To abortion until fetal viability, which is about 2k weeks into a pregnancy. Tuesdays ballot proposal called issue one asked voters if changes to The State Constitution By Public Vote should pass with 60 of the vote instead of the current 50 Majority Threshold needed. That measure failed. Celebrations by opponents of the measure followed with Voting Rights groups calling it a win. And a statement, President Biden said democracy won since the Us Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections with roe v wade last year, states have raced to either protect or restrict abortion. If you look at the polling, nationwide, about 62 of americans say that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Thats compared with just 36 who say it should be illegal in all or most cases. Earlier, i spoke to karen kasler, the bureau chief at the Ohio Statehouse News bureau, for more on what these ohio results mean. Were you surprised by the result . How are people reacting to it . I actually wasnt surprised, because this was something that we could see building over the last couple of days. Ohio has a month long early voting period, and the number of ohioans who voted early was huge 700,000 ohioans, more than twice the number who voted last year in our primaries for governor and us senate. So this was a big turn out already, and it was expected to be a low turn out, because its august. People arent thinking about elections. But this turned out to get a lot of interest. I mean, its gotten global interest at this point. So, while it was a very pitched battle between the two sides, it really seemed like the no side had the momentum going in. It does, as you say, come ahead of a November Vote on Abortion Rights. Do you expect further challenges to expanding Abortion Access . I would think so. I mean, this amendment to change the constitution to require that 60 threshold was clearly designed to be put into place before that November Vote on Abortion Rights. I mean, republican lawmakers who put this before voters said as much, and were pretty clear about that. And so, now that we know that the abortion amendment will only need a simple majority to pass, then republicans who are opposed to Abortion Rights are likely to consider some other options potentially. There is already a lawsuit to try to stop this from going to the ballot in november. But lawmakers could also change ohios Abortion Laws and potentially soften voters� attitudes and may make them not want to pass an amendment that would allow for abortion until viability. So, karen, what do you think, then, this tells us, this result tells us tonight about ohio, often described as a red tinged state . Its a state that hasnt voted for a democrat for president in over 10 years. Its not a red tinged state. Its a solidly red state. But i think this really shows that there is. There are some issues that do cross party lines. I mean, the coalition that was opposed to this was enormous. Ive never seen anything like it in the 20 years ive been reporting here. It was a lot of democratic groups, but there were some republicans who were against this as well. Two of ohios four living ex governors are republicans. They were opposed, as well as the democratic ex governors. Five ex attorneys general from ohio were all opposed to this, from both parties. So there were a lot of republicans and conservatives who thought that this was a problem because it would allow essentially a minority of voters to potentially block something that a majority, more than 50 , want, but not 60 . So, karen, what do you think this means, then, for the Abortion Vote in november . I think whats really interesting here is, first of all, it will only take a simple majority and not that 60 to pass that reproductive rights and Abortion Access amendment. But theres another law thats also likely to make the november ballot, and that will be a legalisation of marijuana statute. And who knows what thats going to bring in terms of Voter Turnout . But certainly, this is a year, an odd year election, so an off year, as some people refer to it. There are no candidates, no president ial races or anything like that. This is going to be a lot of interest for such an off year election, for such an odd year election. And broadening this out, then, karen, what do you think the results of this election tell us about 202a . Tell us about the issues that voters care about. I think the challenge here for both republicans and democrats is to try to read what these results say about their individual supporters, because certainly republicans were very strongly supportive of this. They lost. Republicans have typically won in ohio. So going into 2024, they have to look at that. Democrats also could potentially look at this as an opportunity to break through. Democrats have had terrible results in the polls in ohio in the last 10, 15 years. And so they could be looking at this as an opportunity to really try to boost their numbers and to try to bring independents and moderate republicans on board. So, it really does kind of open things up, i think, not only for november, but also for 202a. Karen kasler, bureau chief at the Ohio State House news bureau, thanks so much for being with us this evening. Its great to talk to you. Thanks the