tv BBC News BBC News August 3, 2024 2:00am-2:31am BST
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live from washington, this is bbc news. the us to deploy additional warships and fighterjets to the middle east amid fears of escalation over the killing of hamas political chief ismail haniyeh. eight people have been arrested and three police officers taken to hospital after rioting in sunderland in the north east of england. we're not giving up on that. us presidentjoe biden says he'll press moscow to release another american jailed in russia after a historic prisoner swap. hello i'm rajini vaidyanathan. the pentagon says it's stepping up america's military presence in the middle east, deploying additional warships and fighter jets as regional tension grows. an aircraft carrier strike group led by the uss
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abraham lincoln is being sent to the region. iran and its allies have promised imminent retaliation against israel. an announcer on iran state tv said on friday night that "in coming hours, the world would witness extraordinary scenes and very important developments". it comes after a funeral ceremony in qatar for the hamas political leader, ismail haniyeh, who was assassinated in iran on wednesday. officials from a number of arab and muslim countries attended as well as prominent figures from fatah, the main rival palestinian faction to hamas. hamas and iran have vowed revenge for the strike that targeted mr haniyeh. although iran and its allies have blamed israel, the country has not claimed responsibility for his death. from doha, our senior international correspondent orla guerin reports.
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doha's largest mosque, the setting for funeral prayers for ismail haniyeh. qatar has been his base for years. and in punishing heat, thousands came to mourn the slain leader of hamas. among the crowd, many had the same demand. we will look for revenge. yes, yes, i'm very honest with you, we will look for revenge. may i ask, do you fear now that there could be all out war in the region, that there could now be a bigger war taking place? yes we are... now it could be very danger and it could be the world war iii. but maybe that's what israel look for? and israel is widely accused of tracking him down in tehran and killing him. here he was on tuesday in the heart of the iranian regime. he didn't live to see the next morning. in hamas terms, he was viewed as a moderate. in uk and us terms, he led
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a terrorist organisation. to many here, including these visitors from britain, he defended an oppressed people. i'm actually quite deeply saddened. he was a good man and he stood up for good as well. so it's a hard time for everybody. the palestinian cause is one that moves many, so it's a sad day for everyone. mourners are still arriving here, streaming in to say prayers for ismail haniyeh. his assassination has reverberated around the region. the question is, what comes next? there will be retaliation by iran, but how severe, and will things escalate into all—out regional war? for now, the main battlefield is gaza. israeli troops advancing, whatever the cost. palestinian sources say haniyeh was pushing for a ceasefire
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deal before he was blown to pieces. today he was mourned, soon he'll be replaced. it's not the end of hamas. but it is one more escalation in a region nearing boiling point. orla guerin, bbc news, doha. meanwhile, as the threat of retaliation for recent strikes looms, it's causing unease and tension in israel, as jenny hill reports. it is quiet here on the streets of tel aviv, it is the sabbath so people are at home but they are uneasy. they know that potentially they are standing on the brink of a much wider regional conflict stop it is worth pointing out that they have been a number of similar moments since israel launched its war on gaza following the
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attacks of october the seventh. when it is look as though that war could explode into a much wider conflict. but this is without doubt a very dangerous, very significant moment, and we understand that urgent diplomacy is going on, most of it behind the scenes, to try to defuse the tension. people here will of course beat keeping an ion developments. —— be keeping an eye. flights have been cancelled or delayed this and it is been reported that israeli ministers have been sent home with satellite phones for the weekend for use in the event of any kind of attack which takes out communication networks. it feels as though the world is watching the middle east right now and perhaps it is worth thinking —— perhaps it is worth thinking —— perhaps things have been lost on the vast geopolitics of all of this and they are perhaps people in gaza for whom the prospect of any kind of ceasefire now seems perhaps as remote as it ever has and then
