welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm arunoday mukharji. the headlines: political uncertainty in israel, with a fifth election likely in just four years — the prime minister calls for parliament to be dissolved as his coalition falls apart. the uk braces itself for the biggest railway strike in three decades after talks on pay and conditions break down. the argument over bulldozing homes in india — are political parties using bricks and mortar to punish their opponents? hollywood actor ben stiller travels to ukraine to meet the president, telling volodymyr zelensky he's his hero. and we report on how thailand has legalised the use

of marijuana, sparking a craze for all sorts of cannabis creations. welcome to the programme. starting with political developments in israel, where the prime minister, naftali bennett is to step down from his post and dissolve parliament, triggering a fresh election. the current foreign minister, yair lapid, will temporarily take over. mr bennett has been in thejob forjust over a year and has struggled to stabilise his increasingly fragile governing coalition. translation: i held a series of talks with officials and i realise that in ten days with the expiration of the west bank

regulations, israel will experience serious security damages and spared no efforts to galvanise whoever was needed to galvanise whoever was needed to pass the regulations, brought our efforts or no fruit. therefore my friend foreign minister lapid and i decided to act together to dissolve parliament and sat and agreed—upon date for elections. for more on the political situation in israel, i have been speaking to the chief political correspondent of the jerusalem post, gil hoffman. it came to this because they had another ten days to pass a bill that had to pass in order to prevent chaos, and opposition was not willing to support it in the coalition had too many rebellions, and then it was left with a minority government in a minority government in a minority government could not last very long, but it doesn't say anything wrong with diversity, we could very well have just a diverse government — government with dues and arabs cooperating

for the next election. the former prime _ for the next election. the former prime minister- for the next election. tue: former prime minister benjamin netanyahu has been looking to stage a comeback, he has made that very clear, there is a lot of interest surrounding the aspect. one of the chances of that happening?— aspect. one of the chances of that happening? 6040 at least. he still does _ that happening? 6040 at least. he still does have _ that happening? 6040 at least. he still does have the _ that happening? 6040 at least. he still does have the support l he still does have the support of the majority of the people for his diplomatic security and economic policies, and his government failing to last very long only makes him look better. he is the longest serving prime minister in israel's history, and at 72, he is still young, his father passed away at the age of 102. israel will be holding its first general election under four years. just a word about the citizens. how have they been viewing these rapidly changing political developments within such a short period of time? ., ., ~ . , ., time? look, the citizens of israel have _ time? look, the citizens of israel have been _ time? look, the citizens of israel have been through i time? look, the citizens of israel have been through a | time? look, the citizens of - israel have been through a lot, politically, ironstone's theory of insanity, doing the same

thing over and over and over again and expecting a different result, i can understand it can be frustrating, and yet, 70% turnout for elections in a row, and probably same in the next election coming up, so they still are committed to israeli democracy in spite all these challenges. democracy in spite all these challenges-_ democracy in spite all these challenues. . , . challenges. what can we expect in conclusion _ in conclusion in the next few weeks on the elections? they could be a — weeks on the elections? they could be a very _ weeks on the elections? they could be a very big _ weeks on the elections? they could be a very big mess. - weeks on the elections? they could be a very big mess. they could be a very big mess. they could be a very big mess. they could be an attempt to form an alternative government and avoid an election, it is unlikely but still very much on the table, and after the election is called, then there is going to be a recruitment of celebrities to try to restructure the political map, so hopefully in one way or another a stable government can be formed can and the political chaos that has gone on for way too long. india's supreme court will hold a hearing on tuesday on whether bulldozing homes belonging to muslims accused

of taking part in violent protests in the state of uttar pradesh is being carried out legally. the demolitions have been criticised in india and made headlines globally. many say that bulldozing has become a weapon of choice for the hindu nationalist bjp government to destroy homes and livelihoods of the minority muslim community. our south asia correspondent, rajini vaidyanathan has the details. in the streets of saharanpur, a lingering fear. for muslims in the town, nothing feels safe any more. anti—muslim sentiment is growing in india. targeted in hate crimes, attacked in political speeches. now they are afraid the government is coming for their homes. this is what happened... bulldozers sent in after her 17—year—old son, abdul, was detained. authorities say

