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tv   BBC News  BBC News  March 25, 2024 11:00am-11:31am GMT

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live from london, this is bbc news. four gunmen accused of carrying out the moscow concert hall attack are charged with terrorism. intense fighting is reported around three hospitals in gaza. aid agencies say dozens of doctors and patients are displaced or detained. here in the uk, parliament is set to be briefed on threats posed by china — which is believed to be behind a wave of cyber attacks. and american comedian kevin hart is honoured for a lifetime achievement award in comedy. we begin in russia, where authorities have charged four men it says attacked
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a moscow concert hall and killed at least 137 people. three of the men were marched bent double into a moscow court, while the fourth was in a wheelchair. the kremlin has refused to comment on reports that the suspects were tortured. all four were charged with committing an act of terrorism. they've been ordered into custody pending a trial in may. media reports have named all four men, saying they are nationals of tajikistan; three have reportedly pleaded guilty. the islamic state group says it carried out the attack, and it's uploaded graphic videos of it. the kremlin has said it's not appropriate to comment on this claim. anna aslam reports. handcuffed and blindfolded, four suspected gunmen were brought into court. they all appeared injured. one man arrived in a wheelchair and sat in the dock with his eyes closed throughout the proceedings. all were charged with committing
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an act of terrorism. the four men are reportedly tajikistan nationals. russia says they were caught fleeing to ukraine and had contacts there. kyiv fiercely denies any link to the attack. the islamic state group says it was behind the shooting. this is how the attack had begun, with gunmen in the foyer and desperate attempts to take cover. the attackers moved on to the auditorium. by the end of this, more than 130 people were dead. across russia, flags flew at half mast for the victims of the concert hall attack. and at the scene of the attack, crocus city hall, the crowds grew longer on a national day of mourning. an outpouring of sympathy, a mountain of tributes to the dead. as president putin lit a candle for the victims, russia will be praying there will be no more attacks. earlier i spoke to our russa editor, steve
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rosenberg, in moscow. i started by asking him what happend in the court appearance and what we know about these men. it was a late—night court appearance yesterday and the four men were brought in, charged with an act of terrorism. they were remanded in custody for two months. they are reported to be citizens of the central asian republic of tajikistan, according to a russian news agency. from their appearance, it looked as if they had been beaten. black eyes, swollen face. one of the men was brought into the courtroom in a wheelchair in a hospital gown. and at one point, he looked as if he was going to lose consciousness. as for the casualty figures, the latest, 137 people were killed in that brutal attack on the concert hall on friday. but officials are warning that that may not be the final death toll. the figures could rise. find
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not be the final death toll. the figures could rise.— not be the final death toll. the figures could rise. and steve, what more about — figures could rise. and steve, what more about the _ figures could rise. and steve, what more about the government - figures could rise. and steve, what - more about the government response? initially, vladimir putin came out quickly to blame ukraine despite islamic state claiming responsibility. what is the latest from the government?— responsibility. what is the latest from the government? well, russian officials and — from the government? well, russian officials and the _ from the government? well, russian officials and the pro-kremlin - from the government? well, russian officials and the pro-kremlin media | officials and the pro—kremlin media continue to promote the notion that in somehow, ukraine was behind this. yes, vladimir putin suggested that in his tv address at the weekend. there are some extraordinary commentary in the programme in newspapers this morning. one of them says there are plenty of reasons for thinking kyiv did this. there are basic truths. fire blows, wind blows, the kyiv regime are murderers and terrorists, presenting no evidence at all, but coming up with something like that. another newspaper quotes a russian mp are saying the best and only response to this will be our victory. we simply must take kyiv and crush this terrorist beast. so you get the feeling that moscow is trying to use
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the devastating attack on the crocus city hall as an excuse, as a pretext to escalate its war in ukraine. we are 'ust to escalate its war in ukraine. we are just looking at pictures of people continuing to lay flowers outside the concert hall. what has the public reaction been? obviously an outpouring of grief, but in response to these claims by the government that ukraine had to with this? it government that ukraine had to with this? , ., , this? it interesting. iwas there yesterday. _ this? it interesting. iwas there yesterday, talking _ this? it interesting. iwas there yesterday, talking to _ this? it interesting. iwas there yesterday, talking to people i this? it interesting. i was there - yesterday, talking to people outside crocus city hall. there are lots of people, it was a national day of mourning yesterday in huge crowds came out to lay flowers at this makeshift shrine by the side of the building. iwas makeshift shrine by the side of the building. i was asking people, what did they think, who was behind this? most people had not come to a conclusion. they were still very much in shock at what had happened. so many people were killed on friday. there was a sense, if not of fear, certainly of deep concern about the possibility of another
