first to gave up at 15 and i think to be the first to admit it was in his forte and that first to admit it was in his forte and that he first to admit it was in his forte and that he did struggle with some of the and that he did struggle with some of the concepts. borisjohnson. hello, i m matthew amroliwala, welcome to verified live, hopes are rising at some of the 240 people taken by hamas could soon be freed. president biden saying he believes a deal to secure the release of hostages being held by hamas in gaza is near. the latest indication we heard earlier, the optimism from the americans. but the us president nowjoining that by saying he feels that the release of some of those hostages is near. we will obviously return to the us president is saying. qatar is mediating saying only very minor operations two obstacles in the way. israel s ambassador to the us had earlier said, a significant number of hostages could be freed in the coming days, in exchange fo
arriving in north east scotland later. details throughout the programme. good morning. it s monday, the 20th of november. our main story. it s the start of a big week for the covid inquiry, which will hear evidence from the high profile doctors and scientists who helped to shape and explain the government s response to the pandemic. the former chief scientific adviser, sir patrick vallance, whose diaries from that time accused boris johnson of chaotic leadership, will appear today, followed by professor sir chris whitty, jonathan van tam and damejenny harries over the coming days. our health reporter jim reed reports. patrick, over to you. thank you very much. numbers are increasing and they re increasing across europe and in the uk. sir patrick vallance was up there at the downing street podium in some of the darkest days of the pandemic. we re also recommending increased social distancing. that s the phrase that you hear. already the inquiry has heard extracts from his priv
and terrorist infrastructure . as the weather worsens across the region, the situation on the ground for hundreds of thousands of people who have fled south in gaza in recent days and weeks will become much tougher. we can check on the humanitarian situation on the ground. live now to ramallah where we re joined byjohn entwistle, spokesperson from the international federation of the red cross. thank you for speaking to us on bbc news. heavy rain with us. i assume the same way you are and in up give usa the same way you are and in up give us a sense of the situation on the ground this morning. us a sense of the situation on the ground this morning. thank you for the time. ground this morning. thank you for the time- as ground this morning. thank you for the time. as you ground this morning. thank you for the time. as you rightly ground this morning. thank you fori the time. as you rightly report, the situation the time. as you rightly report, the situation is the t
And looks to push shares higher with a big money Share Buyback. Banking on big profits hsbc rakes billions of dollars and looks to push shares higher with a big money Share Buyback. And china cools the worlds second biggest Economy Saw Manufacturing growth slow last month, fuelling fears that chinese growth is on the slide. Welcome to World Business report. Im sally bundock. Also in the programme, we will show you a robot that can crack open your safe. First of all that silly when on the latest numbers coming from europes biggest bank, hsbc, reporting its earnings in the last 30 minutes. It made a pre tax profit of 5. 28 billion in the Second Quarter of this year. A from 4. 6 billion the previous time and analysts were expecting a high number but not as big as that. It announced a Share Buyback as many we predict in, looking at 2 billion worth. It looks to make the most of its huge cash pile. The move will effectively restrict the supply of hsbc shares in the marketplace of course and
Rachel Maddow takes a look at the days top political news stories. James comey. It also only mize if the case in question is closely connected to politics. Thats whats important about the big new development. The Wall Street Journal was first on report in detail on the type of charges that federal prosecutors may be considering against the president s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. If it is kregt, the charges he is facing from prosecutors are not related to politics at all. At least not at face value. In quote, previously unreported developments, federal prosecutors in new york are examining whether mr. Cohen committed tax fraud. Quote, federal authorities are assessing whether his income from his. At Ai Medallion Business was underreported. That includes hundred of thousands received in cash and other payments over the last five years. In addition, federal authorities have been investigating whether he made misrepresentations or
false statements on lone applications including whether