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Hello, this is the BBC News with Fiona MacDonald.
The U.S. and Israeli-backed emergency relief effort in Gaza has been closed for the day on Wednesday after repeatedly deadly violence linked to the operation. The Israeli military has warned that roads leading to food distribution centers would be considered combat zones. The body behind the much-criticized food program, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, said the operation was being suspended until Thursday to allow for organizational and efficiency improvements. Gary O'Donoghue is in Washington. The administration here is pushing back quite hard on criticism of the GHF. The State Department, for example saying, look, it's delivered seven million meals in its first week of operation. While things aren't perfect, they are looking at ways of improvement and there only needs to be this sort of security situation on the ground, they say, because Hamas won't lay down its weapons. The BBC has released a statement defending its journalism after the White House attacked the corporation's coverage of the conflict in Gaza. The press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told journalists in a televised briefing that the BBC had taken the word of Hamas for figures about the number of dead Palestinians in Sunday's shooting at an aid distribution site. In response, the BBC says its news stories were updated throughout the day with the latest figures as they came in from various sources. The South Korean president-elect, Lee Jae-myung, is due to be sworn into office shortly after being declared the clear winner of Tuesday's election. He has promised to revive the economy and said there will be no return to military rule. Shaimaa Khalil is in Seoul. For voters, this was not just about choosing a new leader, but also about restoring confidence in their democracy. There are so many challenges facing the incoming president - an ailing economy with slow growth, negotiations on Trump tariffs, balancing the relationship with Beijing and Washington, and the ongoing threat from North Korea and its continuing nuclear weapons program. But one of the new leader's biggest challenge, and his most urgent perhaps, is unifying this deeply polarized country. The Dutch prime minister said the decision of Geert Wilders to withdraw his far-right party from the governing coalition is irresponsible and unnecessary. Dick Schoof had earlier failed to save his 11-month-old government after Mr. Wilders walked out of a coalition meeting after one minute. Anna Holligan reports from The Hague. This coalition was a marriage of convenience that seemed destined to end from the start. Yoking together four parties from the center to the far-right of Dutch politics, it was characterized by infighting and appeared to struggle to push through any of the policies it had proudly promoted. The other coalition partners have described Geert Wilders' decision to torpedo the government just weeks before world leaders gather for a NATO summit in The Hague as irresponsible. World News from the BBC. Traffic has resumed on the Kerch Bridge which links Russia and the occupied Crimean Peninsula after Ukraine said it had carried out a sabotage operation. Ukraine's security service stated that its agents had planted explosives on the bridge supports, equivalent to more than 1,000 kilograms of TNT. The tech billionaire, Elon Musk, has stepped up his criticism of Donald Trump's planned tax and spending bill, calling it a "disgusting abomination." In his strongest criticism yet of his former boss's plans, Mr. Musk said they would swell what was already a gigantic government deficit. The Canadian government has warned that this year's wildfire season has started off more quickly and is more intense than in previous years. More than 26,000 people have been forced from their homes because of the fires. They've been particularly fierce in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Officials said there were more than 200 active fires across Canada. The U.S. Navy is to rename a ship which was named after Harvey Milk, one of the country's first openly gay people elected to public office. Officials said the change was ordered by the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, who wants to promote what he calls a "warrior culture" in the military. This report from Grant Ferrett. Since taking office, Pete Hegseth has pursued Donald Trump's goal of eliminating diversity initiatives from the military. He's yet to comment on the planned renaming, but it's thought other Navy ships in the same oil tanker class are also likely to undergo name changes. The veteran Democrat, Nancy Pelosi, described the planned renaming as "shameful and vindictive." Harvey Milk served in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s before being questioned about his sexuality and discharged. Two decades later, he was elected to public office in San Francisco. He was shot dead in 1978. BBC News. |