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tv   BBC News at Six  BBC News  December 15, 2023 6:00pm-6:31pm GMT

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today at six, a dramatic legal victory for prince harry as a judge rules his phone was hacked by mirror group newspapers. his lawyer read his statement outside court. it is about a systemic practice of unlawful and appalling behaviour, followed by cover—ups and destruction of evidence. the judge found the then editor of the daily mirror, piers morgan, knew that phone hacking was used he responded robustly. i have never hacked a phone or told anybody else to hack a phone. a body has been found in the search for gaynor lord, missing in norwich since last friday. the grandmother of teenager
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alex batty talks of her happiness after he was found seven years after going missing the alarming tale of how a small child managed to escape from nursery school care, one of a growing number in scotland. i've one of a growing number in scotland. had a little w quite i've had a little work done but not quite as much as some people. and tributes are paid at the sydney opera house to barry humphries and his alter ego dame edna everage as people gathered to celebrate his life. and coming up on bbc news — can nottingham forest and their under—pressure manager, steve cooper, get the win they desperately need? we'll be at the city ground, where tottenham are the visitors. good evening. "a great day for truth and accountability." the words of prince harry read in a statement by his lawyer after the high court ruled he was the victim of hacking by mirror group newspapers
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who published the daily mirror, the sunday mirror and the people. the judge said that phone hacking at the papers was "widespread and habitual" and that the former editor of the mirror, piers morgan, knew about the practice. today mr morgan came out fighting, saying he had never hacked a phone or ever asked anyone to do so. the company which now owns the papers has apologised unreservedly. but prince harry's legal victory and damages ofjust over £140,000 could lay it open to further legal action. here's our media editor katie razzall. a significant victory. in 15 articles about prince harry in all three mirror titles the newspaper group has been found to have intercepted five voicemails and gathered other information. phone hacking at the paper, thejudge found, was widespread and habitual. prince harry's lawyer read out his words after the 386 page judgment
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was delivered. this words after the 386 page “udgment was delivered.* was delivered. this case is not 'ust about hacking. fl was delivered. this case is not 'ust about hacking. it is i was delivered. this case is not 'ust about hacking. it is about i was delivered. this case is not 'ust about hacking. it is about a i about hacking. it is about a systemic practice of unlawful and appalling behaviour, followed by cover—ups and destruction of evidence. the shocking scale of which can only be revealed through these procedures. the which can only be revealed through these procedures.— these procedures. the articles include this _ these procedures. the articles include this in _ these procedures. the articles include this in the _ these procedures. the articles include this in the people - these procedures. the articles include this in the people in i these procedures. the articles - include this in the people in 2003 about a row between harry and william about whether to meet their mother's former butler. the judge said both had their phones hacked, a serious security concern. most of the 15 unlawfully gathered articles relate to his time with former girlfriend chelsy davy, including this in 2005, about her plans to dump him, and this in the sunday mirror in 2007, phone hacking involved in both instances. prince harry said the relentless invasion killed their relationship. there was this article in this newspaper about his date with caroline flack,
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£15,000 in damages for distress to the prince. in all he takes over £140,000. two senior executives, former ceo sly bailey and paul vickers newjournalists and private detectives were breaking the law, said the judge. detectives were breaking the law, said thejudge. better detectives were breaking the law, said the judge. better known under name that came up often in court was piers morgan, who edited the daily mirrorfrom1995 piers morgan, who edited the daily mirrorfrom 1995 to piers morgan, who edited the daily mirror from 1995 to 2004. one also gave evidence that mr morgan new about the story that kylie minogue came from deception. thejudge about the story that kylie minogue came from deception. the judge said he was a reliable witness. piers morgan fought back. as i have consistently said, i have never hacked a phone or told anyone else to hack the phone and no one has produced any actual evidence to prove that i did. his former employers, mirror group newspapers, had earlier welcomed the judgment as giving them clarity. where this wrongdoing took place, they said, we apologise unreservedly and we have
