at least 27 people are killed as two explosions hit pakistan's baluchistan province — on the eve of the general election. of all the weeks to say that, when brianna's mother is in this chamber. shame. parading as a man of integrity, when he's got absolutely no responsibility. what prompted labour leader sir keir starmer to say that? we bring you the latest from prime minister's questions. we have a special bbc report — with the teams trying to tackle america's growing synthetic opioid crisis. time for a look at the business news now with tadhg enright. uber has reported a record number of monthly active users in its latest results.

150 million people now use the transport app — most famous for ride hailing — on a regular basis. after a drop in custom during the pandemic, uber reported a bounceback in demand for transport last year as people got out more and employers began to require their staff spend more time in the office. last year was the first year that the app, which has become synonymous with ride hailing in many markets, became profitable. let's talk about this more now with our north america business correspondent, erin delmore. is this a simple case of more people getting out there and calling ubers? or is there more to it than that? that's a big part of it, but there's more to it. not only are customers hailing the right, but we also saw

food delivery go up. has become a big and important part of the�*s business. the holiday season was good to the company, but also marked the third consecutive quarter of operating profits. it's a great story for tube as it talks about 2023. the ceo said about the shift in economy from written services into services instead ofjust retail. they are really starting to benefit. they have seen their shares double in the last year. notably, the next word is returned is being shared back to shareholders, we expect to know more about that next week. ., ., ., ., , week. you mentioned food delivery there, week. you mentioned food delivery there. that's _ week. you mentioned food delivery there. that's a _ week. you mentioned food delivery there, that's a big _ week. you mentioned food delivery there, that's a big revenue -

week. you mentioned food delivery there, that's a big revenue streaml there, that's a big revenue stream for them, there, that's a big revenue stream forthem, but there, that's a big revenue stream for them, but they're also involved other initiatives such as shed bikes, shed scooters, trade booking, i think they're trying to get into flight booking now, as well. what can you tell us about progress they're making on those friends? absolutely, it's notjust cars. we sing pulled rides, but also on motorcycles and rickshaws. when we talk about food delivery, those options are expanding over time. new restaurant a new grocery stores. we've also seen them record more business rights. you can record rides you to take the business and go and expense. wetting partnerships of taxi companies and seeing them do more advertising on its own platform. these are all branches of the big company, and expect them to see more, bigger revenue. do you look at or even respond

to work emails after hours? australia is planning a new law to give employees the right to ignore unreasonable calls and messages from their bosses outside of work hours without penalty. there could even be fines for employers that breach the rule. the "right to disconnect" is part of a raft of changes to industrial relations laws proposed by the australian federal government which it says would protect workers�* rights and help restore work—life balance. earlier i spoke to ben willmott the head of public policy at the cipd — he told me about other countries that have adpoted this sort of practice. some european countries have already moved ahead with a right to disconnect or similar. so it is certainly a policy change that has been introduced in different countries. australia is now following suit. so how helpful, in your experience, have rules like this actually been?

i mean, one might surmise that even with laws like this, if you want a promotion or perhaps, i guess, favourable treatment when it comes to your next leave request, where you'll take that call or that email after hours. yeah. we ran a poll in 2021 which showed that aboutjust under a fifth, 18%, of workers said that they would use a right to disconnect, to prevent their employer from contacting them outside working hours if it were available. but i think the challenge is that it's not a panacea. it doesn't really address those underlying issues, such as poor management, unrealistic deadlines, excessive workloads, which really mean that people might feel that they're under pressure to respond to communications outside working hours. and those issues are still going to exist next time you log on,

even if you do have this right to disconnect. as you say, the other challenges, if people are worried about theirjob security or their promotion prospects, will they actually use this right, even if they do have it? so i think it can signal, you know, what is best practice and promote what is best practice in many organisations and, you know, if it's introduced with a bit of flexibility. and ben, briefly if you can, based on what you see out there in the market, do you think expectations of workers, when it comes to dealing with work after hours, have been changing significantly in recent years? there's no doubt that the increasingly sort of digital nature of work and the shift to home and hybrid working for more workers has blurred the lines between people's work and home lives, which means that maybe more people might feel under pressure to feel contactable after or be

contacted outside working hours. so, you know, i think actually it's really more important to look at those underlying issues. how do you improve the quality of management? how do you address those issues like, you know, stress, excessive workload, you know, rather than necessarily just relying too much on this sort of right to disconnect policy? for decades, canada has been a magnet for immigrants. but recently, fewer permanent residents are applying for canadian citizenship & some have even begun to leave the country, which raises the question: why? nikhil inamdar went to look for answers in punjab in north west india which sends thousands of migrants to canada each year. punjab, india's breadbasket. land of mustard fields and also immigrant dreams.

