Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20240714

Hello and welcome to bbc news. Anti government protesters in hong kong have been attacked by unidentified men wearing white t shirts and wielding batons. Social media from the region has been inundated by footage of groups of men charging at crowds in one of the citys railway stations. At least 30 people are believed to have been injured. The attacks allegedly took place as crowds were on their way home from the latest protest rally in the city. In a statement, the government condemned the attacks and promised serious enforcement actions. Well, earlier at that demonstration, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protestors demonstrating against the way the territory is being run. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets the latest in a series of pro democracy rallies which have been going on for two months now. Stephen mcdonells report contains some flashing images. Protests here used to end peacefully. Not anymore. After the seventh consecutive weekend of marches in hong kong, some hardcore pro democracy protesters have decided that escalation is the way forward, and theyve been met with force. In a clear provocation, tonights protesters moved on beijings most visible presence in the city, defacing national symbols. This is the chinese Central Government headquarters and it has been graffitied by protesters, including here referring to president xijinping as a dog. It was always going to call for a tough response, and this is the response. Riot police have come in to clear people out of this area. And this is now whats happening every weekend in hong kong. Tensions here are high, with a feeling that there are scores to settle on both sides. Some are also wondering how long beijing will hold back from direct intervention now that the protests are targeting chinas national institutions. Earlier, a large, peaceful march made its way through the streets. What was a movement opposing extradition to mainland chinese courts has morphed into a broader defence of hong kongs freedoms and a call for democracy. We need to stand for what we want and keep going on. Because we are hong kongers, we love our homes, and so we need to fight. Translation actually, the world belongs to the young. So i think we have to come out and say to the youngsters that we have their backs, and that we can give them our support. This support seems to be holding up for the pro democracy push, despite the increasingly violent nature of the clashes. But with neither side of this deteriorating political crisis appearing ready to back down, its hard to see just how it will end. Stephen mcdonnell, bbc news, hong kong. Bonnie leung is one of the organisers of sundays protest she accuses the police of ignoring the attacks by white clad groups on Anti Government demonstrators. On the other hand, at another district, which there was no protest, we see that mobs had been out and tried to hit protesters with black shirts trying to get home. And even the pedestrians and journalists got hurt too. So the police simply ignore the situation and four hours did not show up at all to handle the mobs. So we are at a very dangerous situation. And if you ask about our strategies, first we must ask our protesters to protect ourselves, because we are only left by ourselves to protect ourselves now. We cannot trust the police nor the government. And you can follow the latest developments in hong kong on our website bbc. Com news, orjust download the bbc news app. The British Government will hold emergency talks later to decide how to deal with the seizure of an oil tanker by iran. The outgoing Prime Minister, theresa may, will chair the meeting, while her foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, is expected to press for an International Diplomatic response, rather than immediate sanctions. The british vessel was captured on friday, apparently in retaliation for the impounding of an iranian tanker in the uk territory of gibraltar earlier this month. Our Diplomatic Correspondent paul adams reports. Iranian revolutionary guards boarding the stena impero on friday afternoon, carrying out a two week old threat to seize a british vessel. Iran said the tanker broke the law, the ships owners and the British Government say this simply isnt true. Earlier, tense exchanges as a british warship, hms montrose, attempted to stop the ship being taken. But the revolutionary guards were determined. Hms montrose was too far away to intervene. They warned the tanker to obey. Translation we followed the ship every second, every minute, and the tanker never Left International waters. We understand that the crew are in relatively Good Condition but its a stressed situation for everyone. The stena impero was sailing through the strait of hormuz, in omani waters, when it was boarded. At its narrowest, the strait is 20 miles wide. One fifth of the worlds oil passes through it. The tanker was forced to turn north towards the iranian coast. All this is happening because a tanker carrying iranian oil is still being held by authorities in gibraltar. The grace i was intercepted by Royal Marines earlier this month. Its accused of trying to smuggle its cargo to syria, in breach of eu sanctions. Another british warship, hms duncan, is on its way to the gulf to replace hms montrose, the government facing criticism for failing to protect british shipping. If we want to continue playing a role on the international stage, bearing in mind that threats are changing, all happening just beneath the threshold of all out war, then we must invest more in our defence, including our royal navy. Iranian television has broadcast these pictures, showing the tanker now flying an iranian flag. A local official says the investigation could take a month or more. Officials here in whitehall have spent the weekend figuring out britains response. The cabinets Emergency Cobra Committee is due to meet again in the morning and the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, will make a statement later. I understand he will say that britain is working with other countries to improve Maritime Security and he will emphasise the kind of international, diplomatic