tv BBC News BBC News January 27, 2024 1:00pm-1:31pm GMT
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$83 million in damages to a woman he defamed. and australian open joy belarussian tennis player aryna sabalenka successfully defends her title in melbourne. hello, i'm catherine byaruhanga. a fire on board an oil tanker off the coast of yemen has been put out, a day after it was struck by a houthi missile. the operator of the ship, trafigura, paid tribute to the dedication and bravery of the captain and crew. the company also thanked the indian, us and french navies for their help. in a statement it said:
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the marlin luanda was travelling in the red sea off the coast of yemen when it was struck. the uk government says it reserves the right to respond appropriately. it is the latest attack in and around the red sea, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams reports. this is the marlin luanda carrying russian oil from greece to singapore. the latest houthi target. the houthis were quick to take credit. their spokesman saying once again that this was being done to support the palestinians in gaza and in response to what he described as american—british aggression. it's been two weeks since britain and the us first hit back, striking military targets inside yemen, aiming to deter the houthis. so far, the strategy doesn't
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appear to be working. so the attack on the marlin luanda in the gulf of aden signifies a great extension and escalation from the red sea to the gulf of aden — so geographical extension — and also with the type of weapons as the missile used yesterday was a ballistic missile and the houthis started their attacks in the red sea using drones. so we're seeing a technological expansion and a geographical extension. the houthis are using the attacks to bolster support at home, orchestrating huge rallies on the streets of the capital, sana'a, relishing this confrontation with the west, something they've thought about and planned for for years. they're being helped by iran. when us navy seals seized a dhow off the coast of somalia earlier this month. of somalia earlier this month, they found parts of ballistic and anti—ship cruise missiles. diplomats say weapons are also being smuggled through oman.
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the marlin luanda is operated by a uk registered company here. a government spokesman said britain and its allies reserved the right to respond. paul adams, bbc news. and we'll speak to our correspondent paul adams live for the latest in the next few minutes. the uk hasjustjoined australia, italy and canada in suspending theirfunding to the un agency for palestinian refugees after israel has accused staff of being involved in the october 7th attacks, when hamas gunmen killed 12—hundred people. the us state department has also suspended its additional funding to unrwa. the organisation's head said a full investigation into the allegations is being carried out — and anyone found to have been involved will be held accountable. now, this latest news comes as pressure is mounting on the israeli government to change its conduct
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in its war with hamas, after the international court ofjustice ruled that israel must do everything possible to prevent genocide there. israel is pressing ahead with its military operation in gaza. tanks are advancing into khan younis, in southern gaza, where thousands of people have been forced to flee. the hamas—run health ministry in gaza says 174 palestinians have been killed in israeli strikes in the past 2a hours. that takes the total reported killed in gaza since the war started to at least 26,257. the head of the cia is expected to meet officials from israel, egypt and qatar in the coming days, in an attempt to negotiate the release of hostages held by hamas, which many western governments consider a terrorist organisation. our middle east correspondent, mark lowen, told us more about the upcoming talks. they are due to begin, we understand, as early as sunday,
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tomorrow, in france. there are reports, but the cia has not confirmed the location or the start date and they will involve bill burns, the head of the cia, who's meeting with his opposite numbers at mossad, israel's intelligence agency, and the egyptian spy agency as well, and top officials from qatar to try to revive attempts at finding a ceasefire — making progress towards a ceasefire in this conflict. tomorrow, sunday will be three months since israel launched its ground offensive in gaza, and the warring sides are still far apart on ceasefire proposals. we understand from reports that israel has mooted the idea of a one or two—month pause in fighting or truce, and the phased release of israeli hostages and palestinian prisoners. but hamas is said to be demanding a permanent ceasefire as part of any hostage release deal. now, the fact that they are... these talks are due to take place show that the wheels of diplomacy are turning faster. president biden spoke
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to the emir of qatar and the president of egypt on friday, yesterday. and it all comes, of course, as the international court ofjustice places... says that israel must do all it can to prevent genocide in gaza, placing renewed focus and renewed scrutiny on the israeli forces�* actions down in gaza. and mark, what is the reaction there in israel to that decision, interim decision, by the international court of justice? well, i think, as expected, the israeli government has largely brushed it off. there's been a lot of sort of diplomatic bluster from the israeli government as far as that is concerned. and i think israel has long—believed and has long—argued, publicly at least, that various different un bodies are stacked against it, and sort of biased against it, and are taking the court of public opinion with them. but, you know, that is something that is completely denied by the un. and, i think that, you know, on the ground, the icj's words are actually legally unenforceable.
