good afternoon. the government will set out its plans for cutting legal migration this afternoon. latest figures showed it hit a record high last year, with almost three quarters of a million more people arriving in the uk than leaving. the prime minister rishi sunak has been under pressure over the issue and today in the commons, his new home secretary james cleverley is expected to announce the minimum salary for skilled workers coming from overseas will be significantly increased. our political correspondent ione wells reports. the population grew by about 1% last year, the fastest rate since the 19605 year, the fastest rate since the 1960s baby boom. this time it was driven by international migration, which ministers have pledged to reduce. �* , . ., ., reduce. i'm very clear that the levels of _ reduce. i'm very clear that the levels of net _ reduce. i'm very clear that the levels of net migration - reduce. i'm very clear that the levels of net migration are - reduce. i'm very clear that the i levels of net migration are too reduce. i'm very clear that the - levels of net migration are too high and need to come down to a more sustainable level. it's encouraging that the office for national statistics last week did say that the numbers are already slowing, but we need to do more. the the numbers are already slowing, but we need to do more.— the numbers are already slowing, but we need to do more. the problem for rishi sunak — we need to do more. the problem for rishi sunak is — we need to do more. the problem for rishi sunak is that _ we need to do more. the problem for rishi sunak is that this _ we need to do more. the problem for rishi sunak is that this drive - we need to do more. the problem for rishi sunak is that this drive was - rishi sunak is that this drive was driven mostly by active government policies, not illegal migration, which the government plans to tackle separately by sending some asylum seeker would delete back to rwanda. migration is needed to fill shortages in the nhs and social care. you can see on the green line in the graph you how migration has increased sharply since 2021. as you can see in the dark blue line, it is due to a rise in immigration from non—eu countries. it coincides with free movement ending for eu nationals, covid restrictions easing and the introduction of a new points—based immigration system, making it easierfor points—based immigration system, making it easier for non—eu points—based immigration system, making it easierfor non—eu migrants to live, work or study in the uk. more eu nationals are now leaving and arriving, so non—eu migration is driving the increase. the government has been considering limiting the number of relatives workers can bring with them, raising the minimum salary threshold for work visas, and abolishing the system that allows employers to pay less if there are staff shortages in that sector. all these options may come with trade—offs for the economy, the nhs workforce, other sectors facing stock shortages, all tricky balances that rishi sunak will need to strike to keep his party and voters on site. —— onside. our chief political correspondent, henry zeffman, is in westminster. a difficult issue for the prime minister politically — what are we expecting to be announced on this? well, it was just a bland statistical update a couple of weeks ago which revealed that net migration in 2022 had gone way above 700,000, a new record, and that became a lightning rod for dissatisfaction among conservative mps at how successive conservative prime ministers have approached the issue of legal migration since the uk left the eu. and today we will get the answer from rishi sunak and his new home secretary, james cleverly. we expect them to propose a fairly far—reaching package, significant increase in the minimum salary for a skilled visa holder to come to the uk, but also potentially curbs on the number of social care visas that could be granted, new restrictions on the number of dependents that some migrants can bring with them to this country, and also perhaps some new conditions for student visas. of course, this is just one part of the government's migration challenge, because there is also illegal migration, and we expect some movement, potentially this week as well, on that. you could see james cleverly fly out to rwanda to upgrade the existing agreement between the uk and rwanda to the status of a treaty. the government hopes that might do a bit to get that rwanda policy back on track. potentially a very big week for how the government, how this country, approaches migration, both legal and illegal. both, country, approaches migration, both legaland illegal. both, ithink, with potentially profound consequences for those who seek to come to this country.