The World Today on CGTN at 2024/6/1
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00:00 [theme music]
00:03,
00:31 Live from London, this is "The World Today."
00:36 Hello, I'm Andrew Wilson.
00:37 Our top story is this hour.
00:39 A new truce offer.
00:40 The US president unveils a three-phase Israeli proposal
00:44 to end the fighting in Gaza.
00:46 Hamas says it's ready to engage positively and constructively
00:50 with the latest ceasefire plan.
00:53 The party that led South Africa out of its apartheid
00:55 loses its three-decade majority in the country's
00:58 general election.
01:01 And millions of voters in India cast their ballots
01:03 in the final phase of the world's biggest election
01:06 despite the scorching heat.
01:07 US President Joe Biden has unveiled a new Israeli proposal
01:24 to end the conflict in Gaza.
01:26 The deal consists of three stages, which the president
01:29 admits still has details to negotiate.
01:32 The first phase of the plan involves a complete ceasefire.
01:35 Israeli forces would withdraw from populated areas in Gaza,
01:38 and there would be an exchange of some hostages
01:41 and hostage remains for Palestinian prisoners.
01:44 This phase would also include a surge in aid,
01:46 with 600 trucks entering Gaza each day.
01:50 The second phase focuses on a permanent end to hostilities
01:53 and the return of all remaining hostages.
01:56 Israeli forces would withdraw entirely from Gaza.
02:00 And the final phase, which sets this deal apart
02:02 from previous proposals, is a major reconstruction plan
02:06 for Gaza.
02:07 Well, let's talk to our correspondent Jonathan Regev,
02:09 standing by for us in Tel Aviv.
02:11 Jonathan, good to talk to you.
02:13 Have we had any reaction yet from Israel about this proposal?
02:17 Ironically enough, not a lot of reactions from Israel.
02:24 This due to the fact that Biden's speech was given
02:28 on a Friday evening, already inside the Jewish Sabbath.
02:32 And usually, there are no official statements
02:36 in Israel inside the Jewish Sabbath,
02:39 unless it's something very big.
02:41 That is why we've heard from Prime Minister Benjamin
02:43 Netanyahu.
02:44 We have not yet heard from the ministers of the far right,
02:50 Bitzalel Smotrych, Itamar Ben-Gvir,
02:52 who have always expressed opposition to any deal
02:56 which does not eradicate Hamas altogether.
02:59 And this deal does not do it.
03:01 The Jewish Sabbath is set to end in about an hour and a half
03:04 time.
03:05 I'm quite sure we will hear from them once that happens.
03:08 Regarding the comments from Prime Minister Netanyahu,
03:11 we heard from him shortly after the speech last night,
03:14 saying that Israel is fully committed to bringing back
03:17 all the hostages.
03:18 And another statement coming this afternoon,
03:20 saying that Israel is still committed to its three
03:23 basic principles.
03:24 First, basically putting out all of the Hamas military power
03:30 and governmental power.
03:32 That is one issue.
03:33 The second issue, bringing back all the hostages.
03:36 And the third one, making sure that Gaza is no longer
03:39 a threat to Israel.
03:42 The deal, we have to say, does come quite close to that.
03:46 But I'm quite sure that we will hear quite a lot of opposition
03:50 from the far right ministers.
03:51 Expect some statements from them in the coming two hours.
03:54 Of course, that's another group that's heavily invested
03:57 in this whole crisis, is the families of the hostages.
04:00 We know they've been, or some of them,
04:02 have been protesting regularly every weekend
04:05 since this began back in October,
04:07 calling for their release.
04:09 What do we think they'll have to say about this proposal?
04:12 Or indeed, have we heard anything from the families yet?
04:18 Yes, we have. About an hour ago, the hostage family forum
04:23 putting out a statement saying that they are now setting up
04:27 a special emergency force that will make,
04:30 will do everything possible to make sure that in the government
04:34 and in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset,
04:36 there is a majority for what they described as the Netanyahu deal.