they will demolish illegally constructed homes, of those accused of taking part in violent protests. she was here with her young grandchildren when the diggers showed up without warning. translation: the children were crying. they were howling. there were lots of police here, too. everyone was scared. the bulldozer was outside and we were in here. thousands demonstrated in the town following friday prayers over a week ago. after a national spokesperson for the hindu nationalist bjp made offensive remarks about the prophet muhammad. a largely peaceful march turned tense. dozens of muslim men detained. this woman hasn't seen her son since that day. he is accused of rioting. she says he wasn't even at the protests. but officials have been to inspect her house. she's scared the bulldozers

could visit next. translation: we sacrificed everything to build this house. they came and said it's illegal and threatened to break it down. we are insects for them. they can crush us any time they want. it's notjust the town of saharanpur. in recent months, bulldozers have been deployed across india by the governing bjp to crack down on dissent. they are calling it bulldozer justice here in india, a form of punishment which many say targets muslim protesters. one which has drawn criticism from some of the country's top legal minds. in a statement, a group of retired judges and sitting supreme court lawyers said it was an unacceptable subversion of the rule of law and a violation of citizens' rights.

one which makes a mockery of the constitution. but india's bjp government disagrees. we asked an elected official from the party here if bulldozing was a proportionate response. translation: nobody has a right to destroy any public property, so according to the law, definitely the bulldozer must be used on them. bulldozing is the right thing to do. a threat to their homes and their rights. the bulldozer risks shaking the foundations of india's democratic values. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, saharanpur. the biggest rail strike in the uk in 30 years will go ahead this week with services affected on tuesday, thursday and saturday. last—minute talks between union leaders and rail bosses failed to generate a breakthrough.

union leaders want a pay rise of at least seven percent for their workers, as the cost of living crisis begins to bite. but the government has described the unions as �*outdated'. here's our transport correspondent, katy austin. people heading home this evening were catching some of the last trains before much of the network grinds to a halt in the biggest national rail strike in three decades. last—ditch talks between rail bosses on the rmt union this afternoon ended without a settlement. the rmt has rejected a pay offer worth 3%. faced with such an aggressive agenda of cuts to jobs, conditions, pay and pensions, the rmt has no choice but to defend our members industrially and to stop this race to the bottom. the rail industry is under pressure to save money after the pandemic hit passenger numbers and revenue and billions of tax—payers' money kept services running. rail bosses and the government want the rmt to agree to reforms and more

modern ways of working. if we are able to bring modern practices into the way we run the railway, that could save hundreds of millions of pounds, and that could be transferred into savings and a better pay offer we could put on the table. up to 40,000 members of the rmt are due to walk out on three days this week. they work for 13 train companies. for example guards and cleaners, and at network rail, which maintains and operates the railway across england, scotland and wales. its staff include signallers. signalling staff are crucial to be able to run any trains at all on the tracks, and even with contingency measures in place, about half of britain's rail network will be completely closed tomorrow, thursday and saturday. where trains can run, there will be a very limited service, and only between about 7:30am and 6:30pm. portsmouth is one of the places that will have no trains at all on strike days.

labour and the unions have called on the ministers to try to resolve the dispute. the transport minister insisted again it was not his responsibility. the employers have the facility to be able to negotiate what are complex and detailed, 20 different areas of reform that are required. tomorrow's industrial action has been confirmed, the question now is whether more will follow. misery not only for train passengers. airlines and airports all over the world, emerging from the pandemic, are struggling to cope with resurging numbers of passengers. strikes and staff shortages are forcing airlines to cancel thousands of flights and causing hour—long queues. i'm joined now by our news reporter mark lobel who is in our london newsroom. so mark, how bad is the problem? how bad is the problem? many passengers _ how bad is the problem? many passengers around _ how bad is the problem? many passengers around the - how bad is the problem? i�*s'ié�*ul' passengers around the world how bad is the problem? tiffany passengers around the world are saying frankly they are being let down by airlines and airports, whether it is a lack

of clarity over compensation after cues, delays or cancellations, and there are a number of reasons behind this, the first is that ground and our staff are unhappy at their pay levels or working conditions, and we also have what is called revenge travel, that is holidays taken with people feeling that they missed out really during the pandemic and trying to catch up now, but also, a kind of pandemic hangover where many staff were let go, and they need to now retrain new staff which is taking some time. here is the view of one travel expert. through the pandemic pilots were — through the pandemic pilots were encouraged to take their retirement early and theyjust haven't— retirement early and theyjust haven't been able to restart, notjust— haven't been able to restart, notjust of the haven't been able to restart, not just of the pilot level but with— not just of the pilot level but with flight crews, ground crews, _ with flight crews, ground crews, and the demand for travel_ crews, and the demand for travel returned so quickly as things— travel returned so quickly as things have started to open up in the — things have started to open up in the loosening of the mask mandates now, not a thing anymore, _ mandates now, not a thing anymore, people are wanting to travel_ anymore, people are wanting to travel again. anymore, people are wanting to travel again-—