— come to this country. henry, thank ou. israel says it's expanding its ground operations into all areas of gaza, in its fight against hamas, designated a terrorist organisation by the uk. the israeli military has told civilians to move further south and has this morning posted on social media a fresh order for people to leave about 20 areas in and around the city of khan younis in the palestinian enclave. the un has warned that people are running out of places to escape the fighting. our middle east correspondent, yolande knell, reports from jerusalem. still smouldering, the aftermath of the latest israeli strikes in khan younis. as israel widens its offensive in gaza, it is telling people from parts of this southern city to evacuate. and stepping up its bombardment. early today, more palestinian families were left devastated. already displaced from his home in the centre of the strip, mohammed now lines up opposite the bodies of his loved ones to mourn. translation: we bodies of his loved ones to mourn. translation:— translation: we were sleeping safel , translation: we were sleeping safely. minding _ translation: we were sleeping safely, minding our _ translation: we were sleeping safely, minding our own - translation: we were sleeping l safely, minding our own business. suddenly, a bomb fell on us and the whole building was destroyed. my brother was torn into pieces and so was his wife. my daughter was killed, and his daughters were killed, and his daughters were killed, including his littlest. we can't find my mum and my niece. the resumption — can't find my mum and my niece. the resumption of— can't find my mum and my niece. the resumption of fighting in gaza after a week long truce between israel and hamas collapsed has already led to hundreds of civilian casualties, and expressions of international concern. but israel's military is warning that its operations against hamas in the south of gaza will be of no less strength than those in the north. it says it has found some 800 hamas tunnels since the start of this war and has destroyed more than half. israel's ultimate aim is to destroy hamas. meanwhile, hamas says it won't talk about another hostage release without a permanent ceasefire. for relatives of israelis still being held in gaza, these are frightening times. today at a news conference, they called on ministers to speak to them. life conference, they called on ministers to speak to them.— to speak to them. we are facing a very difficult _ to speak to them. we are facing a very difficult emotional _ to speak to them. we are facing a very difficult emotional situation, | very difficult emotional situation, where the heavy disaster along with this ominous silence has left 136 families —— led 136 families to despair. due to the breach of the ceasefire by hamas, we request a meeting with the war cabinet to receive updates on the fate of our family members now. now, not tomorrow. now.— family members now. now, not tomorrow. now. . ~ ., ., , tomorrow. now. back in khan younis, israel is determined _ tomorrow. now. back in khan younis, israel is determined to _ tomorrow. now. back in khan younis, israel is determined to advance, - israel is determined to advance, believing there may be top hamas leaders hiding below ground. yet, as it directs its focus here, there are big complications. the possible presence of israeli hostages, as well as hundreds of thousands of palestinians running out of places to flee to. the president of this year's united nations climate summit, sultan al—jaber, has hit back at claims that he denies a core part of climate science. it follows a leaked video which showed him claiming there is "no science" behind the idea that phasing out fossil fuels will reduce global warming. our climate editor, justin rowlatt, is at the cop 28 summit in dubai — how embarrassing is all this for sultan al—jaber? well, he is certainly very irritated by it, and he says, look at all the speeches i've made in which i say how central to our approach, the uae's how central to our approach, the uae�*s approach, to this conference has been. it has been all about the science. it is true, he has been consistent in his speeches. i think theissue consistent in his speeches. i think the issue here is around the word urgency, how quickly fossil fuels need to be phased out. that is the word mary robinson used and he pushed back strongly on that. i think he meant to say there is no science that says a rapid phase—out of fossil fuels is science that says a rapid phase—out of fossilfuels is needed. the head of fossilfuels is needed. the head of the un science party was sitting next to him and laid out what the science says, which is a 60% reduction in the use of oil and 45% reduction in the use of oil and 45% reduction in the use of gas. that really was where the dispute was. he said a strong indication that he had asked the countries of the world to come back to him with what he calls strong language on the future of fossil a call really to phase down or all fossil fuels. fossil a call really to phase down orallfossilfuels. if fossil a call really to phase down or all fossil fuels. if that is the outcome here, that would be very significant. just then, thank you very much indeed. ——justin, thank just then, thank you very much indeed. —— justin, thank you very much indeed. a bbc investigation has revealed