Original Broadcaster Captioning (Enhanced). Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:00people are hoping that Andy Burnham Burnham will do. I mean, we've had
00:00:03had the Milburn review and the Mayfield Mayfield review into the workplace
00:00:06workplace and sickness. We've had had the times review stepping stones
00:00:09stones to an obvious segue of welfare welfare reform. I think there's a
00:00:12a great chance for cross-party consensus consensus on this. And if Labour
00:00:16Labour the Labour Party can't do do it, the clues in the name, then then what is the Labour Party for?
00:00:19for? Thank you both very much this this evening. Thank you. That is
00:00:23is it from us. We're back tomorrow.
00:00:27tomorrow. Good night.
00:00:43MUSIC
00:00:51Hello. I'm Amanda Walker in
00:00:53Washington and this is BBC World
00:00:55World News America. Russia hammers hammers Ukraine for another night
00:00:59night as Ukraine's president vows vows retaliation if Russian strikes
00:01:03strikes on the country's energy grid
00:01:05grid continue. The BBC goes inside
00:01:08inside Yemen as Saudi backed government government forces work to regain
00:01:12regain control of coastal land from from the Houthis as the ongoing war
00:01:15war takes a toll on the population.
00:01:18population. This whole area has just
00:01:20just been retaken by pro-government pro-government forces. They captured
00:01:24captured it about three days ago. ago. Until then, the Houthis were
00:01:28were in control here. And US Congresswoman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar condemns
00:01:31condemns a raid on her home believed
00:01:33believed to be part of an ongoing
00:01:36ongoing federal criminal investigation.
00:01:50Thanks for being with us. We start in the Ukrainian capital as
00:01:53as we go to air. Kyiv is facing another
00:01:56another night of deadly Russian air air strikes. Local officials say
00:01:59say one person has been killed in in a strike in an apartment block.
00:02:02block. It's unclear how many are are injured. This is the latest in
00:02:05in a series of Russian attacks following following a tense and uncertain 48
00:02:0948 hours on Saturday, President Trump Trump appeared to unilaterally announce
00:02:13announce an energy ceasefire between between Russia and Ukraine. President
00:02:16President Zelensky said he would would support it but accused Russia
00:02:19Russia of attacking six energy facilities
00:02:21facilities less than 24 hours after after it was announced. These strikes,
00:02:24strikes, said Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, was Putin's answer to President
00:02:27President Trump. There's been no no confirmation from the Kremlin
00:02:30Kremlin of any agreement on a ceasefire.
00:02:32ceasefire. Russia's foreign minister minister says Ukraine doesn't deserve
00:02:36deserve any respite. This was President President Trump's response to those
00:02:40those conflicting reports. Well, Well, they agreed. You know why?
00:02:43why? Because I said you agree. That's
00:02:46That's why they agreed. Because I I said they agreed. And that thing
00:02:50thing has to get settled. That war
00:02:51war is a disaster. Zabolotsky is
00:02:54is a Ukrainian MP who also serves
00:02:56serves as a people's deputy of Ukraine. Ukraine. He spoke to me just a few
00:03:00few minutes after leaving an emergency emergency shelter following tonight's
00:03:04tonight's latest air raids in Kyiv. Well, just 45 minutes
00:03:06Kyiv. Well, just 45 minutes ago we
00:03:09we had like four ballistic missile missile strikes. So unfortunately unfortunately I had to leave this
00:03:13this office. But now things feel
00:03:15feel relatively safe. But relatively
00:03:18relatively safe is always quite relative. relative. So I have a special screen
00:03:22screen here as I serve in the entire
00:03:24entire unit. So I see at least one
00:03:26one jet powered Iranian Russian drone drone hovering over Kyiv. What's
00:03:30What's it like living through this
00:03:32this so many years on? Well. Human
00:03:35Human beings get used to everything. everything. Plus you have this frustration
00:03:39frustration and the enemy and the the Russians, you know, to really
00:03:41really stand on and to take this
00:03:44this fight to their territory. Let's Let's talk a bit about what's been
00:03:48been happening. Donald Trump saying
00:03:50saying that Ukraine should hold wartime wartime elections essentially should
00:03:54should ditch its president. What's What's the reaction in Ukraine when
00:03:57when Donald Trump says things like
00:03:59like that? Well, currently it's a
00:04:02a difficult period for both Ukraine Ukraine and us since it's a pre-election
00:04:05pre-election period in, in the United United States. And we have learned
00:04:08learned the hard way that we have have to be very careful at what we
00:04:11we say and what we do in order not not to impact this elections. Well,
00:04:15Well, I want to say is that we appreciate
00:04:17appreciate the help of United States
00:04:20States governments, people we know
00:04:22know that in the vast majority American American hearts are with Ukraine,
00:04:25Ukraine, and we hope we get through
00:04:28through this difficult politically politically intense election related
00:04:31related period. As you say there, there, that the hope is that America
00:04:34America is with Ukraine. But does does that hope fade when you hear
00:04:38hear things like that? And also when when you look that President Trump
00:04:42Trump is lifting sanctions on Russian
00:04:46Russian diesel, how do Ukrainians Ukrainians I know it's not a monolith, monolith, but how do people feel
00:04:50feel about that? What conversations
00:04:52conversations are you hearing? Oh,
00:04:55Oh, it's no, it's not the first time
00:04:57time it's happened with this administration. administration. It's been happening
00:05:00happening over for many administrations administrations before. I do remember
00:05:04remember during the first Russian
00:05:06Russian invasion on Donbas and Crimea,
00:05:09Crimea, United States under Obama Obama administration refused to sell
00:05:12sell us any weapons. So I guess it it changes from cycle to cycle. But
00:05:16But I do wish that United States
00:05:18States politics would be more long-term
00:05:20long-term and not short-term connected connected to elections because, you
00:05:23you know, we when we made a long-term long-term commitment to get rid of
00:05:27of nuclear weapons, this was not not really conditional on us having
00:05:31having different elections at different different periods of time and us
00:05:34us changing our mind. And this lifting
00:05:37lifting of sanctions on Russian diesel
00:05:39diesel has really caused shockwaves shockwaves in the international community.
00:05:42community. And here in Washington, Washington, DC., how much of a surprise
00:05:46surprise was that? And what's the the take from Ukraine in terms of
00:05:49of this just being a gift to Putin
00:05:53Putin essentially? Well, we advocate
00:05:55advocate strongly for not any single single country to buy any oil or
00:05:59or gas from Russia. You know, it's it's not conditioned on us specifically.
00:06:03specifically. Previously we had such
00:06:04such fights, for example, with Mr
00:06:07Mr Orban who lost his elections quite
00:06:12quite recently. Unfortunately, any
00:06:14any money paid to Russia or blood blood money because about half of
00:06:18of Russians budget, about half of of the profits that they get, they
00:06:22they use it to finance weapons that that kill Ukrainians. And not only
00:06:26only that, you know, they send this this money to buy weapons from North
00:06:29North Korea. They send this money money to buy drones from Iran. And
00:06:33And we are currently being bombed bombed by Iranian drones. So this
00:06:37this in the end, may cost lives all all around the world, including those
00:06:40those in the Middle East and those those of American soldiers. Yeah.
