as russian forces close in on a key town. the first american moon landing in more than 50 years — it's due to touchdown next week and who's the daddy? how has this stingray got pregnant when it's been living with sharks? in sportsday later in the hour on bbc news — we will have the latest on roy hodgson, with speculation about his future the crystal palace manager has been undergoing tests in hospital after being taken ill in training. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the uk went into recession during the second half of last year as the economy shrank twice in a row betweenjuly and december. the figures are from the office for national statistics which estimates that gross domestic product — that's a key measure of economic activity — fell by 0.3% towards the end of 2023

following a fall of 0.1% the previous quarter. it's the third time that the uk has fallen into recession in the past 25 years. the first was during the financial crash in 2008 — that was the deepest recession for decades. the most recent was at the start of covid when much of the economy was forced to shut down. the good news is this latest recession is smaller than previous ones. the difficult issue for the prime minister is that one of his five pledges is to grow the economy. 0ur economics editor faisal islam reports. signs of the times in harlow town centre. 0n the one hand, some evidence of the struggle for hairdressers, retailers, restaurateurs and others on the high street. on the other, they need to fill recruitment gaps. it may look like a recession, indeed it is now

officially a recession, but it's not a very normal one. we officially a recession, but it's not a very normal one.— officially a recession, but it's not a very normal one. we went to the food bank. — a very normal one. we went to the food bank, because _ a very normal one. we went to the food bank, because some - a very normal one. we went to the food bank, because some of- a very normal one. we went to the food bank, because some of the i food bank, because some of the products are so expensive, for example, meet. products are so expensive, for example. meet-— products are so expensive, for example, meet. haven't got any mone , example, meet. haven't got any money. can't — example, meet. haven't got any money. can't go — example, meet. haven't got any money, can't go out, _ example, meet. haven't got any money, can't go out, everything| example, meet. haven't got any l money, can't go out, everything is expensive — money, can't go out, everything is “pensive-— expensive. things are expensive. ho efull expensive. things are expensive. hepefully they — expensive. things are expensive. hopefully they will _ expensive. things are expensive. hopefully they will get _ expensive. things are expensive. hopefully they will get better, i expensive. things are expensive. hopefully they will get better, or| hopefully they will get better, or they will— hopefully they will get better, or they will get _ hopefully they will get better, or they will get worse. _ hopefully they will get better, or they will get worse. we - hopefully they will get better, or they will get worse. we will - hopefully they will get better, or they will get worse. we will have hopefully they will get better, or. they will get worse. we will have to ride it _ they will get worse. we will have to ride it through. _ they will get worse. we will have to ride it through, like _ they will get worse. we will have to ride it through, like we've - they will get worse. we will have to ride it through, like we've all- ride it through, like we've all done — ride it through, like we've all done. , ride it through, like we've all done. . .. ride it through, like we've all done. , ., ._ ride it through, like we've all done. , ., ., done. here is one way of comparing recessions- — done. here is one way of comparing recessions- in _ done. here is one way of comparing recessions. in the _ done. here is one way of comparing recessions. in the 80s, _ done. here is one way of comparing recessions. in the 80s, 90s - done. here is one way of comparing recessions. in the 80s, 90s and - done. here is one way of comparing i recessions. in the 80s, 90s and the 20005, recessions. in the 80s, 90s and the 2000s, the hitter to the economy can be seen here, how deep and long it lasts, with the worst being the great financial crisis of 2008 onwards. in red is what we have seen so far in the recession now confirmed to have started last year. and how things might pan out, over the next year, if forecasters are right. it is still a recession, but a more moderate deck. the big picture here though, is a economy that has failed to grow over the last two years. do you accept this as a recession? the last two years. do you accept this as a recession?— last two years. do you accept this