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taken full responsibility and have paid the compensation. this is a significant decision on a story from a different media age when the tabloids were read by millions and apparently all too often broke the law to get their exclusives. the judge ruled the hacking of prince harry's phone was modest but it did go on. a senior royal hacked by journalists, the bosses knew. through his barrister prince harry explained how much the judgment means to him. explained how much the 'udgment means to hint means to him. today's ruling is vindicating _ means to him. today's ruling is vindicating and _ means to him. today's ruling is vindicating and affirming. - means to him. today's ruling is vindicating and affirming. i - means to him. today's ruling is| vindicating and affirming. i have been told that slaying dragons will get you burnt, but in light of today's victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press it is a worthwhile price to pay. the and honest press it is a worthwhile price to pay-— and honest press it is a worthwhile riceto -a. ,, ., , price to pay. the mission continues. as for him — price to pay. the mission continues. as for him saying — price to pay. the mission continues. as for him saying this _ price to pay. the mission continues. as for him saying this is _ price to pay. the mission continues. as for him saying this is a _ price to pay. the mission continues. as for him saying this is a good - price to pay. the mission continues. as for him saying this is a good day| as for him saying this is a good day for truth, _ as for him saying this is a good day for truth, the truth that has been repeatedly exposed in recent years is he is _ repeatedly exposed in recent years is he is someone who wouldn't know the truth _
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is he is someone who wouldn't know the truth if— is he is someone who wouldn't know the truth if it— is he is someone who wouldn't know the truth if it slapped him around his californian tanned face. he demands— his californian tanned face. he demands accountability for the press but refuses to accept any for himsetf— but refuses to accept any for himself or smearing the royal family. — himself or smearing the royal family, his own family, is a bunch of callous— family, his own family, is a bunch of callous racists without producing a shred _ of callous racists without producing a shred of — of callous racists without producing a shred of proof to support those disgraceful claims.— disgraceful claims. prince harry, seen here _ disgraceful claims. prince harry, seen here leaving _ disgraceful claims. prince harry, seen here leaving court - disgraceful claims. prince harry, seen here leaving court in - disgraceful claims. prince harry, seen here leaving court in the i seen here leaving court in the summer, has had hisjudgment. around 80 other people, many high—profile, have similar claims against the mirror group and will be examining thejudge was not mirror group and will be examining the judge was not decision closely. and katie's with me now. strong language use, where does this all go from here?— all go from here? prince harry was alwa s all go from here? prince harry was always clear _ all go from here? prince harry was always clear that _ all go from here? prince harry was always clear that this _ all go from here? prince harry was always clear that this was - all go from here? prince harry was always clear that this was not - all go from here? prince harry was| always clear that this was not about the damages awarded. what he wants to do was to establish whether and to do was to establish whether and to extent if he was the target of phone hacking and other illegal information gathering and he has done that. this was a civil case, but his barrister said that prince harry did want criminal proceedings to begin potentially as a result of this civil case. today the
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metropolitan police said they would carefully consider the judgment handed down, and there is no investigation right now. prince harry also said that his mission continues and that mission, his life was not worth, is reform of the tabloids. this isjust the was not worth, is reform of the tabloids. this is just the first of three legal cases he has with others that he is pursuing against the newspaper group and he is taking action against the associated newspaper which owns the daily mail and the group which owns the sun in the former news of the world which was shut down by rupert murdoch after the phone hacking scandal first emerged. i think it will be very interesting tomorrow to see how those papers are covering the story. katie, many thanks. you can see more about claims of phone hacking in the british press in the documentary scandalous: phone hacking on trial, which is available now on the bbc iplayer. the grandmother of a british teenager who was found in france on wednesday after going missing in 2017 has spoken of her relief. alex batty, who is from oldham, disappeared while on holiday
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in spain six years ago with his mother and grandfather. he was 11 at the time and in the care of his grandmother susan caruana who tonight said she couldn't begin to express her happiness. he was spotted this week walking near the city of toulouse, from where nick beake sent this report. the little boy who went on holiday and was never seen again until now. these photos of alex batty were taken more than six years ago. since then he has been on the move from country to country. but this week alex, now 17, left his mother in their remote community in the french mountains and reappeared on the street with his remarkable story. french police say he seems to be a normal teenager despite everything. translation: the young man was described as tired by the police and doctor who are able to see him. but in overall good health and
