election poses questions about the island's past and future. we start in the middle east and the issue of hostages. we start in the middle east and the issue of hostages. an israeli delegation is in egypt for a new round of talks on a possible prisoner exchange. any deal would see israeli hostages held by hamas swapped for palestinians prisoners currently in jail in israel. around 250 hostages were taken by hamas — into gaza — after the october seventh attacks. about half the hostages were released during a week—long ceasefire in november. jonathan dekel—chen�*s son has been held hostage by hamas since their attack on 7th october. he told us about his experience. it's not wise or ride the emotional

roller coaster of talks and more talks and rumors. i think that most of the hostage families are just committed to the work of doing everything we can and speaking to whom ever will listen about the importance and the true urgency of getting all the hostages home. find getting all the hostages home. and ou have getting all the hostages home. and you have been in those meetings with very, very crucial players in all this. do you think this makes a real difference? my this. do you think this makes a real difference?— difference? my profession is as an historian. it's _ difference? my profession is as an historian. it's difficult _ difference? my profession is as an historian. it's difficult for - difference? my profession is as an historian. it's difficult for me - difference? my profession is as an historian. it's difficult for me to i historian. it's difficult for me to say right now what a difference it might or might not make in 50 years from now. i believe that future historians will know for that what we do know for now that as parents and as human beings it is incumbent upon us to do what ever our skills and our contacts and our drive allows us to do. because our loved

ones every moment that they remain in the subhuman captivity under hamas control, their lives are at risk. ~ ., ., ., ., ., hamas control, their lives are at risk. ., ., ., ., ., risk. what information do you have about your — risk. what information do you have about your son? _ risk. what information do you have about your son? as _ risk. what information do you have about your son? as you _ risk. what information do you have about your son? as you mentioned j about your son? as you mentioned before, about your son? as you mentioned before. about _ about your son? as you mentioned before, about half _ about your son? as you mentioned before, about half of _ about your son? as you mentioned before, about half of the _ about your son? as you mentioned before, about half of the hostages| before, about half of the hostages were released five weeks ago. i'm from a kibbutz near ours. it's one of those portals settlements that would completely destroyed on october seven. would completely destroyed on octoberseven. four of would completely destroyed on october seven. four of our people all ages two to 85 were murdered. there are still 30 hostages in the hamas tunnels. during the release five weeks ago a number of our members were released, mainly women and children. some of the women and the older teenagers were able to give testimony about what they had encountered in the tunnels. among other things we were told that they had seen my son which was of course

at the time a relief. even though now nearly six weeks later the fear and the concern have all returned because that is six eternities to be in hamas captivity when we know for certain that the conditions are horrific at best. and everyone who is still being held hostage is either wounded or sick. it is almost unimaginable _ either wounded or sick. it is almost unimaginable for _ either wounded or sick. it is almost unimaginable for you _ either wounded or sick. it is almost unimaginable for you and _ either wounded or sick. it is almost unimaginable for you and of- either wounded or sick. it is almost unimaginable for you and of course | unimaginable for you and of course for him. would you tell us as much as you are comfortable with about what happened on october the 7th two your son? max what happened on october the 7th two ourson? g �*, what happened on october the 7th two ourson? y �*, , .,, what happened on october the 7th two ourson? g �*, , .,_ what happened on october the 7th two ourson? g �*, , , ., your son? my son's story is part of a laraer your son? my son's story is part of a larger story _ your son? my son's story is part of a larger story of— your son? my son's story is part of a larger story of what _ your son? my son's story is part of a larger story of what happened i your son? my son's story is part of a larger story of what happened to j a larger story of what happened to all of the border communities on october seven. all of the border communities on octoberseven. in all of the border communities on october seven. in our particular kibbutz at around 630 in the morning my son was out working on a pet project of his in the kibbutz but away from his home. he was among the first people on the kibbutz because

he was awake so early on a saturday holiday morning to see the first group or what he believed to be the only group of heavily armed, well—trained terrorists who had penetrated the kibbutz. he put out an alarm along with others who are up an alarm along with others who are up early to the rest of the kibbutz and are a first response team for that which are always surveillance to civilians and men of all ages to put out fires and distribute food during the coronavirus and also protect and they did their best. it was just the terrors it was 200 who were heavily armed hamas terrorists who rampaged through the kibbutz murdering everyone they could find or taking hostage. they were followed by several hundred looters, mostly civilians from gaza from

