Transcripts For BBCNEWS Newsday 20240704

On Craig Robertson at his home in utah, just hours ahead of a planned visit to the state by mr biden. Our North America correspondent, nomia iqbal, shared this latest update from washington dc. The details that we have so far is, as you mentioned there, the suspect� s name was Craig Robertson. We understand he was 75 years old. And there was a criminal complaint that had already been filed in the District Court of utah regarding serious concerns about him. So one of the charges that he was facing was threats against the president ive got the criminal complaint in front of me but fbi agents conducted surveillance of his home back in march. They wanted to talk to him about his Social Media Posts. He told them, according to the complaint, to come back with an Arrest Warrant which they did. Now, when you look at the criminal complaint and the evidence that they had compiled against him, it included Social Media Posts that hed put up. And theyre very dark messages. They show violence towards President Biden and other notable democrats, also glorifying guns. One particular post which worried agents and that has been cited in the criminal complaint is when he posted, i hear biden is coming to utah. Cleaning the dust off the m21; sniper rifle. Welcome, buffoon in chief. Now, we havent been given any details on exactly what led to the shooting, although our partner station cbs says Law Enforcement sources told them that there was a gunfire of some sort, and the fbi told the bbc in a statement that theyre following their policy, which is to now refer the case to the agency for a review. In other news. President biden has signed an Executive Order that would ban certain Us Investment in Sensitive Technology in china. It is the latest twist in china us tension and comes at a time when chinas Economic Growth is slowing. Joshua meltzer is a Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the brookings institution. I asked him what exactly the latest Executive Order targets. This is something the administration has been preparing for quite a number of months now. Theyve been running it through the traps, doing the Interagency Process to get it right. And its really about complementing all the other Export Restrictions and Investment Screening Tools that the administration has put in place, with respect to access by the Chinese Communist party to what the us considers to be Critical Technologies for its National Security purpose. And this is essentially a complement to that, by restricting certain types of Outbound Investments investments from the us into china into a range of what it considers to be sensitive technologies critical to National Security. And its identified essentially three sectors that it considers critical, which are semiconductors, quantum and artificial intelligence. Clearly, beijing wont be happy about this, but at the same time, some in america say that its not as restrictive as they had hoped. Whats your assessment . I think thats right. There have been different proposals out there from other members of congress. In terms of restricting Us Investment, some have gone considerably further. This has really got two components to it. One is to essentially require notification to the treasury of certain transactions, so that would primarily apply to potential investments in what the administration wants to narrow down as a subset of artificial intelligence. And then when it comes to semiconductors and quantum, the us is looking to prohibit those investments. But, again, these are going to be subsets of investments in those sectors, so quite narrowly targeted and very focused at the end of the day on the types of technologies that the administration considers critical for National Security. And before we let you go, i just want to ask you about Senate Democratic leader chuck schumer� s comment praising this, saying that for too long, American Money has helped fuel the chinese military� s rise. Is this true . And would this Executive Order help stop that . I think what probably needs to be kept in mind is that access to capital, per se, is not something that is holding back chinese investment. If you look at this e0 this Executive Order closely, i think what the concern of the administration is, the types of intangible know how and sort of skills and connections that these types of Venture Capital investments, for instance, bring with them when they make those investments. So the less capital that may be coming from the us, i dont think is going to make a difference in terms of access to capital broadly in china for these types of investments, but the concern, really, is the type of know how that comes along with this capital, and i think thats where the e0 is going to be primarily focused. In hawaii, wildfires fanned by strong winds from Hurricane Dora have burned buildings on an island of maui. At least 13,000 people have been evacuated. Fire crews are tackling fires in multiple sites but the winds have grounded firefighting helicopters. About an hour ago, President Biden ordered all available federal assets on the island to help with the response and pointed out that the National Guard