BBCNEWS — BBC News
20260808 190000 UTC
542 transcript segments
Original Broadcaster Captioning (Enhanced)
Data courtesy of The GDELT Project (https://www.gdeltproject.org/), from the Internet Archive TV News Archive.
Machine transcription. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a verbatim quotation record.

[00:00:13] Live from London. This is BBC
[00:00:15] News. Fifa says its boss Gianni Infantino
[00:00:18] Infantino strongly denies claims claims that Uefa paid off. A woman
[00:00:22] woman described as his lover when when he was head of European football's
[00:00:26] football's governing body. Oman and and Iran have said their negotiations
[00:00:29] negotiations over new arrangements arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz
[00:00:32] Hormuz have been positive and constructive. constructive. As another ship is
[00:00:35] is reportedly struck in the waterway,
[00:00:37] waterway, at least three people, people, including a child, have been
[00:00:40] been killed in overnight Russian Russian attacks near the Ukrainian
[00:00:44] Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Police are are urging anyone who believes they
[00:00:47] they may have been a victim of the the convicted sex offender and murderer
[00:00:50] murderer Simon Levy, to come forward.
[00:00:53] forward. Spain imposes border controls
[00:00:55] controls against Italy as a row over
[00:00:58] over immigration grows. MUSIC
[00:01:08] MUSIC Hello Hello and welcome. I'm Samantha Simmonds. Simmonds. European football's governing
[00:01:12] governing body Uefa has confirmed confirmed that a payment was made
[00:01:15] made to a departing member of staff
[00:01:17] staff in 2016, after the Daily Telegraph Telegraph reported that the woman
[00:01:21] woman was Gianni Infantino's lover lover at the time. The current Fifa
[00:01:25] Fifa boss was UEFA's general secretary. secretary. Uefa says the payment,
[00:01:28] payment, which also included covering covering the fees for a course at
[00:01:31] at a business school, met its rules rules at the time, but they have
[00:01:35] have since been tightened. Leigh
[00:01:36] Leigh Milner reports. Gianni Infantino
[00:01:39] Infantino was already under pressure pressure over his future as Fifa
[00:01:43] Fifa president. Now he's facing fresh
[00:01:45] fresh questions over claims a woman woman he allegedly had an affair
[00:01:48] affair with was given a six figure figure severance payment by Uefa.
[00:01:52] Uefa. The Daily Telegraph says the the alleged relationship happened
[00:01:55] happened while Infantino, who is is married, was UEFA's general secretary.
[00:02:00] secretary. He strongly denies it. it. His spokesman told the paper
[00:02:03] paper the claims are categorically
[00:02:05] categorically untrue and says there there was never a complaint about
[00:02:09] about his behaviour. In a statement, statement, Uefa said it was aware
[00:02:12] aware of the allegations and can can confirm a departure payment was
[00:02:15] was made to the individual in question, question, coupled with the payment
[00:02:19] payment of fees for an MBA course course at a local business school.
[00:02:22] school. The payment was in line with with the regulations that existed
[00:02:26] existed for departing staff at the
[00:02:28] the time. This comes after calls
[00:02:30] calls for Infantino to resign over over a completely separate controversy.
[00:02:34] controversy. He wanted to sell stakes stakes in the World Cup to private
[00:02:38] private investors. That caused a
[00:02:39] a huge backlash and the plan was
[00:02:42] was eventually dropped. Gianni Infantino Infantino has since apologised for
[00:02:45] for what he called errors, but he
[00:02:48] he hasn't stepped down. He's been
[00:02:50] been busy trying to strengthen his his relationships with officials
[00:02:53] officials and politicians who back back him, like here in Colombia.
[00:02:57] Colombia. He's had the support from from senior figures at Fifa and from
[00:03:00] from football authorities in Africa Africa and South America. But with
[00:03:04] with his future still in question,
[00:03:05] question, the BBC's South America America correspondent Ione Wells
[00:03:08] Wells later asked him if he would would step down. Infantino. Will
[00:03:12] Will you resign after your plan to to sell off part of Fifa failed?
