From 829cb08b5aad9ee71f4dfbc448a9579d34bc61cf Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Martin Yeo <40734014+trexfeathers@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2024 09:22:31 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] Whats new updates for v3.8.0rc0 . (#5765)

---
 docs/src/whatsnew/{latest.rst => 3.8.rst} |  29 +++++-
 docs/src/whatsnew/index.rst               |   4 +-
 docs/src/whatsnew/latest.rst.template     | 107 ----------------------
 3 files changed, 27 insertions(+), 113 deletions(-)
 rename docs/src/whatsnew/{latest.rst => 3.8.rst} (90%)
 delete mode 100644 docs/src/whatsnew/latest.rst.template

diff --git a/docs/src/whatsnew/latest.rst b/docs/src/whatsnew/3.8.rst
similarity index 90%
rename from docs/src/whatsnew/latest.rst
rename to docs/src/whatsnew/3.8.rst
index 39818e8e79..7a1c66d14b 100644
--- a/docs/src/whatsnew/latest.rst
+++ b/docs/src/whatsnew/3.8.rst
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 .. include:: ../common_links.inc
 
-|iris_version| |build_date| [unreleased]
-****************************************
+v3.8 (21 Feb 2024) [release candidate]
+**************************************
 
 This document explains the changes made to Iris for this release
 (:doc:`View all changes <index>`.)
 
 
-.. dropdown:: |iris_version| Release Highlights
+.. dropdown:: v3.8 Release Highlights
    :color: primary
    :icon: info
    :animate: fade-in
@@ -15,7 +15,28 @@ This document explains the changes made to Iris for this release
 
    The highlights for this major/minor release of Iris include:
 
-   * N/A
+   * We have significantly improved :class:`~iris.analysis.AreaWeighted`
+     regridding performance, and added improved regridding documentation (see
+     :ref:`which_regridder_to_use`).
+
+   * We have improved :class:`~iris.cube.Cube`
+     :attr:`~iris.cube.Cube.attributes` handling to better preserve local and
+     global attribute metadata.
+
+   * We have implemented the
+     :data:`iris.fileformats.netcdf.loader.CHUNK_CONTROL` context manager to
+     offer greater control to NetCDF chunking (see :ref:`netcdf_io`).
+
+   * We have added functionality to mask cubes using shapefiles via
+     :func:`iris.util.mask_cube_from_shapefile` (see
+     :ref:`masking-from-shapefile`).
+
+   * We have added :attr:`~iris.coords.Coord.ignore_axis` to allow for
+     preventing :func:`~iris.util.guess_coord_axis` acting on desired
+     coordinates.
+
+   * We have begun adding improvements to Iris' warnings, to prevent warning
+     duplication.
 
    And finally, get in touch with us on :issue:`GitHub<new/choose>` if you have
    any issues or feature requests for improving Iris. Enjoy!
diff --git a/docs/src/whatsnew/index.rst b/docs/src/whatsnew/index.rst
index c556f82761..bd5f459954 100644
--- a/docs/src/whatsnew/index.rst
+++ b/docs/src/whatsnew/index.rst
@@ -5,13 +5,13 @@
 What's New in Iris
 ------------------
 
-.. include:: latest.rst
+.. include:: 3.8.rst
 
 .. toctree::
    :maxdepth: 1
    :hidden:
 
-   latest.rst
+   3.8.rst
    3.7.rst
    3.6.rst
    3.5.rst
diff --git a/docs/src/whatsnew/latest.rst.template b/docs/src/whatsnew/latest.rst.template
deleted file mode 100644
index 966a91e976..0000000000
--- a/docs/src/whatsnew/latest.rst.template
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,107 +0,0 @@
-.. include:: ../common_links.inc
-
-|iris_version| |build_date| [unreleased]
-****************************************
-
-This document explains the changes made to Iris for this release
-(:doc:`View all changes <index>`.)
-
-
-.. dropdown:: |iris_version| Release Highlights
-   :color: primary
-   :icon: info
-   :animate: fade-in
-   :open:
-
-   The highlights for this major/minor release of Iris include:
-
-   * N/A
-
-   And finally, get in touch with us on :issue:`GitHub<new/choose>` if you have
-   any issues or feature requests for improving Iris. Enjoy!
-
-
-NOTE: section BELOW is a template for bugfix patches
-====================================================
-    (Please remove this section when creating an initial 'latest.rst'
-
-|iris_version| |build_date|
-===========================
-
-.. dropdown:: |iris_version| Patches
-   :color: primary
-   :icon: alert
-   :animate: fade-in
-
-   The patches in this release of Iris include:
-
-   #. N/A
-
-NOTE: section ABOVE is a template for bugfix patches
-====================================================
-    (Please remove this section when creating an initial 'latest.rst')
-
-
-📢 Announcements
-================
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-✨ Features
-===========
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-🐛 Bugs Fixed
-=============
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-💣 Incompatible Changes
-=======================
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-🚀 Performance Enhancements
-===========================
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-🔥 Deprecations
-===============
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-🔗 Dependencies
-===============
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-📚 Documentation
-================
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-💼 Internal
-===========
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-.. comment
-    Whatsnew author names (@github name) in alphabetical order. Note that,
-    core dev names are automatically included by the common_links.inc:
-
-
-
-
-.. comment
-    Whatsnew resources in alphabetical order: