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tv   BBC News  BBC News  April 27, 2024 2:00am-2:31am BST

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the us's top diplomat tells the bbc his country is prepared to take steps against china if it continues to support russia's war effort donald trump's former assistant takes the stand as the first full week of testimony in his criminal trial comes to a close. and — we speak to a founder of the metoo movement, afterfilm producer harvey weinstein�*s rape conviction is overturned in new york. hello i'm carl nasman. we start with a meeting between two global superpowers. us secretary of state antony blinken was in china for talks with the chinese president xijinping on friday. the us's top diplomat said there has been progress in some areas. he praised beijing for its efforts to stop the supply of fentanyl from reaching the us and the increase in military—to—military communication.
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president xi agreed the two sides had "made some positive progress" since he met his us counterpart, joe biden, in november. mr xi added that the earth was �*big enough' for both countries to achieve development and prosperity. however, differences between the two countries still remain. china's foreign minister wang yi remarked that the us has taken �*endless measures�* to suppress china's economy, trade, and technology. he warned that if such factors continued to grow, it could derail efforts to stabilize us—china ties. the negative factors are increasing and building. the relationship is facing all kinds of disruption. china's legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed. our core interests face challenges. should china and the united states keep to the right direction of moving with stability ore return to a down ward spiral? this is a major question before our two countries. for the united states, areas of concerns include
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china's claims over taiwan and the south china sea, and china's support for russia in its war on ukraine. spoke to the bbc and said washington will act if beijing does not stop supplying russia with items used in its assault on ukraine. our china correspondent laura bicker has more from beijing. hello. i'm laura bicker. how are you? antony blinken�*s visit comes as us ties with china are at a turning point. how's your trip been? oh, it's been... i've covered a lot of ground. the dialogue and diplomacy for the cameras hides real discord and distrust. this is what chinese viewers are shown. a cinematic soundtrack accompanies president xi, urging the us to be partners, not rivals. yet, hours earlier, mr blinken was warned the two sides could slip towards conflict.
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but he came to beijing with a warning of his own. 70% of the machine tools that russia is getting from abroad coming from china, 90% of the microelectronics. so for china, if it wants to have better relations not only with us but with countries in europe, it can't do that while at the same time helping to fuel the biggest threat to european security since the end of the cold war. we've taken action already against chinese entities that are engaged in this. and what i made clear today is that if china won't act, we will. you say you will act. i just want to be clear on what you're prepared to do. i'm not going to get into the details except to say, look at what we've done already. we've imposed sanctions, export controls, one kind or another. china views this as hypocrisy as the us continues to arm israel. beijing is using the war in gaza to discredit washington and paint itself as a peaceful power.
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it erodes the credibility of the united states, notjust here in china, but around the world, don't you think? of course, china will do whatever it will do to distort our policies and to misinform its own people about what we're actually doing, what we're not doing, what we stand for, what we don't stand for. and i think china can play a constructive role here. it has relationships. it has influence with countries like iran that it can use effectively to, in the first instance, try to prevent the conflict from spreading. a record shop was mr blinken�*s final stop. perhaps taylor swift can help forge cross—cultural ties. this trip has not dealt with the two sides�* differences. they�*ve merely talked about them. and real risks remain in this fragile relationship, which mr blinken described as the most consequential in the world. laura bicker,
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bbc news, beijing. the chinese foreign minister said in his remarks that the relationship was risking can a down ward what trajectory. do you agree? i down ward what tra'ectory. do you agreevh you agree? i do. china's talkin: you agree? i do. china's talking about _ you agree? i do. china's talking about invading . you agree? i do. china's i talking about invading the united states. as long as he says he�*s going to take over taiwan but force, there is a real chance our relationship goes down hill. to what extent is the us testing boundaries? we hevered from wang yi saying the us needs to be careful not to step on china�*s red lines. we saw this massive wave of sanctions, technology export bans by the us. we know there is increased presence by the us and allies militarily.
