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tv   BBC News  BBC News  December 23, 2023 6:00pm-6:31pm GMT

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in the past 2a hours as israel's bombardment continues. a woman in the us with a rare double uterus has given birth twice in two days, after a "one in the million" pregnancy. hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. we start in the czech republic. a minute's silence has been held for the 1a people shot dead by a student at a university in prague. thursday's attack also left dozens injured. the czech prime minister has described the "pain and sorrow" of an entire societyjust before christmas. the gunman killed himself when surrounded by police. from prague, sarah rainsford sent this report.
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bells ring a nation paused today to remember the victims of an attack people here can't make sense of, that has brought pain and suffering. church bells rang out across the czech republic to mark the moment. to honour those killed when a student attacked his own university, shooting in the corridors and classrooms. so far, we know three of the dead, including lenka hlavkova, a teacher who was 49. here at the arts faculty that was attacked, some have personal connections to the victims. a friend of these women survived by locking herself into a classroom to hide. translation: she cowered under the table. _ i saw her yesterday and felt sorry for her. she was still shaking. shouting images from a body camera show the police hunt for the gunman
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inside charles university. at this point the 24—year—old was prowling the corridors above. we're told most of his victims were female, but we have no idea of his motive. in the end, he turned his gun on himself. many people were seriously injured, carried out of the building by police. this attack has not only brought horror here to prague, it is a national tragedy. there are still many questions to answer about how exactly it was possible and how to prevent anything like it in the future. the mass shooting is the worst this country has ever known, and it targeted young students and teachers who should have been returning home to their families now for christmas. sarah rainsford, bbc news, prague. gaza's health ministry says more then 200 people have been killed in the past 2a hours as israel's bombardment continues. it comes as a watered—down un
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security council resolution for more aid into gaza has been criticised for not going far enough. israel says it's interrogating hundreds of hamas and islamichhad fighters it's captured in gaza. the military wing of hamas, says it has lost contact with a group holding five hostages in gaza, as a result of israeli air strikes. lucy williamson reports. in gaza, this is the new normal. drone strikes in the border town of rafah, emptying the local market. 17—year—old jo, filming on his phone, still clutching his bag of shopping, and calling on god for protection. america has blocked un calls for a ceasefire. israel says it needs to keep fighting to keep up the pressure on hamas.
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if you want a ceasefire, that, from israel's perspective, can only happen with the release of hostages. as you know, hamas continues to hold over 100 hostages. there is a chance, because they want that ceasefire, they need that ceasefire, they will agree to the hostages. but to be frank, had we agreed to the un secretary—general�*s proposal over a month ago for this unilateral ceasefire, we would never have got the 110 hostages out that we did in november. israel's army said this week it had killed tens of hamas fighters in an ambush near gaza city. and that it is preparing to expand operations to new areas in the south. israel is keen to show it is making progress against hamas. its security forces say 700 palestinian fighters have been taken to israel for questioning. 200 of them in the past week. but palestinian groups are still firing rockets into israel, and there is no sign of the hamas
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leaders israel blames for the 7th of october attacks. strikes in khan younis yesterday reportedly killed around 50 people. gaza's hamas run government says most of those killed in the war are women and children. mass funerals are held daily at hospital morgue. "the mask of humanity is falling. what is going on in the corridors of the un security council is nothing more than theatre and farce. it confirms the continued murder and extermination of civilians. this is a genocide." israelis were told this war would bring security. to gazans, it is bringing the opposite. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. let's talk about the un security council resolution on aid for gaza. live now to ahmed bayram from the norwegian refugee council.
