labour is ditching its policy of spending £28bn a year on its green investment plan in a major u—turn. two people are killed in a blast in pakistan as the public attempts to vote in a new government. these are the scenes live from a polling station in karachi. men who take drugs for erectile dysfunction may reduce their risk of alzheimer's disease, a study suggests. but more research is needed to prove that the drugs are causing the effect. a volcano in south—west iceland eruptes for the second time this year. images show fountains of molten rock shooting from faults in the ground in the reykjanes peninsula.

hello, i'm luxmy gopal. is the planet warming faster than we thought — and are current targets signed—off by world leaders enough to tackle the most damaging effects of global warming in the years to come? new evidence from the eu's climate service, copernicus, highlights that for the first time, the world was 1.5 degrees warmer than pre—industrial levels for a whole year. scientists say a combination of greenhouse gas emissions and dramatic sea temperature rises are to blame. our climate editor, justin rowlatt, explains the significance of the 1.5 celsius figure. it's reckoned to be an arbitrary boundary at which we avoid the worst effects of climate change. there was a landmark un paper in 2018 which found it would be really significantly greater impacts at 2 degrees and urged all efforts to be made to try and keep

temperature rise to 1.5 degrees which was also the target set at a landmark climate summit in paris in 2015, world leaders agreed they would make all possible efforts to keep it to 1.5 so nudging as close as we are and having passed it for a single year does not mean the boundary has been passed, it is a longer term average, ten years or more above 1.5 to breach the paris commitment but for a single year, it shows just how close to the boundary we are getting and when you drill down into the figures you see just how dramatic the temperatures have been over the past 12 months. eight of those months were record high temperatures for those months, the highest august, september, october and november, all the way through to january and sea temperatures have been high as well with record daily temperature set every single day since april last year.

what could the long—term impact be of this 1.5 degrees breach? what climate scientists say is we can expect to see more of the kind of extreme weather we have seen all over the world in the last few years. talking about the heatwaves and droughts which have led to forest fires all around the world. we have also seen extreme rainfall events that have caused drought and they say we can expect more of that. that will challenge our ability in some places to grow food as effectively as we do at the moment and make at the moment and may cause water supply issues in places around the world. really dramatic impact. another way of looking at it is the impact on the natural world. 1.5 degrees, some of our coral reefs will survive, the consensus seems to be among scientists that 2 degrees centigrade of warming, 99% of coral reefs we could expect

to die is a really dramatic tipping point for ecosystems like coral reefs if we see temperatures continue to rise which they say we will unless we urgently cut the emissions that are the key driver of the warming we are seeing. here in the uk, labour is ditching the party's promise to spend £28—billion a year on environmental projects if they win the next election. it's a major u—turn for opposition leader, keir starmer. labour's position on the policy in recent weeks has been increasingly muddled, with some seniorfigures refusing to use the £28bn figure in interviews, while others, including sir keir, continued to do so. sources insist the party's green prosperity plan, which includes creating a publicly—owned green power company, is not being dropped altogether. an official announcement is expected later today. the bbc�*s chief political

correspondent henry zeffman explained the context of this u—turn. they said they would spend £28 billion a year should they win the general election to help britain on its transition to a net zero economy. that policy has been softened a little in a couple of different technical ways, the key figure 28 billion was still there until we are told today from the labour party will say that while it is still committed to the great transition to what they call their green prosperity plan, investing in things like home insulation, clean steel plants, battery technology and so on, they will not be committing any longer to that figure, £28 billion a year of green investment. of course we had seen already the conservative government scaling back its green policies. so where does this leave the potential commitment from this country's government after the next election towards green policies?

