at the uk's covid inquiry today. a court in thailand has ruled that a proposal by the country's most popular political party to amend the royal defamation law violated the constitution. the move forward party won last year's election on a platform which included revising the lese majeste law, which imposes harsh jail terms for perceived insults to the thai crown. but conservatives did not like the plan and the party's attempts to form a government were blocked. the court's verdict means move forward may now being dissolved, and its leaders banned from politics. live now to jonathan head in bangkok. first of all, explain in more detail what this law means and why this party wanted to change it. its a

what this law means and why this party wanted to change it. its a law that other countries _ party wanted to change it. its a law that other countries have _ party wanted to change it. its a law that other countries have but - that other countries have but nothing like in as harsh a form is the one in thailand, where you can end up going to jail, and some have gone to jailfor decades end up going to jail, and some have gone to jail for decades for making any comment perceived as critical or negative about the monarchy. it has long been criticised by human rights groups. it has been used much more extensively in recent years. the current king is a very different personality to his father, and it seems it is being used to defend him. there were almost unprecedented student protest four years ago when calls to the changes to the monarchy were made public. that hadn't happened before and the laws were used to go after leaders of the protests. the argument was, if you are going to have this law, it shouldn't be so harsh. a man was sentenced to 15 months in prison earlier this month under the lese majeste charge. the law in effect at the way the party was campaigning on this was unacceptable. if you read the ruling it interpreted the party's campaign just to change this

law as an attempt to overthrow the entire political system. the leader of the party said in effect he felt they were being accused of treason, that the words are used he said it's a very drastic ruling by the court and it means really there can be no discussion even about this law. they do leave a very small window where perhaps an amendment can be pushed through parliament but it basically said, no public discussion, nothing allowed, no social media, you have to stop now, there can be no talk about this. to stop now, there can be no talk about thie— to stop now, there can be no talk about thia— to stop now, there can be no talk about this. what does it mean for the move forward _ about this. what does it mean for the move forward party _ about this. what does it mean for the move forward party which - about this. what does it mean for| the move forward party which won last year plus my collection? what does it mean for them and the government of thailand? it does it mean for them and the government of thailand? it will be interestin: government of thailand? it will be interesting to _ government of thailand? it will be interesting to see _ government of thailand? it will be interesting to see what _ government of thailand? it will be interesting to see what the - interesting to see what the authorities do now. the move forward party's election victory last year stunned the establishment. its predecessor party, a previous incarnation of it, was dissolved four years ago and i think there was a belief that would weaken it but in fact it came back and did much, much better. we all know the conservative

parties who have dominated thai politics for a long time are scared about how the party might do in the next election. they can dissolve the party because it has been found in violation of the constitution and thailand courts have huge powers to dissolve parties and sack prime ministers. it can happen. however, if they do, the party will probably come back under a different form and it would be perceived very badly by the thai public who gave the party or that support. we are not exact what will come out of this, but we know the problem of move forward party and the appetite for change that it embodies is seen as a serious threat by conservative forces in thailand and those close to the monarchy. we expect some kind of action against the party. jonathan head, thank you for the update from bangkok. there's a warning that the ongoing conflict in gaza is creating a growing number of orphans, with around 20,000 children having lost one or both parents. it comes as aid workers in the region say they are increasingly concerned for many youngsters who have no surviving family members. this report from our middle east correspondent yolande knell contains

some testimony and images you may find distressing. born amid the horrors of gaza's war, she's never known a parent's hug. she was delivered by c—section after her mother, hanna, was crushed in an israeli air strike. she died before she could name her baby. translation: we've lost - connection with her relatives. nobody came. her mother was killed and we don't know what happened to her father. over three months of relentless israeli bombardments haven't spared the youngest gaza ns. israel says it tries to avoid hurting civilians. but more than 11,000 children have reportedly been killed. many more have seen their families wrenched away. "the bomb fell on my mum's lap," abed says. "it took us days to take all her body parts from the rubble of the house."

