Transcripts For BBCNEWS Newsday 20240704

A truce cant come soon enough. In rafah, another day of harrowing loss. Palestinians mourn for 20 members of the abu ansa family, killed in their beds by an israeli air strike, according to Hospital Officials and gazas civil defence. Among the dead, five month old twins, as old as the war. They were laid down gently with their relatives. Their mother spent ten years trying to have them and endured three rounds of ivf. Now all she can cradle is their baby clothes. I gave birth during the war, she says. It started on saturday, i gave birth next friday. I didnt get enough of them, i swear i didnt get enough. I have no one else, she says. They have gone with their father. We were sleeping, i swear. Israel continues to say it takes feasible precautions to lessen civilian harm. There were about 35 people in the house, says farouk abu ansa. Most were children. There were no fighters. The house collapsed on them, three or four storeys. In israel, too, families and anguish. Their loved ones trapped in tunnels in gaza. They need to be released now. This weekend, they have been pleading with their government to do a deal to bring the hostages back home. Ofer is a very warm person. You can see his smile he is a family person. He has four children, lovely children. How hard is this time for the family . This wait must seem endless. It is like hell, you know. We are in some kind of loop since the 7th of october. We are living this day every day again and again. We have only one goal all these days to bring him back alive to his family, to his children. This is the only thing that matters. But there will be no homecoming for ofer or any of the israeli hostages without a ceasefire. And no respite for mothers burying their children in gaza. Orla guerin, bbc news, tel aviv. The us Vice President has called for an immediate ceasefire in gaza. Kamala harris said that people there were starving, and has called on israel to do more to increase the flow of aid into the territory. They must open new border crossings. They must not impose any unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid. They must ensure humanitarian personnel, sites and convoys are not targeted. And they must work to Restore Basic services and promote order in gaza so more food, water and fuel can reach those in need. Jon alterman is director of The Middle East program at the center for strategic and international studies. I spoke with him earlier and started by asking what the hurdles have been when it comes to reaching a deal on a ceasefire. There is not an agreement. Israel says they cease fire comes when hostages are released. Hamas has not yet agreed to the terms that reportedly the israelis have agreed to and brokered by the americans, the egyptians and qataris. I think there is hope that within the next week, before ramadan starts next weekend, there will be in agreement, but there is no certainty. We understand that harris is set to hold a meeting with benny gantz, a member of israels war cabinet, but a long time rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What should we read into it . I think its an effort by benny gantz to try to begin to move politically against Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu has his own difficult political history with american president s. In 2015, Benjamin Netanyahu arranged with Congressional Republicans to a joint address to Congress Without telling the white house first in order to undermine support for the iran nuclear deal. In some ways you might see this as payback that the biden team is welcoming the person who is likely to be netanyahus primary political rival to the white house, and it could be the beginning of a break in israeli politics. The biden team is saying look, we have tools to play your politics too. Does it mean theyre trying to put pressure on Benjamin Neta nyahu 7 the us, i mean. The us has been trying to put pressure on netanyahu, and netanyahu has said he is not going to do what the us want him to do. Theres been a lot of pressure already about letting humanitarian supplies into gaza. The us really wanted the level of violence to pan down at the beginning ofjanuary, and it didnt nearly as much. There has been a lot of tension. We have heard reports that there have been some pretty heated phone conversations. The thing from a Biden Administration perspective, its very hard to convince foreign leaders to do things they really think are against their national interest, and biden, people say, has been looking politically weak, not being able to get a state like israel, which gets billions of dollars of support from the united states, yet when the us says you need to conduct a war in a different way, Benjamin Netanyahu says but i wont. Coming back to events on the ground. The muslim holy month of ramadan is a week away, that is the deadline that israel has set for hamas to free all hostages or face a Ground Offensive in rafah. What do you see happening . I would guess that negotiations would ultimately be concluded successfully. Im not sure how much before ramadan. It might even be a day or two into ramadan. Each side wants to extract as much as it can out of the negotiations. Neither side wants to look weak or like its rushing. It feels to me like the signals are pointing to both sides feeling like they need to take a breather here. A deal needs to at least have the shape that people are willing to accept. So my guess is maybe not by march 10th or 11th, but certainly by the 12th or 13th, we are likely to have a six week pause. Striking Junior Doctors in south korea are facing a tough decision. The government has repeated its back to work orders, warning they must return to theirjobs now, or risk losing