this is bbc news, the headlines. at least 20 are killed as two explosions hit pakistan's balochistan province one day before the country's general election. hundreds queue just to see a dentist in bristol. the government says it is taking steps to help patients in england. and in the last few minutes it has been confirmed that the disgraced paedophile popstar gary glitter has lost a parole board bid to be freed from jail. much has been reported on the damage caused to our seas and rivers by raw sewage leaks, but human waste is not the only problem, there is also chicken to which gets spread onto fields as

fertiliser and then washed into waterways, and one campaign group is taking the government to court accusing it of not doing enough to tackle the problem. here isjonah fisher. if you pay £5 for a chicken at your local supermarket, it just might come from here. we are being shown round a chicken farm in herefordshire. there are about 28,000 birds in this shed. they arrived a day old and they will spend their entire lives, that is 36 days, inside. spend their entire lives, that is 36 days. inside-— spend their entire lives, that is 36 days, inside. everything is done for them, they — days, inside. everything is done for them, they get _ days, inside. everything is done for them, they get all _ days, inside. everything is done for them, they get all their _ days, inside. everything is done for them, they get all their water - them, they get all their water delivered automatically, all of the feed is delivered automatically. i feed is delivered automatically. i guess this is the reality of people wanting affordable, cheap chicken in the supermarkets.— the supermarkets. correct, we are ”rovidin the supermarkets. correct, we are providing a — the supermarkets. correct, we are providing a protein _ the supermarkets. correct, we are providing a protein source - the supermarkets. correct, we are providing a protein source for- the supermarkets. correct, we are providing a protein source for overj providing a protein source for over 60 million people in this country and we have got to do it somehow. during their short lives, the chickens that live in this shed will

altogether produce about a0 tons of chicken to. just to put that in context, there are about 20 million chickens being raised here in the river wye catchment area at any one time. that is an awful lot of chicken to. it is full of nitrogen and phosphorus, which are powerful fertilisers, so farmers around the river wye have been spreading it on their fields. river wye have been spreading it on theirfields. but if river wye have been spreading it on their fields. but if there is too much, with the rain, it can end up in the river wye, and the rapidly expanding chicken industry has been blamed for turning it green. with the river deteriorating in front of their eyes were concerned locals have been carrying out their own tests to try and work out what is going on. tests to try and work out what is atoin on. ~ ., .,, tests to try and work out what is ttoin on. ~ ., ., ,, tests to try and work out what is toint on. . ., ., ,, ., going on. what has happened over the tast ears. going on. what has happened over the past years- yes. _ going on. what has happened over the past years. yes, there _ going on. what has happened over the past years. yes, there has _ going on. what has happened over the past years. yes, there has been - past years. yes, there has been growth in towns and more sewage going on, but it is agriculture

which must have altered in order for this to happen. this which must have altered in order for this to happen-— this to happen. this has been the area of perhaps _ this to happen. this has been the area of perhaps the _ this to happen. this has been the area of perhaps the greatest - this to happen. this has been the i area of perhaps the greatest growth in intensive chicken farms in europe _ in intensive chicken farms in europe it _ in intensive chicken farms in europe. it must have made a difference. europe. it must have made a difference-— europe. it must have made a difference. ., , ., ., , difference. there are rules already in lace difference. there are rules already in place which _ difference. there are rules already in place which state _ difference. there are rules already in place which state that _ in place which state that fertilisers like chicken waste should not be spread on farmers fields if the land cannot properly absorb it. campaigners say those rules haven't been enforced and that has contributed to the decline of this once great river. 0ne has contributed to the decline of this once great river. one group has taken the government to the high court for a judicial review. that hearing starts today. we court for a judicial review. that hearing starts today.— hearing starts today. we are basically saying _ hearing starts today. we are basically saying that - hearing starts today. we are basically saying that we - hearing starts today. we are i basically saying that we believe that the government and its agency, the environment agency, have acted unlawfully by deliberately not enforcing the critical regulation which had it been enforced would have prevented the contamination of the river wye catchment with these

