entire communities are ordered to evacuate after deadly floods hit brazil with waters continuing to rise. hello. we start this hour with the fallout from the local elections in england. the former home secretary suella braverman has said prime minister rishi sunak needs to come up with policies that have more relevance to people, saying conservative voters "were on strike" in thursday's local elections. the tories lost over 400 council seats and all but one mayoral election in england. ms braverman said the results have left her in despair. but defending the government, mark harper, the transport secretary, said it's still all to play for in the forthcoming general election and that mr sunak�*s plan had not yet come to fruition. here's our political

correspondent hannah miller. applause labour won mayors, councils, and police and crime commissioners. rishi sunak left clinging on to just one mayor in the tees valley. even his majority diminished. this morning, the former home secretary, and one of the prime minister's biggest critics, warned of a total wipe—out for the conservatives. i despair at these terrible results. there's no spinning these results, there's no disguising the fact that these have been terrible election results for the conservatives and they suggest that we are heading to a labour government. her prescription for the pm... he needs to actually lower taxes in a way that people will feel, not tweaking round the edges. if he is serious about migration, he needs to put a cap on illegal migration, he needs to take us out of the european convention on human rights. in defeat, the now former conservative mayor of the west midlands, andy street, said the opposite,

urging his party to stick to the centre ground. this morning, ministers were insisting they're already on the right track. 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. you've got to actually see... i think people want to see delivery, right? so, they want to see inflation continuing to come, they want to see the boats stopped, they want to see, for example, nhs waiting lists continue to fall. —— continuing to see inflation come down. we have made a lot of progress on that, but we are not all of the way there yet. despite a terrible set of results for rishi sunak, his mps are not about to turf him out of number ten, but they know that unless he's able to turn the party's fortunes around, it will be keir starmer walking through that door when the general election does come around. labour, though, faces pressure in some areas where there is concern about its stance on the war in gaza. i do acknowledge that, in some parts of the country, that is the case, and there will be some people who may be voted labour

in the past that haven't in the local elections because of this issue. where that is the case, we will work to get support back but overall, these were tremendous local election results, tremendous by—election, and a set of mayoral elections that went beyond the expectations that we had. until he decides to call a general election, rishi sunak appears safe in here. but he is under real pressure to deliver. and there are others waiting to get in. hannah miller, bbc news. there's been another night of protests in israel, with tens of thousands calling for a deal to bring home hostages held by hamas in gaza. talks to secure a ceasefire and release some of the hostages are resuming in cairo today. this morning israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, repeated his position that any ceasefire would not be permanent. with all the latest from jerusalem, here's frank gardner. in israel, the protests are getting louder. last night, thousands turned out

to demand a ceasefire deal to secure the release of scores of hostages still held in gaza. people are hostages to the right—wing government, and the people of gaza are hostages to hamas, and basically there has to be a way to overcome that. they are protesting because the last five months of military assaults on gaza have failed to release those israeli hostages. not everybody in israel wants this ceasefire deal. there are some, especially hardliners in the coalition government, who want to see instead an immediate military operation against hamas in rafah. meanwhile, the israeli government has voted unanimously to close the operations in israel of the qatar—based tv channel aljazeera. a tweet from the israeli prime minister's office called it the incitement channel. in cairo, ceasefire talks are still in play. hamas has sent a delegation, but they have been locked in talks with mediators. the sticking point appears to be

they want a permanent end to the fighting, notjust a pause, and israel isn't ready to give that commitment. in gaza, the war continues. the hamas—run health ministry puts the latest death toll at over 3a,000. the world food programme warns of famine, something israel denies. "god willing," says this woman in rafah, "my big hope is that this ceasefire happens and we can all return to our homes." gazans are desperate for this war to end. so 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. let's get more now on the israeli government decision to close down the tv channel aljazeera in israel. aljazeera has condemned this, calling it "criminal". sebastian usher is our middle east