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but, as i say, it kind of adds to the sort of narrative that has grown against israel in many western circles and the pressure and the scrutiny on israel. israel is seizing on another development as proof of what it says is the un's bias against it, which is that 12 members of staff of the un mission operating in gaza have been dismissed for... as they were found to be, to have been complicit in the hamas attacks on israel on the 7th of october. now, israel says that is proof that the un mission in gaza is not impartial — that it is pro—hamas. what the united nations and pro—un voices are saying is, "look, the entire workforce of that un agency is 30,000 people. so 12 bad apples should not tarnish the entire reputation of the un agency." but israel is saying this is proof that we are fighting, in israel's words, a "just war" and we have the right to defend ourselves. and, you know, it's going to be still tough to get the warring sides to come together in this kind
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of gulf that separates them at the moment during those ceasefire talks. the those ceasefire talks. bbc�*s mark lowen injerusall the us government has approved the sale of a0 new f—i6 fighter jets to turkey, after ankara fully ratified sweden's long—delayed membership of nato. turkey will also get upgrades to the warplanes in its existing fleet as part of the $23 billion deal. the sale had become contingent on turkey dropping its objections to sweden joining the alliance. f—i6s are the same jets that ukrainian pilots are being trained on. donald trump says he'll appeal against a court order to pay $83 million in damages to a woman he defamed. ejean carroll had claimed the former us president destroyed her reputation by saying she'd lied about him sexually assaulting her in the 1990s.
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she said the ruling was a "great victory for every woman". nada tawfik reports from new york. ejean carroll has now taken on donald trump twice in court, both times emerging victorious. last may, he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation and ordered to pay her $5 million in damages. the second defamation trial looks set to cost him far more — $83 million. donald trump was not present when the verdict was read and earlier he stormed out of court when ejean carroll's lawyer was delivering her closing statement, arguing that the former president acted as if the law didn't apply to him. afterward, he slammed the verdict on social media as absolutely ridiculous and a politically—motivated witch hunt, directed by president biden. we will immediately appeal. we will set aside that ridiculousjury. and ijust want to remind you all of one thing — i will continue with president trump to fight for everybody's
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first amendment right to speak. everybody has a right to defend themselves when they are wrongfully accused and to be able to say, "i didn't do it." donald trump has repeatedly denied raping the former advice columnist at a department store in the �*90s. ejean carroll's lawyer submitted as evidence videos and posts where trump continued to defame her while the trial was taking place. i have no idea who she is, where she came from. - this is another scam. it's a political witch hunt. the damages awarded to ejean carroll were far more than the $24 million she asked for. it signals that the jury agreed with her lawyers that only a very large sum that would hurt donald trump financially would convince him to stop. in a statement, ejean carroll described the verdict as a victory for every woman who stands up when she's been knocked down and a huge defeat for every bully who's tried to keep a woman down. donald trump has plenty of other
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upcoming trials where he faces a total of 91 felony counts and the threat ofjail time. but so far, it hasn't dented his chances of becoming the republican presidential nominee. quite the opposite. it's energised his base. nada tawfik, bbc news, new york. now, let us turn to kenya where a recent surge in violence against women has sparked protests taking place in major cities today. the demonstrations, led by feminist campaigners, follow the murders of ten women this year. amnesty international says more than 500 femicide cases were recorded in kenya between 2016 and 2023, with many victims killed by their partners or people known to them. our africa correspondent, merchuma, is in nairobi and has been tracking the protests in the capital. i'm just right outside parliament buildings now, and just a few metres behind me is the president's office.