has now mobilised helicopters. Earlier, the mayor of maui gave an update. Im sad to Report Thatjust before coming on this, it was confirmed to me that six fatalities that we were able to confirm. And were still in a Search And Rescue mode, and so i dont know what will happen to that number. Weve had many dwellings, businesses, structures that have burnt, many of them to the ground, mostly in our Lahaina Neighbourhoods and our lahaina area. The fires are just the latest in a series of fires we have seen Around The World this summer. Last month, on the greek Island Of Rhodes thousands of tourists had to flee their hotels as wildfires ravaged the holiday hotspot. Blazes on la palma in the spanish Canary Island force thousands from their homes as well. And wildfires in canada, smoke drifting down as far as new york where the sky turned orange. Now, iwant new york where the sky turned orange. Now, i want to tell you about yemen, the poorest country in the arab world that has been brought to the brink of collapse by almost a decade of collapse by almost a decade of civil war. Back in 2014, Ruthie Forces seized the capital than a Saudi Led Coalition supported by britain and america intervened at the houthis have not been dislodged and still control some areas of the north where most of the population live. Few places have suffered more that taiz, a city which for more than 3000 days has been besieged by houthi forces. 0ur Senior International correspondent 0rla guerin spent several days in the citys main hospital. Every second counts. And war has taught them to be quick. It has honed their skills. At this hospital, doctors patch up some of the latest broken bodies. This time, it is government troops, hit by a houthi drone. 0ne soldier, called 0mar, couldnt be saved. Another is rushed away for treatment elsewhere. Anyone can be a target here, notjust men in uniform. Hanadi knows all too well. Every painful step reminds her of the war, and herfamily struggles to pay for her treatment. A sniper shot her in the back, her father qasim tells me. That was in 2016. The bullet is still lodged inside her. Are you very worried about the future for hanadi . Yes, he says, i am worried for her because she is a girl. I wish it happened to me and not her. I wish the sniper had shot me and not her. This is the biggest hospital in a city that has been a battleground for years. These days, in taiz and in yemen, it is not all out war but it is not peace, either. The guns are quieter but this hospital is still receiving plenty of patients wounded by the conflict. Like mohammed, who is seven and crying for his mother. His dressing needs to be changed. It is hard for his father, alwan, to watch. Mohammed lost Three Fingers when he picked up an explosive device. He was playing on the roof of his home. Translation he is scared because his hand is gone. L he is very scared. He cant do anything. He cant even hold a pen. In the hospitals busy prosthetics clinic, they try to replace what war has taken away. But these artificial limbs are basic and it is traumatic here, even for the doctors, who see many young amputees. It must be very hard for you to see the children like this. It is so bad. Translation our heart ache when we see children look to live and enjoy life needing amputations. Next door, a regular Physiotherapy Session for shaimaa, who has been walking this path for years. A landmine took her leg and killed herfriend. Shaimaa is determined to be a lawyer, and at 12 years old, she is the voice of a generation in yemen. Translation children here suffer. They have lost their arms and legs. They dont go out and play like other children Around The World. They play in comfort, but we play in fear. Wejust stand by the doors of our homes. When we hear shelling or gunfire, we run back inside. What would you like to say to the International Community, to the world, about what is happening here in yemen . Translation why dont you see the children of taiz . Why all this neglect . Are we not humans in your eyes . Across town, an honour guard for omar, the soldier killed in the houthi drone strike. One more death in a long war, and few here see a chance for peace. 0rla guerin, bbc news, taiz. Around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. Voiceover bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. Logging the weekly shop the wrong way around. Logging the weekly shop the wrong way around. Noone will deliver here wrong way around. Noone will deliver here so wrong way around. Noone will deliver here so resident wrong way around. Noone will deliver here so resident have. Deliver here so resident have to take this route every time they went out from the cost of their homes. They flashed they wanted to get. Ii their homes. They flashed they wanted to get. Wanted to get. If my neighbour would not wanted to get. If my neighbour would not have wanted to get. If my neighbour would not have any wanted to get. If my neighbour would not have any stuff would not have any stuff if i did not do his shopping. For two years did not do his shopping. For two years it did not do his shopping. For two years it has did not do his shopping. For two years it has been like this. The