as a recession? the numbers speak for themselves. _ as a recession? the numbers speak for themselves. but _ as a recession? the numbers speak for themselves. but the _ as a recession? the numbers speak for themselves. but the underlying | for themselves. but the underlying picture here is that our plan has been to tackle inflation. first and foremost. that does mean higher interest rates. that is why it's an important period now, despite this challenging data, that we stick to a plan that is seeing inflation really starting to fall. you plan that is seeing inflation really starting to fall.— starting to fall. you have again called this _ starting to fall. you have again called this a — starting to fall. you have again called this a turning _ starting to fall. you have again called this a turning point. - starting to fall. you have again| called this a turning point. how starting to fall. you have again - called this a turning point. how can it be a turning point when growth is going on the wrong direction? the turnin: going on the wrong direction? tie: turning point going on the wrong direction? tte: turning point will going on the wrong direction? tt2 turning point will come when inflation falls to its target level of 2% and the bank of england feels it can bring down interest rates. the shadow chancellor blamed the recession on the prime minister. fiur recession on the prime minister. our economy is — recession on the prime minister. our economy is now smaller than when rishi _ economy is now smaller than when rishi sunak— economy is now smaller than when rishi sunak entered 10 downing street_ rishi sunak entered 10 downing street in— rishi sunak entered 10 downing street in 2022. having spent years in the _ street in 2022. having spent years in the slow — street in 2022. having spent years in the slow lane, rishi sunak has now put— in the slow lane, rishi sunak has now put our— in the slow lane, rishi sunak has now put our economy into reverse. this is— now put our economy into reverse. this is his _ now put our economy into reverse. this is his recession. and it is the british— this is his recession. and it is the british people who will pay the

price — british people who will pay the price 0" — british people who will pay the rice. .. n' . british people who will pay the rice. ., , ., price. on the outskirts of cambridge. _ price. on the outskirts of cambridge, some - price. on the outskirts of cambridge, some house| price. on the outskirts of- cambridge, some house building is getting going. but, as this morning's figures confirmed, it's been a tough period for construction. in been a tough period for construction.— been a tough period for construction. :: g; .. been a tough period for construction. :: g; ., . , construction. in 2023, the word was robabl construction. in 2023, the word was probably turbulence. _ construction. in 2023, the word was probably turbulence. the _ construction. in 2023, the word was probably turbulence. the first - probably turbulence. the first nine months were extremely challenging. we were still feeling the ripple effects of inflation running through the industry. and that was, in a way, compounded with rising interest rates. as we came into the back of the year, probably the final three months, there was a level of optimism, that a bit of calm was coming to the market, albeit a little bit. tt coming to the market, albeit a little bit. . ., .. , , little bit. if he and the forecasts are riaht, little bit. if he and the forecasts are right, this _ little bit. if he and the forecasts are right, this recession - little bit. if he and the forecasts are right, this recession won't last long. but that can't mask an economy that's failing to grow normally or at all right now. and our economics editor faisal islam is here now. as you were saying, it is not as deep as the last two recessions, but what kind of impact will it have? when people hear the word recession, they think of a situation like we

showed in 2008, the great financial crisis, or 2020, showed in 2008, the great financial crisis, or2020, during a pandemic. as we have shown, this is not that. it is what you get when you bounce along the bottom with zero growth and then there is a problem in the retail or construction sector, which then causes a dip into a recession, not a slump. that doesn't mean it is not a slump. that doesn't mean it is not a problem. for a government that has claimed that growth will occur, that they will get the economy growing, that was a promise. this is clearly a very deep challenge. for a government that has, since the turn of the year, said we have a turning point, this is not really consistent with that. when pressed, you heard the chancellor saying the turning point will come. when? when the bank of england feels confident enough about inflation to cut interest rates. it's not clear that is going to come imminently. we are still perhaps months away, this recessionary cloud will hang over the situation for a couple of months yet. the situation for a couple of months et. . , . the situation for a couple of months new figures show that the number

of patients in england waiting more than 12 hours for a bed in a&e was 19 times higher this winter than it was before the pandemic. the king's fund think—tank says that long delays are becoming normalised. 0ur health editor hugh pym joins us from a hospital in central london. hugh. yes, health chiefs say hospitals right now are really busy, even more so than this time last year. and there was a lot of pressure then. 95% of hospital beds are occupied, close to capacity. 0ne 95% of hospital beds are occupied, close to capacity. one result of all of this is the very long wait in a&e in england for some patients. in december and january, in england for some patients. in decemberand january, 98,000 in england for some patients. in december and january, 98,000 people had to wait more than 12 hours after a decision to admit to a&e before they were given a bed. and all of that time spent on a trolley or a chair, perhaps, not much improvement at all on the previous year. go back to pre—pandemic, the end of 2019—20, and the figure was much lower, 5000. a few years before that, the long

waits were almost unheard of. nhs england says that there have been more flu cases, more pressure there. they have had to cope with industrial action. and they did put industrial action. and they did put in place plans to cope with the increased demand. it's notjust on england problem, of course. in northern ireland this week, they announced their worst ever a&e figures, from october to december, 55% of patients waiting more than four hours just to be treated or assessed. the kings fund's conclusion, the think tank, is there is a danger here of incredibly poor performance, simply becoming normalised.— a 16—year—old boy has died after being stabbed by two people wearing masks in bristol. police said the attack took place in a park north—east of the city centre yesterday evening. they say they're keeping an open mind, but there's no clear link to the fatal stabbings of two teenagers in south bristol last month. dan johnson reports. this report contains some

