tv BBC News BBCNEWS February 22, 2024 9:00am-9:31am GMT
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live from london. this is bbc news. aid agencies say hunger and disease are spreading in gaza — we have rare access to a british military flight air—dropping fuel and food into the strip. we are about to open the door, fly out, land in northern gaza. this is one of the few remaining ways to get help to the people trapped there. jeering. meanwhile, a vote on a ceasefire in gaza brings the british parliament to its knees — leaving the speaker of the house fighting for his job. there have been calls for him to resign. some fertility treatments are paused at alabama's main hospital after a court rules that frozen embryos will be classified as children.
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hello, i'm kylie pentelow, welcome to the programme. there's growing concern about the humanitarian situation in gaza. it's particularly acute in northern gaza, which has received little aid in recent weeks and food and animal feed has run out. aid agencies say hunger and disease are spreading, with children particularly at risk. the war also continues to make an impact on other countries around the world. in a moment, we'll take a look at the fallout of the gaza ceasefire vote at westminster. there have been calls for the speaker of the house to quit. meanwhile, a uk funded consignment of medicines, fuel and food has been air dropped by thejordanian air force to the area, close to the tal al—hawa hospital. our correspondent quentin sommerville who's in amman was on board the flight which dropped aid into gaza. it's not a long flight over gaza. we were in a c130 hercules cargo plane flying with the
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royaljordanian air force at about 17,000 feet. cargo doors open and then these four large pallets of aid, which contained a thousand litres of diesel fuel, critical medical equipment and ration packs for patients and medical staff at a hospitalfor thejordanian military runs in northern gaza. but all of that aid, this is the big difference in this aid drop was paid for by britain. jordan has been doing this aid drop for a considerable amount of time since the start of the war to get supplies into that very hard—to—reach part of northern gaza. but it's the first time that britain has pushed aid into gaza by air. previously, it sent it by road and by by sea. but it's getting extremely difficult to get help, to get food, to get water to northern gaza because of the security situation on the ground. you know, the circumstances are pitiful where people are
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going without food, without water, without proper medical care. and they've been in that situation for some time. they are barely existing there. the situation�*s made all the more complicated by the fact that civil order has broken down on the ground. most of the population, of course, were driven out in northern gaza. it was the most densely populated part of the gaza strip. they were driven south. there's still about 300,000 palestinians struggling to survive there. they've been dependent on the un for their basic needs. but recently, in the past few days, the world food program has said it can no longer send convoys into northern gaza because it's too violent. it's complete chaos on the ground. so that's why airdrops like the one we were on last night are so important. they're a tiny fraction of the need for northern gaza, and gaza as a whole. and it's worth remembering, too, that for many months now, the un has been warning if more aid doesn't get into gaza and it is tightly controlled by
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israel, then there's a risk of famine in northern gaza. just a few weeks ago, the british foreign secretary david cameron, was visiting the region. he was asking for israel to get 500 trucks crossing into gaza every single day. before the war, that was the level. before the catastrophe, that was the level. so that's still not even enough. it's averaging about just over 100 a day. but ijust checked the numbers before i came on air. there's some days where only four trucks make it, only two trucks make it. and remember those circumstances that i describe for people, not only are they hungry, not only are they terrified, not only are they sick, but they're in desperate need of all of life's basics and they're not getting them when only a hundred trucks a day are making it across the border from egypt after israeli approval, into the gaza strip. the controversy over calls for a ceasefire in gaza has led to scenes of chaos and rancour
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at the uk's house of commons. this was a walkout of members of the scottish national party and the conservatives in protest at the way the vote was handled. it was after the speaker of the house sir lindsay hoyle was acccused of hijacking the debate by selecting both labour and government amendments. the speaker later apologised. he's to hold talks with party leaders later today. 0ur deputy political editor vicki young reports. there was confusion. there were angry demands for the speaker to explain himself. where on earth is the speaker of the house of commons? loud cheering. how do we bring him to that seat? and there was a walkout by the snp and conservatives — an unlikely alliance. chaotic scenes in the commons after mps had been debating one of the most serious foreign policy issues of the day. 0utside parliament, feelings were already running high...