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and this is the next stop that the protesters have been. they're just moving up towards the main area, into the cbd, going further into nairobi city. and they have been at this for the last about one and a half hours. there are hundreds, if not thousands of women. there are men that are supporting the women and the whole... is just that they want people, men, to stop killing women. we have had an increase in number of intimate partner violence. we've had a very big — a sharp increase. you know, we're talking about ten women being killed since the beginning of the year by their partners — by their husbands. but, in the lastjust about two weeks, catherine, we've had five women being killed here in nairobi and in other parts of kenya. and, you know, we're talking about being killed in the most gruesome ways. people... the women are being dismembered. and, unfortunately, even some of their body parts cannot be found. another key issue that the protesters want to address going forward is the issue of victim blaming, because, you know, women are being killed and you go on social media and what people
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are talking about is or asking is, "what was this woman wearing? who was this woman with? "why did she agree to go out on a date with a man "who she doesn't know?" and so there's a lot of victim blaming and that is what the protesters today want addressed. very briefly, mercy, before we let you go, has there been any response from the government about what they might do to combat this challenge for kenya? no. unfortunately, no. and we are expecting to see some leaders now really coming up strongly to address this. some women leaders — and a few of their male counterparts — have mentioned it in passing in the last couple of weeks. but we have not really seen a strong, you know... strong statements really talking about this. and that's why probably the people are outside parliament and outside the president's office — to garner some traction for their cause. now, time for a look at the day's
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sport. hello from the bbc sport centre. we start in melbourne, where aryna sabalenka has won the women's australian open singles title for the second year in a row. the number two seed from belarussia beat china's zheng qinwen — playing in herfirst grand slam final — in straight sets. nick parrott was watching: it has been a stroll in the park for sabalenka. she hasn't dropped a set in a way to the final. standing on her way worse in china's 12 team, caesar, zheng qinwen. she was trying to emulate lena who won the australian open ten years ago. she often looked over wound in herfirst major final often looked over wound in herfirst majorfinal and lost often looked over wound in herfirst major final and lost the first set in 33 minutes. a rare minute of uncertainty came from sabalenka when she was trying to close out victory. looking to finish in style, she struggled to find a winner and ended up struggled to find a winner and ended up having to save a break point. on her fifth up having to save a break point. on herfifth championship up having to save a break point. on her fifth championship point, up having to save a break point. on herfifth championship point, she eventually hit the shot she had been
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striving for. her delight clear to see if she became the first woman to win back—to—back australian titles since her compatriot victoria azarenka over a decade ago. great win for sabalenka — but there's been disappointment for the british defending champion alfie hewitt, who's lost the men's wheelchair singles final to the japanese 17—year—old tokito oda. hewett was beaten in straight sets by the same player he lost the wimbledon final to last summer. but he will still leave melbourne with silverware, with he and his partner gordon reid having already been crowned men's doubles champions. i was runner—up last year, and then i was runner—up last year, and then i played... and again last year... but, i am, i played... and again last year... but, iam, ithink, the i played... and again last year... but, i am, i think, the score is not what i wanted. this time, i played really well. i am just really happy.
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and india's rohan bopanna, who will become the oldest world number one at the age of 43 when the doubles rankings come out on monday, has won the men's doubles title with his partner matthew ebden. they've beaten simone bolelli and andrea vavassori in straight sets. it's bopanna's first men's doubles grand slam title. england's ollie pope has staged a one—man rescue act, to keep england's hopes alive in the opening test against india, in hyderabad. with wickets falling all around him, and the tourists in trouble, pope's epic 148 not out on day three has dragged england to 316—6 in their second innings, 126 runs ahead with four wickets in hand. meanwhile, australia are on course to win their second and final test against west indies in brisbane. they'll resume on sunday 60 for two with steve smith 33 not out, needing another 168 runs for victory as they look to wrap up a 2—0 series win. there are no english premier league games at the weekend, as the fourth round of the fa cup takes centre stage.