distressing details. the last moments of a teenage life taken on bristol's streets just does this programme went on air last night. in the passenger seat of the van is a 16—year—old boy who has just been stabbed. we are not going to show what happens as the door opens and he falls to the pavement. ijust came opens and he falls to the pavement. i just came out opens and he falls to the pavement. ijust came out of opens and he falls to the pavement. i just came out of the shop and opens and he falls to the pavement. ijust came out of the shop and i saw the van was parked there and the guy was lying down on the floor. annie was trying to help. t can guy was lying down on the floor. annie was trying to help. i can only imaaine annie was trying to help. i can only imagine the — annie was trying to help. i can only imagine the pain _ annie was trying to help. i can only imagine the pain he _ annie was trying to help. i can only imagine the pain he was _ annie was trying to help. i can only imagine the pain he was going - imagine the pain he was going through. he was covered in blood, completely. through. he was covered in blood, completely-— through. he was covered in blood, i completely-_ 0h completely. really? on his back? on his back. completely. really? on his back? on his back- 12 — completely. really? on his back? on his back. 12 minutes _ completely. really? on his back? on his back. 12 minutes later, _ his back. 12 minutes later, paramedics _ his back. 12 minutes later, paramedics and _ his back. 12 minutes later, paramedics and an - his back. 12 minutes later, - paramedics and an ambulance his back. 12 minutes later, _ paramedics and an ambulance arrived. i don't know if you are still alive, but he was unconscious, he wasn't breathing then. they did the surgery on the spot, but it was too late already. it's really sad.- already. it's really sad. half a mile away. — already. it's really sad. half a mile away, this _ already. it's really sad. half a mile away, this is _ already. it's really sad. half a mile away, this is the - already. it's really sad. half a l mile away, this is the children's play area where he was attacked.

detectives say bye two people wearing masks, he rode off on bikes. we are told the boy ran from the park, looking for help. he made it to the main road year and a van driver stopped to assist him. they drove to the local police station, but they found that had closed nearly a year ago. this is the third fatal teenage stabbing in bristol in a month. 0thers fatal teenage stabbing in bristol in a month. others have been seriously injured, too. police say there is no evidence they are linked, but they had already announced extra patrols. now it is greater stop and search powers. what do you think is the root of the problem and what is the key to solving it?— key to solving it? look at the age of those involved, _ key to solving it? look at the age of those involved, the _ key to solving it? look at the age of those involved, the high - key to solving it? look at the age of those involved, the high levels of those involved, the high levels of violence being used, the weapons that are being carried currently, it is like something i've not seen before. we need to work with communities, we need to work with families, we need to work with schools to try to turn these behaviours around. qt} schools to try to turn these behaviours around. ' i: , . behaviours around. 90 minutes after he was stabbed, _ behaviours around. 90 minutes after he was stabbed, all— behaviours around. 90 minutes after he was stabbed, all hope _

behaviours around. 90 minutes after he was stabbed, all hope has - behaviours around. 90 minutes after he was stabbed, all hope has gone. l he was stabbed, all hope has gone. we don't yet know the name of this young man, but his life ended violently at just 16 years young man, but his life ended violently atjust 16 years old, violently atjust16 years old, leaving a murder investigation and so many questions of why this keeps happening. there are more police officers on the streets tonight in bristol. they have more powers to search people, to try to get knives of the streets. it's worth saying bristol does not have the worst record with a knife crime or youth violence in this country, but certainly the city has felt the worst impact of that violence over recent weeks, and the police are responding, even though they don't have the evidence that these incidents are connected. there are families in the city that are grieving, there are communities who are concerned and are asking what we need to do to stop this spreading. danjohnson, with latest from dan johnson, with latest from bristol. thank you. the israeli army says it is carrying out a precise and limited operation in the largest hospital in southern gaza. the israel defence force says

