of its parliamentary candidates. the extraordinary work of the medics in gaza — one paramedic tells us his story. how villagers in warwickshire are fighting back against fly—tippers. .. and five years since the devastating fire at notre dame in paris, the scaffolding is finally coming down. on at newsnight at 10:30... tonight, the tension over a coming israeli offensive in gaza increases as the un warns it could lead to a slaughter. we'll have the latest on the peace talks. good evening. one of the best known and most loved voices on british radio — steve wright — has died suddenly at the age of 69.

he broadcast on bbc radioi and radio 2 for more than four decades — famous for his daily show steve wright in the afternoon, which was listened to by millions. messages have been pouring in to the bbc since the news broke this afternoon from listeners and colleagues in tribute to the man they call one of the all time greats. david sillito looks back at his life. steve wright! # steve wright in the afternoon. # all right, now, just after 2.00. now today, have we got a lot of stuff for you! steve wright in the afternoon, a programme that spanned more than a0 years of radio history. standby studios, action! it was only over a year ago that it came to an end, but this afternoon, radio 2 was the bearer of some sad news. it's really hard to know - what to say about the news of steve wright's passing, except we are all - absolutely devastated. it is a shock. it was only days ago, listeners heard this sign off from his sunday love songs.

and i'm back for more love songs next sunday. are you a milkman? 0h, great! and for those who've worked with him over his years at radios i and 2, he was more than just another dj. from my personal experience, he was a very warm, genuine man who was concerned about the people he worked with. but an extraordinarily creative presenter. i mean, he was a real one—off. there was no—one else who sounded like steve wright. a lot of us tried to be as good as steve wright but no—one, no—one was that good. # steve wright...# that style, the posse, mr angry, voice—over man, it was zany, funny and at its peak, it had 7 million listeners a day. and the bride is 107. all: yes, yes, yes! i think it was just because it was something different. it was slightly subversive. there was a little bit of satire in there and it wasn't like, "there you go, that's the great sound of..."

behind the laughter with the radio perfectionist. this cacophony of sound that was his show was so, so full of life. - i think that's why we're all finding it so hard, . because we can't believe that that life has gone _ hello, good evening and welcome to top of the pops. he did present top of the pops and a few tv shows but his real home, and where he shone, was behind the microphone. steve wright — professional, slick, funny, a master of the art of radio. steve wright who has died at the age of 69. a second labour parliamentary candidate has been suspended from the party pending an investigation. the suspension of graham jones, a former mp and now the prospective parliamentary candidate for hyndburn in lancashire, comes after labour withdrew support for the party s rochdale by—election candidate for antisemitic remarks. here's our chief politcial correspondent, henry zeffman.

a year ago this week, labour out of special measures imposed by the equalities watchdog over its failure to tackle anti—semitism allegations. a moment of qualified progress. i don't see today's announcement as the end of the road, i see it as a signpost that we are heading in the right direction. fir signpost that we are heading in the right direction.— right direction. or are they? this is azhar ali, _ right direction. or are they? this is azhar ali, labour's _ right direction. or are they? this is azhar ali, labour's candidate l right direction. or are they? this | is azhar ali, labour's candidate in the rochdale by—election, now disowned because of anti—semitic comments he made at a meeting in lancashire in october after defending a labour mp's remarks about israel. also present at that meeting with graham jones, the candidate and former mp for hyndburn. although probably not the candidate for much longer. he was suspended today over anti—israel comments he is alleged to have made at the meeting. at the

