staff, large numbers of displaced people are sheltering in the hospital. our correspodent injerusalem, tom bateman, has more. they have denied ordering it, but they don't deny that an evacuation is taking place. we have had a report from the afp news agency, a journalist working for them at the scene said that via loudspeakers there was an order to evacuate the hospital within the hour earlier this morning. he reported the director of the hospital had been phoned by the military and instructed for everyone to leave, for patients and staff and displaced people to make their way on foot to the seafront. the israeli military has since issued a statement saying there was no order for people to evacuate. it said it was assisting an evacuation operation at the request of the hospital's director. it also said that medical personnel would be able to stay there for people who couldn't get out. but clearly there are further moves now to evacuate people in the hospital. we have had a localjournalist who has been at the hospital and in touch with the bbc repeatedly over the last couple of weeks telling us in the last few minutes, he says, the group he is with has left the hospital. the hospital has been evacuated apart from patients who could not be moved and a small number of doctors. he said, we raised our hands and carried white flags. last night the sounds of gunfire and explosions was terrifying. the bulldozers created huge holes a0 metres deep in at the hospital yard and swept away some buildings. the context to all this is that the military of israel has had the hospital surrounded for days, it has made some raids into it. it has said according to its intelligence there is a hamas command and control centre in and under that compound. we know in these raids it has found some weapons and released pictures of what it said are weapons to support this. but of course we have not seen evidence yet of a command and control centre by hamas. this becomes a really critical issue. we know the israelis have exposed what they have said is a tunnel shaft close to the hospital there, pictures of that were released over the last 48 hours. it would appear that from all of this that those attempts to find more evidence now continue. when we talk about the evacuation of patients, the question always comes up of where these people will go. that is not always a clear answer. do we have any more information from the israeli government or its military on where they say these patients could be taken to that is safe? earlier on in the week they said there was effectively an evacuation corridor from one direction out to the other of the hospital compound, they said that was safe. we heard from at least one doctor inside that it was not safe because of the shelling and bombardment and fighting going on outside. more broadly, israel has always said that people should evacuate to the south of the gaza strip. they generally have created what they call these evacuation corridors, there is effectively two main roads to the south and north of the gaza strip. south in the gaza strip, and along one or either of these routes evacuation corridors to get south. but it is extremely dangerous. the un and the red cross have spoken on several occasions of that route being littered with bodies, that when people reach the line that effectively separates the north from the south with these two points of access, that people are making their way on foot there and are arriving generally exhausted and desperately in need of food and water. agencies have been able to supply some at that particular point. but that would be the route essentially that israel says people evacuating the hospital should take. live now to dr nick maynard, who trained medics in gaza and was carrying out surgeries at al—shifa as recently as may this year. can you tell us a bit about al—shifa hospital? how important is it? al—shifa hospital is the biggest in gaza, it is the main trauma centre. in the many years i have been going to gaza it has always been the leading hospitalfor taking to gaza it has always been the leading hospital for taking trauma victims from the multiple bombardments. so it is hugely significant that al—shifa hospital now is completely disabled. we significant that al-shifa hospital now is completely disabled. we have heard a lot of — now is completely disabled. we have heard a lot of reports _ now is completely disabled. we have heard a lot of reports about - now is completely disabled. we have heard a lot of reports about the - heard a lot of reports about the conditions doctors there are working on there. before the violence broke out, before the hamas attack of october 7, what is it like working as a doctor in a hospital in an area which is controlled by an organisation many governments consider a terrorist group? i have been in gaza _ consider a terrorist group? i have been in gaza on _ consider a terrorist group? i have been in gaza on many _ consider a terrorist group? i have been in gaza on many occasions i consider a terrorist group? i have | been in gaza on many occasions in the last 15 years and have a word in al—shifa hospital on many occasions. i have never seen any evidence of the hospital being run by hamas militia. this contention by the israel defence force that it is a command centre is utterly fanciable, from my perspective. i have no idea what is going on in the tunnels underneath. but i have what every inch of the hospital. more importantly, colleagues of mine, gassing doctors and nurses who i have known for many years and trust implicitly, have lived in the hospital for the last five weeks, and that has been no restrictjin to their movements at all, and there has been no evidence of the hospital itself being used as a command centre —— gazan doctors and nurses. i have heard no credible evidence of the last few days that this hospital is being used as a command centre, with a single caveat that i do not know what is going on in the tunnels underneath. know what is going on in the tunnels underneath-— know what is going on in the tunnels underneath. ~ , ., , .,, underneath. when you see the videos that israel puts _ underneath. when you see the videos that israel puts out _ underneath. when you see the videos that israel puts out showing _ underneath. when you see the videos that israel puts out showing the - that israel puts out showing the tunnels which it says its military has found at this site which you are so used to and experienced in, how does that make you feel when you see those videos? i do does that make you feel when you see those videos?