closely watched Amazon Summit in brazil wrapped up day one with a pledge from nations to create a new alliance to fight deforestation in the region. It is the first time in 14 years that leaders of eight amazon countries are meeting, vowing on tuesday to stop the amazon from reaching a point of no return. The lengthy roadmap outlined in the city of belaine promotes sustainable development, an end to deforestation, and fighting the organised crime that fuels it. Lets take a look at whats at stake then. The amazon stretches nearly Seven Million square kilometres, or nearly Three Million square miles. About two thirds of that is in brazil. Another seven countries and one territory share the remaining third. Under brazils former president , jair bolsonaro, years of deforestation in the amazon worsened. The orange on this map shows the areas of deforestation between 2019 and 2022 in the state of para where the summit is being held. But new data shows a positive Shift Deforestation in the amazon fell by 66 last month compared to the year before. Its now at its lowest rate in six years. Our correspondent katy watson has more. Virgin forest still exists here in the amazon, but every day, the illegal loggers get closer. From up high, you can see the damage done, the large patches of land totally cleared. This part of brazil has the highest rate of deforestation in the country. Underjair bolsonaro, Illegal Logging soared. President Lula Da Silva has promised to fix the problem. Translation the challenges of our era and the opportunities that arise demand joint action. We need to reconcile Environmental Protection and social inclusion, encourage science, technology and innovation, encourage the local economy, fight international crime, and value the Indigenous People and traditional communities and their ancestral knowledge. For those living under the rainforest� s canopy, its been a difficult few years. Translation you have i no idea how much pressure there was in our community under the bolsonaro government. Landowners, circling planes, soya farmers wanting to buy the land to deforest it. Cockerel crows robson, though, didnt get bought out. Instead, he wants to grow sustainable crops like acai. Hes part of a booming Carbon Credit Industry here. Companies emitting Carbon Dioxide can buy credits from projects like hobson� s, and that should help reduce emissions, but not everyone is convinced. Bianca and herfamily, like many in the region, want Better Services like schools and health centres. But theyre suspicious of these new carbon Credit Companies offering to help them. Translation it is not that transparent. We cannot see how it would give us a secure life. We are always on the back foot and fear the consequences. Because of the stories we heard, we decided not to sign a contract. And that is a problem. When People Struggle to get by, and when the state fails to help them, it is easier to accept money from lucrative Illegal Logging. Ensuring the amazons future means improving the lives of nearly 50 Million People who live here. Just to get to this part of the amazon, it took 13 hours overnight on a riverboat, and now, this smaller boat, to get to the communities here. But if you look on a map, it all looks so close together, and itjust goes to show how vast the amazon is, but also, how difficult it is to navigate, and, ultimately, also, how difficult it will be for lula to achieve his zero deforestation by 2030. Which is why he needs the backing of all of the countries who share the amazon. Leaders are expected to offer solutions to Illegal Logging and mining, moving away from big infrastructure projects. But money talks, and without offering a better life for those who live in the forest, any discussion of conservation is pointless. Now to the us west coast where canadian rapper tory lanez has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting and wounding the hip hop star meghan thee stallion. During the trial in los angeles, the jury heard that the pair had an argument after leaving a hollywood party. Lawyers for lanez say they will appeal the sentence. Pakistans former prime minister, imran khan, has been barred from Holding Public office for five years by the countrys electoral authorities. The decision comesjust three days after mr khan was sentenced to three years in prison for corruption. The announcement means he will be dismissed as a Member Of Parliament and unable to stand for Public Office until 2028. Our pakistan correspondent Caroline Davis has more. From the moment imran khan was declared guilty on saturday, this disqualification was expected. It sets out in Pakistan Palme Constitution that if you are found guilty on like these, you will not be allowed to hold Public Office. But his lawyers and supporters had hoped that there might be a way to slow the process down through appeals in the court, they would fight this in court before this disqualification would happen. That usually hasnt occurred. The Electoral Commission within a matter of days has found they have disqualified one. That means you wont be able to hold Public Office and he is not allowed to contest the election. His party are trying what they can to try to push back on the messaging. Earlier today they had a meeting with a declared imran