has been in the newspapers this morning but as far as i can tell the equalities minister is one of those calling for the guidance to be strengthened from original drafts who wanted to go further in restricting the ability of people at school to identify as a different gender. we have reached this place where we do not know when the government is going to do in terms of the timetable for issuing new guidance, we do not knowing exactly when it will arrive when it comes to what it should look like short despite repeated assurances including in the last few weeks when we have been asking the government about when it was coming, it has been delayed and we do not know when and tell. voters in three constituencies across england will go to the polls tomorrow in byelections and over the next few days well be in all three seats. over the past two days we ve been in selby and ainsty in north yorkshire and somerton and frome in somerset. today we re in uxbridge and south ruislip to the
yesterday, starting off with some frost and ice, snow showers in parts of scotland and northern ireland, rain clearing the far south and more snow coming into the south pushing north tonight into tomorrow. it s wednesday the 7th of february. proposals to improve access to nhs dentists in england are being announced by the government today. the plans include offering top up payments for dentists to take on new nhs patients as well as bonuses to work in under served areas. but health leaders say the measures don t go far enough. here s our health editor, hugh pym. a long queue outside a new dental practice in bristol. local people simply wanting to register as nhs patients. the opening following a public campaign after the previous site closed. the story was covered on bbc breakfast yesterday. the images illustrate the growing sense of frustration at the lack of nhs treatment in areas of the country which have been branded dental deserts. a new government and nhs plan for engla
the us secretary of state, antony blinken, is on another diplomatic tour of the middle east his fifth visit to the region since the conflict erupted between israel and hamas. he will be visiting saudi arabia, israel, egypt, qatar and the occupied west bank. mr blinken s trip follows days of air strikes by the united states against iranian linked targets in iraq, syria and yemen. ahead of his arrival, a drone attack killed six us backed kurdish fighters at an american base in eastern syria. mr blinken is also expected to discuss boosting aid to gaza, as well as a possible ceasefire and hostage deal between israel and hamas. the israeli prime minister has warned he will not accept the demands of hamas over hostages still held. the un has warned of an impending famine in gaza affecting more than 2 million people. our correspondent, barbara plett usher, explained the main aim of mr blinken s visit. that possible ceasefire deal, which would involve the release of some of the isr
welcome to bbc news, here from buckingham palace. king charles has begun his treatment for cancer. in the last few minutes he was seen arriving at buckingham palace from clarence house with queen camilla. it s the first image to be made public of king charles since buckingham palace confirmed his cancer diagnosis. this image also shows the queen. it s understood they were just leaving clarence house and have since left buckingham palace in a helicopter. this is the moment they flew off it s thought they are heading to the royal palace at sandringham in norfolk, where charles is likely to remain while he receives treatment, and steps back from public royal duties. prince harry has arrived in london to visit his father. this image shows him in the back of a car, being driven in london. and this was the convoy, as it made its way across london. harry isn t alone in offering his support to king charles a number of world leaders have sent messages after the king s diagnosis