response britain is trying to achieve. Paul adams, bbc news, at the foreign office. Well be speaking to drjim walsh who testified before the us congress in favour of the Iran Nuclear Deal later in this bulletin, so do stay with us for that. Lets get some of the days other news. Forecasters in the United States are warning of severe thunderstorms and flash flooding as record temperatures finally begin to cool. Six deaths have been reported and theres been widespread disruption across towns and cities as a result of the extreme heatwave, affecting millions of people from the midwest to the atlantic coast. Japanese Prime Minister shinzo abe has declared victory in National Elections putting him on track to become the countrys longest serving leader. But mr abes Coalition Party has fallen slightly short of the two thirds majority needed for a mandate to revise japans constitution. Egypts aviation minister has expressed dismay over British Airways suspension of flights to cairo. Younis al masry said the airline had taken the decision unilaterally, without referring to local authorities. Ba has paused flights for seven days while further assessment is made of security arrangements at cairo airport. The governor of puerto rico, Ricardo Rossello who has faced massive protests over his leadership has announced that he will not run for re election next year. There have been demonstrations across the us territory since last saturday, when journalists leaked text conversations between mr rossello and members of his administration. They revealed a series of sexist and homophobic comments, prompting calls for the governors resignation. After several days of silence mr rossello made his announcement via a live facebook stream. Translation today i owe dress you led by the deepest respect for democracy. Does mac address you. A significant sector of the population has been protesting for days. Im aware of the dissatisfaction and uneasiness that you feel. Your right to express yourself will always be safeguarded by our constitution. To each puerto rican, i have heard you andi each puerto rican, i have heard you and i hear you today. I have made m ista kes and i hear you today. I have made mistakes and i have apologise. Laura rexach is a radio broadcaster who has been out protesting on the streets for the past week. Shes in san juan. Laura, thank you forjoining us. What is it about these messages that have angered people . Well, it is not just the homophobic and misogynistic contacts, it is the fact that they we re contacts, it is the fact that they were also making fun of cadavers that were literally piling up in shipping containers at Forensic Sciences of people who died during hurricanes irma and marina. These are deaths that have not yet been publicly or officially acknowledged by the government. So to have people inside of this chat, which included not just inside of this chat, which included notjust Administration Inside of this chat, which included not just administration officials, but outside people outside of the administration making fun of this just really adds insult to injury. The recovery has been quite slow since Hurricane Maria in 2017. The recovery has been quite slow since Hurricane Maria in 20mm has been agonisingly slow. And not just because aid has been slow in arriving, but because all of the local turmoil and the corruption schemes that have been turning up just put the government more in doubt of whether it can be trusted with federal funds. Given those broader issues, along with those individual text messages, do you think if the governor stood down that it would resolve the wider issues . No, no, his standing down from his resignation isjust the first step in what really needs to bea first step in what really needs to be a governmentwide change and a cleaning up. There have been massive protests. You havejoined those projects. What are people saying that they want to see other than the governor standing down . Really that just the short term. People are focused on having him resign and, after that, everyone that is or has been involved in these wide corruption schemes needs to be ousted. There needs to be a wise swept investigation at all levels of the government and corruption needs to be nipped in the bud. All right, laura rexach, thank you for your insights into the protest in puerto rico. Stay with us on bbc news. Still to come parts of japan get record rainfall with protesters warning of further flooding to come. Mission control you can see them coming down the ladder now. Its one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. A catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30 year history of concorde, the worlds only supersonic airliner. It was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia. But now, a decade later, its been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today. Theres been a 50 decrease in sperm quantity and an increase in malfunction of sperm unable to swim properly. Thousands of households across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. This is bbc news. The latest headlines gangs of mystery men, dressed in white t shirts, attack dozens of activists in hong kong, after another day of chaotic pro democracy protests. Iran hoists its flag on over the seized british tanker, despite calls to defuse tensions. Lets stay with that story now. We stay with that story now and we can speak to drjim walsh, a Research Associate for the Security Studies program at mit. He testified before the us congress in favour of the Iran Nuclear Deal. Hes in cambridge, massachusetts. Thank you so much for your time. You have met with the foreign minister recently, what was his view about these tensions between iran and the uk . A lot happened this week. I had brea kfast uk . A lot happened this week. I had breakfast with him on tuesday and at that point he was offering what i heard had not heard before, which was a more conciliatory tone about the possibility of diplomacy, matched by President Trump s turn which also softened, that was tuesday. My, what a difference a week makes. Because later in the week makes. Because later in the week we had the tit for tat, the us gets back in scores one against