welcome to newsday. i'm katie silver, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin with the latest in spain, where at least 158 people are now confirmed to have died after the worst flash flooding to hit the country in decades. king felipe held a minute's silence for the victims today, nearly all of whom were from the region of valencia. almost a year's worth of rain fell in just eight hours earlier this week. our correspondent andrew harding reports. the flood came and rearranged valencia. boats on the streets. streets turned into scrapheap. streets turned into scrapheaps.

homes inside out. bridges brushed aside. all this by a flood as fast as a mudslide, packing the punch of a tsunami. for many here, the warnings came much too late. the water came very, very fast and we got so much water coming down, coming out, and we were safely home, watching from the balconies and seeing the cars moving, moving. i said, "we can't do anything". but it wasn't raining. it was all the water coming from inland. that's it. almost inevitably, the true death toll has only now begun to reveal itself, alongside happier stories of the vulnerable hauled to safety. from this height, you can see the scale of what hit eastern spain and what nearby regions are still bracing themselves for.

the small town of paiporta stood in the floods path. miguel�*s pharmacy swamped. no family here left untouched. everybody has someone who lost someone. i feel worse than yesterday. i couldn't sleep. at the end, it's like a nightmare. a big nightmare. a nightmare for which this prosperous region seemed woefully unprepared. as the rescue work ramps up here, so do the questions. could the authorities have warned people earlier and more urgently to move to safer ground? and at a deeper level, how do we prepare better for what the scientists all agree is the more menacing climate heading our way?

meanwhile, supplies of food and water in some areas here are scarce. the internet is limited. we're not going to be able to even start repairing. i can't even contact my work. no—one in this area can contact each other because we have no internet. tonight in towns and suburbs like this, people say they feel abandoned. the darkness masking the damage to a major european city in deep shock. andrew harding, bbc news, valencia. benjamin horton, director of the earth university singaporejoins me. first of all, to these floods suggest climate change is getting worse and how much could be directly attributed?— attributed? scientists are reluctant _ attributed? scientists are reluctant to _ attributed? scientists are reluctant to pin _ attributed? scientists are reluctant to pin any - attributed? scientists are reluctant to pin any one | attributed? scientists are - reluctant to pin any one event to climate change but the body of evidence that we see

recently from devastating natural hazards becoming humanitarian disasters clearly points to the climate change is the root cause for the increase in intensity and severity of these events.— in intensity and severity of these events. intensity and severity. — these events. intensity and severity. are _ these events. intensity and severity, are they - these events. intensity and severity, are they also - these events. intensity and | severity, are they also more difficult to predict? of course in this instance in spain there is a huge amount of criticism that people will not wanted meteorologists and experts, are they able to predict when something like this will happen with more difficulty? i something like this will happen with more difficulty?— with more difficulty? i think unfortunately, _ with more difficulty? i think unfortunately, climate - with more difficulty? i think. unfortunately, climate change has been predicting these events for decades now. we knew that if you increased the amount of fossil fuel gases in the atmosphere, you would increase our atmospheric and ocean temperatures and that would cause more flooding or more droughts or wildfires or more droughts or wildfires or more heat waves. the problem we haveis more heat waves. the problem we have is communication. our cities are developed to their

extremes of the last century and because of climate change, those preparations or those resilience of the cities doesn't matter anymore. we now need to prepare our cities, provide early warning systems thatis provide early warning systems that is ready for the climate of the 21st century.- that is ready for the climate of the 21st century. and how would you — of the 21st century. and how would you define _ of the 21st century. and how would you define the - of the 21st century. and how| would you define the climate of the 21st century. and how i would you define the climate of the 21st century, compared to the 21st century, compared to the climates of previous centuries?— the climates of previous centuries? ~ ., centuries? well, we live in a world where _ centuries? well, we live in a world where we _ centuries? well, we live in a world where we have - centuries? well, we live in a world where we have not. centuries? well, we live in a i world where we have not seen carbon dioxide concentrations for several hundred thousand years. with nothing temperatures on planet earth for 125,000 years. this event in valencia was caused by extremely warm temperatures in the mediterranean. some five degrees centigrade above average. but it's very, very similar to the events that occurred in florida, where we

had very warm waters in the gulf of mexico causing the rapid intensification of the hurricanes milton and helene and its near identical to the very warm waters we had in the middle east which caused the devastating flooding in dubai. the science is very, very clear on this — each city has a university that is studying the impacts of climate change. it is now for policymakers and governments to work with the research scientists that are studying climate change to make sure our cities are safer and more resilient to these climate change hazards. qm. more resilient to these climate change hazards.— more resilient to these climate change hazards. ok, if you were advisin: change hazards. ok, if you were advising the _ change hazards. ok, if you were advising the government - change hazards. ok, if you were advising the government here, i advising the government here, for example, in singapore or those in spain, what is perhaps the one or two things that city leaders can do to make the city safer? i leaders can do to make the city safer? ~ �* , safer? i think it's quite siml safer? i think it's quite| simply communication. safer? i think it's quite - simply communication. we need to communicate that when a policy official says it has a