[00:03:16] failed? A word for BBC News. What's What's your response to Europe? Who
[00:03:19] Who say they'll boycott the World
[00:03:21] World Cup? Infantino. For now, he
[00:03:25] he remains in the job. But these
[00:03:27] these latest claims mean the questions
[00:03:29] questions around his future aren't
[00:03:31] aren't going away. Leigh Milner BBC
[00:03:34] BBC News. Well, football journalist journalist Henry Winter explains
[00:03:37] explains how the allegations will will impact Mr Infantino's bid to
[00:03:40] to hang on to his job after weeks
[00:03:42] weeks of controversy. Well, he strongly
[00:03:45] strongly denies them, as he pointed pointed out in the Fifa statement
[00:03:48] statement last night. And we have
[00:03:50] have to start with that. But what
[00:03:53] what it is is the pressure is ramping
[00:03:56] ramping up and whether the people people within Fifa, I mean not everyone
[00:04:00] everyone in Fifa, which is an organisation organisation of 960 people and obviously
[00:04:04] obviously there are people at the the top, whether it's the Fifa Council Council or members of the management
[00:04:07] management board who will have their their own views on him as an individual
[00:04:10] individual and also the plan as you you highlight the World Cup sell
[00:04:14] sell off plan and they will have have issues with that. So the pressure
[00:04:18] pressure will ratchet up and it will will come externally from the media.
[00:04:22] media. It will come from Uefa and and it will come from within. And
[00:04:25] And it's just a question of how much
[00:04:27] much pressure and scrutiny he is is himself is prepared to take or
[00:04:31] or whether he just says no, enough enough is enough and walk away. I
[00:04:35] I mean, so far he's shown little
[00:04:37] little inclination of that. But these these headlines, which obviously
[00:04:40] obviously he strongly denies, can't can't be easy to live with. To what
[00:04:43] what extent do you think he has managed managed to shore up support? Because
[00:04:46] Because we have had various countries countries like Mexico, like Argentina
[00:04:50] Argentina saying they support him. him. How important is that? Well,
[00:04:52] Well, it was no surprise when he
[00:04:54] he went for his crisis meeting. It
[00:04:56] It was in Rabat, Morocco, in Africa,
[00:04:59] Africa, which is the heartland of
[00:05:01] of his support. 54 member associations
[00:05:03] associations of CAF. That's a quarter quarter of the 211 member associations
[00:05:07] associations of Fifa. So very important. important. You know, he does have
[00:05:10] have support around the world and and there was support in certain
[00:05:13] certain parts for this plan of his
[00:05:16] his because $40 million is a lot
[00:05:18] lot of money to quite a few national national associations throughout
[00:05:22] throughout the world, less so in in Europe, which obviously got the
[00:05:25] the Wealthy League's wealthier countries. countries. But yeah, I mean, there
[00:05:28] there absolutely is support for him.
[00:05:30] him. But the clock is ticking because
[00:05:32] because we're now within four weeks
[00:05:34] weeks of the first Fifa tournament, tournament, which is the women's
[00:05:38] women's under 20s in Poland. And
[00:05:41] And obviously there is this Uefa,
[00:05:42] Uefa, this European threat of withdrawing
[00:05:45] withdrawing if effectively he doesn't doesn't go. So what is going to happen,
[00:05:48] happen, do you think in all likelihood
[00:05:51] likelihood with that threat, will will Uefa follow through? How do
[00:05:55] do you predict a saga? I mean it's it's you know it's a giant slalom.
[00:05:58] slalom. It zigzags each way every
[00:05:59] every day. Statements, counter statements,
[00:06:02] statements, headlines stories more more scrutiny, more pressure. I mean,
[00:06:05] mean, you wait for very much standing standing firm on this. I think it's
[00:06:09] it's going to be the crunch over over the under 20s. And then of course
[00:06:13] course we move into the Women's World World Cup qualifiers in October.
[00:06:16] October. The senior Lionesses will
[00:06:18] will be playing in that. So I think think when it actually starts hitting
[00:06:22] hitting the sport, I think people people within Fifa may just have
[00:06:25] have a quiet word and say Johnny,
[00:06:27] Johnny, time to go. Henry Winter Winter there to the Middle East now.
[00:06:30] now. And Oman has joined Iran in in saying that their negotiations
[00:06:34] negotiations over new arrangements arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz
[00:06:36] Hormuz have been positive and constructive. constructive. This is a live look
[00:06:40] look at ship tracking in the Strait Strait movement. There has effectively
[00:06:43] effectively ground to a halt over over the past few months due to the
[00:06:47] the danger posed by the ongoing conflict. conflict. The Omani Foreign ministry
[00:06:51] ministry said today. It warned against against attacks on ships passing
[00:06:54] passing through the waterway, saying saying that they not only broke international
[00:06:58] international law but threatened threatened the security of the region.
