live from london, this is bbc news. violence in ecuador erupts. gunmen break into a live television studio, but its military rule out negotiations with the criminal gangs inciting it. on civilians in gaza is too high.

hello, i'm samantha simmonds. we begin in the uk — where steps to clear the names of hundreds of sub—postmasters convicted in the post office horizon scandal are being considered by the government. in the biggest scandal ever — more than 700 people were prosecuted after faulty software made it look like money was missing. their case is in the spotlight following the itv drama mr bates vs the post office — a new four—part series telling the heartbreaking tales of bankruptcies, suicide attempts and jail sentences. the minister responsible for the post office, kevin hollinrake, says the government is "very, very close" to announcing its plans to clear hundreds of sub postmasters who were wrongly convicted he's due to attend a meeting of the horizon compensation advisory board this lunchtime. many affected have been sharing their stories on bbc breakfast this morning. janet skinner was jailed over false claims she stole thousands of pounds. she wants the post office to be removed from both the appeals process, and the compensation schemes. let's take a listen. you are the post office minister. will the government take back control over the post office? currently, the post office, they are orchestrating convictions, who has a

conviction upturned, they are in control of compensation. they are now classified as the criminals. why are they having the power to control everything? i are they having the power to control eve hinu ? . , are they having the power to control eve hin ? ., ., ~ are they having the power to control everything?— are they having the power to control everything? i was talking about your case yesterday _ everything? i was talking about your case yesterday with _ everything? i was talking about your case yesterday with sir _ everything? i was talking about your case yesterday with sir david - case yesterday with sir david davies, — case yesterday with sir david davies, who has been working on your behalf _ davies, who has been working on your behalf very— davies, who has been working on your behalf. very keen to resolve that issue _ behalf. very keen to resolve that issue and — behalf. very keen to resolve that issue and very keen to take this out of the _ issue and very keen to take this out of the hands — issue and very keen to take this out of the hands of the post office. the short _ of the hands of the post office. the short answer is yes, that is what we are keen _ short answer is yes, that is what we are keen to— short answer is yes, that is what we are keen to do. i cannot confirm at this moment — are keen to do. i cannot confirm at this moment in time but i am very keen_ this moment in time but i am very keen to _ this moment in time but i am very keen to confirm it very shortly. you can understand _ keen to confirm it very shortly. 7m, can understand why people want the post office to be taken out of the whole process.— whole process. they control everything _ whole process. they control everything they _ whole process. they control everything they have - whole process. they control everything they have always controlled everything and they had been allowed to control everything. the government is sitting there saying they are taking notice. they have been aware for the past ten years and done nothing. live now to our political correspondent harry farley in westminster.

pressure is really growing on the government, isn't it? the government is ve , government, isn't it? the government is very. very — government, isn't it? the government is very. very close _ government, isn't it? the government is very, very close to _ government, isn't it? the government is very, very close to finding _ government, isn't it? the government is very, very close to finding a - is very, very close to finding a solution. it might possibly come today. we don't actually know that. the government is trying to find a mechanism to rapidly overturn hundreds of criminal convictions that sub—postmaster is, these people who ran post office branches. because of the faulty it system it looked as though manny was disappearing from their accounts when it was not. they were pursued through the criminal courts by the post office and hundreds were convicted. the government is trying to find a way to overturn these convictions. this has all come to the fore again. we had known about it for years but it has come to the fore and the reason the government is under so much pressure, as you say it is because of the itv drama which was on television over

christmas. it has generated a lot of public anger and put a lot of pressure on the government. the post office minister was asked why the government had to be prompted to do this as a result of the drama, why weren't they acting sooner? of course, it makes my life easier as postal minister to convince other parts of government and the opposition and others to do something very, very significant. i welcome that. to say has been happening isjust absolutely not the truth. but myself and my predecessors, they have been absolutely determined to deal with this. but what you are talking about potentially, which is a blanket overturning of convictions, some legislation that does that, interferes with the courts, the courts are independent in this country for a good reason. it is a very significant legal step we may be about to take. so that's why i can't give you an answer right now but i hope to give you an answer very shortly. just to explain the postal affairs

