Heavy Russian bombardment of Ukrainian capital

24:28Welcome back to NewsHour. Rumours are swirling about where and when the American pop star Taylor Swift is going to marry her fiancé, the American football star Travis Kelsey. Online sleuths have been trawling through song lyrics, photos and public statements since the pair's engagement last year. But new comments from the New York mayor's officer and police officials suggest that some plans are firming up. The reported venue, New York's Madison Square Garden Arena. The date, tomorrow, the 3rd of July. Here's what some New Yorkers think about it all.

25:01Sven Sakkov:I don't know. If I was a celebrity as big as them, then I would want a more private wedding. And I feel like releasing that, it's at Madison Square Garden. They know that it's going to be a big event. They know that people are going to want to get in. And I'm just like, it just feels like why are they marketing their relationship? I knew that she was going to get married in New York, but I had no idea where. So I can't believe it. I'm actually shook, and I'm so excited that it has to happen. Are you a fan? Yes, huge fan. I love Taylor Swift. I need to see her. Oh, she's iconic. Her songs are so good.

25:34She's such a great person. She's beautiful. She's literally my idol. I need to see her.

25:40Sven Sakkov:Well, I would say the average New Yorker definitely considers it an inconvenience, but it is Taylor Swift. It's pretty cool. Brittany Coinga is a freelance writer who covers news and pop culture and is on the line. Thanks for being with us. What are the latest clues about what might be happening? So the Associated Press is saying that they have confirmed with New York law enforcement officials that the wedding is happening tomorrow, July 3rd at Madison Square Garden. Mayor Mondami and the New York City Police Commissioner have also both heavily alluded to the wedding during press conferences about the heat wave that New York is currently going through, saying that they have added security measures.

26:23Sven Sakkov:And Mayor Mondami even said, you know, should you hypothetically be getting married at Madison Square Garden on Friday? That's a great way to stay inside. So it seems like city officials are confirming it as much as they can. Do you think it's definitely happening? I go back and forth. I think at this point with the city officials talking about it like this, I almost feel it would be irresponsible if it wasn't happening now, simply with the amount of city resources that are going and the security that is going to have to be in place there and the planning. I personally would love to think that she and Travis were married somewhere privately.

27:02Sven Sakkov:But, you know, if this is what they're doing, it sounds like this is the plan. Right. It's not to put all the fans off, off the scent. You know, I would love if this was a decoy. I will be honest. I think that it's very on the nose and it almost seems like a caricature of what you would expect her to do. you know, there's the red carpet, there's the disco ball, there's the rumours of the castle being created inside. It almost seems too on the nose to be true. But again, what else would it be at this point? Indeed, well, perhaps just a party. Anyway, we will soon find out. Brittany, thank you very much indeed.

27:41Brittany Koinger, freelance writer, covering news, pop culture, and indeed, plenty of Taylor Swift. You're listening to News Air.

27:58This is the BBC World Service in London. You're listening to NewsHour and I'm James Menendez. Now, thousands of Gazans with wartime injuries or life-threatening diseases are waiting for medical treatment abroad because Gaza's devastated healthcare system has still not been repaired eight months after the ceasefire there. International aid agencies say that Israel is still restricting the supply of drugs and equipment into Gaza, leaving cancer and dialysis patients without the treatment they need. Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says 300 people have died waiting for medical evacuation and that 15 ,000 others are waiting for host country placements and security clearances.

28:37Our Middle East correspondent Lucy Williamson has been working with the BBC's team in Gaza and looking into their stories.

28:47Between the bombed out buildings of Gaza's Shifa Hospital a protest by patients too sick for Gaza's crumbling healthcare system to treat.

28:58Nidal Al-Ariya needs a corneal transplant for his son. Raida Nuaizi says her cancer has already led to the removal of her breasts, her uterus, her ovaries, her pelvic bone and shoulder bone. My treatment is painkillers, she cries. But what can painkillers do for a cancer patient? All the protesters have been approved for medical evacuation abroad, the last line of treatment for Gaza's doctors. But matching a patient's needs with host country criteria is often very difficult. And once matched, patients need to pass security checks from the host country, from transit countries and from Israel. Many have been waiting months to leave.

29:4714-year-old Muath al-Dini, walking on crutches next to his mother, is waiting for two separate treatments abroad. One for his leg, amputated during the war after an airstrike on the family home. The other for the spinal cancer he's had since he was a baby. His mother, Umm Samir, still fighting for her son's survival, even after the war.

