our medical editor, fergus walsh, reports.sperous waters. assisted dying was approved in principle here in 2021, but now the island's parliament will vote on whether proposals should be turned into law. the 49 members of the state's assembly will have two options to vote on this week — whether to restrict assisted dying to the terminally ill or whether also to extend to those who are not dying but are facing unbearable physical suffering. just to show you rachel's room. when she passed away, this was her bedroom. rob kelly says assisted dying would put the disabled and vulnerable in even greater danger. he says his daughter rachel was repeatedly written off by doctors because of her severe physical and learning disabilities. rachel was perceived by some of the medical profession as having no quality of life, purely because she was in a wheelchair. and when we were in hospital, we were pressured time after time to have do not resuscitate put on her notes. going forward, i think doctors will see this as an easy way out. some peo

fergus walsh, bbc news, on the isle of man. let's speak to our medical editor fergus walsh.al issue. tell us about how, what stage it is rich in the isle of man and how far it has to go now. i the isle of man and how far it has to go "ow-— to go now. i am standing in the chamber of— to go now. i am standing in the chamber of the _ to go now. i am standing in the chamber of the house - to go now. i am standing in the chamber of the house of - to go now. i am standing in the chamber of the house of keys, | chamber of the house of keys, speaker's chair where in just 25 minutes members will meet to vote on the crucial closes stage of this assisted dying bill. the stage it has reached as they are known dealing with the nitty—gritty, they have agreed that it should be available to terminally ill patients with less than 12 months to live, and today they will built on the contentious issue of whether people are eligible should be allowed to ask a doctor to give them a lethal injection or whether they will have to take the lethal drugs themselves. then after all of those proposals ha

our medical editor, fergus walsh, reports.ted dying. lorna is terminally ill with advanced breast cancer. she wants the comfort of knowing she could get help to die if she was in pain. there is no purpose to forcing somebody to endure torture towards the end of their life. you know, i do have to consider, do i save up for dignitas or if scotland enacts a similar law beforejersey, do i make sure i'm back home in time that i would be eligible there? so you are having to think about your death when really you should be living. in 2021, jersey's parliament approved assisted dying in principle and is now looking at who might be eligible if a law was introduced. the 49 members of the states assembly will have two options to vote on this week — whether to restrict assisted dying to the terminally ill or whether also to extend it to those who are not dying but are facing unbearable physical suffering. jersey's health minister supports both options. these proposals set out what some might consider to be an unnecessary or potentially te

fergus walsh, bbc news, on the isle of man.the two—day visit starting on thursday. it will be putin's first trip abroad since his march re—election and his second in just over six months to china. it comes as russia faces unprecedented sanctions over its military offensive in ukraine. the kremlin said the two leaders would discuss their "comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation" as well as "define key areas of development of russian—chinese cooperation and exchange views on international and regional issues. president lopez 0brador of mexico says measures taken by his country and the us have halved the number of migrants arriving at their shared border. in december, daily encounters between migrants and us border agents exceeded 12,000. the surge overwhelmed mexican immigration facilities and shelters in border cities. the daily figure is now about 6,000. migration has become a key issue in the us presidential campaign. a whistleblower who helped expose allegations of australian war crimes in afghanistan has been jai

fergus walsh, bbc news, on the isle of man.he most difficult and dangerous in the uk's history and only the conservatives can keep the country safe. in his first speech since suffering heavy losses in the local elections, he pointed to threats coming from the likes of china and russia, as well as from global migration. labour said the tories had left the uk less secure at home and abroad. here's chris mason. the pace is quickening. the election is almost certainly still months away, but the two candidates vying to live here in downing street next year and beyond are limbering up. announcements, news conferences, bashing their opponent. first up this week, rishi sunak. i feel a profound sense of urgency, because more will change in the next five years than in the last 30. i'm convinced that the next few years will be some of the most dangerous, yet the most transformational that our country has ever known. the prime minister, nursing a cold as he turned 44 this weekend, he's the best part of 20 years younger than keir starmer, i