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intelligent despite having never attended school during his entire journey. attended school during his entire 'ourne . , . ., ., journey. the prosecutor revealed that alex's _ journey. the prosecutor revealed that alex's grandfather _ journey. the prosecutor revealed that alex's grandfather who - journey. the prosecutor revealed that alex's grandfather who he . journey. the prosecutor revealed l that alex's grandfather who he was travelling with when he disappeared died six months ago. he said the community in which alex lived was not a cult. �* ,, �* community in which alex lived was notacult. �* ,, �* not a cult. translation: he says there was no _ not a cult. translation: he says there was no physical _ not a cult. translation: he says there was no physical violence - not a cult. translation: he says. there was no physical violence from anyone. he talked about a spiritual community and didn't mention the word cult. we still need to find out more. {in word cult. we still need to find out more. g; i: word cult. we still need to find out more. g; z: ., ,, , , ::' more. on the 30th of september 2017 alex left oldham _ more. on the 30th of september 2017 alex left oldham to _ more. on the 30th of september 2017 alex left oldham to go _ more. on the 30th of september 2017 alex left oldham to go to _ more. on the 30th of september 2017 alex left oldham to go to marbella . alex left oldham to go to marbella on holiday with his mother and grandfather. he was last seen a week later in malaga on the day they were due to fly home. the following february alex was my grandmother, his legal guardian, said she believed he had been taken to morocco to live with a spiritual community. the french police believe he could have been there for two years before moving to spain and then coming to france and living with a travelling community in the pyrenees mountains. but this week
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after walking for four days he re—emerged and was picked up by a passing driver and taken to the town of ravel and then onto toulouse as he identified himself as alex batty. investigator csa alex was my mother had recently told them they had to leave the country yet again to finland this time and at this point alex said the lifestyle he had been living had to stop. and so he simply walked away. our north of england correspondentjudith moritz is in oldham tonight. alex's grandmother has been speaking this afternoon. what did she say? in this afternoon. what did she say? hi the last hour she released a statement. susan caruana said that she can't begin to express her relief and her excitement that alex has been found safe and well and she has been found safe and well and she has managed to speak to him on a video call and it was great to see his face and hear his voice and she can't wait to be reunited with him.
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we understand that is expected to happen at some point this weekend. she went on to say that this would have been an overwhelming experience for anyone, have been an overwhelming experience foranyone, let have been an overwhelming experience for anyone, let alone a child, and she has appealed for privacy for the family. the bbc has spoken to family members who have said to us that will also include giving alex the choice over whether or not to tell his story. he will be unaware of the scale of interest in his case and until greater manchester police who are leading the effort to bring her back, they are working with the french authorities and they will also be leading efforts to find answers about what happened to him. judith moore its reporting. police searching for a missing woman in norwich have recovered a body from the river wensum. gaynor lord, who's 55, was reported missing last friday after her belongings were found scattered across a public park. norfolk police say the body has not yet been formally identified, but that her family have been informed. navtej johal reports. a quiet morning, woken
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by a sudden burst of activity. officers, divers, equipment all deployed to a small section of the river wensum in norwich in search of a missing woman. gaynor lord, a 55—year—old mother—of—three, has not been seen for a week. the river and wensum park have been the scene of a significant police presence since last friday. this river has been the focus of most of the police activity over the past week. and it's here where a body was discovered this morning. gaynor lord went missing after leaving work early at a department store. she was captured on cctv in the afternoon, walking through norwich city centre, seemingly in a hurry. a member of the public said she saw her in wensum park at around 4:00 and her belongings, including clothes, jewellery and phone, were found in the park later that evening. four days before today's discovery of a body, police have said that they believed she may have entered the river that runs alongside the park.
