This is BBC News.
There's not usually much politics in aviation.
That changed when Belarus forced a Ryanair flight to land in Minsk.
The cargo they wanted was a 26-year-old dissident journalist.
The nabbed him.
But they also got a ton of international condemnation.
The UK and other nations are now banning flights to and from Belarus.
Will that be enough though to secure the release
of the journalist, Roman Protasevich?
Calls to 'defund the police' are one thing.
Efforts to REFORM the police are quite another.
One year on since George Floyd's death, we look at why Congress has
failed to pass police reform.
Also in the programme...
Keeping the peace, however fragile.
The US Secretary of State is on his way to the Middle East,
to try to help keep the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas intact.
And, a 50-year old just won a major golf tournament.
A 78-year-old is president of the United States.
We'll look at how more and more of us, yes US
are simply getting better with age.
Hello, I'm Katty Kay in Washington, Christian
Fraser is in London.
It reads like the script from a Jason Bourne movie.
So far it is not ending well.
The protagonist, Roman Protesevich, a dissident
journalist from Belarus, was traveling by commercial airline
from Athens to Vilnius in Lithuania.
He'd been traced by three Belarussian agents
who were travelling on the same flight.
As it approached Vilnius the RyanAir pilots were told
there was a bomb on board, and that a Belarussian fighter jet
would escort them to Minsk.
When it landed Mr Protesevich and his girlfriend were arrested
and taken away.
EU leaders said today it was a shocking act,
that endangered the lives of passengers, a case
of "state-sponsored piracy".
Tonight they are meeting in Brussels to decide
how best to respond.
The civil aviation authority here has already told its carriers
to avoid Belarussian airspace and has informed Minsk its national
carrier Belavia will not be allowed to land in the UK.
Meanwhile, Lithuania has advised its citizens
to get out of Belarus.
Here's our Europe Correspondent Jean McKenzie.
Armed police greet the arrivals on board the plane Belarus
is accused of hijacking.
All to capture this young man, Roman Protasevich, a journalist
and political refugee.
He fled Belarus two years ago, only to be forced back home
yesterday under the most extraordinary circumstances
by a regime he told his fellow passengers would execute him.
One woman pleads with people to stay calm.
As Roman was led away, passengers say he was shaking.
How scared he was?
Super scared.
I looked at him directly into his eyes and it was very sad.
His father has described his son's capture as a terrorist act.
TRANSLATION: We hope that he will cope.
We hope that he will stay himself, not give in to any of their tricks.
We are afraid to even think about it.
But it's possible he could be beaten and tortured.
The chief executive of Ryanair this morning spoke of his anger.
This was a case of state-sponsored hijacking, state-sponsored piracy.
I think it is very frightening for the crew, the passengers
and they were held under armed guard and had their bags searched.
Roman is wanted because of running an opposition news programme.
It is on the social media platform Telegram. It is used to organise
social media broadcasts and to transmit protest.
The protest exploded during last summer's election
when Belarus's long-time leader, President Lukashenko, claimed yet
another disputed victory.
Back then we witnessed peaceful protesters being dragged off
the streets of the capital.
Since then, hundreds of journalists and opposition allegations
have been imprisoned.
Roman is the latest target.
They endangered the lives of 171 passengers just
because of Roman Protasevich and we were sure that
to fly between two UN member states is safe,
but it turned out that it is not.
Speaking in the House of Commons earlier, the Foreign Secretary said
Mr Lukashenko's government must be held accountable for
its reckless behaviour.
The scenario as reported is a shocking assault on civil
aviation and an assault on international law.
It represents a danger to civilian flights everywhere.
Europe's leaders are meeting here in Brussels this evening
to decide what exactly the consequences the hijacking
of an EU flight should be.
There has been a lot of outrage, a lot of tough talk,
but now the pressure is on for them to find some tangible way to punish
or weaken Belarus's government.
Already airlines have started to avoid Belarus's
airports and airspace, deciding detours are worth delays.
Jean McKenzie, BBC News.
Latvia has expelled all of Belarus's diplomats and Belarus have done the
same with Latvian diplomats.
Talis Linkaits is Latvia's transport minister -
he joins us now from Riga.
