but it's the �*uncommitted' voters and their anger over his gaza policy that are grabbing the attention. israeli and hamas officials downplay hopes for an imminent gaza ceasefire — raising doubts about a truce before ramadan in two weeks�* time. councils across england are facing financial meltdown — with many approaching bankruptcy in the next few years. hello, i'm samantha simmonds. welcome. south korea's record low birth rate has fallen again. it's the lowest in the world — and politicians are warning of a national emergency. data for 2023 shows there were 0.72 births per woman in south korea, down from what was already a record low of 0.78 the year before. it's a similar trend in many developed nations. injapan the figure was 1.26 in 2022. but new figures show the number of births fell 5.1% last year, the eighth drop in a row. and here in the uk, the birth

rate in 2022 was 1.49 — the lowest since records began. for a country's population to hold steady, there must be 2.1 births per woman. and falling birth rates are causing alarm for politicians, facing a future of ageing populations and shrinking workforces. let's get more on this with our correspondent.— let's get more on this with our correspondent. south korea has broken its _ correspondent. south korea has broken its lowest _ correspondent. south korea has broken its lowest birth - correspondent. south korea has broken its lowest birth rate - correspondent. south korea has l broken its lowest birth rate record once again according to new numbers released on wednesday by statistics korea, mother country's birth rate recorded 0.72, an 8% decrease from the previous year. the capital city seoul recorded 0.55 which is the lowest among all the districts across the country. although the low

birth trend is spreading all across the world, especially among developed countries, south korea is... after reaching its peak in 2015 with a birth rate of 1.24, the number has been falling for eight consecutive years. if this trend continues, the number of working age people in south korea is estimated to have by 2072 with half the population being over the age of 65. this is the reason why many politicians and experts are calling this situation a national emergency. but still, many young people are refusing to take part to reverse this trend. why? it is hard to give a one size fits all type of answer to this question. soaring housing prices, expensive education, competitive workplace culture, career disruption, stagnating economy growth and more account for this. notably, more women in this country are trying to continue on with their career and when they are

doing this, giving birth means facing a major hurdle in front of them. presidentjoe biden and donald trump have both been projected as the winners, for their respective parties, in the latest us primary election. voters in the state of michigan have selected the current and former president as their nominees for the democrats and republicans. it strengthens the likelihood of another clash between the two men in this year's presidential race. but mr biden faced a rebellion within his own party over his support for israel in its war in gaza. activists urged democrats to vote "uncommitted" rather than cast a ballot for the president. so far, more than 40,000 had chosen "uncommitted", however, mr biden has received 80% of the vote — that's according to cbs news. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes gave us his analysis. no surprises here. no surprise that donald trump should defeat nikki haley, his really only remaining opposition to get the nomination for the republican party.

nikki haley still insisting in the last few hours that she is going to stay in this race all the way through to at least in a week's time, super tuesday, when, of course, several states go to the polls. but there doesn't seem to be any route in terms of those remaining states for nikki haley to make an impact against donald trump. in face, mr trump releasing a statement after these results started to come in, saying that he is looking forward to a big win on november 5th at the general election. in fact, he said he can't wait for that day to come. and his focus very clearly now is on the fight againstjoe biden. mr biden also had a very good night. he was clearly the most popular candidate for the democrats and received a significant number of votes. but there was this rebellion within his party, those people deciding that they were uncommitted. and it looks like the votes are still being counted. it'll end up around about 13

to 15% of the votes, which is quite significant. the issue here being mr biden�*s stance on israel, his refusal to call for a permanent ceasefire, and this particular group, the listen to michigan group out to really send the president a message that they disapprove of his very strong, staunch support of israel and want to see him change on that. and the big issue here, of course, is that michigan has a very large arab—american community, a lot of muslim voters, and that community has been increasingly angry at what they see happening in gaza and the plight of palestinians. peter bowes there. let's get the latest on what is happening in gaza and israel. more details have emerged about a proposed temporary ceasefire for gaza according to the biden administration. negotiators are hoping to reach

a ceasefire agreement that can be implemented before ramadan, which begins on march 10th. the draft framework would include a 40—day pause in all military operations. this comes a day after mr biden said a pause in fighting in gaza could begin early next week. but hamas has yet to respond to the deal drawn up in paris over the weekend. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu says the two sides are far apart on an agreement. mr biden also warned israel risks losing global support in the war if its gaza offensive drags on but mr netanyahu dismissed his comments. translation: from the beginning i of the war, i have been leading l a diplomatic campaign whose goal is to deflect the pressure to end the war prematurely and, at the same time, to also gain support for israel. we have significant support in this area. today, a new harvard harris poll has published that 82% of the american public support israel. it means four or five citizens in the us support israel and not hamas.

