dog meat is off the menu in south korea as the country's parliament bans the trade of the animal for human consumption. the death of a two—year—old after exposure to mould brings about new uk government proposals where social housing emergency repairs will need to be carried out within 2a hours. the longest strike in nhs history came to an end at 7am, as junior doctors went back to work one hospital has told the bbc that the pay dispute has cost them £1 million because of extra staffing costs and lost income from cancelled operations. our health editor hugh pym sent this report from milton keynes. my unofficial title is teapot technician. otherwise housekeeper. another hospital trolley — this one with self—styled

teapot technician judy. she can feel the pressure in a&e as she does her round. i've not long been on shift, but walking in and you see people on beds, you know people have been in a long time and you know it's going to be a full—on day. still busy, as always, up here. even with the strike on, the hospital hairdresser lynn has her hands full. right, good morning, everybody. welcome to the last day of the doctors' strike. i we joined the gold command group of senior managers. they were juggling patient numbers. during this meeting, they raised the alert level to reflect the significant pressure they were under. icu were pretty much full again with no step down. paeds is fine, maternity�*s in escalation. we are short ofjuniors, so we've got at least two or three ward areas with no junior doctor on it at the moment. nearly 100 patients are being treated in overflow areas. consultants like vicky and shindu are working extra hours in the emergency department during the strike. they sympathise with theirjunior colleagues, but they're tired.

i don't think this is sustainable. we've been doing this for many months now — since last summer — and each industrial action has more impact on the workforce and it's more tiring and therefore more impact on our patients and the other staff — the nursing staff, the therapy staff. we're not robots, we're just humans, and so at some point, the willingness of the workforce to do over and above is going to stop. so i've been working this morning from 8:00, but i've been working three, four days now, in continuous stretch. and how does that feel — all those hours? it feels exhausting — very exhausting for all of us working here. but we have to do the job. and what's more, he's got four days of shifts to come. the trust has to pay out for the extra cover, and there are financial penalties because they've cancelled operations and missed targets. a combination of having to pay our consultants

more to cover services, and also for the activity and numbers of patients that we haven't treated, it costs around about £1 million for this six—day strike — loss of income and increased cost to the service. hello, freddie, how are you? and there are mixed views about thejunior doctors from patients who have been seen today. they should give them the money. you know, honestly, the work they do, you know, it's unbelievable. i think doctors, junior doctors, are underpaid, but it's a little bit the wrong time to be taking such a massive...you know, action. the hospital now has to face the consequences of the strike — tired staff needing days off, and a bigger backlog of care. hugh pym, bbc news, milton keynes. emergency repairs to social housing would have to be carried out within 2a hours under

proposals being put forward by the uk government. it's part of a pledge to introduce awaab�*s law — named after two—year—old awaab ishak, who died after being exposed to mould in his family's social housing flat in rochdale. here's the bbc�*s north of england reporter, rowan bridge. a little boy who was suffocating in his own home. two—year—old awaab ishak died following exposure to mould and damp. these photos are from the family flat in rochdale — where they washed, where they ate — they were surrounded by mould. the family had complained to their housing provider for years, but nothing was done. rochdale boroughwide housing, we have a message for you. stop discriminating. stop being racist. stop housing people in homes you know are unfit for human habitation. in the wake of the toddler's death, action was promised. we're bringing forward legislation. that legislation will make sure that the housing associations who are responsible for social housing are held to account. this tragedy should

never have occurred. there is no way that a young child being brought up in a home with damp and mould of this kind can be considered to be in a decent home. now the government's proposed how that'll work — with legal requirements for social landlords to tackle problems. 1a days to investigate hazards such as damp and mould. starting fixing the problems within a further seven days. and emergency repairs within 2a hours. landlords that fail to meet the standards could be taken to court in order to pay compensation. the solicitor for the ishak family says it's an important step forward. throughout their time with awaab, they built a bit of a distrust, actually, with authority because of their experiences. so i'm pleased for them that they're now seeing awaab�*s law get to consultation stage. and it's just really important now that awaab�*s law is able to have the intended bite. so for us, it's particularly important that people really do engage with this consultation.

