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tv   BBC News  BBC News  January 18, 2024 9:30am-10:01am GMT

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this is bbc news. the headlines: a bill to deport some asylum seekers from the uk to rwanda passes a vote in the house of commons — the pm calls it a �*major step' to stop migrants boats crossing the english channel. we're expecting a news conference from the prime minister injust over an hour — at downing street — and we'll head there live when that starts. the us military carries out a fourth round of airstrikes against yemen's houthis — just hours after the group struck an american ship. as violence rises in the occupied west bank, evidence suggests four brothers killed by an israeli air strike were palestinian civilians — posing no threat. qatar says a consignment of medicines for israeli hostages held by hamas and humanitarian aid for palestinians has entered gaza.
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it's the first to arrive as part of an agreement between israel and hamas which was mediated by qatar and france. dozens of israeli hostages are expected to receive the medication. a senior member of hamas tweeted on wednesday, that for every box of medicine earmarked for the hostages, a thousand boxes would be delivered for gaza residents. meanwhile, witnesses have told the bbc that four brothers — killed earlier this month by an israeli air strike in the occupied west bank — were palestinian civilians who posed no threat to israeli forces. violence in the territory has been rising. the un says more than 300 palestinians have been killed by the israeli army in the west bank, since the hamas attacks in october. our middle east correspondent, lucy williamson, has been to investigate the killing of the four brothers, which happened hours after a 19—year—old israeli officer was killed during clashes with palestinian groups injenin. gunshots, sirens. the war is in gaza, but it's hard to miss
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the warnings coming from west bank cities likejenin. since the hamas attacks, the israeli army has come intojenin again and again and again, determined to root out hamas and its sympathisers. armed groups here, determined to resist. those armed groups proudly claim any members killed in israeli operations as martyrs for their cause. none have claimed the four darweesh brothers, killed in an israeli air strike ten days ago. their mother's first gesture on seeing where they died — to tidy a little. translation: i wanted to come and imagine where each - of them was sitting. alaa was there. ahmad, rami and hazza were here.
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there were the other martyrs. i wanted to see exactly where my sons were. the men, all in their 20s, were filmed by a security camera sitting around a fire with three of their extended family as the air strike happened. one of the first paramedics on the scene is convinced they were doing nothing wrong. translation: there was no sign of any clashes or confrontation. l not shooting, not throwing stones. was there anything you saw that could explain why these men were killed? translation: there was nothing. they had no weapons. they were drinking coffee by the fire. they were wearing slippers and pyjamas. we asked the israeli army why the men were targeted. it said an aircraft struck a terrorist squad that hurled
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explosives at israeli forces, and sent us this video. the black flashes near the passing vehicle, consistent with explosives, analysts say. witnesses said soldiers drove through the village 15 minutes to an hour before the strike took place. we asked the army when their footage was filmed. it said it had nothing to add. their mother, ibtesam, found all four sons in the hospital morgue. the family showed us israeli entry permits for two of them. no—one israel sees as a security threat would have them. translation: they took my whole family away. i who can i complain to when alll countries are supporting israel? if they wanted to do anything, they would have helped - the children in gaza. my sons are under the soil now, and no—one stood with them. i
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in the village cemetery, her caresses and her questions go unanswered. this is a place she can take her grief. but her anger has nowhere to go. lucy williamson, bbc news, jenin. more now on the public sector worker strikes in northern ireland in what trade unions are calling the biggest walkout for a generation. co—ordinated action between 16 trade unions sees workers walking out in ongoing disputes over pay. live now to chris page, our ireland correspondent. what has the impact been? well, the im act is what has the impact been? well, the impact is going _ what has the impact been? well, the impact is going to _ what has the impact been? well, the impact is going to be _ what has the impact been? well, the impact is going to be extremely - impact is going to be extremely significant. most people in northern ireland say they really can't remember a day like this at all. schools are shut, buses and trains are running, civil servants have walked out, as indeed have health workers. i am outside the royal
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victoria hospital, the royal college of nursing picket lines just behind me. otherworkers of nursing picket lines just behind me. other workers on strike include radiographers, midwives, clerical staff, so that will of course have an effect on services in the health service here. the unions say this is a last resort. their main issue is paid, particularly, they say, the fact their pay has fallen well are behind their counterparts in the rest of the uk in recent years. the background to all of those, there is currently no devolved government in northern ireland, there hasn't been a formal power—sharing in belfast for the best part of two years now. the democratic unionist party is vetoing a power—sharing administration because of its concerns over those brexit trade barriers between northern ireland and the rest of the uk, which as unionists, they say, is unacceptable to them. the british government has said that if devolution does get back up and running, it will provide
