the cryptocurrency has hit an all—time high. a single coin has achieved $69,202 in trading today, breaking its previous record of exactly one cent short of $69,000 which was set in november 2021. since then bitcoin went on a rollercoaster and the world of cryptocurrencies has been embroiled in controversy over failed trading platforms. michelle fleury is our north america business correspondent. what's driven this surge? after 18 months in which we've seen bankruptcies, court cases that have really led people to question the foundations of this ecosystem, suddenly here we are talking about

bitcoin hitting record highs, the continuation of a rally that has been building for a couple of months. there are a couple of factors — the mainstreaming of bitcoin. you may recall earlier this year regulators in the us open and investing opportunities attached to crypto currencies to more investors, and since then funds have been pouring into that. there was a report that huge figures have been raised. that has definitely increased things on the demand side. on the supply side, there is a 0n the supply side, there is a process called halving, part of the bitcoin protocol, only a certain number are issued, and once every four years, a reward for bitcoin miners, that number decreases. that

may also have an impact on what investors think the supply will be. all of this i think you can safely say is leading to that craze for laser eyes, the meme that bitcoin fund is used when they are feeling optimistic about it. ~ . ., they are feeling optimistic about it. we will come back to it. michelle. _ it. we will come back to it. michelle, other _ it. we will come back to it. michelle, other breaking i it. we will come back to it. i michelle, other breaking news it. we will come back to it. - michelle, other breaking news you are looking at — global outage of facebook and instagram. productivity must be soaring.— must be soaring. users of met our 's suite of products, _ must be soaring. users of met our 's suite of products, facebook- must be soaring. users of met our 's suite of products, facebook and - suite of products, facebook and instagram, have reported problems logging in. on x, the company has posted that they know delete like there is an issue. —— they know there is an issue. —— they know there is an issue. —— they know there is an issue. we will bring you more news when we have it. back to

bitcoin, and — more news when we have it. back to bitcoin, and it _ more news when we have it. back to bitcoin, and it hitting _ more news when we have it. back to bitcoin, and it hitting that _ more news when we have it. back to bitcoin, and it hitting that new- bitcoin, and it hitting that new all—time high. let's talk to david gerard — author of the book �*attack of the 50 foot blockchain — scams, drugs, crooks and cryptography. fairto fair to say you are not a fan of bitcoin and crypto currencies in general — what do you make of the development? general - what do you make of the development?_ general - what do you make of the development?— development? really interesting. there is a lack— development? really interesting. there is a lack of _ development? really interesting. there is a lack of retail— development? really interesting. there is a lack of retail dollars - there is a lack of retail dollars coming in. they are the engine of any economic bubble. we have seen a lot of odd stuff happening in the bitcoin market, and it is completely unregulated. price recovery happens in...

if you have ever seen this industry as a bit of dodgy gamble, that would be a correct feeling. there are a lot of odd things happening with the price. when you see the price jump $3000 in the middle of the night, 2am new york time, that won't be etfs, which trades during stock market hours. there are a lot of questionable stable coins that may not be fully backed being issued and pumped into the markets. all the exchanges last week shutdown withdrawals simultaneously, including the large ones. fair to sa that including the large ones. fair to say that you _ including the large ones. fair to say that you smell _ including the large ones. fair to say that you smell a _ including the large ones. fair to say that you smell a rat - including the large ones. fair to say that you smell a rat and - including the large ones. fair to say that you smell a rat and you including the large ones. fair to - say that you smell a rat and you are suspicious. you talk about investors being naive. i'm sure a lot of investors out there feel pretty clever at the gains they have made. money is pouring into these etfs at