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chanting: ceasefire now! ..with hundreds of people queuing for hours to lobby their mps. the rules meant the only motion that was being considered was one from the snp, calling for an immediate ceasefire. lots of labour members were tempted to vote for it against their leader's wishes, but that all changed when the speaker, going against official advice, said this. i think it's important on this occasion that the house is able to consider the widest possible range of options. i have therefore decided to select the amendments both in the name of the prime minister and in the name of the leader of the opposition. furious snp mps felt that was bending the rules to help sir keir starmer out of a sticky situation. now, we completely appear to be doing things in a way that's never been done before. can i ask for your advice, mr speaker? what is the point of an opposition day if it's
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going to be done like this? later, just before the votes were due to happen, the leader of the commons weighed in. the government will play no further part in the decision this house takes on today's proceedings. i would like to stress that the government's position on israel and gaza remains unchanged. by the time the votes on the ceasefire were being called, there was so much noise, very few could hear what was going on. loud heckling: ayes! the ayes have it. to the side, watching all this unfold was sir lindsay hoyle, who'd had no choice but to come back to apologise for the mess. i am honest to this house. i am true to this house. i believe in all members of this house and i tried to do... i have tried to do what i thought was the right thing for all sides of this house. it is regrettable and i apologise.
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all this meant labour avoided another damaging rebellion over gaza and they were happy to defend sir lindsay's decision. the speaker was rightly playing his role. he's there to protect the rights of all mps. he was wanting to ensure the widest possible debate. the serious issue of what's going on in the middle east was debated. it was never going to change uk foreign policy but several mps have said this was an embarrassing episode for parliament. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. and we will have more on that story shortly. ivf fertility treatments have been put on hold at alabama's main hospital after the us state's top court ruled that frozen embryos were classified as children. the hospital authorities say they are concerned patients or doctors could face prosecution. the court ruled last week that any human life from the moment of conception was sacred.
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here's our north america correspondent david willis. last week's decision by the alabama supreme court that embryos frozen in a test tube should have the legal rights of children, has caused anger, confusion, and the full ramifications of the decision are still being worked out. but already the largest hospital in alabama, the university of alabama hospital in birmingham, has announced that it is pausing ivf treatment whilst it works out the full extent of this ruling. the hospital said in a statement that there was concern on the part of both patients and doctors that this could lead to prosecutions or to individuals being sued for damages. now, the alabama supreme court's decision, in effect, opens a new front in the war in this country over reproductive rights. abortion rights campaigners saw this coming. they predicted that this would be the new battleground after, in 2022, the united states supreme court
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overturned the landmark ruling, roe versus wade, which afforded everybody, women in this country, the right to an abortion. so now there have been calls for pro—life campaigners in some other conservative states to push for similar protections to those that have been introduced into alabama in the last few days. now, critics contend that that could create regional barriers to the availability of fertility treatment in parts of this country. as far as the state of alabama is concerned, well, this could raise the price of medical malpractice insurance in alabama, thereby pushing up the cost of fertility treatment and making it less affordable. and it could prompt some clinics, it said, to close their doors.
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america's national infertility association has said that the court's ruling could spell the end of ivf provision in that state. one big and unanswered question is whether this whole issue will galvanise voters going into this year's presidential election in the same way that the debate over abortion rights did during the midterm elections of 2022, to the detriment, of course, of the republicans. we will have to wait and see. let's get more on this with cbs correspondent jarred hill — who's in new york. what has been the reaction to this? it depends on what side of the
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island, what side of the argument you sit on. those seeking ivf treatment in the state of alabama say they do not know what happens next and whether they will be able to continue with their treatment in their home state or if they will try to drum up the money potentially thousands of dollars on top of this expensive process and do it elsewhere but on the other side there are some anti—abortion activists who say they hope this changes the way ivf treatment is done and considered in the us especially seeing as how the destruction of embryos is something that can routinely happening that might happen, depending on the desires of the family, whether those embryos will be viable and all of those questions come into the arguments of some advocates are for tightening abortion rights and saying they hope this changes things. saying they hope this changes thin . s. , saying they hope this changes thins. , , , ., . ., things. this must be a concern for those peeple _ things. this must be a concern for those people trying _ things. this must be a concern for those people trying to _
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things. this must be a concern for those people trying to go - things. this must be a concern for those people trying to go through| those people trying to go through ivf at the moment?— those people trying to go through ivf at the moment? definitely. there have been a — ivf at the moment? definitely. there have been a number— ivf at the moment? definitely. there have been a number of— ivf at the moment? definitely. there have been a number of family - have been a number of family speaking about the saying essentially their hopes for having children are now indefinitely on hold and so they do not know exactly what to do, how long they can wait for because the hospital says it does not know how long it's going to be doing this post on ivf treatment. thank you so much. let's bring you some breaking news. we are hearing a spanish court has found the brazilian footballer danny alva is guilty of sexual assault. let me bring you some news, this isjust in, he has been sentenced to four years and six months injail and he has been ordered to pay 150,000 euros to the victim and we will of course have more on that in the next 30 minutes as news comes in.