young children up to grannies who looted all of our property and then burned our homes. my son did his best to protect his family, our wider community in hopes that the israeli army would arrive to do something about this massive attack that had descended on the kibbutz. the israeli army only arrived at 230 in the afternoon after the terrorist had already left, that has been well reported. the last we heard from my son was at 930 in the morning at which time he was taken hostage by hamas terrorists. and transported with another 80 of our kibbutz members, some of them we now know were transported dead. they had been executed by the terrors that morning but their bodies were taken as well. that's the last we have heard or seen of him, 930 in the morning on

october the 7th. to poland now, where the former interior minister, mariusz kaminski says he's going on hunger strike, after he and his deputy were given a two—year prison sentence for abuse of power. mr kaminski had been pardoned by president andrzej duda — who is from the same political party, law and justice. but a court in warsaw ruled that the pardon was invalid. on tuesday, the two men sought refuge in the presidential palace, but police entered the building and arrested them. it marks the latest stage in an on—going struggle between the president and the polish parliament. our correspondent in warsaw, adam easton, has the latest. extraordinary political theatre really for the parliament politics the last 2a hours you've got a situation where the government has basically accused the president of the country of shielding convicted

criminals in the presidential palace for that when the police had been ordered to detain them and put them in custody to start serving this two—year sentence. this is incredible because they are in the presidential palace for a number of hours and they popped out briefly to telljournalists hours and they popped out briefly to tell journalists that they would be political prisoner should they be imprisoned in for that but then they went back into the presidential palace. the prime ministerfrom a different political camp on the opposite side of polish politics said this was unbelievable what was happening that these people should be sheltering in the palace. he said that no one is above the law was up and when andrzej duda had to leave the palace to go to a meeting

outside the police in fact did enter and they detained the two men and took them to prison. as you said in the introduction, one of the man mariusz kaminski who in just a few months ago was the interior minister in parliament has announced that he is starting a hunger strike because he considers himself to be a victim of political revenge and a political prisoner. that's of course widely disputed by many people here in poland and especially from the government side. but the nub of the problem as you mentioned is the andrzej duda thinks his pardon, remember he pardoned these two men in 2015 for their crimes is still valid. and therefore he doesn't recognise the final ruling of the court in warsaw last month which ordered them to start serving their sentence. that's the dispute here. as you also mentioned it last year

the supreme court said that over the issue of the presidential pardon that this case should be reopened and that's why we have had a final ruling in this case and they've been taken to prison. thank you to adam for that. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news bringing you different stories from across the uk. i'm very much a car person. i like the looks of cars, i like the engines of cars. i just find them really fascinating. i don't want to stop them enjoying themselves, but this is not a racetrack. the a117 around barwell is one of four racing hotspots identified by leicestershire police. people living here say it's a fatality waiting to happen. i've been down here when those lay bys have been full and then another ten, 20 cars up and down racing at excessive speeds.

never seen a speed camera. i've never seen police sat in the lay—by. i'm just asking the police what is being done. we have issued a number of warnings and a number of anti—social behaviour notices have gone out to individuals. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. to the washington now, where republicans have moved closer to impeaching the us homeland security secretary, alejandro mayorkas, with their first hearing. they accuse him of being derelict in his duty to secure the southern border with mexico. if they�* re successful, mr mayorkas would be the first us cabinet secretary to be impeached in nearly a hundred—and—fifty years.

it's worth mentioning jig campaign on impeaching mr mayorkas into the midterm elections so the following through on that. this is the man who is in charge of immigration. these are intractable issues in america. especially as we head into the election they are red meat issues was up with good reason to be fair because there is a crisis at the borden and that has been of huge huge influx of migrants. a record number, last year, there's huge pressure for president biden to do something about it. members of the republican party, the far right parties of the party putting pressure and house republicans to force a government shutdown when it comes to making proposals or proposed changes to immigration laws. so impeaching mr mayorkas is part of the strategy by the republicans. what he's actually... they want to clear her doing a charge and with his and clear. they