04:40 That is what they described as the Netanyahu deal.
04:42 And that is how they see it.
04:45 Something put forward by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
04:48 even though we've heard it only from President Biden,
04:51 not from Netanyahu himself.
04:52 The families are saying they will do everything possible
04:55 to make sure that there is a majority in the government,
04:58 in the parliament.
04:59 They're saying this is an opportunity that cannot be missed.
05:03 If anyone of the hostages is still alive in Gaza,
05:06 this is the opportunity to bring them back alive.
05:10 They're stressing that their future is our future.
05:13 That is how they're looking at it.
05:15 The hostages' future is the state of Israel's future.
05:18 And unless this deal is taken, then this will be quite problematic.
05:23 This is something that Israel needs to accept
05:26 in order to make sure the hostages are back.
05:29 Jonathan, thanks very much indeed.
05:30 Jonathan Regev there in Tel Aviv for us.
05:33 Now, Hamas says it views positively the ceasefire deal set out by Biden.
05:38 CGTN's Akram al-Satari is in central Gaza with more.
05:44 Hamas welcomed the proposal and Hamas said they are going to accept
05:48 any proposal that takes into consideration the five main demands
05:52 that were made by Hamas,
05:54 one of which is the full stoppage of the war.
05:56 The second is the full withdrawal of the Israeli army
06:00 from all the Gaza Strip.
06:01 The third of which unhindered access and unimpeded access
06:05 of the humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip
06:09 and allowing full rebuilding of the Gaza Strip.
06:12 The fourth of which is the full release of the Palestinian prisoners,
06:16 which is a controversial issue that has been causing or preventing
06:20 any deal from being finalized between Hamas and Israel.
06:23 Hamas said that several times and they said now that every
06:27 and any proposal that takes into consideration those demands
06:31 would be welcomed and that they would be ready to interact positively
06:34 in any of those proposals without taking into consideration
06:38 those main principles.
06:39 They have been communicating that to the Qataris.
06:41 They have been communicating that to the Egyptians
06:43 and also Egyptians and Qataris have been communicating that
06:46 to the American administration.
06:47 Palestinian factions have been informed by this position.
06:51 They have been informed in the past and now they are informed again.
06:54 It looks like Hamas has been running close consultation
06:57 with all the Palestinian factions and that they're coming unified
07:00 when it comes to accepting that proposal
07:03 and when it comes to asking for the demands to be met
07:06 and asking for the war to stop.
07:08 So now Hamas thinks that the ball is in the Israeli yard or court
07:12 and they're waiting for them to make a decision.
07:15 And Akram reports that two people have been killed in a bombing
07:18 at a school in Gaza City.
07:20 What more do we know about that?
07:21 This is part of an intensified bombardment that has been taking place
07:29 in different parts of the Gaza Strip.
07:31 One of those places is al-Zaytoun neighborhood.
07:34 The south of al-Zaytoun neighborhood has been witnessing
07:37 increased military activity and also Gaza central area
07:40 has been witnessing some military activity.
07:43 One gunshot reached Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital right behind me
07:46 in this emergency department.
07:47 Other injuries were reported in Rafah.
07:50 So overall the bombardment is still continuous.
07:53 The quadcopters are extremely active.
07:55 They're targeting people.
07:57 They're dropping bombs on people.
07:58 They're identifying the citizens who are trying to flee
08:01 or who are trying to check even on their houses,
08:03 trying to make sure or be assuring themselves
08:06 by trying to find out whether their homes were destroyed
08:08 or were still standing.
08:11 And they end up being targeted and killing.
08:14 The schools were some very special target for in the latest incidents.
08:18 People were killed inside, outside and in the immediate vicinity of the schools.
08:23 And the number of people who are killed in such incidents
08:26 is increasing every day.
08:28 Akram al-Satari there.