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there's been a shooting in the west bank settlement of ma ale adumim — east ofjerusalem. israeli police say one person has been killed and eight wounded. casualties have been taken to a hospital injerusalem. let's speak to our correspondent, jenny hill, injerusalem. early morning commuters were waiting to go through a checkpoint on a road notorious for traffic jams when according to police, three palestinian gunmen arrived with automatic weapons and opened fire on the lines of traffic. at least eight people were injured, one person has died, two people are said to be in a serious condition and the gunman who were said to come from villages near bethlehem, two of them were apparently brothers, and they were all killed either at or near the scene. this war on gaza has really intensified existing volatilities, not just intensified existing volatilities, notjust in the west bank but across
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the region. that of course is one of the region. that of course is one of the reasons foreign governments and agencies are so keen to bring the war on gaza, launched in response to the hamas attacks of october the 7th to a conclusion and negotiations are continuing. the us, its top middle eastern adviser is due in talks in israel today, yesterday hamas representatives were due in egypt for talks with officials and the other concern in the international community which is growing is for the humanitarian fallout of the war. 0vernight, the hamas run health ministry said 99 people were killed during an israeli air strikes in gaza but in addition to that, aid agencies have been expressing their deepening concern in recent days saying it's notjust air strikes and fighting which are putting lives at risk in gaza but hunger and disease as well. ., ., _, , ~ .,
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risk in gaza but hunger and disease as well. ., ., , ~ ., , as well. that of course we know is the key concern _ as well. that of course we know is the key concern especially - as well. that of course we know is the key concern especially with . the key concern especially with ramadan approaching? yes. ramadan approaching? yes, particularly _ ramadan approaching? yes, particularly for _ ramadan approaching? yes, particularly for more - ramadan approaching? yes, particularly for more than i ramadan approaching? yes, particularly for more than 1 l ramadan approaching? ye: particularly for more than 1 million displaced palestinian civilians who fled to the southern city of rafa, israeli forces telling them to leave their homes as they went into the north and then the centre of gas and they told them to head south and thatis they told them to head south and that is what many of these people have been done who have been displaced several times over. they are located close to the border with egypt and the israeli government has insisted it will push ahead in the next three weeks with plans for a major ground offensive in wrapper if hamas does not return israeli hostages by then. that is causing huge concern and all the people can do, stuck in rafa when conditions are worsening there is watch and wait while international governments and aid agencies discuss their fate. we have had a line of i am not sure optimism is really the right word
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but a member of the israeli war cabinet, said of the negotiations that the initial signs are that there is a possibility of progress towards some kind of deal but at that stage, this is as optimistic as it gets. in recent days the qataris who have driven negotiations admitted they were not going very well at all. . ~ admitted they were not going very well at all. ., ~ , ., admitted they were not going very well at all. ., ~ i. ,., admitted they were not going very well at all. ., ~ i. . around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. companies have been told they should make workplace adjustments for women going through the menopause, including relaxing uniform policies and offering working from home on warm days. the equality and human rights commission guidance also states that using language that ridicules someone because of their menopausal symptoms could be harassment. epilepsy charities are warning that ongoing shortages in the supply of life—saving medication are putting patients at a higher risk of seizures. they say many more people
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are calling their helplines, after struggling to get hold of the drugs they need. industry experts say there are also problems with the supply of many other medicines. 0fficial certificates to mark the loss of a baby before 2a weeks of pregnancy can be applied for by bereaved parents in england on the government website from today. the documents, which are voluntary, are intended to help families cope with their grief and acknowledge the existence of their baby. all parents who have experienced baby loss since september 2018 can apply. you're live with bbc news. let's get more now on those chaotic scenes in the house of commons last night over calls for a ceasefire in gaza. it was after the speaker of the house sir lindsay hoyle was acccused of hijacking the debate by selecting both labour and government amendments. let's get more on this with our political correspondent damian grammaticas.