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the families of the israeli hostages, still being held by hamas in gaza who know also that the chances of being reunited with their loved ones anytime soon right now seem greatly diminished.— greatly diminished. some breaking _ greatly diminished. some breaking news _ greatly diminished. some breaking news that - greatly diminished. some breaking news that has i greatly diminished. some i breaking news that hasjust breaking news that has just come it was in the last hour and that is that the us defence secretary has revoked a plea deal agreed earlier this week with the man accused of masterminding the september 11 attacks and two of his accomplices. the pre—trial deal had been reached on wednesday by the overseer of a war court at guantanamo bay. but on friday lloyd austin relieved her, saying in a statement that "...responsibility for such a decision should rest with me... and '...i hereby withdraw from the three pretrial agreements that you signed onjuly 13, 2024." the three men include khalid sheikh mohammed, who is accused of hatching the september 11th plot. they have been held at the us navy base, guantanamo bay, in cuba, for years without going to trial. according to us news outlets,
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the men agreed to admit to conspiracy charges in exchange for a life sentence, instead of the death sentence. the cases against the three have been mired in decades—long controversy over whether their treatment at cia prisons compromised the evidence against them. police in england say eight people have been arrested and three police officers taken to hospitalfollowing rioting in the northeastern city of sunderland. a police building there was attacked, and the property next to it was set on fire. police have been trying to contain several hundred demonstrators, in what's been the latest in a series of violent protests in a number of english towns and cities this week, after three children were fatally stabbed in southport on monday. dozens more protests are planned for this weekend in the wake of the stabbings. our correspondent mark easton, was on the ground as protesters caused chaos.
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as darkness began to fall in sunderland tonight, there were fears a violent far right protest could turn into an all—out riot. large numbers of police have been deployed across the city to deal with a wave of criminality. a police car in a side street — vandalised. around the next corner, a taxi overturned and set alight. about 400 or 500 protesters here in the centre of sunderland. we've got a police helicopter overhead. you can probably see the riot squads just getting out of their van, we've had police on horseback charging through the crowd to disperse them but it's a strange scene, to be honest, because you've got the hard right masked yobs hurling bricks at the police lines and then you've got families, all wearing england tops, cheering them along. i've seen babies in pushchairs, very small children on the march, and scores of teenagers — young boys and girls, all dressed up to their nines, out on a friday night, just looking for a bit of excitement.
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there were some well—known figures from far right groups in attendance, as older men tried to co—ordinate youngsters in balaclavas, gathering missiles to throw at police officers. "head for the mosque", shouted one. hundreds of young muslim men were guarding the town's central mosque tonight as fears grew that the town might descend into major public disorder. mark easton, bbc news, sunderland. after the largest prisoner exchange between russia and the west since the cold war, us presidentjoe biden has told reporters that the white house will continue to pressure russia to release another american left out of the deal. it comes in the face of criticism from the family of marc fogel, an english school—teacher from pennsylvania. you can see him here on the right, being detained at a russian airport in 2021, where he was found to be carrying a small amount of medical marijuana.
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he is now serving a iii—year sentence. in a statement mr fogel�*s family said: "we are completely heartbroken and outraged that marc has been left behind while the us government brought other americans home." they said they feel mr fogel has been "abandoned" to die in prison. three americans released in the deal landed in the us late thursday night — meeting theirfamilies, along with presidentjoe biden and vice president kamala harris. evan gershkovich, paul whelan and alsu kurmasheva were then flown to san antonio, texas for medical and psychological evaluations. our chief international editor jeremy bowen reports on the moments leading up to their homecoming. president biden invited the families of the released americans to the oval office and they were counting the minutes to their return. they are all standing around the oval office here.