[00:07:01] region. Iran has continued to fire fire at vessels using a different
[00:07:04] different route from the one it's it's authorised, even as it's been
[00:07:07] been negotiating with Oman. Mehran
[00:07:10] Mehran Kamrava is head of the Iranian Iranian studies unit at the Arab
[00:07:13] Arab Centre for Research and Policy Policy Studies. He gave me his assessment
[00:07:16] assessment of where the negotiations negotiations stand. Well, I think
[00:07:19] think a deal is close at hand. What
[00:07:22] What is not close at hand is consent
[00:07:25] consent from the United States. What What the Iranians want to do at this
[00:07:29] this point, now that they seem to
[00:07:30] to have an agreement with Oman, is
[00:07:33] is to get some sort of agreement agreement from the United States,
[00:07:36] States, at least the consent from
[00:07:39] from the United States or not from from the US that this agreement will
[00:07:43] will also meet with American approval.
[00:07:47] approval. So what do you think it's
[00:07:50] it's going to take to get this across
[00:07:52] across the line for US approval and
[00:07:55] and for the Strait that all important important straight through which
[00:07:57] which a fifth of the world's oil oil transits or did do before the
[00:08:00] the end of February when this war war started, what's it going to take
[00:08:03] take to get agreement here. If the
[00:08:06] the countries of the Gulf co-operation
[00:08:09] co-operation Council agree to the
[00:08:12] the agreement between Oman and Iran
[00:08:14] Iran in principle, at least then
[00:08:16] then I think the US would would also
[00:08:20] also agree what the what is at stake
[00:08:22] stake is the fact that Iran wants
[00:08:24] wants to have some sort of administrative
[00:08:28] administrative influence over the the strait, which then it can use
[00:08:30] use as a source of leverage, but
[00:08:32] but it also needs the consent of
[00:08:36] of the GCC states and those GCC states
[00:08:39] states can then pressure the United
[00:08:41] United States to either agree or
[00:08:44] or disagree with the broad outlines outlines of the agreement between
[00:08:47] between Iran and Oman. Yeah. And And those GCC countries have been
[00:08:50] been badly affected directly by strikes
[00:08:53] strikes from Iran over the past few
[00:08:55] few months. Where do they sit when when it comes to where they're going
[00:08:59] going to exert pressure? Do you think?
[00:09:02] think? Well, you're absolutely right. right. Not only have they been subject
[00:09:05] subject to direct hits from Iran,
[00:09:07] Iran, but simply the cost of business
[00:09:10] business has gone up a great deal
[00:09:12] deal here. And the supply chain has
[00:09:15] has been disrupted in terms of heavy heavy equipment, construction equipment
[00:09:20] equipment and anything that needs
[00:09:22] needs to be transported by sea routes
[00:09:25] routes rather than by air craft.
[00:09:28] craft. And so those states, the states
[00:09:30] states of the GCC are under tremendous
[00:09:33] tremendous pressure to see this conflict conflict end and to see the Strait
[00:09:37] Strait of Hormuz open, and therefore therefore they will put pressure
[00:09:40] pressure on the US to come to some
[00:09:43] some sort of agreement with Iran. Iran. It's more than five months
[00:09:46] months since this war started. The The aim initially, certainly in the
[00:09:50] the first few hours, was the toppling toppling of the regime that was reassessed
[00:09:53] reassessed very quickly by the US
[00:09:56] US but the supreme leader, the Ayatollah, Ayatollah, was killed in strikes
[00:09:59] strikes in the first few hours. Where
[00:10:01] Where do you assess the regime and
[00:10:03] and its strengths to be right
[00:10:09] now? Well, there's no doubt that that Iran has suffered economically
[00:10:12] economically and that it is in a
[00:10:14] a worst set of circumstances now
[00:10:17] now than it was prior to the war war and those conditions back then
[00:10:21] then were dire. But at the same time,
[00:10:25] time, militarily and strategically, strategically, Iran appears to have
[00:10:27] have the upper hand, at least insofar
[00:10:29] insofar as the Persian Gulf region
[00:10:31] region and specifically the Strait
[00:10:34] Strait of Hormuz are concerned. So So it's a mixed bag economically.