millions have left these villages over decades. in canada, the punjabis are amongst the largest diaspora. but some are now returning home. this man's family mortgaged land to send him to university in toronto. citizenship was his ultimate goal. but afterjust one year, he's come back and started an embroidery business. translation: from rent - to groceries, everything became more expensive. i had to work a0 or 50 hours every week to survive. the high inflation is making many students leave their studies in canada. the lure of the canadian dream is fading a little, and that's palpable on this street, where every day thousands of young people come and meet immigration agents and make plans to leave the country. last year, though, the number of indian students applying to canadian

universities dropped sharply. protests over a lack of affordable housing went viral last year. in response, the trudeau government announced international students must have double the amount of money to cover living expenses when they come to canada. a temporary two—year cap on new international student permits. in addition, the government has introduced a cap on how many student visas are issued every year to help address the housing shortage. canada stopped building housing in large scale for about 30 years and now the that's come back to bite us as the population starts to grow. but there are deeper reasons for a waning canadian dream. for some who've achieved career and financial success, it was the allure of a comfortable, rural life that inspired his return to india after 15 years.

he's now started an online consultancy to help others come back to their roots. i started this back to motherland punjab page almost one and a half months ago. i get two or three calls every day and most of the calls are from canada. people who want to know what kind ofjob opportunities or what is available in punjab. india is growing and people can see that. for decades, immigrants have fuelled canada's economic growth. india is still one of its largest sources of migrants. while the numbers of those leaving canada are still small, they do paint a more complex picture of the opportunities abroad and those at home. that's your business update, around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news bringing you different

stories from across the uk. this was khalid mahmood back in 2009, having kidney dialysis for 4 hours a day, three times a week, after being diagnosed with chronic kidney failure. 15 years on, he's now backing a new report calling for prevention and early diagnosis. it's a silent killer. essentially, this all can be resolved very, very easily and with literally no cost at all. when people go to their gp�*s or go for a blood test or a urine test, you can very easily find out the function of a kidney. the report's being carried out by kidney research uk, they say that kidney disease is a public health emergency that is threatening to overwhelm nhs resources. we're really calling for much earlier diagnosis so that we can intervene and protect the kidneys and stop them deteriorating. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website.

you're live with bbc news. fentanyl is fifty times stronger than heroin, and is responsible for tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the us last year. police in the us have told the bbc the public health crisis is comparable to a modern—day crack epidemic. will grant sent this special report and a warning this report contains some distressing images. there are no quiet nights for tijuana's fire brigade. called out to a local bar, there is no blaze here, but as some of the only available paramedics, they are tackling another crisis, sweeping the city like wildfire — fentanyl. these two men, their lives fast slipping away, may not have even known they were taking it. cheap and highly addictive, mexico's drug cartels now cut it into recreational drugs like cocaine.

the paramedics administer narcan, the most effective drug to reverse fenta nyl overdose. if, that is, it is not already too late. fenta nyl overdoses are now simply part of daily and nightly life in tijuana, part of the fabric of a city descending fast into the grip of full—blown drug epidemic. yet it is a crisis whose very existence has been denied by the country's president. having claimed mexico neither produces or consumes fentanyl, president lopez 0brador now says he will introduce a new law to make taking fentanyl illegal. people on tijuana's front lines fear that it's too little, too late. last year, the state forensics service found staggering one in three bodies in the city's morgue contained fentanyl. this harm reduction and needle exchange says tijuana is awash with it. they tested four randomly selected syringes and vials and each one was positive for fenta nyl. translation: fentanyl exists. to suggest otherwise failed

to recognise this reality. we have the evidence right here and in all the overdoses and deaths from fentanyl that we see, ignoring the problem won't solve it. 0n the contrary, people will keep dying. in the united states, the biggest illegal drug market in the world, fentanyl is now a nationwide crisis. coast to coast, border to border, us cities are increasingly in its vice—like grip. the drug claimed 70,000 lives in 2022 alone. not all victims were regular drug users. in el paso, in texas, elijah gonzales was 15, studious and sporty when he accidentally overdosed on one pill of the widely available prescription drug xa nax. he had no idea that it was a counterfeit, fentanyl—laced pill from mexico. it was his first time experimenting with drugs with his best friend and his best friend's sister. within a year, all three had died the same way. three lives snuffed out by fentanyl.