heart of this story is a question. does the fact that labour suspended mr ali mrjones show the party has changed? 0r mr ali mrjones show the party has changed? or does the fact that they made the comments on the birthplace show that it hasn't? i made the comments on the birthplace show that it hasn't?— show that it hasn't? i think keir starmer has — show that it hasn't? i think keir starmer has been _ show that it hasn't? i think keir starmer has been taking - show that it hasn't? i think keir starmer has been taking the i show that it hasn't? i think keir. starmer has been taking the public for falls. starmer has been taking the public forfalls. he has supported and promoted a candidate who has expressed the most atrocious racism againstjewish people and he hasn't acted out at some sort of principle, he acted out of really political expediency now. 5ir he acted out of really political expediency now.— he acted out of really political expediency now. he acted out of really political exedien now. . ,, . ., expediency now. sir keir starmer on the other hand, _ expediency now. sir keir starmer on the other hand, adamant _ expediency now. sir keir starmer on the other hand, adamant he - expediency now. sir keir starmer on the other hand, adamant he had - expediency now. sir keir starmer on i the other hand, adamant he had made a bold but necessary call. it is the other hand, adamant he had made a bold but necessary call.— a bold but necessary call. it is a hue a bold but necessary call. it is a huge thing _ a bold but necessary call. it is a huge thing to — a bold but necessary call. it is a huge thing to withdraw - a bold but necessary call. it is a huge thing to withdraw support| a bold but necessary call. it is a i huge thing to withdraw support for a bold but necessary call. it is a - huge thing to withdraw support for a labour_ huge thing to withdraw support for a labour candidate during the course of a by—election. it is a tough decision, _ of a by—election. it is a tough decision, a _ of a by—election. it is a tough decision, a necessary decision but when _ decision, a necessary decision but when i _ decision, a necessary decision but when i say— decision, a necessary decision but when i say the labour party has changed — when i say the labour party has changed under my leadership, i mean it. i there it. - there is a it. — there is a peculiar it. there is a peculiar by—election on the horizon in rochdale and questions to come about selecting

candidates elsewhere. but the political risk labour are battling to contain is that this episode could bubble over into a general election issue. and henry is with me. how much of a problem is this for the labour leader and his party? there is real frustration at the top of the labour party tonight. some of the messages on my phone from members of this shadow cabinet are not fit to be read out on air. there are issues of process and substance that they believe this has revealed and bear in mind, it comes a week after a u—turn on labour�*s green policy which followed months and months of speculation about that policy. but politics can be a topsy—turvy world. i talked about the rochdale by—election coming at the rochdale by—election coming at the end of the month but at the end of this week, two by—elections where labour are very optimistic about overturning two stonking conservative majority is a nationally, labour still has a big lead in the opinion polls. but even in that context, there are suggestions in the labour party that this episode does reveal issues of

substance of process that they need to sort out. , zeffman, thank you. the rochdale by—election will take place on the 29th of february. here is the full list of candidates who are standing. since the start of the conflict in gaza, at least 339 health workers and paramedics have been killed while trying to save the lives of others. that's according to the health ministry which is run by hamas — designated a terrorist organisation by the uk government. the israel defence forces told the bbc that "any claim that they intentionally target red crescent or medical workers is baseless and untrue and that they act in accordance with international law." during the first six weeks of the war, a journalist who lives in gaza called feras al—aj—rami started filming for bbc arabic and he captured the lives of paramedics working for the palestinian red crescent in the north of gaza. one of them is alaa al halaby,

who's worked as a paramedic for the last eight years. this is his account of life in gaza. just to warn you, there are very distressing scenes throughout this report. explosions. sirens blare. people speak.

baby cries.

people shout. munitions explode. people shout.

well, just so you know, the team in the ambulance there did survive. alaa now works in rafah and mohamed has stayed in the north of gaza. you can watch bbc arabic�*s film, gaza 101: emergency rescue, on the bbc iplayer. it is there now. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is with me. lyse, that was really hard to watch. talks on a truce continued today — what chance is there that these

talks are successful? iam sure i am sure all of our viewers are saying so hard to watch, even harder to imagine what it is like to live and work in gaza now. this is what we saw, one of the main reasons the us, the uk and many others are pushing so hard for progress in these truce talks in cairo, which would involve a truce as well as the release of the last hostages held in the gaza strip, about 130, in exchange for a certain number of palestinian prisoners. the word from cairo tonight is that the talks today made some progress. they involve the us, the egyptians, the american spy chiefs, the qatari prime minister but the gaps between what israel wants and what hamas wants a wide. hamas wants to see an end to the war. israel's prime minister benjamin nitin iyo says the war won't end until what he calls total victory. that is why his main priority seems to be not truce talks

but a military operation in the last town in gaza, where israeli forces still haven't operated, rafa, now home to 1.4 million gazans, most of them displaced time and again over them displaced time and again over the last several months of war, living in tents and that plan is ringing alarm bells around the world, including here in london. many warning of a nightmare scenario, with so many people there. it will be much worse than we saw tonight and that is giving even more urgency to these truce talks. lyse doucet, thank _ urgency to these truce talks. lyse doucet, thank you. _ more than 100 women have been told that eggs and embryos they had frozen at a london hospital may have been damaged. some of them had had eggs harvested because they were being treated for cancer. the fertility regulator, the human fertilisation and embryology authority, is investigating. graham satchell is at guy's hospital.

