democratic delegates to become the party's nominee for president. we have doors to knock on, we have people to talk to, we have phone calls to make, and we have an election to win. cheering. dozens killed after israeli airstrikes hit southern gaza — as the israeli prime minister travels to washington for high—level meetings. the bbc director general confirms morejob cuts — and apologises for alleged mistreatment of contestants on strictly come dancing, as the annual report is published. hello, welcome to bbc news now — three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. some breaking news here in the uk. interviews and reaction. in the past hour the government has announced that it's not renewing the contract for the use of the bibby stockholm barge, which has been used

to house asylum seekers. it's been done to save savings in asylum costs over the next ten years. the barge will continue to be used untiljanuary 2025. and of course it follows the decision of the new labour government to do away with one of the previous government's controversial policies, which was the plan by the conservatives to send asylum seekers to rwanda. the labour government has scrapped that plan as well. let's find out more about this decision, we can speak to our political correspondentjoe pike. what is the government saying about this? , . ,_ pike. what is the government saying about this? , . _ ., pike. what is the government saying about this? , . ,, ., ., , about this? they are saying that as of janua about this? they are saying that as of january that _ about this? they are saying that as of january that contract _ about this? they are saying that as of january that contract for - about this? they are saying that as of january that contract for the - of january that contract for the bibby stockholm barge is being scrapped. the reason for the barge in the first place was saving money, because at that stage between £7 million and £8 million a day was being spent on hotels to hose

migrants. the bibby stockholm had a pretty difficult first few months, they were legal challenges, safety concerns, but also traces of legionella bacteria which led to at that stage 39 people on the barge being taken off. the plan was always for around 500 adult males to be housed on the barge. we now know that as of january, that will be closed down. the government of course argue this will save them many millions on top, as you say, of the tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions saved through closing down the rwanda programme. a lot of criticism, as you would expect, from the conservatives, james cleverly, former home secretary, now shadow home secretary, now shadow home secretary, said yesterday that tens of thousands of people will access our asylum system because of this and where will you send people, he asks, reading? rochdale and of course there are many questions for the home secretary yvette cooper, including where house people at the

bibby stockholm and how do you deal with the ongoing challenges of small boats crossing the english channel? the government say they have a plan, they are bringing a new board commander, recruiting that come under now, but it's clearly a challenging outlook for them and we will look at the numbers and stats, to see especially over the summer months whether we see many more of those boot crossings.— those boot crossings. when is the labour government _ those boot crossings. when is the labour government going - those boot crossings. when is the labour government going to - those boot crossings. when is the i labour government going to actually give more detail about where it will house asylum seekers? because as you have mentioned, this barge will be used beyond the beginning of next year. so that's not many months, really, to try to think of alternatives. it really, to try to think of alternatives. . ., , , �* alternatives. it certainly isn't. i would say _ alternatives. it certainly isn't. i would say at— alternatives. it certainly isn't. i would say at this _ alternatives. it certainly isn't. i would say at this stage - alternatives. it certainly isn't. i would say at this stage we - alternatives. it certainly isn't. i would say at this stage we may alternatives. it certainly isn't. i - would say at this stage we may find more information in the course of the next few hours, as you say, this is a breaking story, but there's not a huge amount of detail as yet from the home office as to where people will be housed. certainly we got

some information yesterday from the home secretary talking about wanting to save many billions. they want to reduce the demand for accommodation, like the bibby stockholm. and of course they want to reduce the demand for hotels. millions a day being spent by the uk government on hotels across the country. but i suppose we will have to wait may be a few more weeks or months for full details from the home office on this. , ., . ~' ,, details from the home office on this. , ., ., ~ ,, , . this. joe, thank you very much. our olitical this. joe, thank you very much. our political correspondent _ this. joe, thank you very much. our political correspondent joe - this. joe, thank you very much. our political correspondent joe pike - political correspondentjoe pike there. now to the bbc�*s annual report — and an apology from the director general, tim davie, following claims that some contestants were mistreated on the tv show strictly come dancing. we'll look at that more injust a moment — but first, here are some of the other headlines from the report. the bbc now makes 99% of its original content in the uk. research suggests it's the uk's