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can you explain in very simple terms what happened here because it's pretty confusing! it is what happened here because it's pretty confusing!— pretty confusing! it is and this noes to pretty confusing! it is and this goes to the — pretty confusing! it is and this goes to the complicated - pretty confusing! it is and this| goes to the complicated rules, pretty confusing! it is and this - goes to the complicated rules, the arcane rules in the way parliament works which is based on, it is not sort of written in tablets of stone but it's up to the speaker of the house to decide how to handle votes so what he decided yesterday was that there was any motion being put by one of the smaller opposition parties, the scottish national party about gaza and calling for an immediate ceasefire now. it cause all sorts of divisions amongst all the parties because their mps have differing views so he said he was going to allow amendments to be debated to that by mps, are different other versions, one from the main opposition labour party, one from the conservatives so that
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angered many mps, conservatives and scottish mps because they said this was a break from president, scottish mps because they said this was a breakfrom president, from tradition, that he was giving favouritism and showing favouritism to the labour party because there one was going first and in these chaotic arguments and scenes, the snp said they had no confidence in the speaker, he was favouring one party and the government side said they had been saying he changed the rules at the last minute so they walked out. so the only one that was actually voted on through a verbal vote of mps in the chamber and past was the labour party one so in essence there was a bit of politics going on with every party trying to outmanoeuvre the other and shore up their position in a row very serious issue but each of them also said they had reasons for that because they had reasons for that because they all have different views on this party but it was a bit of a
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mess in the speaker had to apologise, the labour party saying he had been put under pressure to change his position, the labour party said no pressure was applied, we argued that their vote should be put to the floor as well.— put to the floor as well. thank you very much — put to the floor as well. thank you very much for— put to the floor as well. thank you very much for now. _ let's speak to ian blackford mp for ross, skye and lochaber, and former leader of the scottish national party thank you forjoining us. what do you make of what happened, and because for sir lindsay hall to stand down so what is your position? it was an embarrassing day for parliament because we should have been working on an opposition motion for the snp calling for a ceasefire because what is really important is the leadership we show in the midst of this crisis. 29,000 people have lost their lives in the gaza strip, you'll report this morning talking about a real worry about what could
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happen in rafa and we are talking about people starving but rather than actually talking about this we are talking about parliamentary procedures and when your correspondent reported he refer to us as a smaller opposition party, we are the third party in westminster and as a consequence we have rights when it comes to speaking, granted up when it comes to speaking, granted up to three opposition days per year and when we cover a day which is of our choice and we put down a motion and typically what will happen as the government will decide whether it seeks to amend the motion but then what happens is the motion would be put through to a vote so people have the opportunity to tether them a test whether or not they have an advantage in the house of commons that the breach of the normal order yesterday and when i heard your correspondent talking about what happened, this has all beenin about what happened, this has all been in standing orders and within all of that, it would not have been
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proper to have a labour motion which took place. if you think about it you got an smp bufferfor take primacy is the motion that he did not have the opportunity to vote on and it was gerrymandering of the process and the accusation made that we walked out, let me clarify. what happened was given the position that we were in, saying we would support the labour amendment because we wanted to see some way of demonstrating the will of the house and we had gone in the lobby in order to do thatjust to set the record straight but i regret we are having these discussions because at the end of the day there is a humanitarian crisis in gaza. i can reflect on david cameron, the prime minister since 2014, and david cameron said at that point had to be
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an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire recognising the situation in gaza is intolerable. just over 2000 people lost their lives since that time and we are looking at a human catastrophe and it's important the house of commons does its job and mps do what they are sent to westminster to do which is sendup... and we know public opinion across the silence once a ceasefire and quite frankly it is shameful the shenanigans in the house of commons distracted us from what we should do and that is giving leadership and recognising that a strong force advocates for ceasefire. we are focusing on the two state solution so we can get peace in the middle east and respect the votes the israeli and palestinians, their hopes are that they can ultimately have security. we hopes are that they can ultimately have security-— have security. we must leave it there but thank _ have security. we must leave it there but thank you _ have security. we must leave it there but thank you so - have security. we must leave it there but thank you so much i have security. we must leave it| there but thank you so much for have security. we must leave it - there but thank you so much for your
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comments. just worth saying sir lindsay hall did later apologise, he is still facing calls to resign and there will be meetings later today so we will keep you updated with what is happening. a drone sent to film parts of antarctica that have never been mapped before, has taken to the air over the continent for the first time. scientists from the british antarctic survey have carried out the first test flights of the drone, which is specifically built to withstand tough environments, over the continent's coast. it is hoped it can be used to help experts forecast the impacts of climate change. don't forget that we have updates on the website on all of those stories, specifically about the house of commons vote that we were talking about. we will have plenty more on that coming up later but for now, please stay with us here on bbc news.
