Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20240713

For you. Mrchairman, there are 23 ayes and 17 noes. The article is agreed to. In other news one step closer to impeaching the president . A committee in the Us Congress Approves two charges against donald trump. Un investigators accuse chile of torture, ill treatment and Sexual Violence against protesters. And the search resumes for two remaining bodies following the volcanic eruption in new zealand. The british Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has hailed the conservatives resounding election victory as extraordinary and urged people across the uk to heal their divisions over brexit. Speaking in downing street, mrjohnson said he would repay the trust of labour supporters who had voted conservative for the first time. The labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, says he will stand down but he hasnt said when. And theres likely to be a fierce debate about where his party goes from here. Our political editor, Laura Kuenssberg reports. Applause and cheering. The power of surprise. Applause and cheering. The power of victory. Well, we did it. We did it. We pulled it off, didnt we . The power of a Prime Minister with authority firmly in his hands. With this mandate and this majority, we will at last be able to do what . All get brexit done youve been paying attention. Jubilation here they can keep the promise to leave the eu next month. The will we, wont we fundamental tussle of brexit almost at an end. This election means that getting brexit done is now the irrefutable, irresistible, unarguable decision of the british people. But it didnt happen just because of traditional tories, but because of labour voters going over. The majority he craved, the start of the change. In winning this election, we have won votes and the trust of people who have never voted conservative before. Those people want change. We cannot, must not must not let them down. And in delivering change, we must change too. Lets get brexit done. But first, my friends, lets get breakfast done too. Thank you all thank you all very much for coming. Thank you all very much. Chanting boris, Boris Borisjohnson has pulled off what is a genuinely a historic victory, notjust because it is the biggest conservative majority since the 1980s, but because, for the first time, as hes reminded his party, people who had never before considered voting for conservative, have turned to them. Hes won the right to call this home for five years now. Reporter are you going to resign, mr corbyn . Woman we love you, Jeremy Corbyn forJeremy Corbyn, its the end of his ambition to move the few short miles to westminster from his north london home. Do you think you misread the mood, mr corbyn . Labour were swamped in this election. He is off by the spring, if not before. I did everything i could. Of course, i take responsibility for putting the manifesto forward. But i have to say, the manifesto was universally supported throughout our party and throughout our movement. So as i said in my own count result last night, we dont give up on the eternal hopes of a more decent society. Reporter have you lost your seat, ms swinson . The lib dems had a crushing night too. Just a few weeks ago, jo swinson claimed she could be Prime Minister. 523. In the middle of the night, though, she even lost her own place in parliament, and closed the day neither an mp nor a party leader. All of us who share an alternative vision for society have a responsibility to learn from this result and find new answers. They lost at the hands of the tories and the snp too, who cleaned up. Look at the first minister, unable to hide her glee as news ofjo swinsons defeat came through. Scotland yellow, england now largely blue. The union uneasy another demand for a vote on independence on the way. The map moved in Northern Ireland too. The dup leader at westminster, nigel dodds, lost his seat, and for the first time more nationalists than unionists were chosen by voters, pulling at the unions thread. The brexit party scooped up votes but didnt cross the bar for any seats of their own. All these falling pieces created one clear picture one man securely in charge, even though his journey gave discomfort to many voters. But, with this victory, borisjohnson has secured at least a major chapter in the kind of history books he likes to write. He wont be a footnote now. His first task to finish what they started, but with an appeal to the 48 and the 52. To those who did not vote for us or for me, and who wanted and perhaps still want to remain in the eu, i want you to know that we in this one nation conservative government will never ignore your good and positive feelings of warmth and sympathy towards the other nations of europe. Then an unlikely claim, perhaps, a post election promise of peace and goodwill. This country deserves a break from wrangling, a breakfrom politics, and a permanent break from talking about brexit. Thank you all very much, and happy christmas. Thank you. Yet this politician now swears he will govern for us all. With five years and a convincing majority, he has time to succeed or to stumble. He who dared, did win. Laura kuenssberg with that report. Democrats