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tv   BBC News America  PBS  December 25, 2023 2:30pm-3:01pm PST

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♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors
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advice to help you live your life. life well planned. george: actually, you don't need vision to do most things in life. it's exciting to be part of a team driving the technology forward. i think that's the most rewarding thing. people who know, know bdo. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". >> live from london,c news. a rare visit to gaza, israeli prime minister netanyahu says the fighting will be been in the coming days. -- deepen in the coming days.
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families of hostages heckled netanyahu, calling for the immediate release of their loved ones. gaza's health ministry says over 250 people were killed in the last 24 hours. people flee their homes in central nigeria after more than 100 are killed in attacks on farming communities. russia's leading operas -- opposition figure alexei navalny has been found in siberia in a penal colony. king charles uses his christmas broadcast to emphasize universal values shared between major religions. welcome to the program. we will start with the latest on the israel-gaza war. benjamin netanyahu says the
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military will deepen its fight against thomas -- against hamas. he is shown there in a black jacket. on a rare visit to israeli troops in gaza, he said the military campaign is not close to over. this comes days after the u.s. secretary of state said israel should lower the intensity of strikes. he later appeared in the israeli parliament. his speech was heckled by the families of hostages who were watching. they shouted, now, as they demanded the immediate release of their loved ones. israel says 129 people remain unaccounted for after they were taken to gaza by hamas after the attacks in october. these images show the aftermath
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of an airstrike in a rfugee camp which reportedly killed more than 70 people. israel says it is investigating. the gaza health ministry says at least 250 people have been killed in the last 24 hours. the report contains images some may find distressing. >> with distress. it hurts here, mama, she says. her mother is trying to console her. late at night their homes were bombed. the wounded kept coming to the nearby hospital already overwhelmed, with no fuel or water and minimal's lies. in gaza, there is no respite the people or those trying to save them. for many it was too late. the writing on these body bags says remains. he survived the airstrike but
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his wife didn't. he says in his building several children and displaced people were killed. >> it was horrific. i saw bodies on the road. some so badly disfigured, they were unrecognizable. our block was meant to be safe according to the israeli military. but there are no safe areas in the gaza strip. >> in a statement, the israeli military said it was looking into the incident, adding it was committed to taking feasible steps to minimize harm to civilians. as the scale of devastation becomes clear, so does the challenge facing rescue teams who have struggled to get in with roads blocked after the strike. in bethlehem, christmas looks different. it is sad and subdued. no festivities, no tourists, lots of prayers. this time of year the eyes of the world would be on the
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birthplace of jesus. it has been stripped of any signs of celebration. there are messages of solidarity and calls to and suffering area for the people here, the images of destruction and death from gaza hit close to home. the pain in gaza is felt deeply here. it did -- replaced what is normally a time of joy. >> a representative of the u.n. human affairs agency is in the south of gaza, and she visited the al-aqsa hospital where many injured from the refugee camp were taken. i started by asking what she saw there. >> i saw it again today and i see that every day, the carnage and unprecedented suffering caused by this war.
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i met a young nine-year-old boy. he was hit by a strike not yesterday, but today, which is an indication this is going on every hour, every minute. he came in with the traumatic injury to his head. he had been walking outside the school his family was sheltering in and he passed away while i was in the hospital with him and his family. it is story like his that i hope make it to the world. this nine-year-old child doing whatever a nine-year-old child would do and he died walking outside of a school area that is what we see here every day in gaza. >> what about the state inside the hospitals and around the hospitals? >> the hospitals are overcrowded and overburdened. the health workers are absolute heroes. i have no words to describe the
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phenomenal work they are doing every day. i had two grown man, incredible professionals, heads of their professions in tears today because one of their colleagues, a nurse at the hospital, stood there last night as the casualties ended and one after the other, his family members were brought through the door. first his father, then his mother, his sister, his children and his grandparents brought through the door one by one. these health workers are working every day to help patients who can't get surgery, that would save their lives, but they are also dealing with the reality of the war themselves. they aren't sleeping. they are working 24 hours a day to try to save as many lives as possible. one of them said to me, we are waiting for the minutes when it is our families who come dead through the door. >> a dreadful thought to have to deal with.