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what is that doing to the relationship? is that increasing tensions? this is all again china�*s aggression. china changes its lines. they literally change their lines on the map all the time, to just take over more territory by map geography. it�*s ridiculous. they�*re threatening their neighbours, notjust taiwan, but the philippines. they�*ve been very aggressive, risking filipino sailor lives with their actions in the south china sea. they are regularly risking can the lives of the united states sailors and airmen doing patrols. so, all of this aggression is coming from china. remember, america is not saying that we want to take over territory. we�*re not trying to take over countries. that is what china is trying to do. we�*re trying to defend democracies as we do all around the globe.
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the big part of the trip was to warn china in supplying russia�*s military. if it continues to do, so what is the us ready to do to prevent china from sending parts or weapons to russia? do you think there might be some sanctions on the cards? what would the us do? i certainly hope so. what xijinping is doing is supporting a criminal war of aggression bya war criminal. vladimir putin. that is the exact opposite of what the united states does. we defend sovereign territory. we defend freedom and democracy all around the globe. that�*s what we are doing in ukraine. that is what we said to china we intend to do in the south pacific and china and russia have this axis of evil of aggression. evil autocracies trying to take over sovereign countries. the us is right to stand up against that. we heard from china�*s president xi jinping speaking and saying
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that there is enough room in the world for both the us and for china. do you agree? can these two get along? well, that�*s up to china. again, we have a peaceful agenda. they have an agenda of con quest. of course there should be room for both of us. there is room for the united states and china as they exist today. what china is trying to do is take over other countries. that is not acceptable to the us and frankly shouldn�*t be to any sovereign nation. secretary anthony blinken said there was progress. i want to see if there is room for progress. he noted some areas, like stopping supplies of fentinyl to the us. is there room for co—operation between the two countries? specifically where do you point to? there�*s always been room for co—operation, fentanyl is a good example. there�*s been some minor
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progress where china and us have worked together to limit the importation and the chemicals used from china to the united states. i sit on the china committee in congress. we released a report that said 96% of fentanyl precursors, the chemicals to construct, manufacture this deadly drug, come from china. china had has a proactive program to deliver them to the us deliberately because it�*s killing americans. we want this to stop. again, it�*s an example of aggressive chinese behaviour against america. we are out of time. i want to ask you — i saw scenes of secretary blinken doing shopping in beijing. he picked up a copy of taylor swift�*s new album over there. curious. do you think that the secretary of state is a swiftie? well, i don�*t know. i think if he were a real one
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he wouldn�*t buy a pirated copy in china. do you think it�*s a pirated copy? i think there is a good chance. we know they like to steal our intellectual property all the time. a big trip nonetheless. plenty of the agenda. thank you for your time. there have been some small developments in ceasefire negotiations between israel and hamas, with both sides continuing to review proposals. the chinese foreign minister said in his remarks egyptian mediators have arrived in israel — and egyptian media say there�*s been "notable progress" in finding common ground. meanwhile, the war continues. gaza�*s hamas—run health agency says at least 50 people have been killed in israeli attacks over the past 2a hours. this was the scene in rafah on friday night. among the dead: sabreen al—sakani — a baby rescued from her dying mother�*s womb. fergal keane reports now.
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and a warning: there are distressing images from the start. in this fragile form, a tiny pulse of hope. baby sabrine was the last survivor. of a family obliterated by an israeli air strike. a pregnant mum pulled from here. minutes later in hospital, doctors were able to rescue sabrine from her dying mother�*s woman. — womb. they tapped to stimulate her breathing. air was pummelled into her lungs. then, to an incubator, fighting for life. notice the gentleness of the dock as he her head. relatives watched over the newborn.
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paternal grandmother aflam planned to take care of the orphaned baby. translation: i will raise her in the best way. she�*s the member rip of her dad. i hope that god give 5 her a long life. ,,. , that god give 5 her a long life. ,. , ., that god give 5 her a long life, , ., ., life. sabrine fought to live, two days — life. sabrine fought to live, two days ago _ life. sabrine fought to live, two days ago briefly - life. sabrine fought to live, | two days ago briefly opening her eyes. 2a hours later, her condition still critical. baby sabrine lost her struggle. ed a mud day yesterday, the dead child was brought home to her people. sabrine was buried alongside her mother, after whom she was named. herfather and 3—year—old sister, malek.