minister saying this is a very significant step the government is potentially about to take he is talking about a bell, a new law which would potentially overturn all of these hundreds of criminal convictions in one go. the criminal courts in the uk are independent from the government. this would be the government overturning a decision reached in the criminal courts. that is a very significant step and something that has faced support from sun. the formatjustice secretaries have said that is what is needed. such an unprecedented scale and requires an unprecedented step. conservative mps have expressed concerns it would interfere with independent courts and that is not appropriate for politicians to be doing.- and that is not appropriate for politicians to be doing. the head of the armed forces in ecuador says there will be no

negotiations with the criminals behind a wave of violence in the country. the military has been authorised by the president, daniel noboa, to "neutralise" twenty two armed groups. he said ecuador was facing an internal armed conflict. last night, gunmen stormed a television studio in the city of guayaquil and threatened staff while they were live on air. the men, wearing balaclavas, burst into the studio taking several journalists and staff members hostage. the police say the attack will be treated as an act of terrorism. schools have closed temporarily, while the peruvian government has deployed police to its border with ecuador. our south america correspondent ione wells reports. a moment of utter horror broadcast live on television. armed men with balaclavas over their face broke into the set of this public television channel in ecuador while it was live on air, brandishing guns and what appears to be explosives. it comes a day after the country's new president, daniel noboa, declared a state of emergency. ecuador has been rocked by a series of attacks after the apparent escape

of a powerful gang leader, jose adolfo macias, from prison. the president ordered the military and police to intervene in controlling prisons in an attempt to tame the violence. but the violence has exploded further since then. explosions in the streets, police officers carrying out stop and search. some reportedly being abducted. for ordinary people in ecuador, terror on the streets. translation: i hope that this state of emergency yields results, - positive results for the population, not for the criminals. translation: we live in constant| fear because on a day to day basis, when we go out to work, we don't know if we'll return or if we'll come back home in one piece. the suspects tonight have now been detained, but with ecuador still on high alert, fearfor citizens there remains. ione wells, bbc news, sao paulo.

to the middle east next. america's top diplomat, antony blinken, is meeting palestinian leaders in the west bank in the final phase of his latest visit to the region. on tuesday evening, the us secretary of state told a news conference in tel aviv that the death toll on civilians in gaza, especially children, is too high. he arrived in the last hour in ramallah, where he's meeting the head of the palestinian authority, mahmoud abbas. mr blinken�*s message so far has been that gazans must be allowed to return to their homes, while also reasserting us support for israel. he has also said he is focused on securing the release of all remaining hostages in gaza, and getting humanitarian aid into the territory. it comes as the hamas—run health ministry says that another 70 people were killed and more than 130 wounded in overnight attacks. the situation at israel's northern border with lebanon remains volatile, with locations on either side targeted by the idf and hezbollah. we know that facing an enemy that

embeds itself among civilians, who hides in and fires from schools, from hospitals, makes this incredibly challenging. but the daily toll on civilians in gaza, particularly on children, is far too high. some breaking news from the red sea, with the uk's ministry of defence saying that a british warship, working alongside the us navy, has fought off what it says was the largest attack so far by the iranian—backed houthi militia on shipping lanes there. according to a statement from the ministry of defence... "overnight, hms diamond, along with us warships, successfully repelled the largest attack from the iranian—backed houthis in the red sea to date."

the ministry of defence has issued these images of the live firing undertaken by the crew of hms diamond. it's understood that more than 20 missiles and drones were shot down. at this stage, the ministry of defence has not said if there were any casualties among the houthi attackers. and the statement does not comment on the actions of the us warships, nor on whether they or any commercial ships were hit. the precise location of the incident is not known, but it happened somewhere in the red sea — the body of water which separates the arabian peninsula from north eastern africa. the area has seen several attacks carried out by houthi groups in recent weeks — they have claimed they were targeting ships with links to israel, although most of the operators of the ships which were attacked say those links did not exist. the houthis have also uploaded video like this to the internet — apparently showing a helicopter being used by armed men to board and hijack a ship. incidents like this have prompted several major shipping companies to re—route their cargoes away from the region — meaning many ships

