we'll speak live to dr aurelie godard from doctors without borders — who's just returned from rafah. under who's just returned from rafah. pressure, under who'sjust returned from rafah. pressure, the lab( leader under pressure, the labour party leader in the uk is criticised over the handling of this by—election candidate. it the handling of this by-election candidate. , ., ., . , ., the handling of this by-election candidate. ., . , ., ., candidate. it is a tough decision, a necessary decision _ candidate. it is a tough decision, a necessary decision that _ candidate. it is a tough decision, a necessary decision that when - candidate. it is a tough decision, a necessary decision that when i - candidate. it is a tough decision, a necessary decision that when i say j necessary decision that when i say the later part —— labour party has changed under my leadership, i mean it. police in delhi fire tear gas on indian farmers marching towards the capital — as they protest for better prices for their crops and a world's first. scientists say a roman egg, discovered in britain, still has its liquid contents. hello, i'm matthew amroliwala,

welcome to verified live, hamas has warned there could be "tens of thousands" of casualties in rafah if israel does launch a ground—offensive. the hamas—run health ministry says, more than 28,000 palestinians have been killed since the october the 7th attacks on israel. the hamas—run health ministry says, more than 28,000 palestinians have been killed since the october the 7th attacks on israel. more on rafah and the diplomatic efforts in a moment, but i want to start the programme with an incredible piece from our cllegues at bbc arabic. the palestinian journalist feras al adjrami spent the first month of the war following paramedics across northern gaza. the palestinian red crescent society says the demands can be relentless. a warning, their stories are distressing. he sobs.

sirens wail.

he sobs. and if you're in the uk you can

watch bbc arabic�*s full film gaza 101: emergency rescue on bbc iplayer now. in response to that report, the israel defense forces said "any claim that we intentionally target red crescent or medical workers is baseless and untrue. we act in accordance with international law and take feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm in our operations". we're joined now by dr aurelie godard, head of medical activites for doctors without borders. she has recently returned from a stint in rafah. kiefer being here with us live on the programme. i mentioned you are just back from rafah, give me an idea of the sorts of things you saw that remain with you.— idea of the sorts of things you saw that remain with you. thank you for the interview. _ that remain with you. thank you for the interview. i _ that remain with you. thank you for

the interview. i have _ that remain with you. thank you for the interview. i havejust _ that remain with you. thank you for the interview. i have just spent - the interview. i havejust spent five weeks in gaza, mainly based in rafah and rafah is, as described in the media, overcrowded. 1.3, 1.4 million people out there sheltering in very basic tents, makeshift tents. it is wintertime there so it is cold and rainy. they have very poor living conditions, they do not have access to water or access to food. the sewage, the garbage, this town is a small town, so it grew massively over the last weeks and months, so rafah itself is unable to cope with that influx of patients and people, not only patients. the infrastructure is overwhelmed because it is not tailored for this amount of patients, so the situation in rafah is extremely dire and

especially over the last days, staff and patients were terrorised, terrified by what could happen with this invasion. they were extremely worried. they are exhausted from the last few months, they have been pushed back already. they are cornered in the last piece of land and they do not what is going to happen next. i and they do not what is going to happen next-— and they do not what is going to happen next. i heard one woman esterda happen next. i heard one woman yesterday on _ happen next. i heard one woman yesterday on the _ happen next. i heard one woman yesterday on the radio _ happen next. i heard one woman yesterday on the radio saying - happen next. i heard one woman| yesterday on the radio saying she was simply waiting to die given everything that was happening around there. president biden talks of a plan to protect civilians, benjamin netanyahu is talking about an evacuation. can either actually be possible? it evacuation. can either actually be ossible? , , ' . evacuation. can either actually be ossible? , , , . ., possible? it is very difficult to say because _ possible? it is very difficult to say because the _ possible? it is very difficult to say because the level - possible? it is very difficult to say because the level of - possible? it is very difficult to - say because the level of destruction in gaza is gigantic, so everything has been destroyed. people do not have anywhere to go back and it is 1.5 million, so you do not move 1.5

million people at once. it is impossible to see it done safely over a short period of time with basic safety ensured for all the people. again, and rafah, where the conditions are extremely difficult, it is still better than anywhere else, so i can't really imagine these people been pushed back to where, with whom, how will they get access to food and water? it seems impossible and that is why they are so terrified. it doesn't seem realistic. i heard an israeli spokesman on the yesterday saying again that there was the safe area, but of course various agencies have said the infrastructure isn't there. the un humanitarian office has said they have not received any rafah evacuation plan from israel and