30:11Sven Sakkov:Until now, we are still waiting. There are no medicines and no doctors who understand my son's condition. I appeal to the whole world to look at him. His childhood is gone. Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health says more than 15 ,000 people are waiting to leave for treatment abroad. The fact that medical evacuation list is thousands high, it's in the thousands, is a sign that people in Gaza don't have access to what they should have and which Israel, as the occupying power under international humanitarian law, has an obligation to allow them access to. Pat Griffiths, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Jerusalem, says Israel is still restricting the delivery of some medical supplies eight months after the ceasefire in Gaza.

30:57It runs the full range from gores, dressing, painkillers, all the way up to advanced medical equipment like CT scans, x-rays. People who need regular kidney dialysis treatment, where you have circumstances where hospitals are now rationing that treatment. It's the same for people living with cancer. Asked about the reports of shortages, Israel said it had approved every request for medicine submitted by international aid organisations and that 17 ,000 tonnes of medical aid had entered Gaza since the ceasefire, including wheelchairs, cancer medications and x-ray and dialysis machines.

31:38When Amina Abu al-Kas was referred for medical evacuation, her son Sabah said it felt like the beginning of a new life. We knew that at any moment God might take her. And we also knew that at any moment a miracle might happen, that we might get a call saying, get your bags ready and prepare to travel through the crossing. Amina's aggressive, necrotizing infection had already spread to her skull. Each day, the family waited for news that her placement and security clearance had come through. We waited a long time, but no response came. My mother died several weeks ago, and two weeks after her death, I got a call from the hospital informing me that her paperwork was ready.

32:33Amina is one of at least 300 people to have died while waiting for evacuation, according to Gaza's health ministry. People say at least she's at peace, Sabah told us. That sums up everything, he said, because a patient in Gaza is different from any patient elsewhere in the world. Lucy Williamson reporting there. Well, Dr. Michal Felden is an Israeli paediatrician and paediatric rheumatologist, and she's also a member of the NGO Physicians for Human Rights Israel. Welcome to the programme. We heard there about patients waiting for evacuation, potentially to places such as Egypt, Jordan, or even further afield.

33:12But is it right that in theory they can get it closer to home. Yeah definitely what we're trying to advocate for mainly is for the reopening of a humanitarian corridor from Gaza to East Jerusalem and the West Bank. These were medical systems that worked in unicy before like their one integral health care system. And patients from Gaza used to get treatment there. And it's the most easily accessible place to get treatment. It doesn't need all the million of authorizations that they need right now to go to Egypt or Jordan or Europe. It doesn't need the amount of money that it needs to go to those places.

33:57Like it doesn't need the big donations because it will probably be under the care of the Palestinian Authority. All we're trying to ask for is that Palestinian patients keep getting treatment in Palestine. So even if they're from Gaza, they can still get treatment in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. And so that flow of patients to the West Bank and East Jerusalem, that was curtailed after October the 7th? Yeah, exactly. So hundreds of patients used to cross beforehand every year, probably over a thousand. Some did cross to Israel itself, but most crossed to Palestinian territories and were treated in Palestine.

34:38And that's all we're asking to get back. Yeah. And those hospitals, they have the right facilities and the right staff to treat some of the conditions that we've been hearing about. Definitely. Yeah. I mean, Israel says that it's concerned about security after what happened on October the 7th. How much was security a problem before? Was it easy to get security clearances? So Israel has always been difficult in giving security clearances. And the vetting process is still a lengthy and annoying one. And they still usually allow mothers and grandmothers to go in, but fathers and men not to. The vetting system has not changed.

35:17And there was never any security threat beforehand. All we're asking is that patients cross. So it's like 70 kilometres of a drive in Israel to get from one place to another. And I don't think anybody actually thinks that the 70 kilometre drive in an ambulance is a security threat. I think you filed a petition with the courts in Israel. I mean, what stage is that then? So there's a Supreme Court hearing in like three weeks that was filed by five human rights organizations and joined by a few dozen Israeli physicians who are asking for that. It was supposed to be held in April and then it was postponed because the judges said we're in an active war situation and they can't discuss it.

36:05We're still in an active war situation, but hopefully they can discuss it and we'll discuss it. And again, we are asking in these interviews for as much international pressure that we can ask for so that everybody knows that this should happen. Like patients should be able to get a simple, easy way to be evacuated for medical treatment. And this is the easiest and safest way to do it. Thank you very much indeed, Dr. Michal Feld, an Israeli pediatrician and member of Physicians for Human Rights Israel.

