february officially their warmest february officially their warmest february on record. let's take a look at some of the numbers. the highest pink their 1.77 degrees above preindustrial levels. these figures go back to 1940. the latest figures go back to 1940. the latest figures from the eu climate service. to explain the numbers here's our climate editor. spring begins when the magnolia trees bloom, according to cornish tradition. and spring came early in cornwall and the rest of europe this year. temperatures across the continent this february were almost 3 degrees above average. the exceptional warm weather the world experienced last month did not surprise climate scientists. it coincides with a near—record increase in co2 concentrations in the atmosphere.

the link between c02 and rising temperatures is well established and this year global temperatures got an extra boost thanks to el nino, which brings warmer water to the surface of parts of the tropical pacific. that explains why february was 1.77 degrees warmer than preindustrial temperatures, and why global average temperatures hit a record 1.55 degrees above preindustrial levels over the last 12 months. it means we have temporarily at least breached the 1.5 degrees threshold the world agreed to try and limit temperature rise to, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. february 2024 was the warmest february on record globally, with an average temperature of 13.54 degrees, above the 1991—2020 temperature. while this is remarkable, because, for instance, it is a tenth of a degree warmer than the warmest previous february,

which was 2016, it's not really surprising, because this has been the el nino year, where temperatures tend to be warmer than usual, and more importantly, we have seen over the last few decades a piling up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which bring up the temperature of the entire planet. we all enjoy warm weather, especially after the downpours this winter, but we should worry when the seasons get out of whack. some plants and animals can struggle to survive. though scientists say urgent action to cut emissions can still slow warming. justin rowlatt, bbc news. let's speak to dann mitchell, who is a professor of climate science at the university of bristol cabot institute for the environment. thank you for coming on the programme. first of all, your reaction to the numbers thatjustin was just running us through there. we in the climate community are not

surprised to see these at all, and it sort of goes back to whatjustin was saying. we have this large—scale heating caused by el nino, and that is sitting on top of this long—term trend in warming from c02. when those two things coincide, we start to see lots and lots of temperature records broken. so, we are not surprised at all. even the previous three february is when really warm, and they were sitting on top of the la nino, which is the opposite of el nino. that was the more surprising thing to be honest.— thing to be honest. interesting. i 'ust want thing to be honest. interesting. i just want to _ thing to be honest. interesting. i just want to take _ thing to be honest. interesting. i just want to take a _ thing to be honest. interesting. i just want to take a look - thing to be honest. interesting. i just want to take a look now - thing to be honest. interesting. i just want to take a look now at i thing to be honest. interesting. i- just want to take a look now at some of the other numbers and data and graphs we've got here. as you mentioned, there are different measurements. let's take a look at ocean temperatures festival. we can see that redline, top left is 2024. it looks quite considerably higher than other years.— it looks quite considerably higher than other years. yes, well i can't see the same _ than other years. yes, well i can't see the same graphics _ than other years. yes, well i can't

see the same graphics you're - than other years. yes, well i can't . see the same graphics you're seeing, but the ocean temperatures are warming a lot, and we see that in the impact of that warming as well. so we are seeing certain fish populations migrating more pole word, around the uk, for instance, card that used to be very prevalent around here is moving northwards. we see that impacting coral reefs which is one of our really big concerns. if you damage coral reefs, you bleach them because of the change of temperature, they don't come back. that is one of the tipping points we are really worried about with climate change. flan are really worried about with climate change.— are really worried about with climate change. are really worried about with climate chance. . , ., , ., climate change. can you remind us of this 1.5 degrees, _ climate change. can you remind us of this 1.5 degrees, what _ climate change. can you remind us of this 1.5 degrees, what is _ climate change. can you remind us of this 1.5 degrees, what is actually - this 1.5 degrees, what is actually referring to?— referring to? this is the paris agreement — referring to? this is the paris agreement climate _ referring to? this is the paris agreement climate goal - referring to? this is the paris agreement climate goal and | referring to? this is the paris | agreement climate goal and it referring to? this is the paris - agreement climate goal and it says we want to our and averaged temperature to 1.5 degrees and there is another limit to degrees. those two limits were chosen because we know certain impacts of climate