[00:10:37] economically. It's suffering, but but certainly strategically and militarily,
[00:10:41] militarily, it appears to have not not only survived but has a stronger
[00:10:45] stronger hand. Now. Does it have have a stronger hand? How would you
[00:10:49] you assess the success of Israeli
[00:10:51] Israeli and US strikes on the country
[00:10:54] country in as far as depleting their
[00:10:57] their hardware and their capabilities, capabilities, both nuclear ambitions
[00:11:00] ambitions and when it comes to ballistic ballistic missile programme? Well,
[00:11:03] Well, certainly Iran has suffered
[00:11:06] suffered militarily a great deal. deal. But what it has managed to
[00:11:09] to do is to turn a military conflict
[00:11:12] conflict into an economic one. It
[00:11:15] It has successfully put pressure
[00:11:18] pressure on the GCC states. It has
[00:11:20] has put the squeeze on the world world energy markets. It has brought
[00:11:24] brought shipping to a halt in the
[00:11:26] the Strait of Hormuz. So despite
[00:11:29] despite significant military losses,
[00:11:34] losses, it has a stronger strategic strategic position. Prior to the
[00:11:37] the start of the war because of the
[00:11:39] the economic leverage and the economic economic pressure, it has been able
[00:11:44] able to put on the GCC and elsewhere.
[00:11:47] elsewhere. Mehran Kamrava their president, president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has
[00:11:50] has issued a fresh call for more more US made Patriot interceptor
[00:11:54] interceptor missiles after Ukraine's Ukraine's air defences failed again
[00:11:57] again to intercept incoming Russian Russian ballistic missiles. Three
[00:12:00] Three people, including a child, child, were killed in an overnight
[00:12:03] overnight attack near the Ukrainian Ukrainian capital Kyiv. It happened happened in the east of the city,
[00:12:07] city, and witnesses say residential residential buildings and a fuel
[00:12:10] fuel tank were hit. Meanwhile, Ukraine's Ukraine's military said its drones
[00:12:13] drones struck two Russian oil refineries refineries as part of a long running
[00:12:16] running strategy to disrupt Russia's Russia's oil production, which it
[00:12:19] it says are being used to finance finance its war in Ukraine. From
[00:12:22] From Kyiv. Dan Johnson sent this
[00:12:25] this report. This is the level of
[00:12:28] of destruction Russian drones are are inflicting on Ukrainian family
[00:12:31] family homes. They struck after midnight midnight here, taking the lives of
[00:12:35] of a three-year-old boy and his grandparents,
[00:12:39] grandparents, his brother and their their parents were injured, along
[00:12:41] along with a neighbour who tried
[00:12:43] tried to save them. Ukrainian prosecutors prosecutors say this could amount
[00:12:47] amount to a war crime. Svetlana lives
[00:12:50] lives next door. My husband rushed
[00:12:53] rushed to get water to put out the the fire, but that didn't help. The
[00:12:56] The neighbours rushed out trying trying to rescue a small child but
[00:13:00] but they couldn't find the child.
[00:13:05] child. This is where the sacrifices sacrifices of Ukrainian soldiers
[00:13:09] soldiers are commemorated. But recent recent strikes have highlighted the
[00:13:12] the ongoing risk to ordinary people people because Ukraine says it just
[00:13:16] just doesn't have what it needs to
[00:13:18] to defend its skies. The other key key priority here is pushing for
[00:13:21] for tougher sanctions against Russia.
[00:13:26] Russia. And so President Zelensky Zelensky is for the first time visiting
[00:13:30] visiting Serbia, a traditional Russian Russian ally, one of the few countries
[00:13:34] countries not to impose sanctions.
[00:13:37] sanctions. In a time of war, we value value and are deeply grateful for
[00:13:41] for the help Ukraine receives from
[00:13:42] from other countries and other nations.
[00:13:46] nations. Ukraine has again been targeting targeting Russian oil facilities
[00:13:49] facilities in the latest round of of attacks. Both sides have exchanged
[00:13:53] exchanged in this increasingly dangerous dangerous phase of the war. Dan Johnson,
[00:13:57] Johnson, BBC News Kyiv. In the UK,
[00:14:00] UK, police are urging anyone who who believes they may have been a
[00:14:02] a victim of the convicted sex offender offender and murderer Simon Levy
[00:14:06] Levy to come forward. He was found found guilty yesterday of murdering
[00:14:09] murdering two women and raping another. another. There have been calls for
[00:14:12] for a major review into how he was was able to continue offending. Tom
[00:14:15] Tom Symonds report contained some
[00:14:17] some distressing details. Simon,
[00:14:21] Simon, Simon, stay where you are.