00:06:44Yeah. Everything connects. Where
00:06:45Where do you think Ukraine goes from
00:06:48from here? And what do you see as as the future of US support? Do you
00:06:52you think it will continue to go go up and down, or do you see this
00:06:54this as potentially a moment where
00:06:56where it really does fade? I think
00:07:01think historically US had a complicated complicated relationships with their
00:07:03their allies. If you look at also
00:07:05also at Kurds, if you look at what what happened in Afghanistan, I've
00:07:09I've always been advocating for us us to have for Ukrainian diaspora
00:07:12diaspora to be more active in elections elections in United States. And this
00:07:16this seems to be the key for US support.
00:07:18support. I wish that US support was
00:07:20was not so connected to election election cycles. Unfortunately it
00:07:24it is. We have what we have. But But on the bright side, you know,
00:07:27know, if we look at all the other other countries in the world, there's
00:07:30there's not so much of the democratic
00:07:32democratic and civilised world. That That is out there and that is helping
00:07:36helping Ukraine. And US is still,
00:07:39still, still helping Ukraine quite quite a lot with weapons sales and
00:07:43and with intelligence sharing. Ukrainian Ukrainian MP Marianne Zablocki there
00:07:46there will on Monday, the Ukrainian Ukrainian leader told the Warsaw
00:07:49Warsaw Security Forum that Kyiv would would retaliate if Russian strikes
00:07:52strikes on the country's energy grid
00:07:53grid continued. It was clear that
00:07:57that Putin does not read Truth Social.
00:08:01Social. Russia is trying to use another
00:08:04another winter, another period of
00:08:06of cold weather against our country
00:08:09country taking our power plants,
00:08:11plants, power grids and all parts
00:08:14parts of our energy infrastructure
00:08:17infrastructure every single day. It's unclear whether an energy
00:08:21energy ceasefire between Russia and and Ukraine will actually hold, but
00:08:24but European allies have warned that that Washington's recent diesel agreement
00:08:28agreement with Moscow could encourage
00:08:30encourage further aggression on Ukraine. Ukraine. Last week, President Trump
00:08:33Trump announced the US would temporarily temporarily ease restrictions on
00:08:37on Russian diesel fuel exports. This
00:08:39This would allow Russia to supply supply some diesel to US and global
00:08:43global markets for the next six months, months, the US leader says it's the
00:08:46the right choice for Americans, but
00:08:48but it's faced intense criticism criticism abroad and at home. On
00:08:52On Capitol Hill, a bipartisan group group of seven lawmakers released
00:08:55released a joint statement on Sunday Sunday calling on the Trump administration
00:08:59administration to reverse course. course. In part, it read, The United
00:09:02United States should not provide provide Putin with a financial lifeline
00:09:05lifeline while Russia continues to
00:09:07to kill Ukrainian civilians. Well, Well, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen
00:09:10Shaheen is ranking member of the the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
00:09:13Committee, and she was one of the the signatories on that statement. statement. She gave her reaction
00:09:17reaction to the BBC. Congress passed
00:09:18passed a law in 2022 that said we
00:09:22we would not allow the imports of
00:09:24of any Russian fuel and if for some
00:09:27some reason the administration were were thinking about it, they needed needed to come and consult with Congress.
00:09:31Congress. And if Congress had conditions conditions to put on it, then they
00:09:35they had to listen to those conditions. conditions. So the reality is they
00:09:38they are in violation of that law. law. We are making it very clear,
00:09:42clear, and I think on a bipartisan bipartisan basis in Congress, it's
00:09:45it's very clear that it's not the the US position that's shifting away
00:09:49away from Ukraine. It's Donald Trump's
00:09:51Trump's position and the White House House position that's shifting away
00:09:55away from Ukraine. The Iranian backed backed Houthis have claimed another
00:09:59another attack on Riyadh's international international airport. This is a
00:10:02a look at the live tracker. You can can see that flights are not entering
00:10:06entering that Riyadh area. A spokesman spokesman for the Houthis said they
00:10:09they had fired a ballistic missile missile and added that they had also
00:10:12also targeted a Saudi air base in
00:10:14in the southwestern city of Khamis
00:10:17Khamis Mushait with a drone. There There was no official confirmation
00:10:20confirmation from Saudi Arabia, but but authorities have lifted an alert
00:10:23alert for the area. The weekend saw saw Riyadh's international airport
00:10:27airport hit with two deadly strikes
00:10:28strikes in as many days. Our security security correspondent Frank Gardner
00:10:32Gardner reports. A normal day in
00:10:35in Riyadh airports busy departure
00:10:37departure terminal. Then this with
00:10:39with no warning a Houthi missile
00:10:42missile fired from Yemen. 13 people people killed on Saturday, hundreds
00:10:46hundreds injured three strikes over
00:10:47over four days. Saudi air defences
00:10:50defences penetrated. All this while
00:10:52while Saudi Arabia is hosting a major
00:10:55major international energy conference.
00:10:57conference. Resilience gives us the
00:11:00the capacity to sustain progress
00:11:02progress and continue shaping our
00:11:04our future. The events of recent
00:11:08recent weeks are serious. Our response
00:11:10response must be equally serious
00:11:13serious while remaining focus on
00:11:15on the decades ahead. But the Houthis
00:11:20Houthis have other plans responding responding to recent Saudi air strikes,
00:11:23strikes, Yemen's Houthis have launched launched a barrage of missile and
00:11:26and drone strikes right across the
00:11:28the Saudi kingdom. Saudi Arabia spent
00:11:32spent more than $83 billion on defence defence last year that made them
00:11:36them the eighth biggest defence spender spender in the world over the years,
00:11:40years, they bought typhoon jets,
00:11:42jets, Patriot missiles and interceptors.
00:11:45interceptors. So how is it then, then, that with all of this expensive
00:11:49expensive kit, they can't seem to to prevent these devastating Houthi
00:11:52Houthi missile strikes? The Houthis Houthis have a mixture of ballistic
00:11:56ballistic missiles, cruise missiles missiles and drones that all require
00:11:59require a lot of different defences defences so you can spend millions millions intercepting weapons that
00:12:02that cost a fraction of that. You You can shoot down lots of them,
00:12:06them, but you still suffer crippling crippling damage from the ones that
00:12:08that get through. The Saudis can can bomb Yemen extensively to try
00:12:11try and stop this, but it's really
00:12:13really hard to track down every launcher, launcher, every possible missile
00:12:17missile site, every small factory.
00:12:21factory. Especially in a country country wracked by its own ongoing
00:12:24ongoing conflict forces loyal to to the ousted, internationally recognised
00:12:28recognised Yemeni government have have retaken land in places they've
00:12:31they've lost it in others. But all
00:12:33all the while, Iran is strengthening strengthening its hand, ready for
00:12:37for an eventual deal with America.
00:12:40America. To end this widening war.
00:12:43war. Frank Gardner, BBC News. Well, Well, let's take a closer look at
00:12:47at the situation in Yemen. The civil
00:12:49civil war in Yemen began in 2014 2014 when Houthi fighters backed
00:12:53backed by Iran, gained control of
00:12:55of the capital, Sana'a. Since 2015,
00:12:572015, a Saudi led coalition has been been trying with heavy air strikes
00:13:01strikes to restore to power the internationally internationally recognised government.