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six games on saturday, everton against luton and fulham versus newcastle are just two of them. the early kick off sees the lowest ranked side left in the competition — non league maidstone united at championship side ipswich, where it's currently 1—0. the director of rugby for world champions south africa, rassie erasmus, is recovering in hospital after undergoing treatment for chemical burns. erasmus coached the springboks to world cup glory in 2019 and was heavily involved as director of rugby during last year's triumph. south africa rugby says the 51—year—old was injured in a "freak accident" while using a powerful detergent. he's expected to return to full—time working within weeks." i will have more view later. that is all the sport you now. junior thank you. as we have been hearing, i channel on board a british venture
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oil tanker off the coast of yemen has been put out a day after it was struck by a houthi missile. we can cross live to a diplomatic correspondent, paul adams. what is the latest information you have on the situation on the ship?- information you have on the situation on the ship? yes, so, the multinational _ situation on the ship? yes, so, the multinational company _ situation on the ship? yes, so, the multinational company trafigura i multinational company trafigura based in singapore which has been putting out statements on the condition of the vessel, the marlin luanda, just a short time ago put out it's latest bulletin which i will quote from: we are pleased to confirm all of the crew on board the marlin luanda are safe and that the fire in the cargo tank has been fully extinguished. that was a fire that was raging really throughout the night, and i think it was a cause of grave concern to the ship's owners, bearing in mind of course that this was a ship carrying oil products. and so, the possibility of a fire spreading was a very real one. the vessel is now sailing
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towards what is described as a safe harbour, and the crew is continuing to monitor the vessel and the cargo closely. the statement from trafigura also compliments the role played by the navies of india, the united states, and france, all of whom sent vessels to assist in the situation with the tanker. in fact, some of the images we have seen after tanker today were filmed from the indian vessel that approached to offer assistance. so, trafigura says that they would like to recognise the exceptional bravery of the ship's master and crew for managing to control fire in much the company describes extremely and highly difficult circumstances as well as the essential assistance provided by india, the united states, and french navies. so, this was clearly a serious attack, it was an attack not in the red sea but in the gulf of
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aden, which is not the first time that has happened, but there are indications that the houthi is are becoming bolder, they are attacking targets in a wider area. and so far, the strategy of the west, of the united states and britain in particular, to attack houthi military targets inside yemen in an effort to deter the houthis from conducting these attacks on shipping, that strategy so far has yet to bear fruit.— yet to bear fruit. thank you very much, yet to bear fruit. thank you very much. paul- _ yet to bear fruit. thank you very much, paul. our— yet to bear fruit. thank you very much, paul. our diplomatic- much, paul. our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams. us politicians have called for new laws to criminalise the creation of deepfake images, after explicit ai—generated images of taylor swift were viewed millions of times on x, formerly known as twitter. taylor swift's fans, or �*swifties', rallied to flood the platform with posts and drown out the so—called �*deepfakes'.
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one faked picture of the star on x was viewed 47 million times before it was taken down. the queen has arrived at the london clinic where the king remains after having surgery for an enlarged prostate. king charles was admitted to hospital on friday. the procedure was carried out at the london clinic private hospital, where catherine, princess of wales, had surgery last week. we can cross live now to our reporter. live now to our reporter ellie price is outside the hospital in central london and can tell us about the queen's visit. ,, ., and can tell us about the queen's visit. ,, . ., ., visit. the queen arrived an hour auo, visit. the queen arrived an hour ago. there _ visit. the queen arrived an hour ago. there has— visit. the queen arrived an hour ago, there has been _ visit. the queen arrived an hour ago, there has been no - visit. the queen arrived an hour ago, there has been no official i ago, there has been no official update from buckingham palace as the king's hell. yesterday, we were told the operation went well and that he was doing well, and that he was fine, according to the queen herself. she arrived about an hour orso herself. she arrived about an hour or so ago afternoon. she went in the
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back entrance. we do not know whether she is here to visit or to accompany him home, but we do understand the procedure like the one the king had yesterday word often entail at least one night if not a couple of nights in hospital. i am afraid i cannot tell you if he is coming home tonight or not. as i say, he is said to be doing well. the procedure itself is fairly common, the issue of enlarged prostate effects one in three men over 50 and we are told that the operation making underwent last night was a fairly common one. it was as i said in an operation for an enlarged prostate, a benign enlarged prostate which is not cancerous. fire prostate which is not cancerous. are not cancerous. he is not the only royal saying at the hospital. buckingham palace are keen to say that both members of the royal family are doing well.— that both members of the royal family are doing well. yes, really interesting _ family are doing well. yes, really interesting the _ family are doing well. yes, really interesting the timing _ family are doing well. yes, really interesting the timing of - family are doing well. yes, really interesting the timing of this, - interesting the timing of this, isn't it? we also have catherine,
