hour. details of the incident are under review and they say dozens of gazans were crushed and trampled, the israeli troops say they open fire because they were under threat. here are palestinians arriving at the hospital in the northern gaza strip, we are trying to piece together the timeline. the hamas run health ministry says more than 30,000 palestinians have now been killed since israel began its military offensive in october. it says the majority of those killed were women and children. that number equates to about 1.3% of the 2.3 million population of the territory. with the latest from jerusalem here's our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. chaos in northern gaza's hospitals. 0verwhelmed by hundreds of casualties. many men had just set out to bring home sacks of flour for their hungry families and were shot, witnesses say, by the israeli army. "they started firing," says this man, whose friend tamer was killed. "the flour trucks ran over all the bodies." 0vernight, huge crowds had gathered on gaza city's coastal road, awaiting aid deliveries. israel's military says gazans were injured by pushing and trampling but it's looking into what happened. across gaza, the number of palestinians killed has now risen to more than 30,000 — a grim reminder of the awful toll of this war. figures collected by the hamas—run health ministry are used by un agencies. top un officials say they've reached a shocking milestone. in fact, this is the war, as i said, of all the superlatives. it's a war where you had more children, more health workers, more united nations staff, more journalists killed in five months than in any other conflict in the world. with a march by israeli hostage families, public pressure is growing for a new truce with hamas, but much depends on what happens far away in qatar, where mediators are now trying to hammer out a deal. so far, they say, there's been no breakthrough. michael spagat is the chair of "every casualty counts" and a professor at royal holloway, university of london. he has been collating statistical analysis of the fatalities in gaza. i asked him what he's been looking at. first of all, i'm looking at the pace of the killing and how this compares to some other wars, and i would say that this war has a remarkably rapid pace of killing if you adjust for the population size. so, the graphic is showing a comparison with the war in ukraine over the first year and also with the 2003 war in iraq, the first six weeks, which were dubbed the "shock and awe" period. and what you can see is that the number of people killed per day, per 10,000 of population, is far higher in gaza than it is in either of those. which is not to say that the number of people getting killed is higher, but adjusting for population. of people getting killed is higher, adjusting for population, and that's where you get that huge difference in the size of the bar graphs there. and when you looked a bit deeper into the numbers, what did you find? so, one thing is if you look at the demographics, the breakdown of people killed by sex and age, at least for the first month, for which we've got good data. the data after that deteriorates in quality and we can't do the same kind of comparison any more. but it looks pretty close to being a random sample of the population as a whole. that is, you know, the breakdown, how many men aged 20—25, children aged zero to five males, females, etc. and if you compare that to those proportions within the population as a whole, to a first approximation, it's pretty close. as a whole, to a first now, you can see from the picture that there's a bit of a bump in males between the ages of about 20 and 40, so they get killed slightly out of proportion to their numbers within the population, but aside from that, you know, it looks almost random. like the people killed, you know, just could be anyone. scotland, aberdeen, people are being asked to move from their homes as soon as possible, hundreds of people being asked to move from their homes as soon as possible because problems have been found with raac concrete in their properties. people are being told this afternoon and asked to get out as soon as possible. residents in more than 364 council houses are being told by aberdeen city council they will be found alternative accommodation. just under 150 of the properties in the area are privately owned. 364 council houses, 150 private properties, the council officials are looking at whether the issues with the concrete can be rectified or whether the properties would have to be demolished. you may recognise the term raac, it is the kind of material that was found in schools in the uk and forced the partial closure of it so many school buildings and now in aberdeen, people are being asked to move from their home as soon as possible. when an off duty police officer kidnapped, raped and murdered a young woman in london in 2021 the series of events sparked protests and widespread calls to reform the way police officers were recruited. wayne couzens was jailed for life for his attack on sarah everard. now an inquiry has concluded that he should never have been allowed to join the police and recommended ways of preventing anything like this happening again. june kelly reports. he was a predatory sex offender in a police uniform, a criminal