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can i ask you how much longer in your assessment things can go on like this? clearly the hospitals aren't working anywhere near capacity. there are huge constraints but they are helping some people at the moment. how much longer can that continue? >> it shouldn't continue for another minute and that is the message to the world, especially today at a time when so many people around the world are celebrating, especially at a time when we think about family. i would deal to everybody in the world to think of the people in gaza. there should not be the woman i met today with gunshot wounds who will have to wait days for surgery because there are more urgent cases ahead of her. imagine more urgent cases than gunshots to the back and the leg. this can't go on for the sake of humanity. my appeal to everybody is that this must end and we must see
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these people as people who are simply trying to survive but to have been reduced to a state that no human should be reduced, who have been reduced to the fact that they cannot -- this is unlikely -- unlike any other place on the planet and are being reduced to ask the world to come to their aid. these are dignified, amazing people in palestine and gaza and they should be given the opportunity to survive. they shouldn't be having to write and evacuate from one place to another when no place in gaza is safe. it should not go on any longer. >> there was a tiny bit of breakup on the line, but i want to ask, what kind of support are agencies you have been working with, yours and others, able to actually deliver right now in these conditions?
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>> it is very minimal in comparison to the need. there are 2.2 one million people in gaza and every one of them has every single need. every person needs food and water and shelter. in the face of those huge needs, we are able to do a tiny proportion because the trucks are not coming in fast enough. when they get here, we are struggling to get them out on this side because many of the trucks in gaza were destroyed. we need more trucks on this side. we are struggling with the fact that we are operating in a war zone so one day we can reach one place, the next day we can't and delivering supplies to a hospital is important. as the doctors told us, no amount of lies will the problem. -- supplies will fix the problem. it is only an end to the war that will fix this. >> in nigeria, at least 113 people have been killed in coordinated attacks by armed
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people in farming communities. the attacks started saturday and lasted till midnight sunday while many were sleeping. local media said they burned down houses and looted farm produce. this was one of central nigeria's ethnically diverse states. classes -- clashes have killed hundreds in recent years. villagers fled the area in the wake of the attacks. fighting through farmers and herders left hundreds dead. we are joined by the senior lecturer at a university. can you tell us in simple terms what is happening here? >> listening to your report, it is becoming -- in this region of
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nigeria, and north-central states, incidents like this happen all the time. records show since the military left power in 1999, these clashes have been happening. 2001, 2003, in fact a report from the human rights watch, between september 2002 and may 2003, there were over 2000 or 3000 deaths. >> who is clashing with who and why? >> >> when you look at the demographic of the state, with a population of 4.7 one million people, people with different languages and religions and different professions. these clashes are often between
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the farmers and the herders. those are the main issues. >> what are they clashing over? >> the main thing is the fight for space. the farmers need land to do farming. cash crops and other things. the herders say they need land for the grazing of the animals. this has been a major problem over the years and has led to the deaths of thousands of nigerians living in the region. >> what do you think happens next? do you see this getting worse? >> absolutely. the possibility of this escalating especially at this time of year, when a lot of people go back home to celebrate the festive season, with their families, people are in a festive mood and there is a lot
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of dense population at this time. another factor that can escalate the crisis is when the religious dimension gets into it. muslim versus christian crisis. we hope it doesn't get to that stage. >> what kind of stay -- things would be needed to de-escalate this? >> this is where the subnational government, the local government and most significantly, the federal government of nigeria need to step in. when you look at the nature of agriculture in that state, some of us believe it is time to recognize in terms of farming for crops, and for the herders, grazing needs to be standardized as in other parts of the world, like in australia and argentina
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where people rear a lot of animals. in modern nigeria, cattle are still grazing and moving around. this shouldn't happen. these are the factors that are responsible. let me quickly add, it is a primitive -- problem of climate change. they are good at farming and husbandry of animals. they need to take serious the challenge of climate change. >> thank you for coming on the program. next to russia. opposition alexei navalny has been found alive after apparently disappearing from the countries prison system. the u.s. state department welcomed the news but says it remains concerned about his well-being. his spokesperson says he is being held at a penal colony in siberia.