by the sandy graves of some of their relatives in a school turned shelter, the cousins of the hussein family sit together in trauma and grief. each has lost one or both parents. every day is hard. "it's not nice. there's no water, food or drink," says kinza. "everything's sad." all gazans now strive to find safety and rely on aid handouts for the basics of life. but the un's children's agency says its biggest concern is for an estimated 19,000 children, who are orphaned or have ended up alone with no adult to look after them. for the youngest one, they very often cannot even say their name. and even the older one, they are usually in shock. when the extended family can be found, they also have their own children. so sometimes it's difficult,

if not impossible, for them to take care of those unaccompanied and separated children. with their lives shattered, unicef says nearly all of gaza's children need mental health support. and, even when the war is over, many will be left with terrible losses that they'll struggle to overcome. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. scotland's former first minister, nicola sturgeon, is due to give evidence about the decisions she took during the pandemic, when she appears before the covid inquiry today. ms sturgeon, who led the scottish response to the coronavirus outbreak, is expected to face questions surrounding lockdowns and missing whatsapp messages, as the inquiry continues sitting in edinburgh. 1,044 positive cases were reported yesterday. nicola sturgeon was at the helm

throughout scotland's pandemic response. as head of the scottish government, she was the key decision—maker and first in the firing line when things went wrong. we will have made mistakes on all aspects of the handling. now, about to be questioned on that handling and how decisions were reached. it shall be the truth... the whole truth. the former first minister's closest political ally amongst those who admitted texts between the pair no longer exist. are those text messages with nicola sturgeon still available to you ? they are not available, mr dawson. have they been deleted? they have been deleted. were they deleted manually or by some auto delete function? they were deleted manually. why? because i was always advised by my private office that i should not hold information that was not... that was relevant to the government's official record. missing whatsapp messages have hit the headlines — at times, overshadowing some of the other issues that are being examined. 0ne expert told the inquiry

that the scottish government made the same mistakes with the second wave of covid, as it did with the first. another witness told the inquiry that discharging patients from hospitals into care homes was a disaster waiting to happen. so this is my mum at our wedding. maggie waterton lost her mother, margaret, and husband david. she wants answers from nicola sturgeon. i blame myself, i couldn't keep my mum at home. i blame myself that i didn't fight hard enough for my husband. and we carry that. and i want to be able to lay some of the blame and some of the guilt that i feel at scottish government's door. and did politics play a role in the path the first minister chose to walk? in his evidence, one uk government minister claimed it likely did. it would be naive to assume that people who had

dedicated their whole life to the cause of scottish independence, would not, at certain points, see the political component to some of the decisions and some of the points that were being made. the scars from the pandemic are still visible — for many still keenly felt. nicola sturgeon said she did her level best to lead scotland through covid. for those who lost loved ones, the hope any mistakes made will never be repeated. lorna gordon, bbc news. the bbc has released around 3,000 emails, linked to its handling of the martin bashir scandal in response to a freedom of information request. it comes after an independent inquiry three years ago found mr bashir had been deceitful and had faked documents to secure his famous panorama interview with princess diana in 1995. 0ur media correspondent david sillito reports. panorama theme music. the e—mails are all from a few weeks

in 2020 when questions emerged about martin bashir�*s panorama interview with princess diana. the thousands of e—mails released include one to the director—general from earl spencer, calling for a full independent inquiry, a discussion of the whereabouts of a crucial missing note from princess diana, and communications with martin bashir, which reveal his belief that this was being driven by professional jealousy that a second—generation immigrant had landed such an interview. this freedom of information request grew out of a suspicion that the bbc was purposefully withholding vital documents. the journalist andy webb, who fought for the release, says he believes the e—mails show information was being kept from him. in a statement, the bbc says documents not released to journalists were made available to the subsequent and damning dyson inquiry. the corporation has spent more than £100,000 in a court case trying to resist this release of further documents, saying they're largely irrelevant, or legally privileged. david sillito, bbc news.

