tv BBC News BBCNEWS March 14, 2024 10:00am-10:31am GMT
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israel says it wants to move displaced palestinians in gaza to what it's called "humanitarian islands in the middle of the strip. and a ship towing aid to gaza is due to reach shore today. tiktok warns a us ban would cost american businesses billions of dollars and thousands ofjobs. and the un evacuates nonessential staff from haiti, as gangs extend their stronghold on much of the country. for on much of the country. the first time there will be female for the first time there will be two female headliners at this year's glastonbury. shania twain get the legend slot. hello. we begin in the uk, the government has set out a new definition of extremism. it's part of its promise to tackle what is says is an �*increased
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threat�* since the hamas attacks in israel last october. the intention is to stop extremist groups or individuals from having a platform to spread their views. but concerns have been raised that any definition could be seen as unfair and undemocratic. with the details, here's our political correspondent damian grammaticas. the aftermath of the october 7th attacks on israel, the government says, has been increasing concern about radicalisation here in this country. so it's come up with this new definition of extremism, saying it means the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance that aims to negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others, undermine the uk's system of democracy and democratic rights, or intentionally create a permissive environment for others to do that. this month outside downing street, rishi sunak promised robust action. we will redouble our support for the prevent programme
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to stop young minds being poisoned by extremism. we will demand that universities stop extremist activity on campus. we will also act to prevent people entering this country whose aim is to undermine its values. this isn't a new legal standard, but his government will draw up a list of extremist groups. islamists and neo—nazis, it says, whose actions, while not illegal, are deemed threatening. some conservatives worry it could impinge on ourfreedoms. radical islamists pose a serious threat to our nation's security. and i agree with my right honourable friend that we must urgently address this. but reports that the government wishes to broaden the definition of extremism are concerning because in separating the definition of extremism from actual violence and harm, we may criminalise people with a wide range of legitimate views and have a chilling effect on free speech. this is absolutely not about silencing those with private and peaceful beliefs,
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nor will it impact free speech. the government insists the bar will be high so individuals attending marches won't be named, religious beliefs and strongly held convictions will be unaffected. but it says groups seeking to organise events that aim to subvert democracy will be listed, denied official meetings and funding so they can be identified and marginalised. critics say the government should be seeking a broad consensus, not deciding on its own what constitutes extremism. damian grammaticus, bbc news. to find out more about the reaction to the new definition unveiled by michael gove, i spoke to our chief political correspondent henry zeffman. i think roughly two groups of critics, one group who fear that in redefining extremism the government risks creating more division. that was the message from the archbishops of canterbury and york and that has
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been the message from some labour mps and we also heard earlier from three former conservative home secretaries who warned against the politicisation of extremism as an issue. another camp of critics generally on the libertarian wing of the conservative party are people who are warning that groups such as anti—abortion campaigners or those with gender critical views could end up being captured by this definition though the government insist they won't be. it is worth knowing that this comes after days when the government was grappling with questions over alleged comments made by a donor to the conservative party. michael gove has been facing questions on this this morning. i take these things exceptionally seriously, it would be the case that any assessment about whether or not an individual organisation is extremist would have to follow a rigorous process. it wouldn't be me
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making a decision on the basis of a quote, however horrific, it would be a due diligence process that would be conducted very carefully. it is interesting because typically the conservative party has been saying that it is against cancel culture. certainly that has been a dynamic for a long time and you heard some people, a government minister on tuesday morning just after these comments were first reported in the guardian newspaper saying, these comments were five years ago, he said he was wary of cancelling people for comments made in the past. frank hester must be noted, he has said he is deeply sorry for the comments. he insisted it was not about diane abbott's race or gender. for a little while that was a conservative
