are both sides looking to - the two leaders in paris. what are both sides looking to get i are both sides looking to get out of the visit? == are both sides looking to get out of the visit?— out of the visit? -- a lot on the plates- _ out of the visit? -- a lot on the plates. on _ out of the visit? -- a lot on the plates. on the - out of the visit? -- a lot on the plates. on the french l out of the visit? -- a lot on - the plates. on the french side,

president macron is asking, like you did before, looking to receive xijinping to demonstrate to china that receive xi jinping to demonstrate to china that there is a kind of united front facing the huge chinese economy and its capability to put pressure on european industry, especially the automobile industry. we must remember that the german chancellor olaf scholz was in china 80 weeks ago and focused very much on germany's interest in terms of the economy. —— a few weeks ago. they are not on the same page when it comes to taxes and electric vehicles. this issue is very important for france, extremely important for xi also. the chinese economy is not in good shape, they absolutely need to export more high—tech to you at mostly. especially in the perspective of donald trump coming back to the us. —— to europe mostly.

trying to get president macron to lift his posture on taxes on electric vehicles from china. i'm not sure it will work. of course the issue of ukraine is extremely important for france and europe, buti extremely important for france and europe, but i do not at all say xi playing any kind of actively positive role in order to put pressure on russia to get out of ukraine. can to put pressure on russia to get out of ukraine.- get out of ukraine. can you tell us about _ get out of ukraine. can you tell us about the _ get out of ukraine. can you | tell us about the significance of president xi going to serbia and hungary? this of president xi going to serbia and hungary?— of president xi going to serbia and hungary? this is where the true friends _ and hungary? this is where the true friends of _ and hungary? this is where the true friends of china _ and hungary? this is where the true friends of china are. - and hungary? this is where the true friends of china are. both l true friends of china are. both idea logically. serbia is not in the eu, would like tojoin the eu, but also at the forefront of the belt and road initiative in europe. hungary is very close to china. a lot of chinese investments

including the automobile sector including the automobile sector in hungary, which is part of the eu. it is divide and rule for china, try to create divisions between the eu and the us, but also between eu and the us, but also between eu and the states. to demonstrate to president macron and other european democracies that china still has some kind of influence inside europe. thank ou. we will have more on that story on asia business report.

let's return now to the conflict in the middle east. health officials in gaza say 16 people have been killed in an israeli strike on a home in rafah.

it comes as the united nations has warned against an israeli attack on the city of rafah, saying it risks causing many more deaths. israel has said that even if there is a ceasefire agreement, it will be temporary, and that it will go ahead with a military assault on rafah to destroy hamas. around 1.4 million people are sheltering in rafah — many of them have sought refuge there from other parts of gaza. our special correspondent fergal keane reports now on the looming crisis facing the people in rafah. the story of desperate need, told in a single line. stretching on the road to rafah. this is the queue on the egyptian side of the border. rafah is both the hub through which most of gaza's aid passes... ..and now home to nearly 1.5 million people — five times its original population. a place where hospitals have become refugee camps. where no living space is wasted. the wards where families cook.

where their children roam the corridors of a place that is — for now — safe. 11—year—old yasin al—galban is, according to his mother, surviving on painkillers. here, the brutal truth of the war is etched on the faces of its young victims. the fear is that this is what awaits rafah if an invasion is ordered. in the coalition government, the far right finance minister opposes any deal that would spare rafah in return for israeli hostages. "there's no half work. rafah, nuseirat, deiral balah. absolute destruction," says bezalel smotrich. the israelis say there are four hamas battalions in rafah to be destroyed, with or without a ceasefire. the un is making plans for more field hospitals, but warns it won't stop a disaster. it will not avoid what we expect will be

substantial additional mortality and morbidity. a lot more people dying? a lot more people dying, a lot more death and a lot more diseases. this is where utter destruction leads. people who've lost their homes, forced to camp next to graves. rahab abudacah is the mother of seven children. she described some of the horrors she and her children have witnessed. she points to a grave covered in bricks and explains the grim reason for this. translation: yesterday, | there was a grave, and there were no rocks above it. and the family came and they found that the dogs ate part of the body. they were forced to put bricks on his grave to protect him from the dogs. from ten at night to dawn, we cannot sleep because of the sound of the dogs. at night, our children

keep holding on to me because of how scared they are. there is intense pressure for a ceasefire deal now. without it, there's only foreboding. the dread of what comes next. fergal keane, bbc news, jerusalem. president lula da silva is paying his second visit to southern brazil as conditions worsen, following massive flooding and landslides which forced over 80,000 people from their homes. local authorities say that dozens of people have been killed, and that over 70 are missing. further rainfall is expected. jon donnison reports. much of brazil's most southerly state is under water. roads turned into rivers and tens of thousands of people forced to flee their homes. translation: now, when i'm being rescued, i feel relieved, |

but it's terrifying because we saw the water rise in an absurd way. it rose at a very high speed. after a week of storms and heavy rain at least half a million people are without power and clean water. translation: i need a lot of help - a lot. l we have nowhere to sleep and nothing to eat. we have nothing. and the very young are being impacted, too. this tiny baby had to be winched to safety by helicopter. many of those who died were killed by landslides. and at least two people lost their lives when the floods caused an explosion at a petrol station in port alegre. president lula da silva visited the region for the second time this week to see the damage for himself. brazil's military has been brought in to help with the rescue effort and to distribute aid. the extreme weather has been caused by a rare combination of hotter—than—average temperatures, high

