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Hello, I'm David Harper with the BBC News.
President Trump has told a memorial service for the murdered right-wing activist Charlie Kirk his contribution to America will never be forgotten, and he would be remembered as a modern-day "martyr." Mr. Kirk, a leading figure within Mr. Trump's MAGA movement, was shot dead at a university in Utah in a suspected politically motivated attack. Earlier, Mr. Kirk's wife Erica gave a tearful testimony where she spoke of her strong Christian faith. "My husband Charlie, he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life. On the cross our Savior said, 'Father, forgive them for they not know what they do.' I forgive him. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love." Tens of thousands attended what the BBC's North America editor said was more like a political rally than a memorial service. The American actress Angelina Jolie has said she no longer recognizes her country, which she described as "dangerous" and divided. Presenting her latest movie at a film festival in Spain, Jolie said she loved the United States but feared its liberties were being eroded. In the wake of Charlie Kirk's murder, there have been numerous calls, including from the White House, for those critical of the administration and its beliefs to be silenced. Portugal has joined Britain, Canada and Australia in formally recognizing Palestinian statehood. The new status is meant to revive hopes of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and comes after the country's growing criticism of Israel's military offensive in Gaza. Amichai Chikli, Israel's Minister for Diaspora Affairs, criticized the British prime minister's decision. "What does it mean to take a microphone and to declare an inexistent state with zero sovereign capabilities that supports terror? It's ridiculous. I don't think that Keir Starmer cares about Israel or wants the best for Israel, is serving Hamas propaganda, is harming our chances to bring back the hostages." The Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the recognition of Palestinian statehood as a step towards lasting regional peace. Hamas called it a "victory." The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, also welcomed the move but said it wouldn't mean anything unless it brought about a genuine ceasefire. An Israeli drone attack has killed five people in southern Lebanon, including three children. Israel said it had targeted a Hezbollah operative in the town of Bint Jbeil and admitted with regret that civilians were also killed, adding that a review was underway. Speaking in New York ahead of the U.N. General Assembly, Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun condemned the strike as a "massacre." He urged international pressure on Israel to honor a November ceasefire that ended a year-long conflict with Hezbollah sparked by the Gaza war. This is the latest world news from the BBC. The Venezuelan government has made public a letter by President Nicolás Maduro to Donald Trump in which he rejects Washington's claims that his country trafficked drugs. Caracas said the letter, dated 6 September, had been sent through an intermediary four days after the first American strike on a Venezuelan boat President Trump said was carrying drugs. Dominican Republic officials have given more detail of the most recent U.S. military strike on an alleged drug-running boat from Venezuela. At a news conference with the U.S. embassy, the Caribbean nation's anti-narcotics agency officials said the vessel was carrying about a ton of cocaine when it was hit about 80 nautical miles off the Dominican island of Beata. Its spokesman is Carlos Devers. "Dominican authorities, in close coordination with the U.S. Southern Command and the Joint Task Force South intelligence, detected a speedboat, according to intelligence reports, carrying narcotics and heading towards Dominican territory with the intention of using the country as a bridge to transport the drugs to the United States." The United States has now acknowledged three recent attacks in the Caribbean that have killed more than a dozen people. Thousands of demonstrators have marched in Brazil against congressional efforts to shield lawmakers from prosecution and grant amnesty to coup participants. Anger surged after the lower house passed the shielding bill, requiring secret ballot approval to charge or arrest legislators. Lawmakers also fast-tracked an amnesty bill for those convicted over the 2023 attacks on government buildings. South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung has told the BBC he'd accept a deal with North Korea under which Pyongyang would freeze nuclear weapons production for now rather than get rid of them altogether. With the United States pressing for talks, the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said he's open to negotiations on the condition that Washington abandons its insistence that Pyongyang gives up nuclear weapons. BBC News. |