their licences or facing criminal prosecution. An estimated 20,000 people turned up for a doctors� rally in seoul on sunday. They are protesting seouls plans to sharply increase the number of Medical School places. The president of Seoul Medical Association park myung ha says the government needs to negotiate with doctors. Translation what we are demanding translation what we are demanding is translation what we are demanding is to translation what we are demanding is to start translation what we are demanding is to start the i demanding is to start the discussion from the beginning. The government says they have discussed the issue many times with doctors, but it is a lie. The president has been implementing the plan to increase Meniscal School Quotas by 2000 and Officials Say they will not reconsider the plan. We want the government to go back to the beginning and start furnace negotiations with doctors. Ernest negotiations. Professor kwon soonman from the school of Public Health at Seoul National university. I spoke with him earlier and asked him if the strike has been effective and if the doctors will be returning to work. I dont think so because in the past, the history of Health Reform in korea, doctors or medical associations have never been defeated, because at the last moment the government took a step back and yielded to and listened to what they want. So, because of that history, i do not think the medical association or trainee doctors would be back to workplace quite soon. The doctors must know that the public support has largely been with the government and not with them, so what do you make of their argument it is not about a fear of competition, but about wider Health Care Issues . I think they are lying, im sorry to tell this. The korean Healthcare System is predominantly private, so that means that increased numbers of doctors means more competition, and decrease the possibility, i mean, lower income for them. So, thats the only reason they have the strikes, and high public support for the government means that now the public is fully understanding the implications of the increase in the number of doctors. So, it is quite true that the only reason the doctors, especially the medical association, what they want, what they are worried about, the increased supply of doctors will definitely result in the decreased income for them. So how do the doctors have a leg to stand on . Do they have legal rights to carry out this protests, are theyjust not scared of what the korean government was due to them . As i mentioned, in the history of the reform, doctors always won the conflict with the government, but there is another change, recently, such as in the last year, there is revision of those health laws, which makes it possible for the government to punish doctors when they leave the workplace. I think that is one change. Another one is, in the past, even if doctors, even when their licenses have been revoked, it is has been quite easy to get the licenses back with a minimum retraining and some committed decisions. But now the government is clearly maintaining that it becomes more difficult to get the licenses back once they are revoked. So this is a new change in the licensing system, so that is one of the reasons the government is stronger than previous governments in saying that it is a quite Strong Political will to go ahead and be tough with the doctors. The uks chancellor has said he wants to show a path towards tax cuts in wednesdays budget, but that any reductions would be prudent. Jeremy hunt is under pressure from some conservative mps to reduce taxes before a general election, widely expected later in the year. But the governments also facing a bleaker than expected economic forecast. Our Political Correspondent Hannah Miller reports. A chancellor who some have said was dealt a terrible economic hand. As he prepares to do this again, hes trying to improve his pa rty� s fortunes. This morning, jeremy hunt was keeping his cards close to his chest as he toured the tv studios. But he did give this hint. I do want, where its possible to do so responsibly, to move towards a lower tax economy, and i hope to show a path in that direction. But this will be a prudent and responsible budget for long term growth. With roughly £13 billion to play with, thats less than hed hoped for. The chancellor is scrabbling around for ways to find more cash that would allow him to reduce taxes. And labour arent saying whether theyd prioritise tax cuts or not. So would you bring down taxes now . Well, we want to bring the tax burden down in the long run, but were not going to promise anything which is not completely responsible and fully funded and fully costed. And youll see all of our plans in the manifesto for getting the economy growing because that Economic Growth is so crucial to making People Better off, and for getting that sustainable revenue for public services. Behind the doors of number 11, the calculations are both financial and political. The chancellor is under enormous pressure from conservative backbenchers to deliver tax cuts on a scale that they think they can sell on the doorstep. But the economy is in recession, Interest Rates are still relatively high compared to recent years, and evenjeremy hunts power to do anything that makes people feel significantly better off is limited. And hes reined in by a target of Getting National debt falling in five years time, a rule one former Bank Of England Economist Says should be tweaked. He isnt convinced that the chancellors plans for growth will come off. People are still feeling poorer, and theyre feeling poorer, laura, because they are poorer. The tax take is going up, not down. Monetary policy is getting tighter, not looser. And