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hello, you are watching bbc news. police in some areas say they are now catching more drivers under the influence of illegal drugs. than of alcohol. with one first describing what they called in app academic of drug driving. i transferred correspondent katie austen reports. —— our transport correspondent. 9am on a tuesday morning and merseyside police are out in central liverpool. today, they're particularly looking out for drink and drug driving. officers have been pulling over any vehicles that look like they're unsafe in some
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way or are being driven in an unsafe manner. and already, within half an hour this morning, they've made three arrests after positive roadside drug tests. 927. those tests, called drug wipes, indicated the presence of cannabis, cocaine or both. that gets them arrested and taken to the station for a forensic blood test. and the result of that dictates whether any further action is taken. how prevalent do you think drug—driving actually is? so we've seen quite a lot, it's really prevalent. over the last few years, we've seen year—on—year increases of the number of people that were arrested for drug—driving. as a proportion — about two thirds the number of drugs to one third drink — that's generally throughout the year. driving with certain illegal or prescription drugs in your system above set limits can lead to a driving ban, a fine or potentially prison time. while causing death by careless driving under the influence of drugs can carry a life sentence. summerfrom king's lynn knows the impact drug—driving can have all too well. looking at this photo, itjust takes my breath away. just me being the only one left. a year ago, her mother, sister and stepdad were killed in a crash, caused by a driver with drugs in his system. the moment them people are gone,
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like your whole life has just been destroyed. it's absolutely shattered into a million pieces. she thinks greater awareness is needed and stronger punishments. we need harsher sentencing at the start. if someone is to commit drug—driving, it needs to be harsher straight away because if you have a harsh sentence that puts someone away the moment they drug—drive, that is going to deter people. national police leaders also want to see tougher sentences. they don't think there's the same understanding or social stigma around drug—driving compared with drink—driving. we're definitely seeing more younger people, who are driving under the influence of drugs. i think generally in society we're seeing more use of cannabis, for example, and we are definitely seeing that when we are stopping and testing drivers. drink—driving, ithink, still remains more socially unacceptable. police say too many people
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are still getting behind the wheel under the influence of drink or drugs, but with drugs in particular, they're seeing the trend go in the wrong direction. katie austin, bbc news. the home office said in a statement driving over the influence of drugs is unacceptable and it has tough penalties and enforcement is in place stop it added people found guilty of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drugs can now face a lifetime prison sentence. let's get some of the other stories making the news in the uk today. companies have been told they should make workplace adjustments for women going through the menopause. including relaxing uniform policies and offering working from home on warm days. the quality and human rights commission
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guidance states using language that ridicules someone because of their menopausal symptoms could be harassment. epilepsy charities are morning at ongoing shortages in the supply of lighting medication is putting patients at higher risks of seizures. they say, many more people are calling their helplines after struggling to get hold of the drugs they need. industry experts say there are problems with the supply of many other medicines. 0fficial certificates to mark the loss of the baby before 24 weeks of pregnancy can be applied for bibury parents in england on the government website from today. the documents which are voluntary are intended to help families cope with their grief and acknowledge the existence of their baby. all parents who have experienced baby loss since september 2018 can apply.
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