welcome to newsday, i'm steve lai. we start in the us, where we start in the us, where president—elect donald trump president—elect donald trump has announced a new major has announced a new major cabinet nomination and it's cabinet nomination and it's a pick that's already courting a pick that's already courting controversy. controversy. mr trump selected former rival mr trump selected former rival robert f kenneder, robert f kenneder, who's well known for his who's well known for his vaccine sceptical views — vaccine sceptical views — to lead the department to lead the department of health and human services. of health and human services. mr trump made the announcement mr trump made the announcement on his truth social platform. on his truth social platform. and speaking in the last few and speaking in the last few minutes, he had more praise minutes, he had more praise for his former opponent. for his former opponent. another one who's another great another one who's another great mind and a great guy and so mind and a great guy and so

popular and popular and mind and a great guy and so popularandi mind and a great guy and so popular and i think he's mind and a great guy and so popularandi mind and a great guy and so popular and i think he's right, he wants to make people healthy, it

jessica, tell us a bit more about the support and pushback we are seeing with trump's pick of rfkjunior?— of rfk junior? when yet, it's one of those _ of rfk junior? when yet, it's one of those appointments i of rfk junior? when yet, it's i one of those appointments that kind of bit expected and kind of not in the sense that it was pretty clear rfkjunior was pretty clear rfk junior was going pretty clear rfkjunior was going to get some kind of health role in donald trump's administration that had been well advertised in advance but this really is the role in terms of running things, health secretary in charge of multiple important health agencies. as you've been reflecting, causing controversy because of a number of reasons but one of them particularly, rfkjunior�*s particularly, rfk junior�*s history of particularly, rfkjunior�*s history of vaccine scepticism, leading voice, really. he was particularly amplified, or he got a new audience during the covid pandemic, but this does not seem to have bothered mr trump. he has spoken before about giving rfkjr relatively

free reign over this brief. of course, he will have to get confirmed, we think— well, he will have to get confirmed somehow via the senate so it will be an interesting test, i think, of donald trump's grip on the senate where, of course, is party has now taken control. and tell us a bit more about that help process works regarding the senate and the appointment —— about how that process. appointment -- about how that rocess. . ., , ., ., process. candidates who have been submitted _ process. candidates who have been submitted or— process. candidates who have i been submitted or nominations, they have to go through a senate committee hearing and then potentially too, if they passed that, to a vote of the senate as well. it can be a fairly smooth process or it can be a rather gruelling one, where people can be really grilled by senators about their views, about their suitability for the job, views, about their suitability for thejob, about their for the job, about their experience for thejob, about their experience but i think what's quite interesting here about rfk is it will be a platform for him and he was a figure once upon a time he was quite once upon a time he was quite on the fringe of politics but this will take him into the

mainstream if he is confirmed and certainly give him a platform if it testifies before the senate which will bring a lot of interest, a lot of media interest, i think in that particular testimony but look, i think it's worth pointing out as well picking up on what you were just playing in the clip there from donald trump, making there from donald trump, making the speech and media was invited into film it, he is completely confident, he is doing his victory lap in his bow and tie, thinking people in the audience, including javier milei from argentina, the leader who is visiting here, in florida. i think you are seeing a real confident, exuded there, from donald trump and he talked a lot about different categories they want to drink this presidential election so he is certainly riding high —— during this. i think it reflects on his appointment, he is not afraid of making contentious ones. . ., ~ contentious ones. yeah, thank ou ve contentious ones. yeah, thank you very much. _ contentious ones. yeah, thank

you very much, jessica. - contentious ones. yeah, thank you very much, jessica. let's l you very much, jessica. let's dive deeper into this appointment. i'm joined now by dr georges c benjamin, executive director american public health association. thanks ever so much forjoining us today to get your thoughts on this and i understand your organisation is going to oppose this appointment. tell us more about this, and why. imilli about this, and why. will absolutely _ about this, and why. will absolutely oppose - about this, and why. will absolutely oppose it. - about this, and why. ll absolutely oppose it. we think it a very bad choice. he is not competent by training, management skills, temperament or trust. to have thisjob. he isjust or trust. to have thisjob. he is just absolutely the wrong quy is just absolutely the wrong guy for it. is just absolutely the wrong guy for it— guy for it. so, what are you seeinu guy for it. so, what are you seeing is — guy for it. so, what are you seeing is the _ guy for it. so, what are you seeing is the implication i guy for it. so, what are you i seeing is the implication that if he is to be pushed through because the republicans do have control of congress now. you know, control of congress now. you know. this — control of congress now. you know, this is _ control of congress now. you know, this is a _ control of congress now. you know, this is a big _ control of congress now. you know, this is a big area, - control of congress now. 7m, know, this is a big area, about $1.9 trillion with over 80,000 people that work on the agency. he has not really got the management skills to manage such a complex organisation.