— those videos? i do have to question the veracity — those videos? i do have to question the veracity of _ those videos? i do have to question the veracity of it. _ those videos? i do have to question the veracity of it. they _ those videos? i do have to question the veracity of it. they showed - those videos? i do have to question the veracity of it. they showed a . the veracity of it. they showed a video of eternal about three weeks ago which they claimed as a hamas tunnel, and i recognised it as an underground vent next to a hotel that i stay in in gaza. i do question the veracity of some of this. i see the pictures of the weapons and armour meant they have discovered in the hospital. they showed one yesterday of weapons next to an mri scanner. mri scanners work by huge magnets, so it is inconceivable that metal arms would be stored next to an mri scanner. i am hugely sceptical about many of the images put out there.- the images put out there. israel insists its forces _ the images put out there. israel insists its forces have _ the images put out there. israel insists its forces have been - insists its forces have been assisting hospital with evacuating patients. can you give us a sense of the conditions doctors are working under from what you hear from your colleagues and friends in gaza? thea;r colleagues and friends in gaza? they certainl do colleagues and friends in gaza? they certainly do not _ colleagues and friends in gaza? iia: certainly do not describe colleagues and friends in gaza? "iia: certainly do not describe the colleagues and friends in gaza? ii21: certainly do not describe the israel defence force as assisting the evacuation. i have been watching al jazeera this morning and been in contact with a doctor who herself is in contact with people they are, and that they are working under the most appallingly hostile conditions. the patient is being evacuated, it is almost inconceivable to me that they will survive. this notion it will be evacuated to a safe area is a ludicrous notion, if you ask me. the rules are almost impassable, that at no function hospital in gaza at the moment. the only hospital that was an admission hospital, that has stopped functioning two days ago. there is nowhere for these patients to go. we have heard about the newborn babies, we have heard about the ventilated patients, all of whom have died in the last two or three days. ifearthose have died in the last two or three days. i fear those patients have died in the last two or three days. ifear those patients being evacuated will die because there is no safe place for them to go. drjack watling — senior research fellow for land warfare at the royal united services institute, gave us his military assesment of the current idf operation. the israeli defence forces pushed into gaza north of the gaza river, they managed to break through to the ocean, and then pivoted north and have essentially cut gaza city from the sea. they are now conducting deliberate clearance operations into the urban terrain to try and fight their way through positions held by hamas. obviously there is still a lot of civilians in those areas as well. what we see at the moment is a fairly slow and methodical clearance of dense urban terrain to try and identify tunnels, infrastructure, and to destroy hamas's infrastructure in gaza city. you talk about this deliberate and slow military operation. but as you mentioned, these are areas where there are a lot of civilians. is this an appropriate military method that israel is taking? are they going about things, from an analytical political point of view, in the right way? the initial strikes we saw used very heavy ordinance, partly because they were trying to target subterranean infrastructure. there was a debate about the proportionalityjudgments made i think in that instance. but the law is actually very forgiving in that context because it is largely down to the commander tojudge. the israeli defence forces have followed a very sound military logic. they have tried to be fast in their initial strikes to disrupt hamas. they have then tried to secure the ground lines of communication in order to isolate hamas. then it has used pauses in fighting to try to encourage civilians to leave, and then conduct assaults into specific areas. from a military point of view, it makes sense. but there is a wider issue, we saw the same thing in mosul and raqqah, civilians don't always leave and they can't always be supported. the law is very permissive in terms ofjudgments of proportionality. and so, many, many civilians are being killed. one of the key moments of focus right now is the al—shifa hospital. israel says there are tunnels underneath the hospital that hamas uses as military bases and which they say potentially have kept hostages in. hamas has denied that. but at the core of this, we are talking about military operations around a hospital where there are patients civillians and medical staff sheltering. can you talk about the complications around this as a military operation? you have civilians relying on the hospital for medical treatment and for shelter. but at the same time you have hamas, which has built an extensive underground infrastructure, it does go near and under civilian buildings, schools and hospitals, for example. we have seen hamas use that infrastructure to fight from. basing command command control there is something they have done. for the israelis there is always this calculus around military necessity, where is the military objective, and the need to engage those fighters when they are deliberately fighting from the middle of the civilian population. one of the challenges is that international law, as written, essentiallyjudges proportionality in the moment. so, if i apply this military effect to try and kill this fighter that is engaging me, the hospital has lost its absolute protection because it is being used for military purposes. i still have to make a proportionalityjudgment, but that is only about the civilians that are the immediate collateral damage of the strike. whereas if you damage something like a hospital critical to civilian infrastructure, that has collateral damage that lasts for years because there is no longer treatment and a refuge. so i think there are some real deficiencies in how we deal with this because this is going to be a recurring problem. it is notjust an issue in gaza today, it is one that will crop up again and again in conflict. in terms of resources, the idf are relatively well resourced military organisation supported by intelligence bodies. how does that stack up against what hamas has on the ground? hamas has a fairly significant number of fighters and it has built up a substantial arsenal of anti—tank weapons and also rockets, which can continue to be fired at israel if hamas is not under attack. many of its fighters are fairly determined. having said that, it doesn't have the same sensors that the idf has, it doesn't have armoured vehicles. so, hamas is very decisively losing this fight, they are being deliberately cleared out of