tv BBC News BBC News June 2, 2024 10:00pm-10:31pm BST
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south africa's ruling anc says it will talk to all parties about forming a coalition government after losing its majority for the first time in 30 years. mexicans are at the polls in an election which is almost certain to result in the country's first female president. and a chinese spacecraft has landed on the far side of the moon in a landmark mission hello, i'm anjana gadgil. the former great britain rugby league international, rob burrow, has died aged 41, after a five—year struggle with motor neurone disease. he made his private battle with his condition a public one by raising awareness of the cruel disease — which has no cure and no treatment. the prince of wales described him
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as a "legend of rugby league" who had a "huge heart". rob burrow�*s life is defined by his defiance of the odds. as the smallest player in a giants�* game, he was world—class. absolute legend. pound for pound, probably the strongest player we had in the squad and the strongest guy who's played in super league. so honoured to have played alongside him. it was obvious at an early age that rob wanted to be a professional in the sport he loved. they always used to say, "oh, he's good, is that rob, "but he's never going to make it because he's not big enough." after signing for leeds rhinos as a teenager, he went on to become one of their greatest. but not long into retirement, he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. it was a condition he faced
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with incredible positivity. i'm not giving in till my last breath. you know, i have too many reasons to live. the love he had for his family and the love they had for him shone through as rob made his private battle a public one to help raise awareness of mnd. rob's aim was to be a voice, to raise that awareness for other people that were suffering and going through this. first, when rob was diagnosed, i was the one that would break down in tears and rob would be, you know, "pull yourself together, "lindsey, we can get through this. you have done such important work raising awareness for motor neurone disease. you have been an inspiration of nothing but admiration for what you have done. the wider rugby league family also united behind him to raise funds for research into a condition that
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has no cure and no treatment. rob burrow overcame so many challenges on and off the field. he will always be remembered as a giant in the face of a cruel disease. the former rugby league international, rob burrow, who has died at the age of 41. next to the uk general election — and the veteran left—wing politician diane abbott has said she intends to "run and win" as a labour candidate. she was suspended from the party in 2023 following comments she made about racism, but was allowed back in last month. there's been uncertainty about herfuture — but on friday, the labour leader sir keir starmer said she was free to go forward as a labour candidate. for more on this, i spoke to our deputy political editor vicki young. this really has dominated the first week of campaigning for labour and has been a mass distraction
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for the leader keir starmer. diane abbott was originally suspended from the parliamentary labour party about 1k months ago, after she wrote a letter in which she said that "jewish, irish and traveller people do not "face racism all of their lives." there followed an internal party investigation that rumbled on. nobody really knew what was the status of that. it did turn out that it had been concluded in february, so everyone was wondering, would diane abbott be taken back into the labour fold and be allowed to stand as an mp again, as a labour candidate at the election. so, she was accepted back into the party but then there was a leak to a newspaper from a labour source, suggesting that she would in fact be barred from standing. so there has been mass confusion about all of this. many of diane abbott's friends were very angry about the way they felt she had been treated by the party.
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the deputy party leader angela rayner weighed in, saying she thought it was no reason why diane abbott couldn't stand, and that seemed to force the labour leader to say the same thing. really it was all up to diane abbott now whether she would decide to stand, and she then put out on x, a message responding to suggestions that she had been offered a peerage, to be put into the house of lords. she said this is factually incorrect, i have never been offered a seat in the lords and would not accept one if offered, and then confirmed that she is the adopted labour candidate for her constituency, and that she intends to run. accusations have been levelled at sir keir starmer that he is trying to purge his party of left—wingers. have those issues been resolved, or are they still rumbling on? they are still rumbling on. there are some former labour mps who have been told that they can't stand. tuesday is the deadline, the ruling executive
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candidates, so they can block them. we will see what happens then. the most prominent former labour figure, jeremy corbyn, who led the party, he was also ousted from labour and has not been readmitted. he was weighing up whether to stand as an independent candidate in the seat he's held for many years and has decided to do so. so, there will still be those kind of candidates, running up against labour candidates, even though they are and a full list of candidates will be available when nominations close on the bbc news website. campaigning is continuing ahead of polling day for the uk election on the 4th ofjuly. sir keir starmer has pledged to reduce the number of people legally migrating to the country — if labour wins power. net migration, the difference between the number of people arriving in the uk and leaving, stood at 685,000 last year. but the shadow home secretary, yvette cooper, has refused to set a target or a date
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for when the numbers would fall. i know that you are effectively trying to suggest that i set a target, or a broad target. i am not going to do that. we are going to be clear, net migration must come down. we believe it is really important and what keir has set out is a commitment that we will bring net migration down. the snp leader, john swinney, has launched his party's general election campaign, saying a vote for them will ensure decisions "can be made in scotland, for scotland". less than a month after taking charge, he called on the party to unite, to beat a resurgent labour, and the tories, both of whom he says, would be bad for scotland. john swinney says this election is the snp's biggest challenge in years. to move on from policy disputes, personnel changes and a police investigation into party finances, he's going on the attack, accusing the conservatives of chaos and labour of lurching to the right.