owners of american xl bully—type dogs in england and wales are being urged to ensure they apply for the relevant exemption certificate from the government before the deadline at midday today. it comes ahead of a ban on owning the breed, which comes into force from tomorrow. those who fail to comply with the new legislation could face an unlimited fine and a criminal record. let's hear more from our reporter in leedsjim connolly. welcome to you. tell us more about why this ban is being introduced and how many people it affects and how many dogs it is suspected to effect. the ban came in after the government saw a large number of dog bite deaths. when they announced this change to the lock on this adding of this breed type to the dangerous dogs act, 23 dog bite —related deaths had happened in a three year period. so that was a big number, and in a lot of those cases, xl

bully type dogs were implicated in it and there was a massive kind of media hype around these types of dogs. you couldn't really switch on the news or look at a newspaper without seeing reference to these types of dogs being involved in some kind of attack. there was quite a fear of what these dogs are capable of, very large, very powerful dogs, and a genuine concern there that the government had to react to and deal with in some way, and they brought in this ban. the ban has come in and we have seen so far 30,000 dogs being exempted from this. that means they are free to walk the streets if they are free to walk the streets if they have a specific certificate, if they have a specific certificate, if they have a muzzle on, and if they are on a lead. however, the rspca put theirfigures on are on a lead. however, the rspca put their figures on the number of xl bullies out there at somewhere between 40000 and 50,000, so there are questions about the 30,000 figure, and the 50,000 figure the rspca are talking about. so where

are these 10,000, 20,000 dogs and are these 10,000, 20,000 dogs and are they being registered? 0wners are they being registered? owners have until noon today to get the forms and, get the correct paperwork done and all the right measures they need for the exemption, such as neutering, micro—chipping and all the relevant paperwork with their vet. ~ ., ., . , ., .,~ vet. who will enforce this and make sure people — vet. who will enforce this and make sure people have — vet. who will enforce this and make sure people have the _ vet. who will enforce this and make sure people have the right - sure people have the right exemptions and what happens if they don't and they are caught? this exemptions and what happens if they don't and they are caught?— don't and they are caught? this is the issue- — don't and they are caught? this is the issue- it _ don't and they are caught? this is the issue. it will _ don't and they are caught? this is the issue. it will be _ don't and they are caught? this is the issue. it will be a _ don't and they are caught? this is the issue. it will be a law- don't and they are caught? this is the issue. it will be a law that - don't and they are caught? this is the issue. it will be a law that is l the issue. it will be a law that is applied like any other law is applied like any other law is applied in the country, so it will be up to the police to stop people walking round with these dogs and apprehend them, if they believe it is an xl bully type dog then the dog will be taken from them and potentially destroyed. the owner of the dog faces an unlimited fine, a potential criminal record. the difficulty here is, what we're talking about isn't really a breed of dog. we are talking about a breed typer of dog. we are talking about a breed type, a type of dog, a dog that displays certain characteristics and physical attributes. it's not a

simple thing, we will do a genetic test and see if it is a certain type of dog. we are talking about, does the dog meet a certain type of criteria and that's the difficulty because it ultimately becomes quite subjective. we have talked to a number of people who own big dogs, but not xl bully type dogs, and they are exempting their dogs because they are fearful that someone will see them out with their big, strong, strapping dog, report them to the police and they could potentially lose that i can face a criminal prosecution. there was a lot of fear out there among big dog owners. it should be recognised there was a lot of fear out there about these xl bully type dogs, so there is a balancing act that the government is trying to straddle here. some people, critics of the law say it has been rushed through and brought into quickly. because it isn't tackling one type of breed specifically, and it is a breed typer specifically, and it is a breed type, it is open to a lot of interpretation.— type, it is open to a lot of interpretation. type, it is open to a lot of interretation. ., ., , ., ~ interpretation. jim connolly, thank ou for interpretation. jim connolly, thank you for that _ interpretation. jim connolly, thank you for that update _ interpretation. jim connolly, thank you for that update from _ interpretation. jim connolly, thank you for that update from leeds. i

