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uk and mauritius say they are making good progress in negotiations to reach a treaty over the future of the us and british military base in the chagos islands to mauritius has been pushing for changes to a proposed deal in which britain would relinquish sovereignty over the archipelago. let's get the latest from our diplomatic corresponded james landale. james, just give me your assessment in terms of what you're hearing of where we actually are with this deal. these talks continue, they are largely secret talks, we had ministers from mauritius in the uk last week for four days of talks. i think this is the 14th or 15th round of talks, these have been going on for well over a year, that is during the conservative ministration, for labour to power, so it's been going on a long time. we have newish government in mauritius

who said the deal is agreed beforehand wasn't good enough, they want more money, they want some of the language changed so that's what they're haggling over. essentially the deal will be something like this, that the british say, we're not going to give more more money, the mauritius government is a bit short of cash you need is money but at the same time the british are saying they have to measure legal stability of this us military base on diego cf. there is a hope that they might get a deal before the inauguration of donald trump next week. that's not a given and that's the problem, the biden administration supported the deal, they thought it was an ok deal. there is still questions over precisely what the trouble administration will do. there have been some voices that, marco rubio, the new pick for the secretary of state, he has echoed some of the criticism by conservative mps in this country, saying it is a

threat to us national security. what you don't know is what will happen when the administration takes power. the have conversations inside the pentagon and elsewhere so still a lot of uncertainty.— a lot of uncertainty. given all those variables, _ a lot of uncertainty. given all those variables, where - a lot of uncertainty. given all those variables, where do i a lot of uncertainty. given all| those variables, where do you think we are likely to end up? i think we will end up with a deal, that it will be politically controversial in this country because there is a disagreement over points of fact. the british committee says this is a deal that is good for british national interest because it secures the legal basis of this deal and at the same time it gets the uk on the same time it gets the uk on the right side of international law which makes it very hard for previously for the government to have criticised the russians in ukraine, or to criticise what china is doing in the south china sea. the counterargument is that actually, the uk is giving up sovereignty and it doesn't have to it is strategically against britain's national interest and will potentially open the door to other countries, perhaps china, to increase their influence in the region. just

to tell viewers _ influence in the region. just to tell viewers why - to tell viewers why strategically it is so important, this base. essentially it is an aircraft carrier in the middle of the pacific. it is owned and controlled basically by the americans and british. that makes it hugely important, not just for the project force, it is a case that's been used heavily during conflicts in the middle east over the last few decades, but is also a huge depository and a source of intelligence gathering in the region. so therefore, to have that kind of military base in that kind of military base in that location is hugely useful and it is something that many other countries wish they had. james, thank you for taking us through those latest developments. two just stop while experts have been arrested after defacing the grave of charles darwin at westminster abbey. this is video showing the

protesters spray—painting one point five is dead over the grave in reference to the news that the world has exceeded 1.5 degrees of warming in 2024, breaking the previous record set in 2023. the group said charles darwin was targeted because he would be, quote, turning in his grave because of the mass extinction taking place. westminster abbey spokesperson said the grave is being cleaned and they do not expect any permanent damage. those are the latest pictures from that process. that news conference is still going on in los angeles, so we continue to monitor that. when you rejoin us at the top of the hour we will have the latest from los angeles. you're watching bbc news. a leading obesity expert has warned that weight loss drugs could encrypt the nhs if they were prescribed to all the patients who are eligible for

them custom 3.4 million people in england are understood to qualify but there are warnings it could cost around £10 billion a year if they were all treated once. —— at once. ray is 62 and has battled with his weight for most of his life. ray, what size is that? it might be a six... six or a seven xl. he got a shock a few years ago when about to have surgery. i was actually outside waiting to go into the theatre, and they said, "we can't operate on him. he's too big for this table." it's july 2024 at london's guy's hospital. ray is about to become one of the first patients to get the weight—loss jab wegovy on the nhs. he weighs 148 kilos — or 23 stone. in trials, patients on wegovy lost an average of 15% body weight in just over a year. right, so we're ready to go. 0k? 0k. there you go.

good luck. the weeklyjab works by mimicking a gut hormone which makes you feel full. it can cause unpleasant side effects in the stomach, which some can't cope with. give it a bit of seasoning. patients know they have to play their part too, eating healthier, smaller portions. if ray can lose weight, it would help him and the nhs. we treat a lot of the complications associated with obesity. if we take ray, for example, you know, he has pre—diabetes. we are hoping to go into remission. hisjoints — he might need joint surgery in the future, you know, but actually achieving weight loss can prevent a lot of the complications and ultimately save the nhs a lot of money. naveed sattar heads the uk government's 0besity healthcare goals programme. the cost of these drugs is still at a level wherel we cannot afford to treat several million people i