00:13:04government. In recent weeks, the the Houthis have taken over parts
00:13:07parts of the west coast of the country. country. Although Saudi backed government
00:13:11government forces have since retaken
00:13:12retaken some of it. Our senior international international correspondent Orla
00:13:16Orla Guerin reports from the Yemeni Yemeni coast in her report contains
00:13:20contains distressing images. Crossing
00:13:24Crossing the desert, a remote battlefield
00:13:26battlefield in a civil war that is
00:13:28is fast becoming a major regional
00:13:32regional threat. We travelled with
00:13:35with Yemen's southern forces fighters fighters loyal to the internationally
00:13:39internationally recognised government
00:13:40government in this landscape of harsh
00:13:43harsh beauty, they have regained regained lost ground and took us
00:13:47us to see it here. The wreckage of
00:13:50of a Houthi drone shot out of the
00:13:53the sky. How much damage could this
00:13:55this have done? Commander Tawfiq
00:13:58Tawfiq Al Haboun says it contained
00:14:02contained explosives. And could kill
00:14:05kill 10 to 15 people. This whole
00:14:09whole area has just been retaken retaken by pro-government forces.
00:14:13forces. They captured it about three
00:14:16three days ago. Until then, the Houthis Houthis were in control here. They've
00:14:20They've been pushed back. And we've we've been told that there are Houthi
00:14:24Houthi fighters in position up in in the mountains. About 500 of them.
00:14:27them. And since we've been here, here, the forces are keeping an eye
00:14:30eye on the sky just to make sure
00:14:32sure that there are no more drones
00:14:35drones coming. And here, scenes from
00:14:37from the battle to retake this territory.
00:14:42territory. No military precision
00:14:45precision in this desert campaign
00:14:47campaign just a loose alliance of of pro-government fighters. Some
00:14:51Some of them barefoot. As we left
00:14:57left front lines about a mile from
00:15:00from the Houthis government reinforcements
00:15:02reinforcements were heading in. Along
00:15:07Along the way, a tableau of suffering
00:15:09suffering for some of those who have
00:15:11have fled the fighting, the only
00:15:14only shelter is the trees. Aisha
00:15:17Aisha tells me she has been here
00:15:19here for 30 days with no money, no
00:15:23no food and no water. Not even a
00:15:26a blanket. Yemen's civil war is casting
00:15:29casting a shadow well beyond its
00:15:31its borders. The Houthis are a threat
00:15:35threat to international shipping shipping and increasingly a threat
00:15:38threat to Saudi Arabia. But for their
00:15:40their backers in Iran, they provide
00:15:45provide leverage in operating rooms
00:15:46rooms in the city of Aden, geopolitics
00:15:49geopolitics feels remote night and
00:15:51and day. Doctors are treating wounded
00:15:55wounded fighters. That includes the
00:15:57the enemy. This man is a Houthi,
00:16:00Houthi, but most here are from the
00:16:03the government side. When you get get a real sense here of how fierce
00:16:07fierce the fighting is, this hospital
00:16:09hospital alone has received 51 wounded
00:16:12wounded fighters today. Every bed bed in the intensive care unit is
00:16:16is full. They've been arriving with
00:16:18with gunshot wounds with shrapnel.
00:16:21shrapnel. Some have had limbs amputated amputated and the casualties keep
00:16:24keep coming. We've been told there
00:16:26there are three more on the way.
00:16:30way. The battles in Yemen are ebbing
00:16:32ebbing and flowing with no clear
00:16:35clear victor, but plenty more trauma.
00:16:37trauma. For some, the war will always
00:16:40always be with them. Some still have
00:16:44have their fighting spirit, like
00:16:46like Ahmed Ali Mahmoud. He wants
00:16:48wants to get back to the front. Despite
00:16:51Despite multiple fractures. I'm not
00:16:57not waiting to be fully recovered, recovered, he told us. I just want
00:17:00want to be able to stand. I think
00:17:02think it's a religious duty and a
00:17:05a national duty. The Houthis have have destroyed the country. Come
00:17:08Come on. In the next ward. Ali, who
00:17:13who is 121 year older than Yemen's
00:17:15Yemen's war. He was injured by a
00:17:18a drone and is now facing a complicated
00:17:21complicated surgery. There is shrapnel
00:17:24shrapnel near his spine, says Doctor
00:17:26Doctor Ammar Al-sakkaf. The operation
00:17:28operation won't be easy, but God God willing our staff will be able
00:17:32able to handle it. But will war follow
00:17:37follow Ali into adulthood? Orla Guerin
00:17:40Guerin BBC News Southern Yemen. Well,
00:17:43Well, with me in studio now is Tim Tim Lenderking, who served as the
00:17:46the first US special envoy for Yemen
00:17:49Yemen from 2021 to 2025. He's now now principal at the law firm Squire
00:17:53Squire Patton Boggs. Thanks for being being with us, Tim. We were watching watching pleasure Orla Guerin report
00:17:57report there rare to see inside Yemen. Yemen. You have been many, many times
00:18:00times as US special envoy. I'm just just wondering what your reflections reflections are when you see that
00:18:04that report. And when you think about about the wider issue here. I think
00:18:08think it's great that your correspondent correspondent is in Yemen and able
00:18:10able to capture those images, because because it really shows the human
00:18:14human side of the conflict and the the toll that this conflict has taken
00:18:18taken on Yemen, its infrastructure, infrastructure, but mostly its people.
00:18:21people. I mean, to see those images images of the kids in the hospital
00:18:24hospital and the fighters and the the ordinary people like just sheltering
00:18:28sheltering under a tree because there there is nothing there's no infrastructure. infrastructure. It's a poor country
00:18:32country to begin with, but it's been been shattered by this long war.
00:18:36war. And the you know, the fact that that it continues is puts a great
00:18:40great toll on the Yemeni people. people. Yeah. And what do you make
00:18:42make of what we're seeing from the the Houthis at the moment, the behaviour
00:18:45behaviour what do you think their their goals are and does it surprise
00:18:49surprise you? Sadly, it doesn't surprise
00:18:51surprise me. And I think the Houthis Houthis have been waiting for a moment
00:18:54moment like this. There are always
00:18:57always preparing, restocking. They They use every lull that they can
00:19:00can to refit their fighters. They're
00:19:03They're very adept at importing materials,
00:19:07materials, smuggling what they need need into the country to build their
00:19:10their military arsenal. They're very very entrepreneurial. They've been
00:19:12been able to build their own military
00:19:17military capability outside the international international glare, and they've they've gotten a lot of support from
00:19:20from Iran at the end of the day. day. And that's a big part of this
00:19:23this story and why it's flaring up
00:19:24up at this particular time. It's It's upended to the Strait of Hormuz
00:19:28Hormuz in the broader Iran conflict.
00:19:30conflict. And you also served in in Saudi Arabia. What's your take
00:19:34take on what the response down the the road might be to this? I think
00:19:38think I mean, this past weekend was was a particularly terrible toll
00:19:42toll on Saudi Arabia, with more than
00:19:44than 12 up to 20 people killed in
00:19:46in repeated attacks on Saudi International International Airport. I myself and
00:19:50and so many American citizens and and diplomats and world figures have
00:19:53have flown in and out of that airport.
00:19:55airport. And it's essential to Saudi
00:19:58Saudi Arabia's broad vision for its
00:20:01its future and being a hub of commerce
00:20:03commerce and investment and attracting
00:20:06attracting capital into Saudi Arabia Arabia and having stable ports of
00:20:09of egress and entrance. So I think think Saudi Arabia has no choice
00:20:13choice but to respond. I mean, they've they've been hit. It's one of the the worst hits that they've suffered
00:20:17suffered in this entire conflict. conflict. They will have to respond.
