and offending were missed. vladimir putin's warning to the west, moving nato troops into ukraine risks a nuclear war. translation: they need to finally understand - that we, too, have weapons. and they know that. i have just mentioned we too have weapons that can strike targets on their territory. the hamas—run health ministry in gaza has announced that more than 30,000 palestinians have been killed in the territory since israel began its military offensive in october. that number equates to about 1.3% of the 2.3 million population. in the latest violence dozens of palestinians are reported to have been killed while waiting for food aid at a roundabout in gaza city as israel continues its offensive against hamas.

the israeli army says it has no knowledge of shelling in the area. 0ur middle east correspondent yolande knell has the latest from jerusalem. we're hearing from the hamas—run health ministry that there were more than 80 people killed overnight in the gaza strip. most of those, actually, apparently waiting for aid in gaza city when witnesses there say that there was shelling by israeli tanks. and still an unclear picture about exactly what has happened there. but overall, now this really grim milestone has been passed, the health ministry in gaza is really the only official source of data that we have for casualty numbers. and it's the one that's relied on by the un and others. and it's saying that the majority of those who have been killed are women and children since the 7th of october. and also more than 70,000 people have been injured, as well. these figures rely on bodies being brought in to hospitals or seen by medical workers

so they can be properly registered. but actually, it's thought that real death toll is going to be much higher than this because there are several thousand people who are still considered as being missing in gaza, many of them buried under the rubble of buildings that have been hit by israeli air strikes. now, it's important to say that these figures do not differentiate between those who are civilians and those who are fighters with hamas or other groups in gaza. when we've asked the israeli military for comment here, it says that some 10,000 people, terrorists, are estimated to have been killed during their operations. and tell us about the latest progress on any moves towards a ceasefire. well, still in the background here, we have this big diplomatic effort going on to try to get a new longer—term truce agreed that would see more of the israeli hostages held by hamas in gaza freed

at the same time. and you have an israeli delegation, a hamas delegation who are in qatar. qatar, of course, are key mediators here. and the real hope has been that a new deal can be agreed in time for the islamic holy month of ramadan, which starts on about the 10th of march. there's a lot of us involvement here. president biden has spoken very optimistically about an agreement being in place by the start of next week. but the other parties involved have sounded much more cautious there, saying that there are still big gaps to be bridged. and i suppose one of the issues is if they do do an exchange of prisoners for hostages, the concern in israel is always who they let out as they saw that one of the people who they let out in a prisoner exchange before was someone who then went on to plan the october 7th attacks. indeed. so, it's often mentioned by israelis that the biggest prisoner exchange

that there ever was for an israeli soldier held captive by hamas in gaza saw the release of yahia sinwar, who is the local hamas leader in gaza, seen as a mastermind of the 7th of october attacks. that, of course, makes it very difficult for people to accept the notion of these these prisoner swaps. and it is thought that in exchange for some a0 of the remaining israeli hostages held in gaza, that's really a minority of them, that we would have, in exchange for that, some 400 palestinian prisoners released from israeli jails. this is according to the reports that have been leaked out. and they would indeed, we're told, include some who have been convicted of serious offenses of terrorism by israel. they would be seen as having israeli blood on their hands. with more on the more than 30,000 deaths, let's speak to merlyn thomas at bbc verify.

you've been looking at the figures. we have. we've been looking at this well from the very beginning, tracking the damage across gaza from the israeli offensive following their hamas attack on the 7th of october. at the start of the 0ctober. at the start of the world, the gaza strip was one of the most densely populated places on earth. 0ver densely populated places on earth. over 2 million people. since the start of the world, over 30,000 palestinians have been killed in gaza. those we have spoken to have said the number of dead could be much higher than this because many of the hospitals in gaza where deaths are recorded in the longer operating. look at this graph. it is a breakdown of who exactly has been killed. as you can see from this, the majority of those killed have been women and children. and how does this compare with previous conflicts in gaza. this shows deaths in 2008 and you can see more men were killed than women and children,