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party position but rishi sunak in the house of commons yesterday said the comments were racist. but that doesn't mean they should hand back the money they receive from frank hester. let's speak to the secretary—general of the muslim council of britain, zara mohammed. henry listed some of the concerns there. in your view, what is your main concern?— there. in your view, what is your main concern? ~ , _, , ., main concern? muslim communities are very concerned — main concern? muslim communities are very concerned right _ main concern? muslim communities are very concerned right now— main concern? muslim communities are very concerned right now about - main concern? muslim communities are very concerned right now about being i very concerned right now about being unfairly targeted. i should first say we all want to tackle extremism and we want to see britain —— mark a safe britain but what we feel michael gove is doing is playing politics with extremism at the expense of certain communities and this isn't a legal criminalising of groups but at least the government will be putting together to label who it deems to be extreme. we have had reports that this is going to be impacting muslim community groups and palestinian groups, groups like
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ourselves and the muslim council of britain which has been around for 26 years has been actively working with faith communities to tackle inequalities, social mobility, fight back on covid, elderly care so it is really appalling and quite worrying for us that group psychos could also be on this list. you for us that group psychos could also be on this list.— be on this list. you say appalling. government _ be on this list. you say appalling. government ministers _ be on this list. you say appalling. government ministers would - be on this list. you say appalling. | government ministers would argue they have seen a rise in anti—semitism as well as in islamophobia, they have seen protest that at times they have called hateful. shouldn't something be done? is playing politics? the laws and policing _ done? is playing politics? the laws and policing are — done? is playing politics? the laws and policing are already _ done? is playing politics? the laws and policing are already there - done? is playing politics? the laws and policing are already there to i and policing are already there to tackle the issues where there is extremism and where there is hatred and incitement as such. what these new plans for the definition of extremism does is allow the government to choose and essentially cancel out community groups from public life and the other point i wanted to add is, shouldn't the government be taking a look? not to
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say the conservative party is extreme, but were from what we have heard from the last day alone is the former prime minister, the former home secretary and the former deputy chairman of the conservative party, leading figures are pushing out islamophobic tropes and extreme speech, labelling the country to be ruled by islamist, sharing platforms with convicted criminals and the story around diane abbott, a top tory fonda saying she should be shot. would these also be included in their definition? —— tory funder. all i would say is communities are concerned about how the government will apply this consistently given it is not a legal definition but one they have the arbitrary power to dues. ., ., ., ,., ., , dues. the government have apologised for some of the — dues. the government have apologised for some of the comments _ dues. the government have apologised for some of the comments that - dues. the government have apologised for some of the comments that you - for some of the comments that you have listed there and they have acknowledge when they have found that some of those comments have
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been racist. having said that, if you believe this isn't the answer and it carries too many risks around it, what would you propose is the solution to what has been recorded as a rising anti—semitism and islamophobia since the attacks in israel on october the 7th? that is such an important _ israel on october the 7th? that is such an important question. - israel on october the 7th? that is such an important question. i - israel on october the 7th? that is such an important question. i will take us back to the words of the archbishop of canterbury and york who said this was very divisive and would unfairly target those in communities because it hasn't got any engagement. he was the government consulting on this definition of extremism? if you want to tackle things like islamophobia, wouldn't you be engaging with muslim communities rather than targeting them? so i think the government has a long way to go in doing meaningful consultation and working out an approach that takes communities and britain with eight, keeping a cohesive and together rather than divisive. ., ~ cohesive and together rather than divisive. ., ,, , ., .