00:20:19respond. Do you think the US should should join that response militarily?
00:20:23militarily? The US and Saudi Arabia Arabia have been friends and partners
00:20:26partners and allies for 90 years.
00:20:28years. And so I think there's a particular particular responsibility to stand
00:20:31stand by your friends at a moment moment like this with such a strong
00:20:35strong attack. What form that takes. takes. I think the leadership as
00:20:38as I understand it, President Trump Trump saying we're looking at it.
00:20:41it. We're weighing a decision. I I think there will be a decision.
00:20:44decision. There are many ways that that we can support Saudi Arabia
00:20:47Arabia and indeed the Yemen government, government, which is also another
00:20:50another player in this story. What's What's your understanding about diplomacy
00:20:53diplomacy or any negotiation right right now between Saudi Arabia and
00:20:57and Iran and the Houthis? Well, there there is no Yemen envoy at this particular
00:21:01particular time. I mean, the previous previous administration invested
00:21:04invested a lot in building a Yemen Yemen team and developing expertise
00:21:08expertise and putting us in charge charge of the file. And I'm you know,
00:21:11know, I think it was incredible that that with the support of the United
00:21:15United States, the UN was able to
00:21:16to arrange a truce in this conflict
00:21:19conflict in April 2022, which largely
00:21:21largely held until several months months ago when this conflict flared
00:21:24flared up again. But of course, even even with the truce, you have to
00:21:27to keep your eye on the Houthis constantly
00:21:28constantly because as I say, they're they're a very energetic messianic
00:21:32messianic force. They're rebuilding, rebuilding, looking to take take
00:21:36take to the fight again. So ultimately ultimately there has to be some sort
00:21:40sort of confrontation with them that
00:21:42that puts them back and takes territory
00:21:45territory back from them. OK. Tim Tim Lenderking, former US special
00:21:49special envoy for Yemen, thank you you for your insights on your time
00:21:51time this evening. Thank you. Still Still to come on world news America.
00:21:55America. Oil prices are climbing climbing after those attacks on Saudi
00:21:58Saudi Arabia will look at what the the turmoil is doing to energy prices
00:22:02prices around the world
00:23:03Uefa Champions League here on BBC BBC News or via the BBC Sport website
00:23:06website and app. You're live with
00:23:15with BBC News. Oil prices have risen risen as turmoil continues in the
00:23:19the Middle East and despite President President Trump's attempt to drive
00:23:21drive the price down with his agreement agreement to buy Russian oil, the
00:23:25the cost of Brent crude is around
00:23:28around $106 a barrel. That's up from
00:23:30from around $70 before the US-Israel US-Israel war with Iran. Well, this
00:23:33this has fed through to higher costs costs for car fuel in many countries,
00:23:37countries, including the US, where where prices at the pump are a big
00:23:40big complaint from voters ahead of of the mid-term elections. And analysts
00:23:44analysts warn that President Trump's Trump's deal to buy oil from Russia
00:23:46Russia is not likely to have a noticeable
00:23:49noticeable impact on prices. Here's Here's what President Trump had to
00:23:52to say about energy prices on his
00:23:54his way to Ohio a little earlier.
00:23:56earlier. Prices are coming down, down, and as soon as the war ends,
00:23:59ends, which will be very soon with with Iran, the oil will drop like
00:24:03like a rock and it's going to end end very soon. Well, joining me live
00:24:06live now is Simon Casey. He's managing managing editor of Energy Commodities
00:24:10Commodities at Bloomberg. Thanks Thanks for being with us. So Russia Russia used to be the biggest second
00:24:13second biggest exporter of diesel diesel in the world. Recently it it suspended all its diesel exports
00:24:17exports to have enough for itself itself basically. So this deal says
00:24:20says that it has to immediately supply supply 300,000 tonnes of diesel.
00:24:23diesel. Is it capable of doing that?
00:24:26that? Opinion, frankly is divided. divided. If you listen to Ukraine's
00:24:30Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, he say it's doubtful and and he thinks this is not going to
00:24:34to make much difference. There is
00:24:37is probably some capability, but
00:24:39but as you point out, Russia has
00:24:41has come under attack consistently
00:24:43consistently from Ukraine this year year on its energy infrastructure.
00:24:47infrastructure. It's quite battered.
00:24:50battered. It did not suspend those those exports. Likely that was a
00:24:53a last resort to keep Russian industry
00:24:57industry basically in the economy economy going in the face of this
00:25:00this barrage. So there is some wiggle
00:25:02wiggle room. But even if the exports
00:25:05exports do come out, will it make make much difference? The consensus
00:25:09consensus we've been picking up on
00:25:10on so far is that it's going to make make little difference. Overall,
00:25:14Overall, the world is still going going to be constrained when it comes
00:25:17comes to gasoline and diesel for for quite some time. So yeah, that
00:25:21that was going to be my next question. question. Donald Trump obviously obviously hoping that this can have
00:25:25have some impact ideally before the the mid-term elections. But you seem
00:25:28seem to be saying that that's not not going to happen. Is there any any chance that this could move the
00:25:32the needle further down the line? line? I mean, it could move the needle needle very incrementally. But I
00:25:36I mean, given that we're what, three three weeks out from the mid-term
00:25:39mid-term elections and given that
00:25:42that the sort of the logistical issues, issues, if you simply put oil on
00:25:45on a tanker and you export it across across the ocean, you're talking
00:25:48talking a matter of weeks at at, at, you know, at least sometimes
00:25:52sometimes it can be months to get
00:25:53get these cargoes from one location
00:25:56location to the other. So this could could over time make a difference.
00:26:00difference. But in the run up to to the election, the timing is very
00:26:04very short. And you played a quote
00:26:06quote a clip there from the President.
00:26:08President. He's right. To the extent extent that prices fuel prices have
00:26:12have edged lower in recent weeks. weeks. But we're talking you know,
00:26:15know, if you look at average US gasoline gasoline prices, they've gone from
00:26:19from about $4.50 a gallon down to to about 430, something like that.
00:26:23that. It's a very small difference
00:26:25difference really. And overall they're they're still at a very high level.