the terrain and inflicting fairly few casualties in the process, partly because the idf is using firepower to reduce the number of times they need to expose their infantry in this terrain, and therefore they are using firepower to reduce their own casualties, which is an understandable judgment, but obviously has serious implications for the civilians. some of the biggest names in entertainment — including disney, comcast and warner brothers discovery — have become the latest companies to pause their advertising on x , after the platform's owner, elon musk, responded approvingly to an anti—semitic post earlier this week. the company's owner denies it was anti—semitic. he's said this morning he will be filing what he called "a thermo—nuclear lawsuit" against all those who colluded in a fraudulent attack on x. openai, the artificial intelligence firm behind chapgpt, has sacked its ceo sam altman — saying it's lost confidence in his ability to lead the company. the board said mr altman had not been "consistently candid with his communications", hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. our technology editor, zoe kleinman, has more. this is such an extraordinary announcement and the whole of the ai community is really quite astonished and shocked. if you haven't heard of sam altman and you haven't heard of this company, openai, you've probably heard of their most famous product, which was chatgpt, the viral ai chat bot that exploded onto the world literally a year ago in two weeks' time. the firm was gearing up for the first anniversary of this product that's arguably changed the world. we don't know a lot about what's happened here. the board on openai says that it had lost confidence in mr altman, it said that it was worried he hadn't been consistently candid in his communications, and they questioned something about his honesty, which begs the question that there's something that he has or has not told them, and somehow he's been caught out. and i think a lot of people now are sort of scrambling to try to work out what's going on. he has posted on x, the site that was formerly twitter, and he says, you know, he's had a good time at openai and he's looking forward to what's coming next. i think it's pretty obvious that he did not know that this was coming. just last week, he gave a big speech in which he was very optimistic and confident about the future of chatgpt and the future of openai. he was here in the uk at the beginning of the month at the world's first ai safety summit. he's very much part of the furniture and a very powerful figure in the whole of the west's ai community. and i think all eyes are now going to be on what he does next and what comes out about why he's suddenly and so dramatically been fired. protests are continuing in madrid today, as prime minister pedro sanchez wins another term in office. after weeks of haggling, mr sanchez won a four—seat majority by securing an amnesty deal for catalans involved in a failed bid to secede from spain in 2017. the amnesty deal with the catalan nationalist party led to protests in the spanish capital, which in some cases have turned violent. today, the main political parties against the deal — the people's party and the extreme—right—wing group, vox — will rally on the streets. our correspondent, guy hedgecoe, has been monitoring events from madrid. we are expecting this demonstration in central madrid to be very big. it has the support of the main parties on the right. it is being organised by civic organisations with links to the mainstream and far right. so we are expecting it to be extremely big. but this is nothing new. you mentioned the recent protests, there had been nightly protests outside the socialist party headquarters for the last two weeks. there were again last night, there are constant clashes between protesters and police. we have seen pretty much every week these much bigger weekend matches. i think this one is expected to be particularly big because of the fact that pedro sanchez did manage to form that majority earlier this week. so there is that anger of those who are against the amnesty and who are expected to turn out today. that majority for the socialist leader, pedro sanchez, is a small majority. what has he been saying about these demonstrations? he has been talking about them as an example, in many cases, particularly with the more violent demonstrations, of it being a reflection of the far right, in particular the vox party, saying that this is what the far right wants, it is in favour of these violent protests. he has been saying that is why it has been a good thing that i've formed this government, a government based mainly on left wing support, but also the support of those regional nationalists as well, saying that this left—leaning government is keeping the right out of power, and it is a right that would probably include the far right in it. so he is saying that is a good thing and we have to push ahead with our progressive social agenda and try to forget about the noise on the street. but obviously that is not going to be an easy thing for him. where does the catalan separatist movement go from here? i think they now feel they have an opportunity right now because they really are the focus of the political debate at the moment. because they are supporting this government of pedro sanchez. they have this amnesty agreement with him, which doesn't come into effect until next year. in the meantime there is a feeling they will try to push for their ultimate aim, which is a referendum on catalan independence with the blessing of madrid. pedro sanchez has repeatedly said he will not allow a referendum, a scotland—style referendum, if you like, that is not constitutional. however, he did say that about the amnesty a few weeks ago before changing his mind. so i think there are many people wondering if there is enough pressure from the independence movement he might change his mind. he insists he will not hold that referendum. but i think the independence movement is looking at this as an opportunity to try and push for further concessions from the central government. spacex will attempt to launch their biggest ever rocket — starship — from texas later today. it's their second attempt. here's our science editor rebecca morelle. waiting on the launch pad. will it be second time lucky for elon musk�*s starship? the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built. this is what happened first time round in april this year. the rockets got off the ground successfully, but a few minutes into the flight it was time for the lower part to separate. instead, starship started tumbling, and then this... but it wasn't only the rocket that exploded — the launch pad was wrecked, too. i think they should not have taken that risk to try to launch on a flat launch