08:30 Now Yossi Mekelberg is an associate fellow
08:32 with the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House.
08:35 He gave us his assessment of the ceasefire proposal.
08:38 I think it's quite solid and it came on Friday night.
08:44 And so as a result the response to that from certain quarters
08:49 of the Israeli political system is a bit slow
08:51 but we can expect a flurry of responses later.
08:56 But this is something that was negotiated between Israel,
09:01 United States, Qatar, Egypt.
09:03 And it says it's logic, it makes sense.
09:07 Now the question whether the political system can carry it out.
09:13 And that's the big question.
09:15 But as we are looking and you know some was mentioned
09:19 the far right and the religious,
09:22 basically the representative of the settlers in the government.
09:25 On the other hand this will push the national unity,
09:29 the party that leads by Benjamin Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot
09:34 to stay in government.
09:36 This was actually might create a safety net for Netanyahu
09:39 because otherwise Netanyahu might say to them,
09:42 listen if you leave the government now,
09:45 A, it's meets to a certain extent the ultimatum
09:50 that only two weeks ago Benny Gantz said for the government.
09:54 On the other hand if you leave the government
09:57 and the government actually fall because of the right wing,
10:00 you are the one that will stop a ceasefire
10:03 and return of the hostages.
10:04 So it puts Netanyahu in relatively a safe position.
10:10 The question if he trusts enough them to give him a safety net.
10:14 Well it's being sold as an Israeli proposal.
10:17 Does that mean the negotiating team and the Mossad agents
10:20 that are on that negotiating team
10:22 or do you think it's actually coming from
10:24 closer to the Netanyahu cabinet?
10:27 I think that's to get the approval of the Prime Minister
10:32 but also it's a very clever move by President Biden
10:35 to say, you know, this is your proposal.
10:38 This is something we agreed with you.
10:40 Whatever we agreed with you, it must have come
10:42 from at the end of the day being consulted
10:45 with the Prime Minister, the high echelons
10:48 of the Israeli political system.
10:50 Now if you want to be taken seriously,
10:53 you can't go back on your word.
10:56 So this is really put Israel in a position that
10:59 if Hamas accepts it, and it seems that this is for now
11:02 the case, we'll see, and as they said,
11:05 the details are still not there,
11:07 then Israel has to accept it too
11:10 because it comes across as something that is an Israel proposal.
11:14 The main broker of course appears to be the White House,
11:17 no surprises there, but Saudi Arabia is mentioned,
11:20 Jordan, Qatar and Turkey.
11:22 I mean it's a real shift from the days of Camp David
11:24 and Yasser Arafat, isn't it?
11:26 These new players are crucial to any 21st century
11:29 peace process, aren't they?
11:31 Completely, and that's where the Middle East shifted
11:34 and Israel's position in the region shifted.
11:37 You know, the Saudi peace initiative,
11:40 the Arab peace initiative is more than 22 years old now.
11:44 So this is, this country, you know, Jordan, Egypt
11:48 signed peace agreements, peace agreements with Israel,
11:52 the Abraham Accords, and they talk about normalization
11:55 between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
11:57 This is not exactly a secret.
12:00 So it's important for many years,
12:03 issues that have been actually the core of the countries
12:05 that support the peace agreement.
12:07 This has to be a strong regional flavor
12:11 to any progress on the Israeli-Palestinian issue,
12:15 and if there is any silver lining in this horrendous war,
12:19 maybe this is the one.
12:21 You're watching CGTN's "Still to Come."
12:24 Italy's ruling right-wing party
12:26 holds a final rally ahead of next week's
12:28 European parliamentary election.
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13:31 Welcome back.
13:53 A reminder of our headlines.
13:54 A new truce offer.
13:56 The US president unveils a three-phase Israeli proposal
13:59 to end the fighting in Gaza.
14:01 And Hamas says it's ready to engage positively
14:04 and constructively with the latest ceasefire plan.
