the german chancellor calls for a massive increase in the european production of armaments and in rio dejaneiro... the celebrations continue as the final parade of the carnival takes place today. let's get more on the war between israel and gaza. israel is facing growing international pressure to agree to a ceasefire with hamas. on monday morning, a series of israeli airstrikes there killed at least 70 people, with israel warning of an impending ground offensive. more than half of gaza's population now lives in rafah. the potentialfor a ground campaign has sparked alarm from israel's allies. today, the us, egypt, israel and qatar are meeting in cairo to work on a hostage deal which would bring a six—week pause in the fighting. this comes after president biden has called for more than one million palestinians sheltering in rafah in southern gaza to be protected. let's speak tojohn lyndon, executive director at the alliance for middle east peace.

just to go initially back to the situation in rafah, how likely is it that israel won't listen to the warnings coming from its closest allies? it warnings coming from its closest allies? . , warnings coming from its closest allies? ., , ., , , allies? it remains to be seen. the statement — allies? it remains to be seen. the statement from _ allies? it remains to be seen. the statement from prime _ allies? it remains to be seen. the statement from prime minister i statement from prime minister benjamin netanyahu seemed suddenly very urgent asking for the plan is to be drawn up by the israeli defence forces to prepare for a ground invasion but we haven't seen mobilisation are very much detail on those plans, we've seen lots of international reaction and we haven't seen ground operations in the north of the gaza strip when leaflets have been dropped and sms text messages are sent to palestinians urging them to evacuate so there is a debate in estoril about whether there is an imminent evasion of whether this has been stirred up in theirfour

evasion of whether this has been stirred up in their four pressure against hamas around negotiations you mention for hostage releases or for some sort of domestic political benefit potentially. i think the fact we have seen so much international reaction so negatively shows we should be alarmed and concerned that an operation is not impossible even if it is not imminent. 50 impossible even if it is not imminent-— impossible even if it is not imminent. ., imminent. so you are saying it might be a negotiating _ imminent. so you are saying it might be a negotiating position _ imminent. so you are saying it might be a negotiating position going - imminent. so you are saying it might be a negotiating position going into l be a negotiating position going into the talks in cairo? tell us how far they have got and what the shape of any deal might be. the they have got and what the shape of any deal might be.— any deal might be. the director of the cia was _ any deal might be. the director of the cia was in _ any deal might be. the director of the cia was in paris _ any deal might be. the director of the cia was in paris just _ any deal might be. the director of the cia was in parisjust over- any deal might be. the director of the cia was in paris just over two | the cia was in paris just over two weeks ago working with qatar and egypt and they came up with a three stage plan that would involve the release of hostages that would lead to a person fighting and allow humanitarian aid to get into casa and be distributed to citizens living in extraordinary circumstances for 130 days and hamas came back with a counter proposal introducing new evidence on some of

the momentum fell out of the process and created a vacuum that this rafah operation has begun to fill. the hope is under duress is done the heads of the intelligence services to cairo today, israel and i have also been hearing cautiously encouraging signs at significant pressure is being put on hamas and patient needs to be put on both parties because the gaps are brought under is the only mechanism and alternative we can see to the continued violence and the escalation in rafa. it’s continued violence and the escalation in rafa. �* , , , escalation in rafa. it's been billed as a regional _ escalation in rafa. it's been billed as a regional push _ escalation in rafa. it's been billed as a regional push for _ escalation in rafa. it's been billed as a regional push for something l as a regional push for something bigger but tell us about the role of saudi arabia as part of this multifaceted deal.- saudi arabia as part of this multifaceted deal. , , ., ., ., multifaceted deal. this is again one ofthe multifaceted deal. this is again one of the unknowns _ multifaceted deal. this is again one of the unknowns you _ multifaceted deal. this is again one of the unknowns you dimensions i multifaceted deal. this is again one | of the unknowns you dimensions and we know saudi arabia had been in discussion with the biden administration and israel before normalisation on october the 7th