around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. - this is flag football, the american football version of touch rugby. and these kids at lings primary school in northampton are the best in the uk. they started playing two years ago thanks to their teacher, tom, an nfl addict. he took a coaching course and soon had 70 children here wanting to play. it's become the school's most popular sport. last summer, lings won the national title at the tottenham hotspur stadium. their prize, a trip to orlando, florida to face schools from around the world. it was crazy. it didn't feel real at first, but i think when we get on that plane it's going to finally hit, be like, yeah, this is real. ever since i got into it, ijust loved it and can't wait for training and games. two years ago these kids had never heard of flag football. now they are flying the flag for it. for more stories from across the uk,

head to the bbc news website. - you're live with bbc news. the brazilian president, lula da silva, has sacked the deputy director of his country's national intelligence agency and four of its departmental heads. it comes as investigations continue into claims the agency carried out illegal surveillance on key political and judicial figures who were critical of the former president, jair bolsonaro. a 90—day state of emergency has been declared in downtown portland — a major city in the us state of oregon — due to high usage of the drug, to high usage of the drug fentanyl. authorities are working to help people addicted to the synthetic opioid. the cdc say more than 112,000 people died due to fentanyl overdoses in the year to may 2023. malaysia's new king has been sworn in as the country's head of state at an ceremony in the capital kuala lumpur.

sultan ibrahim sultan iskandar was chosen to take on the role last october. malaysian kings are elected in a unique arrangement by the heads of the country's nine royal families who take turns to be the nation's monarch for a five—year term. and now an unusual discovery on the east coast of canada. a shipwreck has washed up on a beach in newfoundland. it's thought to have been built in the 19th century but the ship's story is still a mystery. courtney bembridge has more. on a remote snow—covered beach at cape ray in newfoundland, a ship believed to have been built in the 1800s. but very little is known about its history, and officials are now trying to piece that together and conserve what remains. the biggest mystery of all is how it ended up here. but it's thought this could have something to do with it. these pictures are from last september when hurricane fiona battered canada's eastern coastline.

and these pictures show the damage that it left behind. but here's another aspect to this being seen from the air. these pictures show before and after the storm and you can see the extent of the coastal erosion. now this could have been what dislodged the ship from where it had been lying. well, at the time, hurricane fiona was described as a historic storm but no one could have predicted the history it would unearth. courtney bembridge there. the renowned broadway actress, singer and dancer chita rivera has died, aged 91. she started on broadway as a teenager and kept performing all the way into her early 805. she died in new york after a brief illness. rachel mcadam looks back on her life. # all the time there is... known as

a tri - le # all the time there is... known as a triple threat. _ # all the time there is... known as a triple threat, lese _ # all the time there is... known as a triple threat, lese majeste - # all the time there is... known as a triple threat, lese majeste was i # all the time there is... known as a triple threat, lese majeste was a | a triple threat, lese majeste was a consummate singer, dancer and actress, repeatedly hailed by critics as a sensation for the roles she performed on broadway. she was dancing on the new york stage before she was 20 and kept at it all the way into the early 805. the first to appear in the role of anita in the 1975 original production of west side 5tory, 1975 original production of west side story, it made chita rivera a star and earned her the first of many tony awards nominations. after the enormous 5ucce55 many tony awards nominations. after the enormous success of the leonard bernstein mu5ical 5he the enormous success of the leonard bernstein mu5ical she would go on to work with other broadway legends like choreographer bob fo55e e, again being the first to play the role of velma kelly in the 1975 smash chicago. in august 2009 she was awarded the presidential medal of freedom, the highest honour the us can give a civilian. speaking

some years afterwards, and while still performing, 5he some years afterwards, and while still performing, she said, i 5till performing, she said, i wouldn't know what to do if i wasn't moving or telling a story to you or 5inging moving or telling a story to you or singing a song. that's the spirit of my life and i'm really so lucky to be able to do what i love. studio: renowned broadway actress, singer and dancer chita rivera, who has died at the age of 91. from today, people living in england will be able to access treatment for common conditions such as sore throats and earache directly from pharmaci5t5, without the need to visit a doctor. it's hoped the new pharmacy fir5t scheme could help ease pressure on gps and free up around 10 million doctors' appointments each year. here's our health editor, hugh pym. phone rings. good morning, bedmin5ter pharmacy. we have a vaccination on thursday, friday and saturday. they're at the heart of our communities. how do you spell it?