concluded just to quote you, "mr mayorkas refused to enforce laws passed by congress and fulfil his oath of congress at the first hearing today the ways a title that title that is that his failed leadership has impacted the states. it's worth remembering that impeachment is not a legal process, it's impeachment is not a legal process, its political. we're not quite sure how this will end up. today as you mentioned it is the first hearing. you mentioned it's up political process not a legal one. what about electorally? you started by saying this was a commitment. this is preceded by republicans to be a vote winner? , , ., ., , winner? definitely. immigration is as i sa a winner? definitely. immigration is as i say a hot _ winner? definitely. immigration is as i say a hot topic for _ winner? definitely. immigration is as i say a hot topic for the - as i say a hot topic for the election this year. they want to be seen to be getting tough on the border. if this resulted anything, it probably won't. even legal experts have said that there is no

evidence that mr mayorkas behaved in a corrupt way. there's no evidence of anything impeachable. if the republicans are arguing is not very good at hisjob republicans are arguing is not very good at his job well, that's ok, that's fine they can say that. but they've got to provide evidence of any corruption. you don't fire people, you don't get people out of theirjobs people, you don't get people out of their jobs as people, you don't get people out of theirjobs as lawmakers because they are no good at theirjob. there are some republicans who do favour mr mayorkas being impeached but they also admit that getting rid of him won't solve the broader issues that currently plague the us immigration system. taiwan saturday elections for a new president. an election china is calling a choice between peace and war.taiwan s separation from china is seen in beijing as an aberration 7 a "left over" from china s civil war.in 1949 the victorious in 1949 the victorious communists drove china s nationalist leaderfrom power. he fled to taiwan setting up a rival government there.

today taiwan is a democracy, and its people are free to choose the government they want. there was a time where statues of shanghai shakht greeted you wherever he went on this island. today it is a rare sight. hundreds of his statues have been snatched away at this riverside park south of taipei. 90 for a year old is not happy about what's being done to the legacy of his former leader. as a young soldier he fled china in 1949 but he's never stopped feeling chinese. translation: taiwan is a prominence. it is still a part of china. slowly the differences between us will narrow and till we're the same. —— is a province. we can achieve unification.—

is a province. we can achieve unification. ,, ., ., ,, .,~ , is a province. we can achieve unification. ,, ., ., ,, w , ., unification. shanghai shakht try to turn to into _ unification. shanghai shakht try to turn to into a _ unification. shanghai shakht try to turn to into a mini _ unification. shanghai shakht try to turn to into a mini version - unification. shanghai shakht try to turn to into a mini version of- unification. shanghai shakht try to turn to into a mini version of the l turn to into a mini version of the china he left behind. people were taught there is no such thing as being taiwanese. this enormous memorial still dominates the centre of taipei. his project to turn taiwanese people into citizens of china ultimately failed to put up today around 70% of people say they are taiwanese, not chinese. 86—year—old john is one of them. he spent ten years in this prison supporting taiwan independence. in all around the hundred and a0 taiwanese will locked up for opposing the rule. john says he always felt taiwanese, his years in prison only strengthen appellee. translation: i don't consider myself chinese. taiwan is already a great country but due to the influence of the chinese communist party we can't declare independence. that is how i see it. it’s

declare independence. that is howl see it. �*, . ., declare independence. that is howl seeit. �*, . ., ., see it. it's election time and --eole see it. it's election time and people here _ see it. it's election time and people here are _ see it. it's election time and people here are again - see it. it's election time and people here are again facing see it. it's election time and - people here are again facing those questions. who are they, what relationship should they help with china? today no one, not even shanghai checks old nationalist party is campaigning for unification. �* ,, �* party is campaigning for unification. ~ , , �* unification. translation: yes, i'm taiwanese but _ unification. translation: yes, i'm taiwanese but my _ unification. translation: yes, i'm taiwanese but my ancestors - unification. translation: yes, i'm taiwanese but my ancestors come i unification. translation: yes, i'm - taiwanese but my ancestors come from china. we have the same blood. find china. we have the same blood. and what about unification? china. we have the same blood. and i what about unification? translation: taiwan has to — what about unification? translation: taiwan has to be _ what about unification? translation: taiwan has to be good _ what about unification? translation: taiwan has to be good friends - what about unification? translation: taiwan has to be good friends with - taiwan has to be good friends with that we can both make money together. that we can both make money touether. . . that we can both make money touether. ., ., , , , together. taiwan is very different from china- _ together. taiwan is very different from china. it _ together. taiwan is very different from china. it has _ together. taiwan is very different from china. it has dozens - together. taiwan is very different from china. it has dozens of- from china. it has dozens of political parties and noisy energetic elections. people are free to choose who they are and how to live. and the vast majority don't want that to change. an austrian heiress is setting up a group of citizens to decide how to give away much of her fortune.