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there are some people telling me to forget about independence at this election. but you know what? after looking at sir keir starmer�*s serial u—turns in the pursuit of power, i think people are crying out for political leadership that sticks to its principles. he said brexit, which scottish voters opposed, had caused deep damage, pushing up the cost of living. you have said that leaving a 50—year—old union with the eu has wiped billions from the economy. why would leaving a 300—year—old union with england not be even worse? groans of disapproval mr swinney chided the crowd for their response, asked me to repeat the question, and then answered. what independence enables us to do is to take the decisions that are important and relevant to enhancing the lives of people in scotland, and part of that involves taking sensible decisions about how
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you cooperate with your neighbours. the election in scotland is being fought on several fronts. the conservatives are defending seats on the border and in the north—east. the liberal democrats are hoping to pick up some mostly rural constituencies. but the big battle is here in the central belt with the snp trying to see off a resurgent labour party by focusing on the constitution. john swinney is keen to talk about independence for a couple of reasons. first, it brings his party together — it's the one thing everyone in the snp agrees on. but secondly, polls suggest support for independence is currently quite a bit higher than support for the snp. the conservatives are focusing on health policies for england. they say they'll build 100 new gp surgeries and boost the number of available appointments if they win the election. health
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if they win the election. secretary victoria atkins told health secretary victoria atkins told the bbc�*s laura kuenssberg it would be funded by cutting the number of nhs managers. i want and am reforming our national health service to be faster, simpler and fairer, and one of the ways we are doing this, you are right, is to build new gp practices. we also want to ensure that we bring health care closer into our communities. if we can have the most basic conditions treated in pharmacies, then of course that frees up gp appointment time. since the conservatives have been in charge, there have been many closures of gp surgeries, closures of pharmacies. of course there would be churn around england with a population of 55 million. a50 is a bit more than churn. but what we are doing with this is building, as i say, the liberal democrats have promised to make £1 billion a year available to local councils to spend on public health. they want to increase access to blood pressure tests and health visits for infants and their mothers, especially in deprived areas. the party says it'll find the money
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by clamping down on tax avoidance. and remember you can keep across the latest from the campaign trail on our live page on the bbc news website — we've got updates and analysis from our correspondents across the country. you can also find it on the bbc news app. voting is taking place in mexico in an election that will be remembered as is violent in the country's modern history. more than 20 candidates have been killed in the run—up to the poll. the vote is almost certain to result in the country's first female presidentthe frontrunner, claudia shanebaum, and her main rival, sochitul galvez,
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are well ahead of the only male candidate in opinion polls. ms shanebaum, who is a former mayor of mexico city, has the backing of the outgoing president. earlier i spoke to will grant, our mexico correspondent. i asked him whether this historic vote was really between just two female candidates. i am at a polling station in the sanjuan neighbourhood, this one of 170,000 polling stations across the country and you can see this one is very quiet and calm and people are waiting for their opportunity to cast their ballot in this leafy part of the capital, mexico city, and this stands in real, stark contrast to the kinds of scenes seen in those parts of the country where there has been real violence, real difficulties. for example, down in the southern state of chiapas, we have had two situations where the violence has been so bad that they have simply had to call off the election there, and in one of them, masked gunmen went into the electoral offices and burnt, set it on fire, burning all of the ballot slips and they had
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to simply cancel the election. but you are right that this is historic for a positive reason too, though, because at the end of this process, mexico is almost certain to elect its first woman president. so talk about some of the violence you have seen there in mexico. how tight is the security as a result? i think there's something in the region of 27,000 troops have been sent around the country to protect this vote but the difficulty is they can't get everywhere and there are places where it is really the cartels that control things and i mentioned that situation in chiapas but in some polling stations, not ones like this in well—heeled parts of mexico city, but where the cartels have real control, they can put gunmen outside of the polling station and use the tools of intimidation and threats to make sure people cast their ballots in the direction they want to see and really putting the stamp of organised crime on the election result.