this gives us a source of strength to continue the battle until total victory. according to reuters and the hamas run health ministry, some 70,000 have been injured in gaza. live now to jerusalem and our middle east correspondent yolande knell. bring us up—to—date first of all on these negotiations for a ceasefire and a hostage return.— these negotiations for a ceasefire and a hostage return. after those comments _ and a hostage return. after those comments by _ and a hostage return. after those comments by president _ and a hostage return. after those comments by president biden - and a hostage return. after those comments by president biden in. and a hostage return. after those - comments by president biden in which he said he believed a ceasefire deal would be in place by the start of next week, we did hear a lot of caution being sounded by the israelis, by hamas, by the qatari mediators as well. but we know there are delegations from israel and from hamas in the qatari capital doha who

are continuing to work on details during indirect talks to try to come up during indirect talks to try to come up with a new deal that could continue through the month of ramadan, last and, continue through the month of ramadan, lastand, as continue through the month of ramadan, last and, as you said, for some 40 days, according to media reports. when it comes to the main sticking point, what we understand, there are reservations from hamas which is yet to give its official response to the framework deal that was drawn up in paris, and agreed with israel with qatari and us involvementjust with israel with qatari and us involvement just last week. with israel with qatari and us involvementjust last week. hamas involvement just last week. hamas wants involvementjust last week. hamas wants to see some kind of plan to return displaced people to the north of the gaza strip. it's concerned apparently that the framework deal doesn't involve the full withdrawal of israeli troops from gaza and doesn't show some kind of pathway to there being a full ceasefire down there being a full ceasefire down the line. at the moment we are talking about an extended truce. 0n

the israeli side, hostage family very concerned as they begin another march from the communities around the gaza strip towardsjerusalem. they have just begun that in the past couple of hours and will be arriving injerusalem within a few days. this deal is only talking about a small number, a few dozen of the more than 130 hostages that are believed to remain in gaza. that number, 130, includes a number of other bodies, people have been killed. men of fighting age and male soldiers are not included in this deal, as far as we understand it. how much pressure is prime minister benjamin netanyahu coming under? we are approaching nearly five months into this conflict and as you say some 130 hostages still being held in gaza. we don't know how many of

them are still alive. does he continue to retain the support of the majority of israelis for his policies? the majority of israelis for his olicies? ., , the majority of israelis for his olicies? . , ., , policies? certainly there are still wide suoport _ policies? certainly there are still wide support among _ policies? certainly there are still wide support among israelis - policies? certainly there are still wide support among israelis for| wide support among israelis for conducting the war in gaza for israel's objective to dismantle hamas. but there is also at the same time wide public support for the hostages�* families, although i have to say they have also been facing some sort of political backlash within israel. it hasn�*t been easy for them to have their voices heard always, particularly we have seen that in recent days. but we have had the qatari emir on a state visit to france talking about how there is now a race against time to free those remaining hostages. this is something that is very urgent. find something that is very urgent. and what about the situation in gaza? it remains desperate. do we know how much aid is getting at the moment? we are hearing from the israelis that some aid has been able to reach

the north of the gaza strip. really what we have continued to see over the past few days is countries like jordan, egypt, and with support from the iraqis actually carrying out air drops over gaza, trying to get aid to those who so desperately need it with more and more reports of mass starvation, particularly in the north of the gaza strip where it had been so difficult for aid agencies to get access there. and there have been complaints aired at the un security council about the amount of aid that is going on through the land crossings with israel controlling those security checks. israel hitting back and saying there is no limit on aid that is allowed in and putting the blame on the un the. but we are hearing from top officials in un agencies that now one quarter of the population in gazais one quarter of the population in gaza isjust one one quarter of the population in gaza is just one step away from famine, they say. gaza isjust one step away from famine, they say.— gaza isjust one step away from famine, they say. yolande knell, for now, famine, they say. yolande knell, for now. thank— famine, they say. yolande knell, for now. thank you- _