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today her uncle rami prayed at sabrine�*s grave. overhead an israeli drone. the loss that changed everything for this family changes nothing in the war. translation: this left a mark on everyone�*s heart. she moved the whole world. to me, sabrine was the living legacy of my brother, the only survivor of the massacre: she was my soul. this is why i call her "my soul". , ., this is why i call her "my soul". ., ., ., ., soul". sabrine of rafah, gaza, lived for five _ soul". sabrine of rafah, gaza, lived for five days. _ here in the united states, protests against the war are spreading to more university campuses.much of the focus this week has been on columbia university, in new york city, but students in various cities —
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among them, new orleans, los angeles, chicago and here in washington dc — are also holding protests. donald trump�*s �*hush money�* trial has wrapped up for the week — with testimony detailing a tabloid �*catch and kill�* scheme — that allegedly buried damaging stories about mr trump during his campaign for the white house in 2016. the trial could be the only one of mr trump�*s four criminal cases with a chance of wrapping up before the presidential election this november. also on friday, president biden said — he�*d be "happy" to face donald trump in a debate — something he had not previously committed to it. mr trump skipped all the previous republican debates — and no further debates have been scheduled. our correspondent nada tawfik has been following the trial closely from new york.
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president trump was as ever. he said he heard president biden agree to a debate. he him to do that any time, suggesting here in new york or the white house. in court, his defence team had a chance to cross—examine two trump insiders. rona graff, donald trump�*s long—time assistant for over 30 years. prosecutors had her testify she entered the contacts for the former playboy model karen mcdougal and stormy daniels into donald trump�*s former company contacts and that she vaguely recalled seeing stormy daniels in trump tower ahead of the 2016 election. she admitted on the stand she didn�*t want to be here in court testifying, she respected donald trump and he even stood up and tried to give her a brief hello on her way out. things were different
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with the former national enquirer publisher david pecker. the defence tried to discredit him, though he was a reliable witness who said he didn�*t hold grudges or have ill will against donald trump. they tried to get him to say that the alleged cash and kill scheme which prosecutors had said is a criminal conspiracy to influence the election, while the defence tried to paint it as a but decision and a standard operating procedure for a tabloid. day individual pecker said he was truthful. he reit raided he did that scheme alongside —— reiterated he did that scheme alongside donald trump and michael cohen to help the campaign. sexual assault survivors and advocates have expressed outrage afterjudges in new york overturned a 2020 rape conviction against the former hollywood producer, harvey weinstein. new york�*s highest court ruled that during his trial four years ago, prosecutors were wrongly allowed to call
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witnesses whose accusations were not part of the charges against him. weinstein will remain in prison on a separate rape conviction in california. weinstein�*s new york trial was a pivotal moment for the metoo movement, which raises awareness of sexual abuse and aggression against women. it began in 2006, and went viral during weinstein�*s trial after several women came forward alleging that he had sexually abused them. i spoke earlier to the founder of the me too campaign, tarana burke, and we spoke about what this means for that movement. know you said today the overturning of this conviction in harvey weinstein�*s 2020 new york case was not a blow to the metoo movement.— york case was not a blow to the metoo movement. what did you mean? what _ metoo movement. what did you mean? what i — metoo movement. what did you mean? what i mean _ metoo movement. what did you mean? what i mean is _ metoo movement. what did you mean? what i mean is that - metoo movement. what did you | mean? what i mean is that while we are disappointed, _ mean? what i mean is that while we are disappointed, one - we are disappointed, one singular case with not be a blow to an entire movement. i think people mistakenlyjudge think people mistakenly judge the think people mistakenlyjudge the movement by the outcomes of
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these cases and that�*s not how we decide whether movements are successful or not. we know that historically the justice system, particularly in america, has never been where we find actual justice for survivors, so, while we�*re disappointed, i don�*t see this as a set—back for the movement. i see it as a disappointment. i�*m sure you were following this case closely and the ruling by new york�*s top court. wuhan�*s lawyer said on thursday that the law was not applied fairly to harvey weinstein. did you agree with that statement? and with the ruling that came out of this fourth redecision? no. i was going to say donald trump —— harvey weinstein�*s attorney is supposed to say that. that�*s hisjob in defending his client. i don�*t think that thejudges defending his client. i don�*t think that the judges made the proper decision in this case. i think we will see that when it is retried.