EU leaders have agreed to ban Belarus airlines from their airspace
and they are urging EU airlines are not to fly over Belarus as well. Is
this about safety when it comes to transport? Or is this about trying
to pressure Belarus to release the journalist? Good evening, I think it
is both. Certainly it is the first such event in civil aviation history
when a passenger jet with more than 170 passengers and 18 nationalities
on board have been forced to land just because a country does not like
one or two passengers. This is something that endangers the lives
of the passengers and it could have happened with another airline as
well. Our national airline, air Baltic, on Sunday has decided to
avoid the airspace of Belarus. We think that this is the right and
correct way to respond. Of course... And what kind of pressure
realistically do you think that that will put on President Lukashenko? I
believe of course it will take some time for Lukashenko to notice that
there is pressure, but such events cannot go without any response. I
think the EU and all the nations have to show Swift and strong
response so that similar events do not happen again. Minister, you are
right, everyone today has talked about that response and why there
needs to be a response, but there is also concerned that if you impose
sanctions and the sanctions are too tough, that we might push Belarus
into the warm embrace of Russia. What would that mean that part of
the world if there was a federal agreement between Russia and
Belarus? I think this already has happened, so we are not making any
change in this situation. Since the elections last year the Lukashenko
regime actually already has established the only relations they
have had and these relations are with the Russian Federation. So I
don't think we are pushing the regime any further. Talk to me about
that airspace. Belarussian airspace is only small. As I understand it
though, important routes go over it. What sort of disruption will there
be for people in Europe flying to Asia and China? Certainly any
closure of the airspace means that flights are getting a bit longer. It
has to be re-routed via other nations, but this is a minor step
that we can do in order to influence the situation and to make flights
safer for our citizens. Minister, thank you very much for coming on
the programme.
Tonight state television in Belarus reported that
Roman Protasevich is cooperating with investigators and has confessed
to being behind civil disturbances.
Those are their words.
There are concerns clearly about his welfare.
Just last week another political activist, Vitold Ashurok died
in jail while serving time for HIS involvement in the protests.
The authorities said he died of a cardiac arrest.
Hanna Liubakova is a Belarusian opposition journalist,
a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council.
I know that you know Roman Protasevich very well. Do you know
where he is and what his welfare is this evening? Well, we thought that
he was held at the KGB prison, but he is in another prison, actually.
It is a notoriously known one where some of the political prisoners are
being held. It is a pre-trial detention centre in Minsk, so that
is where the official said that he is being held. Just an hour ago
there was a video released by pro-government channels about Roman,
showing him kind of saying that, yes, he confessed that he
participated, he basically organised and plotted riots. That is what he
was saying. And he had to say that the security forces are treating him
well, even though his forehead, if you see it closely, there are some
signs that he might have been beaten. We might have some pictures
of his forehead. We will see if we can zoom in on that for our viewers.
Tell me a bit about conditions for journalists. He is on a terror list.
I know there have been reports of torture in these prisons. What would
be your concern about the way that he has been treated and
interrogated? Certainly there have been so many cases of people being
tortured, being severely beaten so that they were forced to confess in
the actions that they never performed, that they never did. I
can only imagine what might happen to him. When it comes to
journalists, there have been almost 500 journalist who last year were
beaten and this is not surprising information for anyone. Also when it
comes to torture there were 2000 cases of torture that have been
collected and reported. So the conditions in prisons are really
terrible. We fear that something might happen to him. Hannah, you are
a Belarussian journalist and the government is no fan of yours. Are
you worried for your own safety? After what happened with Rome and I
think everybody can worry about their safety. In the EU are
obviously inside the country. So if Lukashenko wants, he can definitely
reach the dissidents and it is not safe for anyone, including, as we
have seen, even for nationals, even EU citizens who were on board. I
would say that one month ago he actually threatened his opponents,
his rivals, that he would reach anyone, that he would find everyone,
and this is now for him an issue of personal revenge. What would you
like the international community to do now. There are many issues that
have to be done at the moment. Obviously an international
investigation into what happened with the plane, that is the
priority. But also we need to remember this is not the case about
aviation, one flight over Belarus is one issue, but the issue is
preventing the regime from continuing to do what they are
doing. We have been talking about sanctions a lot, but sanctions
should be more targeted and painful and should really target those who
finance the regime and Lukashenko himself and his finances abroad.
Justice should be imposed, perpetrators should be found. And
also on a more political agenda there should be assistance and help
for people, for the media, for civil society in Belarus inside the
country, on the ground, and that is something we should remember. We
should remember that we have to support people inside the country.