36:46Is the Earth's orbit about to be overrun with new satellites? And if so, what impact will that have on us and on the work of astronomers? A new report by the European Southern Observatory, which operates some of the world's biggest ground telescopes out of Chile, says there are plans on paper for more than 1.7 million new satellites in the coming years. SpaceX alone is talking about sending up a million orbital data centres, for example. and those, it says the ESO, would have devastating consequences for astronomy. Olivier Hainault is an astronomer at the ESO. He's been telling me what it would mean for him.

37:23More satellite means more of them will cross our images and each time one of them crosses an image, it leaves a bright trail that masks everything behind it. So one trail once in a while is not a problem. many trails means that we start losing more and more and more data. And if it's in the millions, then we would lose a significant fraction of our images. What sort of fraction are we talking about? It depends how bright they are. And if they are really bright, that means that we could lose 100 % of our images. 100%, really. And so what are you proposing, that there should be a limit on the number of satellites moving around in orbit?

38:09I worked out a number, 100 ,000 satellites, and the brightness that if we stay below that, astronomy can continue basically unaffected. What does it mean for people like me if there are that many satellites in orbit? I mean, would I notice the difference in the brightness of the night sky? If they're really bright and now we are talking brighter than the moon then the atmosphere scatters that light it's exactly the same as the atmosphere scatters sunlight and make the sky blue the same happens for everything the moon the stars and the satellites so that means that if you have many bright satellites the dark sky would not be as dark as it used to be and you would lose the faint stars.

39:00You would not see the faint stars. The sky would look like what you see from the suburbs of a city. Right. And what about collisions? I mean, with that number of satellites up there, presumably the chances of satellites colliding, I mean, increases dramatically, doesn't it? Yeah, it does. And it is really a worry for our colleagues at the space agency. So if two satellites collide, they will break up in many pieces and these pieces are likely to collide with more satellites and create more debris so it has the potential to be absolutely disastrous if you've seen the beginning of the movie gravity there is a very spectacular scene where the Hubble space telescope get destroyed by that kind of things and it kind of what would happen I mean is there any way of enforcing any sorts of restrictions on numbers and brightness of satellites?

40:00Absolutely. That's where the space laws come into play. Each country is responsible for the satellites that are launched from that country. And also each country can enforce their local law to grant licenses, for example. So, for instance, France has put a brightness limit in their space law. And so that means that a satellite company which would like to do business in France has to demonstrate that they are respecting that brightness limit. And then there is of course the United Nations which is important because the satellite business is not just affecting astronomy but it's also affecting the low Earth orbit.

40:47Olivier Eno of the European Southern Observatory. You're listening to Newsday.

40:58This is James Menendez with NewsHour Live from the BBC. Now, a convicted smuggler who was described as the godfather of people trafficking when he was arrested in Europe has been found living in the UK by a BBC team. Twana Jamal was described by French police as the most successful smuggler they'd ever caught, earning millions of dollars from hiding people in trucks bound for Britain. He's one of more than 20 people smugglers that the BBC discovered have reached the UK, some with criminal convictions and some claiming asylum under false identities. Our reporter Sue Mitchell followed a tip-off that Twana Jamal was out of prison and running businesses in the UK, the kind you might find in any town or city.

41:40Hi. Yeah, how are you? A car wash in the north of England. It's not run by Twana Jamal, but I'm told he's been here since he left prison in France. Wash and dry? Yeah, wash and dry, thank you. I'm visiting with a former worker who knows Twana Jamal from the French migrant camps, and this is the last place he saw him. To protect our contact, we're using his words and not his voice. And he came inside the car wash. He kissed me and he said, I'm here in Bradford, I want to open some businesses here in Bradford. What did you think when you saw him again? He feels like he's a king. He's rich. Tuana Jamal was known as the king of the jungle, a reference to the Calais jungle, which was the largest migrant camp in France.

42:26We get a tip-off that he might be in the city of Leicester and we find someone who's in touch with him from time to time. They arrange to speak and record the conversation. Here it is in translation. Yeah, right now I'm in Leicester. We know everyone in this city. This city's ours. All I'm doing is illegal, but it's OK because they're not going to catch me or anything. Leicester's good for business. We're making good money. No-one touches us here. Twana Jamal is from Iraqi Kurdistan, the city of Rania, which is home to a network of smuggling gangs and where many are recruiting from. Hi, mate, how you doing?

