donald trump claims that he should have immunity from prosecution at a court hearing in washington. it's a very sad thing that's - happened with this whole situation. when they talk about a threat i to democracy — that's your real threat to democracy. i and i feel that as a president, you. have to have immunity, very simple. and france appoints 34—year—old gabriel attal as prime minister. he becomes the youngest and first openly gay man to hold that role. hello, i'm maryam moshiri, welcome to the daily global — we start with the us secretary of state antony blinken, in the last hour he's held a press conference and said that the death toll in

gaza, especially civilians and children, is too high. he says gazans must be allowed to return to their homes wall street supporting us support for israel. he and benjamin and yahoo discussed efforts to release all remaining hostages and get you humanitarian aid into gaza. this all comes as the hamas run health ministry says 126 people have been killed in gaza in the last 24 have been killed in gaza in the last 2a hours. it says 57 deaths were reported in one central gaza hospital alone. the situation in israel's northern order with lebanon remains volatile, with locations on either side targeted by the idf and hezbollah. this is what antony blinken told the press conference afterward. figs blinken told the press conference afterward. a , ., �*, blinken told the press conference afterward. a , . �*, afterward. as israel's campaign moves to a _ afterward. as israel's campaign moves to a lower _ afterward. as israel's campaign moves to a lower intensity - afterward. as israel's campaign. moves to a lower intensity phase afterward. as israel's campaign - moves to a lower intensity phase in northern gaza, and is the idea of scale down its forces there, we agreed to a plan for the un to carry out an assessment mission. it will determine what needs to be done to

allow palestinians to return to their homes safely in the north. now this won't happen overnight, there are serious security infrastructure and humanitarian challenges. but the mission will start a process that evaluates these obstacles and how they can be overcome. in today's meetings, i was also crystal clear — palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow. they must not be pressed to leave gaza. as i told the prime minister, the united states unequivocably rejects any proposals advocating for the resettlement of palestinians outside of gaza, and the prime minister reaffirmed to me today that this is not the policy of israel's government.— today that this is not the policy of israel's government. antony blinken also soke israel's government. antony blinken also spoke about _ israel's government. antony blinken also spoke about the _ israel's government. antony blinken also spoke about the regional - also spoke about the regional approach to bring an end to the conflict. we approach to bring an end to the conflict. ~ . ., ., approach to bring an end to the conflict. ~ _, ., ,. ,, conflict. we continued to discuss how to build _ conflict. we continued to discuss how to build a _ conflict. we continued to discuss how to build a more _ conflict. we continued to discuss how to build a more durable - conflict. we continued to discuss i how to build a more durable peace and security for israel in the region. as i told the prime minister, every partner that i met on this trip said that they are

ready to support a lasting solution that ends the long—running cycle of violence and ensures israel's security. but they underscored that this can only come through a regional approach that includes a pathway to a palestinian state. these goals are attainable, but only if they are pursued together. this crisis has clarified you can't have one without the other, and you can't achieve either goal without an integrated regional approach. to make this possible, israel must be a partner to palestinian leaders who are willing to lead their people in living side by side in peace with israel as neighbours. and israel must stop taking steps to undercut palestinians�*s ability to govern themselves correctly. including settler expansion, demolition, all make it harderfor

settler expansion, demolition, all make it harder for israel to achieve a lasting peace and security. figs a lasting peace and security. as always, you can read more on that and all the other stories we report here on bbc news on the bbc website. now to story that's dominated the headlines. the former head of the uk post office, paula vennells, is handing back her cbe as a result of the fallout from the faulty it scandal which saw hundreds of sub postmasters wrongly prosecuted. after an itv drama about the scandal last week, more than a million people have signed a petition calling for her honour to be revoked. meanwhile, the government is considering ways to speed up justice for the hundreds of post office branch managers who were affected. here's our deputy political editor, vicky young. it was an insult which added to their injury. new year's honours list. a moment depicted in the recent drama about the post office scandal. paula vennells has got the cbe. you're joking...! services to the post office.