a rate of $2 billion a week, and it stands to reason that opening up this new manner of trading, exchange traded funds, will trigger a surge in prices because you open yourself up in prices because you open yourself up to a whole new swathe of investors who now see it as a safer investment, notwithstanding what others say about bitcoin, that it has no intrinsic value. 0pening it up has no intrinsic value. 0pening it up to etfs gives it a badge of respectability. it up to etfs gives it a badge of respectability.— up to etfs gives it a badge of respectability. it does, but it is not clear that _ respectability. it does, but it is not clear that fresh _ respectability. it does, but it is not clear that fresh dollars - respectability. it does, but it is not clear that fresh dollars are | not clear that fresh dollars are coming in. it seems to be dollars moving from other parts of the ecosystem. for example, sell—offs of the bitcoin miners, other companies that are tangential to bitcoin moving that money into etfs. we are not seeing fresh dollars coming in. that is not a thing we are seeing happen at all. the retail trade in bitcoin is surprisingly dead for such a large, headline grabbing

numbers. , ., , ., , ., numbers. others out there share your views about — numbers. others out there share your views about bitcoin. _ numbers. others out there share your views about bitcoin. us _ numbers. others out there share your views about bitcoin. us regulators - views about bitcoin. us regulators had to be dragged kicking and screaming into approving these etfs, and legal action force that moved. do you think regulators and central banks should be shouting even louder about the risks they see with crypto in general? about the risks they see with crypto in ueneral? ., , , ., about the risks they see with crypto in ueneral? . , , ., ., in general? ultimately, if you are sellin: in general? ultimately, if you are selling peeple. — in general? ultimately, if you are selling people, you _ in general? ultimately, if you are selling people, you can _ in general? ultimately, if you are selling people, you can get - in general? ultimately, if you are selling people, you can get rich l in general? ultimately, if you are. selling people, you can get rich for free, that is a very attractive product, whether there is anything to it or not. at a certain point, the regulators can only say, this is trash, take care. you can stop people promoting things that are miss sold investments, but ultimately, if i want to set my money on fire, i can do so. we ultimately, if i want to set my money on fire, i can do so. all money on fire, i can do so. we can all do that- — money on fire, i can do so. we can all do that. david _ money on fire, i can do so. we can all do that. david gerard, - money on fire, i can do so. we can all do that. david gerard, author . all do that. david gerard, author and critic of crypto, thank you for that.

on to climate change, because the uk is being accused of lagging behind its european neighbours in green investment. according to climate campaigners greenpeace, since 2020, the uk has spent the least of all the top european economies on low carbon measures. using data from the international energy agency greenpeace found that italy topped the list for western europe, with spending totalling 111 billion dollars since 2020. the figure takes into account spending on everything from electricity networks to energy efficiency to alternative fuels and low carbon transport. germany came in second with 92.7 billion dollars, followed by france and spain. the uk was the lowest out of the top five, at 33.3 billion. we put this to the uk government's department for energy security and net zero. a spokesperson told us: this report fails to recognise our progress compared to european allies. we are the first major economy in the world to halve our emissions, and we have the second largest renewables capacity in europe. earlier i spoke to georgia whittaker from greenpeace.

i asked her what these figures mean for the uk. an absolutely massive disadvantage. it is quite clear that these numbers speak for themselves. we are utterly failing on the world stage to grasp the massive opportunities that come with net zero or green investment. not only are the us and china leaving us in the dust in the race to green technology, we are clearly, as the numbers show, doing pretty badly in comparison to our european neighbours. 0bviously, badly in comparison to our european neighbours. obviously, we have the spring budget coming up, which should be a massive opportunity, as well as this government's final fiscal event, to make the most of the 80 and commit to green spending measures. instead it looks like he is flirting with tax cuts that will potentially disproportionately make sure that the wealthiest benefit as

opposed to normal people, who would benefit from climate action. the price of gold has hit a three—month high, driven by increased bets for a june interest rate cut by the us federal reserve. spot gold was up 1.4%, at around $2,11l1 per ounce, its highest since early december, when prices hit an all—time high of $2,135. tesla has halted production at its car factory in berlin after a suspected arson attack nearby. it has warned it won't restart this week, costing the firm 100 million euros. an electricity pylon close to the plant caught fire, causing power outages in the factory and nearby towns. environmental activists who have been protesting against the site's expansion have denied responsibility for the fire. that is your business update. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