and his views, particularly on vaccines, as an example, have resulted in increases in infections in this country. so he's reallyjust a person without a health background who has already caused great damage in health in the country and so, i think that's a problem that hopefully the senate will take into consideration as he goes through his confirmation hearings. he goes through his confirmation hearin . s. ., , goes through his confirmation hearinas. ., , ., , hearings. he has told reuters that every _ hearings. he has told reuters that every americans - hearings. he has told reuters that every americans who - hearings. he has told reuters. that every americans who wants a vaccine for themselves or their children will have access to them. i do want to get your thoughts and we don't have to look too far back into the past to see how the covid pandemic played out around the world. what would an appointment like rfkjr would mean if another one were to happen? he rfk jr would mean if another one were to happen? he doesn't believe in _ one were to happen? he doesn't believe in vaccine, _ one were to happen? he doesn't believe in vaccine, he _ one were to happen? he doesn't believe in vaccine, he says - believe in vaccine, he says there is no safe and effective vaccine, despite what he is saying today, we have him on the record without and what would happen if we had another pandemic from vaccine preventable disease and more people get sick and more people would die and that's absolutely not the thing that you want for your keith health —— key health

strategist to have those views and he has never run an agency that has had a large research enterprise, health insurance, al—jadeed disease prevention. these are not skills and expertise that this man has. your feelings about rfkjr, i wonder how you intend to get this message across and to push for the case for him not to be appointed. we for the case for him not to be appointed-— for the case for him not to be appointed. we will talk to the ublic, appointed. we will talk to the public. the — appointed. we will talk to the public, the media, _ appointed. we will talk to the public, the media, members| appointed. we will talk to the i public, the media, members of congress, we will advocate as loudly and as often as we can to make sure that people know what a risk he is. to the public and the public health. thank you very much, indeed. thank you. a un committee has found that israel's practices and policies in gaza are "consistent with the characteristics of genocide." the un special committee to investigate israeli practices said on thursday that israel is "using starvation "as a weapon of war". israel rejects allegations

that it is collectively punishing palestinians, and says its military raids aim to eliminate hamas. the united states says it disagrees with the un's findings. i'm joined now by scott paul, associate director of peace and security at 0xfam. he is also a former un representative for the center for civilians in conflict. thank you forjoining me today. what is the key thing to understand about this un committee report that says israel is using starvation as a weapon of war? i israel is using starvation as a weapon of war?— israel is using starvation as a weapon of war? i would say the ke thin weapon of war? i would say the key thing to _ weapon of war? i would say the key thing to understand - weapon of war? i would say the key thing to understand here i weapon of war? i would say the key thing to understand here is| key thing to understand here is that there are 2.2 million people in gaza who, for the past 13 months, have been unable to meet their most basic needs, including the need to eat enough food to survive, let alone to thrive. and this report lays responsibility where it belongs — at the feet of the government of israel, which controls what goes into gaza, which controls who goes

into gaza, which controls who is safe in gaza and which controls movement within the gaza strip of the same people and goods. and the reality is there is simply nowhere near enough food or other basic commodities or services reaching the people most in needin reaching the people most in need in gaza. 50 reaching the people most in need in gaza.— reaching the people most in need in gaza. so what does it mean, need in gaza. so what does it mean. then. _ need in gaza. so what does it mean, then, that _ need in gaza. so what does it mean, then, that the - need in gaza. so what does it mean, then, that the us - mean, then, that the us themselves have denied the us's claim of genocide? ——un. we themselves have denied the us's claim of genocide? --un. we are in a week— claim of genocide? --un. we are in a week where _ claim of genocide? --un. we are in a week where 0xfam _ claim of genocide? --un. we are in a week where 0xfam joined - in a week where 0xfam joined with seven other agencies to on a letter that secretaries blink and austin sent to the israeli authorities. and they themselves made clear that humanitarian assistance was being blocked by the israelis. they didn't use those words but they said 19 things need to change or else the law that requires recipients of us military aid do not blockade would be violated. so essentially, they said do these things or you are not

