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tv   BBC News  BBC News  April 14, 2023 9:00am-9:31am BST

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you're with bbc news, live from london. fbi agents are questioning a 21—year—old man over a major leak of classified us documents. he's expected to appear in court on friday. protests in france — as the highest legal body in france will decide whether president macron�*s pension reforms can become law. the president of brazil will meet his chinese counterpart in beijing shortly. they're expected to sign trade deals and discuss the war in ukraine.
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hello and welcome. a us air national guardsman is being questioned, after being arrested by fbi officers investigating the leaking of classified documents. jack teixeira, who's just 21, is expected to appear in court in boston later. the leaked material first appeared on an online chat forum, and has exposed details of ukraine's war plans. it also reveals the extent of the us's spying on its allies. david willis has the latest from washington. dressed in shorts and a t—shirt, with news helicopters hovering overhead, the suspect in the latest us intelligence drama was taken into custody outside the family home south of boston. today, thejustice department arrested jack douglas teixeira in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorised removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information.
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fbi agents took teixeira into custody earlier this afternoon without incident. jack teixeira is 21—years—old and worked for the intelligence wing of the massachusetts national guard. one of the friends with whom he allegedly shared information told the washington post teixeira was neither a whistle—blower nor a foreign agent. any claims that he is a russian operative or pro—russian is categorically false. he is not interested in helping any foreign agencies with their attack on the us or other countries. he was a young, charismatic man who loved nature, god, who loved shooting guns and racing cars. among the leaks were us assessments about the progress of the war in ukraine. top secret information shared amongst a small group of friends on the chat app discord, so it's claimed, a process that had been going on for months, motivated in this case not by ideology, but by a desire to gain kudos within the group.
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we have an individual who's leaking material because they want to develop personal friendships online. in effect, they're using the release of top secret us intelligence documents as leverage to gain friendships with individuals in online chat forums. and i think that the insider threat remains the same as always, but the motivation is perhaps different from what we've seen before. the pentagon says it's looking into how such information is distributed, but a spokesman also made the point that it was the nature of the us military to entrust young service members with high levels of responsibility. jack teixeira is due to appear in court in boston later today, charged with the unauthorised removal and transmission of classified information. david willis, bbc news, washington. daniel lippman, is a reporter with politico based in washington. so why has a major intelligence leak been allowed to happen again? not doing as much of the insider
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threat analysis and psychological evaluations to make sure that you don't have people who are prone to leaking this information. in an online world, we're all kind of addicted to our phones and to likes on instagram. and for someone who's 21 and isolated, especially in the last few years during the pandemic, you can... this guy got sucked in. and i think there's a lot of questions about why someone who is a 21—year—old massachusetts air national guardsman had access to stuff going on in ukraine that he had no business knowing and probably should not have been in a position to get all that information about our allies in south korea, for example. by arresting this guy, they're trying to prevent future leaks because he had more of this information in these documents on hand that he was dribbling out to the press. and so with him injail right now, they're not
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going to allow that to happen. but there's still a lot of these documents that have come out in the last week. and this guy seems to have been a martyr, unlike someone like edward snowden who fled to russia. this guyjust stayed at his parents house and was seemingly willing to just get arrested for something that is not an ideological thing that he did. this was more of him wanting to appear macho in an online form. but there's — our allies know that we spy on everyone, including ourfriends. that is not a huge secret. but some of the documents that revealed how, say, serbia was helping ukraine when they are more, you know, neutral, that is going to make it a little tougher. and also, we have to smooth over relations with ukraine because there's documents that said,
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hey, we don't really think that their military is as strong for a spring offensive. the highest legal body in france will decide later today whether president macron�*s controversial pension reform plans — raising the state pension age from 62 to 64 — can become law. the bill was forced through without a parliamentary vote, triggering months of protests. on thursday, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in cities across france, as yetunde yusuf reports. across france, protesters made a lively return to the streets. this was the scene in toulouse. many of the protests have been peaceful, but there's also been widespread disruption. in paris, once again, there were clashes between demonstrators and the riot police.