00:26:29level. The sort of level we last last saw during the Ukraine, the
00:26:32the start of the Ukraine war back
00:26:35back in 2022. And the President, President, President Trump blaming
00:26:38blaming Ukraine, not the Iran war war for spiking oil prices around
00:26:42around the world. Is there any truth truth in that? I mean, there is some
00:26:45some truth. I think absent the conflict
00:26:48conflict in Ukraine and if Ukraine
00:26:50Ukraine wasn't bombarding Russian Russian refineries across the country
00:26:54country and if Russia was exporting
00:26:56exporting diesel like it did a year
00:26:59year or two ago, we'd be in a slightly
00:27:02slightly better position. But overwhelm overwhelm the biggest factor here
00:27:06here in the squeeze on global fuel
00:27:09fuel prices has been the war in Iran. Iran. There's a significant amount
00:27:12amount of refining capacity within
00:27:14within the Persian Gulf that is effectively effectively out of commission right
00:27:17right now. And even though a lot
00:27:20lot of the crude exports have kind kind of returned from that part of
00:27:23of the world, even in the face of
00:27:25of sustained action by Iran, and
00:27:27and we still see ships being attacked
00:27:32attacked the refined products, as as the industry calls it, the diesel,
00:27:35diesel, the gasoline that is normally
00:27:37normally refined in that region is
00:27:39is not coming out. And that's a big
00:27:42big gap that the world is struggling struggling to fill. Inventories are
00:27:45are down and prices are up. And we're we're all seeing that at the pump,
00:27:48pump, at least if you're in the US. US. And just briefly, Salman, I think
00:27:51think I know what your answer might might veer towards. But what is the
00:27:54the one thing that needs to happen happen to get things even closer
00:27:56closer back to what they were before
00:27:58before the Iran war? I mean, you you know, absent the you know, a
00:28:02a proper ceasefire, I think it would
00:28:05would be guarantees on the safety safety of shipping through the Persian
00:28:08Persian Gulf. As I say, there's been
00:28:09been quite a sort of a Herculean
00:28:12Herculean effort to get more crude crude sailing through the Strait
00:28:16Strait of Hormuz. It's come at a a huge cost. We have record shipping
00:28:19shipping costs right now. As I say,
00:28:21say, we have a real security issue. issue. Ships are getting attacked.
00:28:24attacked. They're running a great great risk going through there every
00:28:26every day given the costs, the priority priority has been given to crude
00:28:30crude oil rather than gasoline and and diesel. If there was a greater
00:28:33greater certainty, if there was greater greater safety for shipping there,
00:28:36there, I think you would probably probably see more a refined product
00:28:40product start to pass through the the Strait of Hormuz and that that
00:28:43that sort of that shortage would would finally begin to ease. All
00:28:45All right. Simon Casey from Bloomberg,
00:28:47Bloomberg, thank you for your insights.
00:28:51insights. Well, before we go, let's let's take you live to Youngstown, Youngstown, Ohio, where President
00:28:55President Trump is due to arrive arrive there shortly for a mid-term
00:28:58mid-term campaign rally. We'll have have plenty more on that after the
00:29:01the break. Thanks for watching. Do
00:29:02Do stay with us.
00:30:36and temperatures in places hovering hovering around 40 degrees.
00:32:40Ukrainians are braced for what could could be a very tough winter ahead.
00:32:42ahead. Stay with us on BBC News and
00:32:44and we'll bring you the latest. In
00:32:53In a 24 hour news cycle, patients
00:32:55patients can be so frustrating, but
00:32:57but it's a crucial tool. I don't
00:33:00don't rush to be the first. I strive
00:33:02strive to get it right. I'm Lucy
00:33:04Lucy Hockings on BBC News Now.
00:33:23Welcome back. Thanks for being with us in the US Democratic Congresswoman
00:33:27Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has condemned condemned a raid on her Washington
00:33:30Washington home by US Homeland Security Security agents. Federal officers
00:33:34officers executed a search warrant warrant on Monday morning. The raid
00:33:37raid is believed to be part of an
00:33:40an ongoing federal criminal investigation, investigation, according to reports.
00:33:42reports. The years long probe partly
00:33:45partly focuses on alleged immigration immigration fraud. Well, Omar, who
00:33:48who is running for re-election in in Minnesota, immigrated to the US
00:33:52US from Somalia as a child. She's
00:33:53She's been a vocal critic of President President Trump. In a post on X,
00:33:57X, the congresswoman vowed she would would not be silenced, calling the
00:34:01the operation an attempt to target target political enemies and weaponise
00:34:05weaponise federal law enforcement enforcement by the Trump administration.
00:34:08administration. Well, in the hours hours that followed the raid, crowds
00:34:11crowds gathered at a rally in Minneapolis Minneapolis in support of the congresswoman.
00:34:15congresswoman. We've heard from President President Trump in the last hour
00:34:17hour on this. He described Omar as
00:34:20as a terrible person but claimed claimed the investigation was up
00:34:24up to the DoJ. Krynky. In advance.
00:34:29advance. Well, I understand they're they're looking at it very carefully.
00:34:32carefully. I've always found it to to be totally crooked personally, personally, but that has nothing
00:34:36nothing to do with me. I think she's
00:34:38she's a terrible person. Just a complainer.
00:34:40complainer. She comes from a country
00:34:44country that is a non-country. And And then she comes over here and
00:34:47and she complains about our constitution. constitution. I think she's a terrible
00:34:50terrible person, but that's really really up to the DoJ. I have nothing
00:34:54nothing to do. Our North America America correspondent. Ione Wells
00:34:57Wells was outside the congresswoman's congresswoman's home with the latest.
00:35:00latest. Well, I counted at least least a dozen federal agents from
00:35:04from the Department of Homeland Security Security Investigations who were
00:35:07were inside and outside Ilhan Omar's Omar's house here in Washington.
00:35:11Washington. It's not clear if anyone anyone was actually home when they they arrived early this morning or
00:35:14or indeed, what exactly they might might have seized from this home.
00:35:17home. I did see them carrying what what appeared to be cardboard boxes
00:35:20boxes into a van before they drove drove away. Now, sources familiar
00:35:24familiar with the investigation say
00:35:26say that this was then carrying out
00:35:28out a criminal warrant and that it
00:35:31it relates to her immigration paperwork. paperwork. We know that she first
00:35:34first came to the US as a refugee refugee from Somalia with her family
00:35:37family in the 1990s before becoming becoming naturalised as a US citizen
00:35:41citizen in the year 2000. But the the authorities haven't really provided
00:35:43provided any detail at all about
00:35:45about this investigation, what evidence evidence they may have. She has in
00:35:49in the last couple of moments responded responded to this, saying make no
00:35:52no mistake, this is an attempt to
00:35:54to target political enemies and weaponise weaponise federal law enforcement.
00:35:57enforcement. She has also gone on on to say that for ten years, Donald
00:36:01Donald Trump has targeted her with with what she describes as baseless
00:36:04baseless lies and smear campaigns campaigns and that this is the latest
00:36:07latest escalation in his campaign campaign of political intimidation. intimidation. That echoes really
00:36:11really concerns that have been raised raised by other Democratic lawmakers
00:36:14lawmakers as well, who have called called this an abuse of power by
00:36:17by federal authorities. There are are concerns that this has happened
00:36:20happened just three weeks before before crucial mid-term elections, elections, where the Republicans
00:36:24Republicans will be defending thin thin majorities in both houses of
00:36:28of Congress. Donald Trump has repeatedly
00:36:32repeatedly targeted her, made personal personal insults towards the representative
00:36:35representative Ilhan Omar, but also also accused the Somali-American Somali-American community more widely,
00:36:39widely, particularly in Minnesota, Minnesota, where she's a representative representative of being a threat
00:36:42threat to the community, something something which she and other Democrats
00:36:46Democrats have long disputed. Well. Let's talk about this and more
00:36:49more with our panel. She is previously previously served as the chief of
00:36:53of staff to the White House press press office during the Biden administration. administration. She's currently a
00:36:56a senior fellow at Third Way, a national national think tank and advocacy
00:37:00advocacy organisation. Also joining joining us is Jake Laturner, former
00:37:03former Republican US congressman. congressman. Thanks both for being
00:37:05being with us. So, Jake, we've heard heard from Ilhan Omar in response
00:37:09response to this. She thinks it's it's an attempt to target political political enemies and weaponise federal
00:37:13federal law enforcement. Would this this be happening if she wasn't a
00:37:15a high profile critic of the President? President? Well, there's a lot here.