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the current president, mr lopez 0brador, can't run for top eduardo garcia is journalist in mexico city. he told us more about the violence that has overshadowed the election. isa is a certain rural areas where some of these candidates are unfortunately killed although there have been some in large urban areas but most of them are in real terms. about 100 or more have declined to run as_ about 100 or more have declined to run as the _ about 100 or more have declined to run as the violence has spread through— run as the violence has spread through some of the regions of mexico — through some of the regions of mexico it_ through some of the regions of mexico. it is not an overall picture of mexico — mexico. it is not an overall picture of mexico but it is troublesome for those who— of mexico but it is troublesome for those who are wanting to elect officials — those who are wanting to elect officials and cannot do so because officials and cannot do so because of this— officials and cannot do so because of this violence that has killed candidates in some parts of mexico. has it _ candidates in some parts of mexico. has it stopped people from going out to vote as well? figs
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has it stopped people from going out to vote as well?— to vote as well? as far as i can tell, remember— to vote as well? as far as i can tell, remember that _ to vote as well? as far as i can tell, remember that it - to vote as well? as far as i can tell, remember that it is - to vote as well? as far as i can tell, remember that it is a - to vote as well? as far as i can | tell, remember that it is a large country. — tell, remember that it is a large country, but in mexico city, in fact my house — country, but in mexico city, in fact my house as— country, but in mexico city, in fact my house as a polling station today, the number— my house as a polling station today, the number of people pulling today is pretty— the number of people pulling today is pretty large and they are all coming — is pretty large and they are all coming with credentials to elect their— coming with credentials to elect their leaders, and i think that is most _ their leaders, and i think that is most of— their leaders, and i think that is most of the sentiment around the countrx _ most of the sentiment around the country. one of the key issues of the selection is violence. so people are thinking over whether they should — are thinking over whether they should keep the current party in piece. _ should keep the current party in piece. or— should keep the current party in place, or replace it with a new proposition. we will wait and see what _ proposition. we will wait and see what the — proposition. we will wait and see what the results are.— what the results are. here in the uk, we what the results are. here in the uk. we are _ what the results are. here in the uk, we are used _ what the results are. here in the uk, we are used to _ what the results are. here in the uk, we are used to seeing - what the results are. here in the i uk, we are used to seeing schools and community centres being used as polling stations, you say that your houseis polling stations, you say that your house is being used, how does that work? , ., ,, . house is being used, how does that work? , ., _ . , work? schools and symbolic spaces are also used _ work? schools and symbolic spaces are also used as _ work? schools and symbolic spaces are also used as polling _ work? schools and symbolic spaces are also used as polling stations . work? schools and symbolic spaces are also used as polling stations in | are also used as polling stations in
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mexico _ are also used as polling stations in mexico city— are also used as polling stations in mexico city but in the neighbourhood where _ mexico city but in the neighbourhood where i_ mexico city but in the neighbourhood where i live, it has, i guess, some schools— where i live, it has, i guess, some schools and — where i live, it has, i guess, some schools and places where people could _ schools and places where people could cast their ballots, and the electorat— could cast their ballots, and the electoral institute, the national electoral institute, the national electoral institute, the national electoral institute, goes around and knocks _ electoral institute, goes around and knocks on _ electoral institute, goes around and knocks on people's doors asking if they would be willing to lend their garage _ they would be willing to lend their garage or— they would be willing to lend their garage or their patio to the elections, and that is what happened in my— elections, and that is what happened in my place — elections, and that is what happened in my place. a elections, and that is what happened in my place-— in my place. a ringside seat for eduardo garcia, _ in my place. a ringside seat for eduardo garcia, for _ in my place. a ringside seat for eduardo garcia, for the - in my place. a ringside seat for| eduardo garcia, for the mexican election! in south africa, the party once led by nelson mandela, the african national congress, has had its worst election result, since the end of apartheid, three decades ago. the historic result means a fresh political landscape for the country, with the party losing support because of anger over the cost of living, high levels of corruption, unemployment and crime. the african national congress won almost 40% of the seats in the national assembly. the democratic alliance secured nearly 22% and the mk partyjust below 15%.