[00:14:23] are. Simon Levy. The sexual predator
[00:14:26] predator and killer arrested. Time Time you're under arrest on suspicion
[00:14:29] suspicion of murder. OK. After time
[00:14:32] time and freed, allowing him to carry carry out a string of sexual assaults
[00:14:36] assaults and eventually two murders. murders. The Metropolitan Police
[00:14:39] Police admits he could have been been stopped before killing his second
[00:14:43] second victim. Now there are inquiries inquiries into what went wrong inside
[00:14:47] inside two police forces and the the criminal justice system. Levy
[00:14:50] Levy was free to carry out a series series of sexual assaults on the
[00:14:54] the London Underground, including including one filmed by a woman he
[00:14:58] he had already assaulted. The police police watchdog is investigating
[00:15:01] investigating an officer for potential potential gross misconduct and a
[00:15:04] a detective sergeant for misconduct. misconduct. Were policies designed
[00:15:08] designed to protect women followed. followed. Are there any lessons to
[00:15:11] to be learnt? And now there are demands
[00:15:14] demands for a wider look at how the the system failed. We need all the
[00:15:17] the agencies involved to answer for for why there wasn't better information
[00:15:21] information sharing, and why the the assessment of risk he posed wasn't wasn't good enough. And then the
[00:15:25] the response that he received by by the police, by the CPS and the
[00:15:28] the courts, the fact he wasn't placed placed on remand earlier, the police
[00:15:30] police didn't treat his first murder murder as a murder. There was a lack
[00:15:34] lack of restrictions that could have have been placed on him. After all,
[00:15:37] all, Levy was released on bail despite despite the British Transport Police
[00:15:41] Police warning the courts at one one point he was a danger to the
[00:15:44] the public at high risk of predatory predatory sexual offending against
[00:15:48] against women. The families of Carmenza
[00:15:52] Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo and Sheryl Sheryl Wilkins have now seen him
[00:15:54] him jailed. The Metropolitan Police Police has actively investigated
[00:15:58] investigated whether he committed committed other murders, but today
[00:16:01] today police said they wanted to to hear from anyone he might have
[00:16:04] have assaulted. Tom Symonds. BBC
[00:16:07] BBC News. Spain has brought in border
[00:16:09] border checks on people travelling travelling from Italy, escalating
[00:16:12] escalating a migration row between between the two EU countries. Madrid's
[00:16:16] Madrid's month long suspension applies applies not just to citizens of third
[00:16:19] third countries arriving from Italy,
[00:16:21] Italy, but also to Italians themselves. themselves. Spain was angered by
[00:16:25] by Italy's response to last week's week's sudden influx of tens of thousands
[00:16:29] thousands of would be migrants into into the Spanish territory of Ceuta
[00:16:32] Ceuta on Morocco's coast. Italy promptly promptly imposed border restrictions
[00:16:36] restrictions on third country travellers travellers from Spain, which will
[00:16:38] will last until at least mid-August. mid-August. Our southern Europe correspondent
[00:16:42] correspondent Sarah Rainsford is is in Rome. She explained how this
[00:16:45] this row over migration has created created a rift within the heart of
[00:16:48] of Europe. It's definitely escalated
[00:16:51] escalated overnight with Spain retaliating
[00:16:54] retaliating for the Italian restrictions.
[00:16:56] restrictions. The measures themselves
[00:16:59] themselves involve essentially passengers passengers who are arriving into
[00:17:03] into Spain from Italy being met from
[00:17:06] from planes and from boats. If there there are any cruise liners by extra
[00:17:09] extra police officers now they're they're being met at the terminal
[00:17:12] terminal before they reach the terminal terminal itself rather than being
[00:17:14] being taken to passport control. control. But there are now spot checks
[00:17:18] checks being carried out. I understand understand from the Spanish police
[00:17:21] police that they're inspecting around around about 10% of the passengers passengers on every flight coming
[00:17:25] coming in, but we're talking about about dozens of flights, I think think around about 200 flights from
[00:17:29] from Italy to Spain today alone. alone. We are at the height of tourist
[00:17:31] tourist season, of course. So this this is happening, this diplomatic
[00:17:35] diplomatic escalation, if you like, like, right? When there is the largest
[00:17:39] largest passenger flow between the the two countries and of course, course, passengers from Spain coming
[00:17:42] coming to Italy are facing similar similar checks here. And so where
[00:17:46] where is this likely to go at the the moment it's for a month. And
[00:17:50] And is the suggestion is the thinking
[00:17:51] thinking that will be it. Well yeah.