i'm alex james, the front man of the uk's first duchenne muscular dystrophy fronted rock band. to shed muscular dystrophy is a row, life limiting, muscle wasting condition. in terms of being a front man and having _ in terms of being a front man and having this — in terms of being a front man and having this disability, how does that make your experience of playing music— that make your experience of playing music different from every other front_ music different from every other front man? | music different from every other front man?— front man? i would say a lot of factors come — front man? i would say a lot of factors come into _ front man? i would say a lot of factors come into this - front man? i would say a lot of factors come into this because | factors come into this because access is one of the main things. i have to contact venues directly, so when we do our headline gig at the independent in sunderland, for example, we will have to use an telling —— use an air foot example, we will have to use an telling —— use an airfoot pump to get up onto the stage. pare telling -- use an air foot pump to get up onto the stage.— get up onto the stage. are you lookin: get up onto the stage. are you looking forward _ get up onto the stage. are you looking forward to _ get up onto the stage. are you looking forward to it? - get up onto the stage. are you looking forward to it? very - get up onto the stage. are you l looking forward to it? very much get up onto the stage. are you - looking forward to it? very much so, eah. looking forward to it? very much so, yeah- there — looking forward to it? very much so, yeah- there are _ looking forward to it? very much so, yeah. there are not _ looking forward to it? very much so, yeah. there are not many _ looking forward to it? very much so, yeah. there are not many electric. yeah. there are not many electric wheelchair front men like me.

you're live with bbc news. he's one of the best known bangladeshis in the world — a nobel prize winner who is credited for microfinance loans that helped lift millions out of poverty. but at the start of this year, a court in dhaka sentenced muhammad yunus to six months for violating labour laws. he denies the charges. over the weekend, the court has extended his bail, but yunus could face jail anytime if convicted of almost 200 other charges. as he fights to avoid jail, world leaders, including former president 0bama, former un secretary—general ban ki—moon and more than 100 nobel peace prize winners, have appealed to the bangladeshi government to drop the cases. nobel laureate and the founder of grameen bank

professor muhammad yunus joins us now from dhaka. welcome to bbc news. mr yunus the authorities in bangladesh so you are guilty of violating labour laws and that is why they say they have these charges against you. what do you say to that? ~ ., �* , ., charges against you. what do you say to that? ~ ., �*, ., ., , to that? well, that's not the only charie. i to that? well, that's not the only charge- i was _ to that? well, that's not the only charge. i was convicted, - to that? well, that's not the only charge. i was convicted, spent i to that? well, that's not the only| charge. i was convicted, spent six months in prison, and i am on bail right now. the last one, the big one, is an anti—corruption case for money—laundering, forgery, cheating. you name it, iam money—laundering, forgery, cheating. you name it, i am the worst criminal in the country right now, according to these cases. this all comes because our prime minister somehow doesn't like me. for a long time, it

is not recent. it started way back in 2011. they said i was over the age that i should be working. it is age that i should be working. it is a government rule. i tried to explain that this is not a government bank but a bank owned by the poor women. 97% of the shares of grameen bank is owned by the account holders. i was called a bloodsucker on the poor people, that i destroy their lives. she keeps repeating that and has even said... i would like to ask _ that and has even said... i would like to ask you _ that and has even said... i would like to ask you why _ that and has even said... i would like to ask you why you - that and has even said... i would like to ask you why you think - that and has even said... i would like to ask you why you think all| like to ask you why you think all these charges have been levelled against you if you say you are not guilty of any of them. i