sailing to and from europe and asia are having to divert around the southern tip of africa — rather than go through the suez canal. those attacks led to a group of international countries — including the uk, the us, canada, france, bahrain, norway and spain, to send warships to the region to protect shipping. the uk is among the nations to warn the houthis that they will bear the consequences if the attacks continue. as for the houthis, a rebel group which has been supported by iran as it fights against the internationally recognised government of yemen, they have not commented on this latest incident, but they have previously said their attacks will continue as long as israel's military campaign in gaza is ongoing. our middle east correspondent yolande knell is monitoring this story from jerusalem — she gave us this update. this is an attack that took place last night. a complex attack, according to the us central command that

had its navalforces along with british naval forces involved in repelling it. it says there were 18 iran—designed attack drones that were involved, as well as three missiles that were all shot down over the southern red sea. this is very close to international shipping lanes where there were merchant vessels passing through, we understand. so very serious incident indeed and it completely underlines the message that we have been having from the us and other international players in recent days about very real dangers of a spill—over of the war in gaza. the white house says it did not know he was under general anaesthesia. the pentagon did not notify the white house nor the deputy until three days after he was taken to

hospital. this has sparked a political row in recent days. we are going to try to provide you with information we have as quickly as we have it and recognise we could have done a betterjob last week. again, we have this information row from these medical professionals and i think it will go a long way in helping to understand the situation and what needs to be done going forward. . , .,, ., and what needs to be done going forward. . , ., what forward. david willis has more. what we do know— forward. david willis has more. what we do know is _ forward. david willis has more. what we do know is that _ forward. david willis has more. what we do know is that lloyd _ forward. david willis has more. what we do know is that lloyd austin - forward. david willis has more. what we do know is that lloyd austin was. we do know is that lloyd austin was diagnosed with cancer a month ago. and twice treated in hospital in an attempt to basically remedy that situation. instead of imparting the details of his hospitalisation and his diagnosis to his boss, president biden, the

commander in chief, lloyd austin, for some reason, decided to keep those details to himself. indeed, the white house was only informed of his hospitalisation last thursday, some four days after lloyd austin was readmitted to the walter reed hospital and had only learned of his prostate cancer diagnosis today. just before briefing reporters. perhaps equally astonishing is the fact that the deputy of mr austin, kathleen hicks is her name, had been delegated some of his tasks while he was readmitted to the walter reed hospital but even she didn't know he was in hospital at the time. none of this really would have been as extraordinary were it not for the fact that lloyd austin, as the us defence secretary, is second only to

the president in the us military chain of command. he is perhaps the person who holds that role, perhaps the most powerful, one of the most powerful members of the cabinet and then of course had to be constantly available. particularly given the current conflicts the united states is involved in in ukraine and the middle east. instead of being behind his desk at the pentagon, lloyd austin was in hospital, being treated for a condition nobody in the white house anyway seemed to know he had. republicans of course have called for lloyd austin to be removed from his post. the white house has said it has complete confidence in him. because of the way all of this is handled, it has raised questions about transparency on the part of us defence officials and, of course, competency of those at the pentagon.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. new police analysis suggests under—18s were potential offenders in more than half of all reported child abuse cases in england and wales. officers say young people taking and sharing photos are contributing to a rise in sexual offences committed by children. they say young people may not realise some of their behaviour is illegal. the parents of a british tourist who died after a helicopter crash in the grand canyon are to receive a £79 million payout. 31—year—old jonathan udall was one of five britons, including his new wife, who died after the aircraft crashed and burst into flames in february 2018. a lawsuit brought by his parents said he could have survived had the helicopter been fitted with systems to help prevent the fire. the actor stephen fry has called for an end to the use of real fur in the bearskin caps worn by the king's guard on duties such as guarding buckingham palace. he is backing an animal welfare campaign calling for them to be

made with artificial fur instead. you're live with bbc news. new data suggests last year saw the highest number of civilian casualties killed or injured by explosives in more than a decade. the uk—based charity action on armed violence recorded a 122% increase in civilian fatalities caused by explosives in 2023, causing the deaths of at least 15,305 civilians. the rise is largely due to the war being fought between israel and hamas in gaza. russian war in ukraine holds the second place, sudan, myanmar and somalia also contributed. we can speak live now to the executive director of the action on armed violence monitoring group. welcome. thank you for being with us. explain your methodology. how do you count the number of casualties?

