jenny kumah, bbc news.n the constituency of copeland takes place on thursday. here's a full list of the candidates, which is also available on the bbc news website. an israeli soldier who shot dead a wounded palestinian attacker has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for manslaughter. elor azaria was convicted by a military court of killing abdul fatah who was lying on the ground, badly injured, after stabbing a soldier. the case has divided israel — the prime minister benjamin netanyahu had led calls for the soldier to be pardoned. police have begun excavation work at two properties in swindon in wiltshire, one of which is believed to be the former home of christopher halliwell, who's serving a life sentence for the murder of two young women. halliwell, who's 53, murdered becky godden in 2003 and sian o'callaghan in 2011. our correspondent, duncan kennedy, is in swindon. explain what's been happening today? we have had a police operation going on since late last night, continuing this morning. they have

jenny kumah, bbc news.adlines on bbc news: hospital services in nearly two—thirds of england could be cut or scaled back, bbc analysis of local plans shows. a heterosexual couple have lost their court of appeal battle to have a civil partnership instead of a marriage. government finances recorded a £9.4 billion surplus in last month, the biggest january surplus for 17 years. now the business news. shares in hsbc are down more than 6% on the ftse this morning. the bank reported a steeper—than—expected fall in annual profits. their pre—tax profits were down 62% on the year before. the bank says most of the fall was down to one off charges, including fines and the sale of its operations in brazil. chancellor philip hammond has told conservative mps he is listening to their concerns about the re—evaluation of business rates. rates are being updated for the first time in seven years to bring them into line with property values. but some have argued that significant increases will lead to businesses shutting down