change are really bad in those limits. ., , ., ,, change are really bad in those limits. ., ,, ., limits. people talk about temperatures, _ limits. people talk about temperatures, why - limits. people talk about temperatures, why are l limits. people talk about i temperatures, why are we limits. people talk about - temperatures, why are we just limits. people talk about _ temperatures, why are we just using temperatures, why are we just using temperatures that people use in everyday life. 1.5 temperatures that people use in everyday life-— temperatures that people use in eve da life. ' , , ., everyday life. 1.5 degrees refers to the globally _ everyday life. 1.5 degrees refers to the globally averaged _ everyday life. 1.5 degrees refers to the globally averaged temperature j the globally averaged temperature across the year, relative to what we call a preindustrial, relative before we were emitting greenhouse gases. 1.5 degrees does not sound like much, but that is average over everything. we know that temperatures warm more overland. that is where people and animals and diversity lives. we know that it can warm more in cities, for instance. that 1.5 degrees which seems a small increase in temperature, can actually be five or 6 degrees when you get back to the impact of relevant scales.— you get back to the impact of relevant scales. ., ,, , ., , . relevant scales. thank you very much for cominu relevant scales. thank you very much for coming on — relevant scales. thank you very much for coming on the _ relevant scales. thank you very much for coming on the programme - relevant scales. thank you very much for coming on the programme and . for coming on the programme and talking us through it.

now to a breaking development, a hamas delegation has left talks in cairo without reaching a deal for a temporary ceasefire in gaza. but the armed group has said that indirect negotiations with israel are not over. it had been hoped that a truce could be in place before the start of the islamic holy month of ramadan next week. let's speak to our middle east correspondent yolande knell who's injerusalem. what do we know about what has happened here? just what do we know about what has happened here?— what do we know about what has happened here? just as we have had more and more _ happened here? just as we have had more and more international- happened here? just as we have had l more and more international pressure building for a truce to be put in place, because you have all of these signs now that famine is looming over gaza, with more reports there are people having died of malnutrition and starvation. it has been apparent through the week that egyptian and catherine negotiators have been struggling over a potential deal that would see a 40 day truce through ramadan, and also israeli hostages being released by hamas in exchange for palestinian

prisoners in israeli jails. israel did not even send a delegation along to these talks in cairo. they were also attended by us envoys. it said that it wanted a list of the surviving israeli hostages held by hamas and that was not forthcoming. hamas and that was not forthcoming. hamas meanwhile has been saying through the week that really, there was disagreement here because it was ready to show flexibility numbers of palestinian prisoners to be released if palestinians in gaza could be allowed to be returned to their homes in the north. those who had been displaced by the fighting. that's about 1.5 million people that have been displaced overall, and thatis have been displaced overall, and that is adding to the humanitarian crisis. it said also that it had been demanding for israeli troops to completely withdraw from cities in gaza. that is where we are at the moment. ., ., gaza. that is where we are at the moment. ., ,, , ., gaza. that is where we are at the moment. ., ~' , ., , gaza. that is where we are at the moment. ., ,, , ., , . gaza. that is where we are at the moment. ., ,, ,, , . ., moment. thank you very much for

that. here in the uk, the chancellor has cut national insurance contributions the uk foreign secretary, lord cameron, is spending the day the is spending the day in berlin, with his german counterpart annalena baerbock. 0ne topic under discussion will be the deteriorating situation in gaza. the un has warned that more than half a million people there — a quarter of the population — are on the brink of famine. you may find these pictures distressing — they were sent to us by dr hussam abu safiyeh, who's the lead paediatrician at kamal adhwan hospital in northern

gaza. he has been treating children suffering with malnutrition. on wednesday, the hamas—run gaza health ministry said the death toll from malnutrition and dehydration in gaza had risen to 18. before the conflict began in october, gaza relied on 500 aid trucks daily. the us says about 250 aid trucks crossed into gaza on tuesday. red sea. boko haram ships their attacking member since november. they were on board a liberian cargo ship and three people were killed. these are the pictures of a rescue operation. 0ther the pictures of a rescue operation. other crew members being rescued. these come from the indian navy. the ship is now apparently on fire and has been on fire and drifting. attacks in the red sea have been going on since november. the attacks are getting more serious. this is the true confidence, a ship that was hit yesterday morning. it has been confirmed this morning that three people on board this vessel died. the first casualties so far since the houthis began their attacks in this area. it is a significant moment, and it raises questions about whether air strikes by the us and the uk on the houthis are

working. let me explain a bit about what has been going on over the last few months. this is a map of yemen. this red area here is territory controlled by the houthis. this shaded bit here is contested territory. this map shows you where the attacks on ships have been over recent months, since november. you can see most of them are in the red sea but there are some down here in the gulf of aden as well. the key thing to know is that they have not reduced in frequency, despite the us in the uk attacks trying to reduce the military capabilities of the houthis, this is still happening. this final mapping shows you exactly where the attack was yesterday. now, this is a clear escalation with the first deaths. this video, which we can play here shows you the indian