famine, they say. yolande knell, for now, thank you. a _ famine, they say. yolande knell, for now, thank you. a new _ famine, they say. yolande knell, for now, thank you. a new report - famine, they say. yolande knell, for now, thank you. a new report warns| now, thank you. a new report warns councils in england are in financial crisis with many facing bankruptcy in the next few years. the local government information unit spoke to local authorities across the country, with services like parks, libraries, the arts, and social care all at risk of cuts. and to fill the gap in funding, many authorities plan to raise council tax. 0ur reporter vinny mcaviney has more. yay! well done. alex is about to turn 18, and on top of the regular worries parents have about their children, mum sylvia also has to think about alex�*s autism and the extra support he needs to gain independence. support that�*s under fire for her and other families as birmingham city council struggles with financial difficulties. what you get is families that are on their knees with a trauma presentation, traumatised kids, and they never get decent outcomes. theyjust end up constantly trying to get the basics, which everybody else�*s

child gets naturally. and it�*s notjust birmingham that�*s struggling. across the country, councils are warning that front—line neighbourhood services like parks, leisure facilities and libraries are in jeopardy. despite government having recently provided emergency funding, a new survey of council management by the local government information unit has found 51% of senior figures warned their councils are likely to go bust in the next five years. 9% of respondents say they were likely to declare effective bankruptcy in the next financial year, representing 14 councils. and only 6% are happy with central government�*s performance of understanding the scale of the problem facing finances. councils say they�*re pulling out all the stops to stay afloat, but that means nine in ten survey respondents plan to cut back services whilst also raising people�*s council tax. almost every council in the country

is putting up council tax by the maximum permitted, just under 5%. they're cutting services. so councils are making deep cuts to front—line services, particularly in discretionary spending areas — parks, business support, leisure services. and they're dipping into their reserves. so more than half of councils are dipping into their reserves year after year to fund services. so it's completely unsustainable. in response, the department for levelling up, housing and communities spokesperson says... "we recognise councils are facing challenges, and that is why we announced an additional £600 million support package for councils across england, increasing their overall funding for the upcoming financial year to £64.7 billion, a 7.5% increase in cash terms. "councils are responsible for their own finances and setting council tax levels, but we have been clear they should

be mindful of cost of living pressures while controlling any unnecessary or wasteful expenditures." nonetheless, council leaders will be hoping when the chancellor, jeremy hunt, takes to parliament next week to deliver his budget, more assistance will be on the way. vincent mcaviney, bbc news. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let�*s look at some other stories making news. ministers are consulting backbench tory mps on watering down planned protections for renters in england. the bbc has seen a series of draft government amendments to a bill which aims to ban landlords from evicting tenants without a reason. the proposed changes come from mps who had concerns about no—fault evictions and wanted to increase rights for landlords. new research suggests that mindfulness, group and cognitive behavioural therapy could effectively treat menopause symptoms such as low mood and anxiety. draft nhs guidelines

recommend offering cbt alongside or instead of hrt. hrt replaces the hormones oestrogen or progestogen or both. the researchers, from university college london, say offering therapy could "give gps and patients more options". and kate bush has been announced as an ambassadorfor this year�*s record store day, which takes place next month. kate bush, who�*s had something of a chart resurgence in recent years with the inclusion of her song running up that hill in the hit series stranger things, says it�*s a "great privilege" to support the initiative. you�*re live with bbc news. the us and several european governments have distanced themselves from comments made by president macron of france, that the deployment of western troops to ukraine should not be ruled out. german chancellor 0laf scholz, said there�*d been no change to the agreed position that no european country or nato member state would send soldiers to ukraine. there have been similar comments from other nations — including the uk, spain and poland.