We will have to leave it there. We will be talking about what pressure
can be put on the Belarussian authorities. He must be uppermost in
every's minds when we talk about sanctions.
Let s get some of the day s other news.
The lead singer of the Italian band which won
the Eurovision Song Contest has been cleared of drug use.
The announcement follows an investigation and a negative
drug test, according to the European Broadcasting Union.
Damiano David denied taking cocaine following comments on social
media that he was leaning over a table during the grand
final on Saturday.
Japan has opened mass Covid vaccination centres in an effort
to speed up the rollout of jabs two months before the start
of the Tokyo Olympics.
The military-run centres in the capital Tokyo and Osaka,
will administer thousands of jabs each day.
Japan is trying to curb a surge in infections.
Here in the UK a prominent Black Lives Matter activist remains
in a critical condition in hospital after being shot
in the head in south London.
Police said there is no evidence that 27 year old Sasha Johnson
was the intended target of the shooting.
Although she had received death threats in the past.
The investigation is continuing.
Quite a shocking incident over the weekend. It does bear some
reflection that gun crime here in the UK is still pretty low. I was
looking at the figures today. 33 people killed by a gun in the UK in
2019. We have a problem with knife crimes, of course, 46,000 people
injured or killed by knives in 2020. You look at that figure at 33 in
2019 and compare it with the United States at the moment and you have
had a horrendous weekend with shootings over there this weekend.
When you look at the total number, 33 looks tiny compared to the total
number of people, thousands of people who have been killed in the
US since the beginning of this year in gun crimes. But it does look like
this weekend, over 7000 was total for the year, but this weekend was a
particularly bad weekend. What depressing about it was was bad
because so many children and were killed. There was a six-year-old boy
whose mother was driving him to school and there was an incident of
road rage, she was on a freeway in California, in LA, and a car moved
her off and she heard a shot going through her back window and her
little boy Aidan, who was in the booster seat, six years old, took a
bullet in the head and that was it, he died and he was pronounced dead
when he was rushed to hospital. All because of road rage. It has been a
terrible weekend for deaths. I think we have spoken about this before,
there was a real uptick in gun sales last year. Whether it was because of
Covid and people were getting stressed and buying guns, there was
a spy after the Black Lives Matter protests. There were more guns being
bought in the country and there are a lot of guns out there. It was a
very bad weekend and a six-year-old boy is dead.
For those watching on BBC world news -
we'll be right back.
The BBC Board has announced a review of the corporation's
editorial and whistleblowing policies, following Lord Dyson's
report into its 1995 interview with Diana,
Princess of Wales.
In the House of Commons, the Media Minister John Whittingdale
told MPs that the BBC was a valuable assest but said its reputation had
been tarnished and that the report made for shocking reading.
It details not just an appaulling failure to uphold basics to our
It details not just an appalling failure to uphold basics to our
journalistic standards but also in unwillingness to investigate
journalistic standards but also an unwillingness to investigate
complaints and discover the truth.
That these failures occurred at our national broadcaster is an even
greater source of shame.
The new leadership at the BBC deserves
credit for setting up an independent inquiry and for accepting its
findings in full.
However, the reputation of the BBC, its most
precious asset has been badly tarnished
and it is right that the BBC board and wider
leadership now consider
urgently how confidence and trust in the corporation can be restored.
Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd.
It is also the deadline President Biden had set
for Congress to agree a major policing reform bill.
That deadline will slide, though sponsors of the bill,
like Congresswoman Karen Bass, are optimistic lawmakers can
reach a deal soon.
If passed, the bill would change policing
in a few significant ways.
It bans chokeholds except in life threatening
situations.
To counter increased militarisation of the police it
limits the equipment the Department of Defence can send
to local police departments.
And it also aims to end qualified immunity for prosecution
for police officers.
Though that is the issue that appears to be holding up
the lawmakers, and it's a tricky one.
Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine that shields
police from civil lawsuits.
It prevents victims and families from suing individual
officers for alleged civil rights violations.
Republicans say it s THE sticking point,
Democrats say it s a potential point of coordination.
Joining us to discuss is Professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad,
from the Harvard Kennedy School, and author of The Condemnation
of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making
of Modern Urban America.