marlene engelhorn has sent out invitations to ten thousand members of the public. fifty will be chosen to help work out how more than twenty one million dollars should be redistributed. ms engelhorn is a descendant of the founder of the german chemical company, basf, and inherited millions when her grandmother died. she has previously called for the wealthy to pay more tax. our europe correspondent bethany bell is following the story from vienna. she is choosing 50 people in austria to participate in what she calls meetings that will ta ke take place at weekends between march and june this year. they will have to come up with ideas as to what she should do with this money, how it should do with this money, how it should be read distributed. she says that it's not fair that she should've ended up with this money, she did earn it, she merely struck lucky and being born into a wealthy family. and she wants them to come

up family. and she wants them to come up with good solutions but that they'll be held by academics, specialists and such matters. if they can come to a decision which they can come to a decision which they all agree on it then that will be put into place. marlene engelhorn says she has no right to veto what they decide but if they don't come to a decision we understand that the money would return to marlene engelhorn. this is something that is all happening in the country of austria which doesn't have integrity and stacks. marlene engelhorn says that that is unfair and that is why she is taking it upon herself to redistribute her well. what is the reaction there been?— reaction there been? there is a discussion _ reaction there been? there is a discussion politically _ reaction there been? there is a discussion politically at - reaction there been? there is a discussion politically at the - reaction there been? there is a - discussion politically at the moment about the questions of inheritance tax in austria. it was abolished in 2008 but now one major political

party here, the opposition social democrats say they want it brought back and they say they want to make that a central part of any coalition negotiations that may take place after austria is general elections, which happened earlier this year. the conservative people's party, which is currently in power holds the main senior partnership in austria is coalition government rejects it. it says people here should not have to face any more taxes. we've heard now from marlene engelhorn saying she believes it's the correct way to redistribute this well. it's not clear exactly what proportion of her inheritance will be redistributed her team has not confirmed exactly how much but it's understood to be a great deal of it. do we know why she is notjust gonna give it away herself? i presume it's because part of her argument is that she doesn't believe wealthy people

should have undue influence and even give it away money would have the opposite is that the reason? yes. opposite is that the reason? yes, she said that _ opposite is that the reason? yes, she said that why _ opposite is that the reason? yes, she said that why she _ opposite is that the reason? yes she said that why she received this money as a fluke, for lack of winning the birth lottery as she put it wants, why should she have the right to do this? she wants people who have been selected from all different parts of austrian society, different parts of austrian society, different age groups, different backgrounds to make this decision for her. we backgrounds to make this decision for her. ~ , ., , for her. we will see where the money ends u -. this is bbc news. let's get more now 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. today, at prime minister's questions, rishi sunak said the government will bring in a new law, which will �*swiftly exonerate and compensate' the victims. under the plan — postmasters will be able to sign a statement to have convictions

overturned and claim compensation, mr sunak also said that 555 former postmasters who brought a group lawsuit will be offered an upfront payment of £75,000. more than 700 branch managers were given criminal convictions — only 93 of these convictions have been overturned. the government has previously said it will pursue the it firm fujitsu — which designed the horizon software — for compensation, if it is found to be at fault. let's hear now from some of the sub—postmasters whose lives were ruined by this scandal. bbc breakfast spoke to a group of them this morning — here's a little of what they had to say. i'm tom hedges. i ran a post office at hogsthorpe, which is about eight miles outside skegness. i was there for 16 years until i was dismissed in 2009 and convicted in court in 2010. i had to wait a number of years until 2021, when my conviction was overturned, and frankly, it wrecked my life, my family's life and everybody i know�*s life. it was the most horrendous thing i have ever been through. i was very lucky in one way.

i didn't go bankrupt like a lot of the other people. and ijust feel very privileged to sit here this morning and address the nation because of the wonderful tv show that itv have produced. it seems a weird thing to say on the bbc, but there we go. i do feel that the story has dragged us right onto the very top of the media agenda, and i'm very, very pleased that that's the case. maria? hi. my name is maria. i'm from huddersfield. this is the first time i've ever felt strong enough to speak to anyone about what's happened. my contract, they terminated my contract after i pay back more than £30,000 back to them. 30,000? yeah. alison. my name is alison hall. i run a post office in hightown liversedge, west yorkshire, until i was suspended in 2010

of a shortfall of nearly £15,000. i admitted to a false accounting charge, but it was overturned three years ago. that's it. we'll give you time as the programme goes on. my name is mohammed rasul. i worked for the post office for 27 years, and then i was convicted of false accounting. i had to wear a tag for three months and had a suspended sentence for 12 months. i have carried the shame ever since. i refuse to carry it any longer. my name isjanet skinner. i worked for the post office - from 1994 until i was suspended in 2006 for shortfall of £59,000. i i was given a nine—month custodiall sentence, so three months in prison and the rest on home curfew.

