balochistan province on the eve of the general election. we'll speak to our correspondent in islamabad for the very latest. we will examine the crisis in dentistry in the uk as people queue for nhs appointments and the government sets out a new plan. i've extracted 13 of my own teeth. the us secretary of state meets with benjamin netanyahu — the latest push for a ceasefire and hostage deal. we have been looking at the government's claims that poor weather conditions had no impact on the small —— the fall small boat in crossing over the channel. and, let sleeping bears lie. we look at some of the beautiful images from the �*wildlife photographer of the year�* competition and talk to the organisers.

hello, i m matthew amroliwala , welcome to verified live, 3 hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. two bomb explosions have exploded in south—west pakistan — just hours before polls open, for the general election tomorrow. let me take you through what we know so far. at least 22 people have been killed and many more injured. authorities say, they were targeting the election offices in two parts of baloochistan. the people of pakistan will head to the polls, after a campaign marred by violence and claims of poll—rigging. these are some of the pictures in so far — these from the blast in the pishin district, outside the election office of an independent local candidate. officials told the bbc he was meeting his polling agent at the time. the second explosion went off outside the office of a political party — killing at least eight people. the afp news agency quotes a senior police official, saying it

happened in the main bazaar. the explosions happened within an hour of each other, around a hundred and fifty kilometres apart. we can now cross live to islamabad and speak to the bbc urdu's saher baloch. let's start with those two attacks and give me the latest information you have. and give me the latest information ou have. . , ., ., ., you have. the latest information i have is that _ you have. the latest information i have is that the _ you have. the latest information i have is that the election - have is that the election commissioner of pakistan has said that the security should be put on high alert and also the fact he said that tomorrow everybody should come out and vote. in a similar statement the chief minister of balochistan province also said the same thing and said we will not let these attacks divert any of our efforts to hold these elections on time. so tomorrow everybody should turn up to

vote. but right now the province is going through a lot of uncertainty and fear. ., ., and fear. tell me more about the attack themselves. _ and fear. tell me more about the attack themselves. we _ and fear. tell me more about the attack themselves. we have - and fear. tell me more about the attack themselves. we have the l attack themselves. we have the pictures up on the screens. in one area the attack— pictures up on the screens. in one area the attack was _ pictures up on the screens. in one area the attack was basically - area the attack was basically targeted at the independent candidate who was fighting from the area who is contesting elections from the area and in another area a religious political party, their office was attacked. so soon after that the police reached the spot and so far none of the groups have taken responsibility for the attacks. balochistan is quite a diverse place because a lot of militant organisations operate from there. for instance in the south—west of balochistan there are insurgent groups who are fighting for separation from pakistan and in the

north—west there at the militant organisations which are religiously motivated. i organisations which are religiously motivated. ~ ., ., , ., motivated. i know you have been to the province — motivated. i know you have been to the province recently, _ motivated. i know you have been to the province recently, give - motivated. i know you have been to the province recently, give me - motivated. i know you have been to the province recently, give me a - the province recently, give me a sense of what it's been like in the run—up to the elections. in sense of what it's been like in the run-up to the elections. in january i went there _ run-up to the elections. in january i went there and _ run-up to the elections. in january i went there and i _ run-up to the elections. in january i went there and i went _ run-up to the elections. in january i went there and i went to - run-up to the elections. in january i went there and i went to the - run-up to the elections. in januaryl i went there and i went to the main city. a lot of incidents and a lot of attacks that have happened on election offices and outside the political candidates offices happened there. so i was the end i spoke with a lot of people over there. the majority of the people were saying they will not participate in the selection at all only because it is not their election. it is basically a selection which is being imposed on them. a lot of people were saying there are other problems ailing the province —like forced disappearances. they were talking about a lack of education and a lack of basic facilities they say the province is going through the same

thing it was going through a0 years ago. a lot of people were depressed about the upcoming elections. thank ou for the about the upcoming elections. thank you for the latest _ about the upcoming elections. thank you for the latest from _ about the upcoming elections. thank you for the latest from islamabad. the us secretary of state antony blinken is having talks with israeli and palestinian officials to try to negotiate a ceasefire in gaza. hamas says it has given its response to a framework proposal. israel and the united states are said to be reviewing it. the gaza health ministry announced earlier that a further 123 people had been killed in the past 2a hours — taking the overall total to 27,708. it is four months since the attacks on israel by hamas, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage. for more on this i'm joined by dan arbell. he's a scholar—in—residence at the center for israeli studies, and the former deputy chief of mission at the embassy of israel in washington d.c. what do you believe are the biggest