Professor, thank you very much for joining us. Can we look at the
police reform bill going through Congress at the moment? At what
point could things get taken out of the bill that would basically make
it toothless and not particularly worth having? That is a great
question. There is a lot here that is minimal to what we might consider
significant reform. It largely has to do with data transparency,
meaning that currently police officers are not required to report
uses of force in the vast majority of agencies that exist around the
country, and this bill would require that in exchange for federal funding
for various things like weapons and pleasing manpower. Body cameras
would be required in this bill as well as a universal ban on Joe
Cole's and various legal instruments of force that have proven time and
time again to be harmful. As long as those things were made, this would
be a minor significant step towards reform. Reminders in the years since
George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis have we seen any
meaningful reform by individual police departments, even if not yet
at the federal level? We have seen changes happening in a number of
agencies around the country. They remain the minority. Some of those
changes include removal of traffic violation enforcement from policing,
essentially to decriminalise traffic violations for the time being. Some
of it has been to increase the use of social workers or community
health workers for various mental health or drug-related crises. That
can run the gamut of police initiated, or 911 dispatchers riding
those calls to those service providers by passing the place
altogether. We have seen increased funding from the Biden
administration for public health intervention in community violence.
This is a proven and effective way of preventing gun violence before it
happens. We have had a lot of people on the programme this last year,
particularly African Americans, who talk about the root of the problem
and they point to aid them and us style of policing, that policing in
America is not about policing for all. Do you see it that way? Is
there anything that you can ever do with reform that gets to the root
problem? I do see it that way. I am an historian of policing and I
understand that practice and policies that are in place today,
while they have changed over a decade, they do share something in
common, which is that they allow maximum discretion for law
enforcement to treat members of low income communities, overwhelmingly
black and brown, as would be suspects. When you have a system
like that, you are bound to see the abuse of that discretion and the
abuse of that discretion coupled with the abuse of force is why we
are having this conversation in the first place. There is the
possibility for change and those things look like more stringent
accountability, as well as subpoena power for citizen review boards, the
very things a lot of union police agencies in the United States are
fighting tooth and nail to keep out of reform today. The president is
inviting the family of George Floyd to the White House tomorrow to mark
the anniversary. There is no bill on his desk to sign. He does have the
pulpit. Has he spoken loudly enough? That is a good question. I think
that Joe Biden has said more in the office of the presidency to critique
both white supremacy and the relationship of white supremacy to
our pleasing problem than any president in history. To that he
should be credited and particularly the members of his administration.
But he is going to hit a point when the rubber meets the road and that
is will he spend his political capital to ensure that we get the
hard-wired changes that the federal government can support but not
entirely control? We have a system where 18,000 agencies are primarily
controlled by local and state authorities. Really good to have you
on the programme. Thank you. The one thing it has done, and we will talk
about it tomorrow because it is the anniversary tomorrow, is it shone a
light on those who did not get justice. We have talked about so
many of them over the last year and to me that is the most shocking
thing, how many of them there are even after George Floyd. It is still
happening at the moment and it is making people much more aware of
just how often this happens, not just trial around Derek Chauvin, but
the issue of cameras and people are filming much more, the public are
stepping up, as we saw in the George Floyd case, are stepping up and they
are not afraid to show those videos. That is having a big effect on
policing.
Here in Washington the press corps have seen some tangible
evidence today that we're making progress against the pandemic.
This is a selfie from the White House
briefing room which, for the first time in more
than a year, is at 50% capacity.
That's 24 seats out of a possible 48.
Look at that picture. The bosses are like that. Look at that, in the
ring, an unmistakable figure of our Anthony. It has been over a year
since that room was that crowded. You almost have to go all the way
back to super Tuesday. Is it that long? And here he is again in the
briefing room itself. I am not saying that you are the reason that
very few people have been allowed in. You turn up, you go into the
briefing room, you leave, and the place empties out for a year. I am
not saying it is cause and effect. Look how big I am. Look how far I
am. Look at that, a year ago. We will discuss it, OK, but not now.
Let's start with a little bit of good news, the weather
towards the end of this week bucks the trend for what we have
seen so far this month.
And things are looking a good deal drier.
We got high pressure on the weather chart and because it's to the east
of us we will also be drawing in something a little bit warmer.
Temperatures across the UK a bit more typical of where they should
be at the end of May.
Bear that in mind if you do get caught by some of the downpours that
will be around again on Tuesday.
Slightly different areas and that does mean for some of us
where it is but on Monday it will be drier.