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this was a good day for president biden. he hasn't had many lately. and an even better one for the families. the wall street journal reporter hadn't forgotten the prisoners he left behind in russia. ijust spent a i just spent a month ijust spent a month in prison and there is a whole... everybody i sat with hazard been approved political prisoner. paul whelan was held for spying, which he denies, during a two—week trip to russia. i feel great, it is a long time coming so i'm glad to be back. alsu kurmasheva, a russian—american journalist was arrested injune. her husband said she was sentenced to 6.5 years because she'd written a book about russians opposed to the war in ukraine. this one for other countries. i asked them to do some things they were against self
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interests. very difficult thing to do, particularly in germany and slovenia. slovenia released a russian couple who'd spied masquerading as argentinians. in moscow, president putin greeted their children in spanish. they'd only been told they were russians on the plane. germany freed this man in the tracksuit, an assassin now confirmed as a russian agent by the kremlin. he killed an exiled chechen commander in berlin. vladimir putin has set a precedent. arresting foreign citizens for barter works as a way to exert pressure on an enemy. jeremy bowen, bbc news, washington. panama hasjoined the us, in recognising the venezuela opposition candidate as president—elect. earlier mexico said america had gone too far by recognising the opposition candidate as the winner of the contested presidential race. speaking at a news conference, mexico's president, andres manuel lopez obrador, said no country had the right to intervene in "an internal matter." he said the biden administration's stance risked creating instability
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in the region. venezuela's electoral commission declared mr maduro the winner with 52% of the vote. but the opposition says it independently collected results from polling stations, which show their candidate, edmundo gonzalez, far ahead with 67%. more than 1000 anti—government protests has been arrested since preliminary results were announced. these people desperately want answers. where are their families? what is happening to them? are they in here? this woman spots a relative inside. shouting. all of them have relatives who were arrested in anti—government protests. the son of isabella, who didn't want us to use her real
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name, was one of them. translation: the national guard grabbed my son unjustly _ because he was not harming anyone. my son did not have stones, did not have weapons. he only protested. they beat him. they accused him of being a terrorist for defending their country, for wanting a change. through tears, she told me she just wanted a better future for their children and the country. translation: i haven't been able to see him i or pass him food. i can't even hand him his clothes. i don't know if he has been beaten. i don't know if he has bathed, if he has eaten. there is so much misery. many people beaten in the streets, many people dying in hospital. my daughter and son left university because there are no teachers. i had a granddaughter who died on sixth december last year
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because there was no oxygen in the hospitals, no medical supplies in the hospitals. lawyers say people inside aren't allowed private lawyers, in a country where the judiciary and public lawyers are controlled by the government. these public defenders are actually part of the state. so it's the whole state. i mean, the tribunals, the prosecutor, the public defender. so it's totally an imbalance injustice. so it's like the one who accuse you is the one who defends you. thousands turned out for peaceful protests. others turned more tense. tear gas and rubber bullets fired at protesters by armed police and military. cars, tyres, rubbish set on fire. president maduro accused the opposition of starting a coup. translation: this is all directed - by a perverse and macabre duo that has to take responsibility. edmundo gonzalez and
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maria corina machado. it's notjust criminal because of the violence, but because they looked for criminals to attack their own people. mass arrests and detentions are nothing new in this country. there were hundreds of political prisoners in venezuela even before the election. but now that the president has asked courts to take action against those protesting, it looks inevitable that that will increase. determination to protest endures. the fear of punishment expanding. ione wells, bbc news, in caracas. it's been a day of records at the paris olympics — great britain continued their most successful start to a summer olympics as they collected three gold medals on day seven. they came in trampolining, showjumping and rowing meaning team gb have nine golds after seven days at the games for the first time ever. french swimmer leon marchand won his fourth gold medal friday, setting an olympic record in the 200—meter individual medley.
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his time beat the previous record set by michael phelps at the beijing olympics. and — team usa sprinters set a new world record in the 4x400 metres mixed relay during the race's opening heats on friday. earlier, my colleague carl nasman spoke with our reporter grace harbage in france. grace, great to see you there in paris. it's been a big day for team gb and of course for one of france's biggest stars. it's been a great day for team gb — we must say it. they've got seven medals on day seven of these games including three gold medals, three silver medals and a bronze. that is a gold in rowing, trampolining and equestrian. that is team gb�*s first jumping equestrian gold since 2012. a silver in rowing and swimming and a bronze in diving. team gb will be feeling
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pretty happy about today but i want to talk about the main event, it's been 22—year—old leon marchand back in the pool for france. he has added his three existing gold with a fourth tonight, in the 200 metre medley. that is his home games. it's quite an amazing stat, carl, and that is all four gold medals has set olympic records. you can imagine the crowd here in france were absolutely loving it. we have been really honoured to witness this incredible moment of watching france's best swimmer get all these medals. and grace, you've been there, you've been following so much of these olympic games. what will you be watching out for this weekend? this weekend is going to get really exciting. we'll head to stade de france for the
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athletics but before we get there, back at the arena is where us superstar gymnast simone biles continues herjourney after picking up a gold medal on thursday in the women's all round event so saturday will see her in the vault final going back up against brazil's rebecca andrade who also got the silver medal on thursday's event. they will be going head—to—head on the vault but it's a good day for team usa, we have team usa looking dominant in the heat coming into the athletics and team gb and france also featuring, but also it is the women's 100 metre final on saturday evening and all eyes will be on sha'carri richardson. this will be her first olympic games after not making it to togo 2020. she failed a drug test, testing positive for thc, that's the main ingredient in cannabis, a banned substance at the olympics. she's coming in looking like the favourite so a lot of attention will be on her.