obstacles still to be overcome before we get to any ceasefire or hostage deal?— before we get to any ceasefire or hostage deal? before we get to any ceasefire or hostaue deal? , ., , ., ,., , ., ., hostage deal? there is a proposal on the table and — hostage deal? there is a proposal on the table and a _ hostage deal? there is a proposal on the table and a hostage _ hostage deal? there is a proposal on the table and a hostage return - hostage deal? there is a proposal on the table and a hostage return in - the table and a hostage return in israel in return needs to stop the fighting for a certain period of time and release palestinian prisoners that are held in israel. it seems that hamas's demands a high and israel has to review them and see if it can actually meet them. the secretary of state is in the region for the fifth time to try and see where the parties are at and to try to convey to israel the us position that it wants israel to move forward on a dealer to be flexible. �* ,. , flexible. behind-the-scenes, we seeinu flexible. behind-the-scenes, we seeing what's — flexible. behind-the-scenes, we seeing what's happening - flexible. behind-the-scenes, we seeing what's happening in - flexible. behind-the-scenes, we seeing what's happening in front| flexible. behind-the-scenes, we - seeing what's happening in front the cameras on the screen as you talk to us, but how frustrated you think the americans are with benjamin netanyahu and his national security

minister. 0nly netanyahu and his national security minister. only a couple of days ago he took swipes atjoe biden saying he took swipes atjoe biden saying he hadn't backed israel and he was praising himself with sending humanitarian aid to gaza. how frustrating will that be for the us administration? the frustrating will that be for the us administration?— administration? the us administration - administration? the us administration is - administration? the us| administration is clearly administration? the us— administration is clearly frustrated with benjamin netanyahu and some of his cabinet ministers and they are not hiding it. they are focused on brokering the deal, dealing which you have first of all an end to the fighting and hostage return and the second stage to try and rebuild gaza and transfer the authority to a palestinian body that will govern day—to—day affairs. clearly there is lots of tension between washington and jerusalem as we speak and antony

blinken is going to address those issues, conveying us concerns and trying to leverage us influence of israel to change its approach. the israeli prime _ israel to change its approach. the israeli prime minister has always said getting the hostages out is his priority. do you think that is true in reality? priority. do you think that is true in reali ? �* ., priority. do you think that is true in reali ? �* . ., ,~ ., , in reality? ben'amin netanyahu was focused on his— in reality? benjamin netanyahu was focused on his political— in reality? benjamin netanyahu was focused on his political survival - focused on his political survival more than anything and the stability of his own coalition. he says he wants the hostages out clearly prioritises the fight in gaza first and then hostages. he believes that in order to secure the release of the hostages israel must continue fighting. there are others in israel that opposed that the. right now many people in israel are feeling that he is not doing all that can be donein that he is not doing all that can be done in order to seek the release of the hostages. we done in order to seek the release of the hostages-— the hostages. we will put onto the screen pictures _ the hostages. we will put onto the

screen pictures coming _ the hostages. we will put onto the screen pictures coming in - the hostages. we will put onto the screen pictures coming in from - screen pictures coming in from ramallah because palestinian protests at the planned meeting between palestinian leaders and antony blinken, but as that is going on antony blinken has been talking about the wider longer term push to two states living side by side peacefully. do you think that sort of longer term objective, does that only come in a post benjamin netanyahu world? i only come in a post ben'amin netanyahu world?* only come in a post ben'amin netanyahu world? i believe so. i think is coalition _ netanyahu world? i believe so. i think is coalition at _ netanyahu world? i believe so. i think is coalition at the - netanyahu world? i believe so. i think is coalition at the moment| think is coalition at the moment will not agree to any movement towards a two state solution and i think that only in a post—benjamin netanyahu area you will have the ability to return to some process and at the end of the process you will have two states living side by side with an independent palestinian sovereign state. the us is trying to keep it on the back burner and to make sure it doesn't go away but in the near term i don't see any way of implementing that as long as

benjamin netanyahu is in power. great to talk to you. thanks for joining us. just a postscript, as i was doing the interview, it's coming from an egyptian source but it's being reported that a new round of gaza negotiations set to start on thursday in cairo. 0f gaza negotiations set to start on thursday in cairo. of course, egypt a critical element in this jigsaw, qatar as well. antony blinken said yesterday there was progress but still much more work to be done. so another incremental step towards any sort of deal regarding a ceasefire and hostages. so a new round of negotiations will be starting tomorrow in cairo. in a meeting with the prime minister, british families of some of those still being held captive in gaza have urged him to do more to secure their release from hamas — which is designated a terrorist organistaion by the uk and other government. greg mackenzie reports.