with state sanctioned powers. wayne couzens should never have been allowed to become a police officer and continual flawed vetting meant that he was able to stay in his role, despite a series of red flags. these are among the stark conclusion of today's inquiry report into couzens. it examined his career, his behaviour and the way he was vetted. the metropolitan police service told the inquiry in 2022 that they would still have recruited him if provided with the same information. ifind this astonishing. now is a time for change. without a significant overhaul, there is nothing to stop another wayne couzens operating in plain sight. the report describes how in 2004 and 2008, kent police turned down couzens�*s application to join, but allowed him to work as a special constable. in 2011, another force, the civil nuclear constabulary, took him on as a full—time officer, despite a recommendation that he should not get through the vetting because of his heavy debts. in 2018, he successfully applied to join the metropolitan police. here, the report found the vetting was flawed. and indecent exposure allegation was one of the concerns about him which was on the system, but appear to be missed. there are no words i can use that can adequately express to the family just how sorry we are across the whole of policing. i was left aghast at the catalogue of missed opportunities, errors, red flags, to stop wayne couzens. the report describes how wayne couzens used his police powers to falsely arrest sarah everard on a street in clapham in south london during the covid lockdown in 2021. here, showing sarah his warrant card and accusing her of breaching lockdown rules. couzens then drove sarah 80 miles to kent, where he raped and strangled her. a week after sarah's disappearance, wayne couzens was arrested. described as a man of diverse and deviant sexual interests, he allegedly committed a very serious sexual assault against a child barely in her teens before hejoined the police. at a mcdonald's drive—through in the days before he abducted sarah, he indecently exposed himself to staff more than once. he is also alleged to have possessed indecent images of children. the coming days will see the third anniversary of sarah everard's death. in the report, herfamily welcome its recommendations. they say the loss of sarah pervades every part of their lives. june kelly, bbc news. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. administrators for the cosmetics and skincare chain of stores, the body shop, say 116 outlets will stay open in the uk. but they are closing 75 shops over the next six weeks and will cut about 500 jobs. michael gove is under investigation by parliament's standards watchdog. it relates to the levelling up and housing secretary's register of financial interests. further details will remain confidential until the inquiry is concluded and those under investigation are barred from discussing the allegations. voters in rochdale in greater manchester are electing a new mp. the by election was called after the death of the labour mp, sir tony lloyd. 11 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". paul pogba says he will appeal after news he has been banned from football for four years after failing a drugs test last year. used to play for manchester united is now atjuventus in italy and has not played since september. the ruling means he will not take part until 2027, 2028, after he was hit by the suspension. we were expecting that he would appeal against the decision but we are having it confirmed from reuters that paul pogba will appeal against the doping ban at the court of arbitration for sport. and now to russia. we can have a look at what he has claimed. he claims russia is gaining territory in what he insisted was a defensive operation in ukraine. thanks the members of the armed forces fighting in ukraine — and their families at home. but he didn't mention what it might take for russia to end its military action in ukraine. and nor did he touch on what's been happening to his political rivals — like the opposition leader, alexei navalny, who died in a siberian prison earlier this month. mr putin had this message... translation: 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. we we re we were in the building where this was being — we were in the building where this was being delivered, we were in a pop�*up _ was being delivered, we were in a pop—up press centre in another part of the _ pop—up press centre in another part of the building. he spoke for two hours. _ of the building. he spoke for two hours, vladimir putin, and this was part campaign speech because there is a presidential election coming up in a couple — is a presidential election coming up in a couple of weeks in russia, which — in a couple of weeks in russia, which is — in a couple of weeks in russia, which is being held according to the rules of— which is being held according to the rules of the kremlin very much, so campaigning there but also state of the nation — campaigning there but also state of the nation and state of the world, as vladimir— the nation and state of the world, as vladimir putin sees it. so we got these _ as vladimir putin sees it. so we got these warnings to the west but also promises _ these warnings to the west but also promises made by vladimir putin to the russian people that life in this country— the russian people that life in this country would get better, if he sticks — country would get better, if he sticks around in the kremlin. we had those _ sticks around in the kremlin. we had those comments about the danger of a nuclear— those comments about the danger of a nuclear war— those comments about the danger of a nuclear war which was in response to comments _ nuclear war which was in response to comments made by president macron of france _ comments made by president macron of france recently who did not rule out sending _ france recently who did not rule out sending troops to ukraine. talk france recently who did not rule out sending troops to ukraine.