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BBC News, I'm John Shea.
Some of the world's biggest charities and aid agencies have issued a joint call for the Israeli and U.S.-backed food distribution system in Gaza to be shut down immediately. Hundreds of Palestinians have been shot dead trying to access aid since the foundation took over from the U.N. a month ago. Our correspondent in Jerusalem, Ione Wells, says before the charities made their call, the Israeli military had already indicated it planned to change the system. The Israeli military in the past has acknowledged that it has fired what is described as warning shots at people it describes as suspects approaching troops but it hasn't sort of directly commented on some reports of people being harmed. It's often said that it is investigating cases or looking into them. This statement today from the Israeli military says that they are reorganizing the aid centers including installing fences and signs following incidents of reports where civilians were harmed. It says it will be issuing instructions from lessons learned although it hasn't said what those lessons will be. The U.S. Senate is holding a marathon series of votes on amendments to Donald Trump's huge tax and spending bill. The Republicans have a slender majority in the Senate but our correspondent Anthony Zurcher says the bill is at a tricky stage. The Republicans are doing a very delicate balance here where on one hand, they wanna cut enough to try to keep the numbers on this bill from going even past the three trillion that adds to the deficit but they also want to, there are other Republicans who want to protect these social safety net programs like Medicaid and so the risk is any of these amendments, some of which cut more, some of which cut less, that might upset one side or the other and then if they lose any votes from one side or the other they won't be able to get this over the finish line. It's a question of math. Police in Turkey have arrested three employees of a leading satirical magazine for publishing a cartoon that appears to show the Prophet Muhammad. The image shows two winged figures assumed to be the Prophet Muhammad and Moses shaking hands in the sky above a city under missile bombardment. The magazine has denied that the cartoon represents Muhammad. The International Criminal Court says it was the target of a sophisticated cyber attack during last week's NATO summit in The Hague. The ICC investigates some of the world's most serious crimes and holds highly sensitive information. Here's Anna Holligan. The ICC said the incident was swiftly detected and dealt with by its security teams and a comprehensive analysis is underway to assess the impact and any potential consequences. The timing of the attack coincided with the NATO summit in The Hague but the ICC has not commented on whether there is any connection. Dutch officials have noted that pro-Russian hackers targeted various websites during the gathering of world leaders, though no specific suspects have been mentioned in the ICC case. World News from the BBC. Donald Trump has signed an executive order officially ending sanctions against Syria. A White House statement said the move would support the rebuilding of an economy shattered by years of civil war. It said positive actions taken by the new Syrian government showed promise for a stable future. Jurors in the sex trafficking trial of the rapper and music producer Sean "Diddy" Combs have begun considering a verdict. Over the past seven weeks in New York, they've heard often lurid testimony from numerous witnesses. Combs has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and two counts each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Our correspondent Namia Iqbal is outside the courthouse in New York. She says that about an hour into the deliberations the foreman of the jury signaled that there might be a problem. The foreman sent a note and said we have a juror number 25 who we're concerned cannot follow your honors instructions. The only information we have about this juror is that it's a 51-year-old male from Manhattan. I guess what it does underline is how complicated this case is. The verdicts have to be unanimous but if, let's just say, they decide that the jury can't continue then they do have backup jurors. They've all gone home for the day so that would require them to be called back but we're not at that stage yet. A court in Ecuador has sentenced the former vice president, Jorge Glas, to 13 additional years in prison for corruption. He was already in prison for two other corruption offences but had been due for release within three years. U.S. stocks closed on record highs on Monday, ending the second quarter of the year on an optimistic note. Investors have been encouraged by possible trade deals between the U.S. and foreign governments as well as hopes of interest rate cuts. The S&P 500 has gained 10.5 percent over the quarter, the Nasdaq has risen nearly 18 percent. And that's the latest BBC World News. |