pad that was made out of concrete, it literally blew up like a volcanic eruption, and there's a lot of speculation that maybe the the chunks of concrete blown out of the launch pad may have knocked some of those engines out. so, we don't know to what degree the launch pad explosion contributed to the failure on the first flight attempt. starship stands 120m tall and has two main parts. at the bottom is the booster, which has a record number of engines, 33 of them. above this is the starship's spacecraft, which can carry cargo oi’ crew. what's unique is both components are designed to land and be cleverly captured, making them fully reusable. it's the scale of the rocket, the rocket is itself absolutely huge. it's a similar size of rocket to something like the saturn 5 rocket that went to the moon as part of the apollo programme. but it's also a fully reusable rocket. so, what that means is, it's massive, it can put a huge amount of stuff into space, and it can do it time and again and again and again — and that makes the cost of putting stuff into space so much cheaper. the plan is for starship to return astronauts to the moon. it's an integral part of nasa's artemis mission, but there's a lot of work still to do. they'll need multiple successful launches and to find a way to refuel in space. they'll also need to work out how to land and lift off from the lunar surface. what will success look like? the spacex philosophy is to go quick, fail often and learn fast. so don't be surprised if the rocket explodes again. the hope is, it will make it a bit further than last time. rebecca morelle, bbc news. much more on that and all our other stories on the beauty of his website and the bbc news app. you stick with us here on bbc news. hello. for many of us, the weekend has started off on a fairly grey and wet, windy sort of note. the weather will be slowly improving for some of us today as the persistent morning rain clears eastwards. so heading through into the afternoon, sunny spells and blustery showers follow on behind. low pressure very much in charge through today and tomorrow, too. here it is, just moving into the north west of the uk. this is the weather front that brought the rain overnight and early on saturday morning. it's pushing its way eastwards, lingering longest i think down towards kent, but also across parts of northern and eastern scotland. we've got that rain into the afternoon, though. strong winds rotating around that area of low pressure gales developing especially towards the northwest. but you'll notice the wind, wherever you are. there'll be more sunshine breaking through across the bulk of england and wales i think through the afternoon. still some more showers for northern ireland, western scotland too, could be one or two for northern england. some clear spells this evening in the south, but plenty more heavy showers rattling through on the brisk winds towards the north and through the early hours of sunday, they'll crop up almost anywhere. so it's windy, it's mild overnight, certainly frost free with temperatures no lower than about 7 to 11 degrees for most of us first thing tomorrow. so through the day tomorrow, we've still got low pressure with us. it's just starting to drift its way a little bit further eastwards. so if you're closer to the centre of that low pressure, particularly across scotland, it won't be as windy as it is out there today. strongest winds will be down towards the south west of england, 50 mile per hour gusts, perhaps even a little stronger than that. plenty more showers. you can see a rash of showers drifting their way eastwards on the breeze. fewer, though, for parts of southern and eastern scotland, an improved sort of day there. mild again, temperatures, perhaps a degree down on today around 8 to ia. and then as we look ahead through sunday night into monday, we may well see some heavy rain from this frontal feature for a time. looks like that clears away later on monday and then higher pressure starts to build from the atlantic. so potentially a bit of heavy rain perhaps in the south and southwest first thing, a few showers following in the breeze, turning a little bit more northerly through the day. so that's going to bring the temperature down a little bit compared to recent days, not quite as mild, around about still 8 to 13 degrees on monday. and then once those showers ease away, as that higher pressure builds, it's looking a little bit drier through next week across england and wales in particular. still a few showers across the north and the west of the uk. and those temperatures down a notch, not quite as mild as they would have been through the weekend. bye for now. this is bbc news, the headlines israel denies reports it's ordered the evacuation of the biggest hospital in gaza — the idf has previously claimed hamas has a command centre in the tunnels underneath it. israel's war cabinet has agreed to allow two fuel tankers into the strip each day for humanitarian agencies to distribute aid. protests continue in spain following the swearing in of prime minister pedro sanchez. his controversial amnesty deal with catalan separatists allowed the socialist party leader to win a vote in the spanish parliament guaranteeing him another term as leder. elon musk says he will launch a �*thermonuclear�* lawsuit against the us media watchdog — media matters — for alleging adverts were being placed next to extreme content on x, the social media site formally known as twitter. several majorfirms, including ibm and disney are suspending advertising on the platform after mr musk appeared to agree with an anti—semitic post. hundreds of palestinians have been leaving al shifa hospital in gaza on foot, but the israeli army has denied ordering its evacuation. juliette touma is director of communications for the un's relief and works agency for palestine refugees. she's been telling us about the state of aid in gaza. since yesterday there's been reports about delivery of fuel but i can confirm a date we have not received any fuel deliveries. find confirm a date we have not received any fuel deliveries.— any fuel deliveries. and we are urgently. _ any fuel deliveries. and we are urgently, urgently _ any fuel deliveries. and we are urgently, urgently need - any fuel deliveries. and we are urgently, urgently need fuel. l any fuel deliveries. and we are l urgently, urgently need fuel. for the rest of the humanitarian operations across the gaza strip. to humour for the fuel deliveries have not been received? taste humour for the fuel deliveries have not been received?