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tv   Verified Live  BBC News  January 8, 2024 3:00pm-3:31pm GMT

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has just arrived in hasjust arrived in saudi arabia and hasjust arrived in saudi arabia and hasjust arrived in saudi arabia and is going to israel later. the bbc uncovers evidence of rape, torture and forced abortions by the founder of one of the world's biggest christian evangelical churches. pressure on the british government to help hundreds of post office branch managers who were wrongly convicted after they were wrongly convicted after they were wrongly convicted of committing fraud. hello, and welcome. hezbollah has confirmed one of its senior commanders has been killed by an israeli drone strike in lebanon.
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wissam—al—tawil managed many operations in the south of the country. israeli strikes have killed 249 palestinians and injuring a further 510 in the past 24 hours according to the hamas run health ministry and this comes as the top diplomat from america antony blinken is back in the middle east meeting officials in the uae, saudi arabia and israel. further talks on the conflict in gaza. our correspondent sent the very latest. the scale of gaza's humanitarian crisis clearly visible along its southernmost border. hundreds of thousands are now crammed into tents. after fleeing their homes, most have been displaced several times over, by the fighting with israel. angry and weary, this woman believes herfamily remains in danger. "they killed us in schools, in our homes, they won't kill "us inside our tent? "there is no safe place," she says.
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"we came here because of poverty, fear." there is concern al—aqsa hospital in central gaza may close. now largely empty, but only because israeli strikes and evacuation orders have forced hundreds of patients and doctors to leave. on his latest trip to the region, the top us diplomat is telling arab allies that israel must do more to protect civilians and get aid into gaza. and he insists nobody will be forcibly displaced. palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow. they cannot, they must not, be pressed to leave gaza. we reject the statements by some israeli ministers and lawmakers calling for a resettlement of palestinians outside of gaza. rapid gunfire on the ground, israel says the intensity of its offensive fits the gravity of the threat posed by hamas. the defence minister says his country must act with enough force to deter israel's other enemies. during its war in gaza the us has shown israel staunch support.
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but with growing tensions between these two close allies, the us secretary of state must be expecting some tough talks when he meets israeli leaders. and the stakes could not be higher. israel's military says it has carried out more strikes against the powerful lebanese armed group hezbollah, backed by iran. fears remain high that a wider, regional war could yet be on the horizon. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. we can go to a senior fellow at the washington institute for near east policy —— middle east policy. does the visit of antony blinken to the region, is going to make much a difference?— region, is going to make much a difference? yes, of course it will come and _ difference? yes, of course it will
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come and without _ difference? yes, of course it will come and without the _ difference? yes, of course it will come and without the constant l come and without the constant american engagement with the arab countries and israel you can expect to see even further deterioration so this is part of crisis management but there is no expectation of a breakthrough at the moment. what breakthrough at the moment. what could feasibly _ breakthrough at the moment. what could feasibly come _ breakthrough at the moment. what could feasibly come out of it? lots of different angles to this and people who want the hostages to come home as soon as possible and many who want more aid to cross into gaza and of course there is the question about what happens in a post—conflict gaza. about what happens in a post-conflict gaza. about what happens in a ost-conflict gaza. , ., , ., post-conflict gaza. these are 'ust a few of the issues, fl post-conflict gaza. these are 'ust a few of the issues, and i post-conflict gaza. these are 'ust a few of the issues, and there _ post-conflict gaza. these are just a few of the issues, and there is - post-conflict gaza. these are just a few of the issues, and there is also | few of the issues, and there is also issues relating to lebanon and the west bank and the hooty rebels, but when it comes to gaza in particular, the focus from antony blinken will be on israel lowering the intensity of the fighting —— houthi rebels. israel is degrading hamas but the civilian casualties are such that it is making the conduct of the war very difficult in diplomatic terms
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so antony blinken will focus on changing the war and moving to a more targeted approach, providing humanitarian access but what happens the day after as well because the us believes only the palestinians can govern gaza after the war but the israeli government says they do not want the palestinian authorities so this will be another point of tension between antony blinken and his israeli counterparts.— his israeli counterparts. antony bunken his israeli counterparts. antony blinken is in _ his israeli counterparts. antony blinken is in saudi _ his israeli counterparts. antony blinken is in saudi arabia - his israeli counterparts. antony blinken is in saudi arabia for i his israeli counterparts. antony i blinken is in saudi arabia for talks with the crown prince so what should we be looking out for from that meeting? we be looking out for from that meetin: ? . , we be looking out for from that meetin: ? ., , ., meeting? primarily, what he will hear will be _ meeting? primarily, what he will hear will be similar _ meeting? primarily, what he will hear will be similar to _ meeting? primarily, what he will hear will be similar to what - meeting? primarily, what he will hear will be similar to what he i hear will be similar to what he heard in other arab capitals, a call for a ceasefire and a rejection of any idea of displacement of palestinians from gaza, these are red lines for arab countries and i have not seen arab diplomacy so