from jack sullivan in washington they've been working on a package and in riyadh last week saadi hosted other arab states including counter which is unusual and it's interesting. saudi normalisation, one of our partners ran a survey a couple of months ago lacking to see what attitudes were around normalisation and the support for a two state solution with a knot and a subsequent poll came that over half and this is the first time in six weeks, over half of its release supported a two state solution if married with a demilitarised state and saudi normalisation so we are hopeful in bringing an end to this war as soon as possible the world is working together and it's important for the arab states including saudi arabia, and the uk and the us, multilaterally to create a diplomatic framework that can make

this the last israel gaza war and create an unstoppable process towards israeli and palestinian peace and reconciliation and that seems more likely now than it was before the war and its devastating it has taken this outbreak of violence, the worst since 48 to focus international attention on this conflict.— focus international attention on thisconflict. ., ., i, ,, this conflict. thank you for talking to us. schools have closed in part of the australian state of victoria because of what the emergency services say are the most dangerous fire conditions in the region for years. officials have warned of potentially catastrophic fires because of rising temperatures, high winds and the threat of thunder storms after weeks of dry weather. 0ur sydney correspondent phil mercerjoins me now. what other state officials warning people to do? in some areas emergency alerts have been issued and this is happening to the western port of melbourne in the western part of victoria and some residents have been told farmers are so severe

it is too late for them to leave their homes and they have been urged to seek immediate shelter and what we have here is a conspiracy of factors that is fuelling these fires. firstly, a four day heat wave, so it's warm and the lack of rainfall, the land is very dry and on top of that you have very strong winds which make this a very dangerous and unpredictable situation. threatening lives and homes. in the last few minutes we have heard five firefighters have been injured in what is called here a burn over, this is when a fast—moving fire simply overwhelms fire crews but thankfully, the firefighters have only received minor injuries but it does underscore the immense risk that many of these often volunteer firefighter space when they are literally in the army of the firestorm.—

literally in the army of the firestorm. ., , , , , firestorm. there are bushfires but also electricity _ firestorm. there are bushfires but also electricity cuts, _ firestorm. there are bushfires but also electricity cuts, i _ firestorm. there are bushfires but| also electricity cuts, i understand? it's been a one time in victoria today, severe storms that have damaged electricity transmission towers. plunging many residents in the state capital of melbourne into darkness. at one stage, half a million people were without power, that has disrupted train services and there are reports that this is the biggest power cap that the state of victoria has ever seen. and more broadly, south—eastern australia is one of the worlds most fire prone regions. climate experts say generally speaking at this time of year, the weather is very hot and dry and also many native plants are extremely combustible. 0n dry and also many native plants are extremely combustible. on top of that you have the clear dangers of climate change. so people in the southern state of victoria today, it has been a dangerous and unpredictable and very uncertain

date. �* i, , date. are there wider warnings in other states? _ date. are there wider warnings in other states? there _ date. are there wider warnings in other states? there always - date. are there wider warnings in other states? there always are. i date. are there wider warnings in | other states? there always are. in western australia, _ other states? there always are. in western australia, tasmania - other states? there always are. in western australia, tasmania and l western australia, tasmania and south australia. much of southern australia has been under varying bushfire alerts but bushfires can occur around australia at any time of the year, given that firstly this is a very big country and also the fires tend to chase the seasons if you like. when it is warm and dry in the north there is an elevated fire risk, in the summer months especially in the south and south—east it is extremely dangerous. in may 2010 we had watts caught the climate change election and the left of centre at labour government that were selected has promised for bolder action on climate change but suddenly, what we are seeing in victoria today and we have seen in australia over the years, the elevated risk of bushfires, scientists are repeatedly telling us this is the result of