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extra funding, including more than half £1 billion the public sector pay increases. but it says that money is only going to become available if the dup drops its veto and the devolved government does come back. unions say they are basically caught in the middle of a political game. they and indeed the main political parties here in northern ireland say the british government should release that money for public sector workers right now. so you can expect to hear plenty of messages along those lines, particularly i think to the british government in london today that the workers here are taking part in marches and rallies. the biggest will be in belfast city centre this lunchtime and warning going out from picket lines here and indeed from those demonstrations will be that if the public sector pay disputes are not settled and settled quickly, more industrial action will follow. given what you said about there being no devolved government, there
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is nobody to step in and knock heads together, how did they resolve all this? , , , , together, how did they resolve all this? , ,, , ., ., this? yes, well, the issues around the absence _ this? yes, well, the issues around the absence of— this? yes, well, the issues around the absence of the _ this? yes, well, the issues around the absence of the devolved - the absence of the devolved government really are centred from the fallout from brexit. so very separate, i suppose, from the issue around public sector pay but that issue of public sector pay has really become the biggest issue domestically here. there have been strikes, there has been industrial actions that have really been escalating over the course of the two years, when ministers in stormont have been in place. so the british government in london has said public sector pay is a devolved matter. so therefore it can only be settled, they say, by devolved investors in belfast. but as regards the resolution of the dispute, the problems that have led to the absence of devolved government, there is no sign of that changing anytime soon. the dup says its
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concerns haven't been met and therefore it is going to stay out of government, prevent a devolved government, prevent a devolved government from coming back until its concerns are satisfied. so really northern ireland is in a sense of limbo. you talk to anybody working in public services, they will say things are decaying because of a lack of leadership, lack of decision—making on these issues around the wages of public sector workers has become something of a rod in public feeling around all of this. , ., rod in public feeling around all of this. , . ., ~ , ., , this. chris page, thank you very much. for nearly 80 years, scientists have indicated how close the world is to global catastrophe, using something called the doomsday clock. the idea began to warn humanity of the dangers of nuclear war — with midnight marking the theoretical point of annihilation. our reporterjane corbin has more. north korea has threatened to detonate a hydrogen bomb over the pacific. president putin has ordered russia's strategic nuclear forces to be... every year, there's a meeting to assess the risk of global catastrophe and set the doomsday clock. it's a metaphor of how close
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we are to nuclear armageddon. a scary thought, but the scientists hope it will alert the public and pressure leaders to make the world a safer place. in 2023, the hands were set at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest they've ever been, in large part because of russia's war in ukraine. in chicago, we've had exclusive access to the bulletin of atomic scientists, meeting to discuss where to set the clock for this year. this is a very dangerous time. we have moved from a period where nuclear weapons were considered unusable. we're seeming to move into a period of time where we're not so sure. every major country, uk included, is investing in their nuclear arsenal. but nevertheless, no nuclear weapon has been used for 70, 80 years. people would say, "isn't this scare mongering? there's no way we're moving towards that again." people would be wrong to say there's no way we're moving towards that again. here, in scotland, the uk's nuclear deterrent is on constant alert. the warheads are placed on top of
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trident ballistic missiles, housed inside one of four vanguard submarines. somewhere out there. there's a heck of a lot at stake. yes. the whole point of the nuclear deterrent is that it's never actually fired. people say, "oh, you know, it's a weapon system that would never be used." it's been used at the moment. as we speak, at the moment, there is a nuclear deterrent out there. the vladimir putins of this world know that it's out there and they know that it's credible and that we could use it if needs be. in 2021, the uk government announced that it's increasing the cap on the number of its warheads. that it's increasing the cap recent suggestions us nuclear bombs may once again be based in britain has provoked disarmament protests at raf lakenheath in suffolk, highlighting the continuing tension around nuclear weapons. the world is in a far more dangerous