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we remain open—minded to the circumstances of gaynor�*s disappearance. i am also satisfied at the moment based on the evidence that we have that gaynor did not meet anybody on the way to the park. and we now have a better understanding of her movements through the city centre. formal identification is yet to take place. but police say gaynor lord's family have been informed. the news today has led to a sense of shock and sadness in this tight knit city, where people have been laying flowers. how are you feeling right now? devastated. i mean, when i heard the news not long ago, ijust broke into tears. more answers are expected in the coming days in a case which has prompted so many questions. navteonhal, bbc news, norwich. the body that investigates the most serious safety issues in the nhs has told the bbc that computer failings are causing patient harm. it says it errors have become one of the most pressing issues facing hospital trusts across england
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and is calling for urgent action. the government says the reports are "concerning" and it will work with nhs england to take necessary action. our health correspondent sharon barbour reports. martin dawe had been waiting for weeks for his hospital test results. to see if he could find out any information, he checked his nhs app and was shocked to discover he had three serious medical conditions, including cancer. there were prostate cancer and cirrhosis of the liver and also pulmonary fibrosis. all three of these i have never been told about. i was never informed that i had any of these conditions. i made an appointment with my local gp. i was told that i don't have any of these conditions. it's not on their systems. the words were, "we have no idea why this has not been updated. we can't explain why it's not on your record." but martin isn't the only person to have suffered from problems caused by communications
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and it issues. i think it's a major driver of potential harm to patients. we have seen evidence of patient deaths as a result of it systems not working. the health services safety investigations body, which examines serious incidents across england, says it failures have become a critical issue. we looked at people getting lost in the system after their outpatient appointments and found that was due to different it systems not speaking to each other. and we've also seen impact of delayed diagnosis of important illnesses like cancer. it's a serious problem and it needs urgent action. last year, one of the country's biggest and busiest trusts, guy's and st thomas's in london, suffered a catastrophic failure when their it system went down. a critical incident report showed some patients were put at serious risk after operations were cancelled because doctors couldn't access their records.
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a new £450 million it system has just been launched at the trust. it issues in general are a very big problem. professor mamode was the lead transplant surgeon at st guy's until he retired last year before the critical incident. what we've not been very good at in the nhs is instituting a proper back—up system which is not going to be susceptible to the failures of the it system. it's one of the most urgent issues that the nhs faces. they really need to address it as soon as possible. martin has since been told he doesn't have prostate cancer. tests are now being carried out to see if he does have cirrhosis or pulmonary fibrosis. his local hospital has apologised for the incorrect cancer diagnosis on his app and his gp surgery admits it has been confusing. sharon barbour, bbc news.
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the time is 6:17. our top story this evening... a dramatic legal victory for prince harry as a judge rules his phone was hacked by mirror group newspapers. coming up — a look at how pollution affects our brains. coming up in sport on bbc news — england's struggles with spin bowling continue. a batting collapse sees india women take total control of their one—off test match in mumbai. households in england, wales and scotland could pay extra for energy in order to cover the cost of customers who can't pay their bills. the energy regulator ofgem is proposing to increase the price cap from next april to recover the debt, which would add £16 to the typical household bill. our business correspondent marc ashdown is here to explain.
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energy costs are a major household bill. ofgem sets a cap for the maximum price for unit that companies can charge a typical dual fuel customer. under these proposals it would see an extra £16 a year added to every bill next april. that's to help cover "bad energy debts". the regulator estimates there is £3 billion worth of money owed by people in arrears and struggling to pay it off. so by adding a little bit to everyone's bill the theory is the most vulnerable can be better supported. it expects energy companies to use the money to act to set up payment plans or grant repayment holidays and even write some of this debt off. the extra charge won't apply to those on pre—payment meters. the price cap itself is changed every three months. look how it peaked at around £4,000 a year.