— not been received? we have been ”leadin not been received? we have been pleading for _ not been received? we have been pleading for weeks _ not been received? we have been pleading for weeks on _ not been received? we have been pleading for weeks on end - not been received? we have been pleading for weeks on end now i not been received? we have been| pleading for weeks on end now for fewer and none of the tracks that have been coming in since the 21st of october had fuel on them and we urgently need it. at least 120,000 letters every single day if the humanitarian organisations ought to continue delivering assistance to people in need across the gaza strip. people in need across the gaza stri -. ~ . , people in need across the gaza stri. ~ . , , people in need across the gaza stri. ~ ., , , , people in need across the gaza stri - . ~ ., , , , ., strip. what is this fuel used for and why is _ strip. what is this fuel used for and why is it — strip. what is this fuel used for and why is it so _ strip. what is this fuel used for and why is it so important? - strip. what is this fuel used for and why is it so important? it l strip. what is this fuel used for| and why is it so important? it is critical for _ and why is it so important? it is critical for the _ and why is it so important? it 3 critical for the humanitarian operation, to fuel the trucks coming in with supplies on the borders via chat, for desalination and water pumps, for our own cars so that we are distributing aid to people in shelters, we have 800,000 people in shelters, we have 800,000 people in shelters that agencies manage and weak kneed at fort medical facilities. it has been used as a weapon of war, it is unacceptable and humanitarian organisations should not be pushed in the corner begging for fuel. you should not be pushed in the corner begging for fuel-— begging for fuel. you are based in jordan, begging for fuel. you are based in jordan. one _ begging for fuel. you are based in jordan. one of _ begging for fuel. you are based in jordan, one of the _ begging for fuel. you are based in jordan, one of the issues - begging for fuel. you are based in jordan, one of the issues we - begging for fuel. you are based in | jordan, one of the issues we often jordan, one of the issues we often hear about on the ground in gaza is communication so can you talk us through the practicalities of how you are in touch with people on the ground and the issues they face when it comes to communications? like i said, it comes to communications? like i said. there's _ it comes to communications? like i said, there's been _ it comes to communications? like i said, there's been a _ it comes to communications? like i said, there's been a total— said, there's been a total communications blackout over the past overs. it is now gradually being restored but let's remember, this is the first time gaza has gone through total communications blackout which means for us at al—shifa, —— blackout which means for us at al-shifa, -- unrwa, blackout which means for us at al—shifa, —— unrwa, us not being able to go to the borders and pick up able to go to the borders and pick up supplies, it means people in gaza cannot check in on each other amid the worsen and they will not know who is dead or alive and they will not be able to call ambulances and it deepens the sense of isolation that people in gaza have been going through for the past six weeks. it’s through for the past six weeks. it's terrifying. we have heard over several weeks about the rafa crossing and various windows opening to allow people to leave gaza and allow aid in but what is the latest picture there?— picture there? from the unrwa perspective _ picture there? from the unrwa perspective we _ picture there? from the unrwa perspective we have _ picture there? from the unrwa perspective we have been - picture there? from the unrwa perspective we have been using| picture there? from the unrwa. perspective we have been using it picture there? from the unrwa - perspective we have been using it to pick up trucks of supplies and we have cobos shipment a drop in the ocean of needs because the number of trucks coming into gaza are really not much in comparison to the huge needs and so the number of trucks coming in via those shipments needs to increase and those shipments need to increase and those shipments need to have your in support of unrwa operation in the gaza strip. the chancellorjeremy hunt has refused to rule out claims that he's considering cuts to inheritance and business taxes in next week's autumn statement — despite previously claiming any reductions would be impossible. a treasury source insisted no final decision had been made. well the chancellor is being urged by the drinks industry not to raise alcohol duty for the second time in four months. some pubs, brewers and distillers say too many other costs have already increased — and they fear a tax hike could be the final straw, as richard moss reports. labelled with love, derek has been crafting gin at his north yorkshire distillery for eight years. but recently turning a profit got tougher. on top of rising costs in august, the government hiked tax on each bottle of spirits by 10%. raw material costs have gone through the roof. everything from juniper through to the bottles, the glass — the last thing we really want is another increase within the business. so it has gone up around about 85p per bottle. so what was a growth industry is under pressure. the combination of spiralling costs and the 10% hike in duty, means that according to the trade body the spirits alliance, more than 80% of distillers are concerned they might not make it through to the end of next year. but things could get worse. the chancellor will deliver an autumn statement next week with the potential of another tax hike. it is a worry. you can't keep passing it the end—user and cuts keep cuts keep squeezing your bargains. someone will fall off the end. we don't to be one of those businesses. it is or hopefully improve. the government did cut duty in august on this — beer served in pubs. the aim, to reduce the price in locals like this inn in barnard castle. so has landlord roy felt the benefits? has it made any difference? no, it hasn't. that benefit has not passed on to us. because i think it is stopping at the brewer levels. what the brewer or brewery tells us is they are holding costs, not increasing prices because they are also struggling with their energy costs. so to answer your question, no, it is not passed onto us. and regulars like ian see no benefits of a boost to the bars they love. i can't say i've seen any sign of it whatsoever, frankly. i see a lot of people buying drinks in supermarkets and so i take the view that a lot of people are having their beer at home. the government insists it is designed a tax regime to support pubs and producers. but both remain under pressure and they sayany increases in taxes next week will drain further life from local businesses. richard moss, bbc news. figures seen by the bbc show reported sexual offences and harassment on