all of those are big headwinds for growth that make me think this is another year of sogginess. And as the work to dot the is and cross the ts of wednesdays budget gets under way, the chancellor and the Prime Minister know it will take a significant announcement before many voters can smile about the budgeting theyre doing at home. Hannah miller, bbc news. Around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. Bringing you different stories from across the uk. Bringing you different stories from across the uk. There have been times from across the uk. There have been times when from across the uk. There have been times when tom from across the uk. There have been times when tom hughes i been times when tom hughes thought about quitting athletics, but he kept going, hoping that one day he would jump hoping that one day he would jump higher than ever before. Eases over that one it reinvigorated my motivation. My hih reinvigorated my motivation. My highiob reinvigorated my motivation. My Highjob Career is probably starting Highjob Career is probably starting to look at what i can achieve starting to look at what i can achieve i starting to look at what i can achieve. I can do a lot more. There achieve. I can do a lot more. There are achieve. I can do a lot more. There are a achieve. I can do a lot more. There are a lot of times i thought there are a lot of times i thought it was not going to happen thought it was not going to happen. It thought it was not going to ha en. , thought it was not going to ha en. ,. , ~ thought it was not going to ha en. ,. ~ , happen. It has taken hughes seven years happen. It has taken hughes seven years to happen. It has taken hughes seven years to jump happen. It has taken hughes seven years to jump three i seven years to jump three centimetres higher but now he has raised the bar and the old bounce is back. Initially not invited to the uk indoor championships, he was not expecting to figure in the metals but on the day he found what i jumper metals but on the day he found what ijumper is called the pmp � what ijumper is called the pomp it was called the golden day and a pb with a silver lining. Youre live with bbc news. Iranian media says that results so far in fridays elections show that hard liners and conservatives have won most of the seats. With ballots still being counted, it also still looks as if the turnout will be the lowest in the history of the islamic republic. The bbc� s Caroline Davies was given rare permission to report from inside iran, and has been speaking to people there. Iran is yet to announce its official results for the election but there are still some early indications from state media about turnout. This is one of the state newspapers. Here it says the turnout is at a1 across the country, and here, in the capital tehran, it is at 24 . Now, these figures have not been finalised yet but if these are correct, a1 is thought to be a historically low turnout for iran during these parliamentary elections. It is difficult to get a sense here in iran about exactly how many people are feeling. Many people dont want to speak to foreign media, particularly on camera. But we were able to speak to a few about what life is like in the country at the moment. Translation conditions are really hard here. We dont have income. We dont have work. The cost of living is high. Elections happened on friday. Do you think that might change anything . Translation no, i i dont have any hope. There has been a lot of elections but the situation hasnt really changed. Translation the value of our currency keeps going down on a daily basis, which is causing inflation and puts a lot of pressure on the iranian people. But the Security Situation is good. It is stable. Irans authorities have given no indication that they are concerned by this low turnout figure. In fact, some have already started calling these elections a success. But throughout the course of our reporting here, it has been clear that many people in iran dont feel engaged with politics, and didnt feel like they wanted to vote because they didnt think anything was going to change. Pakistans newly formed parliament has elected Shehbaz Sharif as Prime Minister for a second term. It comes weeks after a controversial election, marred by allegations of widespread vote rigging. He was elected by 201 92 and will now preside over a coalition that has shut out followers of the jailed Opposition Leader imran khan. Last months election produced no outright winner. Independent candidates backed by imran khans party won the most seats, but failed to get a majority. Our bbc urdu News Reporter in islamabad, sahar baloch, has more. Shehbaz sharif has been elected as the Prime Minister of pakistan for the second time. I heard a lot of shouting and sloganeering inside the parliament today. As soon as Shehbaz Sharif got elected, as announced by the speaker, a lot of people from especially the candidates from the Opposition Parties they surrounded the dais and did not let him speak for a while now. Shehbaz sharif got 201 votes in the parliament today. And this also speaks of the recent elections, the recent general elections in pakistan. They were already being called the most rigged elections by the Opposition Parties. There was a lot of allegations of frauds and irregularities, especially from the pti backed candidates. So imran khan is currently in prison, but his independent candidates who are backed by his party, his pti party, actually won majority of the seats in the in the National Assembly as well. So a lot of people were basically waiting to see who will get elected as the Prime Minister. So the pt had nominated omar ayub as their candidate, but he only scored 92 votes. Now, as Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif has been elected. Now, the bigger question is how will this polarised and unstable parliament face all the challenges . Lets take a look at some other stories in the headlines. Armed gangs in haiti have stomped the capital of port au prince, allowing inmates to escape. Military personnel with ammunition and cars are going to reinforce the prison. Police fired and five people were killed. Hundreds of supporters of the late russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny are queueing for a third consecutive day to visit his grave in moscow. Mourners have added more red, white and yellow flowers to the pile on the grave which is now almost 2m high. It comes just two weeks before elections expected to give president Vladimir Putin another six year term. Malaysias Transport Minister has pledged to restart Search Efforts for mh370 the missing jetliner which mysteriously Disappeared En Route To Beijing almost a decade ago with 239 people on board. Anthony loke was speaking at an annual remembrance event in kuala lumpur. He promised that he would try to sign a new contract to restart a search of the ocean floor. On monday, Emmanuel Macron is set to formally make changes to the french constitution. He is gathering mps and senators to enshrine womens guaranteed freedom to abort a move that is full of symbolism and also political. Pierre Antoine Denis has more from the newsroom. For Emmanuel Macron, this is definitely a win. France is about to be the first country in the world to put abortion in its constitution. For womens rights groups, who have been defending the move, this is widely seen as a guarantee against future changes. Translation its sending | a message that france is not only the country of mens rights, its also the country of womens rights. We hope at least that it will have a symbolic effect with regard to other countries that are trailing behind on this topic. The whole project gained traction shortly after the Roe V Wade Amendment was overturned in the us injune 2022, meaning the end of federal protection on Abortion Rights. Its worth saying that france was already much more advanced than the us on the topic because the abortion right was already enshrined in law. On top of that, 81 of the population in france are in favour of the move. In its 50 year history, abortion has never been challenged, and if anything, when it came to parliament, the bill has already been strengthened nine times. This is probably why it led to a rare moment of almost complete unity in french politics as both mps and senators overwhelmingly voted in favour of the motion. Which begs a question. Was this necessary at all . Was itjust pure symbolism, or was there actually political gain in there . Our paris correspondent Hugh Schofield is writing on that topic on our website saying, Emmanuel Macron is hoping that Abortion Rights are a political winner. Hugh says the president hoped the constitutional revision on abortion might open a clear fault line between his party and its main opponents, marine le pens far right, casting them as reactionaries. In fact, there were some protests from some religious groups against the move by some groups, but it did not gain any political traction whatsoever. It seems that nobody took Emmanuel Macron � s bates. The french president will enjoy his victory lap while giving many women in france a reason to celebrate. Israels Public Broadcaster has requested changes to the lyrics of a song submitted for this years eurovision contest. Organisers disqualified october rain, which makes reference to the attacks by hamas five months ago, for breaking the competitions rules on political neutrality. Israels president has pushed for a change to the lyrics to avoid the country being left out. The Public Broadcaster has now asked for a redrafted version while preserving what it calls its artistic freedom. And finally there was a fond farewell for a panda named fu bao as people in south korea gathered to say goodbye before she leaves for china next month. Fu bao was the first giant panda to be born in south korea to parents who were loaned to the zoo by beijing. Online videos have made her a national celebrity, Prompting Thousands of people to queue up to attend the farewell event. We will leave you with these images of fu bao. Thanks for joining us. More pressure on oil prices as producers agreed to keep cutting production. And Policy Makers in china prepared to meet to relook at how economic challenges might impact the National Peoples congress. Hello and welcome to Asia Business report. Lets start with oil. In the last few hours whiles biggest producers have agreed to extend Production Cuts for an additional three months. Opec plus members led by saudi arabia and russia agreed to continue to cut oil by 3. 2 Million Barrels each day. This puts pressure on prices already feeling the heat from the attacks in the red sea. From mst marquee, they say the meeting has sent a strong signal. I the meeting has sent a strong siunal. ~. The meeting has sent a strong siunal. ,. ,. , signal. I think a degree of exnanding signal. I think a degree of expanding the signal. I think a degree of expanding the cuts signal. I think a degree of expanding the cuts was i signal. I think a degree of expanding the cuts was expected but at expansion and stronger cuts for russia is actually something stronger than perhaps consensus dues in the market was and what you are seeing is it really is a very strong signal from it really is a very strong signalfrom opec it really is a very strong signal from opec plus was only a matter of several weeks ago, unified Opec Plus Group d are particularly after and also someone left the cartel. Now were seeing that there and it also a sign