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no—one ever paid that much, thanks to the government's temporary price guarantee. but injanuary the ofgem cap is expected to tick back up by about £100 to £1,928 a year. in april, however, the forecast is for it to drop to £1,816 a year. and we've now been told that figure could end up being even lower. so the average bill should be coming down in the spring, even with the extra £16 added. millions of people though are still struggling. this graph shows the average amount of debt for people who've sought help. it's been rising and rising. as it stands the average amount is £1,841 for household. so clearly a lot of people need help with their energy bills and that might mean the majority of households pay a bit extra on theirs. reeta.
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there's been an alarming rise in the number of very young children in scotland escaping from nursery school care. new figures for last year show two children a week, on average, went missing eitherfrom nursery or while on trips. a mother — whose three—year—old son got out of his nursery and was nearly hit by a bus — says the early years sector needs to get a grip of a growing problem. andrew picken reports. walk the plank! walk the plank. mummy, keep saying, "walk the plank." ok, walk the plank. another adventure for river wood under the watchful eye of mum kayleigh. but it was a different story last august. he told me... he's like, "it's ok, mum, i crossed the road by myself." this tiny speck circled is three—year—old river escaping from his nursery in aberdeen without staff noticing. into the sea! woo! the bit that really... kind of got me really worried was that he told me that a bus nearly hit him. i have now had people who were on the bus to confirm that the bus did nearly hit him. he talks about it quite frequently.
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it's been over a year, now and it's quite a frequent conversation that he has about how scared he was and he just wanted mummy. reliving the what—ifs is very... very traumatic. river passed by one of the main routes into the city before he was stopped by a stranger who took him home. the number of incidents where a child in a nursery went missing or was unaccounted for is increasing. reports to scotland's childcare watchdog went from 88 two years ago to 119 in the last financial year, and the number of incidents is on course to rise again. the care inspectorate says it's working with operators to understand what is going wrong and how the trend can be reversed. the early years sector says high staff turnover rates, but also post—pandemic changes, have contributed to the problem. now you've got more people coming back into the... to a nursery setting, which is great for those... those interactions with parents. at the same time, it means, you know, a lot more in and out, a lot more opportunities for things
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like this to happen. aberdeen city council, which runs the nursery where river escaped from, has apologised to the family and has said it has since made improvements. but river is still feeling the impact of the incident. he sleeps in my bed most nights. he'll wake up saying he's had a bad dream about the situation. he's just... he's not the same boy that i used to have. kayleigh kilpatrick ending that report by andrew picken. the hungarian prime minister has warned that he could stop future attempts by the european union to send money to ukraine. last night viktor orban blocked plans for the eu to send more than £40 billion worth of aid to kyiv. ukraine is critically dependent on eu and us funding as it continues to fight occupying russian forces. a woman whose body was found at the site of an explosion on an industrial estate in treforest, south wales, has been named by police. the family of danielle evans, who was 40, have paid tribute to her, describing her
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as a "beautiful soul". the cause of the explosion is being investigated. a 22—year—old man has beenjailed for life for his plans to attack a christian activist at speaker's corner in london. counter—terrorism police said that edward little was only ten minutes from buying a gun when he was arrested in a taxi with a bag containing more than £5,000. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports from the old bailey. this was edward little being interviewed by police after his arrest. tell me, is that another reason for choosing that target? - a question that led him to punch the officer in the eye. strike, strike. he'd been arrested five days earlier in south london while on his way to buy a gun. the money, more than £5,000, was on the back seat of the cab he'd taken from brighton. in encrypted phone calls, little had discussed killing a christian activist who criticised
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islam, shooting soldiers and police officers, and even attacking the queen's funeral. he was intent on carrying out a terrorist attack. the fact that we stopped him within ten minutes of him acquiring the firearm shows just how intense and how dangerous he was. this was the gun he was on his way to buy, through contacts he'd made while in prison for knife and drugs offences. do i look like muhammad? his intended target, hatun tash on the left here, is a christian activist who makes provocative anti—islam speeches and has been attacked before by other men. shouting the murder was to take place at speaker's corner in hyde park. she was to be killed along with anyone who was with her and any police officers or soldiers in the area. she sentenced edward little to life with a minimum term of 16 years behind bars. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the old bailey.