analyst at the bbc world service. thanks very much for coming in. that just recently, that very strong statement from al—jazeera condemning the action and calling it criminal. yes, it amplifies what the regional manager of aljazeera already said, he called it a dangerous move and it was politically motivated. what this means essentially is that aljazeera from now, because this has been signed as something immediately by the communications minister in israel, that the broadcast equipment, which includes mobile phones and laptops, will be confiscated, that there will be a move to close down access to receiving aljazeera, its english—language and arab language channels on cable and satellite in israel, and its websites, which it has several, will have access closed down to them. this is a big move which was not unexpected, it was voted on by the israeli parliament,

it approved this law which gave the government this right and what has happened today, as the prime minister benjamin netanyahu said, was a unanimous decision by the parliament to close down what he called an incitement channel. what called an incitement channel. what do ou called an incitement channel. what do you think _ called an incitement channel. what do you think people _ called an incitement channel. what do you think people in _ called an incitement channel. what do you think people in israel will make of this decision, in terms of free speech? make of this decision, in terms of free speech?— free speech? that is a very good question- _ free speech? that is a very good question. this _ free speech? that is a very good question. this goes _ free speech? that is a very good question. this goes to _ free speech? that is a very good question. this goes to a - free speech? that is a very good question. this goes to a law- free speech? that is a very good j question. this goes to a law that was actually being prepared several months ago, it was passed at the start of april. this was a more general one, not specifically saying aljazeera but everyone knew it was essentially about aljazeera, but that foreign broadcastjournalists that foreign broadcast journalists who that foreign broadcastjournalists who are in any way a threat to national security should be closed down. many in israel and outside very much see its role in the middle east as a beacon of free speech, a beacon of democracy, so this was seen by them as an unprecedented

move against that and really a sign of how this quite far right government under benjamin netanyahu has been pushing for this hard, but it is nothing new. aljazeera has been a bane as far as the is really government is concerned the years, they have accused it of being anti—israel, pro—palestinian, even anti—semitic at times, all of which is denied by al—jazeera. aljazeera journalists have had two killed on the ground, so they essentially see this as a continuation of a sustained campaign by israel against them and aljazeera's justification them and al jazeera's justification is them and aljazeera's justification is we are giving a platform for voices that are not heard otherwise, that we are not trying to be anti—israel or push a particular

line but we want to give as much force as possible to those voices, particularly palestinian voices, and there is no doubt since october the 7th that is exactly what they have been doing. 7th that is exactly what they have been doing-— 7th that is exactly what they have been doing. thank you. we will of course be following _ been doing. thank you. we will of course be following this _ been doing. thank you. we will of l course be following this developing story. conditions continue to deteriorate in southern brazilfollowing massive flooding and landslides with 70,000 residents forced from their homes. local authorities say that more than 60 people have been killed and at least 100 are missing. further rainfall is expected. brazil's president, lula da silva, is paying his second visit to the southern state of rio grande do sul in recent days, to witness first—hand the devastating week—long flooding and landslide. jon donnison reports. much of brazil's most southerly state is under water. roads turned into rivers and more than 25,000 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 500,000 people are without power and clean water. translation: i need a lot of help, a lot. i 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 porto alegre. 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.

let's speak to my colleague from bbc brazil, paula adamo idoeta. thanks very much for your company. can you just fill us in with how those rescue operations are going? we saw the pictures and devastating seems there. we saw the pictures and devastating seems there-— seems there. yes, the rescue operations — seems there. yes, the rescue operations are _ seems there. yes, the rescue operations are still _ seems there. yes, the rescue operations are still under - seems there. yes, the rescue | operations are still under way, there are many people trapped, confined in homes or villages that have been completely surrounded by water, they cannot get in or out. and also flying over this area has been very difficult, these are the largest ever floods in this area in southern brazil due to a combination of temporary weather conditions, and with the effects of climate change, and the local river in sight is now over five metres and the local river in sight is now overfive metres high, the defence systems are struggling to cope with the amount of water which expose why