14:07 The ANC has been in power in South Africa
14:11 since the end of apartheid under Nelson Mandela.
14:14 But three decades of dominance look to come to an end now.
14:18 With 99% of votes counted from Wednesday's general election,
14:22 the ruling party has around 40%,
14:24 and will need coalition partners to govern.
14:27 Many voters are angry at high levels of joblessness,
14:30 economic inequality, and power shortages.
14:33 A new party led by former president Jacob Zuma
14:36 has taken almost 15% of the vote.
14:39 Look at what is happening.
14:40 MK is bringing light to ANC's darkness.
14:43 You know, this is what's happening.
14:45 So call us what you may, but MK Light, yes, yes,
14:48 we are the lights to this darkness.
14:50 Look at what is happening.
14:52 Everyone's lights are switching on because of us, politically.
14:55 And, you know, we're going to continue to ensure, by the way,
14:58 that we keep people in the light, unlike the ANC's darkness of load shedding.
15:02 Our correspondent Reni Delcambre reports now from Cape Town.
15:05 The ANC, of course, the party which ushered in the new South Africa,
15:08 and gave the country its first black president
15:11 in an historic vote in 1994,
15:15 now faces the prospect of claiming victory in an election
15:19 without a clear majority for the very first time in 30 years.
15:24 The official position party, the Democratic Alliance,
15:27 is on 3 million votes at this stage.
15:30 And here's a scenario which few political pundits have predicted.
15:34 Two breakaway parties from the ruling ANC,
15:38 former President Jacob Zuma's MK party,
15:42 the New Kid on the Block, which was launched just under six months ago,
15:46 now standing at 1.8 million votes in this election,
15:51 followed by Julius Malema's party, the EFF, on 1.2 million votes.
15:57 And as we edge closer to the final results,
16:00 the ANC says it will count every last ballot.
16:04 The party says its fighting spirit has kicked in
16:07 and it ain't over until it's over.
16:09 The leadership has said that they had not planned
16:13 for the prospect of going into a coalition government,
16:16 but it's clear that they now face this consequence
16:20 after the seventh election in South Africa.
16:24 Political parties say they are waiting for the official declaration
16:28 of the final results of this election on Sunday.
16:32 They say some tough conversations will have to be had
16:35 as they navigate their way in this new political landscape in South Africa.
16:41 René Dalcamme, CGTN, Cape Town.
16:44 Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
16:56 and her Brothers of Italy party are holding a final rally
17:00 just days ahead of the European elections.
17:02 With far-right parties forecast to win significantly more seats
17:06 in the European Parliament than they currently hold,
17:09 Meloni has been dubbed a potential kingmaker in Brussels.
17:12 Our correspondent Giles Gibson reports now from Rome.
17:15 Supporters of the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
17:19 have come to this square in the heart of Rome
17:21 for the closing rally of her party's European elections campaign.
17:26 Now, unusually for a national leader,
17:28 Giorgia Meloni is actually running as a candidate
17:31 in the European elections, but she said that it's more symbolic
17:34 that she's not actually going to take up her seat.
17:37 Her party, the Fratelli d'Italia, or the Brothers of Italy,
17:41 has been riding high in the polls at around 27% of support
17:45 amongst Italian voters.
17:47 That compares to the opposition Democratic Party
17:50 that's been trailing by around seven points.
17:53 Meanwhile, her coalition partners, the League and the Forza,
17:56 and the Fratelli d'Italia, both fellow right-wing parties,
17:59 have failed to get out of the single digit so far in the polls.
18:04 Now, speaking to supporters of Meloni here at this rally,
18:07 they've been telling us that the two most important issues
18:10 in this election for them are migration
18:13 and changing the European Union.
18:16 Migration is an important issue
18:19 because we support controlled migration.
18:22 We absolutely don't want to help people smugglers.