huge levels of phosphorus chemicals coming out of these chicken sheds. the environment agency said anyone caught breaching environment laws faces enforcement action, including prosecution. but it hasn't prosecuted anyone for overusing fertilisers near the river wye. this is the chicken litter, although in your... atjames's is the chicken litter, although in your... at james's farm is the chicken litter, although in your... atjames's farm in front of a huge amount of chicken litter, we talked solutions. here, they invested in three biomass boilers which burn chicken letter to heat the sheds. a powdered fertiliser is left behind which can be easily transported out of the catchment area. it transported out of the catchment area. ., �* ., ~ . , area. it wouldn't take much but if the consumer— area. it wouldn't take much but if the consumer was _ area. it wouldn't take much but if the consumer was willing - area. it wouldn't take much but if the consumer was willing to - area. it wouldn't take much but if the consumer was willing to pay i area. it wouldn't take much but if. the consumer was willing to pay an extra isp the consumer was willing to pay an extra 15p to 20p a chicken, that would make a huge difference and it would make a huge difference and it would pave the way for investment in technology like this that can capture nutrients and recycle them in a positive way.— in a positive way. campaigners say if the court —

in a positive way. campaigners say if the court rules _ in a positive way. campaigners say if the court rules in _ in a positive way. campaigners say if the court rules in their _ in a positive way. campaigners say if the court rules in their favour, i if the court rules in their favour, it could be transformational, both for the health of the river wye, and the way chickens are farmed. it's now more than a month since the post office horizon scandal was brought into sharp focus by an itv drama series and still the individual stories of suffering by subpostmasters keep coming. they include two sisters who were pursued by post office investigators even after a criminal trial against them was ruled out over faulty computer evidence. mark daly has the details. right through the door there. that was a dark place, and it was the guilt. i knew i hadn't taken the money.

i would say that i'm a strong woman. the post office took that away from me. sisters rose and jackie used to run this post office in the gorbals area of glasgow. just sad how things went. in 2012, auditors told them the horizon system was showing up £3a,000 short. i actually almost slid down the wall. it's almost like the blood drained from you. the post office wanted to take the sisters to a criminal trial over the shortfall. but a glasgow prosecutor killed the case stone dead, citing issues with the horizon evidence. despite this, the post office threatened the family with debt collectors if they didn't pay up. they went to mediation but the post office didn't tell the family why its criminal case had collapsed. i went into that mediation still feeling like the accused. ultimately we paid the post office £10,000. they go into a mediation in good faith without that key piece of information and the post office end up bullying ten grand out of them. that's theft. that's fraud by misrepresentation. the post office said it would not be appropriate to comment on the allegations,

but said that they fully supported the ongoing public inquiry�*s aims to get to the truth of what happened. meanwhile, scotland's crown office is facing questions over its handling of horizon cases. karen lorimer worked in her local post office in kilmarnock for 17 years. in 2008 the auditors found a shortfall of nearly £a0,000. i remember getting a phone call. karen was in tears. i asked her if she'd done it. i should have known, of course she didn't do it. facing jail, karen pleaded guilty to embezzlement and was given community service and forced to pay the post office £15,000. she died from cancer in 2022. she died basically a convicted criminal, no chance to clear her name. yeah, she's taken that with her.

the crown office in scotland had known about horizon issues since 2013 and formally ceased the prosecutions in 2015. and yet for five years there were no victims written to, no cases re—examined, no convictions overturned. there was no attempt to review a single prosecution. for this entire period, it seems, the crown 0ffice in scotland did nothing. the body which investigates miscarriages ofjustice in scotland began reviewing horizon cases in 2020. karen's case is set for the appeal court in april. the crown 0ffice told the bbc there had been no scope for a meaningful review until the failings were known. it said it was not until the decisions by the courts in england and wales in 2019 and �*21 that the full extent of the bugs and errors became known. so far, only six out of around 60 horizon convictions have been overturned in scotland. for the family of karen lorimer, that's all that matters. clear karen's name. yeah.

