tv BBC News BBC News May 12, 2024 8:00pm-8:31pm BST
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live from london. this is bbc news we bring you a special report from the front line in ukraine's northeast, where russia says it has taken several more villages as it advances in the kharkiv region. this devastation. one man's house was created by a russian glide bomb. and that's the sound of a jet somewhere. the israeli military says it's opened a new humanitarian crossing into the gaza strip — as it carries out more strikes on gaza, and tells tens of thousands more palestinians to leave rafah meanwhile, britain's foreign secretary says restricting arms supplies to israel would not be a wise move and would only play into hamas�*s hand. polls close in catalonia's regional elections in what will be a test of strength for the independence movement
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and the best television programmes of 2023 are being honoured at the bafta tv awards in london — the bbc�*s police drama happy valley has five nominations. hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. some breaking news. the russian defence minister, sergei shoigu, is being removed from his post and will become the new secretary of russia's security council. he replaces nikolai patrushev who's been in the post since 2008. a list published by the upper house of the russian parliament says the new defence minister will be andrei belousov. we'll have more on that when we get it, and of course some reaction from russia as well.
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well it comes as president zelensky says there's �*fierce fighting' along a �*large part�* of the kharkiv region border in eastern ukraine. russia says it has captured another four villages in the region — an area where russian troops had been pushed back nearly two years ago. it means that since they launched their surprise offensive two days ago, they have taken nine villages. today, there have also been strikes on the russian side of the border in belgorod with russian military saying a ukrainian air strike destroyed a section of a 10—storey apartment block. with the latest on the conflict, our defence correspondent jonathan beale reports from vovchansk. the road to russia — just a few miles from the border and proof the russians are back in the kharkiv region again. the town of vovchansk was liberated in a surprise ukrainian offensive less than two years ago. now it's at risk of falling
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back into russian hands. alexi, a local policeman, is once again telling the population to leave. he says it's better than dying. "the shelling is constant and chaotic and it's all over the town." we quickly move on at the sound of a russian drone. this is all that's left of sergei's home. the familiar russian tactic of reducing towns to rubble. but sergei says he can't leave. he needs to look after his goats — now his only worldly possessions. you can still hear the artillery battle going on. it was more intense yesterday. this devastation — one man's house was created by a russian glide bomb.
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and that's the sound of a jet somewhere. explosions. ukraine's outgunned and outnumbered, and russia's using aerial glide bombs to devastating effect. alexi simply says, "look at what's happening". for some, it's made the decision to flee unavoidable, though it's still heartbreaking for olexander. this was the home he grew up in. he doesn't know if he'll ever return. ukrainian officials insist they were ready. not everyone agrees.
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this drone footage appears to show russian troops crossing the border unopposed. ..i've been in front line. for something you've already fought for before in 2022. same again. you're angry? very angry. denys, a ukrainian reconnaissance commander, helped push back the russians in 2022. now he's having to fight for the same territory again. translation: there was no first line of defence. - we saw it. the russians just walked in wherever. where were the minefields? they just walked in. ukraine says it's repelling this attack with reinforcements, but russia's been probing the entire 800—mile front, and in kharkiv, it's exposed the weakness. jonathan beale, bbc news, vovchansk. just a reminder of that breaking
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news which we will bring you more on. the russian defence minister, sergei shoigu, is being removed from his post and will become the new secretary of russia's security council. that is in according to a decree posted on the kremlin�*s website. will have more on that and what it means for russia's ongoing conflict in ukraine when we can. for the moment, that breaking news that vladimir putin has moved someone from the security council to the defence brief. to the caucasus now, and georgia has vowed to arrest protesters if they block parliament. the warning comes as more protests are expected in tibilisi against a controversial bill that would brand organisations that receive funding from abroad as "agents of foreign influence". the bill is similar to a law passed