climate change and many australians are clamouring for more decisive action when it comes to this environmental mess.- action when it comes to this environmental mess. thank you very much. energy and climate ministers from around the world are gathering in paris for the international energy agency s ministerial meeting. it is the 50th anniversary since it was established after the 1973 oil crisis. a short time ago, the us special presidential envoy for climatejohn kerry hit out at china for its continuing coal production. apologies we do not seem to have the sound and not seem to have the sound are not, we will try and get that for you. let's speak to carole nahkle, ceo of crystol energy. she's in frankfurt. tell us about the organisation, it was formed in 73 after the oil crisis so remind us what that wasn't how we have come. the

crisis so remind us what that wasn't how we have come.— how we have come. the 73 oil crisis hat-ened how we have come. the 73 oil crisis happened when _ how we have come. the 73 oil crisis happened when members _ how we have come. the 73 oil crisis happened when members of- how we have come. the 73 oil crisis happened when members of opeci happened when members of 0pec decided to reduce production in retaliation to the western powers support to the war between egypt and israel divert such important egister that sent prices soaring and quadrupling, they stayed high for several years afterwards. look at where we have come to die, we have worst in europe, tensions in the middle east, sanctions on major producers such as venezuela and iran and yet oil prices are barely taking notice. that means there has been huge progress in reducing the dependence of the world on oil and on the production so to give you a very simple statistic, in 73 oil used to provide 50% of the worlds total energy needs and today that share has dropped to 32%. 0pec is to

provide half of the world supply, that share has dropped to 36% and prices will continue to spike if you have major development but look at what happened in 22, they spiked but within few months they went back to affordable levels so these are all important indicators that the world has come a long way since the first oil shock and we are in a much better positioned than 50 years ago. in terms of climate change and the implications of phasing out fossil fuels for all in the future, what are they?— fuels for all in the future, what are the ? , i. ., , i, fuels for all in the future, what are the ? , ., , i, i, are they? these indicators mean that the world is — are they? these indicators mean that the world is towards _ are they? these indicators mean that the world is towards diversifying - the world is towards diversifying our primary energy mix, getting different sources of energy including green energy and renewable energy but we still have a long way to go to phase out fossil fuel such as oil, coal and natural gas providing 80% of total energy needs

but the good news is we are heading in the right direction and even if we cannot eliminate them entirely, the fossil fuels, i think it would be unrealistic to expect in the next 20 or 30 or even 40 years, at least we want a bigger share of cleaner and greenerfuels providing energy needs. d0 and greener fuels providing energy needs. , s, and greener fuels providing energy needs. , ., i, and greener fuels providing energy needs. i, ., needs. do you envisage a situation ou could needs. do you envisage a situation you could have _ needs. do you envisage a situation you could have another— needs. do you envisage a situation you could have another oil- needs. do you envisage a situation you could have another oil crisis i needs. do you envisage a situation you could have another oil crisis orj you could have another oil crisis or do you think that it's a thing of the past? do you think that it's a thing of the ast? ., s. do you think that it's a thing of the ast? ., i, , do you think that it's a thing of the past?— do you think that it's a thing of the ast? ., i, , i, i, the past? you can always have a crisis and _ the past? you can always have a crisis and major _ the past? you can always have a crisis and major supply - the past? you can always have a i crisis and major supply disruptions, imagine the pressure is on the middle east spreading, so far they have not resulted in supply losses but imagine they could result in major supply losses and of course we will see price spikes but the difference is how long the spikes last. you have bought supplies coming from outside the middle east in terms of growth, last year and this year from the us and canada and kiana, the new kid on the block. so

this reduces the extent of the crisis, its duration and burden, we are not as dependent on oil as we were 50 years ago so demand is much more responsive and sensitive to prices but compared to 73 when consumers did not have as many options as they have today. thank ou so options as they have today. thank you so much _ options as they have today. thank you so much for— options as they have today. thank you so much for your _ options as they have today. thank you so much for your analysis. i around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news bringing in different stories from across the uk. this is a cornerstone for the lgbt plus community. a cornerstone for the lgbt plus community-— a cornerstone for the lgbt plus communi . .,, , i, , ., community. the developers want us to sa but the community. the developers want us to say but the building _ community. the developers want us to say but the building work— community. the developers want us to say but the building work schedule i say but the building work schedule means we cannot operate in the same way we want to. profit margins are high, cost of living crisis coming out of the pandemic, goods are expensive, it's a firestorm. the was