how water companies can make sewage pollution disappear from the official figures. leaked documents obtained by panorama suggest united utilities wrongly downgraded dozens of pollution incidents last year. the environment agency signed off all of those downgrades without actually attending any of the cases involved. united utilities denies misreporting pollution. joe crowley reports. sewage is often dumped in our rivers and seas because of blocked sewers or equipment failures. these pollution incidents are suppose to be accurately reported by water companies to the environment agency. but last year the agency attended just one in 20 reported incidents in england, and insiders say that allows water companies to cover up pollution. this whistleblower�*s words are spoken by an actor. you think pollution incidents have been kept off the books? yeah. i completely believe that. the system is rigged to prevent the reporting and investigation of serious incidents. panorama has looked at united utilities, which serves seven million customers in the north west of england. officially, it has the lowest number of pollution incidents, but we found evidence the company can make incidents disappear. take windermere in the lake district. last november, a fault meant untreated sewage was pumped into the lake. leaked documents show it was initially thought to be a serious category 2 incident. but the environment agency didn't attend and the incident was later downgraded to a no—impact category four. category 4s aren't counted in the official figures because the pollution is supposed to be so insignificant that it doesn't have any impact. the pollution in windermere was far worse than that. so if you downgrade pollution incidents to category 4, they drop off the books. they're not registered and everything looks better than it really is. they appear to be getting better, but that's not the case. and people out there on the river bank, they know this isn't the case. united utilities told us we were wrong — there was no discharge from the outfall in the middle of the lake, and that water samples taken on the lakeshore showed no environmental impact. but we've got hold of united utilities' own documents. they say the location of the outfall was in the body of the lake. we've even got their map showing the discharge point. when we asked you originally about this, you said it wasn't true, you didn't dump sewage in the middle of the lake, but you did, didn't you? so dumping is not the correct word to use. but i do accept that on this occasion, you know, sewage ended up in the lake as a result of that failure, yeah. our leaked documents suggest windermere wasn't a one—off. there's discoloured water where the pollution is entering the river. we found dozens of cases last year that looked like united utilities wrongly downgraded pollution incidents to category 4. caller states, the area affected is 30 to a0 feet. all appear to have an impact. now we've shared our evidence with two serving environment agency officers, and they agree with us. there are at least 60 cases here that appear to have been wrongly downgraded to category 4. united utilities says it's false to suggest they misreport pollution incidents and that the final categorisations are decided by the environment agency. the agency says some monitoring can be done remotely. it responds to all incidents and always attends the most serious. joe crowley, bbc news. and you can see more on this story on panorama tonight on bbc one at eight o'clock, or on bbc iplayer. the rac has warned that parts of the uk could be facing "ice rink monday" today after the weekend's snow froze overnight. it follows days of freezing temperatures and disruption caused by the wintry weather. our reporter yunus mulla has spent the morning in cumbria and he joins us from there now. what is the picture in there? treacherous conditions made life very difficult for anyone using the roads, and those subzero temperatures overnight have left many of the pedestrianised areas around here slippery and hazardous, but those efforts to help around 800 homes and businesses who are without power today continue. but at the same time, for some people, the worst is over. ambleside in the lake district. with the snow beginning to clear, a chance for people stranded to return home. this group had arrived from merseyside for their annual get—together, but spent longer here than expected. we were advised not to leave. all the roads were closed, so we ended up seeing if they had any spare rooms for the night. so we ended up staying over. we actually saw somebody in the car park, and she said that it took them about five hours or something to just get from windermere to here, so they were just like, it wasn't worth the risk. so we just kind of all made a call and decided we'd best stay in, not risk it. across the region, more than a0 schools are closed. this is in langdale. children are enjoying the day. more than 30 centimetres of snow fell in some areas over the weekend. hundreds of motorists were stuck. some slept in their