against you if you say you are not guilty of any of them.— guilty of any of them. i cannot answer that. _ guilty of any of them. i cannot answer that. i _ guilty of any of them. i cannot answer that. i can _ guilty of any of them. i cannot answer that. i can only - guilty of any of them. i cannot j answer that. i can only answer guilty of any of them. i cannot - answer that. i can only answer that because she doesn't like me, she wants to punish me, wants to make sure my life is traumatised so that i cannot function in a proper way. she has to explain why she does that, why she calls me a bloodsucker, why she invites everyone to dunk me in the river twice and tells me i'm the enemy of the nation and so on. this is all coming from the same kind of accusations she has been making over years. this is the culmination of them. now i am sentenced to six months injail already. more months and years probably coming in with the anti—corruption commission cases, where i will be sentenced to jail for a cases, where i will be sentenced to jailfor a longer period. as cases, where i will be sentenced to jail for a longer period.— jail for a longer period. as we were sa ini jail for a longer period. as we were sa in: in jail for a longer period. as we were saying in the _ jail for a longer period. as we were saying in the introduction, - jail for a longer period. as we were saying in the introduction, your - saying in the introduction, your plight has had the support of some very high—profile figures. a number of people, including barack 0bama

and ban ki—moon, signing thatjoint letter denouncing what they described as your continuous judicial harassment. also a number of senators early in the year wrote a letter calling for what they described as the end to a pattern of abusing the justice system to target critics of the government. do you believe that you have been targeted like the senators say because you have been outspoken about the bangladeshi government? i’m have been outspoken about the bangladeshi government? i'm not as outsoken bangladeshi government? i'm not as outspoken as — bangladeshi government? i'm not as outspoken as i _ bangladeshi government? i'm not as outspoken as i should _ bangladeshi government? i'm not as outspoken as i should be. _ bangladeshi government? i'm not as outspoken as i should be. people - outspoken as i should be. people here are not open to speak their mind, so i have to be very careful what i say, because then i will be accused of many other things in the process. even then, you have to speak out a little bit. and process. even then, you have to speak out a little bit.— speak out a little bit. and what comes next? _ speak out a little bit. and what comes next? will— speak out a little bit. and what comes next? will you - speak out a little bit. and what comes next? will you appeal. speak out a little bit. and what i comes next? will you appeal this current sentence?— current sentence? yes, i have already appealed. _

current sentence? yes, i have already appealed. again, - current sentence? yes, i have already appealed. again, we | current sentence? yes, i have - already appealed. again, we don't know what the outcome will be. 0nce know what the outcome will be. once the prime minister of the country focuses on you, you are not sure what result is coming up. this creates a lot of problems for us. we have been creating a worldwide movement for social businesses, encouraging young people to design a new world for themselves so we can get rid of global warming, zero global warming, zero wealth concentration, zero unemployment. this is the world we have to build. we are encouraging young people to create three zeros clubs.— create three zeros clubs. briefly, i have spoken _ create three zeros clubs. briefly, i have spoken to — create three zeros clubs. briefly, i have spoken to other _ create three zeros clubs. briefly, i have spoken to other people - create three zeros clubs. briefly, i have spoken to other people in . have spoken to other people in bangladesh who believe that it isn't

a free country in terms of speaking out against the government. that is a charge that the government might deny. do you think that there is the ability to speak freely in bangladesh now? do you think it is a free country? i bangladesh now? do you think it is a free country?— free country? i wouldn't say that. it would free country? i wouldn't say that. it would be _ free country? i wouldn't say that. it would be just _ free country? i wouldn't say that. it would be just the _ free country? i wouldn't say that. it would be just the kind - free country? i wouldn't say that. it would be just the kind of - it would bejust the kind of opposite of that. people are very careful what they say, because even a young girl of 17 wrote something on her facebook and she was punished and was injailfor two years because of what she had written in her facebook. this is the kind of situation we are in. this isjust one example, and the country is filled with many examples like that. professor muhammad yunus, thank you forjoining us live from the bangladeshi capital, dhaka, and sharing your thoughts on your ongoing case. i should say it is reported that bangladesh's prime minister says she has nothing to do