bridge was closed in 2021 because of concerns it might collapse under its own weight. Some replacement it could be open to pedestrians 18 months ago by the council has no date four when things will get back to normal. fir no date four when things will get back to normal. No date four when things will get back to normal. Or we get when we get back to normal. Or we get when we try get back to normal. Or we get when we try to get back to normal. Or we get when we try to contact get back to normal. Or we get when we try to contact them l get back to normal. Or we get| when we try to contact them is the fact they are monitoring the fact they are monitoring the bridge. I mean, how long does it take to monitor the bridge. Does it take to monitor the brid. E. Does it take to monitor the bride. ,. Does it take to monitor the bride. Bridge. The council said it was com lex bridge. The council said it was complex and bridge. The council said it was complex and challenging bridge. The council said it was complex and challenging and l complex and challenging and repairs were ongoing and thank the residents for their patients. It said all Emergency Services had been given the code to the gate. For more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. Youre live with bbc news. An incident involving the philippines and china and a disputed part of the South China Sea this week is marco warrap words between the two countries. In a later salvo, the philippines president said the philippines president said the country will not be removing a world war ii era ship that has been grounded in a schole in the contested Spratly Islands. Earlier this week, the philippine coastguard accused its chinese counterpart of Firing Water Cannon at vessels that were carrying supplies for filipino soldiers aboard the grounded ship. For more on this, we bring in International Law expert Donald Rockwell of Australian National university Who Joins Oslo from canberra. Thank you forjoining us on the programme who joins us from. This isjust us on the programme who joins us from. This is just the latest but in the South China Sea. Can you tell us why this area is so important to china and other countries . Area is so important to china and other countries . Well, of course, chinas and other countries . Well, of course, chinas position and other countries . Well, of course, chinas position is course, chinas position is reflected in the lyvius line which encompasses much of the South China Sea including the Spratly Islands group and the schole where this clash occurred there is also an expectation that the region is rich in fish stocks and there is a significant Fishing Activity and industry carried out there, but also the potential for oil and out there, but also the potentialfor oil and gas potential for oil and gas reserves to potentialfor oil and gas reserves to be extracted from the seabed of the South China Sea. ,. ,. , sea. China claims the territory as art sea. China claims the territory as part of sea. China claims the territory as part of its sea. China claims the territory as part of its historical as part of its historical boundaries, but International Law does not recognise that claim. But with russias invasion of ukraine, for example, International Law was totally ignored as a professor in International Law how can you make sure that all of these countries follow the law . I think that is an excellent point and that is a matter that the International Community is increasingly concerned about in terms of the role of major superpower dates apparently ignoring International Law and the russian invasion of ukraine in 2022 is perhaps the best example of that, we also need to be mindful that, as you know, there is a 2016 decision of an International Arbitral tribunal was conclusively determined that this area of dispute is part of the philippines exclusive Economic Zone and that china has no territorial or maritime roads especially with response to this schole. There is a need for the major states in the major powers within this region to constantly reinforce to china the importance of the rules based International Order and respect for upholding International Law shoal. But International Law shoal. But it is same International Law shoal. But it is same time International Law shoal. But it is same time is International Law shoal. But it is same time is stand off like this keep happening and possibly escalating, what are the stakes . The stakes . Well, the stakes are that the the stakes . Well, the stakes are that the united the stakes . Well, the stakes are that the United States i the stakes . Well, the stakes. Are that the United States this week has warned china that of course the 1951 us Philip Mutual Defence Treaty allows for the United States to come to the aid of the philippines if there is a use of force by china in terms of these actions in this conduct. Its quite clear that the United States has indicated which side is on in terms of this dispute and if china goes beyond the use of water cannon and actually uses force in terms of trying to prevent the philippine coastguard or perhaps even the Philippine Navy from Resupplying The Garrison at Second Thomas Shoal