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people here are angry over plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. and in recent weeks, that anger has intensified after the government forced through the legislation without a vote in the lower house of parliament. today, the constitutional council will make a decision on the reforms. unions want the new laws to be struck down. translation: whatever the opinion of the constitutional council, - unless it changes the law, unless it says stop, that the law is not constitutional, we, the unions, will continue protesting. the french government says the changes are needed to keep the pension system viable as people live longer. whether council members approve the whole of the law, reject all of it, or parts of it, the verdict today will be crucial in determining how the very vocal opposition movement plays out
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in the weeks and months ahead. yetunde yusuf, bbc news. let's go live to paris and our correspondent hugh schofield. good morning to you. all eyes on the court today?— court today? yes. late afternoon, so many hours — court today? yes. late afternoon, so many hours to _ court today? yes. late afternoon, so many hours to go _ court today? yes. late afternoon, so many hours to go yet _ court today? yes. late afternoon, so many hours to go yet before - court today? yes. late afternoon, so many hours to go yet before it - many hours to go yet before it rules. as you heard there, what the decision will be it's not known. you talk to one constitutional expert and they will say one thing and then the next will say the opposite. we really are in the dark here. but on this decision hinges an awful lot. it is hard to see how this campaign which has been going on for three months now, almost weekly strikes and protests, can keep going. after today. if it is a victory for the unions and they strike the law down, then obviously the movement will
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wind up because they have won. if it doesn't, if it gives more or less a victory to the government, then i find it hard to see how the movement or protests can continue much longer because that would mean that the government then propagate the law, it would become law. it would be hard to see what the protests would do. i suspect they would continue for a bit but i guess they would also dwindle, which would not be to say the anger will disappear but they will think, what's the point in keeping going? we they will think, what's the point in keeping going?— they will think, what's the point in keein: uuoin? . ., ., keeping going? we have a shot of the constitutional _ keeping going? we have a shot of the constitutional court _ keeping going? we have a shot of the constitutional court for _ keeping going? we have a shot of the constitutional court for viewers - keeping going? we have a shot of the constitutional court for viewers to - constitutional court for viewers to look at. we have security guards in front of a high sense. in terms of what is going on on the streets and depending on the outcome and the ruling of the court, what does it feel like in paris, is the apprehension of what could take place later? we had no strikes yesterday and for many days before, as well. ~ ., yesterday and for many days before, as well. ~ . ., . , ., as well. well, we had marches and demonstrations _ as well. well, we had marches and demonstrations yesterday - as well. well, we had marches and demonstrations yesterday and - as well. well, we had marches and demonstrations yesterday and we | as well. well, we had marches and - demonstrations yesterday and we have had them sporadically as we have
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been saying for the last three months. i suspect there is a strong chance of spontaneous demonstration, not that spontaneous that everyone will be waiting, but demonstrations taking place this evening, particularly if the council decides that the law basically can stand. i mean, the likelihood, i think, that the law basically can stand. i mean, the likelihood, ithink, is that the council will say there are bits of the law which are not in accordance to the constitution but basically it can stand, including the key measure, which is raising the key measure, which is raising the pension age. if that happens, there will be a lot of angry people and yes, i suspect there will be more demonstrations which will last into the evening and then dissipate. thank you very much, hugh schofield. here in the uk, the royal college of nursing will announce whether its members in england have voted to accept the government's new pay offer, later today. the union, which represents nurses
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and other health workers, has recommended that its members accept the deal, which includes a 5% pay rise for this year. it comes as junior doctors in england start the final, full day of a 96—hour walkout — over a separate pay dispute. our correspondent, robin brant reports. nhs nurses have been striking on a scale never seen before in the century—long history of their trade union. but that action by the rcn paused a month ago, after an updated pay offer from the government. the proposal — to most nhs workers, apart from doctors — includes a one off payment of up to £3,789 for staff in england. that covers the 2022—23 financial year that's just ended. there's also a 5% consolidated pay rise for this year. nurses have until 9.00 this morning to vote on the offer. the rcn will reveal the result this evening. while one nhs dispute may be about to end, though, another continues.