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united as i have seen around these particular issues. for united as i have seen around these particular issues.— particular issues. for now, thanks for 'oinin: particular issues. for now, thanks forioining us- _ particular issues. for now, thanks forjoining us. thank _ particular issues. for now, thanks forjoining us. thank you - particular issues. for now, thanks forjoining us. thank you for i particular issues. for now, thanks. forjoining us. thank you for having me. forjoining us. thank you for having me- concerns _ forjoining us. thank you for having me. concerns are _ forjoining us. thank you for having me. concerns are growing - forjoining us. thank you for having me. concerns are growing over- forjoining us. thank you for having me. concerns are growing over the| me. concerns are growing over the medical situation _ me. concerns are growing over the medical situation in _ me. concerns are growing over the medical situation in gaza. - me. concerns are growing over the medical situation in gaza. the i medical situation in gaza. the health run ministry by hamas has called on egypt to open up the rafah crossing. otheraid called on egypt to open up the rafah crossing. other aid organisations have said they were pulling out of the al—aqsa hospital is the area nearby had been designated a military zone by the israeli military. israel's military has dropped leaflets designating the area a red zone, adding that the history of israeli attacks on medical facilities history of israeli attacks on medicalfacilities in history of israeli attacks on medical facilities in gaza, history of israeli attacks on medicalfacilities in gaza, that history of israeli attacks on medical facilities in gaza, that the team at the hospital is not able to return. we can now speak to our gas
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from the un agency. —— our guest. tell us about the medical situation in gaza. you tell me it is getting worse every time but happy hospitals are functional at the moment and what sort of injuries are people coming in with? —— how many hospitals. coming in with? -- how many hospitals-_ hospitals. only one third of hosreitals — hospitals. only one third of hospitals across _ hospitals. only one third of hospitals across the - hospitals. only one third of hospitals across the gaza i hospitals. only one third of i hospitals across the gaza strip hospitals. only one third of - hospitals across the gaza strip are currently functioning, according to the un, and these hospitals either don't have the adequate medical supplies or the personnel and that is on the supply side of the story, to a much larger issue with its efficient humanitarian supplies in the gaza strip across the board. the
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medical organisations who are pulling out of the al—aqsa hospital after they say the surrounding area was designated a combat zone, how much of a blow is that two people in the area who desperately need medical care? we the area who desperately need medical care?— medical care? no place is safe across the _ medical care? no place is safe across the gaza _ medical care? no place is safe across the gaza strip - medical care? no place is safe across the gaza strip and i medical care? no place is safe across the gaza strip and we l medical care? no place is safe i across the gaza strip and we have seen this over the past three very long months of this war, and we have seen a pattern of evacuation orders which the israeli authorities issue and this creates a huge sense of panic and fearand and this creates a huge sense of panic and fear and anxiety amongst the population, and they are forced to flee their homes or their places of refuge, and there are people in gaza who have been forced to flee, one memberfor example had to flee with herfamily ten one memberfor example had to flee with her family ten times. what
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one member for example had to flee with her family ten times.— with her family ten times. what else have our with her family ten times. what else have your staff _ with her family ten times. what else have your staff told _ with her family ten times. what else have your staff told you _ with her family ten times. what else have your staff told you about i with her family ten times. what else have your staff told you about how l have your staff told you about how they are able to operate on the ground? they are able to operate on the round? , . . ground? very challenging. the 0 eratin: ground? very challenging. the operating conditions _ ground? very challenging. the operating conditions across i ground? very challenging. the | operating conditions across the ground? very challenging. the i operating conditions across the gaza strip when it comes to the delivery of humanitarian assistance is probably one of the most complex in the world right now and also because of the very little humanitarian supplies that continue to come in despite the slight increase we have seen, it is an active ward zone makes it very challenging for us and it makes it very hard to deliver humanitarian assistance under fire —— war zone. we note there are die humanitarian needs in the north and with this war the displacement continues —— we know there are dire humanitarian needs. the markets are closed and there are no commercial supplies coming in, at least not
