| | | | | | | Hello. Recent US sanctions against Israeli settlers included, for the first time, two farming outposts. Lucy Williamson hears from one of the farmers targeted by the sanctions, who has been accused of harassing neighbouring Palestinian communities. In Germany, a trilateral meeting sees European leaders trying to find common ground on supporting Ukraine. Finally, the world’s largest blueberry has grown in Australia, and don’t forget to have a go at the weekly news quiz. Keen newsletter readers will surely get at least 2/7. |
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| | | | | | AT THE SCENE | Southern West Bank | | Settlers at the heart of a US-Israel rift | | | | For the first time, the US has imposed sanctions on two farming outposts, including that of Yinon Levy. Credit: Stuart Phillips | | The US and the UK have recently enacted sanctions against a number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Most countries deem the settlements, which are built on land captured by Israel in 1967, in the Middle East War, to be illegal under international law, although Israel disagrees. The settler outposts are also illegal under Israeli law. | | | | Lucy Williamson, BBC News |
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| "Yinon Levy came here three years ago and started bothering me," Palestinian sheep farmer Fares Samamreh said, his head wrapped in a piece of white cotton, his eyes narrowed in a permanent squint against the sun. “But a few days after 7 October [when Hamas attacked Israel], it became serious.” Fares said Yinon was one of a group. “They destroyed water tanks, closed down roads, they fire at the sheep," he said. "He told my wife if we didn't leave here, we'd all be killed." He said when his wife then swore at him, Yinon Levy hit her with the butt of his gun. Soon afterwards, Fares and his family left their village of Zanuta.
Yinon has denied acting violently towards Palestinians in the area - and said he didn't own a gun until very recently. But he's the subject of sanctions from both the US and the UK. “We're safeguarding these lands to ensure they remain under Jewish ownership," Yinon said. He said that the Israeli government was on his side. "I'm not worried," he told the BBC. "This is not against me personally - it's against those who obstruct the creation of a Palestinian state. There's no legal process against me [in Israel]. Here, everything is fine." |
| | | | • | Being a cancer patient in Gaza: Siham Arook was being treated for leukaemia when the conflict in Gaza began. The 62-year-old has been turned away from the Rafah border crossing multiple times despite her name being on the evacuation list. |
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| Questions Answered | | France and Germany seek unity on Ukraine | | | | French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were later joined by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Credit: Reuters |
| | French President Emmanuel Macron met his German counterpart Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin to display a united front after a rift emerged over military aid to Ukraine, which faces a critical arms shortage. | | | | Paul Kirby, Europe digital editor |
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| | What is Germany’s position? | | Differences over the response to the war have deepened between Paris and Berlin in recent weeks, after the German chancellor said long-range Taurus missiles would need German soldiers on the ground in Ukraine to look after them and that was a limit that he was not prepared to cross. | | What about France? | | President Macron has equally angered some of his European partners by suggesting that sending Western troops could not be ruled out. In an extended live interview on French TV on Thursday night, he said: "If we leave Ukraine alone, if we let Ukraine lose this war, then for sure Russia will threaten Moldova, Romania and Poland." | | What does Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky want? | | Mr Zelensky went on social media to say he had told the German leader that Ukraine's priorities were "armoured vehicles, artillery, and air defence". | | | | | | |
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| | Your weekend listening | | | | The politics factor returns to Eurovision | | Eurovision's organisers insist the contest is apolitical but yet another controversy is putting that stance under increased scrutiny, as The Global Story investigates. | | Listen now > |
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| | The big picture | | Different perspectives on wildlife | | | | The picture was chosen from more than 14,000 entries by both amateur and professional photographers. Credit: Ryan Stalker / British Wildlife Photo Awards |
| | Goose barnacles may not be the most glamorous of sea creatures but they were the focus of the winning image of this year's British Wildlife Photography Awards. The photograph also won the Coast and Marine category but other stunning images got their flowers, too. | | | | |
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| | | For your downtime | | Flying high | | Some armies give drugs to their fighter pilots to stay alert. | | |
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| | And finally... in Australia | | An Australian farm has smashed the record for the world's largest blueberry with a fruit the size of a ping-pong ball. Take a look at the whopper. They haven’t smashed the blueberry, however - it might be cast in resin and mounted on a wall. That is, until a bigger, heavier blueberry inevitably comes for its Guinness World Records glory. |
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| | | | | | | | In History Newsletter | | The past comes to life through the BBC's unique audio, video and written archive, each Thursday. | | |
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| | | | More BBC newsletters | | • | Football Extra: Latest news, insights and gossip from the Premier League, weekdays. Subscribe. | | • | Royal Watch: The full story from royal correspondent Sean Coughlan, every Thursday. Subscribe. | | • | Tech Decoded: Timely, trusted tech news from global correspondents, twice-weekly. Subscribe. |
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– Sofia |
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