one in 100 year event, that is based upon data of the last century. they are not won in 100 year events now because of climate change. they are one in a decade or several times in a decade. so it's communication, the lack of misinformation to provide better warning to the people. on the medium term, we need to retrofit our cities and that does not need to be costly. we can use many nature —based solutions. so, for the case of singapore, we do not need to build a big sea wall around all of the coastline. we can use nature— mangroves and corals. they absolve the impacts of storm surge but then, they have multiuse benefits. they have multiuse benefits. they have multiuse benefits in terms of cleaning up benefits in terms of cleaning up drinking water. increasing biodiversity and, importantly, storing carbon. because the long term, the long—term

solution to the disasters that we have seen in valencia, is to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide we are putting in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels-— fossilfuels. ben'amin horton, thankyouh fossilfuels. ben'amin horton, thankyoufor_ fossilfuels. benjamin horton, thank you forjoining - fossilfuels. benjamin horton, thank you forjoining me. - people in south—east asia get richer, parents are increasingly turning to convenience food to feed their babies. packaged foods are often promoted as healthy and key to supporting growth but many of them contain sugar. the same products are being sold in mostly western supermarkets have no added sugar. in the philippines, the stakes are high, obesity and diabetes rates are on the rise and experts warn that a new type of malnutrition is emerging. we travelled there to find out more. jen is a new mum. as a make—up artist, she travels all over the city, taking precious

time away from her ten—month—old son. infant cereals make sense for busy working mums like her. translation: iii working mums like her. translation: ii i working mums like her. translation: ., ., ~ translation: ifi need to make somethin: translation: ifi need to make something from _ translation: ifi need to make something from scratch, - translation: ifi need to make something from scratch, it - something from scratch, it takes double the amount of time but for several like, i just need to add hot water and prepare the mix. celreac, and instant porridge mix, is a bestseller by far but some of these foods also contain added sugar. they are widely available, sold on every street corner. , , ., , corner. this is what filipinos call a surrey _ corner. this is what filipinos call a surrey saree _ corner. this is what filipinos call a surrey saree store, i corner. this is what filipinos call a surrey saree store, a l call a surrey saree store, a mum and pop store or a convenience store and they sell everything here from canned goods to soft drinks and other daily essentials and it also sells baby food. this one comes in these small packets that parents can just buy one portion but it also makes it more affordable. nestle, which

makes cerelac, says there is good reason for adding sugar to its products. good reason for adding sugar to its products-— its products. nutrient deficiency _ its products. nutrient deficiency is - its products. nutrient i deficiency is widespread its products. nutrient - deficiency is widespread in the country. 97% of babies do not meet their daily nutrient requirement. 40% of babies 0— five sufferfrom iron five suffer from iron deficiency five sufferfrom iron deficiency anaemia. five suffer from iron deficiency anaemia. that five sufferfrom iron deficiency anaemia. that means we fortify our products but we also make sure that our you're in is metallic close and we also have dat which is a brain nutrient, it is fishy, fishy taste, you imagine you have iron and dha, how difficult it is to take the food. look at nestle cerelac today, one bowl of iron fortified cereal with 20 vitamin c and minerals can provide the baby, i will say that categorically, this is one of the healthiest food complementary food you can introduce to your baby.

nutritionists say in the philippines many foods catering to a sweet pallet started early. iiii to a sweet pallet started earl . ., ., ., ., ., , early. if a mother or a family introduces _ early. if a mother or a family introduces sweet _ early. if a mother or a family - introduces sweet complimentary solids, then you set the baby up solids, then you set the baby up to prefer the attractive, sweet taste of sugar. in starting these baby so young on this level of sugar, it's mind—boggling. this level of sugar, it's mind-boggling.- this level of sugar, it's mind-boggling. this level of sugar, it's mind-bonlinu. ., mind-boggling. the most popular flavour of cerelac _ mind-boggling. the most popular flavour of cerelac in _ mind-boggling. the most popular flavour of cerelac in the _ flavour of cerelac in the philippines has about 17.5 g of total sugars per serving. that's the equivalent of more than four teaspoons of sugar. it can include both naturally occurring and added sugars. laws around labels don't require brands to distinguish between the two, so it is hard to know how much sugar has actually been added. nestle says its range also includes variants of flavours without added sugar. mil variants of flavours without added sugar.— added sugar. all of our variants _ added sugar. all of our variants with _ added sugar. all of our variants with added - added sugar. all of our i

variants with added sugar added sugar. all of our - variants with added sugar are all way below the threshold of international and go local for —— and local guidelines. those international guidelines are set by a commission jointly established by the two un agencies who and fhra. the who recommends that these standards be updated with a particular focus on avoiding the addition of sugar and salt in children under three —— fao. another un agency, unicef, points to more lax regulations in countries like the philippines. for lax regulations in countries like the philippines.- like the philippines. for its art, like the philippines. for its part. nestle _ like the philippines. for its part, nestle says - like the philippines. for its part, nestle says it - like the philippines. for its part, nestle says it is - part, nestle says it is listening to concerns about added sugar. fix, listening to concerns about added sugar.— added sugar. a banana will already come _ added sugar. a banana will already come with - added sugar. a banana will already come with a - added sugar. a banana will already come with a no - added sugar. a banana will i already come with a no added sugar vary into the next two or three years we will already have eliminated all of the added sugar in our variants. figs added sugar in our variants. as concerns grow about the health of children, a commitment to eliminate sugar in baby food is a step in the right direction but the journey is likely to be long and complex as parents