with every day that passed, the chances of all the hostages, the chances of my father, reduces. holding back tears, the british families of hostages eli sharabi and 0ded lifshitz speaking publicly, calling for the immediate release of their loved ones. the daughter of 0ded said that she is devastated. my father, 0ded, is 83 years old, has complex medical needs and is really not built for the conditions of being a hostage. the delegation have met with the british prime minister and a number of qatari officials. the meeting comesjust a day after israel confirmed that 31 of the 136 remaining hostages in gaza have been killed. when i was a child,

i was scared of the dark. i was scared of the monsters in my wardrobe and the monsters under my bed. so i slept with a light on until i was eight or nine years old. since the 7th of october, i slept with a light on again. because when i was a child, i thought there were monsters in the world. on the 7th of october, i found out there were monsters in the world. the conflict in gaza was triggered by an unprecedented cross—border attack by hamas gunmen on the 7th of october, in which about 1,300 people were killed and 250 others taken hostage. since then, more than 27,000 people have been killed in gaza, according to the hamas—run health ministry. a new deal to release more hostages — much like those released in november in exchange for palestinian

prisoners — has stalled, with hamas responding this week to a new proposal which could include a six—week truce. israel and the uk have both said they are reviewing hamas's response, but the family say they feel time is running out. greg mckenzie, bbc news. live to new york because the un secretary—generaljust live to new york because the un secretary—general just laying live to new york because the un secretary—generaljust laying out his priorities for 202a. that is the roomful of journalists and his priorities for 202a. that is the roomful ofjournalists and antonio gutierrez starting with what is likely to be a lengthy assessment but a couple of lines talking about the gaza crisis there are worth bringing you straightaway because he is talking about being alarmed by reports that the israeli military intends to focus next on rafer in gaza with so much of the gaza strip

situation —— population in and around rafer. he is alarmed by those reports and again repeating his call for an immediate communitarian ceasefire in gaza and unconditional release of all hostages. that is the start of the secretary general laying out his priorities. we will keep an eye across that and bring you the significant lines throughout today's programme. around the world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news.

a story developing here in the uk over the last few hours. rishi sunak is facing calls to apologise for a jibe about sir keir starmer�*s position on trans people at prime minister's questionsjust moments after the labour leader told mps that the mother of murdered teenager brianna ghey, who was transgender, would be watching pmqs from the public gallery. tuition fees, childcare, second referendums, defining a woman — although in fairness, that was only 99% of a u—turn! of all the weeks to say that, when brianna's mother- is in this chamber, shame! parading as a man of- integrity when he has got absolutely no responsibility. absolute shame. campaigners in england say, dental care in the country is in "crisis" — with millions unable to get help on the nhs. but the government is announcing new plans to improve access. those plans include offering �*top—up payments�* for dentists to take

on new nhs patients — as well as bonuses to work in under—served areas. but health leaders say, the measures don�*t go far enough. here�*s our health editor, hugh pym. long queues outside a new dental practice in bristol highlighted the increasing frustration about the lack of nhs treatment. some areas have been branded dental deserts. and this morning, nicky campbell�*s 5live phone—in was full of calls about problems finding an nhs dentist appointment. i had an appointment before christmas and i got a letterfrom the dentist saying it had been cancelled. they explained how they weren't offering nhs appointments at the moment. so i rang the dentist and they said, well, we can certainly see you, - but we don't know if we can see you on the nhs. - a new government and nhs plan for england has been unveiled today. this will involve 2.5 million more appointments over 12 months and a new patient premium for dentists to treat around 1 million new patients who haven�*t seen a dentist for at least two years. nhs fees for dentists paid by the government will rise, and around 2a0 dentists

will be offered payments of up to £20,000 to work in underserved areas for up to three years. i hope it will be welcomed by both patients and the dentists profession alike, because this really is a step change in how we�*re tackling nhs dentistry in this country. but dentists�* representatives say the £200 million of funding isn�*t new. it�*s come because of previous underspending on dentistry. how are you funding it? are you funding it via an underspend in the budget? we are spending £3 billion a year on nhs dentistry. this is an additional... is that an underspend? it�*s an additional 200 million. research by bbc news in 2022 found that nine out of ten dental practices in the uk offering nhs care were not taking on any new adult patients for treatment. i�*ve extracted 13 of my own teeth. some patients were found to be driving hundreds of miles

in search of treatment and even pulling out their own teeth. the research led to a parliamentary inquiry. the government have come out with a series of temporary measures, in the hope that that will buy them some time to the other side of the election. but frankly, after 14 years, they've had plenty of time. their time is up and the longer the conservatives are in power, whether it's dentistry or gps or operations, the longer patients will wait. dentists have told us today of gaps in their local areas for provision of nhs treatment. i mean, in greater manchester alone, there is only enough money to cover 60% of the population. the budget only goes as far as 60% access, so that�*s a0% who will not get access to nhs dentistry. and scenes like this are still evident in some communities. the latest government measures are unlikely to cut the queues any time soon.