fergus walsh, bbc news.e than 600 homes in surrey have been warned not to drink their tap water, after tests carried out following a historic fuel leak. thames water said it was issuing the advice as a precaution. let's get the latest from frankie mccamley in bramley. what are people being told? good afternoon. from _ what are people being told? good afternoon. from the _ what are people being told? (emf. afternoon. from the corner of a park and ride which is about five miles from the area of bramley which is the area affected in what can only be described as a makeshift water distribution centre. as you can see, cars are steadily coming through. thames water employees are filling up thames water employees are filling up the boots for those 600 homes, households that have been told not to drink the water. they are filling up to drink the water. they are filling up the boots because essentially, they don't know how long this is going to go on for. some people here are angry and others say they are extremely f

fergus walsh, bbc news.es for the women's euros next year. scotland had a comfortable win over israel. wales drew with ukraine and northern ireland are still playing against portugal. meanwhile, england's lionesses took on france at newcastle's st james' park, where katie gornall watched the action. many england players began their journey here in the north—east. the region has long been a hotbed for women's football. now st james' park is welcoming the lionesses for the first time. well, england will be hoping to draw on the enthusiasm of this northeast crowd, for the first game of a double—header against france which feels pivotal to their hopes of qualifying automatically for the euros. this was second versus third in the world. england needed their best players on the pitch. mary earps lasted just minutes. further up the field, england were having much more success. beth mead, once of sunderland, bringing stjames' park to its feet. there is mead! france threatened. hannah hampton responded. but there was

fergus walsh there.ith ukraine's president zelensky in kyiv, says the war with russia, says the war with russia is at a "critical moment," and he's promising america's unwaivering support in the fight. antony blinken was speaking after a new russian offensive in the north, aided by north korean munitions, iranian drones and chinese components. this is the map of the battlefield we've become familiar with over many months, the red areas are under russian occupation. but now a new front has opened up to the north east, with heavy fighting in and around the border town of vorvansk, just 45 miles from ukraine's second city, of kharkiv. the area has already changed hands in this war, and moscow, wants kharkiv back. jonathan beale, has spent the day with some of the thousands of civilians, now trying to flee the area. there was some ukrainian resistance when russian troops first crossed the border. this video shows ukrainian border guards trying to stop that advance. but others simply walked in and russia's ta

fergus walsh.s, regardless of how much weight people lose, according to new data. researchers who looked at three brands of appetite suppressing drugs have described their results as a major breakthrough, saying it could be similar to when statins were introduced in the 1990s to fight cholesterol. the study followed more than 17,500 people, from 41 countries, with an average age of 62. all were either overweight or obese and didn't have type 2 diabetes, but did have a history of cardiovascular problems. 0ur health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, is with me. there is a lot of nuance here, how significant is all of this?— significant is all of this? there is a ureat significant is all of this? there is a great deal _ significant is all of this? there is a great deal of _ significant is all of this? there is a great deal of excitement - significant is all of this? there is a great deal of excitement and l significant is all of this? there is - a great deal of excitement and hope around this weight l

fergus walsh, bbc news. in normandy, and awarded france's highest honourfor his bravery, the legion d'honneur. he says he's determined to help the world remember the ones, who didn't survive. i don't like talking about the war. it brings back a lot of terrible things. when you see your own comrades being shot dead, it hurts. d—day, to me, it was just another battle. and if you are watching in the midlands the full interview with donald rose will be on bbc east midlands today. a 12—year—old boy has won a national us spelling bee, by correctly spelling 29 words in 90 seconds. he was nine words better than the runner—up. bruhat soma correctly spelled words including "sciniph" — that's with a ph — and "aposiopesis" — that's with three s's, not four. he took a $50,000 prize. let's listen to how he won. sciniph. s-c-i-n-i-p-h. voussoir. v-o-u-s-s-o-i-r. caixinha. c-a-i-x-i-n-h-a. ramoneur. r-a-m-o-n-e-u-r. aposiopesis. a—p—o—s—i—o—p—e—s—i—s. abseil. a-b-s-e-i-l. posology. time. cheering and applause that's how he

