phil mercer. _ happening overseas. phil mercer, thanks so - happening overseas.ls have been held in israel for the victims of a deadly crush at a religious festival. at least 45 people are known to have died, and more than a hundred and 50 were injured at meron, the site of the tomb of a revered second—century rabbi. almost all of those affected were ultra—orthodoxjews, in attendance to mark the lag baomer holiday. our middle east correspondent tom bateman sent this report from the scene. and a warning, it contains distressing images. they came to celebrate and to be blessed. tens of thousands ofjewish pilgrims at the mountain tomb of an ancient rabbi. but instead they were met with panic and a deadly crush. men and boys left the shrine, descending a narrow walkway which was badly overcrowded. those at the front became trapped. people tried tearing away metal barricades to free them. all of a sudden we saw paramedics from mada and whatever, running by, like mid—cpr on kids, and then one after the other started coming, ambulances, then we understood, something is

phil mercer.ts, turkey has approved the emergency use of russia's sputnik v covid—i9 vaccine after signing an agreement to purchase a total of 50 million doses. turkey is currently under new lockdown restrictions for two weeks following a surge in cases. russia has recorded more than 400,000 excess deaths from last april to march this year during the pandemic — that's according to state statistics. epidemiologists say excess death figures are the best way to measure the true coronavirus toll. the first funerals have been held in israel for the victims of a deadly crush at a religious festival. at least 45 people are known to have died and more than 150 were injured at meron, the site of the tomb of a revered second century rabbi. almost all of those affected were ultra—orthodoxjews, in attendance to mark the lag b'omer holiday. our middle east correspondent tom bateman sent this report from the scene. and a warning, it contains distressing images. they came to celebrate and to be blessed, tens of

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney.ing closer to forming a new government and removing the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, from power. the head of the group which represents nhs trusts in england has told the bbc that hospitals are still under pressure and there must be an open debate about plans for a further easing of restriction. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, hello and welcome to sportsday. let's start with number asi because she's been fine and future majors if she's been fine and future majors if she fails to make her media commitments. the world number two the tea but didn't attend the post—match press conference. she announced last week that she would boycott meaty while in paris to raise awareness of players well—being. forthe raise awareness of players well—being. for the addition of a one robson says she hopes the solution can be found. personally, i don't feel like they're _ can be found. personally, i don't feel like they're out _ can be found. personally, i don't feel like th

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney.ent in a bid to boost british trade and industry overseas. the royal navy vessel — which will cost a reported £200 million and be in service for 30 years — would be used to host trade fairs and diplomatic meetings. it will be the successor to the royal yacht britannia, which was retired in 1997. lord ricketts is the former british ambassador to france and national security adviser, he's now a crossbench peer. he told me he believes its not worth the cost. colossal waste of money, because i don't think it's at all relevant to the way that modern business and modern contracts are negotiated. the government says it wants britain to be a science and technology superpower, which is great, but i don't think the corporate bosses of the world's great high—tech companies and financial companies are going to be all that impressed with an invitation to go to some distant port and have a cocktail on board a ship in the harbour. so, i think it harks back generations to the way export promotion was

from sydney, phil mercer reports — there are flashing images at the start of the report. counterpart. scott morrison said the meeting highlighted the success of two countries that have weathered covid—19 arguably better than any other. both governments banned foreign nationals in march 2020, but they need a plan to eventually bring to an end their isolation from the rest of the world. a quarantine—free travel corridor was opened last month. while flights to the australian state of victoria have been suspended due to a snap seven—day lockdown, the bubble could be extended to other parts of the south pacific, including fiji and vanuatu, to help revive their tourism industries. mr morrison said australia and new zealand were family, but, like most households, there are disagreements. canberra's controversial deportation of new zealanders convicted of crimes, including children, has strained the relationship. a senior australian minister compared the policy to taking the trash out. it remains a very sore point between these trans—tasman cousins. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney.

