President Trump lashes out at Israel

0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.

0:30No bouncing between tabs. And best of all, no spreadsheets. Stop managing software and start managing your business with one unified system. Try for free today at odoo.com. That's O-D-O-O dot com. Self-directed investing. Trading. Full-service wealth management. Automated investing. Financial planning. Thematic investing. Retirement planning. Phew. And to think, that's just a small taste of what Schwab offers. because Schwab knows that when it comes to your finances, choice matters. No matter your goals, investing style, life stage or experience, Schwab has everything you need, all in one place, so you can invest your way.

1:11Visit schwab.com to learn more.

1:19Hello and welcome to NewsHour. It's coming to you live from the BBC World Service studios in central London. I'm Tim Frakes. Two things we've long learned about Donald Trump, that he's prepared to excoriate, to strip layers of foreign leaders of countries which you might consider to be longstanding allies of the United States, and that he's prepared to do so in public as well as in private. In fact, often to give that foreign leader a dressing down in private, but then to tell reporters exactly what he just did in the most florid terms. And so it has been with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which is, in his way, remarkable, given how close particularly Mr Netanyahu has tried to frame his positioning next to President Trump.

2:05But the latest comments are much more profoundly where the balance of power appears to be as the US is about to sign a deal with Iran, suggests that Israel's longest-serving prime minister has a major political and strategic headache. Listen to Donald Trump's latest comments at the G7 in France, the G7 summit of leading industrial nations, talking about Israel's military operations in Lebanon, even suggesting that the Islamist-led government in Syria could do a better job. I'll tell you what, Israel's fighting Hezbollah too long and too many people are being killed. and you don't have to knock down an apartment house every time you're looking for somebody because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses and they're not all Hezbollah that I can tell you.

2:52And I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah because to be honest with you, I think they do a better job of doing it. And I didn't like Syria. I didn't like where two hours before we're signing the agreement that there was an attack in Lebanon, in Beirut. It wasn't like in the southern side, you know. It was in Beirut. I did not like that. I let them know that. The president said later that he had a great relationship, as he put it, with Mr Netanyahu. But he then said this. Without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel because no other president was willing to do what I did.

3:37I've had a great relationship with Bibi, but now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon. Lebanon used to be a great country. It was a country where you had professors, doctors, lawyers. The great intellect was in Lebanon. Now it's just, it's terrible. I would say of all countries, they've been treated the worst. And they can't defend themselves. and they have Hezbollah, which is a problem for them. So, no, I'm not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah. They should have been able to do this yet faster. It just goes on forever. Donald Trump speaking in France a little earlier today.

4:23Dor Halap is a member of the Central Committee of Likud, the main governing party in Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu's party. I asked him, listening to those Trump clips, as he did while we were playing them out, was that not extremely humiliating for the Prime Minister? I don't think that the issue here is Prime Minister Netanyahu. We are in a full consensus about the actions that the State of Israel and the IDF should continue doing in Lebanon. I don't think it's a personal thing. Okay, well, with the greatest respect, that was my question, that this was a very direct attack on Benjamin Netanyahu.

5:01And it's one that has followed lots of other briefing from the president himself in terms on the record, in the most unflattering terms about your prime minister. And your prime minister has made a huge amount about the fact that he more than anybody else is able to get Donald Trump on side. It feels as if that has been burned. So I refuse to take it that serious. I will explain what do I mean? The coalition between Israel and the United States of America is not only built about this personal relationship between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. We share the same values also with you guys in the UK and many other good people in the world.

5:48We are fighting and we are in the front line of the fight for freedom against terror. It's very simple. And now about the people in Lebanon, we are for the people of Lebanon. We are against the organization which is holding them hostage. But it's all about how you how you prosecute that fight. And, you know, the broader campaign that you're saying is the fight for freedom. Where we are, where we are as a result of this war and and also this deal that Donald Trump is going to sign with the Iranians on Friday, is it feels as if Israel has achieved none of its objectives. So I won't take it that way, but I definitely feel, and many people here in Israel feel, that we are not in a good position right now, okay?

6:39It's not a comfortable situation. We are very thankful for our allies, United States of America and President Trump, for all they have been together with us in the last year. Who do you blame for that lack of comfort then? But the reality, OK, as Prime Minister Netanyahu have said two days ago, Donald Trump is the president of the United States and I'm the president of – I'm the prime minister of Israel. I have my own interests and he has his own interests. But when it comes to Iran, I mean, this was a war that was launched by Israel and the United States together on February the 28th. Can you think of a single war aim that Israel can look back on and say, yep, ticked that one off?