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think we will see that when it is retried-— is retried. let's look to other students _ is retried. let's look to other students a _ is retried. let's look to other students a noisy _ is retried. let's look to other students a noisy standoff i students a noisy standoff between students and pro—israeli protesters prompted police the demonstrations in france have echoed those on us campuses. multiple countries in east africa are experiencing severe flooding and landslides. at least 70 people were killed in kenya and 150 people were killed in tanzania. nearly 100—thousand people have been displaced in the nearby country of burundi. the region has seen heavier rainfall than usual in recent weeks, exacerbated by the el nino weather pattern. several storms are moving across the central us hitting the states of iowa and nebraska. in eastern nebraska, a resident spotted these images of a tornado forming in the distance. local media is reporting that three people were injured and thousands of people are experiencing power shortages. the national weather service says there were seven tornado reports in the region.
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buckingham palace has announced that king charles is returning to public engagements next week, following encouraging progress in his treatment for cancer. the palace says that, while he�*ll make more public appearances in the coming weeks, he will also continue to undergo cancer care. the palace hasn�*t said which type of cancer he�*s been diagnosed with, but the announcement that he�*s able to get back to public duties is being seen as a sign for cautious optimism. this photo is just released. the palace says:
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the king�*s last public event was in windsor on easter sunday and he surprised the crowds by stopping to chat, thanking them for their good wishes. keep going strong, never give in. his next visit will be more symbolic, a trip to a cancer treatment centre. and injune, he will meet the emperor and empress of japan who will be in london for a state visit. but the king�*s recovery process is still ongoing. i guess he will be taking very strong advice from his medical team not to overdo it. there is a psychological component to cancer recovery, and it�*s great he feels able to go out there and do more, but he will need to be very careful that he doesn�*t stretch himself too much.
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this has been a really tough year for the royal family, with both the king of the princess of wales diagnosed with cancer, and, like any family, that has come as a huge blow. they�*ve also had to deal with intense media speculation, so the announcement that the king feels well enough to return to some public duties will be welcome news. the prime minister, your majesty. the king has been working throughout his treatment, including meeting with the prime minister. decisions about some upcoming events will be made by the king and his advisers nearer the time. he is still undergoing treatment. they can�*t guarantee that he will undertake some of the key engagements over the summer, although they are very hopeful he will be able to, so you�*ve got things like royal ascot, trooping the colour, chelsea flower show, perhaps. i think they are hoping he will be able to go to those sorts of events but it is all still to be confirmed yet.
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the king and catherine are two of the most senior and popular members of the royal family. their absence has been felt by many. i wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you personally... there is no news about when the princess of wales will return to public duties. she announced her cancer diagnosis in march and has asked for time, space and privacy for herself and herfamily. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. a woman who lost herjob during the pandemic and decided to focus on running to keep her busy has just been chosen to represent team gb in the marathon, at this summer�*s olympics. rose harvey, who�*s 31, only started running for fun after leaving university — and discovered, to her surprise, she was ——— pretty good. sophie raworth has been talking to her. rose harvey starting running 10 years ago when she joined a
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running club in london to get fit and met people. she never imagined it would lead her to the olympics. i still can�*t believe it. i am i still can't believe it. i am absolutely butting with excitement. it was a few minutes— excitement. it was a few minutes ago i was working fuiitirne _ minutes ago i was working fulltime as a lawyer, just running _ fulltime as a lawyer, just running for fun. the last olympics, i wasn't even fast enough _ olympics, i wasn't even fast enough to make the trials. for years _ enough to make the trials. for years rose was a good club runner, completing the london marathon in three hours, but it was lockdown that changed everything. i was lockdown that changed everything-— everything. i was made redundant _ everything. i was made redundant from - everything. i was made redundant from my - everything. i was made| redundant from my job. everything. i was made i redundant from my job. i everything. i was made - redundant from my job. i had redundant from myjob. i had three months, at home, i needed a lockdowning project. that�*s how i started training fiercely. if i had not had that forced upon me, i wouldn�*t be heading to paris. forced upon me, iwouldn't be heading to paris.— heading to paris. pro'ect lockdown i heading to paris. pro'ect lockdown worked. h heading to paris. project lockdown worked. rose| heading to paris. project - lockdown worked. rose found herself on elite start—lines. go on, rosy! come on, push it, push it! it go on, rosy! come on, push it, ush it! ., , .,