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in russia that critics say was used to crack down on independent media and activtist groups. earlier, i spoke to nino lomjaria — former public defender of georgia — she explained what her biggest concern is — about this new law. we are already actually witnessing how foreign agents bill is being implemented in practice without even being formally adopted. last week was marked by terror. hundreds of citizens, including minors and elderly parents, received threatening phone calls, demanding their family members to refrain from joining the protests. these calls were followed by physical attacks on civil activists and politicians, and widespread vandalism of their properties. over 100 people have been detained, facing both administrative and criminal charges. the objective of those violent attacks against protesters is to intimidate society. but citizens responded to this state
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sponsored terror with humour, with unity, with solidarity, and despite efforts to spread fear, an unprecedented number of people marched from four locations towards the european union square. an independent fact checkers estimate that number of participants yesterday evening exceeded 200,000. as for our upcoming plans, tonight the citizens of georgia are protesting around the parliament building. intention is to stay overnight. we aim to create moral discomfort for the parliament members and to urge them not to vote in favour of the law. as the third committee and plenary sessions are scheduled for tomorrow and day after tomorrow. there's clearly a huge strength of feeling now against this law. but the government says this is all about ensuring that there is transparency and that people know where the funds
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are coming from — if they're from overseas — for these non—government organisations. absolutely. well, that's not true. we all know that the processes that we are facing can be interpreted as the authorities attempt to unlawfully seize power while making unconstitutional shifts in foreign policy towards russia. we, the citizens of georgia, realise and understand that this is the battle that we must wage. however, the world should also know that this is the battle against the spread of russian authoritarianism in its neighbouring countries. therefore, such battle should be supported by all democratic nations. the israeli military says it has opened a new humanitarian crossing into the gaza strip, in co—ordination with the us government. but the exact location of the the crossing, called �*western erez, is not confirmed and whether it will make a difference to aid reaching the most needed. more palestianians have been told to move out of the southern city of rafah towards a coastal area
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around al—mawasi, which israel calls an "expanded humanitarian zone". the hamas run gaza health ministry says that at least 35,000 palestinians have been killed since the war broke out. one by one, the people of rafah are leaving, outlying parts of the city now all but deserted. "i wasn't planning on going," hassan says, "but since no—one is left here, i decided to leave. i have to find out where my wife and daughter are." the un says 300,000 people have left already. that is almost a quarter of those sheltering in rafah. most are heading for the coast to places barely able to sustain life, where exhausted, hungry people fend for themselves. zeinab and her children have brought their makeshift tent to the beach. translation: they dropped
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leaflets on ask four times. i leaflets on aus four times. translation: they dropped leaflets on us four times. - after the fourth time, we came here. when i arrived, ifound my tent was worn out. we stayed in it for five months in rafah. i want to try and stitch it, but it is no good. israel's ground operation in rafah is almost a week old. the military says it is killing hamas fighters and destroying tunnels, but washington is still warning israel not to launch an all—out offensive. that was paul adams reporting from jerusalem. and let's have more now on that washington reaction because the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has warned against a full—scale israeli assault on the city of rafah. it comes as the us has paused a shipment of bombs to israel. he's been speaking to our us partner cbs. as you know, margaret, most of the population from gaza displaced from the north and from central gaza has gone to rafah. there are about 1.4 million people there. and we've said to israel that we cannot, will not support an operation in rafah, a major military operation, in the absence of a credible plan
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to protect civilians. and they still haven't delivered. we have not seen that plan. so are you not seeing the delivery of any weapons beyond these 3,500 bombs? are you pausing, for example, precision munitions, as some republicans claimed? the answer to that is no. what the president said, and what he's been clear about in private conversations with the israelis, which unfortunately leaked to the press, so the president responded forthrightly when he was asked about it, but what we've been clear about is that if israel launches this major military operation into rafah, then there are certain systems that we're not going to be supporting and supplying for that operation. but, at present, the only thing that we've delayed and are holding back are these high payload bombs, because we're in an ongoing conversation with israel, given the impact that those weapons can have when they're used in densely populated areas.