conforming with the law. we assessed each of those 19 crosstalk. and what we found based on our own experience is that there was minor progress towards four row, negligible process or backsliding on the other 15 and in the midst of all of this, an accelerated campaign of depopulation and intentional starvation of the population in north gaza government. and so, when you ask what i think of the us government's reaction? it's yet another grotesque distortion of the situation on the ground to suit the ideological commitments of this administration. ~ ., ., administration. what do you think it means, _ administration. what do you think it means, then, - administration. what do you think it means, then, for. administration. what do you | think it means, then, for the humanitarian crisis in the middle east going forward if the us isn't going to act, the 30—day deadline passing those 19 points, what more can be done? ~ ., ., ., , 19 points, what more can be done? ~ . ., . , .,, done? we have to really hope and continue _ done? we have to really hope and continue to _ done? we have to really hope and continue to demand - done? we have to really hope and continue to demand thatl done? we have to really hope i and continue to demand that the us government and others see the situation on the ground for

what it is. 0xfam's colleagues, 0xfam staff in gaza, we have 23 people still on the ground, all of our partners working for palestinian organisations, our peers wake up every morning unsure if they will make it through the day alive themselves, let alone the people they are working with. when they see a us government promised to consider what israel is doing and to assess it impartially, they used to feel a moment of hope. and what they now feel is anticipation of yet another new promise that their reality will be seen and validated and that someone will speak up in defence of their lives. ~ ., ,., ., speak up in defence of their lives. ~ ., ., ., , lives. we are soon going to be seeinu lives. we are soon going to be seeing someone _ lives. we are soon going to be seeing someone else - lives. we are soon going to be seeing someone else take - lives. we are soon going to be seeing someone else take the | seeing someone else take the white house with president donald trump, president donald trump taking office injanuary. do you think things will change then? ~ ~' ., ., do you think things will change then? ~ ~ ., ., , , then? we know from president trum's then? we know from president trump's first — then? we know from president trump's first term _ then? we know from president trump's first term exactly - then? we know from president| trump's first term exactly what to expect. during his first term, the trump administration

allied itself very closely with the israeli far right and settle the movements and it did so to the great detriment of the human rights and humanitarian outcomes that we see every day in communities across the west bank and the gaza strip migratory if the biden administration failed to stand up for palestinians, what we are hoping to avoid in the trump administration is a full—throated endorsement of what the government of israel has done over the past 13 months and indeed, well before that. ., months and indeed, well before that. . ~' months and indeed, well before that. ., ., ~ , ., months and indeed, well before that. ., ~ months and indeed, well before that. ., . that. scott, thank you so much. we believe _ that. scott, thank you so much. we believe there. _ that. scott, thank you so much. we believe there. i _ that. scott, thank you so much. we believe there. i appreciate l we believe there. i appreciate you speaking to us. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news in the uk. the health secretary is facing criticism over his interventions opposing a change in the law on assisted dying in england and wales. chris mason reports. should you be able to

choose when you die? campaigners say yes, but it's a huge question. a month ago, wes streeting told a large, notionally private meeting of labour mps he would vote against a change, and he's said it repeatedly since. i have made it clear that i will be voting against the assisted dying bill this time. that's mainly because i don't think that palliative care, end—of—life care needs to be to give people a real choice. privately and publicly some labour figures bluntly think the health secretary should wind his neck in. and now, another cabinet minister has chosen to speak out for the first time. i'll be voting for the bill. you know, i've always believed in giving people as much choice and control as possible and with all the right safeguards, which this bill has. you're live with bbc news. three former employees at the luxury department store harrods have come forward saying they were abused

by the younger brother of the owner mohamed al fayed. salah fayed is accused of attacking the women between 1989 and 1997 with one of his accusers saying she was raped. he died in 2010 and harrods is now under new ownership. the claims follows a bbc investigation into decades of serious abuse by mohamed al fayed himself. helena wilkinson's report contains some graphic details. right behind you... 1989, and salah fayed helping launch a book by the former first lady nancy reagan with his brother mohamed al fayed. helen is one of three women who have, for the first time, spoken about shocking abuse at the hands of salah fayed. in the same year as this event, helen says she was abused by both mohamed al fayed and by his brother salah. in february 1989, helen went on a business trip with mohamed al fayed and was told to stay in the same hotel suite as him.