leading media brand. the highest paid presenter — among those who are directly employed by the bbc — is gary lineker, who earned £1.35 million in the year to april. since the last report there was a fall of around 500,000 households paying the license fee — roughly 2% of the total. and in terms ofjobs, 500 more full time posts are to be cut by march 2026. that comes after 2,000 job reductions in the last five years. let's turn now to the controversy over strictly come dancing — and concerns that some contestants may have been mistreated. the bbc�*s director general tim davie addressed that issue directly — apologising to anyone who had an experience which had not been wholly positive. i do want to say something on strictly which is, obviously, in the headlines. strictly is a wonderful show which brings a lot ofjoy to a lot of people and has done so for 20 years. to both those involved in the show itself and to millions of people at home, hundreds of people, be they pros,

contestants or crew, have been part of it and had a brilliant experience. at the same time, if someone feels there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then, of course, we want them to raise that with us and be in no doubt, we will take it seriously, listen, and deal with it as appropriate. and while i'm not going to talk about individuals, you can see evidence of that in recent works. evidence of that in recent weeks. so i hope that anyone who does want to talk to us feels they can. it is vital, of course, that we have the right protocols and structures in place for this show. we keep these under review and, as you know, we confirmed changes to these last week. it is essential these are right for everyone. of course, alongside the fun and entertainment, there will be a degree of competitiveness, hard work

and a will to do well. that's part of what makes this show. but there are limits on the line should never be crossed. we will never tolerate unacceptable behaviour of any kind. meanwhile, we do have a brilliant line—up for this year, who i am sure are itching to get going and you will hear more about this in the coming weeks. our media and arts correspondent, david sillito, told me more. strictly is more than just another tv programme. it is flagship entertainment for the bbc. also, there are versions of it around the world. 60 versions of it. it is a franchise and the director—general addressing a variety of concerns about the behaviour of the professional dancers, incidents that have been taking place, allegedly, in rehearsals and, also, will bayley today speaking about a paralympian who appeared in 2019. he said he suffered permanent injury as a consequence of something that

went wrong in rehearsals. he said he doesn't blame his professional dancer but he's said he raised concerns and he says he has only now been listened to because others have come forward with all of this. so this was a wide—ranging collection of concerns about strictly. he said strictly will go ahead in the uk in autumn. he said they were going to be these new safeguards. essentially, welfare chaperones will be in the rehearsal so that if contestants or professional dancers have concerns will be a third party witness to what's actually been going on there. but, you know, he was saying, i want people to come forward if they have any more concerns and some people are saying, well, we already raised those concerns. it is only now you're listening to us because others have come forward. let's talk about salaries, because in the annual report to the bbc publishes the salaries of its top earners each day, year, of its top earners each year, although not necessarily the entire picture because depending on how those people are paid? its a very complicated picture.

the bbc pays some people centrally, lots of the news presenters, also people like gary lineker, a sports presenter and he, of course, is the top of the list at £i.3 million and he has been for the last six or seven years. a very large number of people who are, essentially, employed by bbc studios, which is the independent production arm of the bbc and operates as a commercial company so those salaries are not revealed, just as they wouldn't be revealed if you are working for a production company that the bbc just bought a programme from. with that in mind, not a great deal of change. one particular interest some people had was huw edwards, who has been off air for most of last year. his salary actually went up by about £40,000. he has now left the bbc. let's talk about job let's talk aboutjob cuts. bbc has been no stranger to job cuts for quite a few year now, and do

we know where they are going to full? no. only that there will be about 500. even though the licence fee is going to go up over the next four years it's been static over the last few and if you look at the amount the bbc has been taking in has actually gone down and the reason for that is you have fewer people paying the licence fee and if you look at it for about 2019—3023 at about a few million fewer households are now paying the licence fee so that's a wider structural issue for the bbc, something deeply worrying. david sillito. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

the hamas—run health ministry in gaza says at least 70 people have been killed by israeli shelling and airstrikes in eastern areas of khan younis. medics say more than 200 people have been injured in the israeli strikes and hospitals in the area are overwhelmed by the casualties. meanwhile the world health organization says the number of people needing to be evacuated from gaza for medical care may have risen to 14,000 and that it is extremely worried

about the possibility of a polio outbreak. thousands of palestinians have fled khan younis — including many who were in an area previously designated as a humanitarian zone. the israeli army says the evacuation order is in response to rocket fire. separately, a meeting between israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu and us presidentjoe biden — which was due to take place later in washington today — has been delayed until thursday. i spoke to our correspondent injerusalem barbara plett usher who told me more about the situation in khan younis. that military operation is continuing. the israelis say they have conducted more air strikes and they have also destroyed weapons stores as well as tunnels, so they're going after hamas militants, they say, in the eastern districts of khan younis. now, they thought they had cleared this area earlier in the year. there was a sweeping operation in the city of khan younis, and then they pulled out in april. but then they said there had been