in the us house of representatives have taken a big step forward with the impeachment process against president donald trump. The Housejudiciary Committee voted to approve two articles of impeachment those are the formal charges against him. Nedah tawfik reports from washington. Nada tawfik reports from washington. Ms demings . Aye. The outcome of the vote was as expected, straight down partisan lines. Mr gohmert . My vote is no. Still, this was a significant moment as the Housejudiciary Committee passed articles of impeachment against a president for only the fourth time in us history. Today is a solemn and sad day. The quick result came after two days of contentious debate, including a 14 hour session on thursday that stretched late into the night. Republicans tried to weaken the charges against President Trump. The democrats held firm, passing two articles. The first, abuse of power for his efforts to pressure ukraine to investigate his political rival, and the second, obstruction of congress. From the oval office, the president launched into a familiar refrain, calling the process illegitimate and a hoax. Its a scam, its something that shouldnt be allowed, and its a very bad thing for our country and youre trivialising impeachment. The full democratic led house will almost certainly vote as early as next week to impeach. Republicans are already making plans for a full trial in the senate, where they have the upper hand and are not expected to remove the president. Majority leader, mitch mcconnell, says he will move in lockstep with the white house. Everything i do during this, im co ordinating with the white House Counsel. They will be no difference between the president s position and our position as to how to handle this. Meanwhile, another trump ally and a central figure in the impeachment probe was at the white house today. Just back from ukraine, Rudy Giuliani says he wants to brief us officials on his trip. It seems the threat of impeachment has only emboldened the president s allies. Nada tawfik, bbc news, washington. Your impeachment thoughts because we will come back to this story later in the programme. Hold onto your impeachment thoughts. Lets get some of the days other news. The Us Supreme Court has agreed to hear President Trumps appeals in three separate cases involving disclosure of his financial records. Mr trump is trying to block subpoenas for bank records, tax returns and other materials demanded by various congressional committees and by a new york prosecutor. The cases are not related to the impeachment hearings. The case is due to be heard in march. The us and china have announced a thaw in their trade war, suspending new import tariffs that were due to come into force this weekend. President trump said it was a phase one deal that would see beijing purchasing more american agricultural products. Negotiations at the United Nations Climate Summit in madrid are continuing into saturday without an agreement in sight. The two week summit was meant to decide rules for the implementation of the 2015 paris climate agreement, but many key issues remain unresolved. The former algerian Prime Minister Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been elected president. The 74 year old succeeds abdelaziz bouteflika, who was forced to resign in april after two decades in power. Tens of thousands of people have been protesting against the outcome, calling for an overhaul of the entire political establishment. The taxi app uber has launched an appeal against transport for londons decision to refuse to renew its operating licence in london. Tfl rejected ubers application last month, accusing it of safety breaches. The United Nations has accused the police and army in chile of committing serious Human Rights Violations in their response to recent Anti Government demonstrations, in which nearly 30 people were killed. Un investigators say they have found evidence of widespread torture, ill treatment, Sexual Violence and arbitrary detention against protesters over the past two months. Gareth barlow reports. The uns accusations make grim reading. It has become a familiar sight. The police and protesters clashing on the streets of the chilean capital. This latest flareup hot on the heels of condemnation by the United Nations, of the governments response to the demonstrations. Un investigators have found that over the past two months of Security Forces have been linked to unlawful deaths are Sexual Violence and over 100 cases of torches and ill treatment. 