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here in the uk, the foreign secretary lord cameron, has defended the government's decision not to withdraw arms export licenses to israel. speaking on laura kuessnberg on sunday, he said that restricting arms deliveries to israel because of its war in gaza would strengthen hamas and make a deal to free israeli hostages less likely but said that decision was being constantly reviewed. israel has not had a clean bill of health. on humanitarian aid, there have been real failings and they need to do better. but on the crucial question we have to answer which is, is there a serious risk of exports being used for a serious breach in international law? up to now, in the assessments we've done, we've continued with the export licensing, but it's a rolling process and it looks at what is happening on the ground. and our diplomatic correspondent paul adams told us more about the isreali's opening up a new aid crossing into gaza.
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they're calling this western erez. this is a crossing into the far northern end of the gaza strip. that is the area closest to gaza city, and that very heavily populated area. it is just to the west of the erez crossing, which is in normal times a civilian crossing point, but was also opened for the provision of aid fairly recently. it's close to the the major israeli port of ashdod, where significant quantities of aid, including flour, are stored. and the israelis were saying that in the course of today, dozens of trucks carrying flour entered into the gaza strip. it said that this was being coordinated with the us government. and don't forget that there is also at ashdod a pontoon that is being constructed by engineers, a pontoon that is ultimately destined to go and form another aid bridge into the gaza strip just
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south of gaza city. in fact, that should that should be installed any day now. so i think the israelis believe or certainly want to persuade the international community that the provision of new access routes for aid, particularly into the north, where the international aid agencies have warned that the danger of hunger is most acute, that the israelis are doing what they can to relieve the situation there. i think there will be some scepticism about that. yes, any aid crossing point that opens has the potential to make life easier. but in the south, where israel's military campaign is getting under way, and also in the north, where over the weekend the israeli military has resumed operations in certain areas, those those active fighting fronts continue to make the provision those active fighting fronts continue to make the provision of aid extremely complicated. that was paul adams injerusalem.
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now it's time for a look at today's sport with hugh. hello from the bbc sport centre. with a week to go of the english premier league season, arsenal are back on top after they beat manchester united 1—0 at old trafford. a game that ended in torrential rain began with a first half leandro trossard goal that proved to be the winner, and it was enough for arsenal to go a point clear of manchester city, although they have played a game more. the players have a huge price, most of them they haven't been in this position. they don't know what it is and what is the stake and how you feel emotionally to go and having to win and win and win since december orjanuary, you know, and come to this place. they go to the spurs and play again, it's a phenomenal thing that they are doing right now and we just have one of the most beautiful days ahead of us in front of our people, our families at the emirates and we think we can do it. how will you watch tuesday,
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i'm sure you will. i will watcht it and tomorrow's game as well we always do, and we'll win it. disappointed and i want to win. it doesn't matter who is on the pitch, we have to win every game, and you have to give everything and you have to demand this to win games. while manchester united's men lost, their women's team made history at wembley, winning their first piece of major silverware. they beat tottenham 4—0 to claim the women's fa cup for the first time. ella toone's long range goal followed by two more from lucia garcia meant spurs fell short in their first appearance in the final. it's a feeling, if i could bottle it i would keep it forever. not as important as kids though, my family are still more important. it's a fantastic day. it means a lot to me to produce for ourfans. me as a person, i'm quite humble and we showed all those values today, all the values of a manchester united team and for every manchester united fan in the world,
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that's for you. real madrid have been parading the la liga trophy around the spanish capital on sunday. it's their 36th league title and they celebrated in madrid despite having four more league games to go and a champions league final to look ahead to against borussia dortmund next month. it's the second time their boss carlo ancelotti has won the spanish title. novak djokovic suffered a surprise and heavy defeat at the italian open but how much was that down to the �*bottle' incident from friday? two days after accidentally being struck on the head by a spectator�*s bottle, the world number one is apparently �*concerned' and will need medical tests, despite showing up to practice on saturday mocking the incident by wearing a bicycle helmet. djokovic was beaten 6—2 6—3 injust 67 minutes by chile's alejandro tabilo in rome, the six—time champion committing 22 unforced errors, serving five double faults and failing to create
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a single break point. yesterday was pretty fine, eyes so i thought it was ok, but maybe it is ok and maybe it's not. the way i felt on the court today it was just completely from, it's like a different player. and to be in my shoes, no rhythm, no temple, no balance whatsoever on any shots, so it's a bit concerning. dutch sprinter olav kooij produced a perfectly—timed finish to win stage nine of the giro d'italia in naples. stage one winnerjhonatan narvaez looked to have stolen victory but the ecuadorean was caught in the final 100 metres, as kooij claimed his first grand tour stage victory. britain's geraint thomas was involved in a crash before the run into naples but recovered to finish among the peloton and remains in third place overall behind race leader tadej pogacar.