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attack. that is what is worrying people. in the past few hours, the kremlin has been facing questions about the concert hall attack — the bbc�*s vitaly shevchenko has more on russia's response. the main takeaway for most people, i think, is that there is no definitive single version which would explain what happened on friday. that seems to suggest that the kremlin is keeping the door open for anything, the kremlin is keeping the door open foranything, pretty the kremlin is keeping the door open for anything, pretty much. the kremlin is keeping the door open foranything, pretty much. it the kremlin is keeping the door open for anything, pretty much. it will be sorely tempted to blame ukraine. that is the mood music i have been picking up in the russian media. but when it comes to the kremlin, the official spokesman for president putin refused to comment on the version that it was isis. in a way, the kremlin is spinning the story
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already. dmitry pask of made it clear that there is no cooperation, according to him, between russian secret services and western secret services, despite, as he said, the need to fight terrorism. that is what we are hearing from the kremlin. the foreign ministry in moscow is much more blunt in blame ukraine. a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, maria xhaka ever, wrote an article in the pravda, russia's biggest and most popular tabloid, in which she dropped dark and heavy hints at ukraine's involvement. she spoke of ukrainian terrorism and how they are sponsoring it and how isis is unlikely to have been involved in this. this is the line we are seeing from moscow at the moment. a reminder, you can get much
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more on the aftermath of the russia attack online including this article from steve rosenberg looking at how president putin will react. you can find that at bbc.com/news or on the bbc news app. the palestinian red crescent says israeli troops have been firing smoke bombs around a hospital in khan younis in gaza to try to force staff, patients and displaced people to leave. these images from this morning show the skyline looking over southern gaza in the direction of khan younis, you can see the plumes of smoke from airstrikes. the israel defence forces also released this video of strikes over khan younis — it says they are targeting what it calls hamas infrastructure there. further north, medics say ten people have been killed at al—shifa hospital in gaza city, and dozens of doctors and patients have been detained. a week of fighting is continuing at the territory's largest hospital where israel says it's captured 500 hamas and islamichhad members. idf spokesperson daniel hagari gave this
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briefing on the operation there. 170 terrorists were neutralised in or around the shifa hospital compound, while firing at ourforces. the idf apprehended hundreds of terror suspects with confirmed ties to hamas or islamichhad, making this one of the most successful operations since the start of the war. the un security council is set to vote on a new draft resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages. the secretary general is injordan, speaking at a conference — he had this message on the aid that isn't being allowed into northern gaza. the decision not to allow convoys to go to northern gaza, where we have a dramatic starvation situation, is
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totally unacceptable. and those that took this decision must assume the responsibility facing history of the consequences of the decision in relation to the dramatic situation of the people in northern gaza where, as i mentioned, we have already children dying of hunger. i've been speaking to the bbc�*s yolande knell — who's injerusalem. she gave me an update on the israeli operation surrounding a number of hospitals in gaza. there are three hospitals that are affected, two of them in the south. then you have the israeli operation that has been going on for one week now at al—shifa hospital in gaza city. that is gala's biggest medical complex. the palestinian red crescent says that in one hospital,
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the israeli troops have moved back in. thanks in advanced. it has talked about how a medic has been killed in the last few days and a displaced person who was in hospital grounds shot and killed. it says the israeli military has ordered people, whether medics, patients or displaced people come out of the hospital grounds and has been using smoke bombs to try to drive them out. the israeli military has not commented on that, but it says that hamas has been using civilian infrastructure in that area, and thatis infrastructure in that area, and that is what it is acting on. this has been a consistent came from the israeli military that hamas uses civilian sites, particularly hospitals, to house fighters based there. medics have been denying that. when it comes to al—shifa hospital, in the latest statements, the israeli military spokesman was talking about how our gunmen, he said, based in the emergency and maternity at the hospital who had been shooting. we also heard that