and you can see it's a similar picture in the warrant 2014. in the current world, this show the deaths and the graph the deaths of women and the graph the deaths of women and children in red and purple are significantly higher than those men. the death toll here is much higher because it's lasted four months. it hasn't provided its own figures on how many in gaza have been killed. counting the dead in any war zone is a challenge, and experts told the bbc that the number killed since thenis bbc that the number killed since then is likely to be higher than 30,000. those buried under rubble are not included in this tally, they are not included in this tally, they are only those recorded in hospitals. it has been said these casualty figures are considered

trustworthy. the israeli army says it takes precautionary measures in order to avoid damage to the civilian population. it also says that hamas uses the civilian population as human shields. nearly five months into the world, this latest death toll will intensify the pressure to pause the fighting. a inquiry into the death of british woman sarah everard has found that her killer, wayne couzens should never have been a police officer and opportunities to stop him continuing his career and offending were missed. couzens had joined kent police as a special constable in 2002, beforejoining the metropolitan police in 2018. that's despite an accusation he sexually assaulted a child "barely in her teens" while in his early 20s. couzens, who was off—duty, murdered sarah everard after kidnapping her under the false guise of an arresthe was sacked after kidnapping her under the false guise of an arrest. he was sacked by the met after his arrest and is now serving a whole—life sentence.

the inquiry�*s first stage has been considering what the met knew about couzens�* reported behaviour prior to sarah's murder. here's what inquiry chair, lady elish angiolini had to say: the fragility of public trust and confidence in policing affects us all, including those good police officers doing the right thing every day. it is time for all of those with responsibility for policing to do everything they can to improve standards of recruitment, vetting and investigation. wayne couzens was never fit to be a police officer. police leaders need to be sure there isn't another wayne couzens operating in plain sight. we can cross live to central london and our reporter there, sam harrison. that's in a moment. the russian president vladimir putin is delivering his annual address to parliament and the nation.

putin usually uses the state—of—the—nation address to send signals to audiences both at home and abroad. this time, the attention to the speech is especially high, not only because of the presidential elections, that will likely grant him another six—years in the kremlin, but also due to the ongoing war against ukraine, and the suspicious death of opposition leader alexei navalny. in his speech, vladimir putin warned the west that russia has weapons that could strike within their territory. translation: the west provoked conflicts in ukraine, _ in the middle east and other regions, and it continues to lie. now they make no bones about saying that russia is about to attack europe, but we understand this is total nonsense. meanwhile, they are selecting targets for their strikes on our territory, selecting the most effective weapons. they are talking about sending nato military contingents to ukraine.

but we can recall what happened to those who used to send their contingents to our country. the consequences for these potential intruders will be much more tragic now. applause. they need to finally understand that we, too, have weapons and they know that. i havejust mentioned, we, too, have weapons that can strike targets on their territory. and everything that they're thinking of now, everything that they use to threaten us in the world, that all this is a real threat of nuclear weapons being used, which spell destruction of civilisation. with more on this let's speak to vitaly shevchenko,

russia editor for bbc monitoring. tell us about the significance of that threatening language we just heard. that threatening language we 'ust heard. , , ., , , heard. this is what the president has been doing _ heard. this is what the president has been doing for— heard. this is what the president has been doing for a _ heard. this is what the president has been doing for a while - heard. this is what the president has been doing for a while now. | has been doing for a while now. especially since the start of his so—called special military operation in ukraine. this time, he yet again issued a threat that russia's nuclear arsenal is in full military preparedness, as he put it. clearly, this is yet another way in which the russian president is warning the west from helping ukraine more. but more generally, there have been no surprises in his speech today. he betrayed the west as an aggressive and destabilising force, while

russia, according to putin, is a nation that defends its legitimate interests. the first of his speech focused on the war against ukraine, which he insists on calling a special military operation. they claim russian military forces in ukraine are making progress and fighting courageously. they said the economy is buoyant despite their western sanctions. nope surprises there. it is also important what he has not mentioned so far, which is, for example, the death of russia's most prominent opposition figure, alexei navalny, almost two weeks ago. general repression at home. instead, he spoke at length about the various measures, which his government is proposing to take to