it has been hard to rescue people in these conditions. indie it has been hard to rescue people in these conditions.— it has been hard to rescue people in these conditions. we know that more than 60 people _ these conditions. we know that more than 60 people have _ these conditions. we know that more than 60 people have been _ these conditions. we know that more than 60 people have been killed, - these conditions. we know that more than 60 people have been killed, at. than 60 people have been killed, at least 100 are still missing. are theirfears least 100 are still missing. are their fears that those numbers of victims could increase? absolutely. the numbers _ victims could increase? absolutely. the numbers could _ victims could increase? absolutely. the numbers could go _ victims could increase? absolutely. the numbers could go higher, - victims could increase? absolutely. l the numbers could go higher, around 70 people have been displaced, many... were unknown, and we have been connecting with people on the ground and they say they are desperately trying to connect with friends and family. less than a year ago, the same area faced floods as well but not at such an intensity and volume, which felt brazilians is and volume, which felt brazilians is a stark reminder of the effects of global warming. also we have been interviewing environmentalists, blaming politicians for losing environmental control and deforestation in the past decades was that we know the president is visiting for a second time, clearly

taking this seriously.— visiting for a second time, clearly taking this seriously. what type of messa . es taking this seriously. what type of messages he _ taking this seriously. what type of messages he hoping _ taking this seriously. what type of messages he hoping that - taking this seriously. what type of messages he hoping that sends? l taking this seriously. what type of - messages he hoping that sends? that has been a messages he hoping that sends? trisgt has been a message of hope, trying to find people, but also the alarming effects of how the weather has been very hard to cope with in the past few years and with the climate getting warmer, it is a reminder that things could potentially continue like this. {lita potentially continue like this. 0k, thank ou potentially continue like this. 0k, thank you very — potentially continue like this. 0k, thank you very much for your time. now it's time for a look at today's sport. hello from the bbc sport centre. aston villa could qualify for the champions league shortly — their match is one of three fixtures in the premier league on sunday. two have kicked off, including theirs. villa are playing brighton at the amex and if they win and other results go their way, they'll secure a top—four finish. after 1a minutes it's 0—0.

chelsea are hosting west ham, where it's 0—0. and in the late game, liverpool play tottenham at anfield. if spurs lose, that would help villa. however, it would be disappointing for tottenham, who started the season so well. and to bring you a quick update, chelsea havejust and to bring you a quick update, chelsea have just scored so it is 1-0 to chelsea have just scored so it is 1—0 to them. bboss ange postecoglou admits his side have a lot of work to do going forward. we are a long way off but that doesn't mean we can't challenge next year. i don't know which other way to put it. in terms of the team i want us to be, we are a fair way off, but i'm not dismissing the fact that we have to be competitive and have to challenge for success, every year i'm here. he's a world cup winner, has lifted the champions league trophy four times and is an eight—time ballon d'orwinner, but last night, lionel messi broke a major league soccer record,

as his inter miami team beat new york red bulls 6—2. the argentina captain got five assists and scored a goal, which means he contributed to all six. that is a record for an mls game. the former liverpool and barcelona forward luis suarez also claimed a 12—minute hat—trick. there will be a new madrid masters men's champion later. andre rublev is up against felix auger aliassime. the women's was a rematch of last year's and iga swiatek got her revenge over aryna sabalenka. swiatek saved three championship points before winning 9—7 in the deciding set. this was the first meeting of the top two players in the world this season and the world number one, swiatek, showed how much it meant to her. a first title in madrid and the 20th of her career so far. if you have great players, you know, always working hard to, you know, be better, and you are competing with them, for sure it gives you motivation to work harder. i think you know now it's also

about who's going to work smarter than harder. we can play great tennis under pressure. cleveland cavaliers and orlando magic will fight it out later for the final place in the nba's eastern conference semifinals. they are tied at 3—3 in their series. meanwhile, the first of the western conference semifinals took place in minnesota. and it was the home side, the timberwolves, who won, taking a 1—0 lead against the defending champions denver nuggets. anthony edwards top scored with 43 points in a 106—99 victory. they'll play the second game on monday in denver. you can't play half a basketball in the semifinals. they are a very talented team, said a week long and i will continue to say it, there is a reason they were in first place the large majority of the season and