— sending troops to ukraine. talk us throu~h sending troops to ukraine. talk us through the _ sending troops to ukraine. talk us through the references _ sending troops to ukraine. talk us through the references to - sending troops to ukraine. talk us through the references to nuclear| through the references to nuclear weapons and i want to be clear, in terms of translation and context. since the start of the so—called special— since the start of the so—called special military operation, since the full—scale invasion of ukraine began. _ the full—scale invasion of ukraine began. the — the full—scale invasion of ukraine began, the russian leadership has been _ began, the russian leadership has been hinting, not very subtly, that the russians have array of weapons and would — the russians have array of weapons and would be prepared to use them if it considers _ and would be prepared to use them if it considers that russia's statehood is in danger, so this was another reminder. — is in danger, so this was another reminder. a _ is in danger, so this was another reminder, a hint from the russian president. — reminder, a hint from the russian president, that should nato troops end up— president, that should nato troops end up in— president, that should nato troops end up in ukraine, russia will consider— end up in ukraine, russia will consider that a threat, and russia has plenty— consider that a threat, and russia has plenty of weapons it can respond with _ has plenty of weapons it can respond with. ~ ., has plenty of weapons it can respond with. a, , , has plenty of weapons it can respond with. , , with. more broadly, looking ahead, ou with. more broadly, looking ahead, you mention _ with. more broadly, looking ahead, you mention the _ with. more broadly, looking ahead, you mention the campaigning - with. more broadly, looking ahead, - you mention the campaigning element, the election coming up, so talk us through that and if there is any possibility apart from one single result in the election? ihla result in the election? no possibility _ result in the election? no possibility whatsoever. this election _ possibility whatsoever. this election is being held basically according to the rules of the kremlin, _ according to the rules of the kremlin, and all of the most vocal critics— kremlin, and all of the most vocal critics of— kremlin, and all of the most vocal critics of vladimir putin and potential challenges, serious challenges, they are either in exile or in prison, — challenges, they are either in exile or in prison, and alexei navalny, the most — or in prison, and alexei navalny, the most prominent opposition leader. — the most prominent opposition leader, he was in prison, but he died _ leader, he was in prison, but he died recently in prison. the challenges that he faces will not take away many votes from vladimir putin— take away many votes from vladimir putin and _ take away many votes from vladimir putin and he will win and he will be declared _ putin and he will win and he will be declared the winner i'm sure with a landslide _ declared the winner i'm sure with a landslide victory.— landslide victory. thanks to steve for that. the uk government is being urged to take an active role, in the debate on assisted dying, withjersey and the isle of man, now considering its legalisation. here's fergus walsh. sophie blake was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. it has spread throughout her body and is incurable. she is travelling and enjoying life now, but wants the option of an assisted death if she experiences uncontrollable pain. i don't have a death wish, i love living, i love living life to the full, i have no desire to die. i'm not scared of dying, but i'm not ready to die yet. but if and when the time ever comes and if it's ever needed, i don't want to suffer. i don't want to be in horrendous pain. today's report describes assisted dying as a difficult, sensitive, yet crucial subject, which attracts passionate argument both for and against. more and more countries in europe have legalised assisted dying in some form in recent years, along with new zealand, australia, canada and now 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. 