would not participate in any forced evacuation. is that the same in policy terms with nsf? so evacuation. is that the same in policy terms with nsf?- evacuation. is that the same in policy terms with nsf? so far we are caettin policy terms with nsf? so far we are getting ready — policy terms with nsf? so far we are getting ready for _ policy terms with nsf? so far we are getting ready for everything. - policy terms with nsf? so far we are getting ready for everything. we - getting ready for everything. we unfortunately already evacuated several of our health structures, so we will try to maintain our activity as much and as long as possible, keeping in mind are patient and staff safety. we were is coming up the next days, it has been extremely difficult to put any humanitarian aid in ways the beginning of the war, so we will see what happens. most of the humanitarian aid is around, not in rafah, so all these activities will definitively be challenged if there is a ground invasion into rafah, definitely. thank you for sticking to us live on

the programme. —— speaking to us. the foreign ministers of germany and norway are the latest to have added their voices to the chorus of concern over the potential risk to more than a million palestinians currently taking refuge in rafah. barbara plett usher reports. palestinians are on the move again. they went south to rafah to escape israel's war against hamas. more than a million took shelter there. now some are heading back north. afraid that their safe zone is no longer safe. this woman doesn't know what she'll find when she pitches her tent. "but there's been a lot of bombing in rafah", she says. air strikes launched two nights ago, killed dozens of palestinians. the intense bombardment was part of an operation to rescue israeli hostages, a boost

for israel and they want more. translation: there will be more operations. and in my opinion, the day is not far. there will be more operations. but the prime minister is also talking about sending troops into rafah, expanding the ground war to finish off hamas. he's promised a plan to evacuate all the civilians who've crowded into the city. but the united nations says that's not feasible. forced displacement is what they call it. you can't send people back to areas that is littered with unexploded ordinance, not to mention a lack of shelter. jordan's king was the latest arab leader to appeal for us help to end the conflict. president biden has not backed down from his support for israel's war aims, but he is pressing hard for a pause in the fighting. as the king and i discussed today, the united states is working on a hostage deal between israel

and hamas, which would bring an immediate and sustained period of calm and good to gaza for at least six weeks, which we could then take the time to build something more enduring. israel's allies warn of a catastrophe if it takes its ground offensive into rafah and keep pushing for a cease fire. just the latest line coming in from the un secretary saying he hopes talks on a pause in the israel hamas work will be successful. the israeli offensive in rafah can be avoided and do not have devastating consequences. the latest voice in trying to get israel's prime minister to press pause on the ground offensive, just coming in from the un. let's turn to an important story that has exploded over the last 24 hours here in the

uk. the opposition labour party is facing criticism for being too slow in withdrawing support for rochdale by—election candidate, azhar ali, after it emerged he had made derrogatory comments about isreal in a party meeting. the conservatives say it shows labour �*is unfit for government'. labour says that sir keir starmer took a �*swift decision' in withdrawing backing for mr ali. 0ur political correspondent pete saull has the story. this is azhar ali. he was until recently widely expected to become the next labour mp for rochdale. the by—election was thought to be a slam dunk for labour. but his comments about what happened here in 0ctober prompted fury. he told a meeting that israel had allowed the hamas attacks that killed more than 1,200 people and sparked the current conflict. a fulsome apology followed and labour was standing by its man. that was until a recording apparently from the same meeting emerged. in it he discusses the treatment of the mp

andy mcdonald who was suspended by labour for an alleged anti—semitic remark. that was the final straw and labour have now withdrawn their support. those comments were appalling and that is why we took decisive action. it is virtually unprecedented to withdraw support for a candidate in the way that i withdrew support for this candidate yesterday. that's what a changed labour party is all about. he has been out campaigning ahead of another by—election in wellingborough on thursday, but many in the party are questioning sir keir starmer�*sjudgment. was the candidate properly vetted? why didn't the leader act after the first comments came to light? this is a problem that labour has to take seriously about tackling different forms of racism within the party