At the moment still got some of the downpours around from earlier
on and through the night for the operas of rain passed
in Scotland, especially but clear skies to the south and west
we will see some of the lowest temperatures into the morning.
A chilly start for some of you but a brighter start
across southern counties of England, Wales and into Northern Ireland.
So plenty of cloud in Scotland and other England
and its ear with the focus of showers before coming heavy
and thundery and a few showers the restaurant in Scotland a much
brighter and milder day that we saw through Monday.
That's even with a northerly wind.
Bit of a breeze coming from the north and northwest of that
We will finish the days down here without breaks of longest
rolls of rain spending towards the Channel Islands
into the evening.
Fading off into northern France for the night into Wednesday.
Stills to the east of us in a cool breeze blowing down
eastern parts of Scotland is here with her would be
the focus for the heaviest of the afternoon showers.
It will climb a bit further as we head further into Thursday,
area of high pressure trying to build but not strong enough
to keep this weather front at bay.
That will bring some spells of rain into Ireland and turning away
in Northern Ireland through the day with some heavy
rain and gusty winds.
The rain in Western fringes but much of Scotland will stay dry
and temperatures a bit more widely into the upper teens.
Getting closer to where we should be and that trend continues
as we go through Friday and into the bank holiday weekend.
Not completely dry but there will be a lot more in the way of dry weather
around and as I said it will certainly feel a little bit
warmer than it has done so far.
You re watching BBC News with me Katty Kay in Washington,
Christian Fraser is in London.
Our top stories...
The UK and other nations are banning flights to and from Belarus,
after the country's government forced a Ryanair flight
to land in Minsk.
They arrested a 26-year-old journalist.
A video has emerged of Roman Protasevich,
in which he admits to organising mass disorder.
His supporters say the confession was coerced.
Also in the programme...
Trying to keep the peace.
The US Secretary of State is on his way to the Middle East,
to try to help keep the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas intact.
And, victory at any age tastes as sweet.
Phil Mickelson is the latest to join the ranks of older athletes
at the top of their game.
We'll look at how they do it.
27 EU leaders have been holding a round table
meeting tonight in Brussels to discuss their response
to the state hijacking of the Ryan Air flight over Belarus.
The new measures may target those individuals involved in the forced
landing of the plane, as well as sanctions
on the Belarusian aviation sector.
Earlier the EU commission President Ursula Von Der Lyon told
reporters a three-billion-euro investment package for Belarus
will remain on hold and will be frozen until the country becomes
democratic.
It is tricky however.
How do you punish a country like Belarus, without forcing it
into the warm embrace of the Russians?
We are joined by the Conservative MP Tom Tugenhadt, chair of the foreign
affairs select committee.
That is really the concern that if you push too hard you push Minsk and
Belarus further towards Moscow. I have to say it's quite difficult to
imagine how much father you can push them. It's already a satellite of
Russia. And Lukashenko is only in power because Putin keeps her there
is a puppet. I'm not sure a kick to start seriously. On the ground it's
already happened. Obviously, there's been a lot of talk about putting
pressure on Lukashenko evidence the election. There've been sections and
withholding money. It doesn't seem as though it's losing his grip on
power in fact quite the reverse. He's been there for 26 years. So he
doesn't have a whole power through a mixture of brutality and corruption.