trains and trams across britain have risen again in the past two years. it's happened as passenger numbers recovered from their pandemic lows, with charities warning that these figures could be just the tip of the iceberg. our transport correspondent katy austin has this report. evening rush hour in central london, we film with a plainclothes officer from british transport police as he patrolled the underground. our camera was hidden so we would not compromise his work. on the rail and metro network across britain, most reported sexual offences and harassment incidences at this time of day when it is busy, he is trying a to spot potential offenders. upkirting, exposure, flashing offences, sexual touching, stalking and harassment offences. the officer sees a passenger behaving in a way that seems unusual, and gets on to see what happens next. this time, he decides it's nothing untoward, and moves on with his patrol. what are you actually looking for? anything that is different really, they are not doing a logical travel plan, so if you see that, that sparks our interest. people who are physically looking at people, hovering around the potential victim. an empty carriage with a random man... maya, in her early 30s, knows what it is like to be targeted. a few years ago a man sat on the tube opposite her and a friend, staring. he had a bag on his lap and then he just lifted the bag off his lap and his genitals were just there exposed and from what we had seen, he had cut out a square in his crotch area, purposely for that. at the time she did not report it but believes she might feel more confident doing so now. i spoke it through with my friend and we try to forget about it as you do, but you can't take away the shock. maya is not alone in having a troubling experiences. i have had friends who have had men rub their crotch near them or trying to touch them, under the guise of it's busy, we are just bumping against each other, but i always have some apprehension about how busy a train will be, the time of day, but sometimes i can't help it if it is work, i have to get on the train. experts say offenders can be drawn into public transport as a place to target victims. passenger numbers plummeted during covid lockdowns — as people have returned, so has the problem. most of the millions ofjourneys made every day pass safely without incident, but on britain's rail network, including some local tram and metro services, more than 5,000 sexual offences are nearly 3,000 incidences of sexual harassment have been reported since august of 2021. harassment reported particular have risen which british transport police believe this due to rising awareness following campaigns. the statistics are likely to be the tip of the iceberg - and the reasons for that may be that women feel like they are not - going to be believed or takenj seriously, or that really much will happen after they report. the police and the rail industry are encouraging people to step in to help if they see something. is it not more the responsibility of british transport police or staff to assist people rather than then having to get involved themselves? we can absolutely understand that, yes, and we're not asking people i to intervene if they feel uncomfortable in any. way, but that is why it is important for people to understand _ the other mechanisms so if you are not comfortable . stepping in, and offer someone some reassurance if you see them in that environment, _ then text 61016 or use the railway guardian app, speakl to a member of staff on the train, there are other ways to intervene that are less harmful. _ maya says she has intervened herself in the past. i have seen quite a few adult men discreetly recording, often much younger girls, schoolgirls and uniform, trying to fill up their skirt and all this kind of disgusting stuff, and i've actually called them out, i didn't want him to get away with that and i did not want that young girl to feel like she didn't have a voice. the rmt union said the danger of sexual harassment underscored the need for properly staffed trains and stations. the approach police and the industry are taking is to try and prevent these sorts of situations developing in the first place. if you have been affected by any of the issues raised in that film, help is available from bbc action line — just visit bbc.co.uk/actionline. with the conflict in gaza as well as the war in ukraine, the ongoing war in sudan is being described as a forgotten conflict. seven monhs after it began, conditions in the country have been described as "worse than ever". an estimated 5,000 sudanese people have been killed in the fighting between the two warring branches of the sudanese military. carol is hosting an international conference today on the issue. == conference today on the issue. -- carrier. with me is mohamed taha, bbc arabic science and technology corespondent. suitable scripts have been concerned that the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe has not been addressed because of the political and military in essence, they are saying 25 million people need eight, six million are displaced and more than1 million are refugees. the problem has been since the conflict started in april with various attempts at a ceasefire, truce, there has not been any that health and none held and there is no clear humanitarian corridors that are marked to deliver aid. the bulk of taking us and looking after this has fallen on the sudanese population so what is in cairo today is a meeting between sudanese grassroots groups that have been involved in various emergencies and date and helping people with the international community representatives of the british government and other european governments and western governments plus aid organisations to try and figure out a way that will work in alleviating the suffering of millions of civilians. you say this has been organised by humanitarian groups but are any significant political leaders going to be there? i significant political leaders going to be there?