help the economy improve infrastructure. he spoke about refurbishing local post offices, embankments and parks. this isjust an idea of the level of detail he gone into. met with raptures of enthusiastic applause which is something to be expected, i suppose, given that russia is holding a presidential election in two weeks' time, which he has all but certain to win. ., ., ., ., to win. you are leading there to the hiuhl to win. you are leading there to the highly choreographed _ to win. you are leading there to the highly choreographed nature - to win. you are leading there to the highly choreographed nature of- to win. you are leading there to the highly choreographed nature of thisj highly choreographed nature of this event. do people in russia sit and watch this?— watch this? some will, but the kremlin's _ watch this? some will, but the kremlin's media _ watch this? some will, but the kremlin's media machine - watch this? some will, but the kremlin's media machine is . watch this? some will, but the - kremlin's media machine is designed to make sure that as many russians as possible do. this beach is being carried live by a russian state tv. it will spend the rest of the day

discussing it. it will be the highlight of the main news bulletins in the evening. it is being shown in cinemas across russia at the moment. so this is what the kremlin is very keen to make sure happens, but it is obviously a very different question of whether many russians will believe what vladimir putin is promising to do after almost a quarter of a century and power. thank you very much indeed for urinalysis there. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. voters in rochdale — in greater manchester — are choosing a new mp today. the by—election was called after the death of the labour mp, sir tony lloyd. eleven candidates are standing. the result is expected early friday. a bbc investigation has found that millions of chickens sold in uk

supermarkets show clear signs of skin burns, caused by being left to live in their own waste. poorer welfare conditions on farms mean about a third of birds in some supermarkets have so—called "hock burn". a public health campaign to remind parents of the importance of childhood vaccinations has been launched in england. health experts have warned children are "suffering needlessly" because of the decline in uptake since the pandemic. there has been a significant rise in the number of measles cases across the country. a woman has died and two people are missing, after a migrant boat had to be rescued in the english channel. french authorities say a small boat carrying about 50 people fell into difficulty yesterday. you're live with bbc news. back now to one of our main stories, on that inquiry into how a serving metropolitan police officer was able to abduct, rape and murder a 33—year—old in march 2021 has concluded he should never have been given a job in the force.

we can cross live to central london and our reporter there, sam harrison. sam, what were the recommendations from the report? this report over two years in the making, over200 this report over two years in the making, over 200 pages long. 16 making, over200 pages long. 115 recommendations have come out in the report. they can be broadly categorised into four separate areas. firstly it deals with allegations of indecent exposure. when couzens had six of these allegations reported separately against him. this report says the approach to investigating indecent exposure needs to change. it is clear that indecent exposure needs to be taken monthly seriously than it is. within the police force,

making sure officers are able to deal appropriately with these investigations. there needs to also be, according to her, a public information campaign on indecent exposure working with the home office, so that people are aware of what indecent exposure is and people are more likely to report cases of indecent exposure as well. secondly, this first port says that the issues around betting and recruitment are crucial to the future of police. any police applicant should be subject to an in—person interview and home visit. crucially, wayne couzens was not. it should be harderfor unsuitable applicants to get through the application and vetting process. she says things like a more rigorous psychological test could be important here in rooting out unsuitable applicants. also, what the report calls after care. that

applicants can be reverted after they have already rejoined the force. finally, the report says more needs to be done to adopt a positive work culture within police forces across the country, and that every force needs to do more to root out derogatory and toxic behaviour, simply because the as punter. this is a damning report, and it has been an eventful morning here. it is hoped that this report, in the future, can stop other applicants in the future exploiting the system as wayne couzens did.— the future exploiting the system as wayne couzens did. thank you very much. a group of mps have urged ministers to consider the implications for the uk, if assisted dying is legalised in the isle of man and jersey. the health select committee has published a report, which it hopes will provide evidence for future debates about the law. opponents say the current legislation prevents people from coming under pressure to end their lives. here's our medical editor, fergus walsh.