travel again. coming back to ou, travel again. coming back to you. which _ travel again. coming back to you. which of— travel again. coming back to you, which of the _ travel again. coming back to you, which of the airport - travel again. coming back to| you, which of the airport that are primarily affected?- you, which of the airport that are primarily affected? quite a lot, it is being _ are primarily affected? quite a lot, it is being called _ lot, it is being called europe's summer of discontent and it is actually wider than that. every look at the capping of passenger numbers, for example in certain airports, gatwick, the uk's africa said they will be a cap on flight and passenger numbers in the summer, we amsterdam's airport that will limit passengers that are leaving the airport injuly and they will have raised that figure for august so you will have seen 13,500 passengers per day with flights cancelled as the later on the summer in that airport and already we saw on monday brussels airport cancelled all outgoing slides there because of a strike security staff, and we will see more strikes in paris charles de gaulle, because of wages and better working conditions for staff there. in germany it is reported there are 20% vacancy

is in possession such as security and check—in and aircraft handling and over in america, around 20,000 flights so far have been cancelled since thursday. so, the worst hit airports in the states around atlanta and new york, and you can see widespread disruption across airports around the world. . the airlines _ around the world. . the airlines are _ around the world. . the airlines are also - around the world. . the airlines are also having| around the world. . the l airlines are also having to around the world. . the airlines are also having to cut back as well as a result of this? , , ., back as well as a result of this? , ,., . this? this is all connected so the airlines _ this? this is all connected so the airlines have to - this? this is all connected so the airlines have to respondl the airlines have to respond accordingly, uk scrapping thousands of lives this summer because of the shortages of staff. ryan dow, staff there are threatening strikes across europe because of wage levels are not being paid properly, they say, for pretakeoff and post— landing duties, british airways check—in staff might strike over not having their pay reinstated to pre— pandemic levels, dutch klm is planning to restrict ticket sales so that it can keep its airlines in the air but not have them as packed to cope with those

airport numbers i was mentioning earlier that had been capped. one note though, airline bosses are saying that this is a one off because it is about training new staff and want the training has gone through in the security clearances come through you won't have these problems again, and one chief executive in the airline industry saying of course, fuel prices will go up of course, fuel prices will go up and people's budget will be constrained so that my temper the demand for airline tickets in the future. thank you for giving us that comprehensive update. you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come. no exaggerated fish tails here, we will tell you about the largest freshwater fish ever to be caught that has just been found in cambodia. members of the neo—nazi resistance movement stormed the world trade centre, armed with pistols and shotguns. we believe that, according to international law, that we have a right to claim

certain parts of this country as ourland. i take pride in the words "ich bin ein berliner". cheering. as the uk woke up to the news that it is to exit the european union, leave campaigners began celebrating. in total, 17.4 million people voted for the uk to leave the eu. the medical research council has now advised the government that the great increase in lung cancer is due mainly to smoking tobacco. it was closing time for checkpoint charlie, which, for 29 years, has stood on the border as a mark of allied determination to defend the city. welcome back to newsday

on the bbc, with me, arunoday mukharji, in singapore. our main headlines, once again — political uncertainty in israel. with a fifth election likely in just four years, the prime minister calls for parliament to be dissolved, as his coalition falls apart. the uk braces itself for the biggest railway strike in three decades, after talks on pay and conditions break down. hollywood actor ben stiller is in ukraine, where he visited the war—torn city of irpin, which was targeted by russian troops in the early days of the conflict. on monday — world refugee day — the actor met president zelensky in kyiv, and the two talked about the importance of keeping ukraine in the headlines. ben stiller also told ukraine's president it was an honour to meet him, and thanked him for all he is doing for his country. stiller: "you're my hero. you're amazing. you quit a great acting career for this". zelensky: "not