navy video which shows you the rescue of some of the crew of the true confidence. they were taken in a rescue operation. although these are the first deaths, it is not the only serious incident recently. i want to show you this picture here which bbc verify got a couple of weeks ago. it is a cargo ship registered in the uk. it was hit last month by their houthis and has sustained serious damage to its engine. we have been following it over the past couple of weeks. you can see at the back here it is starting to sink. eventually, it sank altogether. this quite dramatic image from us central command. if you look, you can see the whole ship underwater there. you look, you can see the whole ship underwaterthere. i you look, you can see the whole ship underwater there. i should say, this is the first vessel to have completely sunk during these attacks. so, four months into the

houthis attacks on ships, they are still having a significant impact. the deaths on this ship and the ship sinking, it could mean even more vessels avoiding the regional together, which would mean more delays to stuff getting to europe. higher prices, too. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news here in the uk. three 16—year—olds have been found guilty of killing mikey roynon, a 16 year old who was stabbed to death at a birthday party in bath last summer. the three teenagers — who can't be named — faced trialjointly accused of murder. one was found guilty of murder, the other two of manslaughter. a committee of mps has concluded that the post office is not fit to run the compensation schemes for sub postmasters wrongly convicted because of the horizon it scandal. the business and trade committee said it was a disgrace that 80%

of the money for redress payments still hadn't been spent. the nationwide building society has reached an agreement to buy virgin money in a £2.9 billion deal, which would see the brand eventually disappear. it would create one of the uk's largest mortgage and savings groups. nationwide said it would not make any material changes to virgin money's 7,300 employees "in the near term". you're live with bbc news. in eastern ukraine, russian forces are advancing, and many who live there are packing their belongings, and moving away. ukraine says its forces are holding on, but in the donetsk region, several villages have been captured after invading forces took the town of avdiivka. eastern ukraine is being eroded. russian forces are approaching taking village after village.

and for the people living here, death or occupation feels imminent. valeriy and his grandson denis have taken up the offer of evacuation. their home in toretsk is in russia's sights. here, it's making its size and ammunition reserves count. ukrainian forces are going backwards. and with valeriy�*s town now constantly shelled, it's time to go. translation: i lived my life already. - but i need to save the little one. police take them to kostyantynivka, a place of relative safety, but increasingly less so. the city is used to being close to the battlefield, but its risk of being captured is growing. when ukraine liberated territory more than a year ago, there was hope. but the tide hasn'tjust changed, it's approaching. now there is fear that cities

like kostyantynivka will be gradually destroyed and its people will be forced to flee. this is what russia does when it tries to take ukrainian territory, and this is what moscow still calls liberation. for tetyana and her daughter, mariya, maybe notjesse the dog, strikes on the city leave them with a difficult choice. translation: we are tired all day. we have bad moods and panic attacks, constant depression. it's scary to go outside. so are you both going to leave? translation: i've already left twice. l what's the point? it's scary everywhere, everywhere. the whole country is on fire. while tetyana is staying, mariya is already sending her belongings west. today it's the tv taking the route she and her son eventually will.

translation: i hope she will follow. my mum only has us and we only have her. in the nearby train station the faint sounds of artillery provide a sobering reception, as well as a reason to leave. for all of the geopolitics, the donetsk region is at the coalface of russia's invasion and its people are feeling it more than ever. translation: a year ago, we still hoped we would . receive help from the west and that the counter—offensive would work. not any more. people used to believe, but not any more. ukraine hopes its east will once again be somewhere safe to live. but right now it's not clear what people will be returning to. james waterhouse, bbc news, the donetsk region.

here in the uk there's been plenty of reaction to the budget. the chancellor of the exchequerjeremy hunt says average earners will be better off after his tax cut to national insurance. we'll be getting plenty of the reaction. first of all, let's hearfrom the plenty of the reaction. first of all, let's hear from the chancellor. what i did yesterday was show how we are growing the economy, how our plan is working. and we are doing that partly because we are bringing down taxes. and the big divide in british politics, we've had to put up taxes, of course, because we wanted to support families in the pandemic and through the cost of living crisis. do we want those taxes to stay high? what conservatives say, is we look around the world and we see the economies that are growing the fastest, in north america, asia, are ones with lower taxes. 0pposition labour party say he's giving with one hand and taking much more with the other. well, how humiliating was that for the government yesterday?