the nasser hospital in khan younis was being used to hold hostages taken by hamas during the 7th of october attacks. hamas is designated a terrorist organisatino by uk. the hospital's director has told the bbc that conditions inside are "very dangerous". 0ur middle east correspondent lucy williamson reports. you may find some of this report distressing. a medical refuge turned military target. in nasser hospital, they hunted for safety. to the sounds of destruction, by the light of mobile phones. hospitals are no protection from israel's army. a message for hamas, heard by all. the from israel's army. a message for hamas, heard by all.— from israel's army. a message for hamas, heard by all. the israel army now is almost — hamas, heard by all. the israel army now is almost about to _ hamas, heard by all. the israel army now is almost about to enter - hamas, heard by all. the israel army now is almost about to enter the - now is almost about to enter the hospital. now is almost about to enter the hos - ital. now is almost about to enter the hosital. , ., . ., hospital. their protection against israel's powerful _ hospital. their protection against israel's powerful army, _ hospital. their protection against israel's powerful army, a - hospital. their protection against

israel's powerful army, a table. i we have patients who need care, but after the israeli army bombed the hospital directly, most of our health care workers here are afraid about themselves and they have to leave the hospital. about a0 health care workers stayed at the hospital right now. care workers stayed at the hospital riaht now. , . ., care workers stayed at the hospital riaht now. , . . ., , .., right now. israel had ordered people to leave the hospital. _ right now. israel had ordered people to leave the hospital. when people i to leave the hospital. when people went out, they shot at them, and some were killed, mohammed said. they said there was a safe passage, but they approached us with a bulldozer and a tank. every half an hour, they let a few people go. with israeli forces surrounding the hospital, the army said it believed hamas fighters were inside. today, it said it had arrested several suspects there.— it said it had arrested several suspects there. because hamas

terrorists are — suspects there. because hamas terrorists are likely _ suspects there. because hamas terrorists are likely hiding - suspects there. because hamasl terrorists are likely hiding behind injured civilians inside nasa hospital right now, and appear to have used the hospital to hide our hostages there too, the idf is conducting a precise and limited operation inside nasa hospital. israel's hot army has been fighting its way through khan younis. holmes, turned to battlefields. street by street. the only relics from a previous life, it's people. now flee into the border town of rafah, the last stop for civilians in this war. the red cross has warned of unimaginable carnage of the army follows them there. it israel's prime minister has been clear, he will fight hamas wherever it hides, and rafah crossing toulouse will be next. donald trump will become the first

former us president to go on criminal trial after a judge in new york set the date for the end of next month. the case centres on allegations that he paid hush money to the porn star stormy daniels. mr trump is charged with falsifying business records, which he denies. 0ur north america correspondent, nada tawfik, joins us from outside the court in new york. nada... so, the date is yes, givenjust so, the date is yes, given just how many criminal cases the donald trump faces in total, there was always a question of which would go to trial first and now we have the answer. that first and now we have the answer. git this hearing this morning, just as it began, thejudge quickly this hearing this morning, just as it began, the judge quickly told donald trump, who was seated next to his lawyers, that he denied their motion to dismiss the case and it would go ahead as planned on march 25. that means that this hush money case is the first of a former president to stand trial on criminal charges. prosecutors say that donald trump allegedly paid their former

porn star stormy daniels $130,000 to stay quiet about their affair in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election. prosecutors allege he falsified business records and recorded those payments as legal fees. this trial will be historic and of course consequential because donald trump remains the leading presidential nominee for the republican party, to be the nominee for the party, and therefore, he said outside of court, donald trump, that this amounted to election interference, that there was no crime committed. but the judge was having none of that, saying that was not a legal argument. tomorrow, donald trump could receive further bad news. that is when a judge, a new yorkjudge in a separate civil trial, is expected to rule on the fate of his business empire and whether he will be ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars. thank you.

the time is 6:15. our top story this evening: the uk goes into recession, the economy shrank in the second half of last year according to official figures. the scientists studying the stingray coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news — in the year were on top and the third test even though england and the first day on a high. we will get the latest from rajkot. military assistance for ukraine is already having an impact on the battlefield. it comes as russian forces appear close to surrounding what's left of the front line town of avdiivka, in the donetsk region, after months of heavy fighting there. as our correspondent andrew harding reports, ukraine's army is stuggling with shortage of ammunition and other miltary supplies.

ukrainian tanks heading into battle. we are close to the russian lines here and to a town the kremlin has been desperate to capture for months. gunfire. inside of avdiivka, it's not going well for ukraine. these troops are increasingly pinned down and struggling. gunfire. in the ditch here, a wounded soldier needing urgent help. so what's going wrong for ukraine after two years of war? a simple answer can be found a few kilometers away. a ukrainian artillery team. last year, these men were firing 80 shells a day at russian positions around avdiivka. not any more. so these are the last two shells that you have? "yes", says the officer in charge.