so great as yours". stiller: "no, but pretty great. but what you've done and the way that you've rallied the country and for the world, it's really inspiring". zelensky: "it's too much for me". let's ta ke let's take a look at some more headlines around the world. a chinese filmmaker, wanted by the malawian authorities over allegations of racism and child exploitation, has been arrested, in neighbouring zambia. lu ke was exposed by a bbc africa eye investigation, which reported he had used malawian children to film personalised greetings videos, some of which included racist content. colombia's largest active rebel group, the national liberation army, has said it's willing to resume peace talks with the government, once the new president, gustavo petro, takes office in august. mr petro has become the country's first left—wing leader, after winning sunday's presidential election. just days after swimming's governing body banned trans

athletes if they've already gone through any part of the process of male puberty, the president of world athletics, lord coe, has suggested the sport could ban transgender women from elite female competitions. 120,000 people have been protesting in the georgian capital, tblisi, in support of the country's bid to become a member of the european union. on friday, the european commission recommended eu candidate status for ukraine and moldova, but said georgia's application should be deferred. a floating restaurant, that was a famous hong kong landmark, has sunk, days after it was towed away from the harbour where it operated for nearly 50 years. thejumbo restaurant capsized in the south china sea, while on its way to an undisclosed location. nobody was hurt.

this year, thailand has seen a striking turnaround in its laws on illegal drugs. until recently, the kingdom's harsh penalties would see hundreds of foreigners locked up on long sentences. but now the government has completely legalised the use of marijuana, released thousands of prisoners, and, as our south east asia correspondentjonathan head reports, sparked off a boom in weed—related businesses. a cannabis craze is sweeping thailand. see how beautiful it is? this is the country's health minister. the architect of what is now the most liberal marijuana regimes anywhere in the world. being cheered by enthusiastic locals, who hope that this green gold will bring them new wealth. it is an astonishing turnaround for a country that still has some of the toughest punishments for drug use. we want to destigmatise these products from being a narcotic. people, when they have access

to this cannabis industry, they will not go to the dark side. they will only focus on how to make a better living. already, cannabis is being offered in a mind—blowing variety of forms. the official view is that this should all be for medical or therapeutic purposes. that's what the government is promoting to tourists. they want people coming to thailand to get well, not high. in practice, though, the new law makes pretty much anything from the marijuana plant — however potent — legal. translation: | am| happy, really happy. now villagers like us can grow it legally. we no longer have to hide. even what is perhaps thailand's most famous product — its cooking — has been caught up in the craze. it's actually an old tradition here of putting marijuana

into quite a few recipes, including the dishes in front of me here, which the government would like to tap into, as it pursues its goal of turning thailand into a marijuana hub. but can it do that without an explosion in recreational use? something the government doesn't want to happen. many doubt that it can. so what happens in here, nan? we are mostly focusing on cbd flower strains, so... _ nan is a marijuana enthusiast. super exciting. today is such a big win,| i think, for all stoners in thailand. she's also the daughter of a powerful local politician who's backing cannabis cultivation in this poor, rural region of thailand. nan plans to help local farmers with her know—how. she's not convinced that the government's focus on medical use is realistic. we all know from studying, like, other markets, - recreational is where

the money is at. - so i think this is a good stepl towards that, if we are really each thinking of this as anl actual economic crop. even though the government says it strictly for medical purposes, it's not for recreational? i hope that they see - the potential, the economics of it, and hopefully that - will aid with the legalisation of, like, recreational use. this really feels like a new age for thailand. just a month ago, possessing this much marijuana might have got you 15 years in jail. today, anyone can cash in on the weed bonanza, and with just a few restrictions, enjoy consuming it too. jonathan head, bbc news, thailand. six people have been hospitalised - six people have been hospitalised in- six people have been hospitalised in new. six people have been . hospitalised in new york six people have been - hospitalised in new york after a taxi — hospitalised in new york after a taxi collided _ hospitalised in new york after a taxi collided with _ hospitalised in new york after a taxi collided with a - hospitalised in new york after a taxi collided with a cyclist, i a taxi collided with a cyclist, mounted _ a taxi collided with a cyclist, mounted the _ a taxi collided with a cyclist, mounted the pavement - a taxi collided with a cyclist,