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doctors in gateshead are some of the hundreds who've been on picket lines. their protest ends early on saturday. the bma and itsjunior doctors are determined, despite the government dismissing its 35% pay rise demand as unreasonable. we are happy to negotiate on how we get pay restoration, but in any negotiation, one side puts their position forward, which we've done, and then usually the other side puts their position forward. but we've not had anything from the government — notjust a credible offer, which is what we were hoping for, to cancel the strikes — we've had no offer whatsoever. with ongoing concerns about patient safety, alongside assurances from junior doctors, the arbitration service acas says it stands ready to help. robin brant, bbc news. a powerful tropical storm has hit the north west coast of australia. cyclone ilsa made landfall in the town of port hedland last night, but avoided the most populated areas. residents have been told to stay indoors as the storm
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continues to move inland. our correspondent, phil mercer, is following this for us in sydney. hello to you. what is the update, what is the latest?— hello to you. what is the update, what is the latest? well, this was the first category _ what is the latest? well, this was the first category five _ what is the latest? well, this was the first category five cyclone, . the first category five cyclone, thatis the first category five cyclone, that is as severe as it gets in the current grading system, to cross western australia's coastline since 2009. so this clearly is the most powerful tropical storm to hit that part of the country in well over a decade. now a record wind speed was also recorded. so this was a tropical storm that was packing an almighty punch but mercifully, it avoided the most populated towns and communities in that part of the north—western coast of western australia. if you look at a map of australia, about a third of the continent is covered by the state of western australia. so the area we
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are talking about is towards the north—western tip of western australia and they cyclone is now tracking inland. it's now been downgraded to a category two storm, but it is still a huge danger to those communities in its path, raising the risk of those destructive winds causing more damage and flash flooding in those areas as well. it damage and flash flooding in those areas as well.— areas as well. it must be a huge relief for those _ areas as well. it must be a huge relief for those areas _ areas as well. it must be a huge relief for those areas and - areas as well. it must be a huge i relief for those areas and residents in those areas that have escaped the storm? �* , ., ., , in those areas that have escaped the storm? �* , . ., , ., ., in those areas that have escaped the storm? ~ , . . , ., ., , storm? australia is a land well used to nature's — storm? australia is a land well used to nature's extremes. _ storm? australia is a land well used to nature's extremes. four- storm? australia is a land well used to nature's extremes. four years i to nature's extremes. four years ago, we were talking about severe bushfires. in recent times, we have been speaking about severe flooding in this country. australian scientists last year released a survey, showing that in their opinion, the number of cyclones was diminishing because of climate change, but that global warming was intensifying the effects of these tropical storms.
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intensifying the effects of these tropicalstorms. so intensifying the effects of these tropical storms. so australia is well used to cyclones. the annual cyclone season runs from november until april. this time around, as you say, it is pretty remarkable that those larger communities have escaped, but we won't know the true scale of the damage for quite a few days because some of these areas are some of the most remote in the country and for now, the storm is tracking inland and the authorities believe that it will continue overnight into the weekend. qm. overnight into the weekend. 0k, thank ou overnight into the weekend. 0k, thank you very — overnight into the weekend. 0k, thank you very much for that, phil mercer. north korea has described its latest weapons test — that took place on thursday — as a major step in its ability to carry out nuclear strikes. pyongyang said that for the first time — it had successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic device that used solid fuel. so, what does it all mean? let's cross to our correspondent, jean mackenzie,
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in south korea. you are in seoul, how have people been reacting to the news? irate you are in seoul, how have people been reacting to the news?- been reacting to the news? we do hear a lot about _ been reacting to the news? we do hear a lot about north _ been reacting to the news? we do hear a lot about north korea - been reacting to the news? we do l hear a lot about north korea missile tests but this, as you say, is a major break in the nuclear weapons programme. it is a more advanced type of long—range missile, the type of missile intended to target the united states. this solid fuel element, it's a technical detail but an important one. what it means is this missile doesn't need to be fuelled before it is launched. this means it can be launched far more quickly in a crisis and it can be launched with a lot less warning. it makes north korea more dangerous because the missile then becomes harder to intercept and to shoot down. this gives the ability for north korea to be able to target, in theory, the united states with little to no notice. so it makes it more dangerous but crucially it also gives it a lot more leveraged. the south korean government have played it down slightly today. they have offered quite a cautious assessment,
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saying yes, north korea does appear to have this technology but we think it will be some time before this missile is fully operational. but the bigger picture here is north korea is forging ahead with its nuclear weapons programme at a remarkable speed. a couple of years ago, kimjong—un remarkable speed. a couple of years ago, kim jong—un set a list of the weapons he wanted to develop and he is making stagger is progress. nuclear air weapons experts here say it is rapidly advancing. jean mackenzie, _ it is rapidly advancing. jean mackenzie, thank - it is rapidly advancing. jean mackenzie, thank you - it is rapidly advancing. jean mackenzie, thank you very much for that. thank you. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. inside mitchell's auction houses astonishing collection which has taken weeks to catalogue ready for sale. , , ., ., ., , sale. this is one of the largest rivate sale. this is one of the largest private collections _ sale. this is one of the largest private collections of - sale. this is one of the largest private collections of railway, l private collections of railway, model railways i have ever seen. it is of national importance because collections like this don't come up
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very often. for the north of england, this is almost unique. this all came out of a small terraced house. �* . , , ., house. are many engines and accessories — house. are many engines and accessories have _ house. are many engines and accessories have never - house. are many engines and accessories have never been l house. are many engines and i accessories have never been out of their original boxes, making the more valuable. but there is more to it than that. this is just one man's astonishing collection, there is real attention to detail here. the way he has physically aged some of these models to make it even more authentic on the track. enthusiasts have travelled from across the country, hoping to add to their own connection foster anything here you have seen that you would be interested in having yourself? {line interested in having yourself? one or two things. _ interested in having yourself? que: or two things, yes, interested in having yourself? iez or two things, yes, definitely. you're live with bbc news. the influential us gun lobby — the nra — is holding its annual meeting later on friday. it comes after recent deadly shootings in kentucky and tennessee, and as studies indicate that the number of shootings have gone up significantly in recent years.