we've argued for years that they should get rid of the non—dom tax status. they've resisted that and now, completely out of ideas, the only decent policy they've got is the one that they've lifted from us. and i think if you needed evidence of why we should go straight to a general election, it's that we need change. let's speak to maike currie, investment director at hargreaves lansdown, a financial services company. thank you very much for coming on the programme. what is your overall impression of this budget? i the programme. what is your overall impression of this budget?— impression of this budget? i guess this bein: impression of this budget? i guess this being the _ impression of this budget? i guess this being the last _ impression of this budget? i guess this being the last budget - impression of this budget? i guess this being the last budget before l this being the last budget before the general election, the chancellor was not going to take any chances by giving any surprise announcements. 0verall, giving any surprise announcements. overall, it was a pretty flat budget and the markets reflected this. the big announcements really around the british ice, or as the chancellor referred to it was the uk ice and

the cut in national insurance tax. what kind of impact do you think they will have? if what kind of impact do you think they will have?— what kind of impact do you think they will have? if we talk about the british ice, this _ they will have? if we talk about the british ice, this has _ they will have? if we talk about the british ice, this has really - they will have? if we talk about the british ice, this has really been - british ice, this has really been flagged as a way to revitalise the uk stock market, get investors investing in retail companies. we have to question whether this is really going to make a difference. it is a £5,000 allowance on top of the existing £20,000 allowance that you can shelter in individual savings and in this account a year. there is a consultation period coming up, but really investors in the uk already have home buyer and already tend to hold more in their own market. this announcement is not going to magic away the challenges that the uk stock market has at the moment. , �* that the uk stock market has at the moment. , ~ ., ., h, moment. interesting. and what about those national — moment. interesting. and what about those national insurance _ those national insurance contributions and things like child benefit perhaps? what do you think

the benefit will be of people having more or less money in the pockets? really, the national insurance tax cut was probably the least surprising thing in the budget, being revealed in the papers on the weekend already. and while no one is going to sniff at a reduction in national insurance tax, the reality is that because tax allowances have been frozen and will remain frozen in april, most notably the personal allowance, how much you can earn before you pay tax, and the higher rate tax threshold, it means we are paying more tax. while the chancellor is positioning this as a tax—cutting budget, the reality is that people in the uk today face the highest tax burden in 70 years. there is very little that people today struggling with the cast and living crisis and struggling with inflation that has not come down completely, those tax cuts are but a drop in the ocean and they will not make a big difference. the big thing

that people can really do right now as we head up to the end of the tax year is to shelter money in an icer for example. and shelter the money they have from taxes.— they have from taxes. thank you for cominu on they have from taxes. thank you for coming on the _ they have from taxes. thank you for coming on the programme. - coming up for viewers in the uk, your questions answered about what the chancellor's budget means for you, yourfamily and businesses across the country. at 12:30, we'll bejoined by a number of experts, to answer your questions live. so get in touch using the hashtag #bbcyourquestions — or email yourquestions@bbc.co.uk fat dogs. labradors may be overweight due to a genetic mutation. it makes them hungry while burning fewer calories. this "double whammy" effect means dog owners have to take more care to keep their pets slim.

the lead scientist behind this research is with me now. dr eleanor raffan, small animal medicine specialist and lecturer at the university of cambridge. thank you very much for coming on the programme. what exactly have you discovered here? irate the programme. what exactly have you discovered here?— discovered here? we have been stud in: discovered here? we have been studying labradors _ discovered here? we have been studying labradors for _ discovered here? we have been studying labradors for a - discovered here? we have been studying labradors for a while, i discovered here? we have been i studying labradors for a while, and we knew we they had a mutation in a gene which is to do with how the body regulates its fat mass. the mutation breaks the mechanism that usually controls our regulation of food intake and energy expenditure, such that these dogs essentially get a bit of a starvation signal. to which they respond quite reasonably by being hungry all the time and dialling down their energy outgoings. but because they don't actually have a starvation problem and it is only down to the mutation, it leads to them getting increased body fat. bud it leads to them getting increased bod fat. �* , ., it leads to them getting increased bod fat. �* ., ., . body fat. and if you are owning a labrador. _ body fat. and if you are owning a labrador, what _