and take it seriously, not just use it as a weapon. when voters here in rochdale get their ballot papers, azhar ali's name will still appear next to the red rose of labour. it's too late to make a change. he could still win and become an independent mp. but this by—election is now very difficult to predict. the veteran left—wing campaigner george galloway is standing here, as is simon danczuk, himself a former labour mp, now under the banner of reform uk. and the conservatives too are hoping to capitalise on labour's woes. the labour party have got a real problem here and it's demonstrating they are not fit for government, they haven't changed and they should not be voted on when the election comes later in the year. there are just over two weeks to go until the by—election and all of a sudden there is everything to play for, and for the man who hopes to be prime minister by the end of the year, it's a mess he could do without. let's speak to

marc levy, chief executive of the jewish representative council for greater manchester. welcome to the programme. your reaction to what azhar ali said because you work with him in the same room only in the last week or so, weren't you? same room only in the last week or so. weren't you?— so, weren't you? good afternoon. thank you — so, weren't you? good afternoon. thank you for— so, weren't you? good afternoon. thank you for having _ so, weren't you? good afternoon. thank you for having me. - so, weren't you? good afternoon. thank you for having me. yes, . so, weren't you? good afternoon. | thank you for having me. yes, you are right. we were shocked by the comments by mr ari because as you rightly say, my chair and i set across the table from the individual around 48 hours prior to making the shocking and appalling conspiracy theories. and the individual has a long track record of being moderate, sensible, combating extremism and anti—semitism, and we had a fantastic discussion where we focused on bringing communities together, something he has been

passionate about for a long time. so when you talk about the comments that have been made, we have been left completely shocked that someone who seemed so sensible and had these in keeping with our own, could engage in such disgusting and acidic tropes. —— anti—semitic tropes. 1sphere tropes. -- anti-semitic tropes. were ou tropes. -- anti-semitic tropes. were you surprised — tropes. -- anti-semitic tropes. were you surprised when _ tropes. -- anti-semitic tropes. were you surprised when labour, - tropes. —— anti—semitic tropes. were you surprised when labour, after it emerged he made those comments, said that israel that 0ctober emerged he made those comments, said that israel that october the 7th happen so they could do whatever they wanted, after that became public, are you surprised labour at that point didn't simply ditch him as a candidate? it that point didn't simply ditch him as a candidate?— as a candidate? it was a very difficult decision _ as a candidate? it was a very difficult decision for - as a candidate? it was a very difficult decision for the - as a candidate? it was a very l difficult decision for the labour party, as you stated in your report. this is rather unprecedented to not have a candidate standing in a by—election, but what is clear is that they have come to the right decision and accepted that the candidate's position became untenable. the jewish

candidate's position became untenable. thejewish community... untenable. the jewish community... was untenable. thejewish community... was not untenable after... you talked about the shock and horrifying detail of that initial comment, was his position untenable from the moment that became public, let alone what was said in addition to that, that became public in the last 12—18 hours? to that, that became public in the iast12-18 hours?— iast12-18 hours? obviously the sto was iast12-18 hours? obviously the story was moving _ iast12-18 hours? obviously the story was moving very - iast12-18 hours? obviously the story was moving very quickly l iast12-18 hours? obviously the i story was moving very quickly and the individual made an apology, but it is my view that when someone has made overtly and transparently anti—semitic comments, it is very difficult to expect people to vote for him in a by—election and become a member of parliament here in the uk. it is further computed by the fact that the person who will probably benefit the most from his withdrawal is george galloway, who has a history of creating divisive difficult politics wherever he has stood, and we are concerned about a narrative of this being pushed in rochdale by him and his supporters,

where they are merely seeking to focus solely on the context and the middle east. focus solely on the context and the middle east-— middle east. really briefly, keir starmer has _ middle east. really briefly, keir starmer has worked _ middle east. really briefly, keir starmer has worked hard - middle east. really briefly, keir starmer has worked hard to - middle east. really briefly, keir. starmer has worked hard to purge middle east. really briefly, keir- starmer has worked hard to purge the party of anti—semitism. how much of a setback do you think this is? like we sa , a setback do you think this is? like we say. we — a setback do you think this is? l age: we say, we expect zero a setback do you think this is? l 12 we say, we expect zero tolerance a setback do you think this is? l «12 we say, we expect zero tolerance on anti—semitism. we have to give credit to keir starmer for the way he has engaged with thejewish community, this is not the labour party that was found to be institutionally anti—semitic under jeremy corbyn. good progress has been made and credit has to be given. been made and credit has to be liven. ~ 1, been made and credit has to be liven. ~ ., ., ., given. we have to leave it there, thank you _ given. we have to leave it there, thank you so _ given. we have to leave it there, thank you so much _ given. we have to leave it there, thank you so much for— given. we have to leave it there, thank you so much for your - given. we have to leave it there, | thank you so much for your time. given. we have to leave it there, - thank you so much for your time. i'm going to put onto the screen the full list of the candidates taking part in that by—election, and the by—election is on the 29th of february. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news here in the uk.