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cohesive and together rather than divisive. ., ,, . ., cohesive and together rather than divisive. ., . ., divisive. thank you so much for your time. we divisive. thank you so much for your time- we really _ divisive. thank you so much for your time. we really do _ divisive. thank you so much for your time. we really do appreciate - divisive. thank you so much for your time. we really do appreciate it. - time. we really do appreciate it. right now on bbc radio 5 live chris bob tony standing in for nicky campbell, asking do we need to definition on extremism? you can take part in this right now on bbc sounds. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news today. an anti—corruption hotline launched by the metropolitan police will be rolled out across all uk forces. people can call the hotline to report concerns about officers and volunteers. the initial scheme has seen more than 700 investigations into the conduct of staff members since 2022. the number of middle—aged people dying from cancer in the uk is at a 25—year low, according to new figures. a study from cancer research uk found deaths among those aged 35 to 69 have fallen, thanks to screening,
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better treatments and policies aimed at reducing smoking. labour has set out plans to cap re—sale prices for concert tickets, to crackdown on people who buy them to list online, at an inflated cost. sir keir starmer, said access to music, art and theatre should not be "at the mercy of ruthless ticket touts". the government says it's already introduced tough enough measures. you're live with bbc news. israel says it wants to move displaced palestinian greek palestinians to humanitarian islands in the middle of the strip. let's get the latest on that and all the developments out of israel with our correspondent anna foster. this developments out of israel with our correspondent anna foster.- developments out of israel with our correspondent anna foster. this is a further hint — correspondent anna foster. this is a further hint of— correspondent anna foster. this is a further hint of what _ correspondent anna foster. this is a further hint of what israel— correspondent anna foster. this is a further hint of what israel has - further hint of what israel has repeatedly said it is one of its next move is in the military operation in gaza. and that is a
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ground offensive in the southern garrison city of rafah where 1.4 million palestinians are garrison city of rafah where1.4 million palestinians are sheltering, half the population of the gaza strip, people are being moved away from their homes in the north and central strip and people living in tents who have very little food, water, medicalsupplies, their water, medical supplies, their situation water, medicalsupplies, their situation is desperate. israel has repeatedly said it is vital if it wants to achieve its aim to remove hamas from the outset that it carries out a military ground operation in rafah but with the civilians that the international community has sent out a strong cautions to israel that if it is going to do that it needs to get those people, in the words of the us secretary of state antony blinken, out of harms way first. he says he hasn't seen any plans yet but their rear admiral from the israel defence forces used this expression humanitarian island. not much detail
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about that, how they would work, how logistically those people will be moved back to the centre of the strip but that use of the word islands is interesting because central gaza is now in many ways her waistline, the homes of people that used to living have been destroyed, they don't remain any more, the issue of transporting people would be problematic. so that is what israel are talking about doing. there is still no timescale and moving civilians back to the centre of this trip would take at least weeks, possibly longer. while this is going on, the humanitarian aid situation remains desperate, we are watching the progress of what will be the first ship towing aid along their new maritime age corridor that has been established between cyprus and gaza. we note that chip is getting increasingly close to the coast of gaza but when it arrives that will be an untried operation. —— a ship. there is a part not too far away but israel hasn't opened
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that four humanitarian deliveries. there is international pressure for that to happen but when this badge won by world central kitchen arrives, notjust the unloading of that aid but also the distribution of eight safely, securely and fairly through the gaza strip, where there are more than 300,000 people sheltering, will be no doubt a logistical challenge. i am sheltering, will be no doubt a logistical challenge. iam pleased to say we can talk to the un special wrap on to her father palestinian territories. thank you forjoining us. i would like to get your thoughts on the humanitarian islands which had been talked about by israel. is there a way in which they could work and protect those displaced palestinians, more than 1.4 million of them in rafah at the moment? {lit 1.4 million of them in rafah at the moment? . ., , 1.4 million of them in rafah at the moment? _, , ., , moment? of course i am very concerned — moment? of course i am very concerned about _ moment? of course i am very concerned about what - moment? of course i am very concerned about what this - moment? of course i am very i concerned about what this might moment? of course i am very - concerned about what this might mean because _ concerned about what this might mean because israel has been using humanitarian language to cover what