a lot of parents tell me, my son is in football, my son is in band, and my son is not in that crowd. neitherwas mine. and i had no idea, so i think it starts at home, it starts in the school system and just all the way around. are you angry at elijah? no. i'm not angry. i have never been angry, not even at the person who gave my son drugs. i forgave her. i am just angry that it happened to me. i am angry at the situation itself. el paso sits just over the borderfrom ciudad juarez, one of mexico's most dangerous cities. injuarez, i met kevin, a 17—year—old drug trafficker and cartel hit man. he showed me how his gang uses tunnels to smuggle fentanyl across the us border. i asked kevin if he felt any remorse about the deaths of us teens like elijah.

translation: no, it is all part of a chain. - it is like the guns. they send weapons south, we send fentanyl north. everyone is responsible for their own acts. back in tijuana, it took three doses of narcan but the paramedics brought one man back from the brink. his friend, however, died right there on the barroom floor. his mother arrived to devastating news. her son is another victim of this potent narcotic, his death a footnote in the polarised debate over the us—mexico border. now, let's turn to migration. new figures obtained by the bbc have raised questions about the uk government's claims that poor weather conditions had no impact on a fall in small boat

crossings across the channel. the figures show more days where weather conditions were worst for crossings. bbc verify�*s nick eardley explains. the number of people coming across the channel on small boats fell by a third last year. the government saw that as a success. but there has been a big debate about why it happened, and specifically how much of it was down to the bad weather in 2023. here's the home secretary james cleverly speaking to breakfast last month. so this is nothing to do with the weather. i mean, this is... i know this is a convenient way of overlooking the incredible hard work that our officials have done with their colleagues across europe. this is not about the weather. now, whenjames cleverly said that, we asked the home office for its figures and they didn't provide them. we have managed, however, to get our hands on them through freedom of information requests, and the picture is more completed.

——complicated. let me show you this first. these are figures compiled by a part of the home office, the border force, and they come from the met office. and they show that the number of days where weather conditions were worse, where hardly anyone was coming across the channel, went up significantly. in 2022, there was 96 days where it was highly unlikely that people would cross the channel. in 2023, it was 147. that's up 50%. it means an extra 51 days, a month and a half, where hardly anyone was able to cross the channel because of the weather. now, government figures are always complicated. there are lots of different weather categories. there were also fewer days where it was unlikely people would cross — that's basically a few people crossing but not many. but we have analysed these figures. we've also spoken to experts, and they suggest that they show that the weather did play a role. let me show you this quote here from peter walsh,

from the migration 0bservatory at the university of oxford. as you can see, he says, our data suggest weather is a factor but not the only factor. and that's important. it doesn't show that this was all down to the weather, but it does suggest that the weather played a role. i also want to show you one final thing, because the question now is what's happening this year? and the short answer is, so far in 2024, there are more people crossing the channel than there were this time last year. have a look at these figures. 2023, last year, 1180. this year it's gone up again 1335. what's interesting with that figure is it's quite similar to 2022. remember, 2022 was the year that we saw a record high number of people crossing the channel. so, look, there's a long way to go in the year. but it does suggest that the picture is a lot more

complicated than we heard from the home secretary last month. there is a lot of information behind this stuff, and if you want to see more of the figures, they are on the bbc website. the most important thing, though, is this. the weather does appear to have made it harder to cross the channel last year at certain points, and it's likely to have an impact but we can't be certain about how that big that impact was. just time to show you the winning images of this year's wildlife photographer of the year competition. this stunning picture of a young polar bear sleeping on an iceberg — captured by the british amateur photographer — nima sarikhani was the people's choice — among a roll—call of fabulous pictures. this is a balkan pond turtle — that was walking in shallow water when a dragonfly landed on its nose. these starlings were captured in the suburbs of rome. suddenly the flock swirled into the shape of a giant bird.

you're watching bbc news. in prime minister's questions — rishi sunak was criticised after attempting to mock sir keir starmer�*s stance on "defining a woman". the commons had earlier heard that the mother of the murdered transgender teenager brianna ghey was expected in the public gallery today. 0ur political correspondent — leila nathoo — is at westminster. pmqs took a bit of an unexpected turn today, and the prime minister rishi sunak ended up finding himself in a bit of an uncomfortable position after he attempted to ridicule keir starmer for his position on defining what a woman was. 0n the day that esther ghey, the mother of brianna ghey, the murdered teenager, was in parliament. now she is here in westminster today to listen to a debate in the commons about mindfulness in the schools led by her local mp. that is an issue that she is now campaigning on. but this is how it all started, when rishi sunak began listing issues in which he said that

keir starmer had changed his mind on. pensions, planning, peerages, public sector pay, tuition fees, childcare, second referendums, defining a woman, although in fairness that was only 99% of the u—turn... of all... of all the weeks to say that, when brianna's mother is in this chamber, shame. parading as a man of integrity when he has got absolutely no responsibility. absolute... well, it did not end there because rishi sunak was later asked by another labour mp to apologise for his remarks to esther ghey and he ignored the request. he did, at the end of the session, praise herfor showing what he called the very best of humanity.