100 cases of torches and illtreatment. Human Rights Violations documented by the unhcr include the excessive or unnecessary use of force that led to unlawful killings and injuries, arbitrary detentions and torture and ill treatment. Detentions and torture and illtreatment. In october, anger at a proposed rise in retro prices escalated into wider demonstrations against wealth inequality and poor state funding. United nations says the police were fundamentally repressive. The chilean government said violent demonstrations triggered the response, but investigations were under way. Translation we deeply regret the allegations made by the team at the high commissioner. Each of them is being or will be investigated by the public you public prosecutorss offers and will be sanctioned as the court is inappropriate. The un also disputed the governments claim almost 5000 people have been injured, saying the true figure could be much higher. But it noted attacks had been carried out against Security Forces, alongside looting and destruction of private property. Now as the demonstrations continue, the response from the police and authorities is being closely watched. Stay with us on bbc news, still to come a new diamond rush in south africa as the government issues permits to miners whod been working illegally. Saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, our women, our children. The signatures took only a few minutes, but they have brought a formal end to 3. 5 years of conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. Before an audience of world leaders, the president s of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. The romanian border was sealed and silent today. Romania has cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre in timisoara from leaking out. From sex at the white house to a trial for his political life, the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteed bill clinton in his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. This is bbc world news. The latest headlines borisjohnson says he hopes his election victory will bring closure to the brexit debate. His party won an 80 seat majority. A committee in the Us Congress Approves two charges against donald trump, clearing the way for the house to vote on the president s impeachment next week. As promised earlier, lets get more on those impeachment events in washington. Earlier our correspondent Chris Buckler explained what happens next. This is a predictable process. Just as in thejudiciary committee, in the full house of representatives, the democrats have control. They have the majority. And that that means President Trump will be impeached, and its likely that that will happen on wednesday of next week, although theyre still finalising the day. But certainly, its going to happen before christmas and it will set up this very difficult senate trial. What you will see though, however, when the full house gets around to voting, is the same kind of bitter debate that we have seen in all of these hearings up till now. Republicans are very much emphasising that they dont feel that President Trump did anything wrong, while democrats are convinced he has committed an offence that means he should be removed from office. Youve talk a little bit about the possibility of a trial. From what i understand, senators become the jury. Now, of course, in criminal trials, juries you cant talk to them. They are almost sequestered. How would it work in a political trial . Well, this is, as you say, not a criminal trial, it is a political trial, and essentially, in the us senate, it is going to be the senators, the 100 senators, who act as the jury. Now, what is already clear is that mr Trumps Republican Party have a majority inside the senate. It also takes a two thirds majority to convict the president and remove him from office. And republicans say they have absolutely no intention of doing that whatsoever. So, in a way, you could almost see this as a show trial. And actually, you just heard from mitch mcconnell, the majority leader in the us senate, and he made very clear that already, he is co ordinating with white House Counsel they are the lawyers that will represent President Trump in this trial. As a result, effectively you hear, you have the jury and the defendant working together, so there is no chance he will be convicted. And actually, if anything, what we are seeing is republicans working out how they can potentially use this trial. For example, given that some of this is about President Trump trying to push ukraine to launch investigations into his political rivals, potentially they might try to turn all of this on its head and actually say were there questions to be asked about his political rivals, for example joe biden . Would they want to call joe bidens son hunter, who had business dealings in ukraine, for example . So i think democrats have had control up until now and certainly, they will have control in the house of representatives when we get a vote, but afterwards, its republicans who take control and thats why President Trump is confident he will get what he describes as a fair trial in the senate. Chris buckler in washington. The Emergency Services in new zealand are continuing their search for the bodies of the final two victims of the volcano that erupted last monday. Our correspondent phil mercer explained how the search for the final two bodies is progressing. A day after the white island volcano erupted, a body was spotted in the ocean, so the authorities have been concentrating their efforts looking for that particular victim. Police divers and divers from the navy, the new zealand navy, have gone into the water on friday. They have returned today, saturday, to look for the body, but we have got no word so far from the authorities in new zealand as to whether that search has been successful. The body of another victim is thought to still be on white island