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it's now official. us vice president kamala harris earned enough support on friday to become her party's nominee for president. ms harris secured the magic number of 2350 democratic delegates during friday's virtual roll call vote to secure the nomination. she'll be able to claim the nomination when voting wraps up monday evening, just 15 days after presidentjoe biden bowed out of the race. ms harris has yet to officially name who willjoin her ticket as vp. but she's already has plans to campaign with her vp pick next week across seven key battleground states that could decide the 2024 election. well, there's plenty that happened this week in politics, so to talk about it all i'm joined by sophia cai, a national political reporter for axios.
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first of all, there is no surprise that kamala harris is going to take stage at the dnc in front of the party in a few weeks now and officially become the party's nominee. but it is a moment in history, isn't it? she will be the first black woman, the first asian american woman, the first asian american woman, to be a major ticket nominee and that is not lost on most american voters. we saw that in the first two weeks at the biden and harris switch happened. there was just an outpouring of support and volunteers. and now the harris campaign will be really focused on capitalising on that, turning the outpouring of support into tangibles to a successful get out to vote campaign. successful get out to vote campaign-— successful get out to vote cam aiun. , ., campaign. the next question that peeple _ campaign. the next question that people want _ campaign. the next question that people want answering i campaign. the next question | that people want answering is who is she going to pick as her running mate? it seems like that shortlist is now down to maybe three or four names. if
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you could take us through them and who do you think she is going to go for? fix, and who do you think she is going to go for?— going to go for? a lot of --eole going to go for? a lot of peeple in _ going to go for? a lot of people in the _ going to go for? a lot of| people in the democratic going to go for? a lot of - people in the democratic party and the republic party, frankly, thinks that she is going to go forjosh shapiro. democratic governor of pennsylvania who is widely in that state and the reason is because that state is also key to winning the election at mac democrats. it is one of the three blue wall states that democrats really must win and josh shapiro is widely popular. her other option is someone who can appeal to the blue but it is up to vp harris. from what i have been told, she is somebody who calls everyone in her brain trust, maybe a dozen people, asks them for their opinion. she is meeting with these vb candidates right now, letting them, and that will be a descent —— decision that will
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come out early next week —— vp. and herfirst come out early next week —— vp. and her first rally of that swing state in pennsylvania, many people wondering if that is a clue as to who she is going to pick. is a clue as to who she is going to pick-— is a clue as to who she is going to pick. we really don't know but _ going to pick. we really don't know but it — going to pick. we really don't know but it tells _ going to pick. we really don't know but it tells you - going to pick. we really don't know but it tells you their - know but it tells you their focus in pennsylvania. the entire swing state tour which will be an entire week, that tour is just before the democratic convention and so democrats really have a couple of key moments. harris has her vp announcement, that will be a lot of coverage, as well as the democratic national convention in chicago and then a couple of weeks after that will be the get out to vote. the first ballot, male in ballots, will be mailed out to voters in certain states a couple of weeks after the convention. harris�* job is to keep the ball moving and to sort of keep that positive momentum throughout. and sofia, what are the polls telling us at the moment about
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how she could fare in some of those key states, against the republican nominee donald trump? republican nominee donald trum? ,, . trump? she has closed the gap in some states, _ trump? she has closed the gap in some states, compared - trump? she has closed the gap in some states, compared to i in some states, compared to president biden when he was running, but the reality is, trumpism still ahead in some of these swing states and the swing states will be looking at now are going to be states like arizona, nevada, those sunbelt estates where trump had a wide lead. —— states. in some cases double digits against biden and they were comfortable in that league. now the trump campaign will really have to work for it. and harris, they are still losing. it. and harris, they are still losina. �* , , , losing. and 'ust briefly, when we look at — losing. and just briefly, when we look at donald _ losing. and just briefly, when we look at donald trump - losing. and just briefly, when we look at donald trump and | losing. and just briefly, when i we look at donald trump and jd vance, donald trump has been saying that he is going to return to the place where that attempted assassination happened. do we know more about when that rally might be?— when that rally might be? look, we don't know— when that rally might be? look, we don't know there. _ when that rally might be? look, we don't know there. i - when that rally might be? look, we don't know there. i was - when that rally might be? look, we don't know there. i was at i we don't know there. i was at butler pennsylvania the day