khan chairman for life and they have said out in Public Statement that if he is allowed to go through the court system, that they will be able to declare him innocent in all of the charges that have been brought against him. Now, thatis been brought against him. Now, that is a lot easier said than done. It could take months upon months to try and overturn any conviction like this if at all possible in the first place. Imran khan is running down on the clock at the moment. The General Elections are expected in pakistan relatively soon although we do not have a set date for them yet, and at the moment, the roadblocks put in imran khans way to contest the General Election keep getting bigger and bigger. General election keep getting biggerand bigger. It General Election keep getting bigger and bigger. It looks increasingly difficult him to be able to overcome them, which means that as things currently stand, unless he can do something and find some of appeal, we wont be standing in the General Elections in pakistan. Around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. Lets look at some other stories making news The World Bank is pausing the distribution of new funds to uganda, saying the countrys anti lgbto laws contradict its values. The new law makes being homosexual punishable by death or life imprisonment. Existing projects funded by the bank will not be affected by this decision. The bank recently gave the country over 5 billion in aid. The Us Supreme Court granted the Biden Administrations request to reinstate a federal regulation to curb privately made firearms called � ghost guns at least for now. The 5 4 decision put on Hold A July Decision by a District Judge in texas that blocked the administrations 2022 rule. Under the rule, the government has the power to regulate Ghost Gunsjust as traditional firearms are. Republican president ial hopeful and Florida Governor ron desantis replaced his Campaign Manager on tuesday in what some analysts are calling a continued shake up to his campaign. The job will be filled by desantiss Chief Of Staff for his gubernatorial office. This is the third major reshuffling of desa ntiss campaign. Youre live with bbc news. To niger now, wherejunta leaders have refused to host a visit from the un, the African Union and the Economic Community of west african states, or ecowas, following their takover last month. They said that the decision was due to security concerns. The ecowas head and president of nigeria, bola tinubu, said that hes not ruling out Military Intervention but believes a diplomatic approach is the best way forward. Coup leaders have denounced what they call a climate of threatened aggression towards the country. Reports say they have reached out to Russian Mercernary forces the wagner group for support. Its unconfirmed if the group has arrived in the country. Meanwhile, the influence of the group, continues to grow in niger and africas sahel region. Earlier, the bbc spoke exclusively to us Secretary Of StateAntony Blinken about this development. Every single place that this group, wagner group, has gone, death, destruction and exportation have followed. Exploitation. Insecurity has gone up, not down. It hasnt been a response to the needs of the countries in question for greater security. What continues to happen in niger was not instigated by russia or by wagner, but to the extent that they try to take advantage of it and we see a repeat of what has happened in other countries, where they brought nothing but bad things in their wake, that wouldnt be good. Meanwhile, the wagner leader, yevgeny prigozhin, released an Audio Message where he seemed to offer support to coup leaders in niger. The recording emerged on telegram, though the date and location cannot be independently verified. Translation we are always on the side of goodness, justice, and on the side of those fight for sovereignty and the rights of their people. Call us anytime. Earlier, my colleague Caitriona Perry spoke to Us Ambassador to the United NationsLinda Thomas Greenfield about the situation in niger. The Acting Deputy us Secretary Of StateVictoria Newland visited on monday and described the situation on the ground does not contorting with the constitution, and officially calling it a coup has serious legal implications but not least because most us aid would have to be stopped but the Biden Administration considers action there not to be in line with the constitution and the delegation was physically stopped from seeing the president in person, is that not a coup . It is certainly an attempt at a coup. But we still believe that president bazoum is the recognised elected leader of niger and we will continue to push for his release. We have supported the efforts of ecowas, they have called for his release and called for the military to stand down stop but if those present there at the moment are not allowing your delegation to visit with the president , they had also refused a visit from a ecowas delegation. That is a very serious situation. How concerned are you about the safety of president bazoum . It is a serious situation and we are concerned about his safety. We have stayed engaged with him over the course of his detention, spoken with him on the phone several times. I have been in t