fergus walsh, bbc news.ter in the programme. let's have a look at today's papers. and many front pages carry the guilty verdict in donald trump's hush money. the times says opinion polls have suggested a criminal conviction could put off some voters, but some political strategists doubt whether it will have any effect in the us election later this year. "trump guilty", is the mirror's headline. the paper's entire front page is dedicated to the verdict, which it describes as "historic". back to uk politics, the daily express reports that labour's angela rayner has challenged sir keir starmer to allow veteran mp diane abbott to stand at the general election, exposing divisions among the party's senior ranks. the daily mail features the story that thousands of nhs patients will get personalised cancer vaccines over the next year, in a "landmark" breakthrough. it says the nhs is launching a "world—leading" scheme which will "match—make" patients with clinical trials. asi as i said, we will talk to fergus a littl

fergus walsh, bbc news. let's speak to our medical editor, fergus walsh.e of years, because _ trials to report? at least a couple of years, because you _ trials to report? at least a couple of years, because you have i trials to report? at least a couple of years, because you have to i of years, because you have to compare the outcomes of patients like elliott with other participants with what you have called standard of care. the other patients will already have had surgery and other treatment and this is about trying to mop up any remaining cancer cells in patients who have these fragments of cancerous dna circulating in the bloodstream. cancer is very good at hiding away, often for many years, and then coming back. so the use of these personalised vaccines could, if the trials are successful, proved to be a way of allowing more cures for cancer. to be a way of allowing more cures for cancer-— for cancer. and it does affect all es of for cancer. and it does affect all types of cancer _ for cancer. and it does affect all types of cancer potentially? i for

our medical editor fergus walsh joins us now tell us more about the discussions taking place today.—mber of _ taking place today. well, sophie, this is the chamber of the house | this is the chamber of the house keys, where members were voting just a few hours ago on the details on the assisted dying bill. the island has a population ofjust 85,000 people, but it has been setting its own laws for over 1000 years. much of the ceremony resembles that of westminster. the measures are quite far advanced here, with members voting on the detail of how assisted dying woodwork in practice. today, they voted that assisted dying should be offered within and run by the health service on the island. this is such a contentious issue, there were protests today outside parliament from those both for and against. those in favour say it will allow the terminally ill a dignified death, without pain. those against say it will put the vulnerable at risk. next month, there will be a crucial vote on whether this whole issue should be put to an island—wide referendum. supporters still hope this bill will be

here is fergus walsh.ng in douglas, a quiet, dignified protest from groups who hold fundamentally different views on this key issue for society. stella harris is a doctor on the island and opposes the assisted dying legislation. i think there isn't the protection for the vulnerable. i think the risk to people who are elderly, who are disabled, people who don't have a voice is huge. ..whereas vicki christian's personal experience has convinced her it is needed. i'm a funeral celebrant here on the isle of man and we have an excellent palliative care system. but i often meet the families of people for whom palliation hasn't worked and they have suffered intolerably before they have died. honourable members, please be upstanding for mr speaker. - there are many echoes of the ceremonies seen at westminster, though this parliament is older. members of the house of keys are voting on details of how assisted dying would work in practice. further consideration of the clauses of the assisted dying bill 2023. alex al

our medical editor fergus walsh has been to meet people on both sides of the debate.ts own laws, and is about to vote on one of the most contentious issues facing society. these two campaigners want to see assisted dying introduced on the island. simon was kept alive way too long in way too much pain. he had no dignity whatsoever, no quality of life. sue biggerstaff is haunted by the memory of her husband�*s agonising death from motor neurone disease. the doctor, everybody was wonderful, but the fact is, simon had intravenous morphine in both legs and both arms and patches, and still he was in pain. she says simon�*s final months were torture. paralysed from the neck down, his muscles wasting with open wounds that would not heal. how can anybody want to be alive when they�*re decomposing? i mean, it�*s sick. it�*s sick. ella, god love her, if i had her here now, paralysed from the neck down, incontinent, and her body decaying, and i didn�*t do anything, i�*d be locked up. this is the chamber of the house of keys, equivalent to the house of commons at westminster, wher