war is invariably going to have elements of the entries in it. we are not reliant on state telling us how many people have died or been killed. instead, we look and monitor out reliable english—language media sources, things like the bbc, reuters, associated press. on a daily basis we analyse globally all reports for things like missiles, shells, bombs, blasts, ied is, etc. we then make sure these are individually reported. if the bbc says 50 people were killed yesterday, we do not record that. what we recorded yesterday at this place and time 17 people were killed in a specific incident. we don't do total numbers. and we then ensure that we follow up. if people are injured but later died, we also record those. we don't claim to capture every single incident

because there will be some incidents in the fog of war that are not recorded. but this is a very strong indication patterns and trends. unequivocally, since records began in 2010, last year was off the scale in 2010, last year was off the scale in terms of air strikes and also in terms of incidents reported. we almost saw a doubling from what we saw before. this has been led by what we have been seen in gaza but equally events in places like ukraine also showed the devastation used some explosive weapons, particularly in populated areas. share particularly in populated areas. are these figures and are normally given what is happening in gaza and ukraine or perhaps part of a wider trend? . , ., ., ,, ukraine or perhaps part of a wider trend? . , ., trend? recently saw a massive drop in incidents — trend? recently saw a massive drop in incidents reported _ trend? recently saw a massive drop in incidents reported during - trend? recently saw a massive drop in incidents reported during the - in incidents reported during the pandemic. war is man—made. that obviously were incidents where the

pandemic stayed the hand dogs of war had been let slip. now we are seeing places in sudan, in somalia, in myanmar, huge levels of violence. almost as if there is a kind of attention being released around the world. it is very distressing. but yes, gaza represents around 30 37% of the civilians harmed. whether in gaza or ukraine, one thing stood out, when explosive weapons are used in populated areas over 90% of people killed or injured are civilians. the brunt of explosive weapon use globally is specifically against civilians.— against civilians. thank you for bein: against civilians. thank you for being with _ against civilians. thank you for being with us _ against civilians. thank you for being with us and _ against civilians. thank you for being with us and telling - against civilians. thank you for being with us and telling us . against civilians. thank you for i being with us and telling us more about your research. a photograph ofjailed russian

opposition campaigner alexei navalny has offered the first glimpse of him since his sudden disappearance from jail in central russia in early december. there have been concerns over his wellbeing for weeks after it transpired that he had been moved to a penal colony in yamal in russia's extreme north. today, navalny is attending a court hearing via a video link in a case in which he complains over conditions of his incarceration. we're joined now by the bbc�*s vitaliy shevchenko, russia editor at bbc monitoring. good to see you. tell us a bit more about the video we are seeing and the significance of it.— the significance of it. aleksei navalny attended _ the significance of it. aleksei navalny attended a - the significance of it. aleksei navalny attended a court - the significance of it. aleksei - navalny attended a court hearing by video link from russia's extreme north. he appeared haggard but smiling and upbeat. the significance of this video, this is the first time we have seen aleksei and abounding since he suddenly

disappeared on the 6th of december last year. unsurprisingly he has complained over the conditions of his incarceration. in his previous jail this was neglected. during his court hearing, aleksei navalny described the new conditions as ok, he said he was being fed reasonably well but the jail where he is currently being hailed as one of the toughest in russia. it is known as the arctic wolf. he is being held in a punishment cell that. he is not allowed to see any visitors, use his phone, by any food in addition to what the prison authorities are giving him. it is a very cold place.

currently, it is —27 degrees below centigrade in russia, so it is a very tough place to be. alexei navalny is serving a 19 yearjail sentence on a variety of charges, including founding and funding an extremist organisation, contempt of court, violating the terms of his parole and he and his supporters dismiss these as charges —— as politically motivated charges. has there been any response from the team of alexei navalny? they comment quite often when there have been updates on him.— quite often when there have been updates on him. they are obviously ve lad updates on him. they are obviously very glad to —

updates on him. they are obviously very glad to see _ updates on him. they are obviously very glad to see alexei _ updates on him. they are obviously very glad to see alexei navalny. . very glad to see alexei navalny. also a source of inspiration to them and to opposition supporters in russia. obviously alexei navalny, he appeared to be upbeat and jocular, which is the kind of person alexei navalny is. it is particularly important for people critical of vladimir putin in russia because they are coming under increasing pressure. the fact that alexei navalny is in jail is also important because mr putin is running for re—election for another term of office in russia this year and he has no credible or effective opponents running against him. so mr putin and's we election is all but certain. . ~ putin and's we election is all but certain. ., ,, i.