body fat. and if you are owning a labrador, what have _ body fat. and if you are owning a labrador, what have you - body fat. and if you are owning a labrador, what have you got - body fat. and if you are owning a labrador, what have you got to l body fat. and if you are owning a i labrador, what have you got to do? if you own a labrador, you probably already know that it is pretty obsessed by food, and you probably do these things already, but what this data does is give you reassurance that you are not making it up and you are having to work harder than owners of lefts foodie doug stood restrict their food and keep them distracted from what has been shown to be a real hunger because of their genetics and make sure that they don't over eat. people will also be wondering that could this mean that the same thing is happening in humans at all? yes. is happening in humans at all? yes, humans have _ is happening in humans at all? yes, humans have this _ is happening in humans at all? yes, humans have this gene _ is happening in humans at all? yes, humans have this gene is _ is happening in humans at all? ye: humans have this gene is well and there are certainly unusual patients that have mutations that cause a similar kind of increased hunger and obesity praised disposition in humans. but also, i think the dogs are a really good example of how powerful our genes are in driving our response to food and how they can really change our perception of

hunger, even if we are eating the same. people experience hunger differently, just like the dogs, and it means that gaining weight isn't just like exerting the same amount of willpower, whoever you are, or resisting gaining weight isn't about the same amount of willpower. some of us have to put much more effort into staying slim, just like some dog owners have to put much more effort into keeping their dogs slim. thank you very much for coming on the programme. let'sjust leave you with these pictures here. this is an online camera feed. it's called hatch watch. this pair of bald eagles have made their nest overlooking big bear lake, high in the mountains in east la in america. jackie is the mother and shadow as the father. you can see three eggs being happily sat on right now. you can see why it's being happily sat on right now. you

can see why its popular. stay with us here on bbc news. this is bbc news. hello again. in the last couple of days, we've started with some mist and fog, and some dense mist and fog patches at that. but in the next few days it won't be such an issue because it's turning windier. we will also see the sunniest conditions in the west, but it's going to be fairly cloudy at times with some scattered showers. high pressure is still anchored across scandinavia, effectively keeping weather fronts at bay in the atlantic. so what we have today is still quite a lot of cloud, especially in eastern and central areas, producing some drizzle in eastern scotland, showers developing across the south—east, the midlands, central southern england, and also wales. and a blustery day with temperatures 7 to about 11 or 12 degrees. heading on into the evening and overnight period, once again we hang onto all this cloud.

the showers will push that bit further north. they could be wintry above 400 metres or so in scotland. there will be some clear skies but it's still going to be windy, so we are not anticipating those issues with mist or fog, and temperatures falling away to between 2 and about 5 degrees. so then, for tomorrow, the high pressure drifts a bit further north across scandinavia. we've got this weather front trying to get into the south—west, isobars alone tell you it's going to be a windy day, windier than today. so we are looking at some brighter conditions across southern england and wales, with some sunshine coming through. a bit more cloud at times across the north of the country. gusty winds, as represented by the black circles. and by the end of the day the cloud will be thickening in the south—west and after dark we'll start to see some rain come in here. temperatures, 6 to about 11 degrees north to south. heading on then from friday into saturday, this low pressure does start to penetrate the south—west. we'll see the weather front travel a little bit further north, bringing in some rain during the course of saturday,

which is going to be a generally cloudy day. it's also going to be a windy day. the best sunshine in the north—west, but at times we'll see holes in that cloud travelling northwards, but they will be filled once again with some cloud right behind them. so, moving on through the weekend, saturday into sunday, we say goodbye to that weather front, and then you can see the isobars open out a touch, so it's still going to be windy at times as we head into the early part of the new week. and certainly on sunday and monday it will be fairly cloudy. but high pressure starts to build in on tuesday.

now it's time for your questions answered — over the next half an hour we'll be answering questions that you've sent in about yesterday's budget. chancellorjeremy hunt has cut national insurance contributions by 2p and raised the threshold for claiming child benefit. mr hunt says the measures have been paid for by putting up taxes on business—class flights, vaping and smoking. but labour's shadow chancellor rachel reeves says the chancellor gives with one hand, and takes much more with the other. this morning the institute for fiscal studies has said the budget does not address the real challenges the country is facing. well, let's look at some of the questions you've sent in. joining me now from bristol

is susannah streeter, head of money and markets at hargreaves lansdown, our cost of living correspondent kevin peachey from our newsroom, dan neidle, founder of tax policy associates from norfolk, and holly mackay, founder and ceo of boring money, who's in london. we have got a question that has come in from robbie, we have got a question that has come infrom robbie, he we have got a question that has come in from robbie, he says, what does non—dom mean? i am domiciled in the uk, so i am taxed on income that i have in the uk but i am also taxed off i have income outside the uk, shares. if someone arrives to the uk from abroad they can say they are not domiciled. for15 abroad they can say they are not domiciled. for 15 years they can escape tax from their foreign income and foreign capital gains unless they bring it into the uk. it is an

odd system,