what more can you tell us? this is absolutely devastating _ what more can you tell us? this is absolutely devastating news - what more can you tell us? this is absolutely devastating news for i what more can you tell us? this is| absolutely devastating news for the 136 women involved, many of whom as you say were having treatment for cancer. they had frozen their eggs in the hope of having children at some point in the future because of course, cancer treatment can lead to infertility. the timeline here is these women had their eggs frozen at these women had their eggs frozen at the end of 2022. then a few months later at the beginning of 2023, the regulator issued a warning about the fluid that was used in the test tubes to freeze the eggs, saying there was a problem with that fluid and the eggs may not survive. that warning was a year ago now and it is only in the last few weeks that the women here have been told anything about all of this. guy's hospital has apologised for that delay. they are saying that all the women affected have now been told and the regulator is also saying that there

is a possibility that there is faulty fluid could have been distributed to other fertility clinics across the country, although i should stress come at this stage, they are saying there is no indication that any other patients have been affected. the advice for women tonight who may be worried as to contact the clinic.— the body shop, one of the biggest names on the british high street for almost 50 years, has gone into administration putting up to 2,000 jobs at risk. the company was founded in a shop in brighton by anita roddick in 1976 making ethically produced cosmetics and skincare products. it was a trail blazer for so—called ethical consumerism. our business correspondent theo leggett reports. it's a fallen giant of the british high street. the body shop was once a favourite destination for teens and 20—somethings. it's now struggling to make money and the administrators have been called in. for 2,000 employees at 200 stores,

it's a worrying time, with closures and redundancies looking likely. the body shop has potentially lost its way a little bit in the last 15 years or so, and i think other brands have really started offering more. the body shop just hasn't stepped up to compete with those, and it's a really fiercely competitive market. the body shop was the brainchild of anita roddick and her husband, gordon. it made its name selling natural health and beauty products, with a heady dash of social activism thrown in. it became a worldwide chain, attracting attention from celebrities and even princess diana. but in 2006, the body shop was sold to the cosmetics giant l'oreal. some fans saw that as a sell—out. anita roddick died a year later and ever since, there have been claims the business has lost its magic. in its heyday the body shop was immensely popular among young people — as famous for its social activism and sustainability policies as for its products, like scented shampoos

and body butters. but the problem is that over the years it's lost some of that cachet, and competition has grown, which means young people can simply spend their money elsewhere. i remember it from my childhood. it is a bit nostalgic, but, yeah, maybe it's not moved with the times. the eco message is more widespread, and i don't think it's as strong here as it used to be. because it to be everything refillable, pretty much, years ago, so it doesn't feel like the same establishment at all. for the moment, the body shop stores are trading as normal. but experts say some closures and job losses are inevitable, as the once leading chain searches for a way to attract a new generation of young and savvy shoppers. theo leggett, bbc news. a man accused of murdering a police constable almost 20 years ago in bradford has gone on trial after he was extradited from pakistan last year. 38—year—old pc sharon beshenivsky was shot in 2005 during a robbery. the jury at leeds crown court has

been told that 75—year—old piran ditta khan was resposible, which he denies. danny savage reports. pc sharon beshenivsky, shot dead while on duty 18 years ago. she was killed during an armed robbery at a travel agent's in bradford. she died on the pavement outside. when sharon beshenivsky arrived here back in november 2005, the robbery was still ongoing. moments later, both she and her colleague were shot at close range. pc beshenivsky died — her colleague was seriously injured. their attackers fled. leeds crown court heard that seven men were involved in the robbery — three at the scene, four others as lookouts or waiting nearby. six were later arrested and convicted. the alleged seventh man went on trial today. piran ditta khan was described as being "pivotal" in planning the robbery. the jury were told the defendant was responsible for organising this robbery in the knowledge that loaded

firearms were to be carried. he'd previously used the travel agent's as a customer. the prosecution say he was the only one amongst the group that knew the location of the business and the interior of the premises in question. the travel agent's also handled money transfers. the defendant had previously used the business to send money to his brother in pakistan. on the day of the robbery he allegedly told his accomplices that there could be up to £100,000 in cash on the premises. mr khan was arrested injanuary 2020 in pakistan. he flew there two months after the murder. he was extradited to the uk last year. nearly two decades on, piran ditta khan is now 75—years—old. he denies murder and firearms offences. danny savage, bbc news, leeds. police in northern india have fired tear gas and water canon to prevent thousands of protesting

