BBC News Briefing

23 July, 2024

Jules Darmanin

Hello. Today we're covering the visit of Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington - the Israeli Prime Minister leaves a tense political climate back home and will have to navigate a turbulent context in the US, Barbara Plett Usher writes. From London, Dominic Casciani explains how a radical Islamist preacher was caught and brought to justice. Your newsletter also features monster trucks, chatting monkeys and a path to love.

GET UP TO SPEED

US Vice-President Kamala Harris went on the offensive against Donald Trump, pitching herself as a prosecutor who can take on a convicted criminal in her first campaign speech as a presidential candidate.

Two people were killed and 13 others injured when a walkway collapsed on a housing estate which has become synonymous with Naples mafia drug wars.

Sharks off the coast of Brazil have tested positive for cocaine, scientists say.

AT THE SCENE

Jerusalem, Israel

Netanyahu’s balancing act on US visit

The two leaders met in Israel days after the 7 October Hamas attack. Credit: Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has landed in Washington DC, where he is due to address Congress and meet Joe Biden, provided the US president has recovered from Covid-19. The end of Mr Biden's campaign for re-election has highlighted political uncertainty around the US-Israel relationship, with Mr Netanyahu facing criticism at home.

Barbara Plett Usher, BBC News

Benjamin Netanyahu got a lot of unwelcome attention in Israel until the moment he boarded the plane to Washington. A drumbeat of protests demanded that he stay home and focus on a ceasefire deal with Hamas to free Israeli hostages. “Until he has signed the deal that's on the table, I do not see how he picks up and flies across the Atlantic to address the American political chaos,” said Lee Siegel, one of the family members who has come out to demonstrate. His 65-year-old brother Keith is a captive in Gaza. The trip is a political move, he added, unless Mr Netanyahu stops being a “hurdle” and signs the ceasefire agreement.

‌

Mr Siegel reflected a widespread view that Mr Netanyahu is slow-rolling the process for his own political reasons, roiling his negotiators when he recently threw new conditions into talks that seemed to be making progress. These perceptions have added to frustrations in the White House, which announced the latest formula for talks and had been expressing optimism an agreement could be achieved.

Read our analysis

Fire on the border: BBC analysis has uncovered the extent of damage caused by nine months of fighting between the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and Israel. You can find our maps here.

In Gaza: Traces of the highly infectious polio virus have been found in wastewater in the territory. The World Health Organization has said it is “extremely worried” about the possibility of an outbreak.

Meanwhile, in Beijing: Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have signed a declaration agreeing to form an interim post-war "national reconciliation government" for the occupied West Bank and Gaza, in a meeting brokered by China.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

How a terror recruiter was brought to justice

Anjem Choudary posing in the street next to someone holding a placard saying 'US and UK the real terrorists'.

Choudary spent years staging provocative demonstrations. Credit: BBC

Radical preacher Anjem Choudary has been found guilty of directing a group banned under UK terror laws and encouraging support for it online. Choudary faces life in prison after he was convicted on Tuesday of taking a "caretaker role" in Islamist group al-Muhajiroun.

Dominic Casciani, legal correspondent

Who is Anjem Choudary?

The 57-year-old is a former solicitor who has promoted the Islamist ideology underpinning jihadist violence in the UK for more than a quarter of a century. He ran the al-Muhajiroun group since 2014 - an outfit already banned by the British government in 2010.

What is al-Muhajiroun?

Seen as a radicalising network rather than a militant organisation, al-Muhajiroun was founded in the UK in 1996. The group spent years recruiting others to its extremist interpretation of Islam and seeking the establishment of a caliphate ruled by Sharia. Police have said some 600 people have been linked to the organisation over the years. People associated with al-Muhajiroun have been linked to attacks that police said were terror-related.

How was Choudary arrested?

Choudary was jailed in 2016 for inviting his acolytes to support the Islamic State group. He was released in 2018 - with the conditions of his sentence, including a ban on speaking in public, ending in 2021. He was arrested again on 17 July 2023, amid an international undercover investigation into al-Muhajiroun. Officers in the US and Canada posed as would-be terrorists to attend online lectures as British investigators bugged Choudary’s home.

How he was caught

Today's news: Choudary and one of his supporters, Canadian Khaled Hussein, will be sentenced on 30 July following their conviction in a London court.

Choudary's first conviction: The preacher was found guilty of inviting support for the so-called Islamic Group in 2016. Here's what happened in court on that day.

THE BIG PICTURE

Chatting like chimps

Two chimpanzees facing each other on a large branch.

Researchers have logged and translated more than 8,000 gestures from over 250 individual animals. Credit: Cat Hobaiter

A new study has found that wild chimpanzees, like humans, engage in fast-paced conversations where they take turns to exchange information - using gestures rather than sounds. Researching these face-to-face chats could help us understand the origins of human communication, Victoria Gill explains.

Read the story

A view of the colourful Riomaggiore village

FOR YOUR DOWNTIME

Path of Love reopens

The Cinque Terre's most romantic hiking trail is once again safe to wander.

Here's how

And finally... in Mexico

Officials in Mexico have destroyed 50 "monster trucks". Used by cartels in their gun battles, the vehicles are also referred to as "Frankenstein trucks" because of the modifications made to them - such as adding gun turrets and armoured plates. Take a look.

Medal Moments

Your daily newsletter guide to the Paris Olympics, from global highlights to heroic stories, throughout the Games.

Subscribe here

MORE BBC NEWSLETTERS

The Essential List: The week's best stories, handpicked by BBC editors, in your inbox twice a week. Subscribe.

In History: The past comes to life through the BBC's unique audio, video and written archive, each Thursday. Subscribe.

US Election Unspun: Cut through the noise in the race for the White House, every Wednesday. Subscribe.

Thanks, as ever, for reading. Send us what you think of this newsletter. We read everything, even when we don’t have the time to reply. And feel free to send it to your friends and family, who can subscribe by clicking this link.

Also, you can add newsbriefing@email.bbc.com to your contacts list and, if you're on Gmail, pop the email into your “Primary” tab for uninterrupted service. Thanks for reading!

‌

– Jules

You've received this email because you've signed up to the BBC News Briefing newsletter.

Click here to unsubscribe

To find out how we use your data, see the BBC Privacy Policy.

BBC Studios Distribution Limited.

Registered Number: 01420028 England

Registered office: 1 Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane, London, W12 7FA, United Kingdom