in 2015 just — expensive, it's a firestorm. the was in 2015just after— expensive, it's a firestorm. the was in 2015just after it _ expensive, it's a firestorm. the was in 2015 just after it was _ expensive, it's a firestorm. the was in 2015just after it was declared i in 2015just after it was declared on asset of community value. alex and his campaigners have been coming here every saturday since then and they have had some good news. the blackca they have had some good news. tue: blackcap will they have had some good news. tta: blackcap will reopen they have had some good news. he blackcap will reopen unless something terrible happens. flit? something terrible happens. city hall is working with camden council to reopen the venue and is committed to reopen the venue and is committed to ensuring london's nightlife thrives and survives. for more stories from across the uk head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. the german chancellor, 0laf scholz, has called for a massive increase in the european production of armaments. speaking during a foundation—laying ceremony for a major new arms manufacturing plant, mr scholz said those who wanted peace had to be able to deter aggressors. his remarks follow donald trump's election campaign comment that he would encourage russia to attack any nato country that hadn't spent enough on defence. jessica parker reports from berlin.

spades in the ground for a new ammunition factory in germany as european leaders try to look resolute despite fresh fears that another trump presidency could wreck transatlantic defence guarantees. chancellor, what do you make of donald trump's comments over the weekend? i'm sure that it is absolutely clear that we are cooperating, and nato's with nato's alliance is of essence for the peace and security of america and for european countries. and so we will stick to this alliance, and we are sure that this also the will and the decision of the people of america. do you think that europe must get ready to go it alone if necessary, without us support? i think europe has to be ready no matter what, and the situation we are in with a more and more aggressive russia and a war going on for now two years in europe

shows us that we have to scale up. at this weapons plant, everyone's trying to appear composed, but there is alarm because the us is crucial to european security. so how long before the continent could defend itself? i think we need ten years, really. we need ten years because the stocks are empty. and if you really have an aggressor who wants to fight against the nato, to be really prepared, we need ten years. look at these estimates. the countries in green met the nato spending target last year. in red are all those nations that didn't, including france, italy and germany. people there organised the camp. julius used to campaign for disarmament, but says he's changed and so has germany — a nation that has been nervous of rearming after the catastrophic conflicts of the 20th century. i remember the last days of the second world war.

fleeing from the east. hearing the cannons. i remember that, iwas eight years then so... that happened because democracy wasn't defended. germany is set to up its defence budget this year, and with nine months until the us election, europe will for now have to concentrate on the things it can actually control. jessica parker, bbc news in lower saxony. in brazil, the final parade of rio carnival takes place on tuesday. the annual celebrations dominate february around brazil as top samba schools compete with one another. with more, here s our south america correspondent ione wells. lent might be the time to hold back. but the holiday before it starts is the time to go all out. all out dancing...

..all out costumes... ..all out music. translation: the| carnival is amazing. i'm loving it. i come every year, and every year it's better than the last one. rio's carnival is perfect. crowds swarm here from around the world to watch the parades. a chance for performers to highlight political issues too. this samba school, salgueiro, paid tribute to the country's largest indigenous group, the yanomami, asking that the amazon and local communities be protected from illegal mining and the contamination of water and the rainforest it causes. translation: salgueiro was very i present in this historical time . that we are living by bringing the yanomami here, because right now the yanomami territory is suffering with gold miners and folks that don't respect the forest people. the school also paid tribute

to the british journalist don phillips and local indigenous expert, bruno pereira. they were murdered in the amazon in 2022, after investigating illegalfishing, logging and drug trafficking in indigenous reserves. this is the place where politics and partying collide, because if there was anywhere to make a noise about something, it's here. ione wells, bbc news, sao paolo. 0ne one person is missing and what people have been injured in the swedish city of gothenburg after flames engulfed in yellow belt water park forcing the evacuation of hotels and offices. police want me back residents to remain indoors because of smoke. the park were still several months away from its official opening. because of the blaze is currently unknown. taiwan's ministry ofjustice said the former