putin and's we election is all but certain. . ~' ,, ~ putin and's we election is all but certain. ., ,, i. ~ �*, certain. thank you. -- mr putin's re-election- _ a surprise visit to vilnius comes as the russian full—scale invasion of ukraine is nearing its second anniversary. president zelensky is expected to make a speech on the war and discussing ukraine's integration into the european union and nato. do stay with us here. thank you for watching. hello. our wind will have a little less bite to it over the next few days as we start to shift direction, away from it coming off the continent and more from the atlantic, this area of high pressure is starting to nudge a bit further southwards and bringing the air around it. but with it comes a lot more cloud and we're already seeing that today across eastern scotland, northern england, parts

of northern ireland and north wales. the chance of some rain and sleet showers around, a bit a drizzle in places, too. but the far south of the country, it stays sunny through the rest of today and staying sunny as well in western parts of scotland where the winds are lightest. still and also a breeze for england and wales. —— a noticeable breeze. that breeze at its coldest through the english channel. so 3 or 4 celsius in st helier and plymouth make feel closer to freezing elsewhere. temperatures by and large up on yesterday and closer to where we should be for the stage in the year. but still chilly. and a cold night to come tonight. there will be more cloud around, though, drifting southwards into parts of wales and the midlands. clearest conditions where we see the widespread frost, the blue colours on the chart, down to around —3, “4 in a few spots, same too in some sheltered parts of western scotland. most places, though, just above freezing into tomorrow morning. but the cloud will continue to work its way across more of england and wales tomorrow. a bright and sunny start

and frosty start in the south, but that cloud will gradually encroach from the north. stays sunny, though, through the english channel towards the south—west of england, south wales, and stays reasonably sunny to western parts of scotland. elsewhere, sunshine, a few breaks here and there, but the clouds thick enough for a few light showers. temperatures up again a little bit on today. by friday, after a cold night across scotland, northern ireland with some mist and fog. some of that fog will linger all day. temperatures struggling to get above freezing. a lot more cloud elsewhere. but unlike what we are going to see over the next few days, eastern scotland will be favoured for the sunshine as winds start to come in from a slightly more westerly direction. that's as our high pressure shifts and then eventually splits this weekend, introducing weather fronts from the north, which will bring a few rain, maybe sleet, showers initially, but increasingly snow flurries as we go into sunday. so it will turn colder again as we go through the weekend, especially across the north. still plenty cloud around, though, for many, and the chance ofjust one or two rain or sleet showers. but a greater chance of snow next week as cold northerly winds to begin with and then areas of low pressure push their way in. there is the chance of some more widespread and disruptive snow. still a long way off at the moment,

though, but we'll keep you updated. of the horizon compensation advisory board this lunchtime.

this is bbc news, the headlines: it's been described as one of the worst miscarriages ofjustice in the uk, the government says it is very close to announcing a solution for

the hundreds of sub—postmasters who are wrongly convicted of fraud. violence in ecuador erupts as gunmen break into a live television studio — but its military rule out negotiations with the criminal gangs inciting it. america's top diplomat, antony blinken, is meeting with palestinian leaders in the occupied west bank — after telling israeli leaders that the toll of the war on civilians in gaza is too high. britain's ministry of defence says the uk and us navies have fought off the largest attack so far by the iranian—backed houthi rebels. let's get more on the post office scandal and the mounting pressure on the government to deal with it. more than 700 sub—postmasters were wrongly convicted in the post office horizon scandal after faulty software made it look like money was missing. the minister responsible for the post office kevin hollinrake says the government is very, very close to announcing its plans to clear them. close to announcing its plans to clearthem. bbc close to announcing its plans to clear them. bbc breakfast gathered a group of sub—postmasters together this morning. here are some of their

stories.