i was taking off my make—up in front of the mirror and in the mirror, saw fayed walking in. walked into my bathroom — no knocking, no saying anything. i mean, it's like — it was like out of a horror film. it was, like, so frightening. he decided he was going to take me into his room. you know, he was pulling me all the way up the corridor "let me go." and ijust hadn't got the — i knew i couldn't stop him. so, yeah, he raped me that night. months later, she was sent by mohamed al fayed to do some personal assistant work for his brother salah, here on the left. helen saw it as a way to escape. i'd met salah. he seemed really nice and friendly and he didn't seem in the slightest bit like his brother —

a totally different character. you know, that's how i felt. but on completing the two—day task, helen says she was drugged by salah and believes she was then raped by him while unconscious. i woke up the next morning in a completely different room, lying on a settee, and he was sitting at my feet. i remember saying, "i want to leave. "i want to leave now." and i went to sit up and i noticed that myjeans' button was undone. helen recalls feeling a sensation in her body and then discovering semen. i knew then what had happened. in my head, i knew, because you just know, don't you? this is the letter that mr fayed gave me... earlier that year, two months

after helen says mohamed raped her, she was told to sign a harrods non—disclosure agreement. she says it's partly because of that that she's felt unable to speak out for 35 years. the bbc has also spoken to two other former harrods employees who don't want to be identified, and who say they experienced a range of abuse by both salah and mohamed, including trafficking and sexual assault. in response to this bbc news investigation, harrods said that these new claims point to the breadth of abuse carried out by mohamed al fayed and raised serious allegations against his brother salah fayed. harrods said, "we encourage these survivors to come forward "and make their claims to the harrods scheme." they also said they "hope survivors are looking at every "appropriate avenue to them at their pursuit ofjustice, "whether that be harrods, the police or the fayed "family and estate. "

for helen, what was meant to be a dream job has left her with lifelong trauma. it's affected my life, it really has. i know it's affected my life badly, all of these things i've talked about. we need to speak up to stop it happening to other people. and if you or someone you know in the uk and have been affected by any of this, you can find resources at bbc.co.uk/actionline or call for free to hear recorded information on 0800 077 077. and if you are outside the uk, rainn has a list of resources on their website — that is rainn.org. rainn is spelled with two ns.

you are watching bbc news. let's turn to peru, where world leaders are gathering for the asia pacific economic cooperation or apec meeting. forjoe biden, it marks one of his final engagements on the south american continent as us president. he's due to meet chinese president xijinping on saturday. it's likely to be the pair's last encounter before donald trump enters the white house. during his campaign, the president—elect vowed he would tax all goods imported into the us if he won back the white house. india's capital delhi has overtaken the pakistani city of lahore as the most polluted city on earth. according to the swiss group iqair, delhi's air pollution index had reached a18 on thursday, which is defined as severe. a good rating is between zero and 50. the indian city has to deal with smog every winter as cold air traps dust, emissions and smoke from illegal fires. four british soldiers killed in the korean war have finally

been identified after six years of investigation. buried for decades in unmarked graves at korea's un cemetery, they are the first unknown british soldiers killed in the conflict to be successfully identified. some of their children, now in their 70s, attended a ceremony to rename their graves. 0ur correspondent in seoul, jean mackenzie, sent this report from the event in busan. bagpipes skirl. a lifetime of not knowing how his father died is over. an unmarked grave now bears his name. michael's father was killed fighting in the korean war but his body has only just been identified. what was it like to receive the news? the emotional release was just — well, i can't describe it. ijust wailed like a banshee

for about 20 minutes. i am so ill, i don't have a lot of time left myself. i had written it all off. i thought, "what a waste of a life — we'll never find "anything out about him, we have no remains." at the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will rememberthem. bugle plays last post. here, at the un cemetery in south korea this ceremony honours four british soldiers whose whereabouts were previously unknown, all killed in battle. it was thought their bodies were lost for good. another of them was tabby�*s father, major patrick angier. the last embrace and the hesitant goodbye were different. this poem written by her mother after his death. when i was a child in those days in the �*50s, people didn't talk about anything to do

with wars and i didn't know — i knew he had gone but people in the village used to say, "oh, those poor children. "they've lost their father." so i used to think if he is lost, they are going to find him. tabby and michael's father were in the gloucester regiment. file: the british 29th brigade was digging in to the north i of- seoul. they famously fought in the battle of imjin river, holding back the chinese army forjust long enough so the allied troops could regroup and defend seoul. it's fantastic to see the grave finally has a name on it. the painstaking work to identify the soldiers was done by nicola nash. she pieced together the puzzles using burial reports, letters and eyewitness accou nts. it feels like it has been quite an emotional day and an emotional moment for you as well. the children have spent their lives not knowing what happened to their fathers and for me to be able to do this work and then bring them