18:25 We don't want people to come here if they have the right to work in Italy.
18:29 Immigration is not controlled anymore.
18:32 It hasn't been under control for years.
18:35 For a long time, there's been a lot of immigrants.
18:38 Now, the opposition Democratic Party has been highly critical
18:41 of the Meloni government's policy when it comes to migration,
18:44 saying that the Italian government should actually be running
18:47 search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea.
18:51 Meanwhile, the slogan of the Brothers of Italy party
18:54 in these elections has been that Italy is changing Europe,
18:58 and Giorgia Meloni could certainly end up in a highly influential position
19:02 once these elections wrap up.
19:04 And that's because the European Conservatives and Reformists group,
19:08 which Brothers of Italy is part of,
19:10 is forecast to be the second largest group in the next European Parliament.
19:15 Now, there have been recently these reports of tensions
19:18 between Giorgia Meloni and Ursula von der Leyen,
19:21 who are planning to stay on as the president of the European Commission.
19:25 But if Meloni's wider group does indeed become the second largest group
19:30 in the next European Parliament, then Ursula von der Leyen
19:33 could be relying on Meloni's support to keep her job.
19:37 Giles Gibson for CGTN, Rome.
19:40 And as we just heard from Giles,
19:42 reducing migration is a central focus for Meloni's supporters.
19:46 But six months ago, she acknowledged that she'd not been able
19:49 to fulfil her pledge to curb the inflow.
19:52 She called it the most complex phenomenon she'd ever had to deal with.
19:56 But behind the rhetoric are personal stories.
19:59 CGTN's Jamie Owen went to meet one migrant who, for decades,
20:02 has called Italy home.
20:04 Many Italians from a migrant background are less concerned
20:11 with whether Meloni is delivering on her promises,
20:14 but more worried about the impact of her party's anti-immigration rhetoric.
20:19 Steve Emojuro was a refugee from the Biafran War in Nigeria over 40 years ago,
20:26 and despite some horrific experiences,
20:29 tries to build bridges between cultures.
20:32 What kind of racism have you had to deal with?
20:40 Some time ago, I was beaten up by four people,
20:44 that I should go back to my country, that this is not my country.
20:49 I had to be rushed to the hospital.
20:52 I lived this on my own body.
20:56 It's one of the reasons why I insisted in interculture,
20:59 because when the people know about your life,
21:04 your tradition, your culture,
21:06 maybe it will bring down the rate of discrimination and racism.
21:13 So I know Italy is a very good country.
21:17 I love Italy.
21:20 I'm an Italian.
21:22 Despite that optimism and willingness to connect,
21:26 he has a cynical view of the motives of radical right politicians.
21:35 As a continent, Africa is being used for campaign,
21:41 putting fears into the Italian citizens,
21:45 that Africans who have come here to substitute the Italian community.
21:51 So they have been earning, getting their votes,
21:55 talking against Africa, talking against blacks,
21:59 discriminating against blacks.
22:01 So they are using the discrimination, racism, to earn votes.
22:06 For European election, it will be the worst.
22:10 You can see more of our coverage of the far right in Europe later this month
22:14 in a new two-part documentary.
22:16 We'll be looking at how unauthorized immigration has been used
22:19 by right-wing politicians as a way to win votes.
22:22 You can find it soon on CGTN Europe's YouTube channel.
22:27 Millions of voters in India are casting their ballots
22:30 in the final phase of the world's biggest election.
22:33 The seventh stage of the poll is taking place amid record high temperatures.
22:37 Our correspondent, Ravindra Bhawa, reports now from Delhi.
22:41 The marathon exercise which lasted for almost six weeks
22:46 is now coming to an end.
22:48 Now all eyes are on the exit polls and the poll results
22:52 which will be announced on the 4th of June.
22:55 The voters are now waiting to see the kind of mandate they have given,
22:59 which party is going to come to power.
23:01 At the same time, the political parties are also awaiting these results.