[00:17:56] yeah. I mean there's a debate going going on a political fight in public.
[00:17:59] public. I'm not quite sure what negotiations negotiations going on behind the
[00:18:02] the scenes. But certainly this step step taken by Spain came because
[00:18:05] because it gave Italy an ultimatum. ultimatum. It said, look, lift the
[00:18:08] the measures that you've implemented. implemented. They are politically politically motivated. It is scare
[00:18:11] scare mongering. There is no security security threat to Italy from the
[00:18:15] the fact that tens of thousands of
[00:18:18] of Moroccan, primarily migrants, migrants, entered Ceuta because they've
[00:18:21] they've almost all of them gone back. back. And anyway, none of them reached
[00:18:24] reached the European mainland. So So Spain was furious at the Italian
[00:18:27] Italian reaction and it has now retaliated retaliated because Italy said it
[00:18:30] it wouldn't accept ultimatums, it it wouldn't change its position and and that the measures in Italy will
[00:18:34] will stay in place for at least a a couple of weeks. So there's a big
[00:18:38] big debate over how long the two
[00:18:40] two sides will keep this up. Certainly Certainly Italy is pointing to social
[00:18:44] social media rumours suggesting there
[00:18:46] there may be another surge of migrants
[00:18:48] migrants trying to swim into Ceuta Ceuta on the 15th of August, and
[00:18:51] and Italy's pointing to that saying saying look, the security threat, threat, the terror threat they're
[00:18:55] they're saying is severe at the moment. moment. So we're going to keep the the measures in place. Spain is simply
[00:18:59] simply saying this is all politics politics and we will retaliate so
[00:19:02] so long as Italy continues to implement implement these restrictions. So
[00:19:06] So who knows where this will go. go. But certainly I think it does
[00:19:09] does point to a real serious rift rift at the heart of Europe, frankly,
[00:19:13] frankly, about how illegal migration migration is dealt with very different
[00:19:16] different positions from the left left and the right of politics here
[00:19:20] here on the continent. Sarah Rainsford Rainsford there to Kosovo now, where
[00:19:23] where an opposition MP threw eggs eggs at the acting Prime Minister,
[00:19:26] Minister, Albin Kurti, on Saturday, Saturday, lawmakers and police rushed
[00:19:30] rushed to intervene as Alliance Party
[00:19:32] Party MP Time Kadrijaj pulled eggs eggs from her purse and threw them
[00:19:36] them toward the Prime Minister while while shouting shame, shame! The
[00:19:40] The incident occurred after Mr Kurti Kurti told parliament he needed more
[00:19:43] more time to hold talks with other other parties before proposing a
[00:19:47] a candidate for speaker following following the June snap election.
[00:19:50] election. The incident underscored underscored the political deadlock deadlock that has gripped the small
[00:19:54] small Balkan country for nearly two
[00:19:58] two years. The United States has
[00:20:00] has pledged $1 billion in security security assistance to Colombia after
[00:20:03] after the inauguration of its new new right wing president, Abelardo
[00:20:07] Abelardo de la Espriella. In his his fiery maiden speech, Mr de la
[00:20:11] la Espriella pledged to crush armed armed insurgents, rebuild the country
[00:20:15] country and defend democracy by reason
[00:20:18] reason or by force. Colombia has has significant natural resources,
[00:20:21] resources, including substantial substantial oil reserves, but is
[00:20:23] is also home to violent drug trafficking trafficking organisations and is
[00:20:27] is the world's leading producer of of cocaine. Colombia's new president
[00:20:31] president is seen as an ally of President President Trump and has pledged to
[00:20:34] to be forceful and decisive against against crime. Our global affairs
[00:20:38] affairs reporter Mimi Swaby explains explains how the new president has
[00:20:41] has made it his mission to tackle
[00:20:43] tackle the so-called narco terrorism terrorism in the country. Now, a
[00:20:47] a lot of De la Estrella was a very
[00:20:50] very successful ex-lawyer who actually actually defended drug trafficking
[00:20:54] trafficking paramilitaries before before he entered politics. Now he's
[00:20:57] he's vowed a very sharp break with with his leftist predecessor, Gustavo
[00:21:01] Gustavo Petro, replacing peace talks
[00:21:04] talks with relentlessly crushing crushing armed insurgents, rebuilding rebuilding the country and really
[00:21:08] really overhauling the state with with lots of changes in place. It'll
[00:21:12] It'll be interesting to see how many
[00:21:14] many of these very kind of Iron Fist
[00:21:16] Fist policies he's able to push through through some he can push through
[00:21:20] through a decree by decree. But many
[00:21:23] many of his proposals will require require backing from a divided Congress
[00:21:26] Congress in Colombia. So they will will perhaps have to be watered down
[00:21:29] down to be pushed through. He is
[00:21:31] is really come onto the stage, though,
[00:21:34] though, with very strong warnings
[00:21:36] warnings to armed groups in the area.