give us a bit of paper that says that she didn't do it. that'll do me. you can watch the documentary scotland s post office scandal now on the bbc iplayer. viewers in scotland can see it tonight at 8 o'clock on bbc one. some breaking news, in a decision published today, the parole board has said that after considering the circumstances of the offending of the paedophile gary glitter, the lack of progress made while in custody, and other evidence gathered at the hearing, the panel was not satisfied that his release at this point would be safe for the

protection of the public. so, some breaking news, that the release of gary glitter has not been agreed to by the parole board.— by the parole board. now, let's return to our _ by the parole board. now, let's return to our story _ by the parole board. now, let's return to our story on _ by the parole board. now, let's return to our story on fertiliserl by the parole board. now, let's. return to our story on fertiliser in our waterways. 0ne campaign group is taking the government to court accusing it of not doing enough to tackle the problem. let's get more on this with our guest, ceo of the rivers trust. thank you forjoining us on the programme. earlier we had a report from jonah fisher, our correspondent, and he talked about theissues correspondent, and he talked about the issues around agricultural waste, in particular, chicken litter, but how much is this an issue across the uk? agricultural tollution issue across the uk? agricultural pollution generally _ issue across the uk? agricultural pollution generally across - issue across the uk? agricultural pollution generally across the - issue across the uk? agricultural pollution generally across the uk issue across the uk? agricultural. pollution generally across the uk is at least as big as the sewage problem which we have heard a lot about in recent months. it varies

coursework you are. so in urban areas it tends to be more of a sewage problem, and in rural areas it tends to be more agricultural. but really it is very wide. so, there are problems with manure and slurry, problems with fertiliser, chemicals being spread on the ground and soil washing into rivers at times of heavy rain is also a real problem. so, not only does this contribute to pollution but it also contributes to flooding and drought if we don't manage the land well, more water rushes off it and less soaks into the aquifers for use during droughts.— soaks into the aquifers for use during droughts. soaks into the aquifers for use durint drouthts. . ., ., during droughts. what can farmers or landowners do _ during droughts. what can farmers or landowners do to _ during droughts. what can farmers or landowners do to prevent _ during droughts. what can farmers or landowners do to prevent this - landowners do to prevent this pollution from happening, or what steps are they already taking to try and stop this pollution from happening?— and stop this pollution from hat-enint? ., , and stop this pollution from hat-enint? ~ ., , ., happening? well, really there are some fundamental _ happening? well, really there are some fundamental problems - happening? well, really there are l some fundamental problems we've happening? well, really there are - some fundamental problems we've got with our food system. in that there is a huge pressure on the supply chain, input costs are going up, costs of fertiliser and labour and

fuel, all these things are increasing the cost to farmers, but they are being paid less and less for the food that they produce. and there has been a lot of uncertainty about public subsidies in recent years. so, farmers are in a really tricky spot to try and change and change fundamentally, but we really need them to do that. so i think there are opportunities there for land to be managed in a more sustainable way, we can still grow food but we just need to do it much more sustainably, and to try and find other ways of funding farmers to do that, rather than just constantly putting up the cost of food. so, really it is about looking after the soil and not bringing in as many inputs in the form of fertiliser and feed into catchments, because ultimately that

over—nutrifies our rivers. do because ultimately that over-nutrifies our rivers. do you think the authorities _ over-nutrifies our rivers. do you think the authorities have - over-nutrifies our rivers. do you | think the authorities have enough resources to tackle the challenge? in a word, no. i have been campaigning on water quality issues for decades and this has been a recurrent problem but it has got a lot worse in the past 15 years also and the environment agency and natural resources wales have had their budgets cut very severely. and they really need to see those restored. there has been a partial restoration of budgets in england, but it is not enough. it is really a combination of factors, you do need enforcement and regulation, absolutely, for the laggards, but there are a vanguard of farmers who really want to do the right thing, and what they need is clarity of the opportunities out there in full public funding to work alongside private funding, so that they can be funded to do the right thing and grow food in a sustainable way. and thatis grow food in a sustainable way. and that is just not happening at the moment, it is notjoined up and

