Reuters World News - Al Jazeera journalists killed, Netanyahu, National Guard and Sicily bridge

Starting point is 00:00:01 Today. An Israeli strike kills five Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza. Netanyahu says Israel has no choice but to complete the job and defeat Hamas. Trump vows to evict homeless people from Washington in a bid to tackle crime in the capital as a landmark trial over his use of the National Guard begins in L.A. American chipmakers say they'll give the government 15% of some China sales and the legal battle over Italy's plans for the world's longest single-span bridge. It's Monday, August 11th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. I'm Tara Oaks in Liverpool.

Starting point is 00:00:58 An Israeli airstrike has killed several Al-Jazeera journalists in Gaza. Among them was Anas al-Sharif. Israel alleged he headed a Hamas cell and was involved. involved in rocket attacks. Al Jazeera has rejected the claim, calling him one of Gaza's bravest journalists. Before his death, Al-Sharif had also denied he was connected to Hamas. The attack has been condemned by journalists and rights groups. Before the strike, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expects to complete a new Gaza offensive fairly quickly. Speaking, as the UN Security Council heard new demands for an end to the suffering in the Palestinian enclave.

Starting point is 00:01:46 Mayan Lou Bell is our senior correspondent in Jerusalem. Benjamin Netanyahu described the new plans as a final push against Hamas's last two strongholds in Gaza, mainly the area of Gaza City. We don't know exactly when it's going to happen. He said that Israel will begin by evacuating the civilian population from the area before the troops move in to tackle the last Hamas forces, he says, are in Gaza. However, there is some belief in Israel that this might be a way to bring Hamas back to the negotiating table. It leaves quite a few weeks a window of opportunity in which perhaps

Starting point is 00:02:26 the sides could reach a deal, either to end the war or a partial deal or a ceasefire over a few weeks in which some of the hostages will be released. More aid will come in and perhaps negotiate the end of the war. And what's been the reactions to the plans internationally? These plans have caused alarm internationally. And of course, in Gaza, people are going to be displaced again. There are estimates of up to a million people living in the area that Israel wants to now go into again, not for the first time. It's really been not well received.

Starting point is 00:02:57 We saw yesterday Netanyahu called a press conference with foreign journalists to try and explain Israel's position. He hadn't done so for almost a year now. It very much reminds us of what Israel was doing before it went into Rafakh in southern Gaza. Before it went in, it described that as well as Hamas's last strongholds. So very, very similar to what we saw last year in May. And Australia has become the latest country to say it will recognize a Palestinian state at next month's UN General Assembly. A two-state solution is humanity's best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East.

Starting point is 00:03:41 and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying recognition would depend on commitments received from the Palestinian Authority, including that Hamas would have no involvement in any future state. President Donald Trump has pledged to evict homeless people from Washington, D.C., as part of a clampdown on crime there, calling the capital one of the most danes. dangerous cities anywhere in the world in a post on truth social. The city's police department says violent crime was down in D.C. in the first seven months of the year, compared with last year.

Starting point is 00:04:24 The Democratic mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, says the capital is not experiencing a crime spike. More details on Trump's plan are expected in a press conference today. But officials have told Reuters, the administration is preparing to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops in the capital. And Trump's use of the National Guard is the focus of a landmark trial starting in San Francisco. It will examine the administration's decision to send troops to Los Angeles in June. The government faces accusations of violating a 19th century law that prevents the military from enforcing civilian laws. Most of the troops have now left, but a trial could test legal standards for

Starting point is 00:05:09 using federal troops on U.S. soil. Our legal reporter Jack Queen has more details. It's asking a broader question about the president's authority to use troops in domestic contexts. And so, for instance, President Trump has said that he's interested in deploying troops to Washington, D.C., because he says the city is unsafe. And he's indicated that he wants to use troops for conventional policing purposes. Now, this is something that's prohibited under the law, or at least that's the interpretation of California and other states who don't want the National Guard coming in. But the Trump administration is really pushing the envelope on that and testing how far they can go in potentially using troops to do routine policing actions,

Starting point is 00:05:52 which historically has never really been done in the U.S. with a few exceptions. For instance, I'm thinking of the Civil Rights era when the federal government sent in the National Guard to help enforce school integration. But the difference here is that what Trump has been trying to do, or at least his critics are claiming he's trying to do, is use troops to do things like make arrests and execute search warrants, the types of things that are normally left to police. So what's so notable about this case? This trial asks some very fundamental and sweeping questions about the president's authority to use the military on U.S. soil against U.S. citizens. And a lot of these questions have never really been tested in court this way because it's so

Starting point is 00:06:35 rare for presidents to use troops this way. And so the judge has an opportunity here to really lay down a clear line on what the president is and isn't allowed to do with the military in domestic contexts in a way that hasn't really been done before. Major American chipmakers have agreed to give the U.S. government a cut of some of their sales to China. Invitya and AMD have agreed to give the U.S. government 15% of revenue from sales. to China of their advanced computer chips, including NVIDIA's H2O chip. The Trump administration had halted sales of the chip over national security concerns, but NVIDIA said last month the government had allowed it to resume sales.

Starting point is 00:07:26 China is a significant market for both companies, generating billions of dollars in revenue. A U.S. officials says they believe the deal does not compromise U.S. national security. Italy has approved construction plans to build what would be the world's longest single-span bridge. A bridge joining Sicily to the mainland was first envisioned by the ancient Romans. But the project's modern approval has set the stage for a legal battle that could stall the construction further. Angelo Amante is wrote as political and general news correspondent in Italy. The bridge is a really tough subject in Sicily.

Starting point is 00:08:09 people are deeply divided. The supporters say this massive public investment will benefit the economy of Sicily and Calabria, which are amongst Italy's less developed regions. And what about the opposition to the project? The opposition from the bridge is basically coming from the fact that the Messina Strait is a huge seismic area. There has been a devastating heart quake in 1908.

Starting point is 00:08:35 So what they say is that the reason at the heartquake, the bridge will collapse and there will be a huge disaster. The bridge company says that it's not going to happen. They say the bridge will be resistant to heartquakes. Also, there is protected environment on the Messina side. And they say the bridge walks will completely destroy it and there will be a huge loss of biodiversity. The bridge company says they will try to limit the damage to the ecosystem and offer mitigation measures. And some also say the mafia organizations.

Starting point is 00:09:08 organizations will infiltrate the walks. So the infrastructure ministers, Matteo Salvini, said they will put in place a huge control structure to prevent any infiltration from mafia groups in the project. But obviously, these mafia groups are really powerful. Salvini said, if we block all infrastructural projects in southern Italy because there is a risk of mafia infiltration, then we are not probably going to be able to develop any infrastructure project in the because mafia infiltration is always possible. And for today's recommended read, Vietnamese farmers are facing eviction for Trump's family-backed golf resort. The luxury golf course will force thousands of their land, and some are saying that the compensation package isn't enough. For more on that or on any of the stories from today,

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Reuters World News - Al Jazeera journalists killed, Netanyahu, National Guard and Sicily bridge

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