BBC News Briefing

22 May, 2024

Jules Darmanin

Hello. Three European countries - Spain, Norway and Ireland - have moved today to recognise Palestinian statehood. As we follow international reaction, my colleagues explain what this means for Middle East diplomacy. From Cuba, Will Grant reports on the downfall of the island's sugar industry. Finally, I enjoyed tremendously the Irish rap at the end of this newsletter - I hope that you will too.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Palestinian statehood move angers Israel

A man wearing a Palestinian flag as a cape is holding a large keffiyeh during a protest.

The issue of Palestinian statehood has vexed the international community for decades. Credit: Reuters

Ireland, Norway, and Spain have announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state from 28 May. More than 140 UN members already recognise Palestinian statehood - but most countries in western Europe don't. The simultaneous announcements represent a significant shift in the push for a two-state solution with Israel, as war still rages in Gaza. "A Palestinian state is a prerequisite for achieving peace in the Middle East," Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said. Our diplomatic correspondent James Landale writes that beyond symbolic support for Palestinians, the countries aim to "inject some momentum into a political process" to end the fighting. However, Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz called the decision a "distorted step" that showed "terrorism pays". Both the West Bank-based Palestinian foreign ministry and Hamas leadership welcomed the decision, although all three European leaders insisted their decision was not "in favour of Hamas" and condemned the group's attack on 7 October.

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Another diplomatic rift: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has raised the prospect of sanctions against the International Criminal Court as its prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials.

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In Gaza: Food distribution in Rafah has been suspended due to a lack of supplies and insecurity, the UN says.

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Read more: Here's some historical context on the Palestinian territories and their international status, from my BBC Monitoring colleagues, while our digital Middle East editor Raffi Berg has the political backdrop.

WORLD HEADLINES

New Caledonia: French President Emmanuel Macron is set to land in the Pacific territory on Thursday morning local time after more than a week of unrest over his government's voting reform plans. Tourists evacuated by Australia have been expressing their relief at returning home.

Singapore flight: A video shows passengers walking through the wrecked cabin of the SQ321 flight after it was hit by severe turbulence, killing a 73-year-old man.

War in Ukraine: A former Russian army commander who raised concerns about the country's high military casualties has been detained on suspicion of large-scale fraud, state-run media reported.

More on Russia: The US says Moscow launched a satellite last week which it believes may be capable of attacking other such objects in "low Earth orbit".

Matthew Perry: Police in Los Angeles have said they have opened an investigation into the death of the Friends' star.

AT THE SCENE

Cienfuegos, Cuba

The collapse of a famed industry

For hundreds of years, sugar was Cuba's main export and the cornerstone of its national rum industry. But years of chronic mismanagement and underinvestment, added to an increasingly strict US embargo, have blighted the island's flagship trade.

Will Grant, Cuba correspondent

Cutting cane is all Miguel Guzmán has ever known. He started the tough, thankless work as a teenager. Today, he readily admits he has never seen the sugar industry as broken and depressed as it is now - not even when the Soviet Union's lucrative sugar quotas dried up after the Cold War. "There's not enough trucks and the fuel shortages mean sometimes several days pass before we can work," says Miguel, waiting in a tiny patch of shade for the Soviet-era lorries to arrive.

Read in full

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

The fall of a hip-hop icon

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

CCTV video footage showing Sean "Diddy" Combs kicking his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura on the floor has cemented the rapper's downfall. For years, nothing had really affected his rise to icon status as an artist, producer and businessman - despite a "chequered" reputation, as Emma Vardy explains.

Read the story

A group of wegovy injections are laid out on a table

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

No permanent fix

When weight-loss injections end, people tend to regain most of what they shed.

Why that matters

And finally...

A group of Irish children aged nine to 12 have found viral fame after a song they wrote for a youth project racked up almost nine million views. I have to say their drum and bass-infused rap is incredibly catchy. Its endearing, bucket hat-heavy video is worth a watch as well. Give it a listen.

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– Jules

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