give them a credit that they came in here, took game one, so there is a lot we can clean up and get better at, we are going to have to. the final of the world snooker championship is under way at the crucible in sheffield. kyren wilson is facing the welsh qualifierjakjones. these are live pictures. kyren wilson has got off to a great start taking the first three frames pretty convincingly. still a long way to go. it's kyren wilson's second world snooker championship final — he lost to ronnie o'sullivan in the 2020 final. this is a first forjakjones. he is at the table at the moment. if he were to win, he would be the first qualifier since shaun murphy to lift the trophy. and that's all the sport for now. thank you very much. with just under 2a hours to go until nominations close to replace humza yousaf as leader for the scottish national party, there are suggestions

of a late entry to the race. at the moment, john swinney is the only person officially in the running, but veteran party activist graeme mccormack says he believes he can garner enough nominations by tomorrow's deadline. our reporter in glasgow, ben philip, explains how serious of a challenge this could be. it was very unexpected. it was widely expected that john sweeney would be unopposed in the contest to replace humza yousaf, who resigned on monday. technically, the deadline for leadership nominations is tomorrow at midday, and as the only current contender, it was expected thatjohn swinney would become the next snp leader and seventh first minister of scotland. but there are now reports that graeme mccormick, a veteran activist, believes he will have enough nominations before then. he's someone who's previously been openly critical of the snp scottish government, including about its independence strategy. now, it's important to note too that if mr mccormick wants to win a contest,

he could only become party leader. he can't become the first minister of scotland because he isn't an msp. now, john swinney was asked about this potential challenge today. he said he would respect any democratic process, but did argue that a contest could potentially delay the party from rebuilding. but in terms of what's next, if a contest does happen, it will trigger a leadership battle, which could go on until the end of may. the 27th of may is the cutoff for the snp to choose its next leader. but if there isn't a contest, john swinney could be in the top job in the coming days. it's been a staple of breakfast tables and cafes across france for generations — we are talking about the humble croissant. now bakers in paris are challenging tradition — and addressing climate change — by making the pastry without using butter.

our paris correspondent andrew harding has the story. the french, as we know, take their food and all its traditions seriously. almost like a religion. so what to make of this? in a paris bakery, something close to sacrilege. c'est bon. it is a croissant made entirely without butter. like everything else on sale here. the baker responsible says his vegan business is booming. fla ky? yes. one small portion of a much bigger struggle to shake up french food culture, and to address climate change. we have to adapt a little bit french food. but it must be a steep mountain to climb in a country like france. a lot, a lot. very difficult? yes, but it is changing.

but that change is messy. dairy farmer sophie has spent many of the past few months on huge protest marches, leaving her pampered dairy herd to demonstrate against cheap foreign imports and against new eu rules to tackle climate change. as you can imagine, she is a big fan of butter in her croissant. but she is worried about the future. she says, "i have grandchildren, so i want what's best "for the planet, but you can'tjust blame everything on farmers." in her view, people need to eat local produce, to cut out the big multinational firms taking the profits. transforming french food culture is going to take a long time, but there are plenty of people leading the way. in bakeries, on farms, and in

high—end restaurants like this one. in her kitchen, chef manan fleury has already made waves for hiring almost only women, challenging a still male dominated industry, but she is also trying to nudge her customers away from meat, tackling another culinary tradition head—on. french tradition is quite heavy, so we need to, sometimes we need to have some radical ideas to change. a little revolution? yes, kind of. but these parisians are not yet ready for another revolution. they have come to judge the city's croissants, every pastry rich with dairy butter. all that buttery flavour going into it and that's what makes it wonderful and dreamy. the vegan version not even under consideration.

andrew harding, bbc news, paris. a huge free concert by madonna has taken place in rio dejaneiro, with a crowd of 1.5 million believed to have attended. i should warn you — there are some flashing images in the pictures we are about to show you. the brazilian show had been billed as a thank you to her fans for decades of support, and marks the end of her "celebration" world tour. organisers say copacabana beach was transformed into the "world's largest dance floor" as madonna performed a string of hits. here's entertainment writer beatrice hazlehurst. i think that's such a love letter to her fans. i mean, and it really shows her dedication to herfans. i think, like, she is one of the prevailing artists who's always shown that she appreciates the love and support that's given to her. and it's never been about commercialism. it's always the authenticity of the artistry and that is so special