prime minister has been granted parole and will be freed later this month from the hospital where he has been serving a one—yearjail term. a return to thailand last august after 15 years in self—imposed exile. he was sent to jail on charges of corruption and abuse of power when she says were politically motivated. let's take you to some live pictures coming into us from gaza. people have been preparing in rafah, that is a view of rafah in the south of casa after air strikes that happened two nights ago to free up hostages who are being held there in concert. president biden has appealed for the protection of civilians in rafah after he met king abdullah from jordan in washington on monday. this

is bbc news. police have thanked villagers in warwickshire who took matters into their own hands when they saw two men fly tipping near meriden. the men were seen throwing black bin bags and pipes onto the road, but the residents blockaded them with their vehicles and phoned the police to prevent them fleeing the scene, as jo black reports. caught in the act. piles of rubbish dumped on a country lane in warwickshire. when flytipping was suspected, local families were prompted to take matters into their own hands. adam beaty, a farmer, was first to arrive. i whipped up there in the pick—up to find a large transit van, a high—sided transit van. he was just emptying the last of his rubbish out, actually. he saw me, jumped out of the back of the vehicle. he was quite abusive to me initially, and then my son came up in a pick—up behind me and he went

quiet, thenjumped in the van, tried to turn around to speed off, initially got stuck. so his friend, who was there in another van, jumped out, had to push him out. and then they sped off up this track. after chasing a farm track for around about a mile, i would think, we managed to block them in. the gamekeeper and my brother came in from the other end, wouldn't let the vans pass, and we blocked them in. the police were called and say they told the fly—tippers to reload the weight back into their vans. 90 minutes later, the vans were then seized and two men placed under investigation. the incident we saw on wednesday was significant in the fact that we had two full vans' worth of goods disposed on the side of the road in a careless manner that ultimately put other road users at risk. the refuse was just dumped at the side of the road in a careless way that has just left people having to pick up the pieces. luckily, on this occasion the farmers were there and able

to stop them, but on a lot of occasions we don't see that and it can have such a large impact on the rural communities. so i commend their efforts and would thank them for the work that they did. although a significant problem in warwickshire, flytipping also blights many of our urban and rural spaces across the country. the latest figures released from defra show between 2022 and 2023, local councils dealt with 1.08 million flytipping incidents, a slight decrease of 1% from the year before. but these figures only show part of the problem, because they relate to public land. any rubbish dumped on private land becomes the problem of that landowner, who usually has to cover the cost of clearing it away. it makes me livid, to be honest. livid. i can guarantee that at least once a week we will get an issue with flytipping, no matter whether it be one bin bag, some tyres, drug paraphernalia. we get lots of marijuana plants and the rubbish

that comes with them, dumped out, the metal piping... we get lots of builders' waste, where possibly bathrooms, kitchens have been done out. we'll get the empty baths, we'll get mattresses, we'll get bin bags full of babies' nappies — we get everything. warwickshire police says this incident was some of the worst flytipping its officers had seen in a long time. it also says people concerned about flytipping should not put themselves at risk, and call the police, because offenders sometimes dispose of hazardous waste, and that could be dangerous. jo black, bbc news. pet owners are being urged to take more care after a rise in the number of wild animals being attacked by cats and dogs. a wildlife hospital in sussex says small animals like hedgehogs and birds are being injured — and they're concerned many more wounded creatures are out