we could be looking at a real firecracker situation arising in the region. Situation arising in the reuion. , situation arising in the region situation arising in the reuion. ,. , , region. Yes, of course, because us china region. Yes, of course, because us china tensions region. Yes, of course, because us china tensions have region. Yes, of course, because us china tensions have been. Us china tensions have been quite high and this isjust one of many disputes that china has, doesnt it, including issues like taiwan, which is a very hot top deck when it comes to tensions between beijing and washington. So the whole region, east asia and Southeast Asian asia and the South China Sea has all these tensions between china and its neighbouring states. And increasingly the United States and other powers like the united kingdom, france, and countries like australia very actively engaged in terms of trying to ensure that there is some semblance of order maintained within the region and constantly reminding china of the importance of maintaining the respect for the rules based International Order. Rulesbased International Order. �. ,. Order. And to that end, china is a party order. And to that end, china is a party of order. And to that end, china is a party of the order. And to that end, china is a party of the 1982 order. And to that end, china is a party of the 1982 Un Is A Party of the 1982 Un Convention on more of the sea, which lays down the framework for the resolution of these issues and indeed recognises the entitlements that china has of its own coastline. Of its own coastline. Donald rothwell of its own coastline. Donald rothwell of of its own coastline. Donald rothwell of australian of its own coastline. Donald. Rothwell of Australian National university, thank you so much forjoining us on usdate this morning. Newsday. 41 migrants have drowned off the italian island of lampedusa after their boat capsized. 45 people, including three children, had been on the vessel, which set off from the tunisian city of sfax last thursday. Four survivors, originally from the ivory coast and guinea, gave their accounts to coastguards after being brought ashore. The three men and a woman had initially been rescued by a cargo ship. These pictures show Rescue Workers helping migrants in trouble around the lampedusa coast at the weekend, one of several rescues in recent days. Our rome correspondent, sofia bettiza, has this report. Our reporter has been taking a closer look. This video from Doctors Without Borders shows one of the vessels going to be a of a boat packed with migrants in the mediterranean this week. The Central Mediterranean route from north africa to europe is one of the deadliest in the world. Take a look at this map from the International Organisation for migration. It shows deaths through migration since 2014. Globally, there have been over 57,000, but you can see the majority of those are in the mediterranean region. Indeed, the organisation says this year alone, more than 1800 people have died or are missing in the Central Mediterranean. And you only have to take a look at some of the reports on the bbc news website to see how that figure comes about. For example, back injune, 78 people died in the greek boat disaster, while the italian Migrant Boat Shipwreck Back in february killed at least 60 people. And off the coast of tunisia in march, at least 29 people died. Talking of tunisia, the authorities there have told us that this year alone, they have recovered 900 bodies in maritime incidents in the Central Mediterranean, but they also say that around 34,000 people have been rescued or intercepted by them. Now to give you a sense of the scale of the issue that were talking about, the United Nations Refugee Agency says that this year alone so far, 90,000 migrants have arrived in italy. The majority of those are from tunisia or neighbouring libya. Mickey shuler reporting there. Senior Police Officers in Northern Ireland will be questioned by politicians on thursday about a data breach which has caused huge worry among thousands of staff. The policing board, which holds the Chief Constable to account, is holding an Emergency Meeting. On tuesday they had published the names and workplaces of all the staff by mistake, blaming human error. A second data breach involving the names of over 200 staff was stolen from the back of a police vehicle. Our ireland correspondent chris page has more. In this part of the uk, the risks which police face are particularly stark. Members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland take far reaching measures to protect their identities. But yesterday, information appeared online about all 10,000 staff, both officers and civilians. They havent told their family what they do and now it is all out there and they are really frightened, actually. The bbc has spoken to two serving officers. One told us. Another said. This local councillor, who left the police two years ago, is familiar with the threat. Anyone who has an officers name in mind to target will want to know two things, where they live and where they work. This breach of their personal data has done half thejob for them. During the conflict