And he started very effectively. The reality is we have and push the
right triggers. If we actually want to take action there are two things
we must do. The first is we must expose the level of corruption. We
must be having news outlets like yours reporting that he's got $100
million here and hundred million dollars bear and various bank
accounts around the world. The other thing we got to do is switch off the
taps. That means freezing the amount energy pipeline and because it's
being built at the moment stopping the North Stream to pipeline which
is merely a way of allowing Russia to along eastern Europe. So what is
the impact then of banning flights from both the EU and UK into Belarus
and Belarussian flights out again? The first purpose of that is to
protect their citizens. When I get the letter together yesterday with
Senator Bob Mendez of the United States and Germany and France and
Lithuania, Latvia, France, Italy I can keep going. All the chairs of
foreign affairs committees of various parliaments. It was because
we want to protect our citizens. It's clearly a very, very dangerous
thing to do now to overflight Belarus was up even if you haven't
offended the Belarussian leader or Chris hasn't assessed two offended
the Belarussian leader today it's possible the person in the seat next
to last. If he's willing to scramble fighter just to interest step the
aircraft you are on -- intercept then he is you are in danger. Putin
shot down a Malaysian civilian airliner seven years ago killing
hundreds of civilians including hundreds of Dutch citizens. This is
in an empty threat this is a very real threat for all of us. Meanwhile
Mr Putin and Mr Lukashenko are still in power. What you think
realistically that chances are that there will be a coordinated response
from the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States? That
would actually have any meaningful reaction in being sort Moscow? I
think it could. A portion of Belarussian trade is arm of the
European Union. As of the European Union does have strong influence. A
lot of the dissidents and the Lithuanian people are hosting them
very generously to give them a platform to one day one hopes
liberate their own country. I think there are many things that we can
do. The prime thing we got to do is expose the corruption and switch off
the taps. We can do that. All of that is within our power. It's a
matter of choice of whether we do it or not. Obviously, there is an echo
with the ball only in Russia. And his big danger that come tomorrow
the world moves on and we turn our attention away and I wonder how you
send the message that they are responsible for his safety. Does it
need to be more explicit? Is the message from the EU leaders that
goes out tonight need to be more explicit? I think it does. I would
like to see charges being brought in the international Court of Justice
against the governor, holding him responsible for take two state
terror which is all the signatories to the letter declared head happen,
a form of piracy that a gamma hijacking is now kidnapping. And
indeed has become a form of hostage puppetry with him being used to
effectively denounce himself. I think there is more that we can do
and I would like to see the governments turning to the
international Court of Justice and making it up absolutely clear to Mr
Lukashenko that he is personally responsible for the threat of
violence for this aircraft and in direct violation of the Chicago
agreement on civil aviation. And that he is personally liable for the
protection and while being for him. In the same way that Mr Putin is
personally liable for Alexa no Von Lee who was poisoned under
pollutants orders and is now been charged and imprisoned for the two
surviving in his assassination attempt for the president of Russia.
Thank you very much
for joining us.
President Biden has announced that the US Secretary
of State, Antony Blinken, is heading to the Middle East
to build on the ceasefire between the Israelis and Hamas
and to lay the groundwork for an eventual resumption of peace talks.
His visit comes as both sides count the cost of the recent conflicts
which claimed the lives of more than 250 people. Most of them were in
Gaza.
A young man and seven children were killed. Their families blame it is
really strike but that he is greatly say the likelihood was that they
were killed by a policy of rocket. I morning, his report does contain
extremely distressing images. It's not big enough to have a proper
name. Luckily this place is called the end of mass oedema Street. It
could be idyllic. But this is Gaza around 800 metres from the boundary
wire with Israel. Around the 10th of May the first day of the war at
around 630 in the evening it turned into a small corner of hell. You can
hear the shot as he says God is greatest. And then children,
children. Then Motter and massacre, a new massacre. -- martyr. He lays
his dead seven-year-old son next to the body of his other boy who was
11. In all seven children and a young man of 21 were killed. This is
Yusuf like all the bereaved parents he said the dead were martyrs for
Jerusalem killed by Israel. He accepted condolences the traditional
way. His brother still wounded and hospital had three killed. Mohammed,
use of surviving son said nothing and just listen.
Their homes were a shell during 11 days of war. By then the community
had fled. Israel says it has no record of a strike at the time of
that first attack. It says it's assessment is that a Palestinian
rocket aimed at Israel dropped short of its target. The family showed as
shrapnel they said was from the bomb. Independent experts to see
these photos say they are fragments of airdropped precision munitions
not Palestinian rockets. The two sides will not agree. Another family
and the village is morning a son. Abraham has a a over 60 and his
father says Israel broke their hearts and made them hate their
lives when they took his boy.
The eldest son Mohammed show me their homes. Ibrahim was working to
pay for him to study. The women were in the garden never leaving Abrahams
mother alone with her grief.
More people arrived to offer condolences. Palestinians don't
believe Israel's insistence that it works hard not to kill civilians.
Warning them to get out before some raise like the ones that destroyed
this path. As in the previous rounds of fighting between Israel and Hamas
the cease-fire is a pause. The conflict is not just unresolved it
is not even frozen. So many children in Gaza, I can tell you, I've been
there. Such a young community and so terrible to see those devastations
when the bombs lead land in such crowded neighborhoods.
such crowded neighborhoods.
Let's cross to Jerusalem now and speak to our
colleague Laura Trevelyan.
They look at Anthony blinking come into the malaise in the malaise and
asked, what can he do? It's a very good question. And definitely in
Washington where Caddy is expectations are being downplayed.