00:37:18here. First of all, members of Congress Congress are not above the law. It's
00:37:22It's really important that that is
00:37:24is made clear. But a lot more needs
00:37:27needs to be explained. It's close
00:37:29close to an election. There is an
00:37:33an issue of separation of powers
00:37:35powers here. The real the broader
00:37:37broader issue, though, for the American American people is that weaponization
00:37:41weaponization of the Department of of Justice has been a big issue that that both parties have been raising
00:37:45raising for a very long time. Trust
00:37:46Trust in government is at an all-time
00:37:49all-time low and everything that that the administration is doing
00:37:52doing should be about restoring that that that trust that just isn't there
00:37:55there right now. And do you think
00:37:58think the Justice Department has has been weaponised by both parties? parties? What's your response to
00:38:02to Jake's point there? Why do you
00:38:05you think that President Trump has has a different view of the Department
00:38:08Department of Justice than past presidents presidents before him? I know that
00:38:11that there are a lot of frustrations frustrations right now with the Democratic Democratic base because they felt
00:38:15felt like when Biden was in power, power, he did not use the Department
00:38:19Department of Justice to criminalise criminalise President Trump and those
00:38:22those who worked for him. And so
00:38:24so there is a fracture within both both Democrats and Republicans of
00:38:28of people within both parties believing believing that the President has
00:38:31has the right to punish his adversaries. adversaries. But we all know that
00:38:34that the Department of Justice is is supposed to operate without impunity,
00:38:37impunity, without any kind of oversight oversight from the President himself. himself. He gets to pick who runs
00:38:41runs it, but then he's supposed to to leave it alone. But his personal
00:38:44personal relationship with Ilhan Ilhan Omar, that has been quite contentious
00:38:47contentious and fractured is the the overhang here, because it is
00:38:51is very hard to see how this could
00:38:53could be an unbiased search of her
00:38:56her home without analysing their their relationship that they've had, had, which has been so tense for
00:39:00for a decade now. Yeah, she says says that it's hard to see this as
00:39:04as unbiased and especially when we we hear the President there saying saying that she's a terrible person
00:39:07person from a non-country, it doesn't doesn't really suggest that this
00:39:11this is a non-partisan move. Well, Well, as I said, I think the Department Department of Justice is going to
00:39:15to have to take extra care in explaining explaining what is going on here.
00:39:18here. And I know it's an ongoing
00:39:20ongoing investigation, hard to release release a lot of information. She's
00:39:23She's entitled to some privacy as as well. But this is a unique situation
00:39:27situation and I think they should should release as much information information as possible. As I mentioned,
00:39:31mentioned, members of Congress are are not above the law. If she's committed
00:39:35committed a crime of some sort, she she obviously needs to be held accountable
00:39:38accountable for that. We just don't don't know yet. Let's move on now
00:39:41now to Donald Trump's lifting of
00:39:43of Russian diesel sanctions has been been broad pushback, hasn't there,
00:39:47there, on this move internationally internationally and here at home,
00:39:49home, a bipartisan group of senators senators have essentially said they
00:39:53they think this is illegal. That's That's been led by Democratic Senator
00:39:56Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Congress
00:39:57Congress passed a law in 2022 that
00:40:00that said we would not allow the the imports of any Russian fuel.
00:40:04fuel. And if for some reason the the administration were thinking
00:40:08thinking about it, they needed to to come and consult with Congress. Congress. And if Congress had conditions
00:40:11conditions to put on it, then they
00:40:13they had to listen to those conditions. conditions. So the reality is they
00:40:17they are in violation of that law. law. We are making it very clear,
00:40:20clear, and I think on a bipartisan bipartisan basis in Congress, it's
00:40:24it's very clear that it's not the
00:40:26the US position that's shifting away away from Ukraine. It's Donald Trump's
00:40:30Trump's position and the White House House position that's shifting away
00:40:33away from Ukraine. That was Democratic Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen
00:40:36Shaheen there. So there was also also this bill recently signed into into law that was sponsored by the
00:40:40the late US Senator Lindsey Graham Graham that allows for sanctions
00:40:44sanctions against any country that that buys Russian oil. The US is
00:40:48is now a customer. This is quite quite a turnaround, isn't it? What
00:40:51What did you make of it? We shouldn't shouldn't be spending our money in
00:40:54in a way that will be damaging to to Ukraine, that we've already established
00:40:58established our allies. And it was was good to see Congressman Brian Brian Fitzpatrick. He's introducing
00:41:02introducing a bill where it would would take congressional approval approval and Congress would be able
00:41:05able to block this. My only issue
00:41:08issue is we talk a lot about how
00:41:11how Congress and this branch is supposed supposed to put checks and balances
00:41:14balances on the President, the legislative legislative branch. But the President
00:41:18President bulldozes a lot of Congress. Congress. And so he has this he has
00:41:21has this meeting. He comes up with with this idea with Vladimir Putin,
00:41:25Putin, and he undermines our allyship allyship with Vladimir, with Zelensky.
00:41:28Zelensky. I'm unclear where Congress Congress actually has the power and
00:41:31and authority to stop President Trump. Trump. I haven't seen much of it
00:41:34it over the course of his first and and second administration here. And
00:41:37And Jake, we heard earlier from an an analyst, an oil energy analyst
00:41:41analyst who was essentially saying saying this isn't going to change
00:41:43change global oil prices. We're not
00:41:45not about to see that spike go down down before the mid-term elections.
00:41:49elections. So who is the winner in in this situation? Is it just Vladimir Vladimir Putin? Well, you see the
00:41:52the President responding to the American American people. They are upset when
00:41:56when they go to the pump. Diesel Diesel prices are through the roof
00:41:58roof right now. And so the President President is doing everything. A
00:42:01A couple of weeks ago, pressuring pressuring European countries to to turn loose of reserves. And now
00:42:05now he's taken another step. Of course course you're going to see a lot lot of heartburn with this. When
00:42:08When I was in Congress, I was a big big supporter of Ukraine and voted
00:42:12voted to fund the war effort in Ukraine.
00:42:15Ukraine. And so this is a tough one. one. This is a tough one for a lot
00:42:18lot of folks. Find an analyst who's who's going to say that this will
00:42:20will improve the situation. Well,
00:42:23Well, listen, in order to really really bring down prices, maybe not
00:42:26not we don't know that for sure. sure. But it's also about how people
00:42:29people are feeling. Is the President President delivering? Is progress
00:42:32progress being made? A lot of it it has to do with just the general
00:42:36general feeling of people, you know, know, looking to the future and predicting
00:42:39predicting what kind of economic economic circumstances they're going going to have and if they're going
00:42:42going to be better or not. MIT what what do you think? Is this just a
00:42:45a win for Putin? Is it another blow blow essentially, isn't it to the
00:42:48the Western alliance trying to isolate isolate Russia? And this is doing
00:42:52doing the opposite. I think Putin Putin is one of the most dangerous
00:42:55dangerous individuals that we have have as a world leader and operating
00:42:58operating a power in the entire world.
00:43:01world. There should never feel we we should never feel any kind of
00:43:05of comfortability between the US's US's relationship with Russia. It
00:43:07It should remain a contentious relationship.
