seve re severe and had a has been quite severe and had a severe impact on debts. this significantly affects lower earning and middle earning graduates, as well as women specifically, so it really puts the burden of funding higher education on these groups as opposed to higher earning graduates and men. ,, ., , ., and men. student death is often written off _ and men. student death is often written off after _ and men. student death is often written off after 25 _ and men. student death is often written off after 25 years. - and men. student death is often written off after 25 years. is - and men. student death is often written off after 25 years. is it i written off after 25 years. is it possible for people just awaited out until that time elapses? it is until that time elapses? it is possible. — until that time elapses? it is possible, but _ until that time elapses? it is possible, but that _ untilthat time elapses? it 3 possible, but that means you untilthat time elapses? it 1 possible, but that means you have to earn below the threshold and obviously that means earning a lower wage. you could wait it out but it is still coming out of your account and this significantly affects those who are able to pay off their loan meaning they have money taken out of their account each pay day. it is more about the disproportionate effect this has on certain people

and how it makes worse inequality and how it makes worse inequality and unfairness in the higher education system. tell and unfairness in the higher education system.— and unfairness in the higher education system. and unfairness in the higher education s stem. ., education system. tell me about the exneriences — education system. tell me about the exneriences of _ education system. tell me about the experiences of people, _ education system. tell me about the experiences of people, what - education system. tell me about the experiences of people, what do - education system. tell me about the experiences of people, what do you | experiences of people, what do you hear from students, why do they have to take on so much air? the? hear from students, why do they have to take on so much air?— to take on so much air? they take on so much air— to take on so much air? they take on so much air because _ to take on so much air? they take on so much air because of _ to take on so much air? they take on so much air because of the _ to take on so much air? they take on so much air because of the tuition . so much air because of the tuition fees specifically, maintenance loans, but also the current cost of living crisis is making worse how much people are having to take out in loans. the current maintenance loan barely covers rent for students nowadays and this isn't being increased at all with inflation. there are a lot of strains on students and students are accruing all of this that having an awful time at university because they can't afford to live and are working part—time jobs and then they leaving with huge amount of debts that will follow them for the rest of their lives. it makes people from lower

income backgrounds then, what is the point? we need to keep encouraging people to access it. i point? we need to keep encouraging people to access it.— people to access it. i imagine the solutions are _ people to access it. i imagine the solutions are not _ people to access it. i imagine the solutions are not simple. - people to access it. i imagine the solutions are not simple. this - people to access it. i imagine the solutions are not simple. this is l people to access it. i imagine the | solutions are not simple. this is a long—standing issue. tuition fees have risen because they say they don't have enough cash to keep operating. how will the situation be resolved? i operating. how will the situation be resolved? ~' ., , resolved? i think we need to stop tinkerin: resolved? i think we need to stop tinkering with _ resolved? i think we need to stop tinkering with the _ resolved? i think we need to stop tinkering with the current - resolved? i think we need to stop| tinkering with the current system. it is not working. we could cut tuition fees, increased, but at the end of the day the same issues are still there. students are paying for education, it is treated like a business and education is hard to treat that lack a proper business and it creates so many inequalities for the student experience. we need to overhaul this current system. i know it is not easy but that is the only way we can save higher education is replacing this funding system with something that is publicly fungible —— publicly funded

unsustainably founded and put student and staff experience right at the centre as opposed to making profits. at the centre as opposed to making rofits. . , , ~ ., , profits. that seems like it would be im ossible profits. that seems like it would be impossible for _ profits. that seems like it would be impossible for any _ profits. that seems like it would be impossible for any government - profits. that seems like it would be impossible for any government to l profits. that seems like it would be l impossible for any government to do today, publicly funded university degrees just doesn't seem possible. it's not possible overnight, but it is not out of the realms of possibilities. and 2a and all my life i have been told that there is never any money and stop being so aspirational in what you want to see. it experienced impacted our experience in our lives. if governments are making claims about improving the nhs, fixing the retention crisis in primary schools, about fixing the climate crisis, they need to take this seriously and invest in higher education and that means putting money into it. nothing