The idea senior officials say in Washington this is about trying to
stabilise and underpin the cease-fire. No grand plan to restart
talks towards the two state solution other than theory that is still the
goal of the Biden administration. This is about upholding the
cease-fire, getting aid into Gaza. By the way, the way, the situation
is so fragile that in Jerusalem today two Israelis were stabbed, the
suspect was immediately killed by the police. There is such
intercommunal tension on the streets after that 11 day conflict. Hamas
may have stopped firing rockets, the Israeli Air Force. Dropping balls
but tensions are running so high now between dues and between arrows. In
this basic question of how you share disputed terror brought to the
territory is utterly unresolved. You show pictures like that and
naturally as her tear up the fabric of Israeli society as well. You look
at the polls and the first polls out Tuesday and Israeli public think it
didn't go far enough, it wasn't long enough, it didn't do enough damage.
Interesting isn't it because Benjamin Netanyahu is very much a
nationalist Israeli leader. He is currently fighting for his political
future. The opposition have a month in which you form a coalition
against them. The deadline runs out next week. The theory was that this
campaign would have really shored up his position. The fact is, the
mayors of the southern Israeli towns who are right there in the firing
line, they feel that in effect he surrendered to Hamas by stopping
this campaign. Yes, this is left Israelis dissatisfied but it's
empowered Hamas. And for the Biden administration which wants to
reconstruct Gaza using the Palestinian Authority and not Hamas,
this is very difficult to see how that would happen in practice when
Hamas is empowered at the Palestinians weak to nonexistent and
Gaza. At the Biden administration can't work directly with Hamas
because they don't talk to them and they don't want the aid to be
followed so Hamas make more rockets. It's a real conundrum. Laura, we saw
the important role that Egypt played in bringing this current cease-fire
into being. It's interesting that Tony blanket is going to go not just
to Jerusalem and also the West Bank is also good to go to Cairo and
Jordan as well and meet with leaders there. It is Washington, the White
House thinking let's try ambling in King Abdullah president cc and hope
that they can outsource the at least near term of Middle East stability
to those two neighbours? Remember President Biden used to call him
trump's favourite dictator. It is the Biden administration tries to
steer things back to the more usual let's have a two state solution,
even though that seems tricky, the Egyptians are gay because they're
the only people that can talk to Israel and Hamas. They broke at the
cease-fire, it's that the Egyptians that are doing the legwork now. They
were in Gaza two days ago, West Bank today. They're the ones trying to
work out the details and who's agreed but for what. The Jordanians
are key. Because they control the Al-Aqsa mosques compound which is in
these disputed territory right in the heart of it. Dues say it's on
the side of the Temple Mount, their most holy site. The Al-Aqsa mosque
is the third holiest and it's there recently there have been clashes
with Palestinians feeling that the Israelis are encroaching way too
much on it allowing visitors in there from Israel. You are not
allowed to pray there is a due but there are more more visits by
Orthodox dues which is causing all of the center. I think you're
exactly right. If the Jordanian, some creative solution can be found
for the Al-Aqsa mosque, the Egyptians can they work out the
detail of the seas file while the Americans bring in the cash for
Gaza, this I think it's a theory behind Secretary Blinken visit.
Thank you
for your coverage of the
last few days.
Stay with us on BBC News, still to come...
They say youth is wasted on the young.
Well, it seems the older among us are doing just fine.
How golfer Phil Mickelson and others are turning back the clock.
A vigil has taken place for a prominent Black Lives Matter
activist who's in a critical condition after being shot
in the head in south London.
27-year-old Sasha Johnson had been attending a gathering
when the shooting happened in the early hours of Sunday morning
Police said there is no evidence that she was the intended target
of the shooting.
Our Community Affairs Correspondent Adina Campbell reports.
As they gathered together, praying and reflecting
on the shocking events of the weekend, their
message was clear.
Today, friends and family held a vigil for mother
of two Sasha Johnson, the latest victim of a gun attack
in South London, in a critical condition in hospital.
The 27-year-old Black Lives Matter campaigner had been at a party
in Peckham when she was shot in the head in the early
hours of Sunday morning.
The political party she's a member of, the Taking The Initiative Party,
said she'd received a number of death threats in the past.
But police say there is no evidence that she was
the target of the shooting.
Thank you all for coming today.
I appreciate it.
