tv Verified Live BBC News December 20, 2023 5:00pm-5:30pm GMT
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a new resolution is set for a vote in at the united nations security council in an effort to bring help to civilians in gaza. two teenagers are found guilty... donald trump cannot run for president in a state, he says he will appeal to the us supreme court. uk inflation falls to 3.9% — the lowest rate in more than two years. ——and colorado's top court rules that donald trump cannot run for president in the state. hello, i m samantha smith, welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. hopes are rising of at least a temporary pause in the fighting in gaza with a series of diplomatic initiatives under way. a vote is expected on a new security council resolution shortly. the text released a short time ago calls for extended humanitarian pauses and aid corridors.
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the leader of hamas, ismail haniyeh, has arrived in cairo for talks on a fresh ceasefire. israel's president has said his country is now ready for what he calls another "humanitarian pause". nearly 20 thousand people are now reported to have been killed in gaza. 1,200 were killed and 240 taken hostage when hamas attacked israel on the 7th of october. the un security council is about to start discussing a new draft of a gaza resolution and a vote could take place any minute now. the white house has just said discussions for a humanitarian pause are quote "very serious". it's all about the wording of the text. it's all about the wording. the draft is very long, but the key section talks of "extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the gaza strip for a sufficient number of days to enable full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access". it remains to be seen if the wording is now acceptable to the united states. in the past half hour, the us
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secretary of state has in the past half hour, the us secretary of state has been in the past half hour, the us secretary of state has been speaking about the situation in gaza. in the conflict between _ about the situation in gaza. in the conflict between israel _ about the situation in gaza. in the conflict between israel and - about the situation in gaza. in the l conflict between israel and hamas, we will continue to focus intensely on our core priorities, helping israel insure that what happened on october seven can never happen again. bringing the conflict to an end as quickly as possible while minimising the loss of life and the suffering of civilians. getting the remaining hostages back home to theirfamilies, preventing the their families, preventing the conflict theirfamilies, preventing the conflict from spreading and, once and for all, breaking the devastating cycle of violence and moving toward durable, lasting peace. we continue to believe that israel does not have to choose between removing the threat of hamas and minimising the toll on civilians in gaza. it has an obligation to do both and has a strategic interest to do both. we are more determined than ever to ensure that out of this
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horrific tragedy comes a moment of possibility for israelis, for palestinians, for the region, to live in lasting peace and lasting security. that out of this darkness comes to light.— security. that out of this darkness comes to light. anthony blinked and also said in that _ comes to light. anthony blinked and also said in that news _ comes to light. anthony blinked and also said in that news conference i also said in that news conference that he wants to see a shift to more targeted operations by israel. we also heard from president biden in the past few minutes saying there is no expectation of an israeli hostage deal soon, although he said we are pushing and that is something that was also reiterated by us secretary of state. the un security council vote for a gaza cease—fire is expected to happen in the next few hours. for more on this, i am joined by a former israeli ambassador to the united states. thank you very much for being with us. i wonder if you are hearing any of that press conference, his thoughts about what
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needs to happen from the secretary of state and what needs to happen now and the responsibilities that israel face and also he wanted increasing calls from the international community on hamas to also lay down their arms and release hostages. what are your thoughts on what he has had to say on the ongoing conflict in america's position on its?— ongoing conflict in america's osition on its? , , ., , position on its? given the history, eseciall position on its? given the history, especially the _ position on its? given the history, especially the recent _ position on its? given the history, especially the recent history, - position on its? given the history, especially the recent history, i - especially the recent history, i think it's imperative that hamas lay down their arms. we need an unconditional surrender just like the nazis in 1945, nothing short of this, will really enable the middle east to become stable again and to live for a better future. east to become stable again and to live for a betterfuture. the problem here is that hamas is very much aided and financed by iran, like the other proxies of iran, and we know what they are doing in the gulf waters. we are in really a very, very crucial time, and hamas