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0ur correspondent barbara plett—usher has this report from johnannesburg. this is a country at a crossroads. the historic inequalities of apartheid have not been erased and the people have had enough. last week they went to the polls and voted for change, dealing the ruling african national congress a dramatic drop in support. today the president spoke to the people for the first time. our people have given effect to the clarion call that echoed across generations. the people shall govern. our people have spoken. whether we like it or not, they have spoken. the anc�*s disastrous showing has thrown competition wide open for a coalition government to replace its controlling majority. the pro—business democratic alliance came second, with an agenda of free—market reforms, but it struggles to shake the image
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of a party for the white minority. the former president, jacob zuma, disgraced by allegations of rampant corruption, has made an extraordinary comeback, heading the newly formed mk party. the radical economic freedom fighters want to nationalise banks and seize white—owned land. so those are the options and we have now had the official announcement of the election result, confirming what we already knew. that means that the anc has two weeks to form a coalition with parties which have very different visions for the country. faced with that uncertain future are these young people injohannesburg, the generation for whom most is at stake. nearly 50% are unemployed. if we get somebody young, fresh, young blood, yeah, we're going to, i'm very much optimistic. it's going to be a beautiful country. i hope the ruling party is shaken as we want them to be. we just need the basics, like, just take care of the people.
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and to stay on their promises and keep their word, you know. we know they want to tell the money, let them tell the money, but let them at least do what they promised to do and then maybe tell the change. the votes may have been counted but nobody knows where they will lead. barbara plett usher, bbc news, johannesburg. earlier we spoke to former bbc news africa bureau chief, milton nkosi and he gave us his take on the election. i think president ramaphosa was very statesman—like, if you like. he handled the ceremony with the dignity decorum that it deserves, and he has always been a gentle person, onstage and offstage. but he is facing a difficult task. we all know that he is in deep, deep trouble. he has not reached the 50% mark.
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he is the first anc president to perform badly since democracy, 30 years ago, and now he is forced to try and look for partners to form a government, and he tried to be as funny, and kept his sense of humour at least because he said "i am not yet extinguished," which was a very nice line for him to show that he is still in the game. so, now, the anc is still, even with a huge loss, the single largest party and most likely to form a government, so they are looking for partners to get them over the 50% mark. the ukrainian president has accused china of prolonging the war in his country by supporting russia. volodymyr zelensky said beijing was not only refusing to take part in a planned summit in switzerland later this month, but was trying to prevent others from attending. president zelensky was speaking at the shangri la security
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gathering in singapore. suranjana tewari was there. the ukrainian president desperately needs help to forge his path to peace. the russian offensive in kharkiv has battered the north—east of the country for weeks. glide bombs fired by russian aircraft pummelling ukrainian trenches. the us is helping ukraine fight back with advanced weaponry but is concerned about escalation and has restricted their use to targets inside ukraine. president zelensky complains that his hands are tied. pressure on washington has been building. finally, in a meeting with us secretary of defence lloyd austin, a change in policy was made official. but zelensky told the bbc that it is still insufficient. translation: is this enough? no. i have mentioned the example before, the airfields from where russia bombed ukraine, knowing that ukraine
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will not bomb them in response not having the systems to do so. i have mentioned the example before, the airfields from where russia bombed ukraine, knowing that ukraine will not bomb them in response not having the systems to do so. could asia provide what he needs? he was hoping to drum up support by making an unscheduled visit to the shangri—la dialogue in singapore, asia's premier defence summit. south korea and japan are big arms and hardware manufacturers after all, but the focus for president zelensky was a peace conference which he hopes will prevent nuclear disaster, ensure food security and release prisoners of war including ukrainian children held in russia. he says 106 countries have already signed up. president zelensky has been holding meetings here all day, to drum up even more support for that peace conference in switzerland later this month. his departure was far more muted than his arrival, when delegates packed the lobby and balconies for more than
