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Hello, I'm Moira Alderson with the BBC News.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said plans by Britain to recognize Palestinian statehood unless Israel reaches a Gaza ceasefire before September would be a reward for Hamas. Mr. Netanyahu said the announcement, which marks a major foreign policy change for Britain, would mean the appeasement of jihadists. Our diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams reports. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sir Keir Starmer had rewarded Hamas's monstrous terrorism and punished its victims. This despite the fact Sir Kier has explicitly called on Hamas to release hostages, disarm and abandon any thought of playing a role in the future government of Gaza. Sir Keir's promise to recognize a Palestinian state may be heavily conditional, but he knows that the chances of Benjamin Netanyahu committing in the next six weeks to a peace process that delivers a two-state solution are vanishingly small. Recognition then is coming. Less certain is whether it will make any difference. U.N. agencies say the international community needs to flood Gaza with aid immediately and keep it flowing every day after a global hunger monitor found famine was unfolding across the Palestinian territory. The report by the IPC highlights widespread starvation and malnutrition. The U.N. World Food Programme said conditions were akin to famines in Ethiopia and Nigeria last century. Antoine Renard is the programme's director in the Palestinian territories. "What we've been asking for is to have 100 trucks every day into Gaza. We are able to bring more food in, but we need to have more guarantee. How come just 10 days ago it was taking us 22 hours to bring 19 trucks? Today with all the assurance that we have and with the pause, it took us 10 hours to bring 52 trucks. This is not enough." President Trump has said he'll impose heightened sanctions on Russia in 10 days' time unless it makes progress to end its war in Ukraine. He first announced he'd be shortening his deadline on Moscow during a visit to Scotland on Monday. Here's Peter Bowes. Two weeks ago, Donald Trump gave his Russian counterpart 50 days to agree a ceasefire or peace deal in Ukraine or face severe tariffs. On Monday, the U.S. president shortened the deadline to just 10 to 12 days. But his latest comment suggests he's set a firm date for the end of next week. Mr. Trump said it was a shame he hadn't heard from the Russian president. He said Mr. Putin obviously wanted to keep the war going. The Trump administration has announced plans to revoke a key scientific finding that has long been the legal underpinning for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency chief, Lee Zeldin, said a declaration that determined carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health will be repealed. BBC News. A U.N. environment expert has told the BBC that new legislation in Brazil that aims to streamline major infrastructure developments will pave the way to more deforestation. Astrid Puentes Riaño says the law represents a major rollback of environmental protections that could harm the Amazon and indigenous communities. Supporters of the legislation say it's necessary to speed up the process. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry has denied reports that President Trump had blocked the island's leader from stopping off in the U.S. as part of an official visit to Latin America. The ministry's spokesman said President Lai Ching-te had no immediate plans to travel abroad due to disaster recovery efforts following a typhoon. Mr. Lai's stopover would have angered China, which considers Taiwan its own territory. A German zoo has culled 12 baboons because of overcrowding despite protests from animal rights activists. Seven protesters were arrested after breaking into the facility. Here's Je Seung Lee. The Nuremberg Zoo said the number of baboons in the enclosure had grown too big and that it had run out of alternative options. Expanding the space wasn't feasible. The primates couldn't be released into the wild or be sent to other zoos. And contraception measures had failed to control their numbers. But rights groups say the move violated animal protection laws and had filed criminal complaints against the zoo. Its director has defended the decision, saying it was in line with a European law that stipulates that animals can be culled as a last resort to preserve their population. The British government's announced the appointment of the U.K.'s first female Astronomer Royal and official adviser to the monarch. Michele Daugherty, who's a professor at Imperial College London, will take up the post. The role has existed for nearly 350 years. It was created in 1675 by King Charles II, who wanted to use the stars to improve maritime navigation. |