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thank you forjoining us here in bbc news. so what is the council's reaction to what happened in new york yesterday?— reaction to what happened in new york esterda ? ., york yesterday? good evening. thanks for havin: york yesterday? good evening. thanks for having me- — york yesterday? good evening. thanks for having me- i— york yesterday? good evening. thanks for having me. i think _ york yesterday? good evening. thanks for having me. i think it _ york yesterday? good evening. thanks for having me. i think it is, _ york yesterday? good evening. thanks for having me. i think it is, we - york yesterday? good evening. thanks for having me. i think it is, we can - for having me. i think it is, we can all agree while it is a step in the right direction, what we need here is a giant stride towards achieving a lasting ceasefire. this is not going to cut it. this is not enough and while there is clearly a political will to help people, to help the people in gaza, i think negotiations that are happening will decide the fate of 2 million people over the next period. we are entering a very dangerous territory in terms of the weather, in terms of displacement, in terms of the famine that we are risking now, as reported by the un. all these factors come together to test the humanity of the world, the humanity of the political leaders of the world and the
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political powers of this world so what we need to see next is a serious negotiation for a lasting ceasefire in gaza.— serious negotiation for a lasting ceasefire in gaza. how are your team 0 eratin: ceasefire in gaza. how are your team operating within _ ceasefire in gaza. how are your team operating within gaza? _ ceasefire in gaza. how are your team operating within gaza? are _ ceasefire in gaza. how are your team operating within gaza? are they - operating within gaza? are they getting any aid at all at the moment?— getting any aid at all at the moment? , _, getting any aid at all at the moment? , u, ., getting any aid at all at the moment? , _, ., ., moment? very little compared to what we can do foot — moment? very little compared to what we can do foot about _ moment? very little compared to what we can do foot about 50 _ moment? very little compared to what we can do foot about 50 colleagues - we can do foot about 50 colleagues on the ground. they are doing an impossiblejob. there on the ground. they are doing an impossible job. there are literally risking their lives. they have to spend the day fending for their families, trying to find whatever food they can get hold of. the market is obviously empty. there is very little aid coming in. at the same time, they have to provide for people who need, desperately need this aid, particularly in areas around raha which is now one of the
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most densely populated areas in the world. they're working under impossible situations reallyjust like all other aid workers in gaza. what they have to do is provide aid while at the same time checking in, making sure that their family are still alive with every air strike that keeps creeping closer and closer. this environment is simply unsustainable and we need aid workers who can deliver for people in gaza. there are 2 million of them and that cannot happen without a surge in the number of aid trucks that come in the quality of aid that comes in and negotiations for a ceasefire. d0 comes in and negotiations for a ceasefire. , ., comes in and negotiations for a ceasefire-— comes in and negotiations for a ceasefire. , ., , ., ., , ceasefire. do you understand what is likel to ceasefire. do you understand what is likely to happen _ ceasefire. do you understand what is likely to happen next? _ ceasefire. do you understand what is likely to happen next? obviously, i likely to happen next? obviously, organisations like yours needs to know in order to put plans into action? ~ , , �* know in order to put plans into action? ~ , , ~ ., , action? absolutely. and that is the auestion action? absolutely. and that is the question we _ action? absolutely. and that is the question we are _ action? absolutely. and that is the question we are all _ action? absolutely. and that is the
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question we are all asking. - action? absolutely. and that is the question we are all asking. we - action? absolutely. and that is the l question we are all asking. we have been appealing well this time, 75 days, for this ceasefire to take hold for the hostages to be released. forthe hold for the hostages to be released. for the siege to be lifted, for eight. we need to understand that we are asking the impossible of these aid workers. they are working across very small pockets of not even safe but, you know, little pockets of shelters, overcrowded tents, schools, un shelters and now, you know, with israel, you know, continuing to order hundreds of thousands to leave the areas it is asked them to go to, it makes it even more impossible so what want to see next, really, is hopefully a window, i hope, a series of negotiations that can push us towards a ceasefire and an end to
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this misery for 2 million people in gaza. ., ., this misery for 2 million people in gaza. . ~ ,, this misery for 2 million people in gaza. ., ~' ,, , this misery for 2 million people in gaza. . ~ ,, , . this misery for 2 million people in gaza. ., ,, ,, , . ., this misery for2 million people in gaza. . ~ , . ., gaza. thank you very much for your time. gaza. thank you very much for your time- thank— gaza. thank you very much for your time. thank you. _ thank you. about half a million palestinian refugees are currently registered in lebanon, they were mostly displaced there in 1948 and 1967. for many of them, the current war in gaza is both a traumatic flashback and a worrying development for the future. lina sinjab reports from the shatila refugee camp. a slum in the south of beirut. shatila camp is home to thousands of palestinian refugees. translation: 0ur| house was on a hill. it was very beautiful. dawood is originally from nazareth. he arrived in lebanon with his family in 1948 when he was six. translation: we walked from palestine. _ like him, many arrived in 1948. up until may that year,
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britain had governed palestine under a un mandate on a promise to establish a national home there werejewish people. in the war that followed israel's declaration of statehood in may 1948, about 700,000 palestinians were expelled or forced from their homes. dawood's family members now live in lebanon, europe and gaza. this latest war has reopened old wounds and has pushed people to the extreme. translation: if you look. at hiroshima, it is not as bad as what they did in gaza. they want to exterminate all palestinians, not only hamas. the bloodshed has been going on since 1948. the israeli defence forces say they are trying to minimise civilian casualties in gaza, but here, there is a widespread sense of anger. many share dawood's views as now, over 20,000 people have been killed in gaza. nearly half of them are children.
