Welcome to bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and Around The World. We begin in cyprus, where a Spanish Charity ship carrying vital supplies is preparing to set sail for gaza, along a new maritime aid corridor. Its been loaded with around 200 tonnes of food and medical supplies. But, without a working port, its not clear yet where the ship will actually dock or how its cargo will be distributed inside gaza. 0ur middle east correspondent Quentin Somerville is in the Port City Of Larnaca in cyprus and sent us this report. Its a drop in the ocean of gazas need, but this is the first direct aid shipment by sea about to leave cyprus. The spanish ship the open arms, seen here in larnaca port, getting ready to set sail. It has a long journey ahead of it. The barge has 200 tonnes of desperately needed essentials rice, flour and pre prepared meals. This has taken months in planning. The cargo was loaded all weekend. The final Security Clearances from israel came through in the last few
Business headlines. Us Investment Firm Elliott Advisors has walked away from making a takeover bid for currys after being rejected by the retailers board in its own words multiple times. It had initially proposed an offer that valued the electricals chain at £700 million, and later raised it to 757 million. But currys rebuffed the approaches, saying they significantly undervalued the business. Currys could still receive a bid from chinasjd. Com, which said last month it was mulling an offerfor the firm. Earlier i spoke with russ mould, Investment Director at the stockbrokers aj bell. There is but it it will focus on what the two main shareholders in currys have got to say, redwheel and frasers. Any bid will have to get their approval and one can only assume that wasnt forthcoming this time. They said it undervalued the business. It is rare we are in a position where we are talking about a high street retailer at the centre of a possible bidding war. We thought that bricks and mortar w
Chief Ursula Von Der Leyen. It comes a day after President Biden said the us planned to build a Temporary Port In Gaza. Well have the latest reaction from washington And Jerusalem. Also on the programme. Joe biden delivers a fiery State Of The Union speech, setting out the key issues likely to feature in his re Election Campaign and takes a swipe at his president ial rival donald trump. But has he done enough to stop the doubters. The Great Barrier reef is showing signs of strain after record high sea temperatures, undergoing another mass bleaching event. The un has been warning that gaza faces famine and that children there are dying from hunger. It says there have beenoverwhelming obstacles when it comes to getting aid into the territory. But on friday a potential breakthrough the uk says it willjoin the us and other allies to create a maritime corridor to deliver essential aid directly to gaza. Ajoint statement from the uk, us, eu, cyprus and the United Arab Emirates said. The plan
Will save the average worker about £75. But is that the budget rabbit that conservative backbenchers were after . The answer plainly is no, but the truth is, there was simply not enough money to deliver the cut in income tax they had demanded. After the measures announced today, the Office For Budget Responsibility estimated the chancellor has just £8. 9 billion of headroom left, down from the 13 billion he had in the autumn statement. That the second smallest on record, yet the chancellor gave us a relatively optimistic view of the economy, after covid, a war in europe, and the damage inflicted on the british economy economy this, he said, was a budget for long term growth. Todays obr forecast also shows that we have made Good Progress on the Prime Ministers three economic priorities. Compared to when the three pledges were made, inflation has halved, debt is falling in line with our fiscal rules, and growth is fully 1. 5 Percentage Points higher than predicted. Clamouring. And as g
But if previous cases are anything to go by, Donald Trumps third indictment is only likely to boost his popularity with Republican Voters. The charges he faces, though, are serious. The 45 Page Indictment accuses the former president of knowingly spreading false claims about Election Fraud to trick and persuade states into helping him overturn the election results. The police are now running back into the capitol building. Hes not been charged with inciting the violent scenes of january 6th, but prosecutors have drawn a link. The attack on our Nations Capital onjanuary 6th, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of american democracy. Its described in the indictment. It was fuelled by lies. Lies by the defendant, targeted at obstructing a Bedrock Function of the us government, the nations process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the president ial election. Donald trump responded by posting a Campaign Statement on his social media network, truth social, like