7:25Look, it's very sad to say, but it means that the United States of America today, with the social and economic pressures that there is, is not able to just flame their oil fields. They're not able to do that. And that's why Iran is so strong against the United States of America. Right. So your answer is no. You can't think of a single war aim that has been achieved. I mean, on the nuclear issue, on the ballistic missile issue, on the support for proxies. We have many achievements. And also, I don't believe that this is a game over right now. OK, I think it's a short thing. I don't think that the understandings between the United States and Iran will hold more than those 60 days because the situation is terrible.

8:18That may well be the case, but do you really think that Donald Trump will have the stomach to go back to war? I have a full confidence in Donald Trump's stomach. And I believe that he has many more jokers in his sleeve, many cards in his sleeve. I don't know how you say this thing in English. But I believe that President Trump has many more options to do things in the future. I think that now, right now, with the World Cup, which is running in the United States and with the political situation in the United States, he's not comfortable continuing this war with us. And that's fair, even if we feel disappointed.

9:00That's how life works, you know. Yeah. I just wonder in the longer term. So you're holding a huge amount to the prospect of Donald Trump perhaps being willing to return to war, which would be a brave political decision in the run up to the US midterms. But just in the longer term, whether you fear at all that Israel may have damaged its long term strategic relationship with the United States. I mean, not just with Donald Trump, who seems very disaffected with the Israeli leadership, the Israeli military at the moment. But you will know that among people across the political spectrum in the United States, more and more people are questioning the value of the US's close military relationship with Israel, the huge amounts of military aid that goes to Israel.

9:47This obviously didn't start with the Iran war. There were questions that were asked in the aftermath of the terrible October the 7th, 2023 attacks with Israel's response in Gaza. Do you fear at all that that very strong strategic relationship with America may well be weakening? I think this is a very shallow way to prospect the whole situation. In the long term, which is not just the next six months, it's when you look a little bit farther, you understand that it's – the people of the United States will understand that there is no really a choice to fight against Iran. Iran with a nuclear or Iran with those ballistic missiles is not only a problem of Israel.

10:35You saw that many allies of the Western world, like Emirates and so, they are also suffering from Iran's arm. And in the future, it's not only Israel. Israel is holding a very important interest for the United States and for the Western world in the Middle East. This is not going to change. And that was Dore Hala, per Central Committee member of Likud. Shortly before we came on air, the Iranian military threatened what it called a harsh response if Israel continues to launch attacks in Lebanon. The statement came after Lebanese media reported that at least four people have been killed in Israeli strikes in the south of the country.

11:17The Israeli military had reported that its soldiers in southern Lebanon had earlier in the day come under drone attack. Hélène Salon is Le Monde's bureau chief in Beirut. She's just returned from the south. Do people in Lebanon think that the war may finally be coming to an end? People are still confused. We clearly see a difference. When we had the ceasefire in November 24, after the first war, people were really coming by thousands to the south, thinking they will stay, rebuild their houses. It doesn't happen now. Like we see fewer people coming back. They really come to check the house and go back because they, first of all, they are not sure there is a ceasefire.

12:02Like, OK, they heard that there is an agreement between Donald Trump and Iran to have like a ceasefire that applies also to Lebanon. But it is not officially announced. We don't have the text of the memorandum. It was not agreed by Lebanon and Israel together, but by two other power. Well, people are really cautious. What do you think people have made of one of the more extraordinary comments that Donald Trump made today, which was to say that he'd suggested to Israel to let Syria, in his words, take care of Hezbollah. He said, to be honest with you, I think they do a better job. Given who the new rulers of Syria are and given, of course, the history of Syria exerting such a huge presence inside Lebanon, it was an amazing thing to hear him say.

12:57It's not the first time that Donald Trump or Tom Barack is envoy, special envoy for Syria, talking about maybe Syria taking over the role of taking care of Hezbollah. There was a paranoia in Lebanon over the last month because of that, especially in the Shia community, in the Hezbollah society. They are really worried about the new power in Syria, the president Ahmed El-Shahra, because it comes from a Sunni jihadi background. And they believed it will happen, that Syria will enter Lebanon in order to fight Hezbollah. But President Shara in Syria repeated maybe three, four times in the last month that he will never tackle this file, that he really respects the sovereignty of Lebanon, and he is ready to help Lebanon state to tackle the problem of weapons of Hezbollah.