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and that's all the sport for now. a developing story this hour here on bbc news. that is that russia's defence minister has been proposed to be removed from his post by president vladimir putin and will be moved to become the new secretary of russia's security council, replacing someone who is been in the post since 2008. a list of published by the upper house of the russian parliament says that the new defence minister taken over will be andrew russia. to go through all of this and understand the significance of this reshuffle. joining us now on the line is marina miron. welcome to bbc news. is this being seen as a promotion or any demotion
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for the man was been holding the defence brief for quite some time? good evening, we have to understand that he has an impeccable resume when it comes to his performance, used to lead the americom, so putin has a positive view of him and there is a lots of trust, so what i think is a lots of trust, so what i think is happening here is there is a need to take care of that military industrial complex on the one hand, and on the other hand we have to understand in this position, he was directly oversee the work of the federal service for me to grow —— military technical corporation which was under the egress of the ministry of the tent but not any more. what i think is happening here, putin is trying to address some of the problems which remember the late yevgeny bogosian had pointed out. so
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i think it is not really a demotion it's a different path, it is more of the reshuffling. i don't think you will be losing power. quite the opposite he would have more possibilities of fixing the broken military industrial complex from this position. i military industrial complex from this position.— military industrial complex from this position. i think the question some viewers _ this position. i think the question some viewers would _ this position. i think the question some viewers would want - this position. i think the question some viewers would want to - this position. i think the question| some viewers would want to know this position. i think the question - some viewers would want to know and myself included, how does this all play into the ongoing invasion of ukraine? i play into the ongoing invasion of ukraine? ~ . ukraine? i think that during the invasion, russia _ ukraine? i think that during the invasion, russia learned - ukraine? i think that during the invasion, russia learned a - ukraine? i think that during the invasion, russia learned a lots| ukraine? i think that during the i invasion, russia learned a lots of lessons, both on the battlefield and how its own military industrial complex performs. and we have seen recent cases of yevgeny prigozhin, pointed out there's lots of corruption in the russian diff defence ministry and remembered the recent case of the deputy minister of defence being arrested. so i
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think that this is a way of trying to fix the war machine, because russia understands that it will need it's military capacity in light of ongoing sanctions and in light of the difficulties in procuring their parts, so they have the corruption, sort reshuffling notjust the personality —— the personnel, but for specific parts of the complex in order to make sure that it is functioning seamlessly, or as seamless as it can given the circumstance.— seamless as it can given the circumstance. how important is russia's military _ circumstance. how important is russia's military industrial - circumstance. how important is. russia's military industrial spend at the moments? it spends an awful lot of money as a percentage of gdp on military hardware and this is going to be part of sergei shoigu brief now. it
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going to be part of sergei shoigu brief now. , , ,., ., brief now. it is very important because as — brief now. it is very important because as we _ brief now. it is very important because as we have _ brief now. it is very important because as we have seen - brief now. it is very important because as we have seen on | brief now. it is very important i because as we have seen on the battlefield there is constant innovation taking place, so one hand there has to be vertical learning within the military, and those lessons have to be disseminated. on the other hand, the industry has to react to what is happening. for instance, when we talk about the use of drones and adaptation of drones or defence against drones, such as electronic warfare systems, they are being adjusted weekly, and that has happen fast, and i think that this is the whole point of why this is happening, in order to be more agile in this specific demand. i happening, in order to be more agile in this specific demand.— in this specific demand. i want to ask ou in this specific demand. i want to ask you before _ in this specific demand. i want to ask you before we _ in this specific demand. i want to ask you before we let _ in this specific demand. i want to ask you before we let you - in this specific demand. i want to ask you before we let you go, - in this specific demand. i want to ask you before we let you go, we know how —— now have the deputy brett minister, long—time economic minister replacing sergei shoigu in the defence ministry. tell us about