an interesting question. the government is still bound by a law passed in parliament some years ago when theresa may was prime minister to hit net zero by 2050 and there are of course all the carbon budget agreements signed annually at cop summits that the uk government is committed to by force of law but i think what you probably are seeing with both parties, more emphasis on this in the conservative party than the labour party, is attempts to ensure that the transition to net zero does not hit the poorest households in britain hard. that there are ways to mitigate the financial impact on hassles that there are ways to mitigate the financial impact on households of making that transition. and of course plenty of green campaigners will argue the biggest cost to households would be

if climate change runs amok and therefore affects the climate, the environment, the economy profound ways. i don't think that's principally what labour have made this u—turn, it's more about heading into a general election which we know it will take place this year, they want to emphasise their fiscal prudence at a national level and this move is designed to reassure voters, swing voters who might still be unsure about that fiscal prudence. that was our chief political correspondent talking to us earlier. do you have any questions about the warming climate and what it means? coming up at 12:30, we'll bejoined by a number of experts to answer your questions live. so get in touch using the hashtag #bbcyourquestions — or email yourquestions@bbc.co.uk to get in touch if you have any

questions on the issue of the warming climate. stay with us here on bbc news, we will have a panel of expertsjoining us at on bbc news, we will have a panel of experts joining us at 12:30pm to answer all of your questions. people in pakistan are voting in general and provincial elections — after a campaign period marred by violence. election day has seen the authorities unexpectedly cut mobile phone and mobile internet services because of what they call deterioriating security. the move is already being widely criticised. in the city of quetta in balochistan, a province that saw deadly militant attacks before the election, some polling stations are largely empty because of security threats and cold weather. earlier, i spoke to our south east asian correspondent, samira hussein, to ask whether we've seen lower voter turnout so far.

it's difficult to assess a quarter turn we are getting reports on some of the more remote areas there are getting reports on some of the more remote areas that outlaw turnouts. parties to communicate and to be able to mobilise the workforce. although the government says it was citing security concerns, political parties here have been expressing their dismay saying this again is evidence of a crackdown on the free and the political process in this country. and the political process in this count . ~ . , and the political process in this count .~ . , , ., and the political process in this count .~ . ,, ., ., country. what is being done to reassure budget _ country. what is being done to reassure budget safety. - country. what is being done to reassure budget safety. as - country. what is being done to| reassure budget safety. as you country. what is being done to - reassure budget safety. as you say there is criticism over the suspension of mobile services which was purportedly for security reasons but of course we did have bomb blasts killing 28 people in the baluchistan province on wednesday so what measures are in place to protect people as they head to the

polls? protect people as they head to the olls? ., ., ., ., ., polls? there are more than half a million security _ polls? there are more than half a million security forces _ polls? there are more than half a million security forces on - polls? there are more than half a million security forces on the - million security forces on the ground deployed at various polling stations across the country, particularly in those areas which have seen some violence like baluchistan and the kp provinces. in fact, one of our reporters that has been on the ground, reporting as soon as the polls opened there are two things to remark, first the mobile services cut immediately and the presence of a strong police and military force there are a lot of efforts being made to try to make sure that people are able to vote in an environment in which is secure. remind us of some of the key issues that will be on the minds of voters as they head tonypos? remember the selection happens _ as they head tonypos? remember the selection happens at _ as they head tonypos? remember the selection happens at a _ as they head tonypos? remember the selection happens at a time _ as they head tonypos? remember the selection happens at a time in - as they head tonypos? remember the selection happens at a time in which . selection happens at a time in which the country is facing one of the biggest economic crises it has ever seen. inflation is a time in which the country is facing one of the biggest economic crises it has ever seen. inflation is at 28% and they

are under a crushing amount of debt. there is of course security concerns that continue to persist in parts of the country and then there is the ongoing political instability for which really lends itself to these issues of economic distress and security concerns. and because the people running the selection i've either been in the job people running the selection i've either been in thejob before people running the selection i've either been in the job before or people running the selection i've either been in thejob before or are part of an old political dynasty in this country, many voters are somewhat disillusioned by the entire process saying they will not see very much political change or any kind of political stability in the country and that will not help them economically. country and that will not help them economically-— economically. that was the south-east _ economically. that was the south-east asian _ economically. that was the - south-east asian correspondent south—east asian correspondent samira hussain speaking to us earlier. iraq's army has said an american drone strike on an iranian—backed militia in the iraqi capital, baghdad has threatened security and stability in the region. three people were killed in the attack, including a commander of the group that us officials say was behind recent attacks on us bases in iraq and syria. this was the scene in baghdad earlier.