known as the troubles, more than 300 Police Officers were killed. Attacks are much more rare now. However, officers still face challenges which come with community divisions. Earlier this year, paramilitaries tried to murder a detective. John caldwell was shot by the new ira, a dissident Republican Organisation which is opposed to the peace process. Political leaders say the Security Situation makes the data breach all the more concerning. What we need to do now is get to the bottom of it, we need to find out how it happened and why it happened. What i want to see now is a robust response from the senior command of the psni to deal with this very serious security breach. What is known so far is that the problem came about after a routine request for data under freedom of information laws. But the police also released a huge excel spreadsheet by mistake, containing the personal details. This afternoon, the police said they were investigating another breach. It involves the theft of documents from a car, including the names of 200 workers. The Chief Constable, simon byrne, has cut short his holiday to try to deal with the crisis. Tomorrow, there will be an Emergency Meeting of the Northern Ireland policing board, where politicians hold Senior Officers to account. The data leak has caused worry, anger and fear, and generated the most serious of questions about potential consequences. Chris page, bbc news, belfast. And before we go, its something we have all heard for many years, about 10,000 steps per day is the ideal number to stay healthy and fit. A new study has found that fewer than 5000 steps may be enough to see a benefit. A study of 226,000 people Around The World show that 4000 steps a day helps to reduce the risks of dying prematurely of any cause stop and if you cant manage 4000 steps a day theres new Research Found that just 2300 steps were enough to benefit the heart and blood vessels. Speaking of moving along, that is it for this edition of newsday. Thank you so much were watching the programme. Hello there. Heatwave conditions across the globe have been dominating Weather Headlines in recent weeks. And this week, we saw a return to heat across iberia. On wednesday afternoon in southern spain, we saw a high of 44 degrees, 111 fahrenheit. We are tapping into some of that warmth across the uk not as extreme. It was a pleasant day on wednesday. Thursday, it will be warmer still, with temperatures perhaps peaking at 27, possibly 28 degrees. Thats 82 fahrenheit. But widespread warmth is expected generally across the country, and thats because weve got High Pressure with us for another day. However, this frontal system is going to start to push in late on thursday. A beautiful start, lots of blue sky, lots of sunshine coming through. Little bit of cloud and mist and murk down to the south west may linger first thing, a little more cloud into Northern Ireland and southern scotland as we go through the day. But on the whole, with light winds and a warm, muggy start, those temperatures will respond widely into the mid 20s, possibly, as i say, as high as 27 or 28 degrees. But that cold front is expected to arrive during thursday evening, pushing into Northern Ireland, and then it will really start to pep up as it moves its way across scotland. Itll be quite light and patchy through central and south eastern england. A band of cloud through the night, but the rain, the brighter colours denoting the intensity, will be sitting in Scotland First thing on friday morning. With the cloud, the wind and the rain and still that southerly breeze, its going to be a muggy, sticky start, really, to friday. Some of that rain will take its time to clear as well in scotland, clinging onto the Northern Isles with a stronger breeze here. But elsewhere, with a light south westerly wind starting to pick up through the day, its a case of sunny spells and blustery showers, the showers few and far between. Most of us will continue to see sunshine and, again, some warmth, temperatures widely into the mid 20s. Now, as we move out of friday into the start of the weekend, we see a return to low pressure once again. Closest to the low, thats where were likely to see the wettest of the weather and the strongest of the winds once again. Its not going to be quite as severe as the weekends just past. And in fact, parts of england and wales should stay largely fine and dry, but a noticeable drop in the feel of the weather, with the risk of some showers the further north and west you are. Take care. The United States unveils its long awaited order limiting certain American Investments in chinas tech sector. And we look at our sri lankas economy is making a comeback thanks to its tourism industry. Hi there, welcome to Asia Business report, with me mariko oi. Our top story this morning as we told you on newsday, us President Joe Biden has a slapped new restrictions on American Investments in chinas high tech sector. The long awaited Executive Order targets Industries Like semiconductors and artificial intelligence. It is expected to come into effect next year. This is a new front of the tech well between two global superpowers. The restrictions prevent capital from some