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney.led in the back of a pickup truck have been rescued in thailand. a field hospital has been set up to treat 80 of them. you may find some of the images in russell trott�*s report distressing. sedated but safe. rescued macaque monkeys, many pregnant, being treated by thai medical teams. more than 100 were discovered — terrified, struggling and gasping for air, in mesh bags tied together and being transported to the cambodian border. 18 didn't make it. translation: the monkeys i were exhausted and dehydrated for a long time. some of them had respiratory problems because of overcrowding during the smuggling operation. wildlife smuggling in asia is nothing new — tigers, along with other animals have been traded, dead or alive, to neighbouring countries in what is a lucrative, if illegal, business. the authorities have been intercepting the banned wildlife shipments, but closing down the ruthless gangs behind it is a more difficult proposition. the smuggling of the monkeys was a carefully pl

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. let's get some of the day's other news.ter implying in a twitter exchange that tesla may sell, or has already sold, its cryptocurrency holdings. as a result, bitcoin slid below $44,000 for the first time in almost three months. china's factory output growth slowed in april from the jump seen in the previous month, while retail sales missed analysts�* expectations, indicating more pressure on the recovery in consumption. consumer spending in the world's second biggest economy. three of china's big telecom giants are set to be delisted from the new york stock exchange in the next day. china mobile, china telecom and china unicom are on a list of chinese companies that americans are banned from investing in, under an executive order issued by former president trump which accused them of being tied to the chinese military. while we are talking about share markets. shares in taiwan and singapore are trading lower after they've imposed strict restrictions once again. they both saw a surge in new cases of covid—i9 because of the v

let�*s get more on this from our correspondent, phil mercer who�*s in sydney., i think this is a discussion between prime minister jacinda ardern and her historian counterpart scott morrison and trying to highlight the relative success of those two countries in combating the pandemic. and also about an exit strategy. both countries have shut their borders to most foreign nationals and if you look at the figures, about 30,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in ustralia and about 2700 in new zealand, these figures are pretty good compared to many, many other countries. and what we have heard today, that travel bubble you mentioned that opened on the 19th of april, ustralia is hoping it could soon be extended to other parts of the pacific including the archipelago, fiji and perhaps other island nations as well. this is all about australia and new zealand trying to chart a way to reconnect with the rest of the world but it will be a slow process and as you say the prime minister is meeting without masks in a way to highlight what these two countries have done since the

australia plans to move quickly, with the embassy closing in just three days. 0ur correspondent phil mercerr in australia's involvement with afghanistan. now recently, we've seen the australian foreign minister marise payne visit afghanistan and she has reaffirmed today australia's continued commitment to the people of afghanistan but certainly this is a rapid movement, it will foreshadow the removal of a few dozen remaining australian defence force personnel and if you look at the statement from marise payne, the foreign minister, and her boss the prime minister, scott morrison, here in australia, they do say that in their words, the security environment in afghanistan is getting worse and if you can read into that, but it's not safe for diplomats to be there. australia is saying that afghanistan will still be serviced by australian diplomats based in another country, possibly nearby. but this is another chapter in australia's involvement in afghanistan. australia leaving the country along with lots of other countries. the uk is on course for the wettest may on record. jayne mccubbin to a

our correspondent phil mercer explained the background to the decision.inister, scott morrison, here in australia, they do say that in their words, the security environment in afghanistan is getting worse and if you can read into that, but it's not safe for diplomats to be there. australia is saying that afghanistan will still be serviced by australian diplomats based in another country, possibly nearby. but this is another chapter in australia's involvement in afghanistan. australia leaving the country along with lots of other countries. one of italy's most wanted men, the mafia boss rocco morabito, has been arrested in brazil. morabito is said to be part of a powerful organised crime group and was nicknamed the �*cocaine king of milan'. a warrant for his arrest has been outstanding since 1994. in september 2017 he was arrested in uruguay, but he escaped from prison in montevideo through a hole in the roof of the building. charities working with older people say demand for video—calling and digital services has doubled over the last year. the bbc has bee