increased rocket fire from this particular area, that hamas was regrouping, so they moved in again. but those evacuation orders were then given to the people living there. so around 400,000 people were living in this area, many of them having been displaced previously, and as you mentioned, this was a part of this area that had been a designated humanitarian zone. so yesterday, we had people fleeing with very little notice, just picking up what they could carry, and some of them running out. but not fast enough, because you were saying that the casualty figures there, many were killed and injured. and now looking for another place to stay. they can go to the other designated humanitarian zone, but that is quite crowded with other people, there aren't that many services. and as a un official said, the front line keeps suffocating them. it keeps moving. and people are constantly asking, "where can we go now, where can we go now?" there is no place safe. so this has been again another mass displacement in gaza.

and, barbara, let's talk about benjamin netanyahu's trip to washington. as he was leaving israel there were protests, weren't there? people saying he should be staying and working on a deal to free israeli hostages. but he is in washington. what are people saying there about their expectations for this meeting with president biden, and of course he's going to be meeting kamala harris as well? well, he is going to washington at a time of great political turbulence, isn't he? because mr biden has said he would drop out of the presidential race, so kamala harris is possibly, probably going to replace him as a candidate, so mr netanyahu is meeting with mr biden as well as kamala harris, and he has also apparently asked for a meeting with the former president trump, so trying to figure out what the political landscape in washington is like. but he is under great pressure to agree to a ceasefire deal in order to bring a pause in the fighting and also to israeli hostages.

——to release israeli hostages. that pressure comes from the biden administration for sure, from the democrat, from elements in the democratic party as well. and from the families of the hostages. he met them in washington but before he left, they were protesting regularly, telling him, you've got to sign this deal, don't go to washington before you do. so that pressure has accompanied him to washington, but it started here in israel. as you've been hearing, the world health organization is warning that it's extremely worried about a possible polio outbreak in gaza. its regional head says many people are living in shelters — with just one toilet for 600 people and little access to safe drinking water. let's speak to sameer sah, director of programmes at medical aid for palestinians. thank you forjoining us on bbc news, you obviously must share those concerns expressed by the world health organization. traces of polio

have been found in this is in gaza. but the last case was in 1984, i believe. how likely is it that you will see an outbreak, do you think? thank you for inviting me. as you rightly stated, the last case was 1984, 23rd ofjune they took seven samples from a site in gaza and found that six of them were actually positive what you call vaccine derived polio virus. vaccine drive polio virus comes from a stain which is from the weekend live virus which is from the weekend live virus which is given in poliojabs. it's of massive concern because this has a population that is under continuous bombardment, have been displaced multiple times, and there are children who haven't been vaccinated for polio. so if this strain gets into children who haven't been vaccinated, or who have a weakened immune system, they will get polio,

which leads to paralysis of the limbs. ., ., ., , , ., limbs. how contagious is palu? very contagious- — limbs. how contagious is palu? very contagious- it's _ limbs. how contagious is palu? very contagious. it's basically _ limbs. how contagious is palu? very contagious. it's basically a _ limbs. how contagious is palu? very contagious. it's basically a faecal - contagious. it's basically a faecal oral transmission route, which means it's from waste in the search and from the gutters outside, and at the moment because there is no waste disposal happening, it's likely it is going to spread. given that medicalfacilities in is going to spread. given that medical facilities in gaza are overwhelmed, as we've heard, what approach are you going to try to be working on to deal with the situation is people have not had, young children especially, haven't had vaccinations or have only perhaps cotton partway through the course of vaccinations? i perhaps cotton partway through the course of vaccinations?— course of vaccinations? i think the onl thin course of vaccinations? i think the only thing we _ course of vaccinations? i think the only thing we can _ course of vaccinations? i think the only thing we can do _ course of vaccinations? i think the only thing we can do at _ course of vaccinations? i think the only thing we can do at the - course of vaccinations? i think the i only thing we can do at the moment is make sure children receive vaccination, but actually the solution is notjust vaccination, the solution is that there should be a ceasefire now. this vision is that there should be an increase in the age going into gaza, especially