she had not actually been in the gallery for that initial exchange but did hear his subsequent comments. in the last few minutes, the prime minister's press secretary has actually defended his comment about sir keir starmer�*s position on the definition of a woman as legitimate, but i think this will be seen as a misstep for rishi sunak. it is one of the difficulties arising from prime minister's questions which can be quite a staged interaction where the leaders come with preprepared scripts. but remember this is a week where rishi sunak has had to defend himself from making a £1000 bet in the middle of a tv interview on his rwanda policy. it leaves him vulnerable to an attack line that labour repeatedly deploy, that the prime minister can at times seem tone deaf. in the last few minutes, the chancellor was asked by bbc political editor about the premise of�*s comments. is it political editor about the premise of's comments.— of's comments. is it right for a minority grow) _ of's comments. is it right for a minority group to _ of's comments. is it right for a minority group to be _ of's comments. is it right for a minority group to be a - of's comments. is it right for a minority group to be a punch l of's comments. is it right for a i minority group to be a punch line

of's comments. is it right for a - minority group to be a punch line of a joke in 202a? it minority group to be a punch line of a joke in 2024?— a joke in 2024? it wasn't, and the prime minister _ a joke in 2024? it wasn't, and the prime minister could _ a joke in 2024? it wasn't, and the prime minister could not - a joke in 2024? it wasn't, and the prime minister could not have - a joke in 2024? it wasn't, and the i prime minister could not have been clearer_ prime minister could not have been clearer about the enormous respect he has _ clearer about the enormous respect he has for— clearer about the enormous respect he has for reenergised mother. —— reenergised's mother. he he has for reenergised mother. -- reenergised's mother.— he has for reenergised mother. -- reenergised's mother. he made a 'oke about trans people in i reenergised's mother. he made a 'oke about trans people in the i reenergised's mother. he made a joke about trans people in the presence - about trans people in the presence of breanna's mother. he about trans people in the presence of breanna's mother.— about trans people in the presence of breanna's mother. he says when it comes to trans _ of breanna's mother. he says when it comes to trans issues, _ of breanna's mother. he says when it comes to trans issues, economic - comes to trans issues, economic issues, _ comes to trans issues, economic issues, labour changes it position every— issues, labour changes it position every day~ — issues, labour changes it position every day. this is my point, his point _ every day. this is my point, his point was — every day. this is my point, his point was if— every day. this is my point, his point was if a political party that once _ point was if a political party that once to — point was if a political party that once to govern this country can't make _ once to govern this country can't make up— once to govern this country can't make up its_ once to govern this country can't make up its mind about really important issues, including how they would _ important issues, including how they would run _ important issues, including how they would run the economy, then they risk all_ would run the economy, then they risk all the — would run the economy, then they risk all the progress we have made, which _ risk all the progress we have made, which will— risk all the progress we have made, which will take us back to square one _ which will take us back to square one. of— which will take us back to square one. . ., , ., which will take us back to square one. _, , ., , ., , one. of course there are questions for labour — one. of course there are questions for labour about _ one. of course there are questions for labour about them _ one. of course there are questions for labour about them changing i one. of course there are questions i for labour about them changing their mind, but the context is everything here. the prime minister chose to deliver a political punch line about