in the us, white house officials also pushed back on the idea of any troop deployments. it�*s a sovereign decision that every nato ally would have to make for themselves. you heard secretary general stoltenberg say himself, he had no plans or intentions of, certainly under nato auspices, of putting troops on the ground. and president biden has been crystal—clear since the beginning of this conflict that there will be no us troops on the ground in a combat role there. police in australia in sydney will be allowed to attend mardi gras. jesse baird was allegedly killed by a police officer who previously dated and his partner luke davies. the bodies of the couple were found yesterday. the suspect was charged last week after handing himself in but has not been cooperating in the hunt for the bodies. 0ur reporter in

sydney simon atkinson has more. this event is sydney simon atkinson has more. ti 3 event is taking place sydney simon atkinson has more. ti 1 event is taking place this saturday. hundreds of thousands of people will be watching, many thousands taking part in the parade and for the last over 20 years one of the floats in this parade has been the new south wales police force. they have seen it as a very important thing for them to do as part of the community, primarily for the members of the force who are part of the lgbtq community and also their supporters and allies. but earlier this week the organisers of the event said they decided that they wanted to diss invite, as you said, the new south wales police force from taking part in the light of the alleged murder of two men from the community by a serving police officer using a police issue gun. they felt that it was a very sensitive time and this was a very sensitive time and this was going to cause a lot of distress for the community. but when they made this announcement earlier this week it got a kind of mixed reaction across the board within the police

but also within members of the lgbtq community, many of whom pointed out how this parade has always been about unifying police and the gay community who have not always had excellent relationships in australia, and this has been a way that it australia, and this has been a way thatitis australia, and this has been a way that it is seen to help build those. the police were very clear, even as this horrific murder case unfolded, the police made clear that they did want to take part. they have always said they hoped they might be able to reach some kind of agreement and in the last hour or so that�*s exactly what has happened. simon atkinson in sydney. let�*s get some of the day�*s other news now two men have been convicted of the murder ofjam masterjay, from the american hip—hop trio run dmc, more than 20 years ago. ronald washington and karl jordanjunior were found guilty on all counts including drug trafficking. jam masterjay, whose real name was jason mizell, was shot dead in his queens studio in new york in october 2002. the men face at least

20 years in prison. city leaders in san francisco have voted to formally apologise to african americans for racist policies that resulted in generations of systemic discrimination. a city task force recommended investment in key areas instead of the payment of cash reparations to eligible citizens. the governor of texas has declared a state of disaster in the northern panhandle region where four wildfires are raging out of control. one of the blazes has already burned more than 200,000 acres since igniting on monday. evacuation orders have been issued for three towns. new figures from the european union�*s asylum agency show there�*s been a sharp rise in the number of people seeking refuge inside the bloc. the agency said that in 2023 there was an 18% increase on the previous year, with 1.1 million people seeking protection.

the non—european union countries of norway and switzerland saw similar increases. germany continues to get the highest number of applications at more than 330,000. people from syria and afghanistan make up the bulk of claims. cities across parts of the us and canada have reached recent breaking february temperatures, many experiencing summer like heat despite there being three more weeks of winter left. in the canadian city of winter left. in the canadian city of montreal which is usually under many metres of snow at this time of year, people were out in summer clothes as temperatures topped 16 celsius which is a new record in the us state of missouri and in chicago where the records were broken as

temperatures soared. experts say and el nino weather pattern is partly to blame along with climate change. let�*s ta ke let�*s take you back to that story i just mentioned a moment ago, eu asylum figures. let�*s speak to our correspondent jessica parker, who�*s in berlin. take us through these figures, jess. what we have heard from the eu asylum agency is that over the course of 2023, more than 1.1 million people applied for asylum, so protection, having left their home country over the course that is the so that takes us right back to the so that takes us right back to the end that many people will remember. the figures, if you break them down, quite interesting. some of it isn�*t quite done it really surprising, where people are coming from, number one are syrians, who

have lodged the most applications, and that�*s up compared to 2022 by quite a substantial amount, 28%. afghans, people leaving afghanistan and coming to europe are the second highest number of people lodging asylum applications and actually, if you look higher up the list, turkish nationals lodging over 100,000 applications, many of them in germany, there is a big turkish community here in germany. it is a mix of nationalities and people fleeing war, persecution lodging those claims. what it has done is put quite a strain on the system here in germany and in other parts of europe. something the eu asylum agency says that also because europe has taken over 4 million ukrainians, it is part of a separate scheme, thatis it is part of a separate scheme, that is different to these asylum application figures, but altogether it is creating a massive strain on the system as they try and process these asylum applications. there is now a very big backlog. we