farmers from marching on delhi. they are demanding higher minimum prices for their crops. the capital is ringed by razor wire, cement blocks and fencing on three sides to keep protesters out. the government fears a repeat of the 2020 pharma protests, when dozens died. with big elections in the next 12 months both here and in the united states, there's plenty of concern about the way artificial intelligence and deepfakes could be abused and used to spread mistruths. in fact it has already happened. last year an ai—generated fake audio clip of the london mayor sadiq khan was shared hundreds of thousands of times online. the clip was so convincing that it sparked protests in the real world. our disinformation and social media correspondent marianna spring has tracked down the man who first posted the clip. she is here to tell us more. i've been investigating this case of deepfake audio. it's one of the first i've come across that's been linkedto real—world harm. it targeted the london mayor sadiq

khan and was intended to sound like a secret recording replicating his voice. the clip disparaged remembrance weekend and called for pro—palestinian marches to take precedence. i to take precedence. control the met police, they w do i control the met police, they will do as the mayor of london tells them, and obey orders. the timing explains why the clip went viral. whether or not a pro—palestinian march should take place on saturday 11th november, armistice day, was a source of political tension. the march went ahead in a different part of london but there were concerns. there were concerns the clip fanned tension at a counter—protest. police officers were injured, arrests were made. it generated a lot of headlines at the time. i tracked down the person who posted this deepfake. but the man behind this so—called news account refused a recorded interview so this is an actor speaking his words based

on my detailed notes from the conversation. i'm trying to reportjust real news. except for the fake clip of sadiq khan? ., , except for the fake clip of sadiq khan? . , , ., ., ., ~ khan? yeah, but it is not all fake clis. we khan? yeah, but it is not all fake clips- we post — khan? yeah, but it is not all fake clips. we post news _ khan? yeah, but it is not all fake clips. we post news that - khan? yeah, but it is not all fake clips. we post news that could i khan? yeah, but it is not all fake| clips. we post news that could be real, with a sense of humour. there is currently no criminal law which covers this kind of scenario. the malicious communications act does cover electronic information that is false, but you would have to prove the sender's purpose was to cause distress to the recipient. which is hard to do, and in this case the metropolitan police said the clip "does not constitute a criminal offence". just imagine in a different scenario, where there is more toxicity, orfor example in a close election, close referendum, times where there is disharmony in a community, the impact a deep fake audio, ayaar generated audio and video, could have.

and that will be the worry of some politicians as elections unfold across the world this year — how ai technology can be easily manipulated to spread something you never even said. sophie. and you can get more on that and other cases of extraordinary hate marianna has investigated in radio 4's why do you hate me podcast, available on bbc sounds, bbc iplayer and the bbc website. fly—tipping can blight people's lives and it costs the authorities around £100 million a year to clear up this kind of stuff that's been dumped around the uk. but now police in warwickshire have thanked a group of villagers for fighting back. adam beaty and his family took matters into their own hands when they saw two men dumping rubbish near the village of meriden. our midlands correspondent phil mackie has the story. even in the depths of a soggy winter, the view is spectacular. so this is the little lane that it happened, and we regularly get vans and vehicles coming up.

but as anyone who ventures into the countryside will tell you, there's a modern—day scourge that's blighting the landscape. and then we came down to this corner — i could see it from here. there were two large, vast amounts, and they're the pictures that have been shown. last week two men were caught dumping piles of debris out of two white vans along this lane. adam, his brother, his son and a neighbour were able to block them in, call the police and then force the fly—tippers to clean up their mess. the vehicles were confiscated. we made them clear the whole lot up. even going as far as to make them scrape all the paint up. we get fly—tipping at least once a week, of one sort or another — whether it be some individual bin bags or a transit van or transit pick—up load or indeed, lorry loads. there are well over a million reported cases in the uk every year. will dickinson's farm in hertfordshire is a favourite for fly—tippers.