mounted the pavement and | a taxi collided with a cyclist, - mounted the pavement and struck two women, — mounted the pavement and struck two women, trapping _ mounted the pavement and struck two women, trapping them - two women, trapping them against _ two women, trapping them against the _ two women, trapping them against the wall. _ two women, trapping them against the wall.— against the wall. police say around 15 _ against the wall. police say around 15 to _ against the wall. police say around 15 to 20 _ against the wall. police say around 15 to 20 new - against the wall. police say. around 15 to 20 new yorkers against the wall. police say - around 15 to 20 new yorkers had to help move the taxi as you can see to try to help to free the women. three of the victims are said to be critical. and before we go, here's the amazing story of villagers living in cambodia, who have caught what's thought to be the heaviest freshwater fish ever seen. emily brown reports. the biggest freshwater fish ever documented, caught in the mekong river in cambodia. this is a 300 kilograms stingray. that's heavier than a male grizzly bear. its discovery is welcome news to biologists. so this is welcome news to biologists. 5r this is very exciting. it's very exciting news because it was the world does not largest fish. it's also very exciting news because it means that this stretch of the mekong river is still healthy. we hear a lot of stories about all the problems with the mekong river, but this is actually a sign of hope that these huge fish still live in these huge fish still live in

the mekong.— these huge fish still live in the mekonu. ~ , the mekong. the mekong river is rich in biodiversity, _ the mekong. the mekong river is rich in biodiversity, but _ rich in biodiversity, but overfishing and pollution have threatened its fragile ecosystem. the giant freshwater fish was found by a local fisherman, who called researchers to say he had caught a very big stingray. that stingray had turned out to be just under four metres long, and more than two metres wide. after being fitted with an acoustic tag to track its movement, the endangered species was released back into the river. , ., , ., the river. giant freshwater stingray. _ the river. giant freshwater stingray. they _ the river. giant freshwater stingray, they haven't - the river. giant freshwater| stingray, they haven't been studied, we know almost nothing about them so this is a real opportunity to learn more. what microbiologists say this discovery provides hope for the natural world, and suggests many of the largest aquatic creatures are yet to be studied. emily brown, bbc news. you can find more pictures of that on the website. more stories on all of the analysis on the website as well. that is

it for this edition of newsday. do stay on with bbc world news. hello. tuesday promises a long day ahead, quite literally — the longest day of the year. it is the summer solstice, and for shetland, we're looking at close to a whopping 19 hours of daylight. i can't promise you 19 hours of sunshine here, however, because there is a weather front closing in northern scotland, and that will mean more cloud around, maybe even some rain through tuesday, although it should brighten across scotland later in the day. quite grey initially with some drizzly rain, but by the afternoon, skies should brighten especially in the east and we could see some isolated showers breaking out.

for the clearest of the skies and the best of the sunshine, england and wales will be the place to be, and here, the top temperatures returning to the mid—20s. cooler for aberdeen, as we see that weather front slide south. pollen levels come down somewhat across scotland in response to the weather front in place, but still remain high across england, wales and northern ireland. tuesday evening, some more fine weather around, and more sunshine until quite late into the evening, and then, as darkness falls, clear skies continue across england and wales, a little bit more in the way of patchy cloud in scotland and northern ireland. overnight lows typically in double figures, somewhere between the 10—12 degree mark. for wednesday into thursday, we've still got high pressure trying to push across the uk, this little ridge from the west, so actually quite a lot of fine weather to come for both wednesday and thursday, and no really dramatic changes in our weather story — perhaps more sunshine across central and eastern scotland, and here, we should see temperatures responding to that and pushing up into the low—20s.

still cooler though for the northwest of scotland with more cloud, but look at england and wales — 28 degrees, actually seeing some significant heat returning, through wednesday, and i think thursday's picture will be very similar indeed for england and wales. the chance of a few showers closing into the south coast, spilling up from the continent, but they should be few and far between. scotland and northern ireland, perhaps a little more cloud around, but temperatures up to 20 in belfast and aberdeen. it's the end of the week, though, where it looks like things will start to turn more unsettled, and into the weekend, showers becoming more widespread, the wind picking up and the temperatures sliding down.

hello everybody, and welcome to talking business weekly, with me, aaron heslehurst. let's go and take a look at what's on the show. it's called the global food crisis, hunger looms around the world as vital supplies trapped in ukraine drive up prices. i'm going to take a look at some of the effect soaring food costs are having in africa and just how will the developing world cope? i will be discussing all of that with these two, chief economist of the world food programme and the head of agriculture the african union,

also on the show, could