the consultation starts today, for eight weeks — with the government promising to bring the measures into force as soon as practicably possible after that. more than three years on from the death of awaab ishak, his legacy moves another step closer to becoming law. rowan bridge, bbc news. live now to manchester, where we can speak to stephen topping, a reporter from manchester evening news whose investigation into awaab�*s death publicised this issue. good to talk to you, stephen. if it was not for your work we might not be having this conversation today. of course, it can't bring awaab back, but how do the family feel about the fact changes are afoot? good morning, thank you for having me on. nothing will ever, sadly, bring awaab back, but at least something can bring comfort to his

family and the people who have campaigned for change following his death. obviously we run a campaign at the manchester evening news following the inquest, a huge amount of people supported it. i was with awaab�*s father when we delivered a petition to downing street last summer, that was on the same day where the law change was on its way to becoming an actor, it was in the house of lords and it was a really pivotal moment on that occasion. haw pivotal moment on that occasion. how will these proposals make a difference? it says these repairs have to happen within 2a hours but awaab�*s family complained for weeks, months on end for change. how will this ensure these repairs actually happen? this ensure these repairs actually ha--en? this ensure these repairs actually ha en? , ., ., this ensure these repairs actually hauen? , ., ., ,�* happen? the situation up awaab's family faced. _ happen? the situation up awaab's family faced, if _ happen? the situation up awaab's family faced, if another _ happen? the situation up awaab's family faced, if another family, i family faced, if another family, once these laws come into power, are in the same situation, they will be able to go to court over these

powers. the government is putting forward but damp and mould should be inspected within14 days, it should start within a further seven days, most big emergencies would be within 24 most big emergencies would be within 2a others. that is good for us, it is what we campaign for last year and what the family was calling for. it just and what the family was calling for. itjust means the other families facing these situations up and down the country should not have to face such a long wait for action. mas such a long wait for action. was an one such a long wait for action. was anyone held _ such a long wait for action. was anyone held accountable for what happened to awaab? i anyone held accountable for what happened to awaab?— happened to awaab? i guess it de-ends happened to awaab? i guess it depends on — happened to awaab? i guess it depends on what _ happened to awaab? i guess it depends on what you - happened to awaab? i guess it depends on what you mean - happened to awaab? i guess it. depends on what you mean with accountability. there has been huge —— huge change at rochdale housing since it happened, the chief executive eventually went after a week of pressure following the inquest. i know that obviously the public campaign for change means there will be some action in the

housing sector, but in terms of directjustice, in terms of criminal justice, civilaction directjustice, in terms of criminal justice, civil action is a route that could be take —— taken. the way the housing sector response to damp and mould, ithink the housing sector response to damp and mould, i think it is changing for the better since the tragedy which should never have happened. i wanted to ask you about the role racism played in the story of awaab. awaab's family called out racism in the inquest, you saw in the clip they had a statement at the coroner's court. outside the —— throughout the case we heard allegations that workers at rochdale borough white housing were picking up borough white housing were picking up on the idea that perhaps the family was carrying out what they

referred to as ritual behaviour, based on the cultural background and religion. the family said they did not take part in this and at no point did any work and ask them, they used it as an assumption. in they used it as an assumption. in the same way that tenants of all races across the country might find they are blamed for damp and mould, there was a situation where awaab's family were having this used as an example and the reason why it might have been their fault, example and the reason why it might have been theirfault, even example and the reason why it might have been their fault, even though it never was. michael gove and other politicians were right to call that out as a discriminatory practice and rochdale housing have since said they made assumptions based on their background. they made assumptions based on their back round. ,, ., , , ., background. steven topping from the manchester evening _ background. steven topping from the manchester evening news, _ background. steven topping from the manchester evening news, thank- background. steven topping from the j manchester evening news, thank you very much for coming on to the bbc and thank you so much for your