here to korea to actually come to the graves and say their goodbyes and have that closure, it means everything. tabby has visited this cemetery twice before, trying to get as close to her father as she could, not knowing that all along he was here. jean mackenzie, bbc news, poussin. ——jean mackenzie, bbc news, busan. scientists have discovered the largest coral ever recorded in a remote part of the pacific ocean near the solomon islands. they travelled there to see how the ocean has been affected by climate change. 0ur science correspondent georgina rannard has more. deep in a remote part of the pacific, not a reef, but a huge single piece of coral. seen for the first time, it's lived deep here in the pacific ocean for perhaps 500 years, growing uninterrupted from the time henry viii ruled england, and it's mega. measuring 32m long, it is bigger than a blue whale. but it was found by accident.

0n maps, its location used to be marked as a shipwreck. scientist manu san felix was diving with his son off the solomon islands when he discovered the remarkable coral. well, i have behind me... speaking from his research ship, he told me he was in awe of it. look into this amazing coral and with the biggest smile, i'm excited. i'm thinking, "wow, this is really special!" this discovery has happened at the same time as the un climate talks here in azerbaijan, where small island nations have come to warn that coral reefs and their communities are now at real risk from the ocean warming caused by climate change. coral reefs is very important. our economy depends very much on marine and fisheries for its survival, and it's important for the world to know that we — it's a special place and it needs to be protected.

in shallower waters nearby, entire reefs are dying because of climate change but this centuries—old coral has managed to survive. scientists call it a beacon of hope that they want to learn from. georgina rannard, bbc news, in baku. business today is up next and i will see you again shortly. goodbye. hello there. once again, morning fog could be an issue for some but the weather story is on the change as we head into the weekend. rain will arrive, and that is going to help lift some of that fog. but once the rain clears, it will also introduce something noticeably colder. the winds will be a feature with widespread frosts likely and an increasing risk of some of those showers turning wintry. more details on that injust a moment. but for the here and now, we're still under this influence of high pressure. there is a weather front pushing into the northwest that's introduced more of a breeze, so fog—free

here and a little milder. but further south across england and wales, one or two spots, low single figures, some of that fog dense in places. that will lift and that's where we'll likely see the best of the sunshine as we go through the day on friday. some drizzly rain into north wales and northwest england. more substantial rain starting to gradually push into the far northwest of scotland. scotland and northern ireland see temperatures peaking at 13 celsius. further south, a little bit cooler, but that's where we've got the sunshine. now, that cold front will continue to push its way steadily southwards, introducing colder air behind, so underneath that blanket of cloud will keep double digits first thing on saturday morning. colder to the north of it and still clear skies and colder to the south. but eventually, that frontal system, although not that much in the way of substantial rain, will gradually drift its way south into wales, down into the midlands. behind it, sunny spells and a few brisk showers being driven along by that brisk northwesterly wind.

eight or nine degrees here, 10—13 elsewhere. now, as we move out of saturday into sunday and monday, that's when we're likely to see the change. the colder air kicks in and on top of that, we've got weather fronts trying to squeeze in from the atlantic, so that cold air will push all the way steadily south. the fronts could give us a few headaches in terms of how much rain, sleet and snow we're going to see but one thing's for certain — we could have widespread frosts into next week under those clearer skies. but let's take a look at the forecast as we go through sunday and monday. sunday sees the rain clearing. somewhat colder conditions with the risk of some rain, sleet and snow for some.

an uneven recovery. china says an uptick in retail sales in october, but its property market slump continues. plus fedi chairjerome powell says he is in no rush to lower rates calling us economy remarkably good. hi there and welcome to business today, with me, steve lai. let's go to china where markets are reacting to the

latest deluge of data we got in the last 30 minutes. retail sales in october came in better than expected, rising 4.8% year—on—year. it wasn't as rosy on the industrial production front with 0ctober�*s prince coming injuly of estimates. a similar story for housing, with home prices falling for the 16th straight month. the country's statistics bureau saying while the economy has shown a significant recovery in the last month the global environment remains complex. we weighed in on whether beijing needs to do more to support the world's second—largest economy. i think that is where a lot of of the concern and the weakness in the chinese coming from, it is that deeper and more prolonged correction in the property market. we need to remember that chinese households have a lot of their wealth identity property market so we're seeing forward indicators like housing sales and investment remaining week and investment remaining week and we are expecting house prices to continue to contract on an annual basis right through the remainder of this

year and through most of next year,