BBC News Briefing

21 October, 2024

Jules Darmanin

Hello. Today we're reporting on King Charles' visit in Australia, where the heckling of the monarch by an Aboriginal Australian senator has highlighted the debate around the monarchy’s role in the country - and the fight for a stronger recognition of its indigenous peoples. Hugo Bachega, in Lebanon, writes about the latest series of Israeli strikes on Beirut, which Israel said were targeting branches of a Hezbollah-linked bank. Also in your newsletter: Moldova votes on Europe, Taylor Swift’s impact on US politics and baby lemurs.

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TOP OF THE AGENDA

'Not my King', Australian senator shouts at Charles

A woman is shouting in a government building while she is ushered away by two security guards. She is holding a piece of paper.

"This is not your land, you are not my King," Senator Lidia Thorpe yelled. Credit: Reuters

King Charles has been heckled by an Australian senator during his first visit in the country as monarch. Lidia Thorpe, an Aboriginal Australian lawmaker from Victoria, made claims of genocide against "our people" and shouted "This is not your land, you are not my King," before she was escorted away by security. She later told my colleagues in Canberra she had wanted to send a "clear message" to the King. Australia, like New Zealand, Canada or Jamaica, is a Commonwealth country where King Charles serves as the head of state. But opinions are mixed in the former British colony, where public support for a republic has steadily grown since Australians voted against it in 1999. The country's prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is himself a long-term republican, although he has said a new referendum on the matter is off the table for now. Buckingham Palace has made no official comment on Thorpe's protest, instead focusing on the crowds who had turned up to see the King and Queen in Canberra.

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Correspondence: Ahead of the trip, the Australian Republic Movement exchanged letters with Buckingham Palace officials who restated that it was up to the Australian people to decide whether they wanted to become a republic.

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Waving goodbye: Republican supporters are selling tongue-in-cheek "farewell merch" branding the King's visit as his final tour in Australia. Take a look.

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A year ago: Australia overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give greater political rights to Indigenous people in a referendum, a stark defeat for Albanese's government.

WORLD HEADLINES

Thinnest of margins: Moldovan voters appear to have backed the Eastern European country changing its constitution and committing to joining the EU - with only a few thousand votes separating Yes from No.

Russian opposition: Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, told the BBC she would run for the Russian presidency when Vladimir Putin is no longer in charge.

US campaign trail: Donald Trump said presidential candidates should have to take a cognitive test in a swipe at Kamala Harris, after a campaign stop serving fries at a McDonald's drive-through. More updates on our live page.

In South Sudan: Over a million people have been affected by floods across much of the country, the UN said.

Fethullah Gulen: The Turkish cleric accused of masterminding a bloody attempted coup in 2016 has died aged 83 while in self-imposed exile in the US.

AT THE SCENE

Beirut, Lebanon

War against Hezbollah goes beyond military infrastructure

Rubble of a destroyed building in an urban environment. Police tape is seen across the frame in front of the rubble.

A UN official described "widespread panic" in Beirut as Israel issued warnings shortly before hitting buildings. Credit: Reuters

Israel has carried out air strikes across Lebanon, saying it's targeting branches of a bank used by Hezbollah. In a statement on social media, Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz said: "Beirut in flames ... Hezbollah has paid and will continue to pay a heavy price for its attacks on northern Israel and its rocket fire."

Hugo Bachega, Middle East correspondent

The first airstrikes happened about 20 minutes after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders, at around 21:30 here last night. There were chaotic scenes in some parts of Beirut, as people tried to get to areas they thought would be safer, and thick plumes of smoke were seen over the city’s southern suburbs. The targets were branches of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a financial association linked with Hezbollah. It offers services to civilians in Shia Muslim communities where the group has strong support. The branches are often located on the ground floor of residential buildings in busy districts.

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War in Gaza: The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said at least 87 people were killed and more than 40 injured in an Israeli strike on Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces described the strike as a "precision" attack on a "Hamas terror target".

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Can Taylor Swift really affect the US vote?

A group of supporters called "Swifties for Kamala" predated the singer's official endorsement of the Democratic candidate. Credit: BBC

The power of celebrity endorsements in the US presidential campaign is often hotly debated - especially when they come from our era's biggest pop star. With voting day in a fortnight, my colleague Marianna Spring speaks to Taylor Swift fans to gauge whether her support of Kamala Harris can move the needle.

Read the story

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Behind bars

Barcodes saved lives, went into space and stoked fears of the Antichrist.

Read their history

And finally...

Greater bamboo lemurs, which are endemic to Madagascar, are classified as critically endangered. Only 36 of them are in captivity globally. But two of them have managed to give birth to a lemur baby in an Oxfordshire zoo, notwithstanding British weather. The animal has yet to be named, but pictures are devastatingly cute already.

Six Steps to Calm