23:04 We did not see that much of enthusiasm this year in the elections
23:08 which we usually see because the voter percentage has been lower.
23:12 It is much lower than what it was in 2019.
23:16 So that has been because there was heatwave
23:19 which was overshadowing the elections this year
23:22 and the voters were also not so...
23:24 You know, there were a little disillusioned,
23:26 issues like unemployment, issues like inflation
23:30 have been raised by the opposition
23:32 while the party in power has been raising issues
23:36 of the kind of work they have done and what they want to...
23:39 and their vision about India.
23:41 Of course, campaigning saw many phases, many turns and ups and downs
23:45 and we did see this year the campaigning has really, you know,
23:49 fallen below the standard because mostly leaders were attacking each other
23:53 rather than talking about a vision of their party
23:56 and what they will do for the next five years.
23:58 But surely now the ballot has been cast,
24:01 the counting is going to begin,
24:03 the counting will begin with the postal ballot
24:05 followed by the votes recorded in the EVM.
24:09 The president will invite the majority party
24:11 who gets 272 seats to come and form the government
24:15 and in case there is a hung parliament,
24:17 president will invite that party which has the largest number of seats
24:21 and they will have to prove on the floor of the house
24:24 their majority along with their allies.
24:26 So now all eyes on 4th of June when the results will be out.
24:30 Till then there will be, you know,
24:32 people are now breathing a sigh of relief,
24:34 especially the poll personnel, the election commission
24:37 who have been involved in this marathon exercise
24:40 which lasted for six weeks.
24:42 Another mayoral candidate has been killed in Mexico
24:45 ahead of the country's elections being held on Sunday.
24:48 Jorge Huerta Cabrera was shot dead on Friday
24:51 at a political rally in central Mexico.
24:54 His wife and colleague were injured in the attack.
24:56 The killing takes the number of assassinated candidates
24:59 in this election cycle to 37.
25:02 At least 20 people including women and children
25:05 have drowned after a boat sank while crossing a river in eastern Afghanistan.
25:09 Officials in Nangarhar province said around 25 people
25:13 were on board the wooden vessel when it capsized.
25:17 Live Nation, the owner of Ticketmaster,
25:20 has confirmed unauthorized activity on its database
25:24 and says it's investigating the breach.
25:26 It comes after a cybercrime group said they'd stolen the personal details
25:30 including names, addresses and partial credit card details
25:34 of 560 million Ticketmaster users worldwide.
25:38 The hackers are reportedly demanding $500,000 ransom payment
25:42 to prevent the data from being sold to other parties.
25:46 Now, heading into orbit,
25:50 these are live pictures as Boeing's Starliner astronaut capsule
25:55 is preparing to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
26:00 See the smoke there coming from the rockets.
26:03 The launch, the first time the spacecraft has flown with people on board,
26:07 will take two astronauts to the International Space Station.
26:11 Boeing hopes to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX for commercial spaceflight
26:16 but its mission has been beset by delays.
26:19 The astronauts have also been forced to leave their luggage behind
26:22 after NASA had to make room for a new pump for the International Space Station.
26:27 That's there, about to happen any minute now.
26:31 Our top stories one more time.
26:34 A new truce offer. The US president unveils a three-phase Israeli proposal
26:38 to end the fighting in Gaza.
26:40 Hamas says it's ready to engage positively and constructively
26:44 with the latest ceasefire plan.
26:47 And the party that led South Africa out of apartheid
26:50 loses its three-decade majority in the country's general election.
26:55 And that is the World Today. Thanks for watching.
26:57 There's more news on CGTN Europe's channel on the Telegram app
27:01 or scan the QR code on the screen to get stories and updates sent direct to your phone.
27:07 More news at the top of the hour coming up next.
27:09 It's The Agenda with Juliet Mann.
27:11 For now, from all of the team in London, goodbye.
27:15 [Music]