today, it was all very different for paula vennells as she caved to mounting public pressure to hand back the honour. she had been chief executive of the post office from 2012—2019, a period when serious issues emerged about the horizon software. in her statement today, she said... i have listened and i can affirm that i return my cbe it must be a bug. it must be...it must be a computer bug... lee castleton�*s story was one of those featured in the drama series. he went bankrupt after being falsely accused of stealing £25,000. so what does he make of paula vennells' decision? it kind of was a kick in the teeth back then. now it's full circle, i suppose, and we've got to a point where now it's acceptable that the moral

decision to hand it back is the right decision. the renewed publicity has made dealing with hundreds of wrongful convictions a priority for mps. we can do something good, mr speaker, together, if the justice secretary will bring a simple bill to quash all 800 immediately. the suggestions he made is receiving active consideration. i expect to be able to make further announcements shortly. in normal circumstances, it would be almost unthinkable for parliament to get involved in the quashing of criminal convictions. it would be seen as an attack on the independence of the courts. but ministers accept this is an unprecedented situation and that's why they're considering such a radical move. cheering in 2021, there were joyful scenes when the court of appeal cleared 39 former postmasters and mistresses who had been wrongly convicted. hundreds more hope they'll be able to celebrate soon. vicki young, bbc news, westminster.

lets talk to someone who is involved and affected by this. joining me now from essex is adeep sethi. his harents, baljit and anjana, were wrongfully affected by the flawed horizon computer system. like thousands of other sub—postmasters, tell me how you feel seeing that on a revoked today?— a revoked today? thank you for havin: a revoked today? thank you for having me. _ a revoked today? thank you for having me, first _ a revoked today? thank you for having me, first of— a revoked today? thank you for having me, first of all. - a revoked today? thank you for having me, first of all. i - a revoked today? thank you for having me, first of all. i think. having me, first of all. i think it's the right thing, first and foremost, that paula vennells has returned her cbe. it's surprising it took this long, to be honest with you, but certainly the right outcome. but really, i think if you spoke to most of the victims of this episode, the focus really has to be on compensation and getting their lives back on track, more so than anything else. just lives back on track, more so than anything else-— anything else. just explained to viewers who — anything else. just explained to viewers who may _ anything else. just explained to viewers who may not _ anything else. just explained to viewers who may not know, - anything else. just explained to l viewers who may not know, what exactly happened to your parents and what was the consequent as of that? because this is a truly awful story

that's affected so many people. that's correct. so my parents, in 2001, had already been running a post office for 20 odd years with no issues, and they were encouraged to take on a second branch. in 2001, they took on that branch. in 2002, just one year later, it showed losses of £17,000 by the horizon system, and the post office demanded our parents pay back — my parents, in the local newspaper, said in black—and—white that they believed it was the horizon system at fault, and then they shut down the post office. my parents lost the business, and attic county court judgment went against them for an iv a, as well, so they were ruined by horizon and the actions of the post office. , ~ , office. they went bankrupt, what kind of impacted _ office. they went bankrupt, what kind of impacted that _ office. they went bankrupt, what kind of impacted that have - office. they went bankrupt, what kind of impacted that have on - office. they went bankrupt, what | kind of impacted that have on you and the widerfamily?

kind of impacted that have on you and the wider family?— kind of impacted that have on you and the wider family? those who go throu . h and the wider family? those who go through such _ and the wider family? those who go through such an _ and the wider family? those who go through such an iv _ and the wider family? those who go through such an iv eight, _ and the wider family? those who go through such an iv eight, which - and the wider family? those who go through such an iv eight, which is l through such an iv eight, which is a county courtjudgment against you, financially speaking you can no longer get a credit card, you can't have a bank account, and as you can imagine when you have to remortgage, which my parents had to do, you're often with the worst possible financial market you can get. my parents are paying rates higher than what they are today. so financially they both had to take on additional jobs, my father also had to retrain as a security guard, working night shifts, which there's tonnes of evidence showing that night shift work is detrimental to your shiftwork, as well. so in terms of the outcome, both financially and for their own mental and physical health, it's been hugely detrimental, we're talking 22 years now. ~ ., ., ,, detrimental, we're talking 22 years now. ~ ., ., ., ., detrimental, we're talking 22 years now. . . ., . ., , detrimental, we're talking 22 years now. ., ., now. what do you want to see happen now? as i mentioned, _