from today, high street pharmacies in england will be able to ease even more of the burden on overstretched gp surgeries. how can i help? so, i woke up on saturday night... patients with seven new conditions can come straight to the pharmacy without booking an appointment. middle—ear infections is one of them. it's still blocked. there's loss of hearing. obviously, it's making me feel a bit dizzy. i spoke to the gp and then they referred me here. ade's pharmacy in south bristol has been trialling this new scheme for a year, with great success. in the past, we would at different points feel very frustrated for our patients, that we can't do more, and most community pharmacies live with that. and i think any opportunity to do more for them actually means that not only are they better, but the whole nhs system becomes more stable. ali's two—year—old 5on, duncan, has spots on his chin and she's worried. so, i suspect that this guy's got impetigo.

so she stopped by on the school run. they spread quite quickly as well. yeah. pharmacistjeanie agrees, with impetigo now on the list of conditions. duncan is prescribed medication quickly, and ali has been saved a possibly long wait for a gp appointment. it's like less than an hour from when we came in on our way on the school run, so, yeah, really useful. having a service like this will really benefit a lot of people. in the meantime, ade continues with established 5ervices, giving covid and flu vaccines. which hand would you like? either. because of his health conditions, he's at risk, actually, high risk on both of them. and i know we've been prompting him every time he comes in to do it. so it's good that he's finally decided to have it today. i know this has been out of stock forever, but we'll have a go. lemon's out. and no plain either.

no plain as well. do you want me to get you...? i'll get the orange ones and i'll keep them for you. ok, i'll pop back in next week. thanks, ade. what were you just asking for that wasn't there? it's a product called fibogel, which helps with digestion or, you know, the end product! and it's not in, the one you wanted? no, this isn't a pharmacist issue, it's a manufacturers' issue. the reality for pharmacists like ade, patients can be frustrated. did we tell you to use the drops? yes, i have been. you haven't come back since then. i've been in twice. we even had a clinic. i'm really sorry about that. with demand on local pharmacy growing, ade is aware that many chemists in his area have closed, putting more pressures on his staff rota, and his budget is under 5train. that is the dilemma that we are facing. so certainly, you know, more funding seems now to be the consensus that this is an underfunded service.

do you mind? but ade says the new scheme does bring more job satisfaction. hugh pym, bbc news, bristol. lenny henry has said it is "time to hand on to the new generation" as he confirmed he will host comic relief for the final time this year. the actor and comedian, who co—founded the charity in 1985, has been hosting the tv show for decades. he explained to bbc breakfast why he was stepping down. because i think it's time to hand on to the new generation. there's all these new wonderful comedians armed with podcasts and 9 million followers. those guys and women should be hosting comic relief now, so the young people, and the new influx of viewers can plug into the next stage of comic relief because there will be a next stage and we want to continue tackling the issues of poverty and injustice and it's

time to hand over the reins, as it were. ~ , , , ., were. well, we will miss you massively — were. well, we will miss you massively because _ were. well, we will miss you massively because you - were. well, we will miss you massively because you have| were. well, we will miss you - massively because you have been so much _ massively because you have been so much a _ massively because you have been so much a part— massively because you have been so much a part of comic relief over so many— much a part of comic relief over so many years — much a part of comic relief over so many years. but looking back over those _ many years. but looking back over those years, what are the things that will— those years, what are the things that will always stay with you about your involvement? | that will always stay with you about your involvement?— that will always stay with you about your involvement? i think every trip to a project- — your involvement? i think every trip to a project- all— your involvement? i think every trip to a project. all the _ your involvement? i think every trip to a project. all the comedy - your involvement? i think every trip to a project. all the comedy stuff. to a project. all the comedy stuff is great but every time i've been to the continent of africa or been two projects in the uk and seen just what the british public�*s money does in terms of poverty and injustice, it's so inspiring that people at home, who are struggling themselves, because don't forget people are going through incredibly tough times at the moment with a cost of living crisis, people are struggling with homelessness. we are providing safe shelter is. my sister beth runs a food bank that is probably sponsored by comic relief. these are things we are helping with and it's something we always wanted to do here and beyond our shores. i'm so chuffed that we as a people do this. no