[00:21:39] area. Interestingly, he had his oath oath of office in Cali, not Bogota.
[00:21:43] Bogota. Now Cali is an area where
[00:21:44] where illegal armed groups have a
[00:21:47] a lot of influence. It's a very volatile volatile area, he said in his speech
[00:21:51] speech as well and reiterated today today on social media that Colombia
[00:21:54] Colombia is entering a new era the
[00:21:56] the era of a tiger. Now he's given given himself a very much a self-appointed self-appointed nickname, referring
[00:22:00] referring to himself as a tiger. tiger. And he said that the state
[00:22:03] state is going to use forceful, forceful forceful and decisive action against
[00:22:06] against crime. He's seen images shared shared throughout this campaign of
[00:22:10] of a fanged tiger himself as that that tiger. And he warned that the
[00:22:14] the tiger knows how to bite. So some
[00:22:17] some very clear warnings to armed armed groups and a very strong approach,
[00:22:21] approach, which we really heard in
[00:22:23] in that speech. An overnight sitting sitting of the Republican controlled
[00:22:27] controlled US Senate has narrowly narrowly approved President Trump's
[00:22:29] Trump's former lawyer, Todd Blanche,
[00:22:31] Blanche, as Attorney General. Mr Mr Blanche, who has been acting Attorney
[00:22:35] Attorney General since April, was
[00:22:37] was approved by 50 votes to 49 after
[00:22:39] after several Republican senators senators relented following weeks
[00:22:42] weeks of uncertainty, Democrats unanimously
[00:22:46] unanimously opposed his appointment. appointment. White House reporter reporter Bernd Debusmann explained
[00:22:49] explained why the Senate vote was
[00:22:50] was so narrow. I think more than
[00:22:53] than anything, his proximity with with President Trump over the years years as his personal attorney had
[00:22:57] had led to some concern even among among Senate Republicans. But much
[00:23:01] much more recently, there was a lot
[00:23:03] lot of questions about how Mr Blanche
[00:23:07] Blanche handled the $1.8 billion billion anti-weaponisation fund that that the administration said would
[00:23:10] would be used to compensate alleged
[00:23:13] alleged victims of judicial persecution persecution in previous administrations,
[00:23:17] administrations, as well as his handling handling of the Epstein files. And
[00:23:20] And I think collectively, even among among some of President Trump's political
[00:23:24] political allies, those two things things really did raise a lot of
[00:23:26] of alarm. And that's what led to
[00:23:28] to this very, very razor thin vote.
[00:23:31] vote. The man who actually cast the the deciding vote. Bill Cassidy is
[00:23:35] is a frequent critic of President
[00:23:37] President Trump's. But he said that that he just wasn't sure that if
[00:23:41] if President Trump would end up nominating nominating someone who he sees as
[00:23:44] as a worst option. So I think even
[00:23:46] even there, you saw quite a lot of of even though the vote was successful,
[00:23:50] successful, you saw quite a lot of of dissent from within the Republican Republican Party before the vote
[00:23:54] vote took place. And tell us a little little bit more about the role of
[00:23:57] of Attorney General, what it means
[00:24:00] means and what his appointment could
[00:24:02] could mean legally in the
[00:24:08] country. Well, he's very much the the become now the top law enforcement enforcement officer in the United
[00:24:11] United States. It's an enormously
[00:24:13] enormously influential position overseeing overseeing the really vast Department
[00:24:17] Department of Justice and all the the investigations that it carries
[00:24:19] carries out. And that's part of the
[00:24:22] the concern many Democrats had pointed pointed to him and said that they
[00:24:25] they were concerned that he would
[00:24:28] would essentially serve as the tool
[00:24:31] tool of the Trump administration administration to go after perceived
[00:24:33] perceived political opponents in
[00:24:35] in the future. But it is a very important
[00:24:38] important role in which he does oversee
[00:24:41] oversee essentially the entire federal federal law enforcement bureaucracy.