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princess of wales, his daughter—in—law, who is also at the very same hospital. she underwent abdominal surgery about 12 days ago. we do not have any more details on what exactly that was, but we were told at the time she would be spending between ten and 1a days in hospital. today is day 12 and we have not heard any official update as to her... how she is doing at all. i think as to her... how she is doing at all. ithink it as to her... how she is doing at all. i think it is really significant paper and at the same time. the king, we are told, he did visit his daughter—in—law before undergoing his own surgery. something of a family affair here. i think what is interesting is, as i say, not too much clarity about what is going on with catherine, princess of wales, but the king himself has been very open about what has been going on. we know full well that was to deal with his enlarged prostate. he has said that he is delighted about the fact that there has been an upsurge, if you like, in a number of searches on nhs website about people looking at the symptoms and
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how to treat enlarged prostate. it is an issue people obviously often find embarrassing to talk about, but, king charles felt he wanted to be honest about this and to encourage other people to look at this issue and, as i say, it sounds like it is paying off because people are certainly looking at this problem and it seems to be having something of a positive effect. fix, something of a positive effect. a positive effect. you can't tell us when the king will definitely leave a hospital, but in the meantime, no change is expected with the constitutional order, in fact, as he is the head of state?— is the head of state? absolutely not. is the head of state? absolutely not- there _ is the head of state? absolutely not. there is _ is the head of state? absolutely not. there is a _ is the head of state? absolutely not. there is a mechanism - is the head of state? absolutely not. there is a mechanism in i is the head of state? absolutely i not. there is a mechanism in place of the monarchy is incapacitated for whatever reason, their councillors of state. that is basically where other members of the royal family may step in to take up that constitutional role. i think at the point is that this is not a serious operation, orat least, point is that this is not a serious operation, or at least, he point is that this is not a serious operation, orat least, he is point is that this is not a serious operation, or at least, he is not expected to be taking too long to
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recover from all of this. so no, expected to be taking too long to recoverfrom all of this. so no, no constitutional change at the top of the monarchy has needed to be implemented.— the world's biggest cruise ship — royal caribbean�*s icon of the seas — will set sailfrom miami later, on its maiden voyage. the 250,000 ton ship took 900 days to build and cost £1.5 billion. you are watching bbc news. so members. the headlines will follow a short break. hello again. it's going to be a mostly dry weekend for many of us, but we do have a bit of rain affecting the far north, north west of scotland over the next couple of days. but this morning we've had a lovely sunrise here in nottinghamshire and for many eastern and central areas there's been some sunshine this morning already, but there are some clouds streaming in from the south west, certainly so towards the north west
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of scotland where we've got some outbreaks of rain at the moment. it's quite heavy rain, some thunderstorms here as well throughout the morning. strong winds, but those winds will gradually ease off into the afternoon. one or two showers perhaps for northern ireland, northern parts of england. but for most it's dry. there'll be some bright, some sunny spells, especially towards the south and east. and temperatures this afternoon getting up to about 8—10 or 11 degrees celsius. now through tonight, there'll still be some rain at times across scotland. more cloud the further west you are, but some clear spells towards the southeast and not quite as cold as last night. temperatures staying mostly above freezing, about three or four degrees, but milder air towards the north west, nine or 10 degrees here, high pressure centred towards europe, and that's acting as a buffer, somewhat of some weather fronts coming in from the west. but those will make gradual progress eastwards and colder air behind it, but ahead of it, for most of us, into sunday, we've got these mild south or south westerly winds. so rain will eventually move its way into the north west of scotland, into northern ireland
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by the evening. that be really quite heavy at times, elsewhere there'll be that will be really quite heavy at times, elsewhere there'll be varying amounts of cloud, but some bright, some sunny spells. and in the sunshine not feeling too bad at all. a mild day, temperatures 10—13, perhaps even 1a degrees celsius. into next week, that weather front will make very gradual progress south eastward. it will then stall across parts of wales, northern england and southern scotland. and with some colder air behind that weather front, we could well see some snow over the southern uplands, but that rain sticks around for much of the day in these parts. some sunnier skies for scotland, northern ireland, where it will feel a bit chillier throughout monday. but in the southeast, where you've got that sunshine, temperatures, 111—15 degrees, that's way above the average for the end of january. that's going to feel really quite pleasant. as we go through the rest of the week, there'll be some rain at times towards northern areas further south, drier and brighter and temperatures about 10 to 1a degrees. bye— bye.
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for a un agency in gaza — after israel accuses some staff of involvement in the 7th of october attack. the move follows the announcement by unrwa that it had sacked a number of staff and is investigating the accusations. a jury in new york orders donald trump to pay $83 million in damages to the writer e jean carroll. mr trump says he will appeal against the order. now on bbc news, the travel show. america's northwest is a place like no other. i am on a journey from seattle up through the last frontier — alaska. forget what you think
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