now. what do you want to see happen now? as i mentioned, i _ now. what do you want to see happen now? as i mentioned, ithink- now. what do you want to see happen now? as i mentioned, i think the - now. what do you want to see happen now? as i mentioned, i think the key| now? as i mentioned, i think the key issue reallv — now? as i mentioned, i think the key issue reallv is — now? as i mentioned, i think the key issue really is the _ now? as i mentioned, i think the key issue really is the compensation - i issue really is the compensation — and what i mean by that is the compensation process started over four years ago, so this has been a long time that victims have been waiting notjust forjustice and seeing the right thing happen, but forfair seeing the right thing happen, but for fair compensation from the post office so they can get on with their lives and no longer think about the post office — the post office should no longer be an issue in their lives, really, they want to move on with their lives and i think it's imperative that for years on from now, that this year finally brings closure to thousands of postmasters. good to talk to you, please pass on my regards to your parents, the best of luck to all of you going forward. thank you. scientists say last year was the hottest on record globally, with temperatures beating the previous high recorded in 2016. and for the first time ever, two days in novermber were more than two degrees warmer than those pre industrial times. overall, it leaves the global average temperature perilously close

to the 1.5—degree limit the world set as the goal to avoid the worst effects of global heating. our climate editorjustin rowlatt has all the details. it be the previous hottest year, 2016, by a it be the previous hottest year, 2016, bya margin it be the previous hottest year, 2016, by a margin of 0.7 celsius. now the gray lines on this chart show temperatures for each year since 1940, the red line, you can see it coming on there, shows last year prospect amateurs. and you can see it started off pretty unexceptional in terms of global temperatures, but from july onwards, the role began a remarkable and,

look at that, almost unbroken streak of daily air temperature records. more than 200 days set new daily local temperature records, according to bbc news analysis from the eu, copernicus. here's another way of looking at it. this table shows every day was at least 1 degrees above preindustrial temperatures, almost half of all days, these ones in the darkest red, more more than 1.5 degrees above. we had a couple daysin 1.5 degrees above. we had a couple days in september that were more than 2 degrees hotter, and other global first. what we've seen in 2023 was seven of the months of that year were the warmest months on record. see warmest months on record. sea surface temperatures were even more dramatic than the air temperature. here's what happened last year — and

you can see every day from around mid—march saw a new daily global sea surface temperature. towards the end of the year, round about here, we saw the el nino weather affect kick in, where temperatures rise in the pacific ocean radiating extra heat into the atmosphere. and it's also a key reason why the met office explained that this year, 2024, is expected to be even hotter than 2023. ., , ., , 2023. the main driver is greenhouse cases in 2023. the main driver is greenhouse gases in our — 2023. the main driver is greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, _ 2023. the main driver is greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, those - gases in our atmosphere, those continue to rise, giving rise to this rise in surface temperatures. we also have the boost of el nino, which is developed through the end of last year, but its main effect... so we expect this year, 2024, to be slightly warmer than last year. so what is the world doing to tackle the problem because back at the cop28 climate meeting in dubai at the end of last year, countries

agreed for the first time that the world needs to transition away from fossil fuels, world needs to transition away from fossilfuels, which world needs to transition away from fossil fuels, which are of course the main source of emissions and warming the climate. here's the moment that happened to. it is warming the climate. here's the moment that happened to. it is so decided. applause _ decided. applause now countries - decided. applausel now countries aren't decided. applause - now countries aren't obliged decided. applause _ now countries aren't obliged to act on those commitments, but it is significant — the countries that have dragged their heels on climate in the past have now publicly acknowledged the importance of tackling climate change. in 2023 saw a big increase in investment in renewable energy globally. china leading the world with almost half the world capacity, but the us and india have also been ramping up the installation of wind and solar power. but, and this is a big but, 80% of the world's energy still comes from fossil fuel — a measure ofjust how much further we still have to go.