there is huge uncertainty and confusion about this array of government schemes and the public private funding which is available. mark lloyd, ceo of the rivers trust, thank you forjoining us. the prince of wales will return to public engagements today for the first time since his father king charles' cancer diagnosis was revealed. the king is in sandringham in norfolk as he recovers from his first round of cancer treatment. prince william had taken some time off while his wife kate had abdominal surgery. he is now expected to carry out more duties whilst the king steps back from public engagements. daniela relph reports. a first sight of the king since he went public with his cancer diagnosis. with queen camilla he was driven to buckingham palace. from there he was flown to sandringham, a chance to escape to the privacy of the norfolk

estate after the start of his cancer treatment. i estate after the start of his cancer treatment. ~ estate after the start of his cancer treatment-— treatment. i think the king will be ve stoic treatment. i think the king will be very stoic about _ treatment. i think the king will be very stoic about this, _ treatment. i think the king will be very stoic about this, i _ treatment. i think the king will be very stoic about this, i think- treatment. i think the king will be very stoic about this, i think he i very stoic about this, i think he will accept that this is a challenge that just will accept that this is a challenge thatjust has to be dealt with, it is just something that he has got to get through. the overriding sense i suspect with him will be one of frustration, he will be not wanting to let people down by cancelling engagement took over, things of that nature, and i think that he will just be determined to get through it as quickly as he can and in the best way that he can so that he can get back to full duties as quickly as possible. back to full duties as quickly as tossible. , ., , back to full duties as quickly as tossible. , ._ ., ., possible. the king stayed in london on tuesday to _ possible. the king stayed in london on tuesday to see _ possible. the king stayed in london on tuesday to see his _ possible. the king stayed in london on tuesday to see his youngest - possible. the king stayed in london| on tuesday to see his youngest son. the duke of sussex arrived from california and went straight to clarence house to meet his father. they have seen very little of each other over the past for years. they spent around a5 minutes together yesterday. where there seems to be a thaw between father and son, the sibling relationship remains strange. there are currently no

plans for prince harry to see his brother the prince of wales while he is in the uk. with the king clearing his diary and focusing on his cancer treatment, royal duties are now for the wider family. treatment, royal duties are now for the widerfamily. princess treatment, royal duties are now for the wider family. princess anne already has one of the busiest diaries, and with others may need to do more to support her brother while he is unwell. and prince william is back on royal duty today for the first time in just under a month. back on royal duty today for the first time injust under a month. he had taken time out to support the princess of after abdominal surgery. the king will now rely heavily on the support of his family both privately and publicly. i the support of his family both privately and publicly.- the support of his family both privately and publicly. i think this is signalling _ privately and publicly. i think this is signalling that _ privately and publicly. i think this is signalling that as _ privately and publicly. i think this is signalling that as the _ privately and publicly. i think this is signalling that as the world - privately and publicly. i think this is signalling that as the world is i is signalling that as the world is changing, so the royal household is changing, so the royal household is changing, and this willingness to be open not only signals a change i think in the way in which the king relates to people, but also encourages others to be much more open and explicit about their health issues and to do something about it. sandringham is where the royal family gather for christmas. now it

is where the king can rest out of the public eye as he concentrates on his recovery. daniela relph, bbc news. two by—elections are taking place next week both in seats vacated by a sitting conservative mp. tomorrow will focus on kingswood near bristol. but today, let's take a look at wellingborough, where the mp peter bone was forced to stand down after allegations of bullying and sexually inappropriate behaviour. 0ur political correspondent helen catt has been speaking to voters there. the wobbles here have been running litter picks for three years now, the volunteers have clear views on what else in wellingborough could do with a spruce up. the what else in wellingborough could do with a spruce op— with a spruce up. the antisocial behaviour. _ with a spruce up. the antisocial behaviour, burglaries, - with a spruce up. the antisocial behaviour, burglaries, doubt. with a spruce up. the antisocial behaviour, burglaries, doubt i i with a spruce up. the antisocial. behaviour, burglaries, doubt i say it, potholes, and litter. and what i would like to see is someone that