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something like 800 people have been detained. palestinians are saying that there are many innocent people who have detained as well as five patients who they say were killed. that is according to the hamas run authorities, and also five doctors killed in the ongoing operations there. forthe killed in the ongoing operations there. for the israeli military, this is a major operation. they are calling it one of the most successful and important of the war so far. ~ ., ., ., so far. meanwhile, yolande, yoav gallant is going — so far. meanwhile, yolande, yoav gallant is going to _ so far. meanwhile, yolande, yoav gallant is going to washington - so far. meanwhile, yolande, yoav. gallant is going to washington after the vice—president kamala harris said it would be a huge mistake to move into rafah with any type of military operations there. tell us more about what is expected from his visit? . , more about what is expected from his visit? ., , _, , more about what is expected from his visit? ., , . ., , ., more about what is expected from his visit? ., , , ., ., visit? yeah, this comes at a time when us israel— visit? yeah, this comes at a time when us israel relations - visit? yeah, this comes at a time when us israel relations are - visit? yeah, this comes at a time | when us israel relations are really strained. the defence minister will be asking for continued us military
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assistance to keep fighting the war in gaza and also prepare for any possible escalation with a powerful armed group hezbollah in lebanon. but he is going to come across different officials at this meeting and will meet criticism of the israel plans for a full—scale military offensive in rafah in the south of the gaza strip. that is where you have about 1.5 million people crammed up along the border with egypt, mostly displaced by the fighting, with deteriorating conditions in that area. kamala harris has come out with some of her stronger comments yet and said the white house is ruling out nothing if israel doesn't heed american concerns about this and continues with its plan to go into rafah. we have the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu speaking last night on thejewish holiday and said he is adamant that israel is
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continuing this offensive to go after hamas battalions that it says are in the rafah area. he said it is impossible to defeat the sheer evil, meaning hamas, by leaving it intact in rafah. "we will enter rougher and achieve total victory". let’s in rafah. "we will enter rougher and achieve total victory".— achieve total victory". let's listen to what kamala _ achieve total victory". let's listen to what kamala harris, _ achieve total victory". let's listen to what kamala harris, the - achieve total victory". let's listen to what kamala harris, the us i to what kamala harris, the us vice—president, had to say. we vice-president, had to say. we have been clear in — vice-president, had to say. we have been clear in multiple _ vice-president, had to say. we have been clear in multiple conversationsj been clear in multiple conversations and in _ been clear in multiple conversations and in every— been clear in multiple conversations and in every way that any major military— and in every way that any major military operation in rafah would be a huge _ military operation in rafah would be a huge mistake. let me tell you something. i have studied the maps. there _ something. i have studied the maps. there is_ something. i have studied the maps. there is nowhere for those folks to lo. there is nowhere for those folks to i 0, ~ ., there is nowhere for those folks to go. meanwhile, talks are continuing in qatar around _ go. meanwhile, talks are continuing in qatar around a _ go. meanwhile, talks are continuing in qatar around a possible - go. meanwhile, talks are continuing in qatar around a possible ceasefire j in qatar around a possible ceasefire deal and hostage release. what more is going on there?— is going on there? these indirect talks are going — is going on there? these indirect talks are going on _ is going on there? these indirect talks are going on between - is going on there? these indirect| talks are going on between israel and hamas in doha. you have the qataris, the egyptians and the us involved. we understand that in the
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past couple of days, the americans have come up with a new proposal to help overcome one of the sticking points in the talks which is about the number of palestinian business in israeli jails that would be released in return for some of the israeli hostages still held by hamas in gaza. we are not getting any signs of a breakthrough in those talks at the moment. we are told that they are waiting for hamas to give its response to that latest proposal. there are some reports that israel has softened its stance when it comes to another hamas demand, which is that displaced people should be allowed to return to their homes in the north, and is now saying in these talks, although this is not official, that some of those displaced people will be allowed to return to the north of the gaza strip. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.
