Plus: The volunteers on the frontline of US election conspiracies, and a blessing scam targeting Chinese women ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. The Israeli government has announced today that its forces have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza. Our security correspondent Frank Gardner tells us what it entails for the future of the conflict in the Middle East. In the US state of Wisconsin, election volunteers tell Mike Wendling why they worry about their safety. We also report on scams targeting Chinese communities and Kenyan politics. | |
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QUESTIONS ANSWERED | Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed in Gaza |
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| | Sinwar was identified through dental and fingerprint analysis, Israeli police say. Credit: Reuters | The leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, has been killed in Gaza, Israel says. He was believed to have been behind the 7 October attacks and topped Israel's most-wanted list. "This is a significant military and moral achievement for Israel," Foreign Minister Israel Katz said. |
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| | Frank Gardner, security correspondent |
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| What can we make of this news? | The loss of Yahya Sinwar is a seismic blow to Hamas. When the group chose him to replace Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of their political wing who was assassinated on July 31, it was a deliberate act of defiance and resilience. It could not have chosen a more uncompromising figure. But Hamas, like Hezbollah in Lebanon, has seen its leadership eliminated one by one, its fighters killed and its arms dumps blown up. | What can we expect from Hamas? | The group will have to decide whether now is the time to make a deal that ends the year-long Israeli military operation that has devastated the Gaza Strip. Or, conversely, whether to continue fighting and resisting, hoping to outlast Israel’s patience, despite the horrendous death toll this conflict has wreaked upon Palestinian civilians. | Is this changing the prospects of a ceasefire deal? | The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said recently that a ceasefire deal in Gaza was "90% there". The killing of Sinwar could be an opportunity to finally complete that deal and bring Israel’s hostages home. It also risks doing the opposite: Driving angry Hamas members further away than ever from any kind of compromise. | | | |
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| | | Black River Falls, Wisconsin |
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| Volunteers on the frontline of election conspiracies | | Jackson County election workers are sworn in during a training session. Credit: BBC | Threats against US election workers have increased since the 2020 presidential election which Donald Trump and his allies falsely claimed to have won. Ahead of the election day, some polling places have installed panic buttons, bullet-resistant glass panels or electronic security measures. |
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| | | A long-time election volunteer and former clerk in the Wisconsin village of Alma Center, Kris Burlingame is well-versed in election law, including the routine requirement to invite the public to watch tests of voting machines. Usually, nothing happens. No member of the public had actually taken up such an invitation, she said – until 1 August.
A “belligerent, angry,” man started taking pictures and asking questions, Ms Burlingame said. How did the machines work? Were the machines connected to the internet? (They weren’t, but he insisted on being shown the internet connections). “These are the machines that changed everyone’s votes,” the man said, repeating a widely spread and debunked conspiracy theory about a particular brand of voting machine. “I said, ‘There’s no way they can do that’,” Ms Burlingame recalls. “He was not happy with me.” Eventually the man left, but the incident gave her pause. “what is the election going to be like? Are we going to have more of this?” |
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| | - Trump town hall: Donald Trump described 6 January 2021 as a "day of love" when asked about US Capitol riot during a campaign event.
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THE BIG PICTURE | Blessing scams on the rise in Chinese communities |
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| | | Mungnee feels she was drawn in by the scammers because she holds spiritual beliefs. Credit: BBC | Chinese communities in the UK, US and Australia are being targeted by Mandarin or Cantonese-speaking street scammers. They trick older women out of their valuables by persuading them their loved ones are in danger. Elaine Chong spoke to multiple victims who were defrauded because of their spiritual beliefs. |
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FOR YOUR DOWNTIME | Courtesan and confidante | The woman labelled Churchill's "secret weapon" in the fight against the Nazis. | |
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And finally... on television | The first trailer for Wallace and Gromit's holiday return to the small screen has been released. Vengeance Most Fowl is the pair's first full-length feature film in 19 years. The penguin villain Feathers McGraw is returning with revenge on his mind... Take a look. | |
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Six Steps to Calm | Discover a calmer future with this course of six science-backed techniques, weekly to your inbox. | |
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