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situation, precisely because of what's happening in ukraine, so we feel adding more nuclear bombs to that situation is not going to make it safer. next week, the bulletin of atomic scientists will reveal where the hands of the doomsday clock will be set for 202a. jane corbin, bbc news, chicago. never before seen images have been released of colossus — the uks secret code—breaking computer — credited with helping the allies win world war two. they've been published to mark the 80th anniversary of the device's invention, and shed new light on the piece of machinery that was kept a secret, for six decades. our reporter tim muffett has more. this is colossus. this was the very first digital electronic computer. if world war ii was won on the battlefield, it was shortened and made easier by work done
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here at bletchley park. it's where nazi codes were cracked and countless allied lives saved, and where, 80 years ago today, colossus arrived, ready to begin its vital work. it had a massive impact on the length of the war. colossus was secret, and it was kept secret, until about 1976. it wasn't formally acknowledged by uk intelligence services until the early 2000s. the original machines were dismantled or destroyed after the war. but colossus has been painstakingly rebuilt at the national museum of computing at bletchley park. colossus was not used to crack the enigma code. that was done using a different machine, called the bomb, co—designed by alan turing. the role of colossus was to help codebreakers understand messages being sent between hitler
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and his generals, and those messages were using a different secret code, called lorenz. it was more sophisticated than enigma, which had been used to disguise lower—level messages, sent amongst members of the german armed forces. well, that's the encrypted message. in order to read that message, you need to find out the starting position of all 12 wheels that the operator set the lorenz machine to. you have to look for patterns. these are the starting position of the wheels you're working on. that point, you can take the message and put it onto a machine and that will decode it. the genesis of computing in the modern world could be attributed back to what was going on at bletchley park. we've been given rare access to the cheltenham headquarters of gchq — the uk's intelligence security and cyber agency.
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today, it's releasing previously unseen photographs, as well as documents and letters about colossus. in 19114, the material that we were getting off this cipher was gold dust. you know, all the german commanders, the senior generals and the thoughts about moving divisions across europe. it was a massive game changer for the allies. newsreel: the dawn ofjune the 6th comes up like thunder _ over the invasion coast. in the run—up to d—day, the allies had been trying to convince hitler they might land somewhere other than normandy, pas—de—calais, perhaps. newsreel: this is it. they're on the beach. colossus provided intelligence that showed hitler had been duped and was unclear where or when the landings would be. that helped convince allied commander general eisenhower to go ahead. have you heard of chatgpt? no, i haven't. 100—year—old betty webb is a bletchley park veteran.
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last year, we filmed her as she interacted with artificial intelligence for the first time. so we're going to take that paragraph and we're going to translate it into german, which i think would have shortened quite a lot of the effort if we had it back in those days. very fast indeed. amazing. i had no idea. certainly, gchq now is transformed massively with the rise of ai and other technologies, but this is a really good example of how that started. colossus was a groundbreaker and a life—saver — an 80—year—old piece of technology that helped change history. tim muffett, bbc news. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. this may look like a pleasant video of wildlife frolicking in the forest of wildlife frolicking in the forest of dean but take a closer look at this dear�*s head. the
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of dean but take a closer look at this dear's head.— of dean but take a closer look at this dear's head. the orb is centred from the side _ this dear's head. the orb is centred from the side of _ this dear's head. the orb is centred from the side of the _ this dear's head. the orb is centred from the side of the back— this dear's head. the orb is centred from the side of the back of- this dear's head. the orb is centred from the side of the back of the - from the side of the back of the head, sealed off and gone between. behind the ear. so then it is hanging out. we behind the ear. so then it is hanging out-— behind the ear. so then it is hanuain out. ~ ,, ., hanging out. we know the tempo macrus survive _ hanging out. we know the tempo macrus survive for _ hanging out. we know the tempo macrus survive for three - hanging out. we know the tempo macrus survive for three weeks. l hanging out. we know the tempo l macrus survive for three weeks. he didn't get a clear photo of it back then so he came back recently and within five minutes, found the deer and took this video. deeply moved by what he had seen, dave handed the video to police. i what he had seen, dave handed the video to police.— video to police. i felt sorry for it, i really _ video to police. i felt sorry for it, i really did. _ video to police. i felt sorry for it, i really did. that _ video to police. i felt sorry for it, i really did. that board - video to police. i felt sorry for i it, i really did. that board could have totally missed, could have gone into the dense part of the forest and hit somebody. for into the dense part of the forest and hit somebody.— into the dense part of the forest and hit somebody. for more stories across the uk. _ and hit somebody. for more stories across the uk, head _ and hit somebody. for more stories across the uk, head to _ and hit somebody. for more stories across the uk, head to the - and hit somebody. for more stories across the uk, head to the bbc- and hit somebody. for more stories. across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. the scale of flytipping on public land in england has been revealed, in new government data. there were more than one million fly—tipping incidents last year