00:43:09relationship. OK, Jake, let's talk talk briefly about the ads. The scrapped
00:43:13scrapped federal judge essentially essentially said the Trump administration
00:43:16administration needs to cancel further further airings of these controversial
00:43:19controversial taxpayer funded ads ads that promoted President Trump's
00:43:22Trump's agenda. That had to happen, happen, didn't it? Well, you've seen
00:43:26seen this happen. There's been a a lot of talk about it for a long
00:43:29long time. Kristi Noem was criticised criticised when she was secretary
00:43:32secretary of Homeland Security for for the ads being you know, the ads
00:43:36ads being a little too political political in nature. I understand
00:43:39understand the complaints. The real
00:43:41real point, though, is that the Republicans
00:43:43Republicans have a tremendous fundraising fundraising advantage before the the election. There's a lot of money
00:43:47money to get the message out. I don't don't think this is going to end
00:43:50end up having a negative impact.
00:43:53impact. Well, I. Agree in that way.
00:43:55way. I don't think the ads itself
00:43:57itself had any kind of movement when when it came to independent voters
00:44:01voters or losing voters, because because the ads just focus solely
00:44:04solely on the President. It didn't didn't give anything to the mid-terms. mid-terms. It wasn't politically
00:44:08politically motivating for those those that are running in really, really, really tight races. It was,
00:44:12was, of course, ludicrous and ridiculous ridiculous that the President himself
00:44:15himself wasn't paying for the ads ads through the super PAC. And I I know that he says that he will
00:44:18will do that moving forward. We'll We'll see if that actually happens. happens. OK. You may see a and Jake
00:44:22Jake Laturner, thank you both for for your insights. And of course,
00:44:25course, the President is out on the the campaign trail. We're waiting
00:44:28waiting to see him appear in Ohio.
00:44:30Ohio. He should be here at this rally rally in the next few moments in
00:44:34in Youngstown, Ohio, with just a a couple of weeks really until those
00:44:38those crucial mid-term elections. elections. Still to come on world
00:44:41world news America, UK Prime Minister
00:44:44Minister Andy Burnham signals closer
00:44:46closer ties with the EU, saying he'll
00:44:48he'll push for new post-Brexit deals deals at an upcoming summit. We'll
00:44:52We'll have more on that after a short short break
00:45:55Ukrainians are braced for what could could be a very tough winter ahead. ahead. Stay with us on BBC News and
00:45:59and we'll bring you the latest. BBC
00:46:07BBC News. Thanks for being with us. us. Ten years after the UK voted
00:46:11voted to leave the EU, the Prime Prime Minister has told MPs he will
00:46:14will use next month's UK EU summit
00:46:17summit to push for new post-Brexit
00:46:19post-Brexit deals. Andy Burnham said said deeper co-operation in some
00:46:23some areas was a key element of growing
00:46:26growing the UK economy, and that that it would be a dereliction of
00:46:28of duty not to push for stronger
00:46:30stronger ties. The leader of the
00:46:33the opposition, Kemi Badenoch, said said the Prime Minister wouldn't wouldn't get a better deal with the
00:46:37the EU than the one secured by the
00:46:39the Conservatives. Here's our political
00:46:43political editor, Chris Mason. Remember Remember when all Westminster seemed
00:46:46seemed to do was row about Brexit?
00:46:48Brexit? Of course you do. It's all
00:46:50all gone quiet though. In recent
00:46:52recent years. But is that now changing?
00:46:55changing? Andy Burnham. The Prime
00:46:59Prime Minister, wants a closer relationship
00:47:01relationship with the European Union.
00:47:05Union. If we are serious about promoting
00:47:08promoting growth controlling immigration, immigration, upholding our values
00:47:12values and security. It is a conversation
00:47:15conversation we must have. Sticking
00:47:17Sticking with the status quo is not
00:47:20not good enough for Britain. Worse,
00:47:23Worse, it would be a major dereliction
00:47:24dereliction of duty to turn away.
00:47:27away. A UK EU summit will take place place in Brussels at the end of next
00:47:31next month. The Prime Minister says says he wants to reduce the administrative
00:47:34administrative burden on farmers, farmers, deepen co-operation on immigration
00:47:37immigration and discuss a youth mobility
00:47:39mobility scheme. But with what trade
00:47:43trade offs and costs? His exact words
00:47:45words earlier this year were the the last thing we should do right
00:47:49right now is rerun those arguments.
00:47:51arguments. And yet here he is unpicking
00:47:54unpicking the deal this country signed
00:47:56signed with the EU a decade after
00:47:59after the referendum. He is not going going to get a better deal. And another
00:48:03another thing the Prime Minister Minister said about Brexit has got
00:48:06got some people talking. Take a listen. listen. I asked a question coming
00:48:09coming into Downing Street. Was there
00:48:13there interference in the 2016 referendum referendum from Russia? And I've I've had the clear answer that yes
00:48:16yes there was. Over the weekend on on the Rest Is Politics podcast.
00:48:20podcast. He implied that the referendum
00:48:23referendum result was illegitimate illegitimate because of Russian interference.
00:48:26interference. Where has this come come from? We all remember in 2018,
00:48:302018, the head of MI5 said that there there was no evidence that Russia
00:48:34Russia had influenced the EU referendum referendum result. I implied no such
00:48:38such thing, the Prime Minister insisted,
00:48:40insisted, adding. It is a matter
00:48:42matter of record, Mr Speaker, that
00:48:44that Russian actors sought to interfere
00:48:48interfere in the 2029 general election
00:48:49election and we think it is inconceivable
00:48:53inconceivable that this was the first
00:48:55first time. The Liberal Democrats Democrats commended what they called
00:48:59called his courage in saying this, this, adding he should publish the
00:49:02the evidence. So will he now present
00:49:04present it to the House in full alongside
00:49:07alongside any evidence of interference
00:49:09interference in other UK votes? Mr
00:49:11Mr Burnham didn't promise to do so
00:49:14so earlier. The Reform UK leader
00:49:16leader was blunt in his assessment.
00:49:19assessment. The Prime Minister is
00:49:21is a liar. Yes, a liar. There was
00:49:27was no Russian interference and the
00:49:28the Russia hoax has run all the way
00:49:31way through this. A new Prime Minister Minister and our relationship with
00:49:35with the European Union. Brexit is
00:49:38is back in the political debate.