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the uk's deputy prime minister oliver dowden is to brief mps today
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on the cyber threat from china. he's expected to tell parliament that china is behind a wave of cyber—attacks against mps and peers. a number who have been critical of beijing are thought to have been targeted. the bbc understands other western nations will set out similar concerns. our political correspondent peter saull told us what he's expected to say. he will talk also about an attack on the electoral commission in 2021 which we only learned about fairly recently, in which millions of voters' records, we understand, where accessed, although the electoral commission said at the time that it didn't have any material impact on our democracy or our electoral process. nevertheless, it was a cause for major concern. they talked at the time about hostile actors being behind this attack. saturday, we are expecting the deputy prime minister oliver dowden, when he gets up in front of the house of commons this afternoon, to say that those behind the attack
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on the electoral commission, but also there is a mps and peers, have links to china. what he means by links to china. what he means by links to china is not clear. they might not necessarily lay the blame squarely at the door of the chinese state, but it's an interesting one, diplomatic relations between britain and china. the former prime minister david cameron at one stage talked about a golden age in uk china relations. he is of course now foreign secretary and is due himself to address conservative mps later this afternoon, many of whom have been sounding the alarm for some time about what they see as the growing threat from china. we have had some reaction from beijing. a foreign ministry spokesperson says about the impact of cyber attacks that this is a global challenge. they claim china itself has been subject to lots of cyber attacks and they say there should be sufficient objective evidence, rather than smearing other countries without
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factual basis or politicising cybersecurity issues. they go on "i hope all parties stop spreading false information". so a strenuous denial from false information". so a strenuous denialfrom china false information". so a strenuous denial from china that they had any involvement in these hacks lnps' and peers —— in these mps' and peers' hacks. britain on the one hand has to maintain trade relations with the global economic superpower. there is talk about china investing for example in new electric battery plants in the uk, which is really important to the british motor manufacturing industry. but at the same time, they have to call out what they see as potential attacks on our democracy and way of life. we will hear more from the deputy prime minister oliver dowden this afternoon, with talk that he might potentially impose sanctions on some individuals in china. is there any suggestion as to what they think china would have to gain from these cyber attacks? china would have to gain from these cyberattacks? i china would have to gain from these cyber attacks? i suppose, china would have to gain from these cyberattacks? isuppose, like china would have to gain from these cyber attacks? i suppose, like other countries that are not that close to
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the uk into plastic terms, it's about destabilising —— or countries that are not close to the uk in diplomatic terms. there are countries like the united states, brazil and india, countries like the united states, braziland india, huge countries like the united states, brazil and india, huge democracies that are at risk from this type of thing. there is talk of russian meddling in electoral processes all around the world too. but as far as china is concerned, this is nonsense. they have issued a strong denial. we will see what evidence oliver dowden, the deputy prime minister, provides later. three mps including the former conservative leader iain duncan smith and one pier will get a briefing from the uk security services this lunchtime. we will hear from those mps afterwards and we may learn more about the specifics of these alleged attacks. georgia's ruling party has proposed a new law sharply limiting lgbt rights. the draft law would ban sex
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changes and adoption by same—sex couples as well as prohibiting gatherings aimed at popularising same—sex family or intimate relationships. junior doctors in wales have started a 96 hour walkout as part of an on—going pay dispute with the welsh government. bma cymru say they were left with no choice but to strike after the welsh government "failed to produce a credible offer to end the dispute". the welsh government said it did not have the funds to improve its 5% pay offer, which junior doctors have rejected protests outside schools should be banned — that's according to a review by a senior government advisor. dame sara khan has made the recommendation after examining the handling of demonstrations outside batley grammar school in west yorkshire in 2021. they began when pupils were shown what some thought was an "offensive" cartoon
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of the prophet muhammad. she says children need to be protected. one of the recommendations that i have made to the government is that there should be an exclusion zone, or a buffer zone, outside schools, to protect children. if it's the case, for example, that teachers want to go on pickets because of industrial action, for example, that should be acceptable, and there will be other reasons where some type of protest will be acceptable, but these types of intimidating and threatening protest should be banned, just in the same way that there are exclusion zones outside abortion clinics. to senegal now, where supporters of the main opposition candidate in the african country's presidential election have been celebrating, as provisional results show him in the lead. bassirou diomaye faye is ahead of the former prime minster amadou bar. several other opposition figures have conceded. the bbc�*s thomas naadi is in dakar and brought us the latest.