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is the _ humanitarian language to cover what is the fact— humanitarian language to cover what is the fact of crimes in gaza, save sounds. _ is the fact of crimes in gaza, save sounds, evacuation, nothing has worked — sounds, evacuation, nothing has worked according to international humanitarian law. the conditions of life in _ humanitarian law. the conditions of life in the _ humanitarian law. the conditions of life in the gaza strip are very difficult _ life in the gaza strip are very difficult wherever we look at because _ difficult wherever we look at because 70% of the structure has been _ because 70% of the structure has been destroyed so where are these 1.4 been destroyed so where are these i~4 million — been destroyed so where are these 1.4 million people going to go? which — 1.4 million people going to go? which houses? there is room to host these _ which houses? there is room to host these people. sol which houses? there is room to host these people. so i am concerned and these people. so i am concerned and the only— these people. so i am concerned and the only way— these people. so i am concerned and the only way to get out of this tragedy— the only way to get out of this tragedy is to have a ceasefire. this is the _ tragedy is to have a ceasefire. this is the only— tragedy is to have a ceasefire. this is the only way to provide a shelter to the _ is the only way to provide a shelter to the millions of survivors of this catastrophe. to the millions of survivors of this catastrophe-— to the millions of survivors of this catastrophe. when you look at the words that the _ catastrophe. when you look at the words that the international i words that the international community are using at the moment,
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spokesman for the eu said israel be using humanitarian aid as an arm of war, but i wonder we keep hearing from world leaders they are telling israel bore needs to be done to improve access for humanitarian aid, but it doesn't seem to be happening at the speed required. what conversations are you having around that? i conversations are you having around that? 4' ., ., ., ., , that? i think there are two enormous limitations in — that? i think there are two enormous limitations in the _ that? i think there are two enormous limitations in the public _ that? i think there are two enormous limitations in the public discourse, i limitations in the public discourse, primarily— limitations in the public discourse, primarily in — limitations in the public discourse, primarily in the west. first is that israel— primarily in the west. first is that israel is _ primarily in the west. first is that israel is not — primarily in the west. first is that israel is not only to allow unimpeded humanitarian aid, israel has the _ unimpeded humanitarian aid, israel has the occupying power should be the first— has the occupying power should be the first one to provide that humanitarian aid and shelter and safe areas— humanitarian aid and shelter and safe areas to the civilians in gaza which _ safe areas to the civilians in gaza which has — safe areas to the civilians in gaza which has not happened and in doing so israel— which has not happened and in doing so israel has violated measures recommended by the international court _ recommended by the international court of—
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recommended by the international court ofjustice on the 26th of january. — court ofjustice on the 26th of january. that measure is binding and the author— january. that measure is binding and the author of the icj is binding on the author of the icj is binding on the international community and i still cannot see any meaningful and effective _ still cannot see any meaningful and effective act or measures taken against — effective act or measures taken against israel for it to comply with international law and icj order. therefore, there is a usual business of attitude _ therefore, there is a usual business of attitude of israel. israel has said it is cooperating with that icj investigation. i wanted to ask you, because of course url takes in the whole of the occupied palestinian territories and we were in bethlehem yesterday in the west bank and talking to people