43:07Hello, my friend, yes, I hope you're well. My colleague Rob Lorry has hundreds of contacts in Iraq including smugglers like this one were using his words and not his voice. And it's not just Tawana, I told you. There's maybe 100 people I know, 100 people who are working two years, three years in France as smugglers. They make money, they go to England, change their name, then stay, have papers. Yes, it's a crazy system. From Iraq, we learn about Tawana Jamal's family and use those names to search for businesses he could be linked to. There's a match. Two identical mini markets outside Leicester city centre.

43:48Over several days, Rob and I watch them both. I've got eyes on him. Twana, I have absolutely got eyes on him. He's dressed in a long black coat, white trailers and blue jeans, opening the black door. They've just pulled in the white van. We see Twana Jamal come and go, driving vans to other premises and running one of the shops each night. When we're confident it's him from a distance, Rob goes into the shop and records secretly. Jamal has a distinctive tattoo on his hand, which should help to identify him. What's your name? Sultan. Sultan. Nice. Sultan, that's a big strong name. The so-called king of smugglers gives his name as Sultan.

44:35It's our man. Is it? Yeah, it's our man, 100%. And he's had extra work done on his hand, on his tattoo, but you can clearly see the original underneath, right? 100%. After days of watching his routine, I approached Tawana Jamal and put our findings to him. Do the Home Office know your real identity, Tawana Jamal? Yes. Do the Home Office know that you're a convicted people smuggler? Smuggler? Yeah. I never am. The Tawana Jamal we saw convicted in France in 2016. OK. Why do you want to be in Britain? I've been here for a long, long time. Yeah, why? Why do you want to be in this country? Because I was not saved by my country and then I came to this country.

45:15This is you in France. I don't care. When was that? 2016. You know when that was. How many years ago? What are you doing with me now? Just in all honesty. Sweetie, if I did something, anything wrong, everyone knows that. I never did. You're driving around this city without a licence. So what? Did I hit you? The Home Office says that all asylum claimants undergo mandatory security checks to confirm their identity for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality. And it has a number of agreements with countries to enable the sharing of criminal record information. It says immigration enforcement action is at its highest level in history, with illegal working arrests up 83%.

46:02Tawana Jamal told me I could ask about his asylum claim, but he wouldn't say what name he used. Sue Mitchell reporting there.

46:16Before we go, we've had some interesting details about the first phone call between President Trump and the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Back in November 2024, Sir Keir offered his congratulations on the President's election win. The official readout from that phone call was that the two leaders, quote, agreed the relationship between the UK and the US is incredibly strong and will continue to thrive. However, we've now had another version. Morgan McSweeney, who was Keir Starmer's chief of staff, has been speaking to the BBC's Nick Robinson, where he describes some of the stranger details of that conversation.

46:53So the first call that Keir had with the president, he got into a conversation about windmills. and he started saying look Britain's beautiful country but you have too many windmills fine he was making his point he's made that publicly enough enough times then he started to say the windmills are killing your birds the birds are falling by the windmills foxes are eating those birds and at this point the officials that were in the room were barely able to contain themselves because it was extremely funny but this was the first call between the prime minister and the president and everyone wanted to be professional but were struggling to hold it together and he went on to say that as the foxes ate so many birds and became lazy they became fat and as they became so fat people no longer knew what kind of a creature they were because they were too fat there was these fat foxes walking around scotland eating dead birds and this was the first call between the president and the prime minister and thought this is just going to be so so very very different did case over allow himself to laugh now he just held it together i don't know how He just absolutely contained himself.

47:56No one else in the room did. It was Donald Trump trying to be funny. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, definitely, yeah. That was Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer's former chief of staff. One other update just before we go. Some good news from the aftermath of Venezuela's twin earthquakes. A man has been rescued alive. He'd been trapped for eight days in the rubble of that multi-story car park that collapsed in the earthquakes. He's called Hernan Gil. He's 43 years old. And the rescuers, seven teams of rescuers from seven different countries, said that it was one of the most difficult operations that they'd conducted.

48:36But he is said to be in perfect health, unscathed from his ordeal. That brings us to the end of this edition of Nizan. from me and the rest of the team. Thanks so much for listening. Until the next time, bye-bye.

49:00How did the United States build the largest soft power empire in the world with the help of some tiny metal objects? I'm Tristan Redmond, one of the hosts of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. to mark 250 years of the United States, we speak to Roman Mars of 99 % invisible. This soft power, this influence, was an incredible invention. For more, listen to The Global Story on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts.