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Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
BBC rejects incorrect White House claims on Gaza coverage
The BBC has rejected incorrect White House criticism of its Gaza coverage, describing a claim it had taken down a story as "completely wrong". At Tuesday's White House briefing President Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the BBC of taking "the word of Hamas" when reporting on the number of people killed in a shooting near an aid distribution site on Sunday. She also claimed, wrongly, that the BBC had retracted a story. "The claim the BBC took down a story after reviewing footage is completely wrong. We did not remove any story and we stand by our journalism," the BBC said in a statement. The corporation added that its coverage was updated with new figures throughout the day, which is "totally normal practice on any fast-moving news story". The numbers were "always clearly attributed, from the first figure of 15 from medics, through the 31 killed from the Hamas-run health ministry to the final Red Cross statement of 'at least 21' at their field hospital," the statement said. There are conflicting reports on what happened near an aid distribution centre in Rafah on Sunday. Civilian witnesses, NGOs, and health officials said people were shot at while waiting for food at an aid distribution point. But the Israeli military said the reports were false, and denied that its troops fired at civilians near or within the site. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-and Israel backed group which now runs the aid distribution, said the reports were "outright fabrications". Israel does not allow international news organisations, including the BBC, into Gaza, making verifying what is happening in the territory difficult. On Tuesday, there was a similar incident when local officials said Israeli forces fired at civilians as they attempted to collect aid, killing at least 27 people. The IDF said its troops fired shots after identifying suspects who moved towards them "deviating from the designated access routes". Referring to the incident on Sunday, Karoline Leavitt said the BBC kept changing the number of casualties in the story's headline and accused the corporation of eventually removing the story from its website. In its statement the BBC explained that a separate report from BBC Verify on Monday found that "a viral video posted on social media was not linked to the aid distribution centre it claimed to show". But the video did not run on BBC news channels and did not inform its reporting. "Conflating these two stories is simply misleading. "It is vital to bring people the truth about what is happening in Gaza. International journalists are not currently allowed into Gaza and we would welcome the support of the White House in our call for immediate access," the statement adds. Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas' cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 54,470 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 4,201 since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
Sydney Morning Herald
11-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
ASX set to rise, Wall Street dips; US-China officials talk in Switzerland
US stocks drifted through a quiet Friday as Wall Street closed an unusually calm week before US-and Chinese officials met in Switzerland over the weekend to kick off trade talks. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent to finish the week with a modest dip of 0.5 per cent. It's the first week in seven where the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts moved by less than 1.5 per cent, after careening on fears about President Donald Trump's trade war and hopes that he'll relent on some of his tariffs. The Dow Jones dipped 119 points, or 0.3 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite edged up by less than 0.1 per cent. They finished the week with even more modest losses than the S&P 500. The Australian sharemarket is set to rise, with futures (set before the US-China talks) pointing to a rise of 16 points, or 0.2 per cent, at the open. The week's main event for financial markets came on Saturday. That's when high-level US and Chinese officials met in Switzerland for their first talks since Trump launched an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies. The lead US negotiator in trade talks with China cited 'a great deal of productivity' in resolving differences between the world's two leading economic powers after officials wrapped two days of bargaining in Switzerland following Trump's steep tariffs and Beijing's retaliation. Loading US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday (US time) that there was 'substantial progress' in the weekend sessions but offered scant details on exactly what negotiations entailed. He said details would come at a briefing the following day. On Wall Street, the flow of earnings reports for the start of the year from companies is slowing but still moving the market. Expedia sank 7.3 per cent on Friday even though the travel website reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
The Age
11-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
ASX set to rise, Wall Street dips; US-China officials talk in Switzerland
US stocks drifted through a quiet Friday as Wall Street closed an unusually calm week before US-and Chinese officials met in Switzerland over the weekend to kick off trade talks. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent to finish the week with a modest dip of 0.5 per cent. It's the first week in seven where the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts moved by less than 1.5 per cent, after careening on fears about President Donald Trump's trade war and hopes that he'll relent on some of his tariffs. The Dow Jones dipped 119 points, or 0.3 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite edged up by less than 0.1 per cent. They finished the week with even more modest losses than the S&P 500. The Australian sharemarket is set to rise, with futures (set before the US-China talks) pointing to a rise of 16 points, or 0.2 per cent, at the open. The week's main event for financial markets came on Saturday. That's when high-level US and Chinese officials met in Switzerland for their first talks since Trump launched an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies. The lead US negotiator in trade talks with China cited 'a great deal of productivity' in resolving differences between the world's two leading economic powers after officials wrapped two days of bargaining in Switzerland following Trump's steep tariffs and Beijing's retaliation. Loading US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday (US time) that there was 'substantial progress' in the weekend sessions but offered scant details on exactly what negotiations entailed. He said details would come at a briefing the following day. On Wall Street, the flow of earnings reports for the start of the year from companies is slowing but still moving the market. Expedia sank 7.3 per cent on Friday even though the travel website reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