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him and what difference he may or may not make it to the ongoing war in ukraine. �* , . in ukraine. he's quite an interesting _ in ukraine. he's quite an interesting candidate - in ukraine. he's quite an| interesting candidate and in ukraine. he's quite an i interesting candidate and is somebodies from hooting's circle, someone he can trust, and he has supervised the work of the ministry for economic development, it been the ministry of transport since 2020, so he has managerial experience, not military experience. it sort of plays into this whole scheme. sergei shoigu is not a military man either, so much i'm seen he needs a manager there who understands the economy, rather than a military person. understands the economy, rather than a military person-— a military person. thank you, marina miron, a military person. thank you, marina miron. from — a military person. thank you, marina miron, from king's _ a military person. thank you, marina miron, from king's college, - a military person. thank you, marina miron, from king's college, a - miron, from king's college, a reminder that sergei shoigu has been removed as the defence minister and now becomes the new sec. of russia's security council. more on that if you stay with us.
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hello. as the weekend draws to an end, so does the generally dry and very warm weather. storms have been breaking out across western parts of the uk and that pretty much sets the scene for the week ahead. it's going to be more unsettled and not quite as warm. and this evening and overnight, it's an area of low pressure is approaching us and that spells rain for some of us on monday. but more recently, it's been about the storms and here are the lightning strikes and the satellite image and see across northern ireland, southwestern parts of the uk and some thunderstorms breaking out across western scotland to no storms further east or south. and through the evening we will have seen these storms, local downpours, flash flooding in places moving northwards and towards the east. but in some areas, we still have clear skies tonight. and guess what? i know that last night was disappointing, but tonight, if you're inclined to have a look, there is a chance of seeing a faint aurora almost anywhere in the uk,
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say between around 11pm and 2am, if you're inclined, we know when going to work first thing. now, here's monday's forecast. so, we start the day with some hazy sunshine, temperatures 10—13 degrees. outbreaks of rain with this weather front sweeping into cornwall, devon, wales through ireland into the irish sea, but never reaches, at least during the day, eastern parts of the country here, some hazy skies and very warm — 23 in norwich, hull and also newcastle, much fresher with that cloud of rain towards the west. they're about 15 celsius. and it's a slow—moving weather front, and one of the reasons is because this low pressure kind of stalled here. it's not really moving anywhere. so the weather front is rotating around and back into the center of the low, and that means that on tuesday, it's eastern areas that are stuck underneath the cloud and the outbreaks of rain probably not as persistent by that stage — bigger gaps in the clouds. i think by that stage, we have some sunny spells, but i think lower temperatures for all of us. and this is more or less
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bang on the average, be it a little on the high side. still, i think for parts of scotland now, that low will eventually kind of rain itself out as we go through the week and the possibility of high pressure moving back in again. but i think overall, if we look at the weather icons, i think shower clouds most days on average temperatures, i think in the south, typically in the high teens. that's it for me. thanks for watching.
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this is bbc news, the headlines... sergei shoigu, is being removed from his post and will become the new secretary of russia's security council. he replaces nikolai patrushev who's been in the post since 2008. a list published by the upper house of the russian parliament says the new defence minister will be andrei belousov. the israeli military says it's opened a new humanitarian crossing into the gaza strip, as it carries out more strikes on gaza, and tells tens of thousands more palestinians to leave rafah. it comes as britain's foreign secretary says restricting arms supplies to israel would not be a wise move. and the best television programmes of 2023 are being honoured at the bafta tv awards in london. the bbc�*s police drama happy valley and sky atlantic's succesion have five nominations apiece, while netflix's the crown has four. now on bbc news, the world's first para—astronaut.
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