the mps don't make recommendations for or against assisted dying. rather, the aim of their report is to serve as a basis for debate on what they call this difficult, sensitive, yet crucial subject. more and more countries in europe have legalised assisted dying in some form, along with new zealand, australia, canada and ten states in the us. the mps say they saw no evidence that palliative and end of life care had deteriorated as a result, and in some instances it had improved. the committee calls for more money for hospices in england, which only get a third of their funding from the nhs. while assisted dying remains illegal throughout the uk, the mps say it looks increasingly likely it will be allowed injersey or the isle of man, both crown dependencies. the report says ministers at westminster should be actively involved in discussions about what the implications of that might be. the fact is we are all going to die.

the issue was back in the spotlight recently when dame esther rantzen, who has advanced cancer, revealed she had joined the swiss assisted dying organisation dignitas. since 2015, more than 250 people from the uk have ended their lives at dignitas. the 83—year—old broadcaster wants another free vote on assisted dying in parliament. if every party would just put this in their manifesto that we will hold a debate, that we will have a free vote and hopefully the rest of us also will have a choice about the way we want to end our lives. it's nearly a decade since mps last voted on assisted dying, rejecting it by nearly three to one. campaigners for a law change are pinning their hopes on the new intake of mps at the next election, hoping more will be sympathetic to their cause.

the government says any change is a matter for parliament. opponents say legalising assisted dying would undermine support for the frail and vulnerable. i think this will fundamentally change the way we react to people towards the end of their lives. at the moment, all of my focus is around helping patients to live the rest of their lives as comfortably as possible and with all the independence and choice that we can give them. suddenly, i think if assisted suicide is in the room, that's a very difficult decision patients have to take. i think it distorts the priorities of care and it risks changing the focus away from providing them with really good care into a kind of should i, shouldn't i discussion, which ultimately i don't think is going to benefit the vast majority of patients. the mps say they want a national strategy for death literacy and support following a terminal diagnosis to help improve understanding of end of life care. fergus walsh, bbc news.

south korea s government has threatened to arrest thousands of striking doctors if they don t return to work by the end of thursday. it also says it will suspend their medical licenses. the doctors have been protesting against the government's plans to increase the number of people admitted to medical school each year. our correspondentjean mackenzie sent this update from seoul. this is a spectacular showdown betweenjunior doctors and the government. the doctors have walked out for over a week now over government plans to increase the number of doctors in the country. starting from next year, the government wants to admit 2,000 more medical students to university each year. now, this is to address a shortage of doctors in the country because korea's population is aging rapidly and there are already shortages in care, particularly in some rural areas and in some specialisms. but the doctors argue that more doctors won't necessarily address these shortages. there are much more fundamental flaws in the system. they say that some areas

of medicine are overheated, they're too competitive, that doctors are choosing to enter the more lucrative fields such as cosmetic surgery. so, by increasing the number of doctors in the system, you would just increase the competition in these already competitive areas and do nothing to address the actual areas of shortage. but underlying this really is a frustration among junior doctors in this country that they are being overworked and underpaid. the government is standing firm on its threat to remove the medical licenses of the doctors that do not return to work by the end of the day. the health minister has come out today and said that they will be pressing on with this. now, yes, the government is using this as a tool to try and force the doctors back to work. some people have argued that it might be unlikely to follow through because if its ultimate goal is to get the doctors back to work, then this would be a counterproductive move. and the doctors have very little public sympathy here. most people in this country want there to be more doctors here. so there is very little incentive for the government to back down over this.

let's ta ke let's take you to downing street where the first lady of ukraine has arrived and has been greeted by rishi sunak�*s wife. this is the two—year mark since putin's invasion of ukraine. people have been marking that events in the last couple of weeks, and now there is the visit from the first lady of ukraine to downing street, meeting the british prime minister, richey —— rishi sunak�*s wife. she was met at clarence house and camilla welcomed the wife of the ukrainian president to her london residence on thursday morning. you will remember that she was also a guest at their king and