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according to the latest figures from the department for the environment, farming and rural affairs. this report from mark ansell. flytipping is a scourge on the landscape. a team is permanently on the go in barnsley, dealing with dumped rubbish. construction, stuff like this. doors, windows. it's just easy for people to come and tip because it's quiet. it's a shame. but it's just the easy way out for people. how much would that cost to tip? it would cost a fortune to tip. just easy tip it and let council pick it up. anecdotally, they've seen a rise in fly—tipping here since covid. they've cleared up most of the fly—tip rubbish here. but the sad fact is that they'll be back here again next week because the flytipping just keeps coming. and coming. the council has a stark warning for perpetrators. barnsley streets are
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not your rubbish bin. barnsley's parks and open spaces are not your rubbish bin. we will investigate you. we will seize and crush your vehicle. we will prosecute you. the stats show that bradford has the biggest problem with flytipping in yorkshire, with more than 15,000 incidents from 2022—23. but the lister community action group has transformed their area from a flytipping hotspot to a place where they hold parties. they've put in planters, gates and cctv and it's worked. looking out the window, it's initially a huge, massive fires with cars burning. then we had a huge, massive pile of rubble right in the centre here. you would not believe it as this what it is now. so the commercial waste has completely disappeared with the with the installation of the gates. we have like little bits of litter that we get into the kennel, but on the whole it's greatly reduced and we're very, very,
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very happy about that. it's a pleasant route now. and i take it myself — i used to avoid coming up here if i was getting from willmar road to heaton road and up towards the mill. but it's attractive. in scarborough, burger bar owner jamie is constantly having to clean up flytipping in their car park. he's now invested in cctv cameras to try to deter people from dumping rubbish. it's household rubbish, it's dirty nappies, it's pizza boxes, it's empty mail bottles. it's all sorts, old toys and stuff. so you can tell it's definitely household like family rubbish. it's disgusting, to be honest, and especially because we're the ones that have to clean it up every time. back with the team in barnsley, and it's notjust the country roads that are blighted with rubbish — in between the houses is also impacted. they'll be back again tomorrow to do it all again. the battle against
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flytipping is never ending. we are keeping an eye on a news conference the prime minister is due to give at downing street after passing his rwanda bill. an inquiry has been launched, after toddler and his father were found dead at a property in lincolnshire. two—year—old bronson battersby is thought to have died of starvation, after his dad kenneth suffered a fatal heart attack, leaving him alone. our reporter crispin rolfe has more. 60—year—old dad kenneth and his two—year—old son, bronson battersby. the father and son's bodies were found here at kenneth's flat, just off the main attractions in skegness. one family friend spoke off camera to say that this was a boy, who was loved, his needs were met and this was just a series of u nfortu nate events. but now what's under scrutiny is how those events led to the death of the two—year—old toddler. on the 2nd ofjanuary, a social worker arrived at the flat,
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we're told, but there was no answer. they alerted the police. two days later, a social worker went back again. again, no response. on the 9th of january, the social worker tried again and when there was no response this time, the landlord helped them gain entry, by which time it was too late, as neighbours remember. all i can tell you is the events as they were unfolding appeared to get steadily worse. but we didn't learn about the body — most of the residents — until later in the evening. i actually found that out from a neighbour myself. it must have come as a shock. yeah, it was. tributes to bronson are now being paid, but with an inquest still to start, investigations are also beginning into the roles of lincolnshire police and lincolnshire county council. what's really important in cases like this, which are just so tragic, is that we understand exactly what's happened. so what will happen through the review is we will bring together all of the agencies that are relevant to this case
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and to this... these aspects of the case and we will understand exactly what's happened. lincolnshire police have also referred themselves to the independent office of police conduct with ultimately questions about how bronson battersby came to die in skegness just after christmas. crispin rolfe, bbc news. many young children have grown up playing with a dolls' house, but can you imagine one complete with electricity, working lifts and running water? that's what was built for king george v and his wife queen mary, as a gift from the nation after the first world war — and now it's going on display, to celebrate its 100th anniversary. our royal correspondent, daniela relph has been to take a look. forget any ideas of a traditional doll�*s house you play with. this is the bigger royal version that's now 100 years old, made