13:54but in his own level, you know, which is to cut the flow of weapons coming from Iran to Lebanon, but not more. And that was Hélène Salon, the Le Monde bureau chief in Beirut. This is News Hour.

14:14You're with the BBC and live from London, this is News Hour. Off the coast of Sierra Leone, Sherbro Island has been earmarked for an ambitious transformation. a new centre for international business and investment designed to rival places like Singapore and Hong Kong. The project has some high-profile backers, including Shaka Stevens, the grandson of a former president, and the film star Idris Elba. The BBC's Ed Butler has been to Sherbro to ask whether the vision can become reality.

14:48It's end of school in Bonth, on the island of Sherbro. population 15 ,000 or so. It's a five-hour drive down here from the capital, Freetown. In centuries past, Sherbro was a bustling British colonial trading post. Since independence, the district's fallen into economic decline. So the vision for Sherbro is to basically build what I would describe as an Afro-dynamic eco-city, basically a modern Singapore of West Africa that is sustainable and open for everyone. That's Siaka Stevens, one of two British-born Sierra Leoneans aiming to transform this remote backwater of the country into a global business hub.

15:30The other is his childhood friend, the Hollywood movie star Idris Elba. This is Sierra Leone. It's one of the poorest countries in the world. You know, investment isn't rushing through the door, OK? So what we needed to do is understand how to package an investment opportunity around this beautiful island without destroying it and being conscious that there is a youth culture across Africa of the average age of about 20 that wants something. And that's what Sheba Island is. Step one is providing the island with a basic level of infrastructure. We just arrived on our motorbikes to what was the one and only landing strip with this hut.

16:12It's got a tin roof that's half ripped off. On the walls it says, Welcome to Bonth Airfield. Yeah, it's not a very warm welcome just at the minute, is it, Shaka? I mean, what's the plan here? So this was a landing ship I think was last in use in 2010. Although it's not in the best state, it's something they're already that can work with, so the island is not a complete greenfield site, and it will happen. There's still no reliable power supply here, so the men are erecting what will become Sherbro's, and indeed Sierra Leone's, first ever wind farm. Africa is the last emerging continent in the world.

16:52Growing-ish middle class, big economies, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, you know, the big economy is close. So if you can create somewhere that is less risky, a governance structure that people can trust in, is it independent? How much do you think the African diaspora needs to play a role in this? Huge. Look, a lot of our best minds live outside of the continent. If there was homes to purchase now to live here and retire, they would do it. There is a huge reverse migration and it's something that I think we've all been yearning for. But the fact remains there aren't any big international firms who've yet signed up to this vision.

17:33Well, except for Octopus Energy. Britain's largest domestic energy provider has supplied those wind turbines and solar panels that we were hearing about. So what's in it for them? I asked its CEO of Energy Generation, Zoe Sir North Bond, if this wasn't just corporate philanthropy meant to make the company look good. Definitely not philanthropic. When we were looking at building energy installations, what we wanted to do was understand the data sets, how things worked, creating something where we really learned about the local environment to find the things that would enable us to scale the model into the future.

18:11There's a tremendous amount that we're learning here that we know already we can replicate, not only for Sierra Leone, but for West Africa across the continent, nor generally.

18:25Back in town, Siaka introduces me to the guest house owner. We're sleeping here tonight. Electricity comes on at eight, I'm told. Meals only by individual request. If change is coming, there's clearly some way to go. And that was Ed Butler reporting. You can hear more of Ed's full report on the development of Sherbro on today's edition of Business Daily at bbc.com. Police in Poland are investigating what appears to be a hit job on a Russian artist and vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin. Robert Kuzikov, who also went by his artistic pseudonym of Semyon Skripetsky, was shot dead on Monday morning in the Polish city of Biawa Podlaska.

19:08He was well known for painting caricatures of the Russian president, as well as leaders from China, Chechnya and Belarus. He'd fled Russia five years ago, saying he feared persecution. Amalia Zaatari is with the BBC's Russian service and is based in the Latvian capital Riga. What happened? The gunman managed to flee the scene. And as far as we know, on Tuesday, two persons were detained after the murder. There are two citizens of Belarus, but we don't know yet whether they were participating in the murder or not. It is not clear yet. Tell me a little bit about Kuzikov himself, about the sort of caricatures he drew.