reporting, which has made a huge difference. the president of ecuador has declared a state of emergency and ordered the armed forces and police to take control of the country's prisons. he announced the measure after ecuador�*s most powerful drug lord escaped from a maximum security prison at the weekend. the president took office in november promising to tackle organised crime and a surge in gang—related violence. our reporter mimi swaby has more on this story. president daniel noboa has introduced a 60 day nationwide state of emergency, which includes overnight curfews. and this is after riots in six of ecuador�*s prisons and the escape of the notorious gang leader also known as fito. now, this announcement allows authorities to carry out search and rescue operations across ecuador in this manhunt forjose adolfo macias villamar, also known as fito, without using a warrant. so it gives them free rein, basically. this comes as 3000 police officers and soldiers are scouring the country for this most wanted, most powerful cartel leader

from los choneros, a really powerful criminal organisation. now, this comes as riots across the country, particularly in this maximum security wing in a coastal city of guayaquil, have really erupted and caused nationwide fear and outrage again. president noboa came into office in november promising to tackle this surge in violence, and gang related violence specifically. now, this escape of fito is being seen as a bit of an embarrassment to the president. however, clashes between rival gang members in prison are not uncommon. in fact, they're actually really frequent. authorities have said that more than 400 inmates are known to have died in such clashes since 2001. alongside the president's short video saying that no concessions will be made and we will not negotiate with, he called terrorists, on x, formerly twitter,

videos have also circulated on social media of un—uniformed guards surrounded by hooded inmates with knives and machetes. and there are more and more imaging, really scary images emerging as the day progresses. his whereabouts is unknown, like i said, and this is a really shocking case. he got sentenced to sa years back in 2011 for various crimes, including drug trafficking and murder. now, los choneros is a criminal organisation which authorities have linked to extortion, murder — many, many crimes. and they've also been accused of controlling the main prisons in the country, just like the one in guayaquil, which fito escaped from. mimi swaby reporting. bbc analysis shows that 70% of nhs maternity units in england are failing to consistently meet safety standards, in

part due to an ongoing shortage of midwives. staff numbers have risen byjust 7% over the past decade, and 2,500 posts remain vacant. the government says it's increasing training places through its nhs long term workforce plan. our health correspondent, catherine burns, reports from a labour ward that's dealing with this problem. her report does show a baby being born by caesarean section. are just going to have a baby! all right, see you. maternity units are places where miracles can happen. where new life begins. hello. congratulations. forfamilies, emotions are at the extremes — from fear... i'm nervous and excited at the same time. ..to sheerjoy and wonderment. i've never seen a baby being born before. it'sjust amazing.

for that first precious touch between dad... hello. ..and daughter. she's trying to open her eyes. did you want some more - breast—feeding support from us? for the staff, there's pride. it's such a privilege - to have been able to become a midwife and i really hope it is myjob for life. - but they face real challenges, with some leaving the profession they loved. i miss it, but i also mourn it. so i mourn it because i don't see it improving. j in november, we revealed that 67% of maternity units in england weren't meeting safety standards. since then, a slight decline. now, 70% aren't safe enough. one reason behind this is staffing. there are just 7% more midwives now than ten years ago. what we're asking for is not to be at the back of the queue, not to be overlooked. i think the most important thing is staffing — you know, having the right numbers of workforce doing the right things

to keep women and families safe. and that's the mission for croydon's director of midwifery. it's hugely important and that's why it is a big focus as to how not only do we recruit staff, but how do we retain them. it's been a hard year, but it has been a successful year because we are seeing a reduction in our vacancies. so this is the labour ward. so this is where the magic happens? magic happens, exactly. that's partly down to someone she's calling the future of midwifery. all i've ever wanted to do. it's such an amazing job and i wouldn't change it for the world. there's a shortage of 2,500 midwives in england. 91 nhs trusts have told us about their midwife staffing levels. they vary in size, but, on average, trusts are 25 midwives short. i think it's actually been really amazing. oh, that's so sweet. it means a lot. in northern ireland, the average midwife shortage is 19. for wales, it's 15.

scotland doesn't record its workforce gaps in the same way. there is a plan and progress to train and hire more midwives. another worry, though, is keeping more experienced staff. i suddenly thought, i have to get out — i can't stay in this environment any more. hannah williams worked as a midwife in a different part of the country, but felt like she was failing all the time. at 35, she quit the job she used to love. the reason i left is because i decided i couldn't be one of those providing unsafe care for people. if you do not have enough midwives to care for the number of people that are requiring your care, then the safetyjust goes. i may have just about preserved safety, butjust preserving safety shouldn't be enough in the nhs. i am optimistic for the future... as england's chief midwifery officer, it's part of

kate brintworth�*s job to keep midwives in the role. things already are improving. we've got 700 more midwives in post. we've seen sickness rates going down, our retention rates are improving. staff are starting to feel — and report to us through our front line conversations with leaders in services — that things are feeling better. the department of health says it's invested £165 million a year to improve maternity and neonatal care, and that will soon go up to 186 million. hello, little xenia. baby xenia left hospital a day after she was born and now she's settling into life with mum and dad nicole and michael. when she was born, i was just so happy. the best feeling ever. catherine burns, bbc news. we've all heard about the kindness of strangers — but one teenager says when she hit rock bottom, the intervention of a passer—by was nothing

short of life—saving. maddie had gone for a walk intending to take her own life, but david spotted her in distress, and struck up a conversation. they've stayed in touch since, but never seen each other in person until now. our reporter kathryn stanczyszyn went to meet them. maddie is nearly 18, enjoying college and looking forward to the rest of her life. but a few years ago, things were very different. i was going through a lot. i was struggling with myself, with everything in my head — my mental health. and then it got to august time, and that's when i basically hit rock bottom. i woke up and everything felt different. i didn't feel like myself. i felt severely depressed. i said to my mum — i said, "mum, i'm going out." i said, "i'm going on a walk." i said, "i'll be back soon, don't worry about me and i'll be back."

i didn't expect to come back. and then it got to a location of me ending up on the opposite side of a bridge. i noticed that there was a young girl in distress. and at that point, my heartjust stood still, and it stopped, and ijust looked at her... ..and i felt sad. in all of the chaos that was going on, i said, "i feel really sad." and i told her my name and i told her where i worked and i said, "can i have a hug?" and i thought...give it a chance. i don't know what it was, but something in my head said just give it a chance. he kept telling me, "i've got you, i'm not going anywhere." she didn't know who i was. but yet in that split second when i says to her, "i've got you," and right then i knew that i'm saving somebody's life here, and we — this is meant to be.

for the last three years, david has kept in touch with maddie's family via message. but now maddie and her mum have decided it's the right time for them to meet in person. we haven't met since that day, and i replay that day overand overand over in my head, knowing that... i don't know if it was five minutes, ten minutes, 15 minutes — i don't know how long that interaction was — but... something so quick and so short changed my life. and for maddie, it's simply a chance to say thank you. he's an angel in my eyes. he's basically my guardian angel. if anyone ever feels like that's their way out, don't do it. three years later, i'm... i'm grateful to be here. i'm grateful to be alive and breathing and to be able to live my life the way i want. they've arranged to meet at a local park with maddie's mum, who doesn't want to be on camera. it's a big moment.

looking forward to seeing him after all this time, i really am, and i can't wait to just give him a hug that he deserves. she sobs. hi. sobbing. it's what i needed. i needed to see the person who meant, like, so much to me throughout these years. and you, honestly, you have a place in my heart that will never be replaced. you have changed me, and you have put me into this mindset now where i can just get through anything — anything that comes my way. because of this experience, david changed career to become a mental—health worker. maddie now wants to train to do the same. no matter how down you are and how much you're in despair, there's hope.

a chance connection that made all the difference. a heart—warming story. if you have been affected by any of the issues raised, help is available from bbc action line — just visit bbc.co.uk/actionline. sleep apnoea is a condition which leads to loud snoring and a temporary inability to breath, and it can be dangerous. now a new gadget has been invented to help make diagnosis easier. our reporter david gregory—kumar explains. where else to talk sleep and obstructive sleep apnoea, but in a hotel? and in this box is a device now on trial that will completely change how we diagnose this serious problem. but over time, the...there's obviously an increased risk of accidents, which can be very serious.