tried to give their babies the best start in life. you can catch the full document to read the sweet divide on the bbc this weekend and it is also available on iplayer. the us, south korea, and japan have condemned north korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. north korea's military fired the missile, which you can see here, on thursday. it flew for 86 minutes — the longest flight of a such a missile on record — before landing in waters off japan's western coast. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories around the world. the chancellor rachel reeves says that she hopes the new labour government's announcement of massive tax increases will be a one—off. the tax rises of about £40

billion were announced to parliament by ms reeves in her first budget. the nhs, transport and education will all see a boost in spending. an inquiry into the salisbury poisonings has heard that the first doctor to care for the poisoned daughter of a russian spy thought that he would never see her move again. yulia skripal arrived at the hospital in march 2018 in a deeply unconscious state alongside herfather sergei skripal after they were poisoned with the nerve agent novichok. more than 400 alleged victims or witnesses have come forward to lawyers over allegations of sexual misconduct against former harrods owner mohamed al fayed. 0ne lawyer representing the justice for harrods survivors group described it as "the worst case of corporate "abuse of women the world has ever seen". al fayed died last year, aged 94. you're live with bbc news.

us secretary of state antony blinken says negotiators have made "good progress" towards a truce in lebanon. two of presidentjoe biden's top advisers on the middle east are now heading back to the us after spending thursday in tel aviv to work with israeli officials on a ceasefire deal with hezbollah. meanwhile, in the last hour, these pictures have come in from reuters news agency, showing an explosion over the beirut skyline. witnesses say that the strike the capital's suburbs. we know that tens of thousands of people on both sides of the israel—lebanon border have left their homes to escape cross—border fire between hezbollah and israeli forces. 0ur middle east regional editor sebastian usher sent us this update from jerusalem. even as there is a big new diplomatic push to get a ceasefire between israel and hezbollah in lebanon, the fighting between the two sides is continuing unabated. in israel, seven people were killed today by hezbollah rockets. that is one of the largest death tolls there has been since hezbollah began to fire into israel after the october 7 attacks in support of hamas. israel has continued with its air strikes on baalbek

and tyre and we heard that six health workers were killed, so there is no let up. but two us envoys came to israel and they've spoken to prime minister netanyahu. there has been much talk and speculation over a possible 60 day ceasefire. there have even been reports showing a draft proposal. this has been dismissed, to an extent, by israel and mr netanyahu himself has said he's not interested in documents and papers, what's he's interested in is ensuring that the security of israel in the north can be assured — that is what he is focused on. he said that during the meeting with the two us envoys and he said it when later he met members of the military. that is his message at the moment. so, there is hope building that there may be the beginning of an end to this new conflict between hezbollah and israel in lebanon, but i think we still have to wait to see any concrete movement

forward on it. wa'el alzayat is the chief executive officer of emgage and a former us middle east policy expert at the us department of state. many with no place to go. some have even been targeted once they reach other parts of the country. there is a massive humanitarian crisis unfolding and create some estimates, many villages in the south of the country up to a quarter of houses have been damaged or destroyed so it's pretty severe, as you know lebanon is reeling from an economic crisis, from the explosion that happened a year ago at the port of beirut from a financial sector crisis and this is a terrible development for them. when it comes to israel, it's been one of the deadliest days and months for them with hezbollah strikes hitting a ruralarea. how dangerous is it now for israelis and does it suggest their air defence

systems don't seem to be working as effectively in fending off strikes? the iron dome and other systems have certainly been able to defend against the majority of missiles but things do get through, as you've seen, and the strikes that you mentioned, many civilians did die because of it. look, israeli leaders, at least the military leaders, achieved most of their objectives they believe particularly with the decapitation of the hezbollah leadership and there is tension is now with the prime minister with them urging him yet again to agree to a ceasefire and really, any other objectives cannot be pursued militarily any more, so it doesn't only place the lebanese population at an extended threat but also the civilian populations as well. you were a state department expert when it came to middle east policy. we are talking about a ceasefire deal here but it is not with hamas and so, therefore would unlikely lead to

a return of hostages. what does a ceasefire deal mean when it's between — with hezbollah instead? certainly, it de—escalates the situation. it takes at least the northern front of israel off the table, it allows the lebanese people to go back home and rebuild, and provides a measure of safety for israelis particularly in the northern part of the country. it also de—escalates potentially with iran, given that hezbollah is a proxy of the iranian government and we've seen the potential for direct confrontation beyond the limited strikes of the israelis or the missiles that were launched from iran against israel into an all—out war and so, certainly it would de—escalate that and also allow the peace negotiators, particularly the americans, to focus on the gaza front. the humanitarian situation in gaza continues to deteriorate with at least 39 palestinians killed an attack on a hospital on thursday according to health officials.