19:55Tell me about the sort of work that he did. He is called in the media Russian oppositional artist, but actually he drew caricatures on many, many different people, not just on, for example, Vladimir Putin or Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, for example, but also on Russian opposition leaders and on Alexander Lukashenko, who is the president of Belarus. and also he criticised Ukrainian authorities. He actually criticised many, many different people from many, many different groups and states. He fled to Poland a few years ago and, I mean, it sounds as if he was concerned for his safety but he still continued to produce his work.

20:51Is that right? Yes, that's right. He fled Russia in 2021 fearing being persecuted in Russia due to his work, due to his caricatures. But when he fled to Poland with his family, so he continued doing what he was doing in Russia. So he carried on with drawing different caricatures on different people. For example, some of these pictures might be considered offensive, I suppose, because, for example, he systematically drew Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov with a pig nose, which might be considered offensive. Because Kadyrov is a Muslim. Yes, exactly. You are right. And he received a lot of threats from different people, especially after he started drawing Kadyrov and his allies.

21:53I managed to speak to some of his friends and they mentioned that he received a lot of different threats, especially because of Kadyrov drawings, but not just because of that. for example, after his performance in Berlin, which happened four days ago, where he came and he was staying in front of Russian embassy in Berlin, with the Russian flag, which was tied to his trousers from behind. And he was carrying this picture as well, wasn't he, of Joseph Stalin holding a sort of a tiny Vladimir Putin. Yes, exactly. You're right. And after that, he also threw Russian flag to the rubbish bin. And after that, as one of people I talked to today, he mentioned that he started receiving a lot of threats from pro-Kremlin activists and from people who supported Kremlin.

22:57Amalia Zaatari from the BBC's Russian service speaking to me from Riga. You're listening to NewsHour from the BBC.

23:15How has America shaped the world? I'm Asma Khalid, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As the United States marks its 250-year anniversary, we've been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the US has shaped the modern world. And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's the United States at 250. Listen to the global story on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

23:47Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. But what policy changes should investors be watching. Washington Wise is an original podcast from Charles Schwab that unpacks the stories making news in Washington right now and how they may affect your finances and portfolio. Listen at schwab.com slash Washington Wise. That's schwab.com slash Washington Wise. Welcome back to NewsHour. The traitors has, over recent years, become one of the biggest shows in global television. There are now more than 40 versions around the world and next year in London there's going to be a stage version or rather there are going to be five stage versions.

24:32The stories of murders, banishments and baffled faithfuls are being turned into a series of plays. David Sillito has been talking to the people turning reality TV into drama.

24:46A group of people from across the UK have been invited to this castle. The format makes the audience feel omniscient. Maybe it's because we know who the traitors are and can sit in judgement. And that sense of, well, I know who they are, why can't you spot it? It makes you feel good as a member of the audience. This is Stephen Lambert, who makes the UK and US versions of the traitors. Who will live, who will die. All those cloaks and those burning fires and the whole theatricality of murder and banishment, it just sort of screamed, turning into a play. And so they turned to comedy writer John Finnamore to come up with an idea of how to do it.

25:34I've seen two types of Belgian traitor. I've seen the Flemish traitors and the French-speaking traitors. and also Australian traitors. Things are about to get murderous. His inspiration were the show's great failures. When I had that first, what is it that we can do that the TV can't do? Oh, I know. What if you got to see what would happen if poor old Aubrey... Do you remember Aubrey with the hats? I'm very good at picking things up. He lives with his cat called Luford van Dros in a small village. I really wanted to see more of Aubrey. Why did you send Aubrey home? I'm as cunning as a fox. I'm sure I'll be able to track the traitors down.

26:15Or that poor market gardener. I'm a go for it. Go on, lad. I'm a go for it. I'm a Yorkshire lad. If somebody passes me a humbug, I don't sit for three hours sucking it. They got rid of him straight away and then they tried to bring him back and the rest of the players went, ah, no, we'll have Alex. As for Jack, I'm sorry, but you are going home. Gutted. Absolutely gutted. Yeah, so I want to see for Jack's. I liked you and I wanted to see more of you and you, Aubrey, and plenty of the others. All of which led to a lightbulb moment. What might have happened if they'd acted slightly differently? And so John's written five plays, giving five different outcomes over five nights for the same 11 players.

26:57A new cycle of five plays. One beginning, five endings. And at the end, it's hoped the murder mystery parlour game might give us a chance to think about those little decisions in life and just how much they might send us down a different path. You know, it allows us to actually, I think, to explore some themes in a way that you would want a play to do, to actually think about the nature of chance and relationships in a way that I hope will be a really entertaining evening out but also has something to say. A report from David Sillitoe on the traitors coming to the stage.