and there will be no attempt to return there today. On friday, six bodies were retrieved from white island. It was a military operation involving eight new zealand troops, six men and two women, who went in in hazardous protective clothing and gas masks. It was a very arduous operation a courageous operation, according to the authorities. They managed to retrieve those six bodies in four hours. Those remains have been taken to hospital in auckland for a postmortem examination that will be carried out today. Victim identification will take much longer. As it stands, relatives of those missing, we understand, have a sense of calm, peace and also overriding grief, so this is a story that is far from over. Those victims need to be identified and, of course, that body seen at sea, and the other body we believe thats still on the island, both need to be recovered before the true extent of this disaster is revealed. Worth noting, too, james, that on monday at 2 11 in the afternoon, new zealand will pause for a minutes silence to remember victims of the eruption that took place on monday. French president Emmanuel Macron has vowed to push ahead with his Pension Reforms, despite the ongoing strike by Public Sector workers, now in its ninth day. Half of the metro lines in paris remained completely shut on friday with just one in four Long Distance lines running. The Pension Reforms are intended to harmonise a system of more than a0 separate Pension Plans for Public Sector workers. Lawyers representing the users of a bankrupt Cryptocurrency Exchange quadrigacx are asking the canadian authorities to exhume the body of its founder. They believe circumstances surrounding Gerald Cottens death were suspicious. The 30 year old died suddenly in india from complications related to crohns disease, but afterwards quadrigacx was unable to find the reserves. Rumours are that cotten faked his own death, though no evidence has ever been revealed. In south africa, the government has issued more than 1,000 diamond mining permits to artisanal miners who had been working illegally. Its estimated that 111,000 work in the industry without the proper paperwork. Illegal mining reportedly costs the economy about us 550 million a year. The miners are predominantly from lesotho, swaziland, malawi, zimbabwe and mozambique. Nomsa maseko sent this report from the city of kimberley, known as the Diamond Capital of south africa. Hoping to strike it rich. Sifting through layers of gravel, the artisanal miners are hard at work. This is part of a disused mine dump and there are still diamonds to be found. Hundreds moved into this area after the government issued permits to small scale miners. In a landmark deal, 600 hectares were handed over by the government for artisanal mining. Just a few months ago, this work was unlawful and dangerous. There were frequent clashes between illegal miners, police and mine security. It was not easy to get a permit. It was bloodshed, sleepless nights, put on the hit list of the mines, going to jail. Yeah, we were also declared terrorists by our own government. Despite the risks, south africas sky high unemployment made illegal mining a lucrative option, and it attracted people from all walks of life. But this has now changed. A pastor on sunday, a miner on monday. Paseka moloi has been working the soil for five years. So today, our lives have changed tremendously because we are operating legal and we can handle diamonds, and we can even sell our diamonds in a tender board. We re feeling very lucky here in mr molois camp. We are feeling very lucky here in mr molois camp. Weve just found three green rubies, one red ruby and a crystal. This is a good sign. It means that this soil that we are working on, thats where we could find a diamond. Like many others, 77 year old clara maitse was arrested multiple times for illegally mining precious stones. She has to maintain her nine grandchildren and, until now, had no choice but to work illegally. Translation our industry has been formalised and that means no south african should ever go hungry. Youngsters must roll up their sleeves and work for their money, because the earth and its minerals belong to us. The new permit system has restored the dignity of artisanal miners, and that means they no longer have to risk their lives to put food on the table. The government hopes that this could now become a blueprint for other mining sectors in the country, potentially manganese, gold and chrome something that many current illegal miners will probably welcome. Nomsa maseko, bbc news, kimberley. Back to the uk election for a recap of a memorable moment in the Prime Ministers west london constituency. As the results were announced, borisjohnson shared the stage with a collection of interesting characters. Take a look. Music plays. I, lloyd white, being the acting returning officer for the election of a member of parliament for the uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency, do hereby give notice that the number of votes recorded for each candidate is as follows. Harvey, jonathan david, commonly known as count binface, independent, 69. Cheering and applause. Hughes, david stephen, commonly known as lord buckethead, the official monster raving loony party, 125. Cheering. Burke, norma, independent. Im trying to get across the idea that if Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson wasnt quite so rich and aristocratic, hed be totally working class. 