it also can affect your heart and the cardiovascular system, so that can lead to an increased risk of stroke or problems with high blood pressure. getting a sleep apnoea diagnosis is complex — you pick up this wearable monitor from a hospital, where you're taught how to put it on. then, once it's in place, you try and get a good night's sleep. the next day, you have to return it to the hospital for lengthy analysis. back at the hospital, the data from that device is then analysed by a technician — that can take two or three hours — they produce a report that goes to the consultant, who then gets back in touch with the gp and the patient with the suggested course of action. but all of that can be replaced with this tiny device here — and it's quicker, easier and cheaper. now being trialled in coventry and warwickshire, this small device is posted to a potential sleep apnoea sufferer. they stick it to their throat, and overnight it records and analyses their sleep, ready for the consultant to look at. our sleep consultant is really pleased with the change

because basically it would mean they would spend less time doing all the diagnosis, and more time actually treating the patients. faster, easier and cheaper than the existing test — if the trial goes well, many more patients with sleep apnoea will be diagnosed and helped. david gregory—kumar, bbc news. finally this half hour i want to show you some pictures out of china. these fairy tale looking sculptures are all made from ice and snow. the annual festival in harbin features more than 2000 sculptures and took a team of more than 10,000 builders more than a month to complete. it has also just been awarded a guinness world record for the largest temporary ice and snow theme park. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. hello. it's another cold, wintry day out there today. we've got some icy stretches around, some fog patches that are going to linger all day,

particularly across parts of northern scotland. but for most of us, thankfully, it is going to be another dry day. still plenty of flood warnings out, but they're starting to reduce in number now. so high pressure driving our weather at the moment. quite a few isobars in the south. this is where we've got the breeziest conditions. breeze coming in from the east or north—east for southern england and wales too. still some wintry showers down towards the channel islands into the afternoon. also some snow flurries for the likes of dartmoor, for instance, as well. one or two light showers could come out of this cloud across north—east england and eastern scotland, but most places dry. plenty of sunshine for central parts of england, wales, northern ireland. temperatures only three to six degrees on the thermometer, but add on the wind chill and it's going to feel typically about minus two or minus three, especially towards southern england and the channel islands. into this evening and overnight, then, most of us looking dry again. we've got a bit more cloud filtering in across scotland and northern england as well. clearer skies further south and west. it's here that temperatures will fall lowest.

so again, a widespread frost to start your wednesday morning, and i think we could well see some icy stretches and some fog patches, especially in the north. through the day tomorrow, we might see a few more showers pushing into north—east england and eastern scotland. they'll be a little bit wintry over the higher ground — the pennines, for instance, southern uplands and the north york moors. more in the way of sunshine further south, but we've still got that brisk easterly wind and temperatures will be up a notch on recent days. so we could see seven or eight degrees on wednesday. not much change into thursday, but we've got this area of high pressure still with us. quite a bit of cloud that's going to be rotating around that coming in from the atlantic and trapped underneath the high pressure, so fairly cloudy in the north and the east, i think. southern england, perhaps parts of northern ireland seeing a little bit of sunshine at times, and it's not as cold as it has been. so seven or eight degrees our top temperature on thursday. thankfully, again, mostly dry. things are then looking largely dry, but somewhat cloudy and murky, i think, for friday. but it's going to be all change into the weekend because we'll start to see this weather front pushing its way south,

not bringing too much in the way of any rainfall. but it will introduce just a few showers and some colder air. so heading into next week, a real drop in those temperatures with the northerly winds developing and a chance of snow showers.

you're watching bbc news. tough talks in tel aviv— america's top diplomat — antony blinken — is in israel to discuss the next phase of the war in gaza. we have to get through this very challenging moment and ensure that

october 7th can never happen again, and work to build a much different and much better future. two airlines find loose bolts on some of their boeing 737 max 9 fleet — just days after part of the fuselage fell off a plane midflight. the alaska airline plane debris was founlsd in this oregon back garden by bob — a physics teacher. my heart did start beating a little faster at that point because i thought, "oh, my goodness, people have been looking for this all weekend, and it looks like it's in my back yard". dog meat is off the menu in south korea as the country's parliament bans the trade of the animal for human consumption. translation: we have eaten this since the middle ages. _ why stop us from eating our traditional food? hello. america's top diplomat is in israel where he's meeting with prime minister benjamin netanyahu,

to discuss his strategy in gaza — and what happens after the fighting ends.