this is bbc news. the headlines: israeli air strikes pound the south and north of gaza. us defence secretary lloyd austin says the us has spoken to israel about making the war in gaza are more surgical. so we will continue to stand up for israel s right to defend itself and we will also continue to urge for the protection of civilians during the conflict, and to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into gaza. en verify, we look at how the war is impacting en verify, we look at how the war is impacting this trade route for oil in the impacting this trade route for oil in the red impacting this trade route for oil in the red sea. and the bbc understands the democratic unionist party has ruled out any deal to restore power sharing in northern ireland before christmas. time for a look at the business news now with tadhg. we are also talking about the potential looming crisis in world oil shipping. the oil giant bp has supended all shipments of oil through the red sea afte
connection to slavery. hello and welcome to bbc news. the giant chinese balloon that had been floating over the united states has been shot down by an american fighterjet off the coast of south carolina. the balloon, which the us says was being used to spy on military sites, appeared to plummet straight into the sea. china continues to insist it was a stray civilian weather observation airship. our correspondent david willis has more from washington. officials here are saying that this chinese balloon was brought down about six miles off the coast of south carolina by a single missile fired by a us fighterjet. now, president biden had apparently given permission for such a strike on wednesday, that is a day before the actual presence of this balloon was made public. military officials decided to hold back for fear that it could spray debris down onto the mainland and hurt people on the ground below. then, today, as it was crossing the coast of south carolina, they closed loca
hello and welcome to bbc news. pakistan s former president, general pervez musharraf, has died following a long illnes. he was 79. president musharraf seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999 serving in office for seven years from 2001. and in 2019 he was sentenced to death in absentia, for treason charges for absconding the murder trial of one of his successors, benazir bhutto. at the time of his death he had been living in exile in dubai, recieving medical treatment. the bbc s gordon corera looks back on his life. 1999. and when troops stormed the national television headquarters to put pervez musharraf in power, the people of pakistan heard a familiar refrain. the nation needed another leader in uniform to save it from self serving politicians. in the past, our governments have ruled the people. it is time now for the governments to serve the people. pakistan had already been under army rule for more than half the time it had been independent. general musharraf
pope francis s historic visit to south sudan ends with an open air mass. he urged people to reject the venom of hatred and pleaded with leaders to find peace. pakistan s former president, general pervez musharraf, has died following a long illness. he was 79 years old. president musharraf seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999, serving in office for seven years from 2001. in 2008, he suffered defeat in the polls and left the country six months later. when he returned in 2013 to try to contest the election, he was arrested and barred from standing. he was charged with high treason and was sentenced to death in absentia, only for the decision to be overturned less than a month later. at the time of his death, he had been living in exile in dubai, receiving medical treatment. the bbc s gordon corera looks back on his life. 1999. and when troops stormed the national television headquarters to put pervez musharraf in power, the people of pakistan heard a familiar refr
the family of nicola bulley, who went missing in lancashire eight days ago, urge people to keep an open mind about what s happened to her. police in england believe she fell into a river. health leaders in the uk are warning that there will be a struggle to clear backlogs and improve emergency care unless industrial action by thousands of staff is brought to an end. hello and welcome. china has tried to calm tensions after two chinese spy balloons were spotted over the united states and latin america. the chinese foreign ministry has spoken to the us secretary of state, antony blinken, after he cancelled his trip to china this weekend. beijing says the matter must be dealt with in a cool headed and prudent manner. our north america correspondent barbara plett usher reports from beijing. americans are looking up to spot the spy balloon in the sky. it s actually a weather balloon that blew off course, the chinese said. but the pentagon s convinced it s more than that and