you can see there angry crowds surrounding the burnt out vehicle hit in the attack — chanting, "america is the biggest devil". 0ur middle east correspondent hugo bachega is in baghdad — and told us more about the significance of the attack. it is a significant escalation because this american retaliation has now come to the country's capital. so this attack happened last night at around 9.30 in the evening when streets and cafes are busy. i was actually here in the bureau and i heard a loud explosion not really far from here. now, this precision strike hit this car carrying a senior commander of kataib hezbollah, which is this powerful militia here in iraq that is supported by iran. and this commander has been identified as abu bakr al—saadi, and the americans are describing him as somebody who had participation in planning and also carrying out

attacks targeting us bases in the region. and we saw that days ago the us military started their retaliation for that attack that happened injordan when three american soldiers were killed. we saw that positions used by militias along the iraq and syria border were targeted. and i think it isn't really a surprise that the american strategy would not only involve targeting infrastructure being used by those groups, but also some senior commanders. so, again, significant because this happened here in the iraqi capital. and again, i think the statement yesterday by the american military left the door open for more attacks targeting these groups operating here in iraq and syria. and as expected, there was some angry reaction from militia groups that have vowed to retaliate and also from the iraqi army saying that this threatened stability and security in the region. so i think now the focus is very

much on iran and its proxies and how or if they will respond. that was our middle east correspondent in baghdad for us. as the fighting in gaza continues and a new round of negotiations is expected to start later in cairo, sponsored by egypt and qatar. the us secretary of state has said hamas's proposals do leave a window open for a truce. antony blinken has been touring the region — where he met with the palestinian leader mahmoud abbas. here's some of what he had to say. what i can tell you about the discussions is that while there are some clear dawn sturgess in the hamas response we believe it creates space for agreement to be reached and we will work at that relentlessly. until we get there.

israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, was defiant — he said hamas's demands were delusional and that �*total victory�* was possible within months. translation: tonight i am here to tell you one thing, we are unable to complete victory. victory is within our reach, it is about months. that was benjamin netanyahu. our middle east correspondent has more details. we know correspondent has more details. - know according to a senior official talking palestinian to the bbc is that a new round of talks are underway in cairo and egypt as well as cut out the gulf state already important players in what is happening here. they are basically intermediaries in these indirect talks between hamas and israel and the senior palestinian official has told us he believes the negotiations will be very complex and difficult and that they will have to be lots of rounds of talking. certainly

antony blinken the united states top diplomat who is still here in israel, he believes there is an opportunity for the differences between israel and hamas to be breached, to be breached. and that there is room for negotiation. nothing is if you watched last night the press conference from benjamin netanyahu, the israeli prime minister, he was saying really the hopes of a ceasefire or very low because he has rejected the proposals put forward by hamas and he says the military operation in gaza will be intensified in the days and weeks to come so that has dashed any hopes that the lingering last week that we might be moving towards a more imminent ceasefire. isditli week that we might be moving towards a more imminent ceasefire.— a more imminent ceasefire. with the us bein: a a more imminent ceasefire. with the us being a major _ a more imminent ceasefire. with the us being a major ally _ a more imminent ceasefire. with the us being a major ally under- a more imminent ceasefire. with the us being a major ally under a - us being a major ally under a financial backer, the fact that antony blinken is putting forward this message of hope around negotiations, will that exert pressure on the israeli government?

certainly, antony blinken met the prime minister yesterday behind closed doors. today he is meeting other members of the war cabinet separately. there is pressure on benjamin netanyahu from a lot of different directions, notably members of the government here on the right, right—wing members who say the military campaign has to be successful in that hamas must be destroyed. at the same time, you have got the families of the hostages who were taken on october the 7th, applying pressure to mr netanyahu said the priority has to be trying to retrieve their loved one so from lots of different directions he is under pressure. interestingly though the languages by antony blinken last night, he says he absolutely supports the goal to destroy hamas and he says he thinks about the hostages and israel all the time but he said just because hamas dehumanised its release on october the 7th and continues to dehumanise the hostages, he says that does not give

a licence to dehumanise other people and he was referring of course to the palestinians in gaza. that was our middle east _ the palestinians in gaza. that was our middle east correspondent - the palestinians in gaza. that was our middle east correspondent in | our middle east correspondent in jerusalem. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the co—op retail chain is urging mps to make assaulting or abusing a shop worker a specific criminal offence in engalnd wales. the company said there'd been a 44% increase in incidents of shoplifting and violence in its stores within the past year. it's already a criminal offence in scotland. the prime suspect in the disappearance of three—year—old madeleine mccann is expected to stay silent at his forthcoming trial in germany for unrelated sexual offences. christian bruckner is due in court next week, accused of five offences between 2000 and 2017 in portugal. he is already serving a jail sentence for rape. bruckner has denied any involvment with madeleine mccann's disappearance.