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an hour, some comparing it to taylor swift's recent visit. that overshadowed the issues in asia. many countries are worried that china's increasingly aggressive behaviour is destabilising the region. beijing is a concern for president zelensky also. he said there were elements of russian weaponry that come from china and has accused it of prolonging the war by supporting russian. in a morning speech that was eclipsed by excitement for zelensky�*s address, the chinese defence chief denied taking sides. ask if he had met dong jun here, zelensky said no, and accused beijing of undermining his peace conference. translation: it is unfortunate that such a big, independent, _ powerful country as china is an instrument in the hands of vladimir putin. zelensky was the man of the moment amidst a sea of security dilemmas in the indo—pacific. it is the latest diplomatic push for a leader who has become accustomed to begging
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the world for help. now he returns home to the war, and a peace conference he hopes can break the deadlock, on his terms. suranjana tewari, bbc news, singapore. china has landed an uncrewed spacecraft on the far side of the moon for the second time. the mission is difficult because this region of the moon permanently faces away from the earth, making communications difficult. the probe is expected to use a drill and mechanical arm to collect rock and soil, and transport them back to earth. this week marks the 80th anniversary of the d—day landings — and as part of the commemorations, a mass parachute drop has taken place over normandy. those who took partjumped from world war ii era planes into the now peaceful skies. 0n the 6th ofjune1941i, troops from the uk, the us, canada and france attacked german forces on the coast of northern france. it marked the start of the campaign to liberate
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nazi—occupied north—west europe. normandy survivors were among those who gathered to watch the parachute jump. now to madrid — and live pictures of the victory parade after real madrid won the champions league on saturday night for the 15th time. they beat borussia dortmund 2—0 at wembley. thousands of fans turned out on the streets of madrid. earlier, the players brought the champions league trophy to a cathedral, in the spanish capital, for a blessing. hello there. high pressure to the west of the uk has brought most areas a dry weekend. we did see more cloud, though, work into scotland and northern ireland through the day. at the same time, sunday saw much more in the way of sunshine for central and eastern england
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and lighter winds, too. that had a very significant impact in the temperatures. for some, it was seven degrees warmer on sunday than it had been on saturday. and the temperatures topped out at about 23 degrees in one or two spots as well. that was the scene in poole in dorset, with beach—goers enjoying the warm june sunshine, but cloudy skies worked in across stirling. now, overnight tonight, the cloud we've got in scotland and northern ireland — thick enough for occasional spots of rain — will push southwards. so overall it's going to be turning cloudier through the night, and given that, it's a milder night compared with last night — lows of between 10—13 degrees for most of us. tomorrow, well, we start off with cloudy skies for northern ireland, western parts of england, wales, with the cloud thick enough for an occasional spot of drizzle, maybe one or two mist and fog patches for coast and hills too. through the day, the cloud may well thin and break, particularly to the east of high ground, to allow some sunny spells through.
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and we should see some sunshine developing in scotland through the day, with just a few showers across the far north. where thejune sunshine comes out, temperatures high teens to low 20s. that should feel quite pleasant, but it will feel less pleasant as we head into tuesday and wednesday. low pressure to the north of the uk is going to be sending much colder air our way. and so with that, we'll see rain or showers across the northern half of the uk in particular. chilly winds here, and with the downpours working in, particularly for scotland, quite a few of these will have hail and thunder mixed in. a few showers developing further south. now, temperatures still doing 0k across england and wales, but it's going to be turning quite chilly for scotland and northern ireland, particularly in those brisk and gusty winds. and it's a very similar—looking weather picture for wednesday — showers and thunderstorms, again, some with hail across the northern half of the uk, the driest weather across a good part of wales, the midlands, east anglia and southern counties of england. temperatures, high teens to low 20s will feel 0k across england and wales, but still chilly for scotland
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this is bbc news. the headlines... (pres 00v)inthe uk... veteran left—wing politician diane abbott says she intends to "run and win" as a labour candidate. scotland first minister john swinney officially launches the snp's general election campaign — less than a month after he became party leader. mexicans are at the polls in an election which is almost certain to result in the country's first female president. it's been the most violent election campaign in modern mexican history. south africa's ruling anc says it will talk to all parties about forming a coalition government after losing its majority for the first time in 30 years. and a chinese spacecraft has landed on the far side of the moon in a landmark mission to retrieve rock and soil samples. tributes have been pouring in for the former great britain and leeds rhinos rugby league international rob burrow, who has died aged a1, after a five year struggle with motor neurone disease. the prince of wales described him as a "legend of rugby league" who had a "huge heart."
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