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there who of course, unlike palestinians in gaza, are not at the front line of the world but they are actually suffering as you will no economically at the moment with the tourist trade in bethlehem, it has been badly damaged, with people's movement through their checkpoints not being able to happen since the 7th of october. i wonder is that something you are also looking into? that economic fallout for palestinians elsewhere? riff that economic fallout for palestinians elsewhere? . ., , palestinians elsewhere? of course, i am lookin: palestinians elsewhere? of course, i am looking at _ palestinians elsewhere? of course, i am looking at the _ palestinians elsewhere? of course, i am looking at the situation _ palestinians elsewhere? of course, i am looking at the situation in - palestinians elsewhere? of course, i am looking at the situation in the i am looking at the situation in the entire _ am looking at the situation in the entire occupied palestinian territory, although of course as you rightly _ territory, although of course as you rightly acknowledge the situation in gaza is— rightly acknowledge the situation in gaza is so— rightly acknowledge the situation in gaza is so dramatic that it takes most _ gaza is so dramatic that it takes most of— gaza is so dramatic that it takes most of our general attention but the people in the west bank and east jerusalem _ the people in the west bank and east jerusalem are notjust the people in the west bank and east jerusalem are not just suffering because — jerusalem are not just suffering because of the economic fallout of the situation and lack of tourism, there _ the situation and lack of tourism, there are — the situation and lack of tourism, there are heightened movement restrictions, heightened violence, mostly— restrictions, heightened violence, mostly from the army which is also reflected _ mostly from the army which is also reflected in— mostly from the army which is also reflected in the higher number of
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arbitrary— reflected in the higher number of arbitrary arrest and detentions that have taken— arbitrary arrest and detentions that have taken place at the situation is extremely— have taken place at the situation is extremely concerning for anybody living _ extremely concerning for anybody living under israeli rule at the moment _ living under israeli rule at the moment. of course the economic suffering — moment. of course the economic suffering of the palestinians is something that shouldn't be overlooked because this is of course what they'd — overlooked because this is of course what they'd need to live, to survive heyondm _ what they'd need to live, to survive beyond... this is beyond the current situation _ beyond... this is beyond the current situation in — beyond... this is beyond the current situation in gaza. the situation for the palestinians, economic situation is extremely dramatic even before the 7th _ is extremely dramatic even before the 7th of— is extremely dramatic even before the 7th of october, owing to the economic— the 7th of october, owing to the economic costs of the occupation. thank— economic costs of the occupation. thank you — economic costs of the occupation. thank you forjoining us. just to pick up at one point from that interview, the idea of a ceasefire which has been talked about regularly and we know that qatar and
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egypt have been attempting to broker a new ceasefire and it was november of last year since we last had that one week ceasefire where the fighting stopped, extra aid went into gaza, we saw the release of some israeli hostages and also palestinian prisoners are held in israeli jails. it is worth saying the reason you are not hearing about those talks at the moment is there is no real movement, even though channels of communication remain open. it really is the case at the moment that any immediate ceasefire doesn't seem to be on the table. thank you so much. we will be hearing much more from anna throughout the day. let's turn to the fallout now in that us over the future of tick—tock in the world's biggest economy. a chinese foreign ministry spokesperson says that a house of representatives vote that could see the app banned went against international trade and fair competition rules. beijing accused congress of �*adopting the logic of a bandit�*. and the boss of the social media giant warned that any ban in america
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would cost small businesses billions of dollars. if approved, the bill could force tiktok�*s owners either to sell up — or be barred from the us. it�*s feared the chinese military could access the data of american users. our china correspondent, stephen mcdonell, has more on the reaction from beijing. when foreign ministry spokesperson wang wenbin said today that these us politicians had adopted the logic of bandits, he is essentially accusing them of stealing this very successful chinese social media platform. he said this went against the norms of international trade and was a move to suppress excellent companies from other countries. this is a complicated matter, the advocates of this ban would say tiktok poses a security threat because it�*s parent company bytedance is bound to pass on the data from users here in china if the communist party asks for it.
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those laws do exist but that doesn�*t mean that tiktok has done that, or even has been asked to do it and instead the chinese government�*s point of view, i think, it has been surprised by the success of this home—grown company that they have developed an app, a social media app, that has just been so enormously popular internationally and at the height of its powers this chinese company is being asked to divest itself of tiktok. you can imagine the company doesn�*t like it, and for that matter the chinese government doesn�*t like it and they are going to bat for one of their tech champions, as they see it. but as the whole matter moves into the senate and the debate becomes more intense, i think we can expect to see many more barbs flying back and forth from beijing to washington and back the other way.