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. their report says ministers at westminster should be actively involved in discussions about what the implications of that might be. i think the trend is very clear, i think maybe one of the devolved nations within the uk or one of the crown dependencies will enable assisted dying, assisted suicide, within the next few years, and that has implications for westminster. it doesn't mean we have to follow suit but we of course have to adapt to that because it brings it nearer. mps overwhelmingly rejected assisted suicide in their last free vote nearly a decade ago. campaigners opposed to a law change fear the signal it would send to the weak and vulnerable. laws send messages and if we change the law saying that some people don't have the same protections as others, that actually sometimes it is right to take people's life, if we make that choice, i think it sends a significant message to people who are vulnerable, who are disabled, who are perhaps depressed and suicidal, and part of suicide intervention is the role of medicine. those in favour of assisted dying are pinning their hopes on the new intake of mps at the next election. but expect more scenes like this, with campaigners for and against outside parliament whenever this contentious matter returns. the prince of wales has carried out his first public engagement after pulling out of a memorial service unexpectedly early in the week. he visited a synagogue in central london where he met members of the jewish community. our correspondent was there and i asked why the event was there and i asked why the event was attracting so much attention. this visit had a little bit of added interest, i suppose, because we didn't see the prince of wales earlier in the week at that event in windsor, where he pulled out quite unexpectedly due to a personal matter. well, it seems that matter has now been resolved and things have run very smoothly here at this synagogue in west london. as part of two visits, the prince has done. 0ne here and then around a week ago, he went to the red cross in london and had a link up, a video link up with staff on the ground in gaza. so the theme really of the visits are about him getting a better understanding of the human suffering that has come out of the conflict in the middle east in recent months. during his visit here, he heard some very, very powerful stories about the experiences of anti—semitism, particularly from young britishjewish students here. they talked at a roundtable discussion with the prince of wales about their experiences on university campuses, of how they felt isolated away from their families, away from their community, and very much targeted. and during that conversation, the prince of wales spoke very strongly to them all when he said to them, you hear me, hear what i'm saying to you here? anti—semitism is unacceptable. catherine and i, he said, are very worried about the rise in attacks and that you are being targets. he also spoke to a holocaust survivor as well about her experience and her worries now in 2024 for her family. so it was a very powerful visit, focusing on improving his understanding, prince william's understanding of antisemitism. have we had any more information on the princess of wales? yeah. it was interesting todayjust how much she came up during the conversations with various people at this synagogue. a lot of people sending their good wishes to the prince of wales, wishing his wife well. she should have been here with him in january at this visit, but it had to be rescheduled when she was admitted to hospital. when he left here as well, he was also given some flowers for his wife but in terms of how she's doing at kensington palace, are well aware that there is an absence and a bit of a vacuum not having the princess of wales out on public duty. and there has been all sorts of wild rumours on social media about how she's doing, but they are very clear in what they are saying. they had always said that she would not be able to come back to public duties until after easter. that remains and they say that her recovery is going well. severe weather is on the way. we can talk to our presenter about this. what are we expecting? taste talk to our presenter about this. what are we expecting? we have a westerly disturbance, _ what are we expecting? we have a westerly disturbance, this - what are we expecting? we have a westerly disturbance, this area - what are we expecting? we have a westerly disturbance, this area of i westerly disturbance, this area of cloud and heavy snow to the mountains in iran and causing problems, but we have some trouble from the system as it works into afghanistan and also the north of pakistan, north—west of india, we have harry falls of snow, and for afghanistan, about 20 centimetres of snow —— heavy falls. in pakistan and india, about 2000 metres elevation, potentially half a metre of snow, so that will cause a big impact in terms of closing mountain passes, so widespread transport disruption in this part of the world and it would increase the risk of avalanches as well, so quite dangerous nasty weather. ., , , ., well, so quite dangerous nasty weather. ., , , ., weather. not 'ust the snow causing a roblem? weather. notjust the snow causing a problem? you _ weather. notjust the snow causing a problem? you mentioned _ weather. notjust the snow causing a problem? you mentioned about - weather. notjust the snow causing a problem? you mentioned about the l problem? you mentioned about the cold and we — problem? you mentioned about the cold and we are _ problem? you mentioned about the cold and we are looking _ problem? you mentioned about the cold and we are looking at - problem? you mentioned about the cold and we are looking at extreme| cold and we are looking at extreme cold. this chart, the blue is where temperatures are below average but if you look at the shade of the blue, it is at the colder end, the more extreme end of what we see, so we are talking about a severe spell of weather, and even in the capital, we are expecting temperatures to dip down to —16 during sunday which looks to be the peak of the cold weather, but out in the countryside, it may colder. that could be very difficult. it is a system that will bring multiple hazards in terms of heavy snow and extreme cold in afghanistan and also avalanche risk and potentially half a metre of snow going into the high ground of northern india and northern pakistan. northern india and northern pakistan-— northern india and northern pakistan. , ., ., ., pakistan. chris, thanks for “oining us. that pakistan. chris, thanks for “oining that is — pakistan. chris, thanks for “oining us. that is it. i pakistan. chris, thanks for “oining us. that is it. we �* pakistan. chris, thanks for “oining us. that is it. we have _ pakistan. chris, thanks for “oining us. that is it. we have got _ pakistan. chris, thanks forjoining us. that is it. we have got the - us. that is it. we have got the business headlines coming up injust a couple of minutes. do stay with us. hello, there. quite a mixture of weather around this afternoon. across eastern areas of england, we have a slow—moving weather front, bringing persistent outbreaks of rain. further north—west, we've got heavy showers — some of these will have thunder and hail mixed in, but the rain certainly set in across east anglia, down through southeast england, where it's going to stay, really, through the rest of the day today. so particularly wet weather here. showers in northern ireland aren'tjust going to stay for western counties. they're going to sweep right the way across with hail and thunder in those. also hail and thunder in the showers across western areas of scotland. the day's top temperature ranging from 8 to 12 celsius for most. now, overnight tonight, a new area of low pressure is set to develop with a band of rain starting to push in through the night. ahead of that feature, it will be cold with quite a widespread frost developing across scotland and northern england. and then, as we start off friday morning, we may well see some of this rain start to turn to snow. now, the greatest risk of snow is on this occluded weather front that stretches across the peak district, the pennines and on into parts of northern ireland. it is hill snow that we're talking about, and there could be some areas that see around about five centimetres of snow, but others seeing probably very little. and certainly, down at the lower elevations, it's just cold outbreaks of rain that you're going to see from this weather front. temperatures really struggling underneath it. it's probablyjust two or three celsius for a good chunk of the day. away from that, we'll see some blustery conditions and showers spreading into wales and southern counties of england, something a bit drier across scotland with our temperatures generally a little bit below average for the time of year. now, on into the weekend, the same area of low pressure is going to be loitering over the top of the uk. ok, it's going to be weakening, but nevertheless, it will be bringing showers and the showers will be particularly widespread as we start off the weekend. so on saturday, a day of sunny spells and showers, the showers heavy with some hail and thunder mixed in, still cold enough for a little bit of snow over the very tops of the hills and mountains across northern england and scotland as well. but it shouldn't be impactful snow. temperatures around 6 to 8 celsius or so. so still feeling a little on the cold side. sunday, the same low pressure is still with us, but it's weakening, so there'll be fewer showers around, and the majority of these will tend to be across scotland and northern ireland, with fewer showers generally across more southern areas of the country. that's the latest weather. bye for now. you're watching bbc news. let's get more now on the independent report into the murder of sarah everard in south london in 2021. it's concluded that the man responsible — wayne couzens — should never have been a police officer and several opportunities to stop him offending were missed. couzens was off—duty when he kidnapped the 33—year—old, under the false guise of an arrest. he's now serving a whole life sentence for sarah's rape and murder. her killing by a serving police officer prompted a widespread outpouring of anger and grief and sparked demonstrations over concern for women's safety. the chair of the inquiry said that without a radical overhaul of police vetting and recruitment, there's "nothing to stop another couzens operating in plain sight. june kelly reports. he was a predatory sex offender in a police uniform, a criminal with state—sanctioned powers. wayne couzens should never have been allowed to become a police officer, and continualflawed vetting meant he was able to stay in his role despite a series of red flags. these are among the stark conclusions of today's inquiry report into cousins. —— couzens. it examined his career, his behaviour and the way he was vetted.