— significant political leaders going to be there? . , to be there? i imagine there will be some figures _ to be there? i imagine there will be some figures from _ to be there? i imagine there will be some figures from the _ to be there? i imagine there will be some figures from the sudanese i some figures from the sudanese medical class but the problem remains is that the warring factions, the sudanese army and the rapid support forces are on different sites and they are at another forum taking place different sites and they are at anotherforum taking place in saudi arabia and until now no ceasefire has come from that so people are looking to cairo as a forum that might galvanise some sort of heads to come and sit together to try and alleviate the pressure of the sudanese people are feeling. thank ou so sudanese people are feeling. thank you so much. _ sudanese people are feeling. thank you so much. we — sudanese people are feeling. thank you so much, we appreciate - sudanese people are feeling. thank you so much, we appreciate your update. flash floods in the horn of africa have caused the deaths of over 100 people and displaced close to 800,000 people. entire towns have been cut off in parts of somalia, kenya and ethiopia. the areas affected had barely recovered from the worst drought to hit the region in four decades. as more rains are forecast, people are abandoning their homes and moving to dry land as governments and aid agencies try to reach those who've been affected. esther kahumbi reports. after a two—year drought ravaged the horn of africa, kenya, somalia and ethiopia are battling extreme floods. former hopes of harvest are crushed. translation: i cannot plant anything here now, when it rains the water levels are very high, only the grass has survived, all the food i had planted has been swept away. every time it rains, the gully grows wider, he says. down force since october have cut off many coastal areas in kenya, rivers bursting their banks, homes destroyed, roads cut off. translation: the price of failure lot of purges has gone up because there's not enoughin has gone up because there's not enough in the market. like a kilo of tomatoes is not going for 200 shillings, that is one us dollars and sellers cannot access produce because roads are inaccessible. somalia is worst hit after the harshest drought in four decades. agricultural towns like this are submerged, over450,000 agricultural towns like this are submerged, over 450,000 people are displaced and over 30 deaths have been recorded. the un has described this as a once in a century event, aid agencies have released $50 million in aid for somalia but it's been slow to reach the cut off areas. , ., , , ., areas. they have been hit several times over _ areas. they have been hit several times over the _ areas. they have been hit several times over the last _ areas. they have been hit several times over the last few _ areas. they have been hit several times over the last few years. - areas. they have been hit several. times over the last few years. they are vulnerable because the environment is harsh. the fear is that they will have to cope with this again and again. in ethiopia and regions _ this again and again. in ethiopia and regions are _ this again and again. in ethiopia and regions are somalia - this again and again. in ethiopia and regions are somalia over. this again and again. in ethiopia| and regions are somalia over 40 people including children have died from fleeing floods and landslides and climate experts warn extreme weather events will continue in the region. more rainfall is forecast at least until december as health officials now brace for outbreaks of waterborne diseases. on sunday, argentinians go to the polls in the final round of presidential elections. there are two men going head—to—head — the current economy minister, sergio massa, and a former pundit and political outsiderjavier milei who's trying to capitalise on the dissatisfaction of a country facing hyperinflation and a deep economic crisis — our south america correspondent katy watson now reports. evita still looms large in argentina. the country's most famous politician and the original champion of the poor is missed by many, especially in these days of economic hardship. as argentina prepares to vote in a new president the two remaining candidates are promising the world when it comes to improving a country on its knees. but here in one of buenos aires' poorest neighborhoods, it's hard to muster enthusiasm for what feels like endless broken promises. in the shadow of the city's port the people of maciel island struggled daily. lourdes, who runs a corner shop, says soaring inflation means paying for the basics is impossible. money becomes worthless quickly, and people here are tired. they want change. translation: i personally have a little notebook- of people who can't make ends meet. and i give them items on credit. they can never pay it back because they pay me back and then they end up owing again. so it's a vicious cycle they can't get out of. the candidates know this all too well. the economy is the number one thing that everyone wants fixing, and the argentineans have a choice. sergio massa, a man who's currently in charge of an ailing economy but is part of the political establishment, orjavier milei, a total outsider who's proposed drastic changes like destroying the central bank and replacing the national currency with the us dollar. the two candidates couldn't be further apart politically as they showed in their final debate. translation: ask yourself if you i prefer inflation over stability. . if you want to continue supporting this corrupt, parasitic and useless political caste that just destroys our wealth generation and sinks us deeper and deeper. but milei's proposals, which also include more liberal gun laws and banning abortion, make many people nervous. and that's something sergio massa is trying to use to his advantage. translation: i know there are some who are voting for me, _ not because they are convinced, but just as a way to avoid choosing a path of violence, hatred and harm. and i want to tell all of them that i will ensure they feel that they didn't throw away their vote, but that they trusted someone. the political style of milei has captured attention. he's been likened to donald trump and closer to home, brazil's former leader, jair bolsonaro. for good reason, say experts. because they have this idea that the markets solve everything. and the state is not a society. you don't need to plan. you don't need to have government. you don't need to rules. we know that this is not true. there is no county, no developed country, that follows this stupidity. but forget the political football, back at the port, politics hardly feels relevant here. there's little faith that a new leader will change anything for the average argentinean. it feels safer to back sporting heroes instead. katy watson, bbc news. and the voting polls open at 8am local time in the third biggest country in south america. from gladiator and the roman empire to france at the beginning of the 19th century. sir ridley scott's latest film is about napoleon bonaparte — soldier and emperor. it's an epic that's gone down well with british critics — less so with some french ones — and our culture editor katie razzall has been speaking to him. i'm blessed with a good eye, i think. that's my strongest asset. wait. and that asset is on show in sir ridley scott's napoleon, played byjoaquin phoenix, a visual spectacular about the french soldier turned ruthless emperor who battled his way across europe and