Sasha Johnson is a tireless antiracism activist.
She organised the Black Lives Matter protest in Oxford last summer
and has spoken about living in a more equal society,
where her sons would be accepted.
Friends say she is never afraid to call out injustice.
I've seen her, because I worked alongside her as a youth worker
in Wolvercote and the way that she just interacts,
when you see her in her youth work, young people cleave to her,
she is like a magnet.
So, yeah, yeah.
Tonight, she remains in hospital after undergoing successful surgery,
with her parents by her side.
Adina Campbell, BBC News.
On Sunday, at a mere 50 years of age, Phil Mickelson
won his sixth major, the US PGA Championship,
and in doing so he became the oldest major winner of all time.
It takes me about five holes to warm up on a Saturday and I am 47,
so there was this perceived wisdom out there that an athlete's
power fades, drains away, as they get older, not that
I am an athlete.
But this win, Phil Mickelson's towering performance on Sunday,
has given us all reason to hope.
He has freed us all from the shackles of old age.
Some of us...
So what are the secrets to staying in your prime?
Is it a disciplined diet, a steely mentality, freak genetics?
To discuss it we're joined by Dr Michael Lardon,
he is a sports psychiatrist who has worked with Phil Mickelson
in the past and who helped win the British Open in 2013.
Thank you very much for joining us. He stormed the field, 50 years of
age, I'm a little over 50, Christians a little under 15 were
both looking at them thinking, how did he do it? Well Phil is amazing.
He actually hits the ball further now that he did maybe even 20 years
ago. But we sort of think of it like the Tom Brady, he's a famous
American quarterback that as we live longer, we get smarter and Phil
watches his diet, he does a lot of mindfulness, his training is
excellent. And he has an ability to be childlike and passionate with
what he does so he's raise the bar as he goes it doesn't really see a
bar. In that and 50, I have to play in the signator. He 51 and here will
be 51 shortly and he can win eight major with all the young guys. So it
really is phenomenal and it's inspiring to all of us. Obviously,
he's an exception and in exceptional athlete. But is there a sense when
you talk about diet and mindfulness. Is there a sense that what making
strides in our physical body so that actually were going to see more
older athletes winning championships? We are and let me see
that the guy say the mind and the body they are intertwined. Those
things really go together. And when you learn to meditate, be mindful
you experience less stress, less anxiety and that lit leads to better
longevity. Better physical overall condition. We say the 50 is the new
40, right? So with Phil he is really demonstrating that's possible. And
it's more than the magic that he has but obviously that is in an
important piece of it. But there are a lot of great players that come in
their late 40s they sort of Peter L. Here is something really a shining
light for many of us and many great athletes as they age. He was asked
in a recent interview whether it gets easier as you get older. He
said you gets easier when you get older because you care less. I
imagine with him as he is success it does get easier. I wonder watching
his interview last night whether there's been a psychological
breakthrough for him that he can still win a major at that age. Is
that a significant breakthrough? When he says he cares less I think
you have to really be careful as to what he cares less about. He cares
less about where he is on the rating list and how people perceive them.
He is an iconic player, made lots of money but he cares a great deal,
even more so now than before about each and every day how he takes care
of himself. So he sort of caring about different things that do allow
him to perform better. What was part of your question? I'm sorry. I
wonder if there is a psychological breakthrough as well. He goes to the
US Open and amongst time he's won that course in California a couple
of times, he's been set six times in the US Open. A bit of a hoodoo
there. I wonder if what happened last night that convinces him that
he can actually go out and win another major at this age. Phil is
the type of individual that has not played that well of late. It most
athletes with a go boy, I'm on the way out. He never thinks in that
way. In part because he's never on the way out, he always sees himself
getting better. And so coming into the US Open that's a different beast
for him a little bit because he hasn't one as you said second place
six times. I think the most important thing for him to do is
really deal with now and stay focused on the day-to-day, today,
let's not make the US Open bigger than it is although it will give him
the Grand Slam. And he can do it. Thank you very much for joining us.
It was a fantastic. 50 is a new 40 which means that 56 is the new 46
which means arm a year younger than you are. That's called creative
mathematics. You wouldn't be able to mark the golf cart that's for sure.
Maybe I'll get you to fill in my scorecard and maybe I can win a
major as well. No because maybe it only happens in America, right? It
doesn't happen in the UK. You haven't lost as many there. I got
ten years because you know... So clearly.