cars, others at refuge centres. cumbria police say the focus of a coordinated response from a number of different agencies has moved to supporting the communities affected by the heavy snowfall, with homes and businesses still without power. engineers are trying to restore power to affected homes, but access to damaged areas is a problem. this is some of the worst snow that people have actually seen in this area, so that, you can imagine, adds to the challenge of how do we even get out to begin to fix the fault. so the important thing is to keep everybody safe. it's the welfare of our customers, and doing a lot of work to ring bound all our customers, the ones who are still off supply. businesses have few visitors today. but they are open. here in ambleside, it could be a few days yet before they return to normal. yunus mulla, bbc news. the time is 1.17. our top story this afternoon: the government is set to announce new measures aimed at bringing down legal migration to the uk. and still to come: we're on location with the famous five in kirrin cottage ahead of a new tv adaptation. coming up on bbc news: questions over the commonwealth games as the gold coast withdraws from hosting the event in 2026. the australian coastal city insisted they could go ahead, but federal and state governments have repeatedly ruled out supporting the event. after 12 years on loan at edinburgh zoo, the giant pandas tian tian and yang guang are heading back to china. it had been hoped they'd breed during their time in edinburgh, but they never did. here's our scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie. a final farewell. this a finalfarewell. this morning, tian tian and yang guang began their journey back to china, leaving edinburgh zoo, their home for more than a decade. at the weekend, staff helped them to acclimatise to these crates, ready for transportation. zoo keepers became quite attached to the giant pandas, and they're very different personalities, and say their departure will be emotional. quite a strong bond with them, so, yes, i think it will be a bit of a sad day for us. ifeel very lucky yes, i think it will be a bit of a sad day for us. i feel very lucky to be able to take them back, so i get a few extra days and i get to see them settled in and things like that, so i can report back how they are getting on when they arrive. while in scotland, there were eight attempts at artificial insemination between the pair, but they failed to produce a carb stop as they head home, some are worried about the long flight. home, some are worried about the lona fliuht. ., ., , long flight. there are potentially many welfare — long flight. there are potentially many welfare concerns - long flight. there are potentially many welfare concerns for - many welfare concerns for transporting the animals back to china, _ transporting the animals back to china, things such as different lighting, — china, things such as different lighting, different enclosure environment, just any changes to their_ environment, just any changes to their environment, sounds, temperature, things like that. we are ve temperature, things like that. - are very concerned. but zoo staff say they will be closely monitored while aboard the plane. during the fight, i'm not expecting to have major challenges. yang guang and tian tian are healthy, so my plan is to feed them plenty of bamboo throughout the fight. i will monitor them very closely, of course, and they will also have one of their favourite keepers with them, so they should be happy. when the paperwork finally completed at the denver airport, the pandas were carefully loaded onto the plane bound for xengdu. halfway between scotland and china, the keys to the crates will be handed over, officially ending their time in scotland. alexander mackenzie, bbc news. our correspondent morag kinniburgh joins us from edinburgh airport now. we saw them being loaded up their onto the plane. have they left yet? no, they have not left yet. tian tian and yang guang are safely and the cargo plane behind me. maybe they love this weather and thought they love this weather and thought they would stay here a little bit longer! but this morning, they were tented out of their enclosures into the crates with some bamboo and carrots. the crates were locked up and shipped from edinburgh zoo to the airport here. they have gone through various different customs and other security checks, and official formalities, and other security checks, and officialformalities, getting ready for their 12 hourflight officialformalities, getting ready for their 12 hour flight used to the sichuan province of china. there, they will have a few days in quarantine before they are put out to a china panda centre. as alexandra said, they were brought out to an international breeding programme. no carbs, and critics that they should not really be kept in zoos any more, but those zoo have said they feel the £14 million cost for the 12 years has been worth it, and they are staying quite secretive as to what animal will come here next. morag, thank