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the emmerdale actor steve halliwell, who played zak dingle in the yorkshire—based soap, has died. he was 77. known for his flat cap, wellies and wax jacket, steve halliwell played the head of the dingle household for 27 years. before retraining as an actor, steve halliwell had worked in cotton and paper mills. the effects of air pollution on our hearts and lungs are well—documented — but there's growing evidence that different pollutants also affect our brains. a team of scientists is trying to work out which everyday elements have the worst effect. our science editor rebecca morelle has been to see the study getting underway. breathing in polluted air in the name of science. briony evans is a volunteer at this manchester university lab, where scientists are trying to learn about the impact of fumes on the brain. here we've got everything that we need to conduct the experiments, to expose the participants to air pollution.
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the team is looking at four different kinds of pollution — diesel from an engine, cleaning products, wood smoke and cooking fumes from a pork chop. the pollutants are carefully measured and piped into a giant plastic bag. are you feeling ok? the volunteers are exposed to a different fume on every visit to see which ones have the biggest effect on the brain. you could imagine that we find that wood burning is worse than diesel, is worse than cooking, for example. this would then allow people to make lifestyle choices about their exposure to the different pollutants. the world health organization says that almost all of the global population — 99% — are breathing in air that exceeds the who limits on common air pollutants, and the combined effects of outdoor and indoor air pollution is contributing to seven million premature deaths every year. this makes it the leading environmental cause of premature death.
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are you ready? begin. the participants carry out cognitive tests before and after their exposure. while we know how air quality affects the lungs and heart, less is known about the brain. the quality of the air you breathe, over the long term, is associated with increased risks of mental illness, poor cognitive development in children, and dementia. so what we're trying to do in this study is understand not the nature of the association, but why there's an association. deep breath in, and blast it out. taking part in the experiments is a big commitment, but one that briony says is worth it. anything that can be done to find out things that cause us damage just in our normal way of life, that can be changed, seems like a really valuable thing to do. it will take several months to analyse the data, but the results could mean we think differently about how our everyday activities affect the air we breathe. rebecca morelle, bbc news.
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hundreds of people have gathered at the sydney opera house to celebrate the life of barry humphries — also known of course as dame edna everage. among those sending tributes were sir eltonjohn, who remembered humphries as "a great friend", and king charles, who said "life really won't be the same." our correspondent phil mercer reports. one of australia's brightest stars has been remembered as a comic genius. hello, possums. yes, it's me, dame edna, and aren't i looking gorgeous?! barry humphries introduced the world to many brilliant. and unforgettable characters. the state memorial at the sydney opera house brought together family, friends and hundreds of fans. well, it's in honour of edna, of course, and the extraordinary talent of barry humphries. yeah, we idolised him.
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there were tributes from royalty to music and comedy. king charles said in a message that barry humphries was a cultured and erudite man who, through his creations, punctured pomposity. dame edna everage! hello, possums! his most irrepressible creation was dame edna, an outrageous suburban housewife who would define his career. barry humphries was one of the funniest people in the world, but you all know that. but he was also one of the kindest and most generous person to me. we always hit it off. we always got on so well. he was the best. he was the master. there is nobody better than barry humphries. the prime minister anthony albanese said this comedic giant brought such joy to every part of australia...
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# why do i love australia? ..and showered it upon the world. phil mercer, bbc news, at the sydney opera house. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. we have had a stunning sunset across the north—east of england over the last hour or so, this particular one was from gateshead but we have had scenes like those reported in parts of yorkshire and even the east midlands. it is across eastern england and to a degree is in scotland where we still have cold air stagnated by dental weekend it is set to get a lot milder for these areas with temperatures climbing into double figures. we have seen those temperatures across the west today. that won't change much of night. we will keep extensive cloud around, drizzle particularly in scotland and around some western coasts and hills. temperatures overnight around 8—11. this weekend we get a weather front that gets
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stuck across the north—west of

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