beyond. i'm not built like other men. there have been 10,400 books written about napoleon bonaparte, you know? he is so fascinating, revered, hated, loved, and more famous probably than any man or leader or politician in history, so how can you not want to go there? follow in the footsteps of alexander the great... the film is under fire from some historians for inaccuracies. napoleon bonaparte didn't fire a cannon at the pyramids, for example. you really want me to answer that? i do. i'll answer it. it'll have a bleep in it. "get a life", is his response — in coarser language. any historian, the first thing is, you can't tell me there is not 98% conjecture. give me a break. why are you staring at me? am i? uk reviews have been good but french critics have trashed scott's napoleon. one bonaparte biographer even called it anti—french. the french don't even like themselves. i don't care. what's interesting is, the audience i showed it to in paris, they loved it. scott made an early name for himself in hollywood with alien, after huge success as an ad director. thelma and louise was another triumph, and with 28 films now under his belt, scott tells me he has a rule for how long a movie should be. you can bore the ass off people if you're running for three hours, three—and—a—half hours. there's a moment that i call the bum ache factor. you start, "oh god. oh, my god, another hour. are you kidding me?" my name is maximus decimus meridius... i scott's gladiator won best picture at the oscars, but the coveted best directing academy award has so far eluded him. is it because they don't like big blockbusters, and you make blockbusters? i've never thought. i don't really care. and more than 20 years after gladiator he is now making a sequel in malta. and has also written and cast another film that's still a secret for now. you are 85. a lot of 85—year—olds might be slowing down, but you're not. no. how are you planning on spending the rest of your years? are you just going to keep working? yeah. i mean, i go from here to malta. i shoot in malta, finish there, and i've already recce'd what i'm doing next. what is the film you're most proud of... i like them all. and what would you say to your younger self? no advice. i did pretty good. i got there. katie razzall, bbc news. finally — qualifying for this weekend's las vegas grand prix has been completed — but only after a controversial practice session. the first practice on the new street circuit lasted only 9 minutes after the ferrari of spain's carlos sainz hit a loose manhole cover. the session was cancelled for officials to check the other drains on the track. it's the first time in more than 40 years that a grand prix has been held in the nevada desert city. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. for many of us, the weekend has started off on a fairly grey and wet, windy sort of note. the weather will be slowly improving for some of us today as the persistent morning rain clears eastwards. so heading through into the afternoon, sunny spells and blustery showers follow on behind. low pressure very much in charge through today and tomorrow, too. here it is, just moving into the north west of the uk. this is the weather front that brought the rain overnight and early on saturday morning. it's pushing its way eastwards, lingering longest i think down towards kent, but also across parts of northern and eastern scotland. we've got that rain into the afternoon, though. strong winds rotating around that area of low pressure gales developing especially towards the northwest. but you'll notice the wind, wherever you are. there'll be more sunshine breaking through across the bulk of england and wales i think through the afternoon. still some more showers for northern ireland, western scotland too, could be one or two for northern england. some clear spells this evening in the south, but plenty more heavy showers rattling through on the brisk winds towards the north and through the early hours of sunday, they'll crop up almost anywhere. so it's windy, it's mild overnight, certainly frost free with temperatures no lower than about 7 to 11 degrees for most of us first thing tomorrow. so through the day tomorrow, we've still got low pressure with us. it's just starting to drift its way a little bit further eastwards. so if you're closer to the centre of that low pressure, particularly across scotland, it won't be as windy as it is out there today. strongest winds will be down towards the south west of england, 50 mile per hour gusts, perhaps even a little stronger than that. plenty more showers. you can see a rash of showers drifting their way eastwards on the breeze. fewer, though, for parts of southern and eastern scotland, an improved sort of day there. mild again, temperatures, perhaps a degree down on today around 8 to 14. and then as we look ahead through sunday night into monday, we may well see some heavy rain from this frontal feature for a time. looks like that clears away later on monday and then higher pressure starts to build from the atlantic. so potentially a bit of heavy rain perhaps in the south and southwest first thing, a few showers following in the breeze, turning a little bit more northerly through the day. so that's going to bring the temperature down a little bit compared to recent days, not quite as mild, around about still 8 to 13 degrees on monday. and then once those showers ease away, as that higher pressure builds, it's looking a little bit drier through next week across england and wales in particular. still a few showers across the north and the west of the uk. and those temperatures down a notch, not quite as mild as they would have been through the weekend. bye for now. live from london. this is bbc news. israel denies it's ordered the evacuation of gaza's biggest hospital. the idf says it agreed to provide a safe route out for those wanting to leave. spain's catalan controversy. violent protests in madrid.. violent protests in madrid sparked by pedro sanchez�*s amnesty deal for separatists. elon musk threatens a �*thermonuclear�* lawsuit against the us media watchdog. several major firms are suspending advertising on his social media platform, x. hello. you are watching bbc news. hundreds of people have been leaving gaza city's al—shifa hospital on foot. with doctors saying israeli forces had issued by loudspeaker an order to evacuate. the israeli military has denied this. it said it had agreed to expand and assist an evacuation, following a request by the hospital's director. the israeli military says hamas has a command centre in tunnels below al—shifa , something hamas denies. in tunnels below al—shifa, something hamas denies. as well as patients and medical staff, large numbers of displaced people are sheltering in the hospital. tom bateman is our correspodent injerusalem.