00:49:40debate. Now. A round up of stories stories making headlines across the
00:49:43the globe. Protesters led by India's
00:49:46India's main opposition, the Congress Congress Party, have been marching
00:49:49marching in Delhi towards the Supreme Supreme Court demanding the resignation
00:49:52resignation of the chief election election commissioner after the removal
00:49:55removal of millions of names from from voter lists. This comes after
00:49:59after thousands of protesters were were detained, then released this
00:50:02this weekend, including the leaders leaders of the Gen Z movement. The
00:50:05The Cockroach Janta Party hundreds
00:50:08hundreds of French supermarkets have have been hit by a cyber attack that
00:50:12that caused their fridges and freezers freezers to heat up, spoiling fresh
00:50:15fresh and frozen food estimated to
00:50:17to be worth millions of euros. Hackers Hackers reportedly gained control
00:50:21control of the software that regulates regulates the temperatures of the
00:50:24the refrigeration units, forcing
00:50:26forcing some to warm to 50 Celsius
00:50:30Celsius or 122 Fahrenheit. Overnight, Overnight, the prosecutor's office
00:50:32office in Paris says it has launched
00:50:35launched an investigation and Pope
00:50:37Pope Leo has cancelled all audiences audiences until the 20th of October,
00:50:41October, as he's expected to undergo undergo surgery. The Pope will reportedly
00:50:45reportedly be admitted to Rome's Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday
00:50:48Tuesday morning as he prepares for for an operation to remove a small
00:50:51small nodule on one of his lungs. lungs. The Vatican said the growth
00:50:54growth had been found on a recent recent check up and had been found
00:50:58found early. There's been no confirmation confirmation when the surgery would
00:51:01would take place. Now, to a feat
00:51:06feat of rather enormous proportions, proportions, one of the world's most
00:51:09most renowned pumpkin weighing competitions competitions has seen the greatest
00:51:12greatest in gourds descend on Northern Northern California on Monday. The
00:51:16The showdown sees the world's most most passionate pumpkin producers
00:51:20producers face off on the scales
00:51:22scales in the hope of breaking a
00:51:24a world record. Well, the more than
00:51:26than 2000 mile journey from Minnesota Minnesota to California paid off
00:51:30off for this year's winner, Travis
00:51:33Travis Ginger, who is now a five five times champion. His pumpkin,
00:51:36pumpkin, aptly named Rocky, took
00:51:38took the crown in at £2,389 or just
00:51:43just over 1000kg. Now, to put that
00:51:45that into perspective, that's roughly
00:51:48roughly 11979 Volkswagen Beetle convertible,
00:51:50convertible, a touch heavier than
00:51:53than Pennsylvania's Liberty Bell Bell or approximately the size of
00:51:57of two average sized cows. It's heavy
00:52:00heavy basically. Now, despite weighing weighing over one tonne, Travis and
00:52:04and Rocky did not beat his personal
00:52:05personal record set in 2023 with
00:52:12with a £2,749 pumpkin. Well, earlier earlier I spoke to Travis Ginger
00:52:15Ginger in the minutes just after
00:52:16after he secured that fifth title.
00:52:19title. Well, thank you so much. It It just feels great to have this
00:52:22this big pumpkin behind me and be
00:52:24be done. And five time champion.
00:52:27champion. Now you don't live in California
00:52:29California do you, Travis? You actually
00:52:32actually drove over 2000 miles carrying carrying that pumpkin, which weighs,
00:52:35weighs, I believe £2,389. So well
00:52:39well over a tonne. What was that that journey like and how terrified
00:52:43terrified were you that it might might not survive the journey? We've
00:52:46We've done it now five times and and it's always a challenge. We don't
00:52:49don't know if that pumpkin makes makes it till it gets here, believe
00:52:52believe it or not. But it's always
00:52:54always a challenge hauling it across
00:52:56across the country that distance.
00:52:58distance. But it made it great and
00:53:00and we're just happy. So take us
00:53:03us inside your method, Travis. What's What's your secret sauce? Because
00:53:07Because you are a champion when it it comes to pumpkin growing. Presumably
00:53:10Presumably you grow more than one.
00:53:12one. How do you know that the one one is going to be the one? What?
00:53:15What? What early signs does it show show and how do you nurture it and
00:53:18and get it to the full potential potential that we see behind you
00:53:21you now? Yeah, we really don't. But
00:53:25But we pick the one. It's about 15ft
00:53:2715ft down on the main vine and we we just grow it. So we hope that
00:53:31that it doesn't split. We hope it it holds together. And with this
00:53:35this I knew it was big. I just didn't didn't know how much it would weigh
00:53:38weigh because they can vary quite quite a bit in weight. I mean this
00:53:41this thing should have weight about about £2,600 and it went quite a
00:53:44a bit light. But we're still happy.
00:53:48happy. And you've won multiple times times though there must be something something that you're doing that
00:53:52that other people aren't quite managing.
00:53:55managing. Yeah. We try and manage
00:53:56manage the soil pretty well, use
00:53:59use a good biological blend for our
00:54:02our fertilisers and just really kind kind of just touch it lightly with
00:54:06with some fertiliser and some biology biology and get that soil cranking.
00:54:09cranking. Wow. Give it some TLC.
00:54:11TLC. Now I gather there were 45 other
00:54:13other competitors. Just take us inside
00:54:16inside the world of competitive pumpkin pumpkin growing. Why did you get
00:54:19get into it? What excites you about about it and what was it like at
00:54:23at that moment of announcing your
00:54:25your win today? Yeah. So how I got
00:54:28got into it was my dad was growing growing small pumpkins back in the
00:54:31the day and I saw these big pumpkins pumpkins at the state fair and I
00:54:34I thought, oh, I could do that. So So back when I was 14 years old,
00:54:37old, I grew a 447 pounder. It was
00:54:39was a big pumpkin for back in the
00:54:41the day. 30 years later, I set the the world record and I've just been
00:54:45been doing it ever since. So we don't don't know what these things are
00:54:48are going to do, but it's just been
00:54:51been a great ride. And yeah. I can
00:54:53can see lots of people behind you,
00:54:56you, Travis touching it, taking pictures. pictures. This is its big moment.
00:55:00moment. But what happens next to to the pumpkin? This pumpkin will
00:55:03will go to an event to get carved. carved. It will be sculpted into
00:55:06into a 3D sculpture from all different different sides. Carvers will spend
00:55:10spend five days carving this pumpkin. pumpkin. And what about people who
00:55:13who come up to you and say, how do do I do this? What advice are you
00:55:17you offering people? You know, I I just say start small. Start with
00:55:19with one or two plants and don't don't get overboard and just focus
00:55:23focus on what you got to do and enjoying enjoying a group that knows about
00:55:27about these. And what actually happens
00:55:30happens there today. I can see that that more and more people coming
00:55:32coming up to take pictures just take take us inside the event itself.
00:55:36itself. Yeah. So the event has hundreds hundreds upon hundreds of people.
00:55:40people. Now that the event's done, done, the pumpkins are free to come
00:55:43come see and get pictures with your your family. And then there's a big
00:55:46big festival next weekend. So it's it's definitely not over. And what's
00:55:50what's your goal? What's your future future ambition here in terms of
00:55:54of the weight that you hope that that one day you might achieve? You
00:55:57You know, it's going to take a lot lot to get the world record. They They just broke it. So I think right
00:56:01right now we've got to stay focused focused and I would love to break
00:56:04break the world record again. Well Well done Travis. I'm Amanda Walker.
00:56:08Walker. Thank you for watching World World News
00:59:48MUSIC
01:00:11Live from Washington. This is BBC
01:00:17BBC News. Russia hammers Ukraine Ukraine for another night as Ukraine's
01:00:20Ukraine's president vows retaliation retaliation if Russian strikes on
01:00:23on the country's energy grid continue.
01:00:26continue. The BBC goes inside Yemen Yemen as Saudi backed government
01:00:30government forces work to regain regain control of coastal land from
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01:00:34war takes a toll on the population.
01:00:37population. This whole area has just
01:00:39just been retaken by pro-government
01:00:41pro-government forces. They captured captured it about three days ago.
01:00:45ago. Until then, the Houthis were were in control here. US Congresswoman
01:00:49Congresswoman Ilhan Omar condemns condemns a raid on her home, believed
01:00:52believed to be part of an ongoing
01:00:55ongoing federal criminal investigation.