we have just had some of the latest pictures coming into us and the meeting antony blinken is going to have with palestinian leaders. that meeting is starting and of course this fifth round of diplomacy for antony blinken in the region as he tries to edge forward any sort of hopes of a ceasefire and a hostage deal. so the beginnings of those meetings as the various parties and the israeli leaders, these are the latest pictures just coming in. the prince of wales has returned to public engagements for the first time since the king charles�* cancer diagnosis. prince william had stepped back after his wife, the princess of wales, underwent abdominal surgery. a few hours ago, he oversaw

an investiture ceremony at windsor castle. the king spent the night at sandringham after beginning his treatment on monday. helena wilkinson reports. back to work, prince william carrying out public duties at windsor castle today. he�*s been handing out honours to those who�*ve made a difference to public life. ellen, mrs convery, for services to association football. ellen white — the england women�*s football team�*s record goal—scorer, who was key to their euros victory in 2022 — was one of those receiving her award. it must be a difficult time for the heir to the throne. not only will he be worrying about catherine, his wife, but also now his father. yesterday, the king was pictured for the first time since his cancer diagnosis was announced, with the queen, being driven to buckingham palace. later, he was flown by helicopter to the

sandringham estate in norfolk, where he�*ll spend time following the start of his cancer treatment. while the king was in london yesterday, he saw his younger son harry, who had flown in from california. they spent around a5 minutes together. the last time harry saw his father in person was at the coronation last year. there are no plans, though, for a meeting between harry and his brother william, whose relationship remains strained. while the king undergoes treatment for cancer, other members of the royal family — including prince william and princess anne — will need to step in and take on public duties on his behalf. the family will be supporting the king both publicly and privately, as he gets through his treatment. helena wilkinson, bbc news, windsor. with me is royal biographer and historian, catherine pepinster.

we have prince william back performing royal duties and as the king stepped back the major royals have to step up. king stepped back the ma'or royals have to step nth king stepped back the ma'or royals have to step uph have to step up. that's right. there are two things _ have to step up. that's right. there are two things going _ have to step up. that's right. there are two things going on _ have to step up. that's right. there are two things going on at - have to step up. that's right. there are two things going on at the - are two things going on at the moment. we have a group of members of the royal family who will go out and see the public, perhaps open a health centre, visit the charity, those kinds of roles. but then we have the important work that the king does that is more to do with the constitution and his role as head of state and some of those same members of the royal family will perform duties if necessary because they are called councillors of state. this all depends on how ill the king is and also how unwell he might feeljust the king is and also how unwell he might feel just because the king is and also how unwell he might feeljust because of the king is and also how unwell he might feel just because of the treatment. it

might feel 'ust because of the treatment.— might feel 'ust because of the treatment. , , ., treatment. it is interesting that in the last coople — treatment. it is interesting that in the last couple of— treatment. it is interesting that in the last couple of hours _ treatment. it is interesting that in the last couple of hours we - treatment. it is interesting that in the last couple of hours we have i the last couple of hours we have learned that the king will actually have his weekly audience with rishi sunak not in person but on the phone. sunak not in person but on the hone. , , sunak not in person but on the phone, , . ., , , sunak not in person but on the hone. , , , ., phone. yes. i can see why that might be happening- _ phone. yes. i can see why that might be happening. when _ phone. yes. i can see why that might be happening. when you _ phone. yes. i can see why that might be happening. when you have - phone. yes. i can see why that might be happening. when you have cancer| be happening. when you have cancer your immune system can be weakened so you don�*t want to spend lots of time with lots of people in case there is infection. i can see why he would want to still conduct certain functions as head of state but he wants to be careful about his own health. so talking to the prime minister on the phone would be helpful rather than in person. the royal family got very used to all this during lockdown, conducting things and making their roles continue but using technology to do so. we continue but using technology to do so. ~ ., ~' continue but using technology to do so. ~ . ~ , , ., so. we were talking 'ust before we came to the _ so. we were talking just before we came to the interview— so. we were talking just before we came to the interview and - so. we were talking just before we came to the interview and as - so. we were talking just before we came to the interview and as welll so. we were talking just before we i came to the interview and as well as