comes for free. means putting money into it. nothing comes forfree. it means putting money into it. nothing comes for free. it is about reprioritising where money is going. sales in shops stagnated in february after rising more than first thought in january, after rising more than first thought injanuary, according to official figures. the office for national statistics said sales of clothes were strong, but that was offset by falls in other areas. we can speak to danni hewson, head of financial analysis at ajay bell. danny, thank you forjoining us. many analysts are blaming their brief is not wet weather for the stagnated sales. what is your take? are other issues at play? there are, but my goodness it certainly rained in february and it certainly rained in february and it did key people of the high street, so to spend that we saw was

online. online sales picked up considerably, more than 2% in february, as people were looking to refresh their wardrobes. clothing retailers in particular went all out with a new collection, offering sales items to try to get debts to spend and we did do that. we are also still hyper aware of the cost of living as budgets are still strained. if you're going to spend in one place we will not be standing somewhere else. yes, we saw retail sales pick up considerably in january because of the january sales, but in february we are more likely to be going back to bars and restaurants, dryjanuary likely to be going back to bars and restaurants, dry january was over and we had valentine's day in the mix as well. the expectation is that consumer confidence means that the economy is doing well. what are your predictions going forward? consumer confidence has _ predictions going forward? consumer

confidence has picked _ predictions going forward? consumer confidence has picked up _ predictions going forward? consumer confidence has picked up a _ predictions going forward? consumer confidence has picked up a little - confidence has picked up a little bit. we had retail sales out yesterday for next, delivered record products profits. he said he felt that consumer confidence was at its highest for seven years. people do seem to be feeling a little bit better about their finances. when we start to see the increase in the national living wage, april and that additional cuts in national insurance, as well as inflation coming down, all those things will start to help, but it has been a really tough couple of years for a lot of people. they have gone through their savings, their living standards have fallen and they are having to make tough choices about when they buy and what they buy. they are spending in bars and restaurants, if they are doing that they are less likely to be standing in food shops and retailers. i think things will improve slowly through the year but it will be a tough slog. the year but it will be a tough sloa. �* , , ., .,

the year but it will be a tough sloa. ., , slog. as you mentioned there, sales articularl slog. as you mentioned there, sales particularly when — slog. as you mentioned there, sales particularly when it _ slog. as you mentioned there, sales particularly when it comes _ slog. as you mentioned there, sales particularly when it comes to - slog. as you mentioned there, sales particularly when it comes to food i particularly when it comes to food and household items fell, a sign perhaps that the cost of living continues to bite for many households. where do we see things going when it comes to the cost of living? going when it comes to the cost of livin: ? ., . ., , going when it comes to the cost of livin: ? ., . . , ., living? particularly when we are talkin: living? particularly when we are talking about _ living? particularly when we are talking about those _ living? particularly when we are talking about those household i living? particularly when we are - talking about those household goods, we have had real concerns about those rising interest rates which have impacted people's ability to get on the housing ladder or decisions to maybe move home. they are less likely to be buying those big ticket items, particularly things like sofas and electricals. they are still putting off those purchases because they are concerned about making their money stretch further. as the cost of living starts to ease, as inflation comes down and particularly if we start to see cuts, then maybe marcus will be thinking by the end of the summer may weigh —— we may well get there, that can make a big difference.

retailers have had a really tricky time. they managed to sell goods at sale prices in november with black friday, but the christmas period, which is really important for them, theyjust really which is really important for them, they just really struggled, which is really important for them, theyjust really struggled, so they will want to see consumer confidence really start to increase and people start to buy. really start to increase and people start to buy-— the heavy rainfall over the past winter led to widespread flooding across parts of the uk, making it the eight wettest on record. that's according to the met office. despite milder weather now, some rivers in england are still truthful, making it life difficult for animals such as authors to survive. they are the unlikely victims of flooding. but even otters can have too much water. in the sodden landscapes of lincolnshire, where rivers have

been flooded for months, the otter population has been hit hard. they are really, really strong swimmers. however, when a river is in flood and the current is really, really strong, they will struggle. especially mums with cubs, they'll really struggle in the strong currents. and often what will happen is a cub won't be able to swim properly in the strong currents, and they'll become separated from their mother. hello, reggie. hello, kiddo. those that are rescued from the floodwaters often end up here, at a specialist rehab centre in devon, where plentiful supplies of fresh fish and bottled milk can help them to recover. record numbers of cubs have been admitted here in recent months, but there are concerns about the overall impact of flooding on the uk's otter population. there's one thing that's in their favour, is they are very good at adapting. whether they can adapt quick enough to cope with flash floods and things like that, i think they'll struggle, and that's why, you know, obviously