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should not be getting any reprieve from resolutions. if there is an unconditional surrender, they can get a free pass, anything that will be the best thing for the population in gaza, that they hold hostage, so this is, i think, what should be coming out of the un, and a cease—fire with the surrender of hamas giving up their arms and then we can all rebuild gaza. what hamas giving up their arms and then we can all rebuild gaza.— we can all rebuild gaza. what do you think is going _ we can all rebuild gaza. what do you think is going to _ we can all rebuild gaza. what do you think is going to happen _ we can all rebuild gaza. what do you think is going to happen in _ we can all rebuild gaza. what do you think is going to happen in the - we can all rebuild gaza. what do you think is going to happen in the un. l think is going to happen in the un. this resolution which is expected to now be debated and voted on much delayed for the past few days. it's unclear what the us position is he was pushed on that, what are the red lines for the united states. how important is that their position on what happens at the un, whether or not they've approve, veto or abstain on the next boat? it’s not they've approve, veto or abstain on the next boat?— on the next boat? it's crucial. the united states _ on the next boat? it's crucial. the united states today, _ on the next boat? it's crucial. the united states today, the - on the next boat? it's crucial. the united states today, the uk - on the next boat? it's crucial. the united states today, the uk as i on the next boat? it's crucial. the i united states today, the uk as well, they are a weekend of light in terms of democracy. we have really big
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forces pushing for a cease—fire without any consequence for hamas china, russia, or iran, of course, some other countries, but if you look into what are the real stakes and the real interests notjust of israel, also the palestinian people, also of the moderate muslim countries in the golf, like saudi arabia, egypt, they all would like to see a decisive result where hamas and terrorism is down and out, and for that, the resolution will not bring about a clear message, then i would expect the united states to veto. this is the only decent thing to do. �* ., , veto. this is the only decent thing todo.�* ., i, ~' veto. this is the only decent thing todo.�* ., i, ~ ., veto. this is the only decent thing todo. ., i, ~ ., , veto. this is the only decent thing todo. ~ ., ,, to do. anthony blinked and is still talkin: in to do. anthony blinked and is still talking in this _ to do. anthony blinked and is still talking in this conference, - to do. anthony blinked and is still talking in this conference, it - to do. anthony blinked and is still talking in this conference, it is . talking in this conference, it is clear that the hamas conflict needs to move to a lower intensity focus and also in the last half hour, the gaza run, hamas runs gaza industry
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says that death toll over there has not reached more than 20,000 people, there have been criticism from around the world, including from the united states the high civilian death toll and also from here in the uk. is there an acceptance there at all from israel that too many civilians in gaza are dying and that something needs to change in his conflict? i something needs to change in his conflict? u, something needs to change in his conflict? , ., , conflict? i can tell you definitely, definitely. _ conflict? i can tell you definitely, definitely, one _ conflict? i can tell you definitely, definitely, one civilian _ conflict? i can tell you definitely, definitely, one civilian is - conflict? i can tell you definitely, definitely, one civilian is too - definitely, one civilian is too many, but, again, who is responsible for that? many, but, again, who is responsible forthat? hamas, many, but, again, who is responsible for that? hamas, we have all the documentation, where do they put their bunkers, and hospitals, in schools. we are talking about despicable terror organisations that really has no shame preaching all human conduct, decency and brutality. with all due respect and with all the pain we have civilian
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death, there is only one way to stop at dev, surrenders, are using their killing. not us. i thank you for joining us from washington. moving on to our ton _ joining us from washington. moving on to our top story _ joining us from washington. moving on to our top story in _ joining us from washington. moving on to our top story in the _ joining us from washington. moving on to our top story in the uk. - here in the uk, a boy and a girl, both 16, have been found guilty of the murder of a trans teenager in cheshire. 16—year—old brianna ghey was stabbed in a park in culcheth, near warrington, in february, in what the court heard was a "frenzied and ferocious attack". judith moritz has the background to the case. and a warning — her report contains some distressing details. brianna ghey�*s family describe her as a ball of energy — funny, brave and one of a kind. the 16—year—old was also transgender, though they say that didn't define her. she was fearless to be whoever she wanted to be. she wanted to identify as a female, and she wanted to wear a girl's school uniform. and yeah, shejust did it. it was just, it wasn't a hurdle at all for her. but not everyone