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enough, so the humanitarian bodies cannot do it alone and there needs to be more commercial supplies coming in. we to be more commercial supplies coming im— to be more commercial supplies cominu in. ~ ., ., ., coming in. we are hearing that the hamas run — coming in. we are hearing that the hamas run health _ coming in. we are hearing that the hamas run health ministry - coming in. we are hearing that the hamas run health ministry is i coming in. we are hearing that the | hamas run health ministry is calling on egypt to allow patients who need urgent treatment to be moved into egypt. do you know about this? is it likely to happen? i egypt. do you know about this? is it likely to happen?— egypt. do you know about this? is it likely to happen? i don't know about this particular _ likely to happen? i don't know about this particular situation _ likely to happen? i don't know about this particular situation but - likely to happen? i don't know about this particular situation but it - likely to happen? i don't know about this particular situation but it has i this particular situation but it has happened in the past that injured people have been able to go across the borders and get treatment. thanks forjoining us. there is of course more on the ongoing conflict in gaza on the bbc news website where we are running a live page. evidence of rape, torture and forced abortions by the founder of one of the world's
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biggest christian evangelical churches has been uncovered by the bbc. tbjoshua was the late founder of the synagogue church of all nations in nigeria and built an evangelical empire that counted dozens of political leaders, celebrities and international footballers among his associates. former church insiders have gone public — for the first time — with claims of atrocities that span almost 20 years. peter murimi reports. a warning, you might find some elements upsetting. everyone here in the stadium say, i lovejesus! tbjoshua was one of africa's most famous pastors, drawing presidents, premier league footballers and millions of followers across the globe. he had huge resources, huge amounts of influence, notjust in nigeria, throughout africa, israel, mexico, singapore. tbjoshua performed televised
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healings, where members of his congregation claimed to have been cured of aids, cancer and a range of chronic conditions. negative tested for hiv and hiv 2. everybody wanted the privilege to go with, to meet this... ..big giant. tb joshua's closest followers were known as disciples, and lived together for years inside his compound in nigeria. it was a psychological prison. we all thought we were in heaven, but we were in hell, and in hell terrible things happen. dozens of these insiders alleged that the pastor repeatedly assaulted, raped and tortured women behind closed doors, with the most recent incidents in 2019. it became so robotic. i disconnected from my body. i just became like... ..a puppet. rape became like a normal, terrifying thing that he would do. it's like you are an animal being slaughtered. i was 17 years old.
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he would be calling girls in one after the other. . i stayed here almost 14 years. they will be in thousands. some women claim they were forced to have abortions inside his compound following the alleged assaults. i had three abortions at synagogue. and from speaking to other women, i'm not the only one. women that he rapes, he forces them into abortion. i never had a choice whether i could keep a potential child or not. people tried to speak up to expose him, but nobody would listen. tbjoshua died in 2021. his wife, evelyn, is now leading the synagogue church of all nations.
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good morning, viewers all over the world. the bbc contacted the church with allegations in this report. they did not respond to them, but they said previous claims against tb joshua have been unfounded. today, the church still attracts millions of viewers to its online platforms. some people, they are still living in fear for their lives, in fear for the retribution that will come if they do open their mouths. peter murimi, bbc news. we can speak to the director of programmes at a human rights organisation. thanks forjoining us. very distressing details in the report and i wanted to get your reaction? . ~ report and i wanted to get your reaction? ., ~ , ., ., �* ., reaction? thank you, and i'm glad we're having _ reaction? thank you, and i'm glad we're having this _ reaction? thank you, and i'm glad we're having this conversation i reaction? thank you, and i'm gladl we're having this conversation and thatis we're having this conversation and that is because first we must
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acknowledge when it comes to religion, there is a lot of sensitivities around those conversations but one thing the investigative reporter has highlighted is the fact that we cannot sacrifice the demand for accountability on the altar of sensitivities around religion and if you are just going through the video, when it comes to religious leadership, we must demand accountability from leaders especially when they are those targeting our freedom. especially when they are those targeting ourfreedom. we need a safe world for people to not be violated and to not be exposed, their being exploited, because of their being exploited, because of the allegiance and trust and their
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trust to any individual, be it a political leader or a religious leader, and that is what this report has revealed, we have got to ask questions and we cannot sweep it under the carpet because if we have victims and survivors, justice is important for everyone who experienced that level of abuse and violation. , ., ., ., , experienced that level of abuse and violation. , ., ., ., violation. these allegations are historical and _ violation. these allegations are historical and they _ violation. these allegations are historical and they are - violation. these allegations are historical and they are specific. violation. these allegations are l historical and they are specific to tb joshua, historical and they are specific to tbjoshua, i should say. why did it take so long for the survivors to come forward and share their stories? ., ., , ., ., stories? for me, to understand how this interacts _ stories? for me, to understand how this interacts with _ stories? for me, to understand how this interacts with humans, - stories? for me, to understand how this interacts with humans, this i this interacts with humans, this religion, first there is that hero worship of someone who presents himself as a messenger of god and