with mr yunus, and she says he should seek an apology... his workers should get an apology over some of the allegations made against him. broadly speaking, bangladesh's government has denied it has done anything to silence critics. there's more embarrassment for germany today, after new details emerged about how russian intelligence managed to eavesdrop on a high level military call about ukraine. germany's defence minister has admitted that one of the participants on the call dialled in on an unauthorised conneciton while in singapore for an airshow. with the details from berlin, here's our europe correspondentjess parker. i think today berlin trying to save its blushes a little bit by trying to explain what it thinks may have happened here. there had been some speculation that a russian spy might

have simply dialled into this conference call of senior air force officials and sat on the line without anybody noticing. the defence minister, boris pistorius, today saying, no, that isn't what happened. what they believe has happened is that one of the official participants on the call dialled in on an insecure line from singapore, where he was attending an airshow. what mr pistorius is essentially trying to argue, i think, is that this is a case of individual human error rather than german systemic failure. it was on friday that russian state media published this type which appeared to show these senior german air force officials discussing highly sensitive issues around military aid to ukraine from germany, france and britain. mr pistorius says that he has been calling around allies. he believes that trust in germany is unbroken. but i think also hoping, given what they what they say they found so far, that this is more of a one—off than the tip of the iceberg. jessica parker in bell learn for us. a reminder of our main story, and thatis a reminder of our main story, and

that is that voting is under way in the united states in what is known as super tuesday, where voters decide in a number of states who they would like to be their candidate in november's presidential race. we have live pictures there of people casting a ballot in california. you are watching bbc news. the family of emma caldwell has met scotland 5 first minister, humza yousaf, to press for a public inquiry and a criminal investigation into the handling of the inquiry into her murder. a series of police blunders meant her killer iain packer was only convicted of emma s murder last week, almost 20 years after her death in 2005. emma caldwell�*s family lawyer says she was failed by a toxic culture within the police of �*misogyny and corruption'. the first minister has "promised that he will give primary consideration" to the call from emma caldwell�*s family for a statutory public inquiry into the investigation of her killer, the family's lawyer has said.

this is the statement that was made following the meeting by the caldwell family lawyer, aamer anwar. margaret caldwell wishes to thank the first minister under thejustice secretary for meeting her today. they treated her the title compassion and empathy and she hopes they will deliver on the many promises they made today. the first minister promised he would give primary consideration to the family's demands for a statutory public inquiry, and thejustice secretary promised she will update parliament within days on their decision. since the murder of emma in 2005, many in the police will argue things have changed significantly. you do not accept this. in 2023, sir ian livingstone, whilst chief constable of police scotland, spoke of the misogyny within the police service. we no evidence exists that the abduction, rape and murder of emma caldwell, and the subsequent rapes of women, might have been prevented or at

least disruptions had allegations against packer been investigated. the family are angry to read reports in the papers that crown 0ffice the family are angry to read reports in the papers that crown office has concluded following an independent investigation that there was insufficient evidence of criminality on the part of any police officer involved in the investigation of emma's murder. such a conclusion is insulting to the family and contrast sharply with the evidence presented by former police officers of their investigation into ian parker being sabotaged in order to pursue a false allegation against four turkish men. women not only live in fear of violence every day, they live in fear of those who police us, the fear of those who police us, the fear of those who police us, the fear of not being believed, of being dismissed, as emma roberts, and the fear of abuse by men in power. these are real fears, fear of abuse by men in power. these are realfears, not imagined, and sadly there are all too many of police officers assaulting women and children, sexist behaviour and comments caused by misogyny. how many women need to be dyed or raped