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wished brianna well. she was targeted as a murder victim by two teenagers who wrote out a plan to stab her in the back and in the stomach. brianna was lured from her home. she thought she was going to meet herfriend, a 15—year—old girl. but when she got off this bus, the girl had brought a boy of the same age along too. the group ended up at this park near warrington. it was the middle of saturday afternoon, broad daylight, and there were lots of people walking their dogs. they saw the teenagers walking along this path and hanging around some steps. the exact detail of what happened next is where accounts differed in court. the boy said he'd left the others sitting on this bench and then went to the toilet behind some trees, when he saw the girl stabbing brianna. but the girl said she'd left the group to go and stretch her legs and it was the boy who knifed her. the teenagers ran off across these fields, leaving brianna with 28 stab wounds. brianna's mum came home to find
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police in her street. i sort ofjoked and said that... because, if brianna doesn't come home soon, i'll probably have to ring the police. we got to the front door and the front door was open and there was two policemen stood in the house and they said that they'd found a body. and i remember the first thing that i said to him was that i knew, i knew something was going to happen. the identities of the children have been protected during the trial due to their age. the court heard disturbing detail about their fascination with dark subjects, including torture. they had a real thirst for death and for murder. and the two of them were quite depraved in terms of the conversations they were having. i think it was brianna's availability or accessibility that led to her being a victim on that day. we believe that there were others, possibly, who it would have been, had it not been brianna. the lgbtq+ community mourned brianna's death at a series of vigils.
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the police considered whether the murder was motivated by her gender identity. but the case was not built around that as a motive. there was never, ever any evidence of brianna being bullied within school or out of school. brianna was very much able to give as good as she got, in that way. and i think what was really hard was that she was portrayed in the media as a victim, and she didn't live her life as a victim. she was someone that was loud and proud and confident in who she was. brianna's family say they want that positivity to be what she's known for, that all they ever wanted was for her to be happy and for the world to remember her as the life force she was. judith moritz, bbc news. breanna's mother addressed the media a short time ago, a warning, or
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statement contains flashing images. breanna was larger than life. she was funny, witty and fearless. we miss breanna so much, and our hearts feel empty without her laughter. to know how scared my usually fearless child must have been... when she was alone in that park with someone that she called her friend will haunt me forever. priorto she called her friend will haunt me forever. prior to the trial, i had moments where i felt sorry for the defendants because they had ruined their own lives as well as ours but now knowing the true nature and seeing neither display an ounce of remorse for what they have done to breanna, i have lost all sympathy that they may have previously had for them. and i'm glad that they will spend many years in prison and away from society. lastly, please
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have some empty and compassion for the families of the young people convicted of this horrific crime. they too have lost a child, and they must live the rest of their lives knowing what their child has done. my knowing what their child has done. my family and i request some space for healing for the next few weeks. however, i will be back at the end of january to continue my campaigning far better mental health support for young people and their families. thank you.— families. thank you. esther, the mother breanna. _ around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a prominent british businessman who was kidnapped in ecuador has been released from captivity. colin armstrong was abducted on saturday from a farm he owned near the city of guayaquil. mr armstrong is the president of ecuadorean agriculture firm agripac and former honorary consul in the ecuadoran port city. he is now with the police
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and authorities in ecuador. the ex—wife of a french serial killer has been given a second life sentence for her part in the murders of two young women — one of whom was a british student. monique olivier helped to lure 20—year—old joanna parrish, from gloucestershire, to her death in auxerre in 1990. joanna's family said the sentence was a moment they had been "waiting a lifetime" for above our normal clouds. residents in scotland were amazed by a rare sight in the sky on tuesday evening. the shimmering colours of nacreous cloud were spotted — one of the highest clouds in our atmosphere. often referred to as "mother—of—pearl", nacreous cloud form in very cold conditions over polar regions and within the stratosphere, around 12—19 miles high, far you're live with bbc news. lets turn now to the us where in colorado, the supreme court has ruled that donald trump cannot run for president next year in the state. the ruling is based on a rarely—used provision of the us constitution which bars officials who have engaged in "insurrection or rebellion" from holding office.