cows m00. but like every landowner, he has to pay for the clean—up. as a victim of crime, we then are obliged — under law — to pay to rectify the crime. the government has to come down hard. at the moment they're sort of pussyfooting around the edges. what's the answer? we need to see fines significantly increased in this country, to a minimum of £5,000 for anyone caught fly—tipping plus six points on their licence. the problem, say campaigners, is the deterrent. usually a small fine isn't enough — often less than it would be to pay to properly dispose of the waste. wherever you get a quiet country lane like this that's not too far from a big town or city, then it becomes very easy, too much of a temptation, really, for people just to bring their rubbish and dump it here like they've done with this fridge today. absolutely disgusted. it makes me livid. and what's the solution to all of this? tougher measures on the perpetrators would be an absolute, really strong view of mine. just come down on them

really, really hard. no—one wants the countryside locked up, but keeping fly—tippers out is a constant worry. phil mackie, bbc news, warwickshire. the impact of climate change is causing polar bears to be at risk of starvation during arctic sea ice—free periods. a new study based on data from 20 polar bears shows they are being forced to find food on land and are struggling to cope with longer ice—free seasons. researchers used collar—mounted cameras and gps to track the movements and actions of the bears. on average they lost one kilogramme per day because they had to eat bird's eggs, berries and grass instead of their usual diet of ringed seals. football now, and manchester city continue their defence of the champions league title, beating fc copenhagen 3—1 beating fc copenhagen 3—1 in theirfirst leg tie. the return leg will be played next month.

katie gornall was watching. fc copenhagen have already seen off one team from manchester in the champions league this season. but city are an altogether different challenge and after ten minutes of one way traffic showed why kevin de bruyne hasn't played much this season. city are a better team with him in it. a winter break meant this was copenhagen's first game in over two months. bernardo silva had their heads spinning. it had the makings of a long night for the home side. give it away here by ederson until an opportunity came their way and they seized it in style. city were stunned, but not for long. one flick of silva's boot swung the momentum back in theirfavour. manchester city. back in front. after the break, city went searching for more, but found a man in a mask in superhero mode. but even he could only hold back the tide for so long. as phil foden struck with virtually the last kick of the game.

city now have one foot in the quarter final. stopping them from here will take something special. katie gornall, bbc news. this is the moment almost five years when the spire on notre dame cathedral in paris collapsed during that devastating fire. since then the cathedral has been obscured from view — covered in scaffolding as the restoration takes place. now some of the spire is finally visible again as hugh scofield reports from paris. it's like the beginning of the end. for the first time in five years the scaffolding on notre—dame is not going up but coming down, revealing, for now, just the very pinnacle of the new spire, surmounted by a cross and a statuette of a golden cock just like the one that disappeared in the blaze. translation: so, it's five years since i saw the fire. _ it was a terrible thing for france. when i open the window in the morning now, i can see the spire — it's beautiful, and much better than before. the spire is made of oak beams, and for the craftsmen and women

the last task before the scaffolding comes down is cladding the wood in lead, the soft metal malleable enough to show the beauty of what lies beneath. after this phase, it's the rest of the roof that will need to be covered, with new safety mechanisms to cut the risk of another fire. when they said after the fire that they would have the cathedral restored and operational again within five years, there was a great deal of scepticism. well, it's now 2024, and fair�*s fair, everything does seem on course for the planned opening in december. they're very aware here that the eyes notjust of france but of the world are on the cathedral — its resurrection a much—needed sign of hope. hugh schofield, bbc news, paris. time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz schafernaker. sophie, hello and a very good evening to you. a soggy picture behind me which sums up the forecast for the next few days, plenty of cloud and rain on the way. but for the next few days, plenty of cloud and rain on the way. but it is iioin to cloud and rain on the way. but it is going to be — cloud and rain on the way. but it is

going to be very — cloud and rain on the way. but it is going to be very mild, _ cloud and rain on the way. but it is going to be very mild, in _ cloud and rain on the way. but it is going to be very mild, in some - cloud and rain on the way. but it is i going to be very mild, in some parts of south—eastern britain temperatures could get up to 17 celsius, as a result of this mild air stream celsius, as a result of this mild airstream coming in celsius, as a result of this mild air stream coming in from the south—west. but it is not the case everywhere, in fact in scotland it has been exactly the opposite, very cold, clear skies tonight and early in the morning in the highlands temperatures could be as low as —8, whereas to the south of the weather front we have got temperatures around double figures in the south of england, may be seven for liverpool but here we have got these layers of cloud, rain and drizzle, and that is how the morning starts on wednesday. but notice that the weather front now drifts into southern and central parts of scotland with a bit of snow across the highlands, south of that it is a real mix of a day, thick cloud, glimmers of brightness from time to time, spells of rain, possibly heavy, but where the sun comes out it could get up to 14—15. a similar pattern on thursday but the rain will be in different places, impossible to predict, the apps are really going to struggle, i can tell

you that. temperatures,