there that they can't help, as sean killick reports. so they like to hide in the back. so you just remove some of that bedding and then we can very gently pick them up. and we're going to pop him in his scales to be weighed for today. brent lodge is a busy wildlife hospital. last year they treated 2,500 patients and now they've analysed the numbers and discovered that one in five of all wild animals treated here had been attacked by a cat or a dog, such as this hedgehog pictured after being treated for severe head wounds following a dog attack. and this wood pigeon which was attacked by three cats with wounds all over its body. we have hedgehogs that are caught by dogs and deer and foxes and even young badger cubs that are caught by dogs, and birds that are caught by cats and dogs, predominantly cats. there are many animals that don't make it to us. there's a lot more of a problem than what we're seeing here. but yeah, we do get a huge number through. they've just opened a new building with a veterinary treatment room

and triage area costing £600,000, funded through legacy donations. when we have a veterinary team in, they have access to general anaesthetics, x—ray machines and it'sjust a general room to treat all of our animals. what would your message be to cat and dog owners in particular? just be mindful. if you're in a nature reserve, you should already have your dog on a lead. but make sure they're on a lead because ground dwelling birds, things like that. if you've got a cat, bells on collars, maybe don't feed the birds in your garden because you're just giving them food on a plate, really, essentially. but there are definitely things we can be doing to reduce any risk of animals being caught. which would be good news for ourfriend the hedgehog here, who's due to be released back into the wild soon. that was sean killick reporting. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol hello again. over the next few days, the temperature is going to creep up. it's going to turn much milder. what we have today this weather front across the northwest

of scotland producing some showers. it's behind this weather front coming into the southwest that we start to drag in the milder conditions. but with it, too, it's bringing in a lot of cloud and some rain and some drizzle across england and also wales. that rain pepping up across northern england through the day. eventually, we'll see a bit more cloud into the far south of southern scotland and also parts of northern ireland, but clearer skies, some hazy sunshine across much of the rest of scotland. and we're looking at 6 to 9 here, but 10 to 12 in the south. now through this evening and overnight, we continue with cloudy and wet conditions across england, also wales, getting into northern ireland and then eventually southern scotland. but under clearer skies across the highlands, for example, temperatures in sheltered glens could fall away to —5 or —6. much milderfurther south. into tomorrow then we've got a clutch of weather fronts. this one heading northwards. you can see this one trailing across the south. so essentially it means once again, we're looking at a cloudy and a wet day. the rain on and off through the course of the day pushing northwards. here's the trailing front. in between there'll be some brighter skies, but the brightest skies will be in the far north of scotland where we see some hazy sunshine.

highs 6 to 8, but note how the milder conditions are spreading further north. and that process will continue as we head on through thursday. we still have weather fronts in the forecast, but it's all but the very far north of scotland, the northern isles, that are going to be in the milderair. so on thursday, it's another cloudy and wet day. again, we've got the rain pushing north, more rain coming in across the southwest, some brighter skies in between. but it's the temperature that will be the talking point because on thursday, somewhere in the southeast could hit 16 or 17. but the milder air continuing to track that bit further north. then as we move on into friday, the rain clears away from the east. we've got a ridge of high pressure building in. there'll be variable amounts of cloud. but even so, we'll see some breaks in that cloud with a few showers scattered in the west, particularly west wales and temperatures slipping a little

bit but still up to 14. live from london, this is bbc news 0n patrol when air strikes hit... we have a special report on the work and lives of the paramedics responding to gaza's emergency calls. as smoke rises above the rafah crossing, high—level negotiations are due to take place across the border in cairo involving american, egyptian and qatari officials. labour suspends its rochdale by—election candidate, azhar ali,

as more details emerge about the comments he made about israel. indian police have fired tear gas at thousands of farmers who are marching to delhi to demand guaranteed prices for their crops. and joe biden hasjoined tiktok. the us president signs up to the platform despite its ban on most us government devices hello, i'm lauren taylor. during the first month of the war between hamas and israel, northern gaza was under heavy israeli bombardment. paramedics from the international red cross and red crescent society, many of whom are volunteers, are the first to respond to calls on gaza's emergency number, 101. local film—maker feras al—ajarmi documented their lives and work over several weeks — here's his special report produced by bbc arabic.