iran after the previous downing by iran ofan after the previous downing by iran of an american drone and then you had the taking of the british tango which certainly undermined the position of the minister as he was trying to engage his colleagues. Events quickly overtook the better tone and high diplomacy, thats representative of the situation. Evenif representative of the situation. Even if people are talking nice, everyday something, some miss calculation or mistake, an event can happen that can point us in the wrong direction. Do you think there isa wrong direction. Do you think there is a conflation between the uk s decision to help with the impounding of that tanker of gibraltar and the us policies . I have no idea of to cant speak to that, i will say this, as people grapple with this issue, i would encourage my collea g u es issue, i would encourage my colleagues you think about the sta kes, colleagues you think about the stakes, the stakes. Is this something that someone should wrestle to the matter over . There was no oil in the tanker, was the dishes and on the tanker. The crew is international in the right should be respected but theyre not being mistreated. It seems to me, i know theres a lot of talk and you heard it in the previous part of this interview about rushing more ships to this straight. , it seems to me the diplomacy. Lets swap this out. I just the diplomacy. Lets swap this out. Ijust wonder, about the thinking coming from iran, how unified is the iranian government versus the Iranian Revolutionary guard given they seem to be posturing when it comes to the uk, they raised the flag on the tanker. Its fair to point out that the uk did caesar take a first and they may have been right to do that because of eu sanctions, whatever, it might be technically correct to do that but one wonders about the use of discretion considering things are getting worse as not better in the region. The uss the us has a maximum pressure and is trying to strangle a run economically, iran a look iran economical, theyre going to make a new announcement about the nuclear programme. November six, i dont know it was a great idea to seize this in the first place but your point is correct. Enter one, it is the republic of iran, until has a more decentralised government and Foreign Ministers have the Nuclear Portfolio but im pretty sure the revolutionary guard as the portfolio for the strait of hormuz. It makes it more complex, therefore more likely to break down by mistake and again, i would say people are going to send a bunch of warships to protect tankers, were going to have a small space crowded with a lot of military ships and it seems to me that increases, not decreases the likelihood of mistake. Its such a complicated issue and its developing faster than we can keep up developing faster than we can keep up with almost, doctor tim walsh, thank you so much for your insight. Wildfires are raging in central portugal, with strong winds spreading flames in the Castelo Branco region. Its close to an area of the country where wildfires killed more than 60 people two years ago. Rhodri davies reports. Summers bring combustible forests in portugal, and wildfires can make the daytime sky look like night. Hundreds of firefighters are battling these fires across the countrys centre. But others are having to take up the fight themselves. Amid the groups of the brave, some asked why they were confronting these annual infernos. Translation there must be something that can be done. I do not know if there is anyone interested in doing it. But those in power should see that all this is against peoples interests. Firefighters managed to get two fires under control, but only after several people were injured by fires that had started on saturday in the mountainous Castelo Branco region north of lisbon. They spread elsewhere, abetted by high temperatures and atlantic winds. Police say theyve arrested a 55 year old man on suspicion of starting a fire. Another year, another wildfire, another arrest, leaving portuguese wishing their beautiful summers were less cruel. Rhodri davies, bbc news. Southwestern japan has been lashed by heavy rain as a typhoon passed across the korean peninsula, leaving several injured. Evacuation orders were issued for parts of the country. Japans Meteorological Agency has warned of further rain and mudslides. Thousands have also been evacuated following torrential rain in southern china. Qandeel shaam has more. The heavy rain has not let up. Southern japan continues to be battered by torrential rain, brought by typhoon danas over the weekend. There are flood warnings and fears of landslides in kyushu. Hardest hit are northern parts of the island. Some cities broke records, with the heaviest rain observed in a six hour period. The resident is downpour has forced many to evacuate. Translation i heard thunder and then the rain came. It was so heavy. The road in front of my house was already under water so i decided to evacuate. Fears are heightened after last years rainy season in which more than 200 people died. In china, things arent much better. Torrential rain that lasted for days caused major torrents and damaged roads. For some the evacuation call came too late. Translation the water rushed inside the house all of a sudden, leaving us no time to flee. No one got hurt but many personal belongings were washed away. The heavy rain lasted for half an hour and the flood went up to the table top. The rains also ravaged south asia, killing more than 150 people in india, bangladesh, nepal since the start of the monsoon. Thousands more have been left homeless. As the rainy season continues, the danger of flooding is never far away. Qandeel shaam, bbc news. Early results suggest the party led by ukraines new president , the comedian volodymyr zelensky, has won the most votes in the countrys parliamentary elections. But it seems he has failed to gain an overall majority and will need a Coalition Partner to form a government. Mr zelensky called the snap vote after his plans for reform were blocked by mps. Our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, reports. As americans celebrate 50 years since Neil Armstrong and buzz aldrin became the first people