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it says he's in eligible to appear on next year's ballot because of his role in "instigating violence onjanuary 6th, of 2021" the day of the attack on the us capitol building. to clarify, the ruling does not stop mr trump running in the other states. in a statement, the trump campaign said the court had "issued a completely flawed decision," adding they "will swiftly file an appeal to the united states supreme court." in a campaign speech, the former president said no one will silence him. neverforget, our enemies want to take away my freedom because i will never let them take away your freedom. it's very simple. i'm not going to let them do it. cheering. they want to silence me because i will never let them silence you, and in the end, they are not after me, they're after you. ijust happen to be standing in their way and i always will stand in their way. our north america correspondent said what this would mean for that trump campaign. the claim was brought by a group of colorado voters,
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as well as an advocacy group based in washington, and the lawsuit is viewed as a test case for a wider effort to disqualify the former president, who is currently leading in the opinion polls for the republican primary. mario nicolais is one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs. this was his reaction to the ruling. they are thrilled with the outcome, these six individuals, i cannot overstate how courageous they are to bring a lawsuit like this and to bring it out and basically say that the united states constitution stands for the fact that this country is a rule of law country, and that's what they believed in. earlier i spoke to our correspondent for what this means for the former president's election campaign. it's hugely significant because essentially you've got a us court that has decided a former president engaged in insurrection and therefore should not be allowed to be president again. there are multiple lawsuits being advanced by lots of advocacy and voting groups in different states across america to try and get
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trump booted off the ballots based on their belief that he's unfit to qualify, unfit to be president. those have been dismissed, but the colorado one stuck. it's worth mentioning that a judge in a lower court had already ruled that donald trump did engage in an insurrection but stopped short of disqualifying him. saying that section three, the amendment that you mentioned there that was created after the civil war, was too vague. however, this group of voters, they lawyers, republican lawyers, i should add, and unaffiliated, unaffiliated voters took it to the supreme court to say, "well, wait a minute. if if this amendment that is designed to stop former confederates from returning to power should should mean that they can't return to any form of power, whether it's a low, low held office or the highest office in the land." and the judges on the bench, democratic appointees, a slim majority of them agreed. and so now this will come into effect on january 4th, but it's worth mentioning that
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because trump is going to take this to the supreme court, it means his name will still be on the ballot. however, it does mean — and this is the really significant bit — that the supreme court, the highest court in the land, is now going to probably get involved. which ever way they rule is going to be controversial, and it's going to have huge political implications, especially as we head into an election that was already massively unpredictable anyway. the european union has reached a breakthrough deal on new migration rules — after years of failed talks. the new laws are intended to limit the numbers of people coming in to the eu — and make it easier to deport failed asylum seekers. here's the moment that agreement was announced. i start from a personal angle you know, i come from an island in the mediterranean and i know exactly what it means when we say that we have finally delivered on the migration and asylum pact, probably the most important
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legislative deal of this mandate from the newsroom, our reporter naomi choy smith has more on the details of that agreement. well, eu member states and the european parliament have agreed on this major overhaul of their immigration policy was not at its core, it's immigration policy was not at its core, its intended to speed up and standardise the vetting of asylum—seekers and migrants coming into the eu from outside the block. the eu is proposing to do this with five new laws. the first of which is this pre—entry screening procedure which will take place at the new border detention points along the eu borders. it would involve taking biometric data from migrants, things like facial recognition technology. secondly, the eu wants to speed up the processing of asylum cases and also expedite the deportation of anyone who is not found to have a