represented wellingborough and spoke for us. i represented wellingborough and spoke for us. ~ ., represented wellingborough and spoke for us. ~' ., ., represented wellingborough and spoke for us. ~ ., ., ., represented wellingborough and spoke forus. ~ ., ., ., ., , ., for us. i know a lot of people are concerned _ for us. i know a lot of people are concerned about _ for us. i know a lot of people are concerned about the _ for us. i know a lot of people are concerned about the nhs - for us. i know a lot of people are concerned about the nhs and . for us. i know a lot of people are i concerned about the nhs and that sort of— concerned about the nhs and that sort of thing. if there was an urgent — sort of thing. if there was an urgent care centre here that would make _ urgent care centre here that would make a _ urgent care centre here that would make a big — urgent care centre here that would make a big difference. more building work going on now, like, new housing estates, - the town is getting bigger is what it used to be. - is that a good thing or a bad thing? it can be a good thing, - if there's employment here. in the town centre, thoughts are also turning to what will drive votes at the by—election next week. there's loads of potholes everywhere. we used to vote conservative, but now, labour. wow! why? we like labour now. there needs to be a big change. lam retired. i'm looking forward . for the young people. at the wellingborough museum, we met some college students who had concerns about their future in the town. like, the skills i'm learning in college now, they don't really go into nothing in wellingborough because there's no jobs that take skills, or high paying jobs.

so what do you see then as the future for you then? do you think you'll stay here or do you think you'll go elsewhere? i'll go elsewhere, look for some carpentryjob or an apprenticeship, but around here it's all warehouse. because i want to design, maybe even create my own video games, but around here there's nothing like that. and i have to go far away from, let's say, from home, where my family lives. i'm training to become a health practitioner. i i think more care homes - and more hospitals are needed. they could vote at this by—election, but say they won't. we're all on our phones. so i think posting stuff online on social media, that will grab our attention. and i would love to vote, but i don't want to vote for the wrong person. 11 candidates are standing, including the lib dems, the greens and reform, who are running a higher profile campaign here aimed at taking tory votes. historically, this seat has been a contest between labour and the conservatives. labour won in 1997. the conservatives have held it since 2005, and at the 2019 general election they held it pretty comfortably. but other recent by—election results have seen safer conservative seats than this lost.

up until recently i thought they were doing quite well. but theyjust don't... ..they don't continue with things. i'll probably stay conservative. certainly locally, rushdenj has improved dramatically over the last few years, - so i'm quite happy with that. still things to be done, of course, but i'm not particularly worried. . i think the party is basically in ruins and they're not really conservative at all. i also dislike labour's policies very much, so i have no idea who i'm going to vote for. an added complication for some voters are the circumstances that brought about this by—election. the former tory mp peter bone was found to have bullied a staff member, which he denies. the new conservative candidate is also his partner. it's going to be a bit messy, isn't it? because of certain people that are standing and what have you. and whoever gets in has got a lot of work to do,

a lot of work. voters here will go to the polls on the 15th of february. helen catt, bbc news. you can see a full list of all the candidates standing in wellingborough next thursday. just visit the bbc news website. making it to 10a years of age is an incredible achievement — but imagine doing it with your twin sister. elma and thelma who are are thought to be britain's oldest twins attribute their longevity to a positive outlook, good food and the occasional drop of brandy — with n0 ice. they've been sharing their memories with rogerjohnson. # happy birthday to you...# we filmed them when they were 103. we met them again at 10a. now, nearly105, surely there are no older twins in britain?