the trial has started of a man accused of murdering pc sharon beshenivsky in 2005. the 38—year—old officer died after she was shot while she and a colleague responded to reports of a robbery in bradford. 75—year—old piran ditta khan, who was extradited from pakistan last year, denies all the offences. official figures show that the rate at which wages are rising dropped in the three months to december, but it still outpaced the level of inflation. the office for national statistics said wage growth dropped by 0.4 percentage points to 6.2% in the last quarter of last year. a man has astonished police by calling 999 to report himself for drink—driving. north yorkshire police said the call came injust before noon on monday from a man who said he was "drink—driving and doesn't know what he is doing". the driver told the call—handler he was in knaresborough and had had "a heavy weekend". you're live with bbc news.

last—minute talks to prevent a major planned protest by indian farmers in delhi have ended without a breakthrough. farmers' union officials complained that government ministers failed to take their demands of more state support seriously. the authorities in delhi have banned large public gatherings for a month, fired tear gas and erected huge concrete barricades to prevent the farmers from reaching the capital. they want to prevent a repeat of demonstrations which ended just over two years ago after months of severe disruption. let's speak to dr mukulika banerjee, professor of anthropology at the london school of economics and author of why india votes'. thank you for being on the programme. in terms of that farming vote first of all, how important is that in india?—

vote first of all, how important is that in india? the farmers are two thirds of the _ that in india? the farmers are two thirds of the population _ that in india? the farmers are two thirds of the population of- that in india? the farmers are two thirds of the population of india, | thirds of the population of india, two thirds of the population of india is rural. a large part of that economy is farming and agriculture, so we are talking about nearly 800 million people, so this is a huge part of the electorate who are going to play a very important role in the coming elections because as research has shown, mine and others, poor disadvantaged people vote equally enthusiastically in india as the elite d. i enthusiastically in india as the elite d. 1 enthusiastically in india as the elite d. . ., , elite d. i reference the last time this happened. _ elite d. i reference the last time this happened, a _ elite d. i reference the last time this happened, a couple - elite d. i reference the last time this happened, a couple of - elite d. i reference the last timej this happened, a couple of years ago. at that stage they wanted to get made of the various agriculture reforms. what is at the heart of this dispute? —— get rid of the various reforms. it this dispute? -- get rid of the various reforms.— various reforms. it has a clear message- _ various reforms. it has a clear message- they _ various reforms. it has a clear message. they want - various reforms. it has a clear message. they want what - various reforms. it has a clear| message. they want what was various reforms. it has a clear- message. they want what was agreed at the end of the climb—down by the government at the last protest from 2020-21, which

government at the last protest from 2020—21, which lasted over a year, 383 days. when the government conceded that they had, that they were going to withdraw these three new laws which have been brought in without any consultation with farmers unions, but they had agreed to introduce what the farmers had been asking for four decades, which is called the minimum support price, first 23 cups in india covering most of the cereals, pulses and oilseeds. this was a demand, this has always been a demand and they said they would do this, but heck it has been nearly two years since july 2020. the committee has been formed and they have been saying they have tried to be more transparent and to make effective, but they haven't got any worse of the farmers are asking for that, a legal guarantee this time, not lip service, not

platitudes, but actually some sort of new legislation that introduces an sp. , 1, 1, of new legislation that introduces an sp. , ., ., ., , an sp. given how long the last disute an sp. given how long the last dispute went _ an sp. given how long the last dispute went on _ an sp. given how long the last dispute went on for, _ an sp. given how long the last dispute went on for, it - an sp. given how long the last dispute went on for, it was - an sp. given how long the last. dispute went on for, it was nearly an sp. given how long the last- dispute went on for, it was nearly a year, it was right there in the heart of the capital, people camped out, do you think pragmatically, we are in a general election year, there will be some sort of compromise?— there will be some sort of comromise? 1, , ., compromise? two very important thins are compromise? two very important things are happening _ compromise? two very important things are happening at _ compromise? two very important things are happening at the - compromise? two very important i things are happening at the moment apart from the protests. today, one is that on the 16th of february which is a couple of days away, on friday, there is a much, much larger strike that has been called, it is an all india national village strike and it is a huge part of the population. 10 million people are expected to participate, it is probably going to happen in all the states of india and basically the entire rural economy, where the entire rural economy, where the entire rural economy, whether