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valid or legitimate asylum claim. finally, and perhaps most crucially is what is being called this solidarity mechanism. this would be a fund that eu countries would be asked to pay into to help share and ease the burden across eu countries of housing migrants that are allowed to stay within the block. eu countries would also be asked perhaps to take the overflow of migrants from southern eu countries like greece and italy should they be unable to cope with an influx of migrants for example. so let's take a look at the number now of migrants coming into the eu over the years. you will see there the big points on the graph is 2015 when an all—time high of1 million people came into the eu that year, mostly from war—torn countries like iraq and syria. he was he the numbers have steadily declined over the years. though we are seeing a slight uptick
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now as we approach 2024. now, this eu a deal is not finalised. it still needs ratification. in the meantime, eu member states are taking matters into their own hands. the french parliamentjust into their own hands. the french parliament just today passed into their own hands. the french parliamentjust today passed a tougher immigration bill that would make it harderfor migrants in france to bring about their family members and could delay their access to welfare benefits. so this continues to be a thorny issue in eu politics. the irish government has decided to take the uk to the european court of human rights. it's all about london's plans to change the way killings from the conflict in northern ireland are investigated. earlier this year, westminster passed legislation to set up a new commission to take over investigations relating to the troubles. the troubles are a period of conflict in northern ireland that lasted about 30 years, from the late 1960s. they were — largely — about whether northern ireland should be part of the uk. the irish government — and others — feel the uk government has shut down access to justice for victims and survivors, because the new commission includes immunity provisions. our ireland correspondent chris page
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is following the story from belfast. yes, well —— ireland is taking the uk to court, the european court on human rights, it's the second time ireland has done this, the first time was more than 50 years ago in the 19705 at the height of that conflict known as the height of that conflict known as the troubles in which more than three and a half thousand people died. so earlier this year, the british government passed legislation which would change the way the killings from the conflict were investigated. it 5et way the killings from the conflict were investigated. it set up a commission which will take over all investigations and the legislation provides for a conditional and state for suspects for paramilitaries and former members of state forces who cooperate with the commission and provide truthful information for reports to be compiled about deaths
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during the troubles. so victim5 groups in northern ireland, nearly all strongly opposed that plan, in fact, victim5 all strongly opposed that plan, in fact, victims have already begun a legal challenge here at the high court in belfast, the irish government have taken things up to a whole other level legally, they have taken an interstate ca5e whole other level legally, they have taken an interstate case under the terms of the european convention of human rights, so the irish government will argue in court that the uk hasn't upheld its duty to protect the right to life, that is en5hrined protect the right to life, that is enshrined in international law under the european convention, so its lodging papers with the european court of human rights in strasberg. it's worth saying the british government has previously said that as far as it is concerned, it's brought forward this legislation because it believes that given so much time has passed since the end of the troubles, a quarter of a century, the prospect of a successful prosecution in a criminal
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5ucce55ful prosecution in a criminal court is very small indeed, so they say this information gathering approach is actually the best way to deliver the truth to the largest number of families. 50 deliver the truth to the largest number of families.— deliver the truth to the largest number of families. so air cadets and? what _ number of families. so air cadets and? what are _ number of families. so air cadets and? what are the _ number of families. so air cadets and? what are the possible - number of families. so air cadets - and? what are the possible outcomes of this? ~ , ., and? what are the possible outcomes of this? ~ ,, and? what are the possible outcomes of this? ~ ., ., of this? well, if you look at what the eumpean _ of this? well, if you look at what the european court _ of this? well, if you look at what the european court of _ of this? well, if you look at what the european court of human - of this? well, if you look at what . the european court of human rights doe5, the european court of human rights does, well, there been more than 30 intrastate cases since the european convention was signed back in 1953. the uk and ireland are among the 46 dignitaries of that treaty. they are currently 13 cases before the court, 5o currently 13 cases before the court, so that this case of ireland ver5u5 so that this case of ireland versus the uk, as it were, will be added to that list. the case and the court of northern ireland will continue, the victims families who brought the case here to the high court and belfast are awaiting the judgment. they think that will probably come