transgender people in the presence of breanna jaya's mother. ihla. transgender people in the presence of breanna jaya's mother.— of breanna jaya's mother. no, you are takin: of breanna jaya's mother. no, you are taking his _ of breanna jaya's mother. no, you are taking his comments _ of breanna jaya's mother. no, you are taking his comments out - of breanna jaya's mother. no, you are taking his comments out of. are taking his comments out of context — are taking his comments out of context if— are taking his comments out of context. if you had listened as i did to _ context. if you had listened as i did to what he said, he could not have _ did to what he said, he could not have been— did to what he said, he could not have been clearer in the respect he has for— have been clearer in the respect he has for breanna jaya's mother. the point _ has for breanna jaya's mother. the point he _ has for breanna jaya's mother. the point he was making in pm cues is that we _ point he was making in pm cues is that we have a labour party that cannot _ that we have a labour party that cannot make its mind up... he made it clear— cannot make its mind up... he made it clear the _ cannot make its mind up... he made it clear the respect he has for breanna _ it clear the respect he has for breanna jaya's mother.- it clear the respect he has for breanna jaya's mother. that was the chancellor talking _ breanna jaya's mother. that was the chancellor talking about _ breanna jaya's mother. that was the chancellor talking about chris - chancellor talking about chris mason. we have a busy five o'clock hour coming up. more on that particular story coming later on since pm cues earlier on in the day. we'll have more from gaza, here are the live pictures on the border between israel and gaza, antony

blinken, the us secretary of state in the region again, as he pushes and tries to make progress towards a new ceasefire and hostage deal. at about 5:30pm kamal we expect a live reaction from benjamin netanyahu. also latest on the big statement in england, here are pictures of people queueing around the block in bristol trying to sign up for an nhs dentist. we will have reaction, we will hear from all political sides in that story. will also talk to the british dental association. we also will have more from the wildlife photographer of the year competition thatis photographer of the year competition that is coming up, and of course the story that is currently on the bbc news website, that hand for the

clapham attacker, the man who used corrosive substances when he attacked a woman and two children. that hand is going on for a week now. we'll have the latest from new scotland yard. we have some wonderful pictures to show you from the photograph competition, and the organisers. all of that coming up in the next little while. first, here are the weather details. hello. well, yes, there is some snow in the forecast, but it's not going to be particularly widespread. having said that, where it does fall, it could end up being quite heavy. 0n the one hand, we have mild weather and weather systems coming in from the south. 0n the other, colder air from the arctic is spreading into scotland right now. so it's a chilly, bright picture here through the rest of the day. some snow showers across the highlands, but still relatively mild with some damp weather across the south of the country. and here's that big low

that's approaching us with its rain—bearing clouds. you can see all of that rain spreading towards the uk. so we've got cold air in the north coming in from the arctic, milder air spreading in from the south. it's where these two air masses meet. well, that's where we're going to have that period of rain, sleet and snow, really icy conditions maybe in some areas from northern wales into the pennines. you can see how big that temperature contrast is as well. so from morning onwards it's across the north of wales, mainly, around the pennines as well. there will be quite a broad area where we could have some rain, sleet and snow falling. sleet and snow in this area is certainly possible, snow showers in scotland, but i think it's more likely to be heavy rain in the south of the country. so these are the lower risk yellow warnings from the met office and if we zoom into the amber warnings which have been issued. so this is for northern wales and also the pennines. well, i think broadly speaking, quite widespread, 10 to 15 centimetres of snow possible.

but in some of the higher routes, the exposed higher elevations could be 20 to 25 centimeters. so really troublesome conditions, i think, in these areas. and then through the course of thursday, that rough weather, that wintry weather moves further northward. so that low pressure is still very much with us on friday. but i think the milder air wins and it spreads across the bulk of the country, some wintry mess for sure, i think, across the highlands on friday. but if we have a look at the temperatures, you can see it's much too mild for snow by friday. it's nine degrees in liverpool, above average across the south of the country. and if you look at the outlook over the next few days, yes, briefly, i think turning cold across some parts of the uk, but on the whole it's still that west south—westerly. that's it for me. bye bye. live from london, this is bbc news.

at least 27 people are killed as two explosions hit pakistan's balochistan province on the eve of the general election. we will be speaking to an expert. the crisis in dentistry in england — as people queue for nhs appointments and the government sets out a new plan. we will speak to the chair of the british dental association. the us secretary of state meets with israeli and palestinian leaders. we bring you the latest updates on the push for a ceasefire and hostage deal. isa is a real's prime minister speaks at this hour. {lit is a real's prime minister speaks at this hour. ., ., _ this hour. of all the weeks to say that when brianna's _ this hour. of all the weeks to say that when brianna's mother - this hour. of all the weeks to say that when brianna's mother is . this hour. of all the weeks to say that when brianna's mother is in | that when brianna's mother is in this chamber. shame! parading as a man of integrity when he has absolutely no responsibility. what absolutely no responsibility. what -rom ted absolutely no responsibility. what prompted the _ absolutely no responsibility. what prompted the labour— absolutely no responsibility. what prompted the labour leader sir keir starmer to say that to rishi sunak?

we will bring you the latest