Plus: Majorca building collapse, and 80-year-old shipwreck found ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. In a dramatic ruling, the UN’s top court has ordered Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza. Anna Holligan explains the ruling's significance. We're also hearing witness accounts of the deadly building collapse in Majorca, and finding out how AI is keeping Indian elephants safe from train collisions. Finally, we're looking at a remarkable shipwreck discovery - but first, have a go at this week's news quiz. | |
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QUESTIONS ANSWERED | ICJ ruling on Israel-Gaza war |
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| | Air strikes sent black clouds billowing over Rafah as the ICJ decision was being read. Credit: Reuters | An international panel of judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled Israel should halt its offensive in Rafah and open the border crossing with Egypt to allow more humanitarian aid. The ruling is legally binding, but the court has little way to enforce it. Israel rejected the court's ruling and said its military offensive in Gaza was in line with international law. |
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| | Anna Holligan, The Hague correspondent |
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| Why does this judgement matter? | This is the first time the ICJ has issued a ruling that compels Israel to significantly change its military operation in Gaza. | How does it relate to South Africa's genocide case against Israel? | This order is designed to act as an injunction to stop the situation from deteriorating or at least keep it in a kind of holding pattern, until the judges consider the wider merits of the case. | Remind me, what is that all about? | The case was brought by South Africa under the genocide convention, created 1948 after the Holocaust. South Africa argued Palestinians' inalienable right to protection under that convention was at risk of being violated and called on the ICJ, as guardian of that treaty, to step in. Today's decision isn't about whether or not genocidal acts are being committed in Gaza, but rather whether there is a plausible risk to the Palestinian people's right to protection. Israel has vehemently denied South Africa's allegations. | | Analysis: Diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams reflects on what the ruling means for the Israeli government. Explainer: What you need to know about South Africa's case against Israel. The question of statehood: Earlier this week, three European countries formally recognised the existence of a Palestinian state. Diplomatic correspondent James Landale explains the event's significance. | |
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| 'An explosion, then people screaming' | | Firefighters have been searching the building, with one describing the scene as "nightmarish". Credit: EPA | The collapse of a beachside restaurant on the island of Majorca on Thursday night killed four people and injured 16 others. The Medusa Beach Club is one of dozens of bars, restaurants and hotels located just off Playa de Palma, a long beach stretching eastwards from the city of Palma, which cater to tourists who stay in the area. |
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| | Guy Hedgecoe and Sofia Ferreira Santos |
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| | Dutch tourists Wessel Roos, 21, and his girlfriend Madelin Muijs, 20, were eating at a grill just a few metres away from the Medusa restaurant when the collapse happened. “Suddenly we heard an explosion. It was not a big boom, but we just knew something was up. You could also feel the vibration of the ceiling falling down," Mr Roos said. "It was chaos and there were people screaming."
After the collapse, Mr Roos and his girlfriend returned to their hotel and prayed that those involved would survive, he said. "It is a really weird feeling. When we had breakfast this morning and walked by, you can see blood on the brick there," he said. |
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| Russia's offensive | Katya Adler is joined by Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse and the host of Ukrainecast Vitaly Shevchenko to discuss whether Russia is starting to win the war with Ukraine. | Listen now > |
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THE BIG PICTURE | AI keeps railway-crossing elephants safe |
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| | | The cameras used by the AI system have thermal imaging and motion sensor capabilities. Credit: Madan Prasad/BBC | Elephant deaths on railways tracks in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu tend to happen most often on two routes along the pachyderms' migratory paths. Authorities have installed AI cameras along the tracks to alert forest and railway officials whenever the animals are near. |
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FOR YOUR DOWNTIME | Hand against hand | Some people live for the applause. But why do we clap our hands in appreciation? | |
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And finally... in the Philippines | The wreckage of US Navy submarine USS Harder has been found 3,000ft (914m) below water off the Philippines' northern island of Luzon, some 80 years after it was sunk by Japanese warships during War World II. | |
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The Essential List newsletter | The week's best stories, handpicked by BBC editors, in your inbox twice a week. | |
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