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because of the sectarian divisions in lebanon and the palestinian involvement in the lebanese civil war in the mid—70s, to this day, the lebanese government does not recognise any rights to palestinian refugees, not even property ownership. and poorly paid jobs are the only ones allowed for young people in this camp. the united nations agency unwra has been providing help here for decades. security is very bad. sanitation, water is always a problem and unwra is struggling to provide these very basic services to the palestine refugees that should be standing on their own feet, 75 years later. this museum connects personal belongings of refugees. some people have even kept their old house keys, hoping one day to be back. but as war continues in gaza, the future for many looks bleak. netanyahu does not want
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a state of palestine. so what can we do? we are in need of a partner that will also say ok to peace. today, people in the camp have taken to the streets to express solidarity with people in gaza. generation after generation here keeps palestine in their heart and mind. a drone strike has damaged a ship in the arabian sea off the coast of india. a british maritime security firm said the attack happened 200 miles southwest of veraval. it caused a fire on board, but there were no casualties. the strike came amid a flurry of drone and missile attacks by iran—backed houthi rebels in yemen. they are targeting vessels passing through the red sea, forcing shipping companies to change course. live now to our south asia regional editor anbarasan ethirajan, who joins us from delhi.
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tell us more about this, please. according to one of the maritime security agencies this particular cargo ship, which was carrying chemical products, which started in saudi arabia, on its way to one of the indian ports in southern india, came under attack by an unmanned aerial vehicle. this happened just 200 nautical miles off the coast of the western part of india in the arabian sea. now, what is significant here is that we have been hearing about attacks on cargo ships and container ships passing through the red sea by the rebels and they have attacked about ten ship so far. but this particular incident happened probably approximately about 2000 kilometres away from that area and shows how far this conflict can spread and it
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is also a big question, who could have carried out? no country has said that they were responsible for this attack. there was fire on the boat, that was put out. the structural damage and it took some water. there are 20 indian crew. so it is a big danger to all these commercial vehicles carrying a huge amount of cargo because security also says that the ship was linked to israel and that is why probably came under attack. it is a warning sign for countries in the region including india. it sign for countries in the region including india.— sign for countries in the region including india. it seems bizarre that we would _ including india. it seems bizarre that we would link _ including india. it seems bizarre that we would link it _ including india. it seems bizarre that we would link it back - including india. it seems bizarre that we would link it back to - including india. it seems bizarre that we would link it back to the rebels. i mean, who within the vicinity of the arabian sea would likely want to mount a strike like this? an attack like this? is it just a copycat? this? an attack like this? is it just a tomcat?— this? an attack like this? is it just a copycat? this? an attack like this? is it 'ustaco cat? ., ., ., , just a copycat? now, you have to see what the us — just a copycat? now, you have to see what the us has _ just a copycat? now, you have to see what the us has been _ just a copycat? now, you have to see what the us has been saying - just a copycat? now, you have to see what the us has been saying for - just a copycat? now, you have to see what the us has been saying for the l what the us has been saying for the past few weeks that iran has been influencing deputy rebels in
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carrying out attacks and they would not be surprised if iran was involved in these attacks. that was before this incident and one of the senior commanders earlier warned that not only the passage to the red sea but even other c channels we could target so the suspicion that falls on because if you look at the geographical area, 200 nautical miles throughout the coast, close to iran, that is coming under irani in territory so it could be, the suspicion could follow in iran given past statements and the us statements but so far we do not know which group which country was responsible. but what it shows us is that relationships even far away from the middle east can be targeted ijy from the middle east can be targeted by these unmanned aerial vehicles that are one indian navy official told the local news agency said there dispatch an indian worship that area to see whether they
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attacked the commercial cargo tank, whether it requires any other help and they were in communication with it. because india imports most of its petroleum products in the middle east if this is going to be continuing, this is a big worry for india. continuing, this is a big worry for india. the un special envoy to yemen says the warring sides in the long—running conflict have agreed to engage in a ceasefire to end the fighting. hans grundberg said he welcomed the breakthrough, adding that a nationwide ceasefire would improve living conditions in the war—torn country. in a statement mr grundberg added that the parties had agreed to join preparations for the resumption of an inclusive un—led political process. for the first time in centuries, ukraine is going to celebrate christmas on the 25th of december. injuly, president zelensky signed