to set foot on the moon, there are questions about whats next for American Space exploration. President trump has plans for a space force and a journey to mars, but the entrepreneur elon musk is also making a bid to land on mars, so who will win the next space race . Our washington correspondent Chris Buckler has this report. Mission control ignition sequence start. The images of apollo iis mission have become a symbol of what can be accomplished. Its one small step for man. Under the moon and above nasas Johnson Space center, they lit up houstons skies, to mark 50 years since that landing. Just one part of commemorations across a country celebrating american achievement. The decades since havent brought the progress that was promised. I thought at that time, in the 1960s, that by 2000, 2005, we would be on mars. I think its about time we get on with it. Engines and turbo pumps. On the anniversary of the moon landing, a rocket took off from kazakhstan, to take astronauts to the International Space station, including an american. And the United States is now developing new and grander plans for space travel. We are looking to nasa to get us to the moon within the next five years, to lay a foundation to go to mars. But if our traditional partners cant do the job, we are going to look to the private space industry. The technology has certainly advanced from what youll find here at the national air and space museum in washington. Some of the latest leaps are a result of the research being carried out by commercial companies, hoping to take paying passengers into orbit, like Virgin Galactic and blue origin, the Company Founded by the amazon entrepreneurjeff bezos. The only reason that we can do the things that we can do today is because we are in fact standing on the shoulders of giants. Theyve got the flag up now. And yet, five decades on, much remains unknown. Beautiful, just beautiful. And no one can be sure where the next half century of exploration will take us. Chris buckler, bbc news, washington. Kensington palace has released a new set of photos to mark prince georges sixth birthday. The pictures were taken by his mother, the duchess of cambridge. Prince george is shown wearing an england football shirt in one shot. Hes third in line to the throne after his father, prince william, and grandfather, prince charles. Stay with us. You can reach me on twitter im regedahmadbbc. Hello. It has been a bit of a mixed weekend weatherwise but as we head through this coming week, its going to be all eyes on the temperature because things are turning increasingly hot and humid too. Not dry for all of us. Some rain in the north west during the course of monday and later in the week, were expecting some thundery downpours to develop. And the reason for the heat and humidity is that weve got High Pressure sitting to the east of the uk, with the winds rotating around that, drawing in all this hot air from continental europe, and it is particularly hot. In fact, in paris, we could see temperatures up to 42 celsius later this week, which would break the all Time Temperature record recorded in the french capital. Weve had this line of cloud and weather fronts pouring in from the atlantic during sunday night and through the day on monday, theyre going to be bringing further rain, initially across Northern Ireland the west of scotland. Further south, its a mild and quite a murky start to your monday morning so weve got quite a lot of that low cloud, lingering around Western Hills and coasts through the day but elsewhere, the cloud should tend to in and break across much of england, Northern Ireland too. That rain pushing its way northwards, so sitting across western scotland for much of the day were it will be quite heavy and persistent but in the sunshine, temperatures up to about 28 or 29 degrees. Itll feel pleasantly hot monday afternoon and then into monday evening, we eventually lose that wet weather from the north of scotland, lingering through the course of the night, but by tuesday morning, most of us dry with some clear spells, a bit of patchy cloud here and there are those temperatures from the word go will be in the mid to high teens so through the day on tuesday, probably the driest day of the week across the uk. Lots of long spells of sunshine with a southerly breeze, top temperatures by tuesday towards the south east up to about 33 or even 3a degrees. Further north west, were looking at those temperatures into the mid or possibly high 20s so a hot sunny day with light winds on tuesday but as we had to tuesday night, its going to be fairly warm, fairly uncomfortable for sleeping. In fact, about 10pm, temperatures still nearly 30 degrees so youll certainly notice that things are going to feel pretty sticky through the course of tuesday night and with all that humidity, heavy showers and thunderstorms are possible, theyre likely to push northwards tuesday night and through the course of wednesday, some uncertainty about where they are going to be, probably the north and west. The south east likely to stay dry through the day on wednesday and here, temperatures could well reach about 32 degrees or so. Again, it is another hot day for most of us but a little fresher in the far north west. Things continue to heat up later in the week. 35 in london on thursday but do watch out more heavy and thundery showers, mainly in the north west. Bye for now. This is bbc news. The headlines gangs of mystery men dressed in white t shirts have attacked dozens of activists in hong kong. Around 30 people are said to have been injured. It came at the end of a chaotic day of pro democracy protests which saw Police Fire Tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators. The British Government is said to be considering a series of options for its response to irans seizure of a British Oil Tanker in the strait of hormuz. But amid calls for a deescalation in tensions, iran has raised its flag above the ship replacing the union jack. Raised its flag above the ship replacing the union jack. Authorities in portugal say at least 30 people have been injured by wildfires in the centre of the country. Police say they are investigating several cases of suspected arson. Now on bbc news