i'm joined now by lord nicholas stern, professor of economics and chair of the grantham research institute of climate change and the environment at the london school of economics. so good to talk to you. let me ask you first of all, where does the answer lie?— answer lie? the answer lies in movinu answer lie? the answer lies in moving much _ answer lie? the answer lies in moving much faster _ answer lie? the answer lies in moving much faster away - answer lie? the answer lies in| moving much faster away from answer lie? the answer lies in - moving much faster away from fossil fuels, and towards cleaner forms of energy than we have been doing over these last 20—30 years. we've declared the right directions but we've not been investing enough in the renewables and energy efficiency to allow us to move away from fossil fuels fast enough. we can't move away from fossil fuels until we have the alternative capacity so the challenge is to build that very rapidly. we are moving in that direction, as we heard from your correspondence, but not fast enough because emissions are still rising. how likely is it that we will move into the cleaner energy that you talk about, given that it's still more expensive than dirty energy?

that's wrong — the clean energy is cheaper than the dirty energy, much cheaper than the dirty energy, much cheaper in many cases. solar undercuts fossil fuels for generating electricity. our onshore wind is cheaper than fossil fuel energy in the uk. the challenge is the investment, and if we get that investment going as we can, because we know how to do it, that'll drive a much more attractive growth then we've seen in the past. so here's where you can move and breathe, and be productive, ecosystems which are robust. what we have to do now is make those investments and not get caught on the error that says dirty or is cheaper than clean, which is not. , , ., , not. then why is it not being invested _ not. then why is it not being invested in _ not. then why is it not being invested in and _ not. then why is it not being invested in and used - not. then why is it not being invested in and used across| not. then why is it not being i invested in and used across the world, notjust the uk?- invested in and used across the world, notjust the uk? world, not 'ust the uk? well, it is cominu.

world, notjust the uk? well, it is coming- china _ world, notjust the uk? well, it is coming. china is _ world, notjust the uk? well, it is coming. china is investing - world, notjust the uk? well, it is coming. china is investing 200 i coming. china is investing 200 gigawatts a year and it's rising in new, clean energy, solar and wind. to give you an idea of how big that is, the total electricity capacity of the uk isjust is, the total electricity capacity of the uk is just 80, is, the total electricity capacity of the uk isjust 80, and china is investing 200 gigawatts or so a year investing 200 gigawatts or so a year in the new, cleaner stuff. we are moving in that direction, we are moving in that direction, we are moving very strongly here and in the united states, particularly after the so—called inflation reduction act initiated byjoe biden. so you are getting that movement, we are starting to see that momentum build— but what we have to do is move much more strongly and get those investments done. it'll mean investing in 2—3 percentage points gdp more in these coming years then we have been doing in the past, but i will drive growth —— that will drive growth, much more than the dirty, destructive models of the past. dirty, destructive models of the ast. , ., , l,

dirty, destructive models of the ast. , ., , , past. sorry to interrupt you, but are the consequences _ past. sorry to interrupt you, but are the consequences if- past. sorry to interrupt you, but are the consequences if we - past. sorry to interrupt you, but| are the consequences if we don't past. sorry to interrupt you, but - are the consequences if we don't do this? because we are already talking about reaching 1.5%, what are the consequences if we don't move in the way you say we should? we consequences if we don't move in the way you say we should?— way you say we should? we are already 1-5 _ way you say we should? we are already 1.5 centigrade - way you say we should? we are already 1.5 centigrade higher. way you say we should? we are l already 1.5 centigrade higher than the benchmark of the late 19th century, and that starts to take us into very dangerous territory. the intergovernmental panel on climate change showed the difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees — and that was deeply worrying in terms of extreme weather events, and terms of droughts, in terms of intensity or periods of intolerable heat in important parts of the world. the difference between 1.5 and two is dramatic, and we are headed beyond 1.5 - dramatic, and we are headed beyond 1.5 — every degree counts, and the challenge now is to avoid those desperate droughts, to avoid southern europe looking like the sahara deserts, to avoid the terrible droughts in the horn of