access to clean drinking water and medical supplies and medical teams going in. to give you an idea, there were 11,000 trucks going in every month before the crisis started. for the month ofjune, compared to 11,000, only 581 trucks went into gaza. so actually, not much aid is going. and then ceasefire is also important because the repair of the sewage system, the repair of the water supply system is important. you have to clean up tonnes of waste thatis you have to clean up tonnes of waste that is on the streets of gaza. and you have to rebuild roads, the transport system so that people can get into medical facilities. transport system so that people can get into medicalfacilities. in fact the bombings have to stop so that people can access medical care. find people can access medical care. and 'ust people can access medical care. and just briefly. — people can access medical care. and just briefly, without a ceasefire currently, obviously, to what extent can your teams mitigate the outbreak of like this? , ' . of like this? extremely difficult, it's extremely _ of like this? extremely difficult, it's extremely difficult. -

of like this? extremely difficult, it's extremely difficult. because j of like this? extremely difficult, i it's extremely difficult. because as you know there is your electricity in gaza at the moment. vaccines need a cold chain which means they need to be refrigerated. —— there is no electricity. even if you deliver vaccine there is a challenge of keeping them refrigerated. there is shortage of fuel supply in gaza. so the response is very challenging for top it's difficult to provide the vaccines, even if you have provided the vaccines, if you're not taking care of the live virus that is in the sewage system already, you have to tackle that as well.— to tackle that as well. thank you, sameer, to tackle that as well. thank you, sameer. the _ to tackle that as well. thank you, sameer, the director _ to tackle that as well. thank you, sameer, the director of _ to tackle that as well. thank you, i sameer, the director of programmes for medical aid for palestinians.

china says fourteen palestinian factions have agreed to set up an interim national reconciliation government to govern gaza after the war ends. it follows talks in beijing between representatives from each group including hamas and fatah — which is in charge of the occupied west bank. the chinese foreign minister wang yi, who attended the discussions, hailed what he called the beijing declaration. let's speak to the founder of china dialogue trust, isabel hilton. thank you forjoining us. many previous efforts have failed, how much weight do you put behind this effort and this declaration? it's quite a big declaration, it's significant in that china doesn't usually take risks like this. so china does have quite a lot of heft. as you say, a lot of previous attempts have failed, including attempts have failed, including attempts brokered by egypt and many other intermediaries, we've had 20 years of hostility now between these two factions. but we are in an extreme situation, we have the continuing war and devastation in

gaza, the conflict in the west bank, and the united states, which is mired in its own electoral politics and therefore can be, you know, has limited effect. and the frustration that president biden has been unable apparently to restrain benjamin netanyahu, which is, you know, causing waves in the region. so for china, this is a big opportunity. and it's one that they have steadily been taking advantage of. the talks began very early in the year in moscow. and then moved to beijing in april. in may china hosted a big arab conference as part of its now continuing diplomacy with the arab world, in which china posited the need for an international peace conference. and now this. so there has been a lot of setting up of context here. 50 has been a lot of setting up of context here.— context here. so why is china positioning — context here. so why is china positioning itself _ context here. so why is china positioning itself like - context here. so why is china positioning itself like this, i context here. so why is china i positioning itself like this, trying to broker some kind of deal, and to

what extent do you think those involved in the talks in washington, joe biden, kamala harris, benjamin netanyahu, to what extent do you think they will be paying attention to what's happening in beijing? i think they will be paying attention. there is a fundamental difference in approach, in that the united states insists hamas must recognise the right of israel to exist and there has been nothing in any chinese statement to that effect. so we have, you know, essentially very different approach. but the fact that china's weight in the region has been growing so much, it has relations with iran, with saudi arabia, it's one of the biggest customers for middle east energy, it's a supplier of renewable energy. so altogether, china's position in the gulf and in what it calls west asia is actually getting very strong. and the united states is beginning to look as though it can't quite manipulate things as it used to, it can't quite bring a result as