friends of the woman who was injured in a chemical attack in south london have launched a fundraiser to support her family. eight days on, the mother—of—two remains sedated in hospital. and may lose the sight in her right eye. police are still hunting suspect abdul shokoor ezedi who was last seen on 31 january on vauxhall bridge road just after 11 on the night of the attack. you're live with bbc news. we are going to take you to a press conference, the only presidential hopeful to oppose the war in ukraine has been blocked for running for election. that is in moscow now. we do not have a translation for this, thatis do not have a translation for this, that is the seen live in moscow, let's found might find out more about this. our correspond is in the neighbourhood. explain the context.

basically this was the only anti—war candidate standing or trying to stand against vladimir putin in the elections next month. he has been disqualified by the central electoral commission, this was a widely expected move by the electoral authorities and the world that signatures he submitted week he submitted 5000 signatures, more than the required amount but they have ruled that a percentage of those were invalid and take some below the 100,000 mark and they say he will not be on the ballot. he says that he is going to appeal against the supreme court, i do not think he is under any illusion as to his chances with that, most people think they aren't next to zero.— aren't next to zero. what people are watchin: aren't next to zero. what people are watching or — aren't next to zero. what people are watching or seeing _ aren't next to zero. what people are watching or seeing as _ aren't next to zero. what people are watching or seeing as him _ aren't next to zero. what people are watching or seeing as him giving - aren't next to zero. what people are watching or seeing as him giving a i watching or seeing as him giving a press conference in moscow but what is the reaction likely to be more widely in the country? he

is the reaction likely to be more widely in the country?- is the reaction likely to be more widely in the country? he got lots of aueues widely in the country? he got lots of queues of _ widely in the country? he got lots of queues of people _ widely in the country? he got lots of queues of people in _ widely in the country? he got lots of queues of people in cities - widely in the country? he got lots of queues of people in cities and i of queues of people in cities and towns across russia killing often in this note to sign his candidacy application. and so he was seen basically as a way of expressing dissatisfaction about vladimir putin. he himself has been quite outspoken about the war in ukraine and he does not call it a war, he tries to stay within the bounds of the draconian russian censorship rules, referring to it as the special military operation but he said he would stop the fighting in ukraine on the first day if he was elected and he said he hopes the electorate will be the end of the role of vladimir putin in russia, marking at least the beginning of the end. he was quite outspoken, unlike some of the other candidates who are already registered, there are a handful of people who will be on the ballot. most of them believe

these are candidates who have been given tacit approval by the kremlin, they are not seen as people likely to challenge vladimir putin in any way. so it gives the whole election in a statement of legitimacy and russia is very much a managed democracy, some people have less polite terms of referring to it. there was no doubt that president putin, barring something unforeseen, well then in the middle of march. he has already ruled russia for coming up has already ruled russia for coming up to 25 years and he can under the current constitution stay in power until 2036. current constitution stay in power until2036. ., ~ , ., current constitution stay in power until 2036-— current constitution stay in power until2036. ., ~ ., , until 2036. thank you for bringing anal sis until 2036. thank you for bringing analysis on _ until 2036. thank you for bringing analysis on that _ until 2036. thank you for bringing analysis on that breaking - until 2036. thank you for bringing analysis on that breaking news. i analysis on that breaking news. artworld service regional and editor. in the uk, the prince of wales has spoken publicly for the first time since the king was diagnosed with cancer. prince william thanked the well—wishers as he arrived at a charity gala dinner in central london. our royal correspondent

daniela relph has more. this report contains flashing images. returning to royal duty — the prince of wales was at a fundraising dinner last night for the london air ambulance. and a first comment from prince william to the bbc during what is a challenging time for the family. your royal highness, how grateful are you for the public support you've received in recent weeks? we really appreciate all the messages. thank you. prince william is a former air ambulance pilot himself, so this event had personal meaning to him. and there was a touch of top gun glamour, too. tom cruise, the star guest and another experienced pilot in the room. the prince gave a speech to guests at the fundraiser — his first since his wife had surgery and news of his father's cancer diagnosis was made public. i'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you also for the kind messages of support for catherine and for my father, especially in recent days. it means a great deal to us all. it's fair to say the past few weeks have had a rather medical focus, so i thought i'd come to an air ambulance function to