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navalny is one of president putin's leading opponents. his new prison is nicknamed the polar wolf, considered one of the toughest in russia. his team lost contact with him, but have confirmed his location. >> there is no law in russia that is applied to alexei. they create special conditions for him and they don't have anything to do with law. we know for sure in the new colony, his conditions would be even worse than they were before. the thing is, this colony is very distant and it is difficult to access it. for lawyers it will be difficult to go over there and see him. >> here is our europe regional editor. >> it is good news on terrible news at the same time. good news because they were
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fearing for his life. this man has been a thorn in the side of the kremlin for so long. i probably tried to kill him before and some feared they did it. his lawyer said he is all right. this penal colony he is in is brutal. i haven't been to that region but i have been in the same neighborhood of russia, visiting a former penal colony in the far north in the arctic circle and it is hard to describe just how awful it is. i was wearing several layers of professional grade mountaineering gear, yet i have never been so freezing cold in my life. i talked to people who worked in the prison camps there who were not having the benefit of the clothing i was wearing. tough beyond all measure. the timing of this is interesting. there are presidential elections in march. no one has any doubt that putin will win, but it seems like the
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kremlin is not taking any chances. saturday, they abandon antiwar candidate from standing on some technicality. now this move to get navalny as far away as possible, it will be hard to visit him. they don't want this man having any influence at all. in a terrible way, that is a complement to the extraordinary power alexei navalny has in the kremlin imagination. >> the days other news now. police in sri lanka said they have a race ted -- arrested 30,000 suspects in a drive against drug trafficking. they said they seized 440 kilograms of narcotics including heroin. 1000 addicts have been sent to a military run rehab center. there has been anger and protest
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after three civilians were found dead in india a day after they were taken into questioning by security forces. police in the region have launched an investigation. five civilians with injuries are being treated in the hospital. christmas is being celebrated in china at the communist party is urging christians not to forget they live in a socialist country as they celebrate christmas. christians are only allowed to worship in churches read -- registered with the government. king charles has emphasized the importance of universal values shared between major religions at a time of increased conflict around the world. it is the kings second christmas broadcast. >> at the church on the
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sandringham estate, the king and queen are joined by other members of the royal family. the prince and princess of wales were accompanied by their three children, george, charlotte and lewis, who feature in a new black and white photograph. the duke of york was with the family at church. making a surprise return to the christmas church appearance, the duchess of york. this is thought to be the first time in nearly 30 years she has been seen in public with the family on christmas day. after church, the family returned to the sandringham house for lunch and to watch the christmas message. for this second christmas broadcast, the king focused on those who render service to others. >> over the past year, my heart has been warmed by countless examples of the imaginative ways in which people are caring for
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one another. my wife and i were delighted when hundreds of representatives of that selfless army of people, volunteers who served their communities in so many ways and with such distinction, were able to join us for the coronation earlier this year. >> community projects were more important, the king said, at a time of real hardship for many. then he turned to the need to protect the environment. >> to care for this creation is a responsibility owned by people of all faiths and none. we care for the earth for the sake of our children's children. >> then a message for a troubled world. >> at a time of increasingly tragic conflict around the world , i pray we can do all in our power to protect each other.
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the words of jesus seem more than ever relevant. due to others as you would have them do to you. >> a christmas broadcast that built around service to others, the environment and interfaith relations. it concluded with a heartfelt prayer that people and communities will respect each other. >> a christmas carol, written almost a century ago, has found a new audience. christmas eve invokes the ringing of bells. >> ♪ glad tidings for our savior bring bring on, ring on while the merry breezes sitting
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-- saying our christmas bells. ♪ ♪ >> this is as far as we know, the first public performance of this beautiful carol. it was published in 1933 but was recently rediscovered by michael hard when he was researching the history of the town hall. the carol was published the same month the town hall opened and survives on crumbling pages in the newspaper archive. >> it was almost a full page of the newspaper. i have seen articles about the town at christmas. this stood out because i haven't seen anything like this before in the paper. >> michael showed it to his colleague, also a musician. a day later she sang it on the town hall staircase. >> ♪ the chime of bells inside the midnight breeze ♪ >> she put a video on youtube with scenes of christmas past.
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it prompted more research into the writer, arthur godfrey. >> he was born in barnsley in the 1870's. we thought he would be well-known so we looked through the paper to see. we didn't find much. what we did find is that he was a glass bottle maker in barnsley . he started age 12 and worked through his life in that industry. he was a talented musician alongside that. >> ♪ glad tidings ♪ >> something found on a piece of paper, being sung in the town hall as well. >> it feels special. for me as a singer, songs come alive when you sing them. and to have the music published alongside the words, often you get the words end zone to know -- and so to know what the composer intended and re-create that was special area >> as the
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carol is more widely heard, it is hoped choirs will learn the harmonies. a barnsley contribution for the past brought to live -- life in the present. >> that is it. plenty more online and on the p as always. this is bbc news. narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs.
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geoff: good evening and merry christmas. i'm geoff bennett. amna nawaz is away. on the “newshour” tonight, in one of the war's deadliest nights, an israeli airstrike on christmas eve kills more than 100 gazans. two months after the state's deadliest mass shooting, maine's deaf community works to rebuild in the wake of tragedy. and a unique way of combating

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