you very much. official figures show that more than 2.5 million smart meters out of a total of 33 million in the uk aren't working properly — and it means customers are being charged the wrong amount in their energy bills. the government says it's working to fix what it calls the "small portion" that have suffered from technical issues. here's our business correspondent, marc ashdown. mum of two paula lives in east yorkshire. she says she's had problems with her smart meter pretty much from day one. there were constant issues with the readings, which led to her being told she was nearly £1,000 in debt. her supplier, edf, twice took lump sums out of her bank account, she says, without warning. it was on a friday and it was the weekend. so i couldn't, like, get food, petrol, nothing, because it completely cleared my account out. so they then refunded that. so it was an error. so they refunded it twice and put it back into my account on the monday. but one of the times, it took seven days. so that's a whole week with like no money. £200 a month for a very, very small house, when, over last winter, i never put the heating on once. so we were absolutely freezing. i didn't dare put it on. edf has apologised and acknowledged it fell short in finding a solution for paula. it said it had made various attempts to fix the issues which have so far been unsuccessful. the charity citizens advice is concerned about the number of people having problems with their smart meters. there are three things which need to be working properly. there's the actual meter itself, on the wall or maybe in the cupboard. then there's the in—home display that you get given when you get a new smart meter. more people will now use an app on their phone to understand what they can see. then there's the communication between smart meters and the central system, which collects meter readings and gives them to your energy supplier. if any one of those three things isn't working, then people won't have the information that they need. both the regulator, ofgem, and uk energy, the trade association, said the onus is on energy companies to look into smart meter issues quickly and put billing errors right as soon as possible. they stress that people can still fall back on manual readings, but urged anyone with an unresolved issue to contact the ombudsman for help. marc ashdown, bbc news. the culture secretary, lucy frazer, says the bbc should be realistic about how much the tv licence fee can increase by. the licence fee has been frozen for two years but is due to rise in line with inflation next year. our culture and media editor, katie razzall, is here. what sort of figure are we expecting, what will be the implications? what we know for sure is that the licence fee has been hundred and hundred and £59 a year for two years, and the usual way of deciding a rise between the government and bbc is by taking the inflation over a year. recently, the obr predicted that he would go up by around £15 in april, around 9%, is a £173.50 next year. lucy frazer has suggested that is too much, but is denying that she is too much, but is denying that she is ripping up a deal the government already made with the bbc, which was due to take funding on the way up to 2027. but she says she is concerned about the cost of living in the government is looking at the appropriate rate of inflation, and what is being reported is that the government is going to decide the licence fee based on what inflation was in september, and because inflation has been falling, that means it would be a lower amount thanif means it would be a lower amount than if you had taken it as the average over the year. people who follow these things when the bbc is already looking to save £500 million. that is based on that previous settlement. so it could mean more cuts. and on top of that, the government is looking from 2027 about whether to replace the licence fee entirely with a different model, weather that could be advertising, a subscription, or something else. weather that could be advertising, a subscription, orsomething else. so clearly these are uncertain times of financial planners within the bbc, but also different types of people making budget cuts across the country on their own lives. thank you. its the garden ornament that turned out to be an unexploded bomb. for more than four decades, jeff and sian edwards from milford haven in wales unwittingly lived with the 64lb naval missile, thinking it was a harmless "dummy bomb", until a police officer turned up on their doorstep last week. our wales correspondent hywel griffith sent this report. oblivious to the jeopardy amongst their geraniums... it was sat here right in front of your window! jeff and sian say they happily spent decades living with the unexploded missile in their front garden. when they bought a house in the 1980s, they bought a house in the 1980s, they assumed the shell was a dummy. sian painted it red to match the windowsill. only when a policeman saw it last week were they told it could still be alive. the bomb squad were called, and tests showed there was still a charge, so it would have to be destroyed.