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for queen mary, king charles's great grandmother, it reflects a lavish lifestyle. this is the wine cellar. these bottles, the size of thumbnails, really are filled with wine. in the miniature playroom, there is a miniature train set and toys. in the library, the shelves are filled with books created by the most popular authors of the time. a copy of country life magazine has been casually cast aside. when you get to the kitchen, even the products used have been accurately sourced. every detail was pored over to show a privileged life in the 1920s under the reign of king george v. the dolls' house was designed to promote british brand in the years after the first world war. a way to showcase the very best
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in craftmanship before being moved to windsor castle. the 100—year anniversary exhibition will allow visitors to see some of that craftsmanship up close. they'll get a sense of scale, and will be able to compare the smaller items to the real thing. in the 1920s, the vacuum cleaner was a relatively new invention. hoover themselves made a mini version for the dolls' house, one of several pieces that were more useful than extravagant. this was actually made by singer. and you can see that it's absolutely made correctly as a real full sized sewing machine would be made. so all the wheels turn, the treadle works properly and it's properly hinged. so the little flaps work up. if i take off the tiny little scissors, you canjust see how how it folds up and the scissors actually work as well. they do. i've tried them on a piece of paper and they do actually properly cut,
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of course, amongst the ordinary, it's highly valuable — these are scaled down crown jewels. they include real diamonds and a ruby. then the elaborately decorated grand piano. look inside it and you see it's been properly strung. it is a dolls' house like no other, a scaled down insight into an aristocratic world and the skill and precision of british craftsmanship. daniela ralph, bbc news, windsor castle. now it is time for a look at the weather. hello again. we started with a bitterly cold morning, leading us into another bitterly cold day and really through today and tomorrow, it's going to remain cold. there'll be further snow showers, especially so in the north of the country, with some blizzards and drifting. into the weekend, it turns much milder than it has been, but it's going to be wet and windy. so the met office amber weather warning still in force for the far north of scotland and the northern
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isles. we could see a further 5 to 15 centimetres of snow, with blizzards and drifting. 5 to 10 centimetres coming out of some of the snow showers in northern ireland and a few wintry showers across the irish sea and the north sea coastline, making it inland at times. but despite the fact most of us will have a dry day with some sunshine, it's still going to feel cold. as we head through the latter part of the afternoon and into the evening and overnight, further snow showers across the isle of man into north—west england, wales, cheshire, possibly even as far south as the midlands. but the showers, not all of us will see them, and we'll have more snow showers coming in across scotland. but the wind is going to change direction to more of a westerly. so it's not going to be as cold along the coasts. you can see the greens here move inland. we're looking at another widespread frost and another cold night. so tomorrow, we start off with a lot of dry and sunny conditions. initially, the snow will be at low levels in scotland, but through the day it will rise into the hills above about 400 metres or so and quite a brisk wind, as well.
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temperatures, 1 in lerwick to a high of 6 as we push down towards the south of england and wales. so temperatures are going to be higher than they have been, but it will still feel cold. and then as we head on into the weekend the weather changes, we start to have more of an atlantic influence, with strong winds, gales, even severe gales at times and weather fronts bringing in some rain. so this is a picture on saturday. the rain coming in from the west pushing generally eastwards. we're also looking at drier conditions, brighter conditions in the far south—east. but it is going to be a windy day wherever you are. but note the temperatures, 6 to 9 degrees. it's been quite a while since we've seen temperatures at that level. and if anything, as we head on into sunday and monday, temperatures are going to continue to rise. but on sunday, we're looking at more rain, some heavy rain and also strong winds with some melting snow, too, which could lead to some local flooding.
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live from london. this is bbc news a bill to deport some asylum seekers from the uk to rwanda passes a vote in the house of commons — rishi sunak calls it a "major step" to stop migrants boats crossing the english channel. we're expecting a news conference from the prime minister in just over 15 minutes — at downing street — we'll head there live when that starts. pakistan carries out overnight strikes on what it calls �*terrorist hideouts' in iran's border province — two days after iranian attacks on pakistani soil. hello, i'm lauren taylor. the uk prime minister, rishi sunak, is shortly to speak about the rwanda asylum policy.
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last night, he saw off a rebellion of right wing conservatives —

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