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experts are also sounding the alarm over so—called "ghost guns." if you haven't heard of them, they're homemade, untraceable firearms that can be built with parts bought online. nada tawfik takes a closer look at the problem. targeting gun violence just got harder for law enforcement. at this centre, run by the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives, ballistic evidence is evaluated and matched to crime scenes — a central part of cracking down on the illegal use of and trafficking of firearms. well, they don't have serial numbers on them. but a growing phenomenon, so—called ghost guns that are unregistered and untraceable, has added a new layer of complexity. in my hand is a ghost gun and it looks, feels, shoots like a regular traceable weapon. the problem is these are now flooding the streets and on crime scenes, it is increasingly ghost guns that are recovered. the number of ghost guns recovered has risen more
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than 1,000% since 2017. but because they do not have serial numbers, there is no way to knowjust how many are in circulation, making them the fastest growing gun safety problem according to experts. they are kind of hard to trace. because the firearms are ultimately identified by the frame itself. online, anyone can buy parts without a background check. tutorials explain how to assemble the pieces into a fully functioning firearm in less than one hour. it was a 17—year—old who had this gun. yes. manuel yambo had never heard of a ghost gun until his daughter was killed by one according to prosecutors. angellyh was one block from her school in the bronx in new york when she and two other teens got caught in the crossfire of a gunfight. angellyh wasn't the target, it was somebody else. he didn't even hit none of them. you would think that things like that, you know, you can'tjust, you know, order it online,
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like if it was a toy. who do you think holds the blame? where is the problem here? i'm going to say the manufacturers. lauren kelly is a ghost gun manufacturer. he feels for angellyh's family, but despite data showing firearms are the leading cause of death for american children, he is against government regulation. people need to separate in their minds violence and guns, they have to separate them. they are often times in certain situations related because it's an implement used, but violence is a thing unto itself. it's a distinction this family does not make. angellyh died just a few months after her 16th birthday. they are now hoping to turn their personal tragedy into something positive, with a foundation in her name to prevent the loss of another child. nada tawfik, bbc news, new york.
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president biden continues his visit to the republic of ireland. on his final day, he will visit ballina in county mayo, where he has family roots. our correspondent, charlotte gallagher, is there. hello, a beautiful day. it is a gorgeous— hello, a beautiful day. it is a gorgeous day _ hello, a beautiful day. it is a gorgeous day here _ hello, a beautiful day. it is a gorgeous day here in - hello, a beautiful day. it is a| gorgeous day here in ballina. thankfully a bit of sunshine. a fair bit of rain forjoe biden's visit to the island of ireland but fingers crossed it'll stay like that and the town is looking incredible. there is barely a building that isn't covered in us and irish flags. there are signs in the window are pubs, inviting him to come on in, saying the kettle example is that he has been offered free ice creams, free gifts. ballina is ready forjoe biden but isjoe biden ready for
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ballina? you might not expect the huge reception he is going to get here. behind me is the town's cathedral where he will be speaking tonight, around 9.50. we expect him tonight, around 9.50. we expect him to talk about his family ties to ireland and how he feels so proudly irish—american. he has got family in the town as well. he has some cousins hear that he sees pretty regularly. they sometimes go out to the white house, for st patrick's day, for example. so a real homecoming for one of their famous sons and possibly there is something in the water in county mayo in ballina or maybe it's just coincidence. across the riverfrom the cathedral is the house where the first female president of ireland, mary robinson, grew up. so two world leaders coming out of ballina. mary robinson herself will be here tonight for the speech, along with thousands and thousands of other people. we are expecting the town to be absolutely packed.—
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be absolutely packed. charlotte, how did yesterday's _ be absolutely packed. charlotte, how did yesterday's schedule _ be absolutely packed. charlotte, how did yesterday's schedule go - be absolutely packed. charlotte, how did yesterday's schedule go for- did yesterday's schedule go for president biden? very busy! i don't know how he _ president biden? very busy! i don't know how he does _ president biden? very busy! i don't know how he does it _ president biden? very busy! i don't know how he does it actually i president biden? very busy! i don't l know how he does it actually because i am exhausted after following him for a week but he is doing all these features on top of that. he spoke in the irish parliament and once again stressed there was strong irish roots that he has and he felt at home here. so then he also met the president, michael higgins and planted a tree in the grounds of the official residence. that has been done by previous us presidents, and then rang the peace bell, installed in 2008 to mark ten years of the good friday agreement. of course now we are marking 25 years of the good pride leek friday agreement so this visit as well as being personal was also a really symbolic one. but the president looks really visibly relaxed here in the republic of ireland. he has been out meeting locals, popping into a pub in dundalk, going behind the bar and looking like he was going to pour a