— to be destroyed. what we were concerned _ to be destroyed. what we were concerned about _ to be destroyed. what we were concerned about was, - to be destroyed. what we were concerned about was, what - to be destroyed. what we were i concerned about was, what would happen to the neighbours on our street, you know? the street being cordoned off, we thought, we will be really popular! we will be off their christmas card list! it's thought the bomb had been in the street for over a century, brought back from a web by a resident who had been doing deliveries with a horse and cart. he had carried it along a bumpy seven mile stretch of local beach, where it had been fired a warship. it mile stretch of local beach, where it had been fired a warship.- it had been fired a warship. it has been art it had been fired a warship. it has been part of— it had been fired a warship. it has been part of my _ it had been fired a warship. it has been part of my life _ it had been fired a warship. it has been part of my life and - it had been fired a warship. it has been part of my life and 74 - it had been fired a warship. it has| been part of my life and 74 years. been part of my life and 7a years. jeff says he now misses the missile. for sian, there 29 kilograms shall had a role in her gardening routine. —— the had a role in her gardening routine. -- the 29 had a role in her gardening routine. —— the 29 kilograms shell. you know, used to put new plants in, put them _ you know, used to put new plants in, put them in _ you know, used to put new plants in, put them in fresh, and it was the right— put them in fresh, and it was the right height for me to bang the trowel— right height for me to bang the trowel and two to get rid of the access! — trowel and two to get rid of the access! i— trowel and two to get rid of the access! i have done it a couple of weeks _ access! i have done it a couple of weeks ago! — access! i have done it a couple of weeks ago! i've done it for 41 years! — weeks ago! i've done it for 41 years! i— weeks ago! i've done it for 41 years! i patted the bomb on thursday morning _ years! i patted the bomb on thursday morning and wished good luck! the bomb may be gone, but it hasn't been forgotten. after detonation, it split, but didn't shatter, sojeff and sian hope it may find a new home in a museum. generations have grown up reading enid blyton's books. well, now the adventures of the famous five — julian, dick, anne, george, and timmy the dog — have been turned into a new bbc tv series with a modern twist. our arts correspondent david sillito has been on set to meet the cast. you're georgina, aren't you? the name's george. isn't that a boy's name? the famous five — anne, julian, dick, george and timmy. and a new tv adaptation of the enid blyton classic. children! stories about intrepid mystery—solving children, picnics and endless summers with uncle quentin and aunt fanny. she hasn't spoken to anyone | her own age since christmas. so as you can see, we have lovely timmy here, we have ginger beer, we have secret passages. for people who've grown up loving the books, nothing has changed. well, almost nothing. anne, for instance, is now... she's got quite an attitude, like a lot of her lines are, like... careful with my luggage. i don't want it to get dropped. sure. don't put it on the floor! she's very bossy, which is different to in the books. i've heard in the book, she's quite like a housewife kind of style and she stays home and does everything, like, loves tidying, which is very different in this series. george? and quentin and fanny have also been updated. how has fanny changed? in loads of ways, really. you know, fanny is very much more the aunt—housewife in the books. whereas now i'd say she's the breadwinner, wouldn't you? she is the breadwinner. and there's a good reason for a slight tweak to these classic tales, because while they may have been hugely popular in their heyday, for children now, not so much. i'd never heard of the famous five before this. did you read the books? well... that's a no, isn't it? i got, like, i could i say halfway through, but probably like two chapters in, and i was a bit like, "this is a bit boring." l so while the enid blyton stories are the inspiration, they've had to be adapted for modern tastes. this is kirrin cottage. but as flora showed me around the set and even one of the secret passages, most of it was reassuringly familiar. i think it's a secret passage. however, flora did have one revelation. what's in here? i think it might have ginger beer in it. yeah, i wish it did. we've not had a lot of ginger beer in this series, which is... have you drunk any? no. you haven't drunk any ginger beer? in this series, no. i feel like when this comes out, people are going to be mad because they're like, "where's the ginger beer?" there's only one line where they mention lashings of ginger beer, but we don't actually drink it. david sillitoe, bbc news, kirrin cottage. the story of the weather now!