"and these two don't even work." it is an alarming situation. russia is now outgunning ukraine by perhaps five to one. "we're upset", says 0leksii. "it means our infantry in avdiivka are fighting on their own without our support. i'm worried it will mean a lot more casualties." speaking of which, more wounded arrive at a nearby field hospital. 2a—year—old andrii has shrapnel in his ankle. ukraine, with a far smaller army than russia's, can't afford to lose many soldiers. machine beeps. in the next storeroom, a8—year—old vadym was hit by shrapnel this morning as he stormed a russian position. "we just don't have enough weapons", he says. what would you say to american politicians who are saying they're not going to give more

weapons to ukraine? "i would tell them to come here just once", he says. "then they'll understand the blood and sweat required to build a peaceful world." and the surgeon has this warning. "i urge the west to be more decisive in assisting ukraine", says vitalii. "otherwise, their soldiers will end up having to fight this russian evil too. " explosion. in the woods nearby, a live fire training exercise. gunfire. ukraine is racing to rebuild its war weary army. but there aren't enough volunteers any more, so more conscripts are being drafted in to fill the ranks. ukraine is not losing this war, at least not yet. but if it's to stand any chance of actually winning, then it's going to have to train an awful lot more men like this and find a lot

more weapons for what, right now, looks like it's going to be a very long conflict. andrew harding, bbc news, in eastern ukraine. a rocket has blasted off from cape canaveral in florida on a commercial mission to the moon. the project — which involves elon musk�*s spacex company, is carrying a robotic lander the size of a phone box. our science correspondent pallab ghosh was watching. fuelled up and ready for launch, on board the odysseus spacecraft. three, two, one. ignition and lift—off. go, spacex, go im—1 - and odysseus lunar lander. lighting up the night sky and on its way to the moon. you can see the blast from the rocket�*s powerful first stage, as it sends it hurtling away from earth's gravity.

inside the rocket, separation of the first stage. it'sjob now done. now, the protective nose cone peels away, the legs of the lander now in clear view. at the control centre, staff watch nervously at the next critical stage. im—1, odysseus lunar lander, separation confirmed. - the start of an eight da journey to the lunar surface. —— day journey. beautiful launch. so exciting. and its mission... characterizing the surface of the lunar south polar region, which is an extremely challenging environment to operate in. and it's preparing us for sending humans to the lunar surface. a private company is leading this mission, one of many that nasa has turned to to help it send astronauts back to the moon and to build a continuous human presence. what is now envisaged is that you have missions almost every

fortnight to the moon, and these missions are going to be much smaller, much nimbler, and they will go to various areas of the moon that have never been visited by the apollo missions. that was more than 50 years ago, and the very last time the us was on the moon. if the odysseus lander succeeds, it'll be the first time a private company will have touched down — marking a new era in space flight. pallab ghosh, bbc news. reports of anti—semitic incidents in the uk reached a record high last year, according to figures from a jewish charity. the community security trust recorded more than a,000 anti—jewish hate incidents in 2023 — with two thirds occuring after the october the 7th attacks on israel. it said the number of such incidents reported in and around schools have tripled since 2022. our education correspondent elaine dunkley reports.

there are guards and high—rise fences. security is tight. this is a jewish school in manchester. inside the king david high school, pupils tell me they feel safe. outside the school, they're experiencing increasing levels of anti—semitism. a few weeks ago, i was threatened, and i reported it, and the police have dealt with that. the person who, when i've been walking down the street, i've had like stuff shouted at me from cars, and it's had quite an impact. i get public transport to school and ijust feel a lot more wary. actually coming to school, there's definitely been an increased police presence around school. thisjewish girls' school in london was targeted and vandalised in the aftermath of hamas' attacks on israel in october last year. today's figures, published by the community security trust, are compiled from people calling their helpline to report anti—semitic attacks they have experienced or witnessed, and are also taken from police data. the report indicates anti—semitic

incidents affecting school children have more than trebled, compared to 2022. it says 87 incidents took place atjewish schools, and 127 were recorded at mainstream schools. and there were 111 incidents affecting children travelling to or from school. rabbi benjy rickman has been working with different faith schools across manchester for more than a decade, and says education is the key to tackling anti—semitism. when you can humanise the other, then you realise how much similarity exists between groups. and over the years, before our student population became more diverse, we took ourjewish kids to muslim schools, we did quite a lot of activities with schools in south manchester. some of the most beautiful moments are when you have those real nuggets of education when a young person goes, "0h, we're not so different after all." the government says it's ringfenced £7 million to help schools