within the uk with these drugs. it would simply i bankrupt the nhs. he estimates it costs the nhs around £3,000 to give a patient weight loss jabs for a year. and so if everyone eligible got them now, that would be £10 billion a year. most are simply paying for them. ray is doing well. thank you. after five months on wegovy, he's lost 14 kilos — more than two stone. look, i'm really pleased with you. it's clearly doing what it's supposed to do, which is switching off those food noises. very nice to see you both, yes. and ray, who's recently become a grandad, is delighted. well pleased. i can't believe it. my daughters, every time they see me, they say i'm shrinking or i'm wasting away. most patients put their lost weight back on if they come off the jabs, so these could be drugs for life for ray

and others, bringing both costs and benefits to the nhs. fergus walsh, bbc news. ina in a blow tojeff basis, the launch of a space rocket by his company was called off earlier today. —— bezos. fi assisted down there tick in florida. the rocket is now being drained of fuel, it is unclear when the next launch opportunity might be. in a statement blue origin said it would be troubleshooting what had happened. the new rocket has been ten years in development and was touted as a serious rival to elon musk�*s spacex rocket. bezos stepped down as ceo to focus more on blue origin. the company also wants to launch commercial satellites

and for nasa. some dishes of ice castles here in england, given the weather, these structures serve as temporary art installations, they also attract tourists. this particular because i was erected in new hampshire. structures vary in capacity, designers can build towers, tunnels, archways and caves. after a mild winter last year designers were happy when temperatures were cold enough to open up attractions earlier than normal. we were looking about 25 million pannek of ice. start the process by mapping out how we would like to build the ice castle. —— 24 million lb. when the icicles get to the correct length we will have a stamp is to put them in a little backpack and then plant the icicles. . , ., icicles. the latest weather forecast — icicles. the latest weather forecast here _ icicles. the latest weather forecast here in _ icicles. the latest weather forecast here in a - icicles. the latest weatherl forecast here in a moment. before that, some aerial

pictures coming live from los angeles, there was a briefing from officials giving us an update with the concerns about the wind speeds tomorrow, tuesday and wednesday, that they are very nervous about, potential hurricane force winds whipping up the flames. certainly, the updates, the containment continuing and they said that there are great searches and they continue to find human remains. there has been confirmation of 24 deaths, 26 people are still missing. so more on the ground from la here in the programme in the next few minutes. as promised, let's get up—to—date with the latest weather. hello there. the weather story across the uk is on the change, but perhaps not where you would think. just take a look at this dramatic temperature contrast from first thing this morning. we had 14 degrees in highland scotland — that runs the risk of some rapid snow melt and maybe some localised flooding. by contrast, —1. we are was still sitting in the cold air across

the far south—east. but the wind direction has changed. it's driving this milder air across the northern half of the country. it is also bringing some wet weather, as well. so these weather fronts are sinking their way steadily south and east, introducing some rain. further south we are still under the influence of high pressure. the rain has seen some heavier bursts across the highlands. it's moving its way down towards the scottish borders and out of northern ireland. so for the remainder of the afternoon we will see some wet weather sinking its way slowly south and east. quite cloudy skies elsewhere. best of any brightness across east anglia and south—east england where we had that colder start, but temperatures starting to pick up. not quite as cold here, five to seven degrees, but we keep those double figures in the far north and west. 0ur weather front sinks its way steadily south, weakens all the time to a nuisance band of drizzly rain across northern england and north wales overnight. further south, if we get some clearer skies, a touch of patchy frost, maybe some patchy fog, as well. low single figures here.

we keep the mild air behind that weather front. the front will continue to push its way south and produce quite a lot of cloud around on tuesday. not that much in the way of rain. some brief glimpses of brightness perhaps towards the north and east of scotland and england. temperatures generally between eight and 11 degrees. so a milder feel to things. as we move through the middle part of the week, the high pressure stays influencing the story for most of us. weather fronts toppling across the high might introduce some fresher winds and thicker cloud here from time to time, but with lighter winds further south, fog and some of it dense and stubborn in places, could lingerfor quite some time across central and south—east england. so something to look out for on wednesday. again, temperatures pretty similar — between eight and 11 degrees. so as we go through the rest of the week the milder theme is set to continue, mostly dry, but watch out for the fog.

live from london. this is bbc news. the number of people killed in the los angeles wildfires — rises to 24 — with at least 16 still missing. evacuation orders remain in place. strong winds are threatening further destruction

across the city. three fires still rage as firefighters try to gain control. we are not in the clear, i want to make sure of that. we are not in the clear as of yet, and we must not let our guard down. keir starmer pledges to make the uk — a �*great ai superpower�* — as he outlines plans for growth ai has arrived. a defining opportunity is here, and together we will harness it, for the good of our country. this is the global rates of our lives. this is the global race of our lives. as hopes of an imminent breakthrough in the gaza ceasefire talks grow, sharp divisions over the potential deal have emerged in israel. kumbh mela, the world's largest gathering of pilgrims begins as millions of hindus arrive to take a dip in the holy river — the ganges.