get away from it all. laughter. while one prince was on duty, the other is already back home in the united states. prince harry spent around 45 minutes with his father at clarence house after the king's cancer diagnosis. he didn't meet his brother during his flying visit to the uk. the king is now on his sandringham estate in norfolk, away from the public gaze, where he'll spend much of the coming weeks. for his son, this will be a steady and managed return to royal duty. his priority remains supporting his wife as she recovers from surgery. but after the intensity of recent weeks, last night, there were some light—hearted moments. i should also take this opportunity to give a mention to my — our — fellow pilot tom cruise. tom, huge thanks for supporting us tonight. applause.

and, tom, if you wouldn't mind not borrowing either of the new helicopters for the next mission impossible, it would be appreciated. it was a glamorous end to the prince of wales' first day back on royal duty. not all engagements are as glitzy as this one. but with the king and the princess of wales stepping back, the royal family need the profile and the pull of prince william. daniella relph, bbc news, central london. let's bring you some pictures coming in from iceland where a volcano has erupted for the second time this year. you can see molten rock shooting out of the ground in the reykjanes peninsula — that's in south—west iceland. icelandic meteorological office said the fissure was around three kilometres long.

hello again. some of us today are going to see some snow. some of us already have seen some snow as we've gone through the course of the morning. but by no means are we all going to see it. a lot of it will be falling on higher ground where it could well lead to some travel disruption. at lower levels, we're looking at a mixture of rain, sleet and snow at times. and with the developing easterly wind, that snow will be blowing. now, the met office has two amber weather warnings in force. that means increased likelihood of disruption due to the severe weather across northern parts of wales and northwest shropshire and the peak district and also parts of the pennines. so if you are traveling, you could have up to 25 centimetres of snow, ten inches on the higher routes. but it's rain has become further south and this is all pushing northward. it's getting into the rest of northern england, northern ireland and southern scotland. behind it there'll be a bit of a lull with a few showers before the next band of rain comes in. and as a result, it's going to be mild. ahead of it there'll be some hazy sunshine, but you can see it's going to be a cold day for most of us, and especially if you're exposed to the easterly wind and the snow.

now, through this evening, this band of rain almost catches up with the first band of rain, sleet and snow as it pushes steadily northwards, and with a lot of cloud around, especially in the south, it's going to be a mild night. that mild air travelling a little bit further north, but still cold in the north with the risk of ice. as we head on through the course of friday this is the low pressure bringing us all this inclement weather. weather front continues to push steadily northwards so we could see some transient snow in the morning across the pennines, for example, before it turns back to rain and more snow coming in across scotland, particularly so in the east. with that brisk easterly wind, they'll be drifting and blowing with blizzards on the tops of the grampians. come further south, there'll be some cloud around, some bright spells and some showers. but note how that mild air is continuing to travel that bit further north. and you can see that quite nicely here on the air mass chart, the yellows indicating the milder air pushing all the way up towards all but the far north of scotland during friday into saturday. and as that happens, what you'll find is the snow risk will also push that bit further north through the course of saturday. leaving behind it, fair bit of cloud, some sunny spells and a few showers.

and these are our temperatures — 3 in lerwick, widely 7 to 12 across the rest of the uk.

this is bbc news, the headlines.

for the first time, global warming has exceeded 1.5 degrees celcius across an entire year. the last 12 months were the hottest on record. snow is expected in parts of northern england and north wales, which could bring travel disruption. yellow weather warnings are in place across all four nations. pakistan has temporarily suspended mobile services as millions head to the polls to vote in a new government. men who take drugs for erectile dysfunction may reduce their risk of alzheimer's disease, a study suggests. let's start with the story that snow is falling in parts of northern england and wales and it could cause travel disruption. 25 centimetres is forecast in the high ground of the peak district and the southern pennines. nick garnett reports from a gritting centre just pennines. nick garnett reports from

a gritting centrejust outside manchester.