in england tackle anti—semitism. these schoolchildren are hundreds of miles away from the conflict in the middle east, but say their lives here in manchester have changed significantly. i think it's quite important to represent my identity, but it's the thing that makes me afraid. elaine dunkley, bbc news. the bbc has dropped a contestant from tonight's apprentice spin—off show after he was accused of posting anti—semitic comments on social media. joining me now is david sillito. what's been going on? for fans of the forfans of the main programme will go ahead as planned but the main spin off you're fired won't be featuring the contestant in question, asif munaf. the reason, comments he made on social media, comments he made on social media, comments described as a vile anti—semitic comments. he did make a statement at the time saying he

apologised for any offence caused and accepted some of the language may have been illjudged but denied what he said was anti—semitic. he repeated that today in comments, saying he is insistent that anti—zionism is not anti—semitism and he says that the bbc has only dropped him because of what he calls pressure from he describes as a zionist lobby. the bbc meanwhile says it's been giving him specialised training to understand why his posts may have caused offence. so in summary, the apprentice spin off programme goes played as planned but asif munaf will not be on it.— played as planned but asif munaf will not be on it. crystal palace say their manager roy hodgson is stable in hospital after he was "taken ill" during training earlier today. it was widely reported this morning that the club were about to sack the 76—year—old former england manager. palace cancelled a news conference after he was taken ill. the stingray mystery in a moment. but first...

it's thursday so it's fiona with question time later this evening. tonight — the uk has hit recession but the government says the economy has turned a corner. can both be true? meanwhile, labour is in difficulty over anti—semitism again. we're in lancaster on iplayer from 8pm and bbc one after the ten o'clock news. a female stingray is making waves in the us, after she appeared to have become pregnant with no male involved. charlotte — as she's called — has lived with five small sharks in a fish tank in a shop for the last eight years. simon jones has more. there she goes, there she goes. now, you might see her a little bit better. hi, sweet baby. hi, sweet baby mama! but who's the daddy? the pregnancy is a bit of a maritime mystery, but it seems for charlotte, the stingray, it doesn't take two to tango. she hasn't shared a tank with a male of her species in at least eight years, but she is now with pups. we are believing that the process for charlotte to be pregnant is being done

by something called parthenogenesis. and parthenogenesis literally translates into "virgin birth" or "miracle birth", and what happens is the female will develop the eggs, and then the eggs will develop embryos. look, it's flapping. it's flapping! charlotte has been living at an aquarium in north carolina with five small sharks, but experts say any shark and stingray shenanigans would be unlikely, though dna testing will be carried out when the pups arrive. here at sea life london aquarium, they've got around 20 stingrays of their own, but none of them have made quite as big a splash as charlotte. but here, no doubt, they will be watching very closely what happens across the pond, as charlotte prepares for her big moment. although other kinds of rays and sharks have been known to develop unfertilized eggs themselves, charlotte is thought to be the first of her species of stingray. you may work with animals, you know,

for months or even years on end and this doesn't happen. and all of a sudden, you come in one morning and you notice behaviour�*s different or there's a slight change. charlotte is expected to give birth in the next couple of weeks, though all this attention might be getting a bit much for her. simon jones, bbc news. clever charlotte. time for a look at the weather. here's louise lear. upstaged by a stingray, there is a first! i have some good news to tell you, actually. it has been incredibly mild through the day today. wet underfoot but warm and wet, perfect growing conditions for the spring flowers out there. it has felt pretty springlike for most of us today. take a look at what our average temperatures should be at this time of year. bear in mind we are still only midway through february in some areas across worcestershire, london and norfolk, they had seen temperatures a good 10

degrees above that. so an incredibly mild story. but back to reality, there has been some rain around as well, some of it heavy in the last few hours coming up from the south—west and that will drift its way steadily eastwards over night tonight. could be some heavy bursts along the east midlands and the ground is very saturated. so that is worth bearing in mind. it will ease away, clearer skies following on behind. a northerly wind kicking and across scotland. here, not quite as mild to start tomorrow. around four degrees and generally not as mild as we saw this morning. as we go through the day, not a bad day in prospect. some lovely sunshine coming through for most of us. some isolated showers in north wales, of the irish sea and northern england but on the whole, dry with some sunny spells coming through. breezy, vertically down to the channel and temperature still above where they should be for this time of year, 6-1a the should be for this time of year, 6—1a the hive. as we move into the weekend, we will see further

outbreaks of rain. it will be a tale