until our police service and criminaljustice until our police service and criminal justice that are until our police service and criminaljustice that are held to account? we welcome the public statements of the first minister on tackling misogyny and violence against women and we hope you will now commit to a robust and independent public inquiry on the catastrophic failures in the emma caldwell case. we appreciate that the government will seek the views of the lord advocate and the chief constable, could also meet in the next two days, but they cannot be allowed to investigate themselves. both institutions of the crown 0ffice both institutions of the crown office and the police must answer as to why one of the worst sex offenders in the uk was gifted his freedom for some 17 years. how many other women in that time were disbelieved, humiliated, challenged when seeking justice whilst a toxic culture of misogyny and corruption in the police allowed a killer and serial rapist to be able to carry out his crimes? this government, believe that the toxic argument in respect of how women are treated, sex workers' rights, the trans debate and sexual assault allegations, has an opportunity to improve its standing with women in

scotland. margaret caldwell wants more than condolences or apologies. she believes an immediate public inquiry must be ordered and anything less would be a betrayal of emma and the 22 other women whose evidence was held at trial. margaret and her family are deeply grateful to the first minister and justice secretary and hope there will finally be a legacy of emma caldwell. thank you, eve one. before we go, you might remember this scene the caldwell family lawyer speaking before we go, you might remember this scene from the bbc�*s 1995 adaptation of pride and prejudice. millions of viewers swooned over colin firth as mr darcy, striding out of a lake wearing a wet shirt. well, now the shirt is going for sale and could fetch as much as £10,000. it's one of more than 60 costumes from film and tv being auctioned in london on tuesday, with all of the proceeds going to charity. now, the weather.

a bit ofa a bit of a lottery out there at the moment, definitely winners and losers. lovely sunshine in lancashire earlier, but a different story further east. the cloud they can offer a spot or two of drizzle, showery rain in places as well. there was a weather front across the east coast that will linger through much of the day. there is the potential for sharp showers, may be the odd rumble of thunder in the south—east. this weather front into northern ireland will ease further north, so an improving picture as we go through the afternoon. many central and western areas keeping the sunshine. we keep that frontal system sitting out to the east. a grey, damp, drizzly affairfor many, with some of those showers still potentially heavy, with the odd rumble of thunder. through the night

tonight, that weather front will bring more clout to eastern areas. further west, clearer skies, a touch of fog forming, and the potential for some frost as temperatures dip below freezing. that is where we will have the best of the early morning sunshine once any patchy fog lifts. we may keep the sunshine here for most of the day. i weather front trying to push into the south—west, and once again cloudy in the east. across parts of lincolnshire, east anglia and south—east england, we should see the cloud thinning and breaking, a few scattered showers, temperatures peaking between seven and 12 celsius. 0n temperatures peaking between seven and 12 celsius. on thursday, high pressure in scandinavia dominates the weather story, but the wind will freshen. a south—easterly, but circulating around at high pressure, meaning more of a breeze, so potentially cooler and fresher on those exposed coasts. sheltered western areas, the best of the

drier, sunnier moments. in the sunshine, it should feel pleasant, temperatures peaking around 12 celsius. where you have exposure to the wind on the east coast, more clout, a bit fresher. not a bad start to the weekend but the potential on sunday for more showers or longer spells of rain.

live from london. this is bbc news. reports the government is planning to cut national insurance in tomorrow's budget. it's super tuesday — voters in more than a dozen us states decide which candidates will represent their party in this year's presidential race. us secretary of state antony blinken is calling on israel to help get more aid into gaza, saying conditions in the territory were unacceptable and ukraine says it has destroyed an advanced russian patrol ship with naval drones in the black sea.

welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. here in the uk, speculation is growing about what measures chancellorjeremy hunt will set out in his spring budget tomorrow. the chancellor is responsible for setting out the government's tax and spending plans, and he previously hinted that he will cut taxes, but told the bbc it would be done in a "responsible" way. this is likely to be the last budget before the general election — which must be held by the end of january next year. some details are emerging, for example: its expected councils in england will be told to reduce their spending on consultant and diversity schemes. the bbc understands the chancellor will extend the freeze to fuel duty again. and the government hasn't denied growing speculation that the chancellor intends to cut the national insurance rate by two pence in the pound.