to see play out at this scale. i think she is someone who is totally propelled by maintaining her relevancy, and i think that's why this won't be her last tour, even though it's billed as this, you know, the celebration, this kind of last hurrah. i don't think we're going to see the last of madonna for a long time. and we may even see a totally different madonna in five, ten years. and she may go again. whether it's going to be at this level, who knows? i mean, to be 65 and performing for 2 million people is absolutely inconceivable. but you have to think, i mean, look, this is one of the most successful female solo acts in history at this point. i think that reallyjust goes to show, like, her staying power. i mean, the tour in general hasjust received such incredibly positive reviews. there has been some kind of mixed bag responses, in that she's admitted some of her biggest hits, like, the lucky stars of it all. but ultimately, i mean, from vogue to like a virgin and her, like, michaeljackson tribute as well, there has just been

so much to sink your teeth into with this tour. and i, honestly, i wish i went. me too! three hobbits and an elf walk into a bar... no, this isn't the start of a joke — they really did. lord of the rings stars elijah wood, orlando bloom, billy boyd, and dominic monaghan dropped into a liverpool bistro for a drink and catch—up while in the city for a comic con event. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. we've got some pretty big contrasts in weather to take you through the rest of this afternoon. for parts of the country, it will stay cloudy with a threat of rain — for example, here in southwest england. other places, though, quite a contrast. we'll have bright skies, plenty of sunshine, and it will become warm, particularly in parts of the midlands. the satellite picture tells the story quite nicely, with a beautiful curl of cloud down towards the southwest. that's an area of low pressure. band of rain working into southwest england. showers running ahead of that. then we get a slice of sunshine.

we've got cloudy skies with us again, affecting scotland, northern ireland and the far north of england. there will be showers, too. the showers quite frequent this afternoon for east scotland. we've got more general rain for parts of cornwall, devon and probably dorset. showers running into southern wales and central southern england. now, where it stays cloudy, temperatures on the cool side — 12—15 degrees — nothing special about that. but where the sunshine comes out across parts of wales, the midlands, east anglia, even south east england, temperatures reaching the high teens, perhaps even the low 20s. and that will feel warm. overnight tonight it stays cloudy for northern areas of the country with a few more patches of rain around. temperatures 8—10 degrees for the most part. but in the coolest parts of the countryside, wales, midlands, northern england, could see temperatures as low as four. tomorrow, well, broadly speaking, we're looking at a showery day. those showers really building into the afternoon, and this time, the shower is going to be quite a bit more widespread, but it'll also be a lot heavier. yeah, there is a chance of seeing some thunderstorms as we go through monday afternoon,

with hefty downpours. probably the best of the sunshine again affecting parts of the midlands, east anglia and northern england. otherwise a fair bit of cloud knocking around. we start to see something of a change in the weather pattern though, through tuesday and wednesday, as an area of high pressure builds in. not the strongest high — there will be weather systems coming around the top side of that, but nevertheless it will do. and for tuesday, should be more in the way of dry weather. some spells of sunshine around, just a few showers across western areas. a bit of high cloud in the sky will make the sunshine hazy at times. but those temperatures starting to come up a little bit. 16 for belfast. england and wales — high teens to low 20s in more areas. and that trend of warming weather continues really through the rest of the week ahead. there will be a lot of dry weather. the exception, scotland, where there could be a bit of rain at times, but even here, it should start to feel warmer as the week goes by.

this is bbc news, the headlines. after heavy losses in the local elections in england, the former home secretary, suella braverman, has told the bbc rishi sunak needs to "change course" if the conservative party is to avoid a political wipeout. attempts to secure a ceasefire in gaza are continuing for another day in cairo, with the two sides still unable to agree the exact terms of a truce. lengthy negotiations on saturday

failed to yield any breakthrough. the israeli cabinet has decided to close down the operations of the aljazeera television network in the country. prime minister benjamin netanyahu had previously described it as a "terrorist channel". aljazeera has described the decision as "criminal". officials in brazil say more than 10,000 people have been rescued in the southern state of rio grande do sul as floodwaters continue to rise. now on bbc news...click. this week, alasdair gets on his bike to find out how the same engineers

can create the ordinary...