humidity and strong winds. and forecasters say it's not over yet. jon donnison, bbc news. janeiro. janeiro told us more. 78 people have been confirmed dead so far, up from 75 earlier today. it will probably rise further as at least 105 people are still reported missing. on top of that, 115,000 have been displaced, forced to leave their homes, have lost their homes in many cases. 18,000 people in shelters provided by the public authorities. a scenario of absolute tragedy, a very devastating situation. this area is facing the worst

floods in its history. they're not localised, notjust affecting a few cities, but nearly two thirds of the state's municipalities. a state that is more than twice the size of england, so a huge region that has been affected by these rain storms and floods. the state governor said it was the worst climate disaster there ever, and described the situation as a warlike scenario. constance, given the sheer size of the area affected and the number of people displaced, what are they struggling with most? the rescue efforts are one of the main issues. we saw this in the images in the reportjust now. the local authorities, the local mayor said earlier today that they need more boats and helicopters to step up rescue efforts in porto alegre. although the rain has continued today, there will be a reprieve over the next two days,

but authorities are saying it will take much longer for the situation to go back anywhere near normal, as it will take days for the water levels to fall back to normal levels. we've seen president lula da silva is on his second visit to southern brazil due to the floods. how has his government responded to this crisis? his government has been very emphatic in saying that it will support the state in any way possible. today, lula travelled with a big delegation of ministers and representatives from the judiciary and legislature to put on a show of unity between the three branches of government, saying every branch of government will do whatever necessary to release resources as quickly as possible for the state. not only for it to be able to keep up the rescue efforts, but also going forward, to rebuild infrastructure, because the damage will be absolutely huge. the thai government has ordered officials to help durian

farmers in the east, as a prolonged drought caused by intense heatwave threatens crop yields. our reporterje seung lee has more details. durian, known as the king of fruits, is a popular tropical fruit in southeast asia. this spiky green delicacy is known for its pungent smell — but with a sweet and creamy taste that's just to die for. now it's one of thailand's most lucrative agricultural exports, behind rice and rubber. but due to a vicious heat wave currently sweltering thailand and other parts of southeast asia in general, farmers have voiced their concerns because they believe this is affecting their produce — they say some of the fruits burst open even before being picked. now let's hear from some of the farmers. translation: this year is a crisis. - the future of durian is over if there's no water. translation: this year is very difficult, it's so hard that - i have to sell my farm. now to alleviate some

of the negative impacts, authorities have been told to visit affected areas to assess the scale of the damage, as well as provide water to durian farms and give advice to farmers. some baking news now. france has restored national pride, reclaiming the record for the world's longest baguette. and get a loaf of this — the creation measures more than 140 metres long, almost half the length of the eiffel tower. a group of bakers managed the feat in a competition in paris. the previous record was held by italians, despite the baguette being a classic french product, meaning the win marks a return to the status "dough"! guinness record adjudicator joanne brent was there to certify the achievement. the final measurement is taken by the length of the baguette — and, with a great, huge record to beat of 132.63 metres, i can confirm that this attempt

has been successful. cheering the puns can be a bit like durian and divide opinion! stay with us. hello. so far, this bank holiday weekend has been a decidedly mixed affair. some spells of warm sunshine, but also some really heavy downpours. we saw some flash flooding in parts of eastern scotland during sunday. you can see the showers and thunderstorms that erupted here through the day. quite slow moving, actually, not much wind to push these showers and storms along. one or two locations had close to half a month's worth of rain in the space ofjust a few hours. we are currently in the grip of this fairly weak and fairly flabby area of low pressure.

so not much winds with that low to push the showers around where they do crop up again on bank holiday monday, they will be heavy, quite slow moving, but with some spells of sunshine in between. this is how we start the day. the southern half of the uk seeing some areas of mist and fog, some sunny spells developing, but some rain across the south east of england and east anglia. northern ireland and scotland keeping quite a lot of clouds still with some hefty showers across some central and eastern parts of scotland. by the middle of the afternoon, parts of east anglia and the southeast seeing outbreaks of rain, elsewhere through the south west of england into wales, the midlands and northern england. that mix of sunny spells and heavy, possibly thundery showers. those showers quite slow moving, but the sunniest spot seeing highs of 19 or 20 degrees. more cloud for northern ireland, but largely dry. still some hefty showers across southern and eastern scotland. further north and west, something drier and in places a little bit brighter. now, as we head through monday night, the showers should slowly but surely fade away in most locations.

we'll keep some fairly large amounts of cloud, perhaps some mist patches here and there. temperatures generally holding up between six and ten degrees. now, more showers in the forecast for tuesday, but they shouldn't be as widespread and on the whole, they shouldn't be quite as heavy. so mainly fine to start off, some fairly large amounts of cloud, spells of sunshine, some of those showers getting going through the day, particularly across parts of england and wales. but in the sunny spots, those temperatures again up to around 20 degrees celsius. that is a sign of things to come because as we head deeper into the week, high pressure builds a little more strongly. we'll still see frontal systems to the north of the uk. so a bit of rain at times, particularly across parts of scotland. but further south it stays mostly dry. some spells of sunshine, temperatures climbing, seeing highs of around 21 to 22, maybe 23 degrees.

leie high—stakes diplomacy — china's president has arrived in europe, with trade at the top of his agenda. from london to paris, and beyond — we'll look at the successes and challenges of a network connecting the uk to europe.