they're a highly protected species, and it wouldn't take a lot to actually wipe out a complete population in a certain area. the human impact of recent record flooding has been very evident. but we've also seen widespread habitat loss for a range of creatures, including the otter. and perhaps the question is whether our wildlife can adapt quickly enough to survive in a changing climate. people wouldn't think maybe that otters would be affected by climate change, but they are. the amount of storms that we've had is absolutely crazy. it seems that we had one every week. when it happens here in lincolnshire, and it happens all around the uk, they really struggle with this kind of weather. the lucky ones to be rescued will build up their strength, before being released back into the wild. as spring arrives and the flood waters recede, it's hoped the otters can re—establish themselves on many of our rivers. paul murphy, bbc news.

now it is time for a look at the weather. hello. if you've been out and about today you may already have noticed a change in the feel of the weather, certainly compared with what some of us had a couple of days ago when temperatures in southern england got close to 19 degrees. tomorrow we'll see afternoon highs of more like nine degrees celsius. colder air digging down from the north behind a weather front, which you can see here on our earlier satellite image, this line of cloud, it's been bringing some outbreaks of rain. behind that, speckled shower clouds racing in. it is quite windy up towards the north—west of the uk. gales in the far north. plenty of showers, some heavy with hail and thunder, some wintry over high ground, particularly in scotland. temperatures, if anything, coming down as we head towards the end of the day. through this evening and tonight, we'll lose the last of that weather front and we will see some clear skies, yes, but plenty more showers. still some heavy thundery ones and some wintry ones over high ground in the north of the uk. staying fairly windy overnight,

but despite that, temperatures will drop quite close to freezing, so on some roads out in the countryside across northern england, northern ireland and scotland there mayjust be one or two icy patches. into tomorrow, low pressure in charge, passing to the north of the uk. lots of isobars on that chart, showing that it will be windy. we'll see plenty of showers pushing across many areas, perhaps a line of more organised heavy, thundery showers drifting southwards. some of those showers will continue to be wintry over high ground in the north. a widely windy day — gusts of 40mph or 50mph in northern and western parts. temperatures on the thermometer at nine or ten degrees, not unusual for this time of year, but certainly down on where we have been. when when we factor in the wind chill, these are the �*feels like' temperatures. we could knock a few degrees off those temperature values, five or six degrees the feels—like numbers for saturday afternoon. through saturday night the winds will ease a little bit. it will stay quite blustery, i think, for eastern coasts of scotland and england, where we could still see some showers on sunday morning.

then a slice of drier, clearer, calmer weather, before a band of cloud and rain pushes in from the west later in the day. temperatures perhaps up a little bit at nine to 13 degrees. it does look very unsettled as we head into next week. there will be showers or longer spells of rain at times and nothing particularly warm in the offing for the coming days.

live from london, this is bbc news. russia and china have vetoed a us draft resolution at the un security council which had called for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in gaza. meanwhile us top diplomat antony blinken has been holding talks in israel as part of washington's efforts to secure a truce. gaza's orphans — the united nations says there are thousands. we bring you the story of alma, the only member of her family to survive the rubble. police in england are investigating allegedly racist comments made by a top tory donor,

frank hester, who's given ten million pounds to the conservatives. hello, i'm geeta guru murthy. welcome to bbc news now. let's start in new york, where the un security council has voted against a us draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in gaza linked to the release of hostages. russia and china were among three countries that vetoed the us resolution. the us ambassador to the un responded to russia's and china's veto. it was the first time the us had supported such a resolution, having previously blocked similar ones at the event. russia still cannot bring itself to condemn hamas's terrorist attacks on october seven, condemn hamas's terrorist attacks on octoberseven, can condemn hamas's terrorist attacks on october seven, can wejust condemn hamas's terrorist attacks on october seven, can we just pause on that for a second? russia and china

refused to condemn hamas for burning