22. Johnson, Alexander Boris de pfeffel, commonly known as borisjohnson, the conservative party candidate, 25,000. Cheering and applause. Borisjohnson is duly elected. Cheering and applause. Thank you. Thank you, mr acting returning officer. I thank my fellow candidates, in all their glory. Uh, lord buckethead, uh, and others. Elmo and others. Forgive me if i if i dont if i dont identify them all. Thanks, Prime Minister maybe those characters will get together and form their own Political Party or, at the very least, release and novelty christmas album. You can reach me on twitter. Im jamesbbcnews. Stay with us. Hello. It may be a windy, showery, and quite cold weekend to come but at least there will be some sunshine occasionally. Here is the picture. Low pressure dominating the scene, these disturbances moving on through with drier, brighter gaps and the isobars quite close together. It is going to be blustery out there. Too much wind, really, to allow too much in the way of frost to start the day on saturday. Just a few pockets in scotland, maybe one or two icy patches around as well. For many of us, there will be some sunny spells from the word go but showers are coming. This area moving north and east across england and wales. Throughout the day, a feed of showers coming into Northern Ireland, wintry on hills. And into scotland, particularly in the west, frequent showers here. Heavy downpours at lower levels. Some heavy snow to some of the hills here. So, walkers, take note of that. It is going to be a blustery day. These are some of the wind gusts and the winds will get stronger again later in the day, down towards the south west of england in particular, as another batch of wet weather starts to move in. And as for those temperatures, most of us in single figures, many of us just into mid single figures. Now, lets just run on through saturday night and follow this area of wet weather feeding north across more of england and wales. Could well be seeing some hill snow out of that through wales, parts of northern england, even into the midlands, to relatively low hills at that. Northern ireland and scotland still seeing some snow falling in some of the hills here. It looks a bit colder across Northern Britain to start off on sunday morning. Icy in places. And again, dont be surprised if its fairly wintry on fairly modest hills through parts of wales, northern england, perhaps the midlands as we start off on sunday morning. But then on sunday, there is a little bit of a gap between weather systems, where more of us will be dry and get to see the sunshine before this comes in later in the day. Still a bit of uncertainty about timing. But, yes, it does look quieter for a time on sunday with some sunshine, perhaps a bit more widespread than it was during saturday. Still, a few of these showers delivering snow to the hills of scotland, mind you. And then, well, as we go on through the afternoon, its across parts of southern england and wales well start to see this next system moving in with outbreaks of showery rain, just putting the wind gusts on again. Maybe not as windy for some of us but those winds really strengthening down towards south wales and South West England again. Late in the day, eventually because it gusts around 60 mph. Similar temperatures. It is going to be chilly. But then again, occasionally, well find ourselves in the sunshine. So to sum up the weekend, then, there will be sunshine occasionally. It is going to be windy. It will be wet at times. And some of us will see some snow, and maybe notjust on the high hills. This is bbc news, the headlines british Prime Minister borisjohnson says its time for the country to come together after his party won a big majority in the uk general election. He repeated his promise that britain will leave the eu by the end of next month. The Housejudiciary Committee in washington has approved two articles of impeachment against President Trump. Its the final stage before a vote in the house on impeachment itself which is expected next week. And american stocks have been given a boost after the us and china struck a preliminary trade agreement, easing tensions between the worlds two biggest economies. The United Nations has accused the police and army in chile of committing serious Human Rights Violations in their response to recent Anti Government demonstrations, in which nearly 30 people were killed. Gla says its own authorities are investigating police. More now on the election. So, labour suffered its worst election defeat since 1935. Not only that, it lost seats in its traditional heartlands former labour strongholds in the midlands, wales and the north of england that had never returned conservative mps before. Our Political Correspondent alex forsyth reports from stoke on trent central, which voted to leave the eu in 2016, and has now gone blue for the first time in its history. Stoke on trents industrial past is still printed on the skyline. With roots in coal, steel and, famously,