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go on, rosy! come on, push it, ush it! .,, ., .,, push it! it was in chicago last autumn she _ push it! it was in chicago last autumn she ran _ push it! it was in chicago last autumn she ran her- push it! it was in chicago last autumn she ran her fastest i autumn she ran herfastest marathon in 2:23 minutes, cheered on by herfiance, charlie. cheered on by her fiance, charlie-— cheered on by her fiance, charlie. , ., charlie. so good, bring on olympic — charlie. so good, bring on olympic qualify _ charlie. so good, bring on olympic qualify time! - charlie. so good, bring on | olympic qualify time! there must be so _ olympic qualify time! there must be so people - olympic qualify time! there must be so people out - olympic qualify time! there | must be so people out there with— must be so people out there with talent that are undiscovered and perhaps they have _ undiscovered and perhaps they have not— undiscovered and perhaps they have not fully realised their potential yet. take the plunge with whatever is fun, whatever you love — with whatever is fun, whatever you love doing. just see where you love doing. just see where you can — you love doing. just see where you can go _ you love doing. just see where you can go with it. you never know — you can go with it. you never know where it might take you. before we go — photographers throughout the us captured the intensity of this week�*s full moon, known as the pink moon. but it�*s not named for appearing that colour. it�*s named after pink flowers called wild ground phlox, which bloom in early spring and appear throughout the united states and canada.
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after a mix chilly week, things won�*t warm up, staying chilly, rain at times. it is going to turn warmer next week. however, not completely dry. still some wet weather in the forecast. certainly some wet weather for the weekend, all driven by this area of low pressure pushing up from the south. this frontal system here bringing rain northwards across southern england into wales, the midlands and east anglia. to the north of that, some sunny spells to start the day. a cold start with a frost across northern england, northern ireland and scotland. it will be another sunshine and showers day. the showers wintry over high ground in scotland. some hefty showers breaking out for southern counties, and then some more persistent rain heading in from the south by the end of the afternoon, temperatures generally around 10—13 degrees.
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and then through saturday night, this rain will push its way northwards, covering large parts of england, clipping into the east of wales. further north and west, some clear spells. another relatively chilly night, there�*ll be a frost for some. further south and east, not as cold because of the extra cloud, because of the outbreaks of rain, all driven by this area of low pressure which will be sliding its way northwards through the day on sunday. some parts of england are going to have a lot of rain through the day, heavy and persistent rain that will make it feel decidedly chilly. some rain fringing into east wales, turning wet in eastern scotland, rather windy for some of these eastern coasts, but eventually brightening up for south west england, for wales, parts of northwest england, northern ireland and western scotland seeing some sunshine as well. temperatures still stubbornly stuck in that range between 944 degrees, but temperatures will start to lift on monday. a frontal system pushing in from the west. outbreaks of rain for some, but ahead of that, a southerly wind bringing a warmer feel. temperatures back up really to where they should be for late april 12—16 degrees. and it�*ll turn warmer still as the week wears on. this area of low pressure tending to roll away southwards as all these different weather systems reorientate themselves. well, the wind direction will change, we�*ll pick up something of an easterly flow from the near continent, and that will bring
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some warmer air. highs potentially up to 19, maybe the low 20s celsius. but with that, there will still be some rain at times.
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voice—over: this is bbc news. we�*ll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. my daughters are... ..very different. marieme is very quiet, very reserved. introverted personality. ndeye, don't. it�*s completely different with ndeye. she�*s very independent. you share with your sister. she wants to be in charge of everything. to have conjoined twins, as a parent, you have something that you didn�*t expect... ..something that you never imagined. i would not pretend that it is easy.
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it is not. but it�*s a huge privilege, a huge blessing.

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