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when it comes to bytedance themselves, they have been insisting that they have taken measures to protect users�* data, haven�*t they? yes. they say they have put certain things in place to stop that from happening. but the problem is we just have to take their word from it. how would you know? how would you know whether or not anything has gone from their servers, wherever they are based, to their servers here in china? it is virtually an impossible thing for anybody to track. and so it comes down to this question of trust, essentially. would they do this? imagine what a risk it is if it emerged that it had happened? it would be scandalous for them. and in a way, if the communist party here was to ask bytedance for the data of users in america they could potentially destroy the business if word got out about it. that said, doesn�*t mean they wouldn�*t consider doing it because if they thought they could without anyone
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finding out, well, why not? the headline acts for this year�*s glastonbury festival have been announced. pop sensation dua lipa tops the bill alongside sza. it marks the first time in the event�*s history that female acts have taken two of the three headline slots. glastonbury veterans co—player of the third headline we had from our music correspondent about their difficult relationship with the festival. —— coldplay they are the act that has headlined the festival the most times, five headline slots on the pyramid stage and six if you include the livestream that glastonbury did during the pandemic during 2021. after they last played,
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chris martin made the mistake i think of going on to twitter and he saw a lot of criticism saying you can rely on chris martin to turn up in a tracksuit and ruin everything at glastonbury. he said to the bbc a couple of years ago he would take a step back from playing the festival for a couple of years just to let that settle. they are in the middle of a record—breaking world tour. they are in the third year of playing stadiums across the world and this will be the only european festival date they do. for all the criticism the band get, they are an incredible live act. last time they played glastonbury in 2016 they handed out led wristbands to everybody in the audience that lit up in time to the music and there was a real sense of community that they created in that field of more than 100,000 people. i think while we have two newcomers in the other headline slots, coldplay will be there to show everybody how it is done. stay with us here on bbc news. hello again. it�*s going to be mild for many of us today. then there�*s the dip in temperatures, and then they pick up again as we head into the weekend. you can see today we�*ve got the ambers across us,
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but then we�*ve got a slight change as blues return. but they are pushed out of the way on saturday and sunday as the milder weather returns. it will be with us on monday and tuesday. and then it looks like temperatures will dip a touch as we head through wednesday and the end of next week. what we�*ve got today, though, is rain pushing across scotland and northern ireland, showers in the west drifting eastwards. not all of us will catch one. and windy across england and wales. not as windy as yesterday in the far northwest, but temperatures could get up to 17 degrees somewhere in the southeastern quadrant of the country, dependent on sunshine amounts. so as we head on through the evening and overnight, the rain continues to push north for a time and then starts to move south eastwards. we�*ll have some clear skies ahead of it, but more showers coming into the southwest and still brisk winds across england and wales. here, too, it�*s going to remain mild but a bit cooler in the north as the wind turns round to more of a northerly. so into tomorrow, then, our band of rain slowly sinks south eastwards.
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ahead of it, we�*re looking at some showers, some sunshine. some of the showers could be heavy and thundery. windy, strong winds through the english channel, but brighter skies for scotland and northern ireland. but we still have that northerly wind, so feeling cooler. and even as we come further south, the temperatures will be lower than today. but still, we�*re looking at 13 or 14 as our top temperatures. friday night�*s going to be cold with a widespread frost, some mist and fog forming. in fact, temperatures could even fall as low as minus five in some sheltered glens. now, all of that will lift, leaving us with a dry and bright and sunny start to the day. but the cloud�*s going to build in from the west ahead of this weather front coming in, introducing some rain to western areas through the course of the day. temperatures, 5 in lerwick to about 12 or 13 as we push across england and wales. moving on into sunday, we�*ve got the dregs of the rain to clear away from the south east. it will start misty and murky, some low cloud around, but it will improve through the day with some sunshine developing. just some patchy rain coming in from the west through the day.
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is an increased threat from some groups. a 17 year old boy admits killing schoolgirl elianne andam — who he stabbed at a bus stop in south london. diane abbott speaks out about racism in politics, a day after being denied a chance to take part in a commons debate about a tory donor�*s criticism of her. nhs england says latest figures show the waiting list times for hospital treatment have fallen slightly. and for the first time — there will be two female headliners at this glastonbury. dua lipa and sza will top the bill alongside coldplay. shania twain gets the legends slot.
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