these asylum applications. there is now a very big backlog.— these asylum applications. there is now a very big backlog. we have seen countries across _ now a very big backlog. we have seen countries across europe _ now a very big backlog. we have seen countries across europe struggling - countries across europe struggling with this problem. how to deal with the huge numbers coming in, how to support them, and perhaps also deter them in many cases.— them in many cases. absolutely, it is a mix of — them in many cases. absolutely, it is a mix of all— them in many cases. absolutely, it is a mix of all those _ them in many cases. absolutely, it is a mix of all those things - them in many cases. absolutely, it is a mix of all those things that - is a mix of all those things that different countries are looking to do. it does affect different governments of different backgrounds. in germany the coalition government which is headed chancellor scholz from the social democratic party, they have been under a lot of pressure, particularly towards the end of year on the overall migration issue. you have seen suggestions from parties like the cdu angela merkel�*s old party, that are now in opposition, floating some ideas, some ideas from that party about whether asylum applications should be processed in third countries, a little bit potentially like the deal the uk has been trying to push through with rwanda. it is also an issue that the far right tend to try and champion,

certainly alternative deutschland in germany have been seeking to do that, although they�*ve slipped back a bit in the polls recently. in italy where giorgia meloni is in charge, a right—wing nationalist government, she is also under pressure to try and tackle this issue and the figures are still proving very difficult in italy as well. the eu did reach a kind of deal in december, a migration pact, that as it comes into force will be interesting to see whether that makes any difference, as well as different bilateral deals that individual nations seek to do. jessica parker, thank you for updating us from berlin. stay with us on bbc news. i�*ll be back in a couple of minutes with plenty more on the day�*s top stories. hello. temperatures have been falling quite quickly over the past few hours. we�*ve got some colder air in place and there�*s some mist and some fog patches around for some of us to start your wednesday morning. so some fog patches, particularly through parts of southern and central england and east anglia, and then rain

is going to be spreading its way gradually eastwards. that rain pushing in across northern ireland by the early hours of wednesday — during wednesday morning, pushing into scotland, wales as well. fog for parts of central, eastern and southern england. that should clear away by the middle of the morning. and then these bursts of rain could be quite heavy as they push across wales, into central england as well. far southeast and east anglia, staying dry for a good part of the day. but a return to a few more showers from the north west. temperatures, though, between about 9—13. so certainly milder than they have been. now, through wednesday evening and overnight, then, this next pulse of fairly heavy rain at times pushes its way eastwards. could be quite squally. thunderstorms possible on that line of rain as it crosses its way south eastwards across many parts of the uk. clearer skies following on by thursday morning into northern ireland and scotland, and the far north of england, where we could see some wintry showers over the higher ground of scotland. so wednesday�*s mild air will clear away towards the east and into thursday. we�*ve got these colder conditions, this colder air mass following on behind. some heavy rain where those air masses meet that�*ll linger

through parts of central and south eastern england, i think, through thursday morning, only gradually easing away. but towards northern england, scotland, northern ireland, some clearer spells. a rash of heavy, blustery showers, though, moving in from the northwest. and i think north of the central belt, they could be a little bit wintry above around about 200 metres or so. so we�*re back into single figures towards the northwest of the uk on thursday. and then into friday, we�*ve got low pressure, very much in charge, moving in across that colder air mass. so it could see a little bit of snow on friday, mainly over the high ground north wales, perhaps the pennines, into the southern uplands as well. down at low levels, i think it�*s going to be falling as rain. and we�*ll see brisk winds rotating around this area of low pressure. so blustery, particularly around the peripheries of the uk, less windy for central parts. but a little bit colder, certainly compared to wednesday. so we�*re looking at single figures for many of us. further ahead, as we end the week and into the weekend, then, we�*re going to stick with those slightly lower temperatures and it�*s looking fairly unsettled, showery for many of us, as we head into the start of meteorological spring. bye for now.

this is bbc news, the headlines. a stark warning for south korea — the country�*s birth—rate plummets — amid concerns its working population could halve. extra security is announced for mps following fears about politicians being intimidated by demonstrators.

and picture perfect — the incredible effort that goes into maintaining the splendour of the sistine chapel. ijust want i just want to bring you ijust want to bring you some breaking news coming in to us from the spokesperson for alexei navalny, who died in a penal connelly in russia earlier on this month. there has been some discussion and issues around the return of his body to his family. the body has been returned finally, and according to his spokesperson, there is going to be a church farewell ceremony, which will take place on march the 1st. they have also said he will be buried at a cemetery in moscow. that is all the details we have at the moment but some information about when he will be buried and where.