queen's coronation last may, representing ukraine. she also attended the late queen's funeral. camilla was pictured here with miss salang ski having a chat here. before we go, you can always catch up before we go, you can always catch up with all the stories we're covering by checking our website. plenty more there and all the stories we are reporting on. stay with us here on bbc news. you're watching bbc news. let's get more on the independent report on the murder of sarah everard in 2021. it has concluded that wayne couzens

should never have been a police officer and decisions to stop him reoffending were missed. there were also calls for a radical overhaul of police vetting and recruitment. wayne couzens is serving a whole life sentence after abducting, raping and murdering sarah everard in south london in march 2021. her murder by a serving police officer prompted a widespread outpouring of anger and grief and sparked demonstrations over concern for women public safety. the metropolitan police was then criticised for its heavy handling of the vigil for sarah efrain where some women were bundled to the ground and arrested. there have been earlier concerns about wayne couzens public behaviour. we are expecting a statement by james connelly and we will be bringing that to you

shortly. will be bringing that to you shortl . .., , will be bringing that to you shortl . .. , , will be bringing that to you shortl . , , shortly. critically, this report contains 16 _ shortly. critically, this report| contains 16 recommendations shortly. critically, this report - contains 16 recommendations where any bending trusted with the powers of a serving police officer of that trust ever again. it affects us all, including those good police officers doing the right thing every day. it's time for all of us with responsibility in policing to do everything that we can to improve standards of him recruitment, vetting and investigation. wayne couzens was never fit to be a police officer. police leaders need to be sure that there is not another wayne couzens operating in plain sight. before i describe my findings and conclusions, i want to remember sarah everard whose life was cut short by the most unimaginable cruelty. i also want to pay tribute to her loving family who i have had the great privilege of getting to know over the past two years. i have

been profoundly affected by their grief and their grace and their suffering. i have also been moved by the suffering of those victims who gave evidence in the inquiry of those experiences. i hope we have done them justice and that real change and improvement happens because of this report. i do not underestimate the strength speaking to the inquiry required of them. i make recommendations for improvements that need to be made to ensure that women feel safe when they report to the police. i hope that those writing about giving your account of this publication will give respect to those victims deserve. ,, , deserve. she led the inquiry, s-ueakin deserve. she led the inquiry, speaking earlier. _ deserve. she led the inquiry, speaking earlier. the - deserve. she led the inquiry, speaking earlier. the home i deserve. she led the inquiry, - speaking earlier. the home secretary is about to make a statement to mps about their wayne couzens inquiry, and we will be bringing you that life shortly. first, let's speak to zoe billingham, former hm inspector of constabulary is. some pretty

damning findings in the report. what is your reaction to that? it is damning findings in the report. what is your reaction to that?— is your reaction to that? it is a forensic and _ is your reaction to that? it is a forensic and detailed - is your reaction to that? it is a . forensic and detailed examination is your reaction to that? it is a - forensic and detailed examination of wayne couzens public life, his depravity and his series of catastrophic failings on the part of police to miss the opportunities, the red flags, the warning signs to stop him being a police officer. and as we have heard, sarah's loving family, her parents, are certain that had it not been for wayne couzens being a police officer, she would have never got into the car. so, this is a landmark report for policing. it has to be accepted by police leaders up and down the country. the recommendations have to be acted on rapidly so that we can ensure that there is no place for predators in placing of the likes of wayne couzens ever again. how do police forces go about doing

this? ~ ., ., , ., ., , this? what we have seen already in the metropolitan _ this? what we have seen already in the metropolitan police _ this? what we have seen already in the metropolitan police and - this? what we have seen already in the metropolitan police and clearly| the metropolitan police and clearly there is a lot of focus in this report about that force because couzens was serving in the metropolitan police at the time of sarah's terrible abduction, rape and murder. the commissioner has been in place for over 18 months and has made it an absolute pledge on his appointment that he will root out predatory offices and we see that manifesting itself in three police officers a week being in our courts because of the infrastructure that has been put in place to make sure that officers who have got a history of sexual offending, who have other factors that mean they have no place for policing are being identified, are being brought tojustice for policing are being identified, are being brought to justice and going through the disciplinary process and being removed from policing and taken away from the front line. and that has to happen

because without that