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who almost has a godlike persona and people thought he was close to god or almost god, and so if you are dealing with abuse from such an individual, there is the fear of speaking out because who would believe you? it is almost like you are speaking against somebody who is worshipped, and when it comes to interactions and abuse, a lot of times victims and survivors are more afraid of how people will receive their plight, who would trust in the allegations, and i think fear is one of the things which may have held people from speaking up, and the other is also when you are working with an institution where there is a godlike followership, almost speaking out makes you an evil person and there's a stigma associated with that, so also the worry around how you would be
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perceived and whether you would be seen as a castaway and what stigma you would experience in society so that may have also affected how people spoke and if no one is holding anyone to account and if there has been a report but there was no result, it affects a lot more victims and prevents them from speaking up about when you hold someone to account, the moment the report is investigated and there is a due process of the law especially in this case, it inspires others to speak up but this is not the first time these kind of allegations have come up, so i'm not surprised it has taken this long because there were lots of factors that would have limited how victims and survivors felt free enough to speak up. cynthia, thanks forjoining us. you can watch disciples: the cult of tbjoshua on the bbc africa youtube channel
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and listen to the new season of world of secrets wherever you get your bbc podcasts. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news in the uk. the environment agency has warned that more homes could still be hit by flooding, despite a cold snap beginning across the uk. more than 1,800 properties have been flooded across central and southern england. there are nearly 150 flood warnings in these areas. research commissioned by bbc panorama suggests police forces in england and wales need an extra 18,000 officersjust to keep up with population growth. the home office says officer numbers are at a record high. but the figures — from an independent criminal justice think tank — indicate recruitment has fallen behind the 9% increase in population recorded since 2010. thousands of old green metal street cabinets —
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once used to store broadband and phone cabling — are set to be converted into charging points for electric vehicles. bt group is setting up a pilot project which it's hoped will boost the number of charging stations across the country. you're live with bbc news. the first american space mission aimed at landing on the moon, the first in many years, has encountered a problem. the company is trying to fix the problem but if it can't, the mission will not be able to proceed. we can go live to our science correspondentjonathan amos, you have covered many of these things, so what exactly does this particular problem mean? we
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so what exactly does this particular problem mean?— problem mean? we had a picture erfect problem mean? we had a picture perfect launch — problem mean? we had a picture perfect launch this _ problem mean? we had a picture perfect launch this morning i problem mean? we had a picture perfect launch this morning and l problem mean? we had a picture l perfect launch this morning and the craft on top of the new vulcan rocket left cape canaveral in florida and everything seemed perfect and then about seven hours after liftoff we had a statement from the private exploration company in pittsburgh in the us saying their spacecraft had experienced an anomaly of some kind, that is the word they used. the spacecraft, they were going to the standard checkouts that you do on a spacecraft when it comes off the top of the rocket and you go through its systems and power “p you go through its systems and power up everything and check the data to see it is working properly. one of the things the spacecraft has got to take about one of the first things, is to point its solar panels at the sign which is how you maintain power, because without power you have no mission —— solar panels at
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the sun. but unfortunately the spacecraft has not been able to point at the sun, it is not quite clear what it means but maybe it is doing at some of the time but then is losing track of where the sun is in the sky so maybe it is topping up its battery is a bit and then losing track of the sun and batteries are starting to discharge. engineers are working on this and they will have rehearsed many times scenarios like this and they will have a process they are going to try and sort it out so by no means is the mission over yet. they will be working their way through what they think is wrong with it and it should be said, spacecraft have a fair degree of autonomy so the spacecraft itself will recognise it is not doing what it is supposed to do and then it
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will prioritise its systems, prioritise power and maintenance, obviously, and also communication to earth. hopefully they will be able to recover the situation. have to recover the situation. how ical it to recover the situation. how typical it it — to recover the situation. how typical it it for— to recover the situation. how typical it it for this _ to recover the situation. how typical it it for this kind i to recover the situation. how typical it it for this kind of i typical it it for this kind of mission to get its power from solar panels? is this something which is the first time? ihla. panels? is this something which is the first time?— panels? is this something which is the first time? no, this is standard 0 eratin: the first time? no, this is standard operating procedure _ the first time? no, this is standard operating procedure and _ the first time? no, this is standard operating procedure and they i the first time? no, this is standard operating procedure and they all. the first time? no, this is standard | operating procedure and they all go with solar panels and very few spacecraft go with nuclear batteries, radioisotopes which produce heat and then from that you can produce electricity, and the vast majority of space missions use solar panels because it is free energy. solar panels because it is free ener: . ~ ., , ., ., energy. we are hoping they managed to net it or energy. we are hoping they managed to get it or working _ energy. we are hoping they managed to get it or working and _ energy. we are hoping they managed to get it or working and hopefully i to get it or working and hopefully you can bring us the update when it is back on track. apple has begun making payments in a long—running class action lawsuit over claims it