[00:24:45] bureaucracy. And how long will he
[00:24:46] he be in that role for? Well, at
[00:24:50] at the very least until there's if if there's another administration,
[00:24:53] administration, then it would be be up to them to nominate a new one.
[00:24:57] one. So for at least the next two two and a half years or so and then
[00:25:01] then depending on who comes to the the White House following the 2020
[00:25:05] 2020 election, it may well be that that there is a different Attorney
[00:25:07] Attorney General. It's a position position that comes and goes most
[00:25:11] most often with changes in administration. administration. Bernd Debusmann there
[00:25:14] there now, the hot air Balloon Fiesta Fiesta in Bristol is a sight for
[00:25:18] for sore eyes. Yesterday saw two two mass ascents as they're known
[00:25:22] known and also a night glow in which which the balloons were lit up against
[00:25:26] against the dark sky. Today's mass mass ascent took place under beautiful
[00:25:30] beautiful blue skies and perfect perfect ballooning weather. This
[00:25:33] This is the 48th annual festival festival held in Bristol. Because
[00:25:35] Because the city is historically historically the capital of modern
[00:25:38] modern hot air ballooning in the
[00:25:41] the UK. Now I just want to bring bring you a weather system that we
[00:25:45] we are keeping across and this is is an animation of Typhoon Dolphin,
[00:25:48] Dolphin, a storm that's expected expected to make landfall on China's
[00:25:51] China's eastern coast late on Sunday
[00:25:53] Sunday or early Monday. The storm
[00:25:56] storm swept across Japan's Okinawa Okinawa island, injuring at least
[00:25:59] least five people and cutting power
[00:26:01] power to more than 40,000 buildings. buildings. Plenty more details on
[00:26:04] on that on all the day's top stories stories on the BBC News website.
[00:26:07] website. Stay with us here on
[00:28:25] online at bbc.com/business to get get the latest news wherever you
[00:28:27] you are. Business on BBC News. Make
[00:28:31] Make the connection. There is nothing
[00:28:39] nothing like driving into a moving moving story and not knowing what
[00:28:42] what is going to happen when we enter enter Damascus. It was full of rebels
[00:28:45] rebels shooting in the air in celebration. celebration. You can hear the sound
[00:28:49] sound of celebratory gunfire. Nobody Nobody knew what was going to happen.
[00:28:51] happen. And I live for those moments. moments. These troops are heading
[00:28:54] heading into the battle zone in Khartoum, Khartoum, says the army to carry
[00:28:57] carry out a special operation entering entering Khartoum after the Sudanese
[00:29:00] Sudanese army recaptured it was a
[00:29:02] a seminal moment. The level of destruction destruction was stunning. It was
[00:29:06] was the largest market in Sudan. Sudan. But you can see the level
[00:29:09] level of destruction now when things
[00:29:10] things become volatile and unpredictable, unpredictable, it's crucial to stay
[00:29:14] stay focused. There's a standoff
[00:29:17] standoff between police and protesters protesters here after another police
[00:29:20] police shooting of a black man in in Minnesota,
[00:29:27] Minnesota, sometimes meeting someone on the ground can change change how you understand a story. story. I'm thinking of a number of
[00:29:31] of women that I met in Sudan talking talking about the hardships they
[00:29:33] they experienced. Covering these
[00:29:36] these stories over the years has has impressed upon me how resilient
[00:29:39] resilient people are. And yes, many many of them are desperate and exhausted,
[00:29:42] exhausted, but many of them are also also steadfast. They're gracious
[00:29:46] gracious and they're generous. Journalism Journalism is about being there as
[00:29:49] as events unfold and telling people people not only what happened, but
[00:29:53] but why it matters and what it means.
[00:29:56] means. History happens in real time time and someone needs to be there
[00:29:59] there to witness it.
[00:30:12] Now on BBC News, we're off on a
[00:30:14] journey of discovery to explore new new destinations around the globe
[00:30:17] globe and uncover hidden sides to to some of the world's favourite
[00:30:20] favourite holiday hotspots. With
[00:30:21] With The Travel Show team. France
[00:30:31] France is the food capital of the
[00:30:34] the world from high end cuisine to
[00:30:38] to the small neighbourhood bistros bistros that are at the heart of
[00:30:41] of everyday dining. But across France
[00:30:44] France things are changing. The bistro
[00:30:47] bistro is under threat. These family family run restaurants where you
[00:30:50] you could get a three course meal meal for under 20, are closing at
[00:30:54] at an alarming rate. It's thought
[00:30:56] thought around 25 a day. Even the