means the bank has at this stage opted not to raise them any further. this raises lots of questions, does the bank of england think we have hit peak inflation and therefore as a result, we have hit peak interest rates? how long will it take for the rest of the economy to fair and how long will it take for that to filter through until we start to feel a bit better off? as we know, rising interest rates mean it is more expensive on your mortgage and any borrowing. saving rates have been rising but the bank of england has been raising them pretty sharply, iii times from their record low. that was after the financial crisis. up to 5.5 5.25% of the was after the financial crisis. up to 5.5 5.25% of the opting today to 5.5 5.25% of the opting today to keep them on hold. some relief for mortgage holders right now of the big question, whether this is as high as they will go or indeed the bank will decide later on that it needs to keep raising them to keep a lid on inflation?
the boats there. these pictures are from this morning in milford on sea on the hampshire coast. you can see the swell this system is creating, which has forced the closure of the beach. the system has already been over north west france, bringing gale force winds. the country s transport minister says a lorry driver was killed when a tree fell on his vehicle in the ayn region. our reporter, aruna iyengar, has the very latest. waves crashing over the sea wall in devon. a car is washed into the sea. this is penzance in cornwall. and there is heavy rainfall and flooding across the country. areas of northern ireland have been flooded. this is the scene in newry. storm ciaran is unleashing its power across the country. hampshire county council has declared a major incident for residents in hampshire and the isle of wight. many schools are putting safety first and will be shut in hampshire, southampton and devon. amber wind warnings, the second highest level of alert, are in place
fire across the lebanon israel border in recent weeks. hezbollah says it is fighting israel to support hamas in gaza. the un secretary general antonio guterres has warned there is real risk that the crisis on the israel lebanon border could escalate. one rash move, one miscalculation could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the border, and frankly beyond imagination. let us be clear, the people of the region and the people of the world cannot afford lebanon to become another gaza. the humanitarian situation in gaza is worsening after eight months of war. on x, the head of the world health organization said more than ten thousand palestinians are in gaza need urgent medical attention. he added that since the closure of the rafah crossing on may seven, no patients have been evacuated from the gaza strip. the us military said on thursday that a temporary pier off the coast of gaza has been re anchored, allowing the resumption of aid deliveries. the israeli army recently