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BBC News with Neil Nunes.
President Trump is hosting his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for a lavish state banquet on the second day of Mr. Xi's state visit. Tech billionaires, bankers and power brokers made their way into the White House for the dinner while outside, pro-democracy campaigners yelled slogans against the Chinese leader. Speaking in the past few minutes at the start of the dinner, Mr. Trump hailed historic ties between the two countries and invited Mr. Xi and his wife to see the ballroom he's building. At talks earlier, the leaders grappled with contentious issues including Iran, trade and AI. More now from Ione Wells in Washington. The real test comes in the months that follow this summit in a way. The question will be what's actually been achieved and delivered. Now there are some other notable things that will be hailed as an achievement including the fact that 100,000 U.S. students will be welcomed to China over the next five years. Donald Trump will probably see this whole event as to an extent a success because it has been an opportunity for him to show that they have a decent working relationship for President Xi. I think certainly this will be seen as a success that he is being treated as such a special guest as an equal by the United States. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought to defend his country's actions in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East in a U.N. General Assembly speech preceded by large-scale walkout of delegates. He said Israelis had risen "like lions" in the aftermath of the October 7th Hamas attacks. Mr. Netanyahu also sought to dismiss growing settler violence in the occupied West Bank as the work of a handful of "delinquents." And he had this response to claims that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. "What genocidal regime gives a million polio vaccinations to the enemy's population? What genocidal regime enables the distribution of two million tons of food into Gaza? That's a ton for every person. Accusing Israel of genocide is the greatest lie of the century." Earlier the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the U.N. that Israel was now threatening the very existence of his people in their homeland. Speaking by video link after being denied a U.S. visa, Mr. Abbas described Israel's actions in Gaza as a "genocidal war" and suggested that, along with settler attacks in the occupied West Bank, Palestinians were now at risk of the greatest wave of expulsions from their land since 1948. Reports from Tigray in northern Ethiopia say people are panic buying essential goods as fears grow of a new civil war in the country. Fighting has broken out between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF which runs Tigray. World news from the BBC. Britain's health service is trialing a new rapid test for brain tumors which can drastically shorten the time it takes for an accurate diagnosis. The NHS described it as a "huge leap forward for patients." More from Fergus Walsh. This genomic test provides the molecular structure of a brain tumor from a tiny tissue sample in just two hours. The result is so rapid it comes back while patients are still on the operating table and can help surgeons decide how much tumor to safely remove. It should mean patients receive a definitive diagnosis in days rather than weeks and can start follow-up treatment or access clinical trials sooner. A British far-right activist Daniel Thomas has been charged with criminal damage after a video appeared to show him slashing and stabbing an inflatable boat in the channel. Police had said the boat had an emergency responder on board. Mr. Thomas has led several anti-migrant rallies involving masked men. The president of Costa Rica, Laura Fernández, has sacked her foreign minister for joining a meeting led by President Trump without informing her, saying she should have been the one to attend. Manuel Tovar was dismissed while heading Costa Rica's delegation to the U.N. General Assembly. He had taken part in a meeting on Tuesday of the Shield of the Americas, Mr. Trump's new coalition against drugs cartels. The American rapper Macklemore is launching a music tour under the banner "Free Palestine" days after being dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour because of pro-Palestinian remarks he made on stage. Quipping that his schedule had "freed up a bit," Macklemore said proceeds would go to organizations supporting Palestinians. There'll be concerts in Dublin, Paris and London late next month. BBC News. |