elma and thelma. what a double act. true! and me! born on august the 3rd,1919, the sisters grew up in stockport just after the first world war. 0h, kids were alive, really. you didn't have much money. we were very happy, really. enjoyed our life, you know. as much as you could. yeah. when we left school... ..do you remember? what? leaving school. oh, yeah. walking down the main road. yeah. going to smiths crisps, hadn't been open long in stockport. so... we got a job there. we knocked on the window. yes. "have you had opportunities, please?" two kids, in! and that was it. thelma worked at smiths during world war two.

although elma was called up to work at fairey aviation's nearby factory, making parts for the raf. the firefighting and other air. services behaved magnificently. the people's chins are up and protruding a little - more than usual. well, we had the bombs at night falling on us, didn't we? occasionally, yes. but even though the air raids were on at night, you still had to go to work the next day. oh, yeah. when it was over, we celebrated, didn't we? yeah, there was a lot, yeah. there was dancing in the street and everything. it was lovely. elma's first husband bill died soon after the war. thelma's husband joe was like many people in stockport. he was a hatter. he worked for the hat trade. and if he was caught without his hat, he got a fine. yes, they did! got fined half a crown. really? yeah. many a time when we were courting

i would find myself whisked down an entry. he'd seen them in the distance! the sisters have always enjoyed a good night out. we used usually go to nightclubs dancing, yeah — didn't we? nightclubs! not nightclubs. you must bejoking. we used to go dancing, didn't we? yeah, we did. yeah, go to dances. or we went to the pictures. thelma and elma now live together again at a new care home in lancashire. between them, they have children, grandchildren and numerous great—grandchildren. that's a lot to remember, at nearly 105. and a very happy birthday to elma and thelma. now, and the weather warnings have been issued for parts

of northern england and northern wales. we can go live to tomasz schafernaker. thank you. you have probably heard the word snow by now in the forecast and the clue is in the picture behind me. most of the snow will fall across the hills, it is not going to be widespread across the uk and most of us will not be getting it, but we can look at the details. 0n the one hand we have a mild weather coming in from the south but if you look at the windows, this is cold arctic air digging in. today the weather is quite, with snow showers across parts of scotland, but it is a relatively bright day, seven in liverpool, mild on the south coast, but the rain bearing clouds are starting to approach. if we look at the forecast, wednesday night into thursday, this big area of low pressure which will bring rough weather to many parts of western europe, that weather front is spreading across more southern and eventually central parts of the uk through the early hours, that cold air keeps coming in from the north

and where a mild and the cold meat, around this zone here, that is where we get that awkward mix of rain, sleet and snow, perhaps even it conditions. from morning onwards across parts of northern wales and eventually a little bit later across the pennines, these two areas in particular are likely to have some snow. —— icy. in some areas there could be rather a lot, but broadly speaking across the uk, these are the lower risk weather warnings from the lower risk weather warnings from the met office, notice the heavy rain warnings across the south of the country, further north it is that more wintry mix. but if we zoom into northern parts of wales and the pennines, widely within these areas i think it could be 10—15cm of snow. across the higher routes, possibly even 20—25cm, so there could be some problems for sure in these areas, but it is not a widespread event and some of the areas that do get the snow are quite used to getting snow

in the winter, nonetheless it could end up being a very tricky weather picture. into friday, that low pressure is still very much with us, you can see some wintry weather there across parts of scotland, to there across parts of scotland, to the south of that, the cold air never reaches southern parts of the uk, and if we look at the outlook over the next few days, overall, despite talking about snow, it is still a relatively mild outlook. that is it.

live from london. this is bbc news.

two bomb explosions have hit pakistan's baluchistan province, a day before the general election. at least 20 people were killed. the first time since the cancer diagnosis was revealed. america's top diplomat meets israeli leaders later, as efforts to reach agreement on a new ceasefire between israel and hamas in gaza intensify. hello, i'm catherine byaruhanga. we start with breaking news from pakistan.

at least 20 people have been killed, and dozens injured in two reported