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the new year. but they had been calling for the irish government to take this case, the irish government has all the way through, really, oppose the british government's legislation. so to have all the main political parties here in northern ireland who all have different perspectives on the conflict, but all are opposed to this legislation because they say in one shape or another it denies ba5ic another it denies basic principles ofjustice. so the uk government will no doubt defend itself in this case, ministers have said that the legislation bring5 forward the best chance for reconciliation to take place here in northern ireland after such a long and bitter conflict, but the legal route now stretching many, many months ahead. fiifi the legal route now stretching many, many months ahead.— the legal route now stretching many, many months ahead. 0k, and belfast, thank ou many months ahead. 0k, and belfast, thank you very — many months ahead. 0k, and belfast, thank you very much _ many months ahead. 0k, and belfast, thank you very much for _ many months ahead. 0k, and belfast, thank you very much for updating - many months ahead. 0k, and belfast, thank you very much for updating on l thank you very much for updating on that story. to stay with us here on bbc news. back in a couple of minutes with all the day's top stories and for analysis. stay with us.
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hello again. we're still in for some windy weather all the way into the run—up to christmas day itself. but maybe the strongest of the winds will be happening overnight tonight and continuing into thursday — and this is where we've got the greatest risk of some travel disruption. now, the winds have been picking up today and managing to punch a few holes in the cloud. but if i show you the satellite picture — you can see the extent of the cloud that's streaming in from the atlantic — and is continuing to bring some rain and drizzle mainly to western hills and coast. tho5e strengthening westerly winds are drawing in mild air, mind you, around the top of that area of high pressure. but it's that deep low that's moving away from iceland that'll track to the north of scotland, and then, into scandinavia that will really strengthen the winds around it — and that's been named storm pia by the danish weather service. so overnight tonight, the winds continuing to strengthen. it'll be a noisy night, particularly in this heavy rain in scotland — that will move down into northern england and northern ireland. replaced by squally showers, slight change in the wind direction, the air gets a bit colder in scotland. but elsewhere, those temperatures
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not changing very much from what we've seen during the afternoon. but it will be a windy day everywhere on thursday, the strongest of the winds further north. we could see higher gusts over into the east of high ground, and the top gusts of 70—80mph in the north and northeast of scotland, so very windy here. now, we still have this cloud and increasingly patchy rain that'll move southwards to southern england. it'll be replaced by sunshine, but streams of squally showers coming in, and some wintriness over the hills in scotland. things are turning a little bit colder here, but we've still got that milder air across the far south — temperatures 12—13 celsius. now, as the storm tracks further into scandinavia, we get this surge of stronger winds just for a while down those north sea coasts. we still have that weather front there, and that's the boundary between this milder air that's trying to push back northwards across the uk, and the colder air that's still particularly in scotland. and along that boundary, we've got this area of rain here. now south of it, in the milder air,
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a new resolution is set for a vote in at the united nations security council in an effort to bring help to civilians in gaza. the head of hamas arrives in egypt for talks, as pressure mounts for a pause in the fighting. the irish government is taking britain to court over plans to change investigations into the northern ireland conflict. time now for a full round—up of today's sport, here's olly foster. nuno espirito santo has been setting out his plans as nottingham forest's new head coach. the portuguese had been in talks with the club before steve cooper was sacked yesterday. today, he was confirmed in the role on a two—and—a—half—year contract. his lastjob in the premier league was at tottenham two years ago, where he was sacked after just four months. he was well—regarded in a four—year spell at wolves, gaining promotion from the championship and also european football.
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