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Hello, I'm Chris Barrow with the BBC News.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has given a guarded response to new proposals drafted by Washington to end the war with Russia. Details of the plan have not been confirmed officially, but media reports indicate it's heavily based on Russia's demands. In his nightly address, Mr. Zelenskyy insisted that his country needs a meaningful and long-lasting peace. "Since the first days of the war, we have taken one extremely simple position. Ukraine needs peace, and the real peace, one that will not be broken by a third invasion. A dignified peace, so that the conditions respect our independence, our sovereignty and the dignity of the Ukrainian people. We must ensure these very conditions." Ukrainian officials say five people have been killed and three injured in Russian strikes on the southeastern city of Zaporizhia. The head of Zaporizhia's regional administration said houses, a shop and a market were damaged. He warned Russia was using guided aerial bombs to target the city. A diplomatic row between South Africa and the United States has intensified ahead of this weekend's G20 summit in Johannesburg. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has signaled that Pretoria will not now conduct a planned formal handover of the chairmanship to a U.S. diplomat at the end of this summit. The U.S. will host next year's gathering. Our Africa correspondent, Mayeni Jones, is in Johannesburg. The U.S. used to be one of South Africa's main Western partners, but over the last year they've really fallen out. And that's because President Donald Trump has repeated widely discredited claims that there is a genocide of South Africa's white minority. He's offered them asylum. They're the only minority group who is entitled to asylum currently in the U.S. And he's also expelled South Africa's ambassador. He's cut aid, he's imposed tariffs. South Africa in response has tried to remain diplomatic, but the recent events suggest that this relationship is not getting much better. The White House spokeswoman has clarified that President Trump is not seeking the execution of members of Congress after he described six Democrats as traitors. They'd urged military servicemen to refuse illegal orders. On social media, Mr. Trump accused the six of, as he put it, "seditious behavior, punishable by death." One of them, Representative Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, told the BBC that she was angered by the President's response. "The leader of the free world today called for the execution for the hanging of six sitting members of Congress, both the House and the Senate. If that's not lawlessness, I don't know what it is. We are six people of service telling people who are currently in service that they are under obligation to follow the law and to not follow unlawful orders." World news from the BBC. Delegates at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil say a fire at the venue will probably delay progress towards an agreement, with just one day left to break a deadlock. The fire, which reports say may have been caused by an electrical fault, forced thousands of delegates to flee the venue. Thirteen people were treated for smoke inhalation. The fire was put out in minutes, but organizers said the venue will remain closed until Friday. A public inquiry into the U.K. government's response to COVID-19 has found that officials did too little too late when the pandemic hit in 2020. The inquiry's latest report says that introducing the country's first lockdown a week earlier could have saved more than 20,000 lives. Here's our political correspondent, Rob Watson. It's just about the most damning report that you could possibly imagine because it essentially says the entire British state failed, whether that was health officials, preparedness, poor political leadership, civil servants, even some of the scientists, just won a litany of failure. And of course those who lost loved ones are of course furious, furious and pretty much inconsolable I would say. Security sources in Lebanon say the country's most notorious drug baron, Nouh Zaiter, has been arrested. The Zaiter clan has been long known to have a firm grip on the drug trade in Lebanon, leading to clashes with the army and rival groups. The Lebanese army said that a dangerous wanted individual had been detained in an ambush near Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley. The basis for one of the most famous British bands of the late 80s and early 90s, the Stone Roses, has died. Gary Mounfield, known as "Mani," was 63. He played in another seminal British band, Primal Scream, for 15 years. Mani was a founding member of the Stone Roses who were at the forefront of the Manchester indie scene nicknamed "Manchester." That's the latest BBC news. |