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that the assassination attempt happened and i can tell you that that day is not lost on trump or his family members and even before he announced that, i was talking to laura trump, now the chairwoman of the rnc, and she said look, i think my father is going to choose to go to butler pennsylvania and to return because that is just the way that he operates. qm. way that he operates. 0k, sohia way that he operates. 0k, sophia cai, _ way that he operates. 0k, sophia cai, national- way that he operates. 0k, sophia cai, national political reporterfor axios, thank you reporter for axios, thank you for taking reporterfor axios, thank you for taking us through what has been another incredibly busy week in american politics. that is all we have time for for this half—hour. there is plenty more on the bbc news website including the latest on american politics, developments in the middle east and those riots which has been taking place in england. you can find me on x,. i am originally budgeted nothing, and the now,
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thanks for me and the team. —— iam rajini thanks for me and the team. —— i am rajini vaidyanathan. hello there. much of central, southern, and eastern england yet again saw another warm and very humid day. but as we move through the weekend, certainly after saturday, it'll be fresher for all, with pleasant conditions in the south. but there will be rain at times, particularly across northern and western areas, thanks to atlantic low pressure systems. so, we start saturday off with this weather front that's been crossing the country, taking the cloud and any showers with it and the warm air. so, into saturday afternoon, it'll be much fresher across the south and east. a bright day for many with sunshine and blustery showers — these mainly across scotland and northern ireland, where it will be quite windy. mid—to—high—teens here, but much fresher across the south — 21—24 celsius with lower humidity. that takes us then into saturday night, which will be a cooler, fresher one for many. cloud building out west as the next weather front starts to approach scotland and northern ireland. it'll be a fresher
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night to come — 8—12 celsius across the south. now, this ridge of high pressure will build in for sunday — that will bring fine weather for england and wales. next low pressure system will start to push into scotland and northern ireland through the day, the winds picking up here, the cloud building, outbreaks of rain pushing into northern ireland and western scotland. but for eastern scotland, much of england and wales will see variable clouds, some good sunny spells — best of the sunshine towards the southeast corner, and it will feel very pleasant, with 23—24 celsius here with lower humidity, high teens further north with the wind and the rain. we tap into some warmth and humidity again into monday — this moving off france into much of the midlands, southern and eastern england. so here, a warm and humid, rather sunny day — further north and west, very different, windy, cloudy outbreaks are pretty heavy and persistent rain for northern ireland, southern and western scotland. could give rise to some localised flooding in places, but a warmer day to come even further north — we could be up to the mid—to—high—20s again across the southeast. that weather front eventually starts to push across the country on tuesday, eventually reaching the east and southeast with a few showers as it weakens and moves
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off into the north sea. and then, it introduces fresher air to much of the country once again. a bright day to come for northern and western areas with some sunshine — vast improvement to how monday is looking. 19—24 celsius from northwest to southeast. as we move through the new week, it looks like much of the north and west of the country will see the wind and rain at times — whereas, further south and east you are, tending to stay warmer, drier, and sunnier.
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voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. in discovering the world's table, we travel the globe, unearthing the history behind our most celebrated dishes, meeting the people preserving local ingredients and those adapting traditions for changing times. i'm a food writer with a passion for exploring the world's cuisine.
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