government, non—government, agriculture, other industries have decided to put down tools from sexy to —— 6am to 4pm on friday. that is huge news. the main opposition party has in fact announced that if they came to power, they would in fact guarantee it. i came to power, they would in fact guarantee it— guarantee it. i will have to cut across you _ guarantee it. i will have to cut across you because _ guarantee it. i will have to cut across you because we - guarantee it. i will have to cut across you because we are - guarantee it. i will have to cut - across you because we are simply out of time. thank you for your time and forjoining us here. i am back with more headlines here injust a moment. hello there. good afternoon. a very different—looking day of weather today for much of england and wales than we saw yesterday. gone are those blue skies. instead, the daffodils languishing underneath rather grey leaden skies. but still the sunshine continues across much of scotland today and indeed the far north of northern ireland too. and here is the weather front responsible for the change in our weather. it's a warm front, it's moving

further northwards and eastwards as we head through the rest of the afternoon across england and wales. and it's bringing with it some milderfeeling air, but lots of thickening cloud, coastal fog and some showery outbreaks of rain on and off for the rest of the day with brisk south—westerly winds. but still some sunshine for much of northern ireland and from the borders north with some wintry showers still perhaps across the higher ground of western scotland. and overnight tonight, well, our weather front continues to push further northward, sending more cloud into northern ireland and perhaps into southern scotland, too. a sharp temperature contrast overnight tonight with temperatures for some in the sheltered glens of scotland down as low as minus six celsius, but double figures further south across much of england and wales. again, the showery outbreaks of rain likely to continue and a few more weather fronts around on wednesday again, all pushing northwards and eastwards. there'll be some heavy rain for a time across northern ireland and into southern scotland. as that rain moves further north and bumps into the colder feeling air over the higher ground

of scotland it's likely that it could turn to snow. there'll also be more rain across the south of england and wales, but in between maybe a few brighter spells and any brightness will help to lift the temperature to 14 or 15 celsius. again, brisk south—westerly winds for some. more weather fronts around on thursday. this warm front introducing some very mild feeling air and if we do get any brightness across the south east of england through the day on thursday, temperatures here could rise as high as 16 or 17 celsius. most of the rain on thursday will tend to be towards the north and the west. again, there will be some heavy downpours at times, temperatures well above the seasonal average and starting to rise, too, across the far north of scotland as that rain continues to push further northwards. on friday, that rain is mostly pushed out towards the east. there'll be plenty of cloud around, some outbreaks of drizzle here and there. the best of any brightness really on friday will tend to be to the south and the west. again, temperatures mild for the time of year. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines... to the house of lords where the foreign secretary is as ring questions. let's have a listen. about what happened to hind and rescuers, and is the uk government

talking about the risks to children and rafah with the israeli offensive?— and rafah with the israeli offensive? ,, , , ., , offensive? surely it is time to stop all arms shipments _ offensive? surely it is time to stop all arms shipments to _ offensive? surely it is time to stop all arms shipments to israel- offensive? surely it is time to stop all arms shipments to israel as - offensive? surely it is time to stop all arms shipments to israel as a l all arms shipments to israel as a dutch court has demanded that state do and implement targeted sanctions against members of the israeli leadership, particularly those calling for new settlements in gaza and on the west bank. i calling for new settlements in gaza and on the west bank.— and on the west bank. i thank the lady commission _ and on the west bank. i thank the lady commission after _ and on the west bank. i thank the lady commission after number - lady commission after number questions. the cake she raises is completely tragic in what is happening and as it is tragic, we want to see an end to this killing. let me make this point, the pores we are calling for, we want to turn into a ceasefire by making sure that the conditions are right for getting a stop in the fighting to mean a permanent ceasefire. the way you do thatis permanent ceasefire. the way you do that is fulfilling a number of conditions, you have got to get enough our view the hamas leaders out or any ceasefire won't last because the problem will still be there. you have to dismantle the operation of terrorist attacks. you

have to have a new palestinian authority government in place,