talking about councillors estate who made the point of a privy council and some of that work behind—the—scenes that involves looking and he will continue with that. , �* .., looking and he will continue with that. , �* .. ., that. yes he will. but he can have helt. we that. yes he will. but he can have help- we think— that. yes he will. but he can have help. we think of _ that. yes he will. but he can have help. we think of the _ that. yes he will. but he can have help. we think of the monarch . that. yes he will. but he can have help. we think of the monarch as| help. we think of the monarch as being somebody who we see in public, attending major events. at the role is very important in terms of our constitution as well that is what the king will be concerned about. he needs to continue with that. the the king will be concerned about. he needs to continue with that.- needs to continue with that. a quick word on the — needs to continue with that. a quick word on the councillors _ needs to continue with that. a quick word on the councillors estate - needs to continue with that. a quick word on the councillors estate they| word on the councillors estate they have not been triggered or appointed. just briefly explain what that role is. the appointed. just briefly explain what that role is. _, . ., , appointed. just briefly explain what that role is. . that role is. the councillors estate consists of — that role is. the councillors estate consists of the _ that role is. the councillors estate consists of the spouse _ that role is. the councillors estate consists of the spouse of - that role is. the councillors estate consists of the spouse of the - consists of the spouse of the monarch and the four people who are in the line of succession were over the age of 21. so clearly not prince george for example and his siblings.

they are there to step in for the king, perhaps made a new ambassador or sign some documents. the difficulty was that two of those people who met that criteria with prince andrew at the duke of york and prince harry who are not working royals any more. so we had an act of parliament that went through that brought in princess anne and prince edward. so they will be able to do that work as well. that edward. so they will be able to do that work as well.— edward. so they will be able to do that work as well. that hasn't been trit tered that work as well. that hasn't been triggered yet- _ that work as well. that hasn't been triggered yet. thank _ that work as well. that hasn't been triggered yet. thank you _ that work as well. that hasn't been triggered yet. thank you so - that work as well. that hasn't been triggered yet. thank you so much. | triggered yet. thank you so much. catherine mentioning prince harry they and we understand he is now back at heathrow airport. we saw him flying yesterday and he is about to flying yesterday and he is about to fly back out to los angeles. plenty more on the live page. you are watching bbc news.

hello. well, yes, there is some snow in the forecast, but it�*s not going to be particularly widespread. having said that, where it does fall, it could end up being quite heavy. on the one hand, we have mild weather and weather systems coming in from the south. on the other, colder air from the arctic is spreading into scotland right now. so it�*s a chilly, bright picture here through the rest of the day. some snow showers across the highlands, but still relatively mild with some damp weather across the south of the country. and here�*s that big low that�*s approaching us with its rain bearing clouds. you can see all of that rain spreading towards the uk. so we�*ve got cold air in the north coming in from the arctic, milder air spreading in from the south. it�*s where these two air masses meet. well, that�*s where we�*re going to have that period of rain, sleet and snow, really icy conditions maybe in some areas from northern wales into the pennines. you can see how big that temperature contrast is as well. so from morning onwards it�*s across the north of wales, mainly around the pennines as well. there will be quite a broad area

where we could have some rain, sleet and snow. sleet and snow in this area is certainly possible snow showers in scotland, but i think it�*s more likely to be heavy rain in the south of the country. so these are the lower risk yellow warnings from the met office and if we zoom into the amber warnings which have been issued. so this is for northern wales and also the pennines. well, i think broadly speaking, quite widespread, 10 to 15 centimetres of snow possible. but in some of the higher routes, the exposed higher elevations could be 20 to 25 centimeters. so really troublesome conditions i think in these areas. and then through the course of thursday, that rough weather, that wintry weather moves further northward. so that low pressure is still very much with us on friday. but i think the milder air winds and it spreads across the bulk of the country, some wintry mess for sure, i think, across the highlands on friday. but if we have a look at the temperatures, you can see it�*s much too mild for snow by friday.

it�*s nine degrees in liverpool, above average across the south of the country. and if you look at the outlook over the next few days, yes, briefly, i think turning cold across some parts of the uk, but on the whole it�*s still that west south—westerly. that�*s it for me. bye bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines... at least 27 are killed as two explosions hit pakistan�*s baluchistan province — on the eve of the general election. israel continous its offensive in gaza as negotiations on a ceasefire continue. we will speak to a representative from the world food programme, who recently returned from gaza. ukraine has come under drone and missile attacks from russia — as the eu 5 chief diplomat, josep borrell, visits kyiv. we have teams with reports from the us about the opioid crisis. we look at some of the beautiful images from the �*wildlife photographer of the year�* competition — and talk to the organisers. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here�*s chetan.