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pint of guinness. taking selfie terror with the locals as well. it looks at times he is on his holidays, not an official visit. just going to the beginning of this visit, he started off of course in northern ireland. was there anything that was achieved there? i northern ireland. was there anything that was achieved there?— that was achieved there? i think it's really difficult _ that was achieved there? i think it's really difficult to _ that was achieved there? i think it's really difficult to tell, - that was achieved there? i think it's really difficult to tell, to i that was achieved there? i think it's really difficult to tell, to be l it's really difficult to tell, to be honest. that was always going to be the trickiest part of the visit because of this political instability that we have a northern ireland. there hasn't been a functioning devolved government for over a year now and some unionists, obviously the party that wants to remain in the united kingdom, the dup, the largest unionist party, they radically happy about the visit ofjoe biden. but he did say i am coming it to listen, i want to listen to what he wants. he made it clear he was not there to tell people what to do and how to get things back up and running. so i think hopefully that started a dialogue perhaps, but nothing formal really was achieved by that visit to
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northern ireland. ok. really was achieved by that visit to northern ireland.— northern ireland. ok, charlotte gallaaher northern ireland. ok, charlotte gallagher in _ northern ireland. ok, charlotte gallagher in county _ northern ireland. ok, charlotte gallagher in county mayo, i northern ireland. ok, charlotte| gallagher in county mayo, thank northern ireland. ok, charlotte i gallagher in county mayo, thank you very much indeed. you are watching bbc news. good morning. it is going to be another day dominated by sunny spells and sharp and thundery downpours for many of us. so if you have seen some early morning sunshine, i hope you managed to get out and enjoy it a little. it does become quite messy as we go through the day. we had a line of more heavy persistent rain from these weather fronts that are slipping their way south and east over into france. the heaviest of the rain across south—west england and south wales over the last few hours and as it pushes its way through the channel isles, we'll see a fair amount of cloud and some showery outbreaks of rain almost anywhere across the channel coast. at the same time, we'll see a line of more heavy thundery downpours developing across wales, up through the midlands, into eastern england through the afternoon, some of these really quite
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torrential and quite widespread. for northern ireland and scotland, it is not quite as severe. sunny spells and a few isolated showers as we go through the day. top temperatures of nine to 12 degrees across scotland and northern ireland, maybe ten to 13 across england and wales. we will see a spell of heavy rain moving its way through eastern england overnight. clearer skies out to the west, a real contrast with the feel of the weather first thing on saturday morning. low single figures, frost not out of the question in sheltered rural parts, but where that rain is, well, that is where we are likely to see the temperatures holding up. so, on the whole, it is an improving picture as we go through the weekend. finally, we are going to lose the frequent showers and we are going to import a southerly flow, so milder air will start to push in and temperatures slightly above where they should be for the time of year. so early rain will clear away through eastern england, cloudy skies for a time, but the sunshine, the best of it, out to the west. it will be a pleasant afternoon for many of us. largely fine and dry, any showers will become fairly isolated.
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temperatures likely between ten and 16 degrees. as we move into sunday, that dry weather story is set to continue. we could see a little more in the way of cloud particularly up the far north—west, and thick enough maybe for a spot or two of drizzle, but, on the whole, dry, settled, pleasantly warm and certainly better than it has been over the last few days. and that trend is set to continue through the week ahead. an easterly wind mightjust prevent those temperatures from climbing too high, but, nevertheless, settled and pleasant.
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live from london. this is bbc news fbi agents are questioning a 21—year—old man over a major leak of classified us documents. he's expected to appear in court on friday. protests in france — as the highest legal body will decide whether president macron's pension reforms can become law. in beijing — the president of brazil will meet his chinese counterpart shortly. they're expected to sign trade deals and discuss the war in ukraine.
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the presidents of brazil and china are due to hold

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