africa, to avoid the wildfires that we've seen in australia and the west coast to the us, and so on. we have to move much more quickly to get clean. and that's much more within our capabilities. what we mustn't do is fascinate, as you've seen the british government do over the last couple years, with coal mines in the northwest, more in the sea, we are pushing back the dates by which... so we've got to move to get that investment done, we've got to be clear and consistent. lard investment done, we've got to be clear and consistent.— clear and consistent. lord stern, thank you _ clear and consistent. lord stern, thank you very — clear and consistent. lord stern, thank you very much _ clear and consistent. lord stern, thank you very much for - clear and consistent. lord stern, thank you very much forjoining i clear and consistent. lord stern, l thank you very much forjoining us again on bbc news. thank you very much for “oining us again on bbc news.— around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news around the world. significantly lower than the 6.9%

significantly lower than the 6. 9% rise significantly lower than the 6.9% rise in 2022. the british retail consortium says shoppers held back on their festive spending due to lack of confidence in the economy. the group warned shoppers and retailers of a challenging year ahead. the insurance firm admiral has potholed related claims sort last year, saying customers made 40% more claims for pothole damage in 2023 at an average cost of over £3000 per claim. highertech £3000 per claim. higher tech vehicles £3000 per claim. highertech vehicles at a general rise in the price of repairs is thought to be behind the spike in costs. in a double—decker bus lost control yesterday amid freezing rain, sending it crashing into parked cars before coming to a stop against a garden wall. it happened on the way to a local primary school. luckily no passengers were on board and no one was injured. you're watching bbc news. a landmark hearing has taken place

on whether donald trump should be immune from criminal prosecution. he appeared at a federal courtroom in washington, where his lawyers argued his term of office in the white house shielded him from charges of trying to overturn the last election. they said prosecuting a president would be like opening pandora's box. in response, the us government's legal team said the court needed to show that mr trump was not above the law. after the hearing, mr trump again insisted he'd done nothing wrong and repeated widely discredited claims of voter fraud. i think it's very unfair- when an opponent, a political opponent is prosecuted by the doj, by biden's doj. _ so they're losing in every poll, - losing in almost every demographic. numbers came out today that i are really very mind—boggling, if you happen to be joe biden. and i think they feel i this is the way they're going to try and win. and that's not the way it goes,

|it'll be bedlam in the country, | it's a very bad thing, - it's a very bad precedent — as we said, it's the opening i of a pandora's box, you know, it's a very... it's a very sad thing that's - happened with this whole situation. when they talk about a threat i to democracy — that's your real threat to democracy. i and i feel that as a president, you. have to have immunity, very simple. and if you don't, as an example — if this case were lost on immunity and i did nothing wrong, i absolutely nothing wrong, i'm working for the country, and ij worked very hard on voter fraud — because we have to have free elections, _ we have to have strong borders, |we have to have free elections, | those two things, almost above all. gary o'donoghue has more. for 75 minutes, gary o'donoghue has more. for 75 minutes. lawyers _ gary o'donoghue has more. for 75 minutes, lawyers for _ gary o'donoghue has more. for 75 minutes, lawyers for donald - gary o'donoghue has more. for 75| minutes, lawyers for donald trump gary o'donoghue has more. for 75 i minutes, lawyers for donald trump in the department ofjustice argued their case before the three judges of the dc appeals court. the case

for donald trump is that presidents, he says, should have immunity from prosecution. otherwise it would open what they call a pandora's box that the country might never recover from. forthe the country might never recover from. for the department ofjustice, their lawyers argued, look, if there's going to be immunity, that creates all sorts of strange anomalies such as the potential for presidents to order the assassination of their political opponents, then resign and be completely immune from prosecution. the judges asked lots of questions — perhaps with a slightly more sceptical tone towards donald trump — but we will have to see what they decide in the coming weeks and months. afterwards, donald trump took to a local location and attacked joe biden, who he blames for these prosecutions. he talked aboutjoe biden's record — and that's a clear indication that for donald trump, this is all part of his political strategy, these legal wars are also political wars. and