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deliberately hampered the performance of certain iphones in america. victims will receive a share of a $500 million settlement. it is good news for people in the us who filed a claim for compensation from apple because today they get a cut of the money which works out at around $92 per claim and this is all about apple being deliberately accused of slowing down iphones so if you had one of these after a couple of years, when you had been using it quite a bit, the charge would go down and it would not perform the way it did when it came fresh out of the box. people said that apple had not told them that this was happening to their iphone and apple at the time offered people cheaper battery solutions to fix the problem but then came the class—action case in 2020 with people putting forward their claims
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and today we see the money being paid out. it is only to people in the us and if you are sitting at home thinking this happened to me in the uk, there is a case ongoing here worth £750 million, but we don't know when that will be settled or how much people will get if it does get settled. how much people will get if it does aet settled. , ., , how much people will get if it does get settled-— get settled. development for you followin: get settled. development for you following the _ get settled. development for you following the post _ get settled. development for you following the post office - get settled. development for you following the post office scandall get settled. development for you i following the post office scandal in the uk. a meeting has taken place between the justice secretary alex chalk on the minister with responsibility for the post office kevin hollinrake. we will have more on that after a short break. stay with us on bbc news. hello. there are still well over 100 flood warnings in force, so the flooding situation hasn't fully resolved itself, but things should improve over the next few days. today, though, the main
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talking point, isuppose, is the chance of seeing a few flurries of snow working in across parts of the east. it's not very exciting snow, to be honest with you. in most cases it's not going to settle, you'lljust see a few flakes like this. in one or two areas, you might see an odd centimetre or two building in. i think the main threat, though, is that the weather could turn quite icy across these parts of east anglia and south—east england. the satellite picture shows extensive cloud cover today and with the winds continuing to blow in from the east, it does feel cold if you're out and about. a few showers coming into eastern areas of scotland, mostly falling as rain. we've also got some rain showers moving in across northern ireland. it's a day where those temperatures are really struggling with highs between four and six degrees for most. heading into this evening and overnight, particularly where we've seen showers by day, there's a risk of some ice developing, so east scotland, northern ireland, eastern and southern areas of england probably the iciest spots, if you like, but anywhere where we see water seeping in from those fields after that recent spell of very heavy rain
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could also have the roads and pavements turn pretty icy. tomorrow morning, another cold day, a frosty and icy start. we continue to see the winds coming in generally from an easterly direction. there should be a much better chance of seeing cloud breaks across parts of midlands, eastern and south—east england, there's a bit more sunshine here, but otherwise still probably quite a lot of cloud around, thick enough to continue to bring showers into eastern scotland and north—east england. little difference for the temperatures — it will be another very cold feeling day. the wind starts to turn more to a north—easterly direction on wednesday and that will push the cloud southwards, so most areas having a cloudy day. maybe a few breaks for northern ireland, west scotland, north—west england, but the best of the sunshine is most likely across southern counties of england. temperatures still below average for the time of year for most of us. really, as we look at the forecast through the rest of the week and into the weekend, it stays generally on the chilly side, with some further sharp morning frost to come. however, into next week, things get a bit more exciting.
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the winds come round to a more northerly direction. it stays cold, but there's an increasing threat next week that we could see some snow. that's the latest.
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this is bbc news. hezbollah has confirmed that one of its senior commanders has been killed by an israeli drone strike in lebanon. the un says it's 'very
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concerned' by the high journalist death toll in gaza, after two palestinian reporters were killed by an israeli air strike on sunday. the bbc uncovers evidence of rape, torture and forced abortions by the founder of one of the world's biggest christian evangelical churches. and oppenheimer wins big at the golden globe awards in los angeles, taking home five of the night's big prizes. let's ta ke let's take your life to the uk house of commons where we are waiting to hearfrom david lammy. he is labour's shadow foreign secretary and he is due to ask a question

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