matter what anybody says, no matter what the mean people sercombe of fact that comic relief are still here, still doing stuff with that brilliant team, i'm really proud to have been involved and will continue to be proud to be involved. lenny henry on why he is standing down from comic relief this year. let's check the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. 0ur weather north to south is quite different today. if we start in the south, it was a cold start to the day, some frost around as well. but essentially it's going to be a bright and breezy day. but in the northern half of the country, northern england, northern ireland and scotland, we're looking at gales, even severe gales across the far north of scotland, including the northern and western isles. and with this weather front, we're going to see a period of heavy rain sinking south. it's all connected to this deep area of low pressure named by the norwegian met service as storm ingunn. effectively, it's a weather bomb. so what's happening through the day is the rain will continue to sink southwards. where you see this green line,

this is where the heaviest rain is likely to be, getting through scotland and northern ireland. but the wind will be a feature, widespread gales across scotland, severe gales across the western and the northern isles and the far north of scotland. we could have gusts in excess of 85 miles an hour. we're also looking at gales across northern england and northern ireland. here you can see gusts of 40 to 60 miles an hour as we go through the course of the day. some disruption is possible with that combination of the wind and the rain. but come further south, it's a blustery day, variable amounts of cloud, some bright or sunny skies and milder conditions than in the north. because behind this front we pull in cooler air with the showers wintry in nature down to about 200 metres in the highlands. now through this evening and overnight, the band of rain sinks south, the weather front weakens, the rain becomes more intermittent. there'll be a lot of clearer skies. still showers continuing in scotland and northern ireland. still very windy in the north, just not quite as windy as during the day. and it's going to be a cold night. too windy for frost in the north.

we might see the odd pocket in prone areas in the south. that weather front connected to the storm moves away quickly with high pressure building in tomorrow. but we also have a weather front waiting in the wings. so it's a cold start to the day. a lot of dry weather, a fair bit of sunshine around. but the cloud will build across northern ireland and northern england and also scotland, with some rain coming in from the west, and that's going to be pushing north—eastwards. later, too, we could see a bit more cloud coming into the south—west with some drizzle. then as we head on into the weekend, end of the week and the weekend, well, it's the north and the west that's prone to seeing wind and rain at times. drier and brighter in the south and east.

hello. you are watching bbc news. i'm catherine byaruhanga. the former first minister of scotland nicola sturgeon is to spend the day giving evidence to the uk covid inquiry. ms sturgeon is expected to face questions about lockdown, her style of decision—making and an accusation from her critics that she used the pandemic to advance the cause of scottish independence. she's also expected to be questioned about her missing whatsapp messages, as the inquiry continues sitting in edinburgh. let's go live now to our scotland political correspondent david wallace lockhart,

who is in edinburgh at the inquiry. lovely to have you on the programme. ms sturgeon was the woman in charge in scotland during the pandemic and i guess evidence is key for the inquiry. i guess evidence is key for the inuui . , , ,.,, , inquiry. yes. the purpose in this inuui , inquiry. yes. the purpose in this inquiry. a _ inquiry. yes. the purpose in this inquiry. a uk — inquiry. yes. the purpose in this inquiry, a uk wide _ inquiry. yes. the purpose in this inquiry, a uk wide one, - inquiry. yes. the purpose in this inquiry, a uk wide one, is- inquiry. yes. the purpose in this inquiry, a uk wide one, is to - inquiry. yes. the purpose in this| inquiry, a uk wide one, is to look at the decisions that were made during the pandemic and to think about lessons that can be learned going forward, but of course there is a lot of elements that nicola sturgeon will be questioned on this morning and this afternoon. it is a full day of the session, she is giving big questions that have dogged this inquiry about a more informal whatsapp messages, text messages that no longer exist. nicola sturgeon has already revealed she didn't retain whatsapp messages from the pandemic on her phone. she says that was in keeping with scottish government guidance at the time which said that decisions should be recorded but