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take a listen. in the capital occur, where i am, they believe they are winning this election. the opponent amadou bar of the ruling coalition has said that he is expecting a run—off. the winner of this election would have to secure 50% of the vote and the electoral commission has until friday to declare the final result. as you mentioned earlier, some of the opposition candidates have already called opposition leader bassirou diomaye faye to congratulate him.- bassirou diomaye faye to congratulate him. bassirou diomaye faye to conuratulate him. �* ., ., congratulate him. and what are we exectin: congratulate him. and what are we exoecting to _ congratulate him. and what are we expecting to happen _ congratulate him. and what are we expecting to happen next, - congratulate him. and what are we | expecting to happen next, thomas? the results have started trickling in. the ones that have come are not official results yet. they are just collections done by various television stations and the political parties themselves. the
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electoral commission is still trying to compile the results from the various polling stations and declare them. a lot of people believe the opposition candidate will win this election. that is why his supporters are celebrating. the american comedian kevin hart has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award in comedy. the 44—year—old become only the 25th recipient of the mark twain prize for american humor. adam sandler, whoopi goldberg, and jon stewart are amongst the previous winners. hart said it was "amazing" to be in such company. after you're on the stage and after, you know, you've been a part of a night that will be historic and something that you'll be able to revert back to forever, then it settles in. i think for now it's more about kind ofjust slowly, slowly embracing it and just realising the importance of relationships. that's the thing that i highlight the most in this moment. the value of relationships, the value of friendships.
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a night like this to be acknowledged and supported by people that you truly do love. one of the comedians to pay tribute to kevin hart during the event wasjerry seinfeld. how did he get that perfect name?! is that his real name? it's unbelievable. the fit of that guy with that name, it's crazy. first name's kevin. every kevin's always a great guy, and then "hart". he's the most likeable human in world history and his last name is hart? come on, it's insane! if he wanted to change his name for show business, he'd have to make it "kevin irresistible". laughter it's the only way you could improve it. plenty more on all of that and all the day's top stories on the bbc news website and the bbc news app. that's it from me for the moment. all the top business stories are
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coming up for you in a few minutes' time. thanks for watching. hello again. the forecast from earlier has changed because the met office has dropped tuesday's yellow weather warning for significant hill snow in scotland and heavy rain. the amounts we are now expecting are not going to be as much. but you can see in the rainfall accumulation chart over the next 5 days, there is still a lot of rain in the forecast, particularly across parts of south—west england. here, we could see in excess of 18 metres in the next 5 days. today we have this weather front which is continuing to push northwards, bringing in some rain and hill snow, just not as much is originally thought. and we have another weather front coming in from the south—west, introducing some rain too. in between, there will be a lot of cloud and some brighter
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spells, the brighter skies across western scotland. it's going to be breezy through the irish sea. temperature—wise, we are looking at 5 in lerwick to 12 in norwich, london and st helier. as we head through the evening and overnight, weather front will continue to progress, but it's not going to bring as much rain as originally thought, nor is it going to bring much snow. at about a50 metres in the hills in scotland, we are looking at potentially 10 centimetres, but any at lower levels and not settle. freezing in stornoway to plus 7 as we push down south. heading into tuesday, you can see how a lot of the snow showers tend to fade. it is going to be windy across the far north. we still have a weather front moving north eastwards and a bit of cloud and dry weather. beyond that into wednesday,
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a new area of low pressure comes in. that is going to introduce windy conditions across the south, especially the south—west and approaches. fans of showers moving north. by then, our rain is ensconced across the north of scotland. a blustery day in prospect. as we move towards the end of the week and the easter weekend, it does remain changeable and unsettled. we will be looking at showers, spells of rain at times and a bit of sunshine too. it's not a wash—out, and by easter sunday, temperatures are slowly rising.
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big tech crackdown. the eu announces an investigation into apple and google over uncompetitive practices. a $100 billion problem. is the uk's huge trading relationship with china under threat from claims of hacking and election interference? plus — "expensive, cramped and ageing." uk housing is the worst value for money in the developed world, says a new report. so what's the solution? welcome to world business report, i'm marc ashdown.
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we start with big tech, because in the last hour,

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