they are lucrative political wars because he raises a lot of money off them. we will get a judgment in due course, but both sides would have the opportunity to appeal this to the opportunity to appeal this to the supreme court of the united states. it doesn't have to take up the case, but it is something that as momentous as this, itjust might. more breaking news from the us, involving the defence secretary, lloyd austin. if you remember, there was a bit of confusion over a hospital stay that mr austin endured it which was kept apparently from president biden. it emerged that it took president biden a few days to learn of the defence secretary's hospital stay, there's a bit of secrecy surrounding it. we've now had some confirmation from the pentagon that mr austin had actually been admitted to hospital to walter reed hospitalfor been admitted to hospital to walter reed hospital for complications with a minimally invasive procedure, which we believe was to do with his

prostate. we are being told that mr austin never lost consciousness and never underwent general anaesthesia during this procedure to treat him for prostate cancer. this is of course in response to a little bit of criticism that he suffered from the fact that he didn't disclose he'd been admitted to hospital at the time. the white house confirming that he will not be fired despite the failure last week to disclose the failure last week to disclose the hospital admittance. more in a few minutes' time, bye—bye for me. —— from me. hello there. tuesday was another cold but much sunnier day for the vast majority of the country. however, there were a few areas that saw some snow, like here injersey and the channel islands. also saw some across south—west england, for example, around bodmin moor and some across the far north of scotland, around the murray coast.

still have something of a hangover, though, from the very wet weather of last week. there are still 100 flood warnings in place with some communities still badly affected. satellite picture shows much sunnier weather then across the bulk of the country. we do have some thicker clouds just working in across the far north of scotland, and that's starting to bring a little bit of drizzle in. and as we go through this evening and overnight, the cloud across the north sea is going to thicken. so it will turn damp for these areas with drizzle becoming a bit more extensive. otherwise, it's cold and frosty with a threat of some icy stretches on roads and pavements as we head into wednesday morning. now, wednesday, that thicker cloud around across east scotland, eastern england, will be bringing some damp weather. you might find an odd spot going across north—west england and eastern counties of northern ireland. best of the sunshine, southern wales parts the south midlands, east anglia, southern parts of england. probably not too bad though for western scotland as well. wherever you are it will continue to be cold for the time of year with temperatures give or take around about six celsius. now heading into thursday,

the same area of high pressure is still dominating the weather picture, but it's changing orientation and so, too, are the winds — north—easterly winds this time bringing the cloud in and moving it further southwards. so the sunshine becoming a bit more limited to the far south of england. bright skies again across north western areas. the cloud, a little bit thinner, so there should be less in the way of drizzle for east scotland and around those eastern coastal areas of england. beyond that, through friday and the weekend, the weather pattern stays pretty quiet, really. some mist and fog patches around a bit of frost, cloud varying but mostly dry with some bright or sunny spells. however, into next week, for those of you who like wintry weather, we get a blast of northerly winds moving in. definitely with snow showers returning to northern areas. we could see an atlantic weather system move into that cold air and that could bring a more widespread area of disruptive snow. so we're pretty certain that snow showers will be across the north coming right down to low levels. question mark as to whether we see that atlantic system bringing a zone of more disruptive snow,

but keep in touch with the forecast.

this is bbc news, the headlines. america's top diplomat antony blinken addresses the media records �*tumble like dominoes' as european scientists confirm that 2023 was the warmest year on record.

a scandal in which hundreds of british post office managers were wrongly prosecuted for fraud has forced the former head of the post office to hand back an honour she received from the late queen. two airlines in the us say they've found loose bolts on their boeing 737 max 9 planes. inspections were ordered after a panel on an alaska airlines plane blew out mid—flight. let's get more on that story. united airlines says it has found multiple bolts that needed tightening, during checks on its boeing 737 max 9 aircraft. the inspections were ordered after part of the fuselage of an alaska airlines plane, blew out in mid air. theo leggett reports. for the passengers, it was terrifying. an unused cabin door blew off a boeing 737 max minutes after take—off from portland airport on friday, leaving this gaping hole. there was just a really loud boom which was so startling,

and the plane just filled with wind and air.