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into law a parliamentary bill that aimed to "abandon the russian heritage of imposing christmas celebrations". it followed the decision of the orthodox church of ukraine to move to the gregorian calendar, which changed the christmas day from 7january to 25 december. from kyiv, our ukraine correspondentjames waterhouse reports. bauble painting on the outskirts of kyiv. in a war which takes so much, there's no stopping christmas. some, though, are more experienced at making decorations than others. this woman has done this since 1978. "i like it. it's interesting for me. i enjoy it," she says. this factory in the kiev region was one of three to supply the whole of the soviet union. it still creates pieces of christmas cheer, but on a much smaller scale. this time there's an
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unmistakable military theme. translation: i think that everyone who will take a look at a bauble - like this will hope for the victory of our nation sooner. despite the cold industrial exterior, there's still a warm magic inside. the meaning of christmas, despite everything, has not changed for ukrainians, but the way they celebrate it has. in a cultural shift fuelled by russia's aggression. fewer places know that aggression better than the town of bucha. a memorial stands on what was once a mass grave for 500 civilians killed by russian troops. ukraine is moving christmas to 25th december to both distance itself from russia, which marks it on 7th ofjanuary, and align itself with the west. for father andriy, it's more than just a diary change.
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translation: unfortunately for many people in the world, _ ukraine is always viewed in the context of being a neighbour of russia. but i think that we are more a neighbour of europe. could you ever forgive russia for what it's done to ukraine? god forgives the sinner, but only those who repent. we don't see yet that the russians want to. so i think it's too early to talk about forgiveness. for ukraine, that would require russia to stop its invasion. there are no signs of that happening. james waterhouse, bbc news, bucha. thousands of people in the uk won't be able to spend christmas in their own homes this year because of safety issues with the blocks of flats where they live. on average one block a month has been evacuated this year, because of concerns about fire safety or cladding panels. in the wake of the grenfell tower disaster in london, almost 4,000
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tower blocks are under scrutiny. phil hendry reports. all wrapped up for christmas, and the hammers ring out. for residents of the south london flats, a white christmas takes the form of protective plastic sheeting, while their cladding panels are stripped and replaced. as first—time buyer sitara sorts out her presents, there's another presence that keeps on giving. talking about workmen stuff straight outside your bedroom window from first thing in the morning until the very end of the day. i can't even think about christmas, to be honest. i'm going to be probably leaving the flat for as long as possible. the building's management are apologetic, offering compensation and to buy back many of the 270 flats. as we approach the seventh year since the grenfell tower fired
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there are now nearly 4,000 blocks of flats identified as having dangerous flammable cladding or having other fire safety defects. of those, only about 20% have been fixed so far. the future for this block in ipswich is uncertain. residents were evacuated earlier this year because of numerous cladding and fire safety issues. some, like emily, are spending christmas in temporary accommodation, paid for, for now, by the building's freeholder. the outcome looks as if i'm going to be essentially kicked off the property ladder. i was a first—time buyer so i had all of the privileges then, bought a dud flat, essentially. i think i've gone past frustration. it'sjust devastating, really. this year, ministers did finally manage to get 50 major developers to agree to fix their dangerous flats. but that's revealed another 1000 blocks that will need checking. for hundreds of thousands, owning or living in flats
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with cladding problems, seasonal goodwill towards the government and building industry is in short supply. phil hendry, bbc news. now to one of the most read stories today on the bbc news website and app. and it's quite a remarkable story. a mother from alabama in the united states with a rare double womb gives birth to two babies in two days. kelsey hatcher delivered one daughter on tuesday and a second on wednesday after a total of 20 hours in labour at the university of alabama hospital. experts say it's a "one in a million" pregnancy, a double uterus affects 0.3 % of women. kelsey and husband caleb called them "miracle babies". the girls are described as fraternal twins , with rare separate birthdays. earlier, we spoke to dr shweta patel
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who's assistant professor in the obstetrics and gynecology department at uab and was one of the doctors who helped manage the delivery. kelsey was coming in for her first new visit and we knew she had a condition with a double uterus. that is when we found out that not only was she pregnant in one uterus, she was also pregnant any other uterus. it is very, very rare. that is something that obstetricians go through their whole careers and never see. biologically her uterus developed in an atypical way. a normal uterus forms by having two ducts that fuse together. hers did not fuse and that led to two separate uterus is and two separate cervixs. she likely ovulated separately with separate eggs going down each uterus and spurn being fertilised separately as well, leading to two separate babies in each uterus.