the real reason the specific reason is our esteemed coronavirus newscast colleague, fergus walsh, heing house opened about the merits of using the stairs. i think basically because he got fed up waiting for the lift, but also that it's good because it's like incidental steps and a bit of cardiovascular exercise. i know i took that to heart. anyway, ijust run up the stairs a bit quick. aren't you a foul runner? i would have thought like, wow, this is not enough of a challenge. my running days are some distance behind me. but yes, never run towards a microphone, they say is the first rule of broadcasting and ijust broke it. well, anyway, i've given you a nice little gentle glide. exactly. so where were you today? so i have been in dover today because nigel farage has appeared on the campaign trail. there was a bit of a thing, you know, about a week ago which made some news when nigel farage said he wasn't going to stand in an individual seat. and i have to say, i did think at that point that was a bit of a red herring. clearly it was a news story, but it's a bit of a red herring becaus

fergus walsh. i want to take you to washington.ve a listen. frankl , china, abolition. -- have a listen. frankly, before _ china, abolition. -- have a listen. frankly, before it _ china, abolition. -- have a listen. frankly, before it rains, _ china, abolition. -- have a listen. frankly, before it rains, frankly, l frankly, before it rains, frankly, for all this tough talk on china, it never occurred to my predecessor to do anything like that. i want fair competition with china, not conflict, and we are in a stronger position. because we're investing in america again. let me close with this — i come from scranton, a clown with —— town with working—class neighbours. 0nce with —— town with working—class neighbours. once a manufacturing town, and the middle class got hollowed out. my predecessor showed up hollowed out. my predecessor showed up with a golden shovel promising a $10 million manufactory. he said it would be an eighth wonder of the world. he used that golden shovel to dig a hole and fell into it. that's part of what i'm de

fergus walsh, bbc news, on the isle of man.apers. the main story on the front of the daily mail is our lead story today, too — it centres on a top cardiologist who says millions of brits should be prescribed weight—loss jabs in order to cut the risks of having heart attacks or stroke. the express also features the weight—loss story, according to the paper the slimming jab can help people shed a quarter of their body weight, making it the most effective yet. the guardian has an exclusive story on a report which recommends what it calls a "double lock" for tenants renewing their tenancies. the paper says the report's findings heap pressure on sir keir starmer to do more for renters, after the labour leader promised to tackle england's housing crisis if elected prime minister. and the metro reports on the king officially handing over the role of colonel—in—chief of the army air corps to the prince of wales. the paper says that, during the official visit, the king revealed one of the effects of his cancer treatment to a veteran who

fergus walsh, bbc news.ll me the stream in the centre of bramley smells like petrol. one woman has said to me that she doesn't think the advice has been clear enough. doesn't think the advice has been clear enough-— clear enough. there is a bit of confusion _ clear enough. there is a bit of confusion as _ clear enough. there is a bit of confusion as to _ clear enough. there is a bit of confusion as to whether i clear enough. there is a bit of confusion as to whether or i clear enough. there is a bit of| confusion as to whether or not clear enough. there is a bit of- confusion as to whether or not we can wash — confusion as to whether or not we can wash up — confusion as to whether or not we can wash up with it, can we use our dishwasher? — can wash up with it, can we use our dishwasher? i— can wash up with it, can we use our dishwasher? i initially thought it would _ dishwasher? i initially thought it would be — dishwasher? i initially thought it would be fine to with it but actually _ would be fine to with

from jersey here's our medical editor fergus walsh.ffering. it's something i've always felt quite strongly about. i lost my father five and a half years ago, pancreatic cancer, it was a grim business. it's all about individual rights. i don't think one human being should have the right to determine how someone else does or doesn't choose to end their life. and i think it's as simple as that. this is the state assembly, the chamber of the jersey parliament, where the a9 elected members will take a series of crucial votes this week on assisted dying. if approved, legislation will be drawn up and the first assisted death here, as in the isle of man, could be in 2027. just to show you rachel's room. when she passed away, this was her bedroom. rob kelly says assisted dying would put disabled or vulnerable people in even greater danger. he says his daughter rachel was repeatedly written off by doctors because of her severe physical and learning disabilities. rachel was perceived by some of the medical profession as having no quality of life,