it's affected everything i of my life going forward for the past 16 years. my name is scott darlington. i ran alderley edge post office for four years from 2005. i was suspended in 2009, convicted in 2010. i couldn't get a job for three and a half years after that. i couldn't afford to pay for my daughter's school uniform. i suffered awful stigma and embarrassment and financial distress ever since. and i'm glad that things have come to a head and we're able to speak about it now. my name is varchas patel. i'm here on behalf of my father, vipin patel of oxford. he was wrongfully prosecuted by post office ltd in 2011 and his health is completely shattered. it's only going to get worse, and he's not yet

to receive compensation. thank you to everyone with the receipt breakfast and sharing their stories. that's it for me. i want to leave you with some pictures in the northwest territories of canada. this summarises significant. they live so far north that for weeks on end they see no sunlight at all. and this spectacular sunrise was the first they've seen for 30 days. they have a festival to celebrate it. this is bbc news. hello there. it's been another very cold day wherever you are, whether you've had sunshine or whether you've had clouds and it looks pretty similar for the next few days, could see a bit more cloud around. generally, it will stay dry thanks to high pressure. and there will be some sunshine around, particularly towards southern and western areas. this area of high pressure has been feeding in quite a bit of cloud to eastern scotland,

also eastern parts of england, the odd patch of drizzle at times too. the breeze is still a feature along north sea coast, but not as strong across southern areas as we head through this evening and overnight. where we have the clear skies it's going to be a cold one. central northern western scotland, southern england could be down to —3 to —5 celsius here, but a little less cold where we have the cloud. so tomorrow then we start off with some cloud across some eastern areas. again, eastern england seeing most of that cloud, it could run a little bit further southwards into south east england into the afternoon. so the best of the sunshine towards this southwest corner, maybe northern ireland and plenty of sunshine across scotland after a cold start there with some early mist and fog. temperatures maybe up a degree, eight degrees, but it certainly won't feel like that. then as we move through thursday nights, we see plenty of cloud feeding into england and wales, clearer spells across scotland, northern ireland. so it's here where we'll see the lowest. the temperatures could be down to minus seven celsius. and there's also a threat of some dense fog patches developing as the winds will be lighter here,

but less cold further south where we have the cloud. area of high pressure shifts a little bit a bit further westwards. it does allow a lot of cloud around for central, southern and eastern parts of the country. certainly rather cloudy for england. wales could be quite gloomy all day in places best the sunshine scotland, maybe northern ireland, far north of england later in the day, maybe parts of wales too. but cold here after the very cold start, a little less cold further south and east because of more cloud cover. then as we head into the weekend, although southern areas will see quite a bit of sunshine, we'll start to open the floodgate to an arctic northerly and that will start to feed in plenty of snow showers to the northern half of scotland. accumulations really mounting up by the end of the weekend here, but it'll be largely dry, i think, cold with some sunshine across most central and southern parts of the country. we hold onto the cold weather into next week as well. further snow showers in the north and there's just the chance of some more widespread snow developing across central and southern areas around the middle part of the week. so stay tuned to the forecast

of uncertainty on this.

hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. this is one of the greatest miscarriages ofjustice in our nation's history. people who worked hard to serve their communities had their lives and reputations destroyed through absolutely no fault of their own.

they destroyed my life, they didn't hesitate sending me to jail, - took my money off of me, make me go bankrupt, . i think it is time for somebody on the post office side - to have the same thing done. some justice at last. compensation and exoneration for the postmasters as the government reacts to public rage. we will get legal reaction to the package of measures announced today. and one of sub—postmasters who was part of the group litigation. also tonight meta announces new safeguards to protect teenagers on line. and we will look at the proposed changes to the draft in ukraine. where does kyiv find half a million new soldiers for the front line? good evening, rishi sunak says

the government is preparing a new law to swiftly exonerate and compensate post office branch