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as most babies they had a mind of their own and one came... the first baby on the right uterus came in about ten hours later the baby came by c—section. mum is great and both babies are doing well. the baby on the right is called roxy and the baby on the left side, who came by c—section, is called rebel. appropriately named. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. we've got typical festive fare to come over the next few days. i'll show you that in a moment. today was another mild one, temperatures widely in double figures. there was even a bit of sunshine coming through the cloud as well. different story in scotland where we've had a wintry scene across northern parts
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of the mainland. the snow that was falling here has since turned to rain. and it's quite misty and murky, very wet at the moment. but the rain will ease off in scotland and northern ireland. the main rain band pushing down towards southern parts of england and across the northern isles. it'll be followed by some clearer spells for northern parts of the uk and a few showers. and it's going to be a mild start to sunday morning, christmas eve, but it's going to be a windy day for all of us on christmas eve, particularly so over and to the east of the pennines, could be quite difficult for driving high sided vehicles up and down the ai. very windy conditions also, widely in scotland with the strongest gusts 70 miles an hour in northern parts of the mainland and across orkney. and those really strong winds will drive in lots of blustery showers across scotland. sunshine and showers will follow to northern ireland, northern england and eventually north wales and the north midlands as our main band of clouds sinks southwards, bringing rain for a while in wales and then more towards the south west of england in the afternoon. temperatures could actually reach 15 degrees across eastern parts of england, but those numbers
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do drop a little bit during the afternoon. cooler air is coming in behind that weather front there. that's bringing the rain and the cloud across southern areas. it's going to sit around overnight and will still be there into christmas morning. but we've got another weather system to the north and the two will combine to bring a lot of cloud, rain developing quite widely, some snow over the hills across northern scotland where the air is that bit colder, but otherwise, another mild day. temperatures could reach 1a degrees in the southeast with the blustery winds. now, those two weather systems will sweep away overnight. things will calm down as we head into boxing day. the winds will be lighter. it's still a bit blustery across the north and west of scotland with a few wintry showers here just for a while. otherwise, a lot of dry weather, plenty of sunshine around. there is some rain in the channel, that'll push back towards the far south west of england. temperatures will be a little bit lower. so let's summarise the next few days. we've got the strong winds and mild weather for christmas eve could bring some travel disruption, then rain develops for christmas day. if you're out on boxing day, it looks sunny.
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this is bbc news. the headlines. the czech republic holds a minute's silence for the 1a people who died in thursday's mass shooting at a university in prague. church bells also rang out across the country as a mark of respect, as they did across the european union and nato nations.
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gaza's health ministry says 200 people have died and hundreds of others injured over a period of 2a hours, as israel's bombardment continues. it comes as a watered—down un security council resolution for more aid into gaza has been criticised for not going far enough. a woman in the us with a rare double uterus has given birth twice in two days — after a "one in the million" pregnancy. 32—year—old kelsey hatcher delivered one daughter on tuesday, and a second on wednesday, at a hospital in alabama, after 20 hours in labour. now on bbc news, sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday this saturday night
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live from the bbc sport centre.

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