it used to. so for china, this is a big win in terms of its global image. just briefly, we are almost out of time, interesting also image. just briefly, we are almost out of time, interesting— out of time, interesting also that ukraine's foreign _ out of time, interesting also that ukraine's foreign minister i out of time, interesting also that ukraine's foreign minister is i out of time, interesting also that ukraine's foreign minister is in l ukraine's foreign minister is in china, at the invite, or the behest of the chinese. they sent the invitation. what might be happening there? ., , , invitation. what might be happening there? . , , �* , there? there has been, it's interesting _ there? there has been, it's interesting because - there? there has been, it's interesting because there'sj there? there has been, it's- interesting because there's been very little contact between china and ukraine, and i think china is trying to correct the global impression of facilitating and supporting russia. in its aggressive war against ukraine. supporting russia. in its aggressive waragainst ukraine. i supporting russia. in its aggressive war against ukraine. i think that is doing diplomatic damage. china again is trying to present itself as a peacemaker. it produced a 12 point plan last year was no diplomatic underpinning, but it continues to maintain a posture, if you like, of wanting peace. maintain a posture, if you like, of wanting peace-— maintain a posture, if you like, of wantin: eace. ., ~ , . wanting peace. thank you very much. thank you- —

it's only been two days sincejoe biden announced he was pulling out of the presidential race — but kamala harris' campaign for the white house is ramping up. yesterday she announced she had enough support to secure the democratic party's presidential nomination. today, she'll be in the critical swing state of wisconsin — making her case to be commander—in—chief directly to voters for the first time. ms harris has already been clear about her agenda. on monday evening, she visited what had beenjoe biden's re—election campaign headquarters in delaware to rally the staff who will now be working for her. her message there — that she'll continue to push for gun control and protection for reproductive rights. it is my great honour to havejoe's endorsement in this race. cheering and applause. and it is my intention to go out and earn this nomination and to win. cheering and applause. and it's not just and it's notjust about her policy. she'll also have to

overcome donald trump. when she talked to the democratic party workers, she gave a hint of how she'll approach that. predators who abuse women. fraudsters who ripped off consumers. teachers who broke the rules for their own gain. so hear me when i say, i know donald trump's type. —— cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. and in this campaign i will proudly, i will proudly put my record against his. stay with us here on bbc news. hello, we are seeing warm sunshine today, across northern ireland and scotland. if we look further out to sea, though, looming large on the satellite picture, this area of cloud which will head our way

tomorrow, so they will not be quite as much sunshine. but ahead of that we have the snows of high—pressure extending from the azores, meaning most places will be fine and dry. earlier today we had a lot of clout across south—eastern parts of england, giving some showers as well, but those have gone as it brightens up year, it is getting warmer and we could reach 22 or 23 through the midlands, and a pleasant 22 in the central belt of scotland. could be one or two showers are ranked, even by late afternoon, particularly over the pennines. those will tend to fade away during the evening and overnight i suspect it will be dry, cloud coming and going, probably more coming into western areas later in the night. these are the temperatures first thing wednesday. we start 11 or 12. there will be some sunshine at times on wednesday, quite hazy, mind you, as we bubble up the cloud, risk of one or two showers for eastern parts of england. up to the west, that cloud was taken to bring a little light rain or drizzle across northern ireland and perhaps the west side of scotland, wales and the

south—west. these areas will be a little cooler than today but towards the east and south—east in particular, those temperatures are likely to reach 25, maybe even 26, depending on the amount of sunshine. as we head into thursday, it gets a little bit messy. we've got this tangle of weather fronts coming our way. nothing particularly well organised. the showery bursts of rain now and again, and a lot of cloud around. maybe later in the day it's western and southern areas that will turn a little wetter. but as you head into the eastern side of england and history in scotland, it may be drier here and those temperatures will be into the low 20s on thursday. things simplify themselves by the time we get into friday, that weather front will be moving away. it's going to be clearing away eventually from south—eastern parts of england but rain is not too far away from here for much of the day. otherwise, they will still be some decent spells of sunshine but where we have stronger winds in the north—west, this is where we will see a few showers coming into northern ireland, northern and western scotland. temperatures back to 18 in the

central belt, and 22 or 23 in the south—east.

this is business today, live from new york, where earnings season is taking centre stage on wall street.

join the queue — the boss of airbus tells us they have more buyers than planes to sell, as the industry gathers for the farnborough airshow. a $24 billion job creation plan. india unveils its first budget since narendra modi was returned to power, amid growing concern over youth unemployment. hello and welcome to business today. i'm erin delmore in new york. earnings seasons is upon us and two of the biggest names in tech are set to report after tuesday's closing bell. that's giving tech shares some room for recovery. it's after a sell—off last week, although some are still getting hit after last week's global it outage. with us now to discuss, is noah hamman, ceo of advisor—shares. noah, we're looking forward to earnings today from tesla and alphabet. do you think that news will help big tech recover

from losses last week?