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tv   The Context  BBC News  January 19, 2024 8:30pm-9:01pm GMT

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she hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. you're watching the context on bbc news. measles cases soar in england, as doctors warn it could spread rapidly across the uk unless there's urgent action to increase uptake of the mmr vaccine. will it's that time in the programme where we get a full round—up of the latest sport. hello from the bbc sport centre. jordan henderson has hinted he has regrets about his move to saudi arabia but says he has full respect for the league and his team al—ettifaq after they cancelled his contract to allow him to move to ajax. he's held his first press conference since signing for the side, who are currently struggling in the dutch league.
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he's hoping the move will improve his chances of playing for england at this summer's euros. today he reiterated his apology to the lgbtq plus community and anyone upset by his move from liverpool to saudi in the summer, and says he's looking forward to the challenge ahead at his new club. i just felt as though this opportunity was a huge one, and i felt as though this was the right next move for my career and what i wanted to do. obviously it was a big decision, with how long i'd been out in saudi. but they fully respected the decision and i was just thankful that it was handled in the right way. brentford's ivan toney has been handed the captain's armband for his return to football in their premier league game against nottingham forest on saturday. brentford boss thomas frank confirmed toney will skipper the team on his comeback fom an eight—month ban for breaching betting rules. that's because captain christian norgaard is unavailable. toney has been linked with a move
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to other clubs injanuary, but his manager is hopeful he'll still be a brentford player when the window closes in just under two weeks. it's 99—point—something that he'll stay here. football is crazy, you never know what will happen tomorrow. he's very committed to being here, to helping the team. i spoke with him yesterday about it — that's the only thing on his mind, we just have that .o—something number of craziness in football that you can't rule out. he wants to stay here and help the team, and we want to keep him. inter milan and lazio are facing off in the semi—finals of the italian super cup in riyadh. the winners will go on to play serie a champions napoli, who beat fiorentina 3—0 on thursday. it's currently 2—0 there, marcus thuram and hakan calhanoglu with the goals for inter. at the asian cup, iran
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are through to the round of 16 after beating hong kong i—o. while iraq stunned favourites japan to reach the knockout stages after two goals from aymen hussein's in the first half. it means japan must now avoid defeat against indonesia in theirfinal group game if they are to go through. at the africa cup of nations, defending champions senegal booked their place in the last 16 with a 3—1 win over cameroon in group c. the other game in group c, guinea are currently taking on gambia — it's goalless in that one. before that, cape verde beat mozambique to become the first team to advance from the group stage. cameron young will take a three—shot lead into the weekend at the dubai desert classic after firing a stunning 64 on day two. the world number 25 is making his debut at this event but has made himself right at home, carding 14 birdies and an eagle over the first two rounds
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to get to 13—under. young was level par after his first 12 holes of the week, but picked up 14 shots in his next 22 to fly up the leaderboard. and before we go just time to tell you that teenage darts sensation luke littler has won the bahrain masters, beating michael van gerwen 8—5, in just his second professional tournament. more of that on the bbc sport website, but that's all the sport for now. the boss of fujitsu's european operations has admitted that although the company knew for �*many, many years' of bugs and errors in the computer system, details of this were not included in witness statements by fujitsu employees which were used to prosecute subpostmasters. hundreds of subpostmasters were prosecuted for theft and false accounting because of the faulty horizon system.
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here's our business correspondent, emma simpson. the evidence i shall give... the fujitsu boss answering more questions, but this time under oath. the whole truth... and nothing but the truth. paul patterson admitted there were problems with the horizon computer system spanning two decades. right from the very start of deployment of this system, there were bugs and errors and defects which were well—known to all parties. but these issues remained hidden from the courts in the post office action against sub—postmasters. i'm surprised that that detail was not included in the witness statements given by fujitsu staff to the post office, and i have seen some evidence of editing of witness statements by others. no doubt you would regard that as shameful? iwould... yes, that would be one word i would use.
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what's the other one? shameful, appalling. my understanding of how our laws work in this country, that all of the evidence should have been put in front of the sub—postmaster. the inquiry heard last month that post office lawyers and investigators had rewritten witness statements. today, they also looked at some of the bugs, one big one, calendar square, created duplicate transactions and it took fujitsu more than five years to fix it. fujitsu was also under contract to provide transaction data to the post office in its legal pursuit of sub—postmasters. the material was supposed to allow brands managers to see if horizon was working properly. but even when this crucial data was provided, the inquiry heard it wasn't always accurate or complete. we have clearly let society down and the sub—postmasters down. when we had our obligations to the post office to be at the front of everything that
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we're doing, and that was wrong. lee castleton was bankrupted by the post office. a fujitsu expert witness told thejudge in his case there was nothing wrong with horizon at his branch. so what did he think today? i'm sure, you know, he means it, i'm not saying that he doesn't, but it's about doing things, it's about actions. some of the victims want to meet the fujitsu boss to discuss assistance and support. he said he would be happy to, apologising again for his company's part in their suffering. emma simpson, bbc news. the head of the uk's health security agency is warning that measles could spread rapidly in parts of the uk unless more children are vaccinated. it says vaccination rates are well below what's recommended. measles is highly contagious and can lead to serious complications including meningitis, blindness, and seizures. more than 200 cases of the disease
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have been confirmed in the west midlands recently. here's our health editor, hugh pym. a vaccination bus out on the road today, promoting the benefits and offering a range of vaccines in a london borough. the capital has the lowest rate of take—up in england for mmr jabs with protection against measles and officials are appealing for more families to come forward. the message to parents is measles is a serious disease, it is highly contagious and can cause serious illness and all cases of measles are preventable through vaccination. there are growing concerns in the west midlands with more than 200 confirmed cases since october. this primary school in coventry has organised catch—up vaccination sessions after two pupils were taken to hospital with measles. they have since recovered. health leaders are warning there will be outbreaks in other regions unless urgent action is taken to boost vaccinations. the real seriousness is it is growing and the cases over the last three years have more or less doubled and we are now up
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to around 1600 cases, suspected cases, in the last year. we are seeing no decline in that. there are two doses of the jab protecting against measles, usually given when a child is very young. health officials say 95% need to be vaccinated, but by the time to get to school thousands of children have only had one. in scotland and wales they were on target with first doses for five—year—olds, but northern ireland and england were lagging behind. within the english regions there are wide variations for take—up of both doses and the north—east has consistently been on target. the west midlands has seen a steady decline in recent years, london has seen the worst falls with a far lower proportion of children being given the jab than elsewhere. what is behind the trend? one theory is people have forgotten how serious measles is. it is easily spread through coughs and sneezes and in rare cases can be
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fatal and there can be cultural reasons why people are hesitant. the nhs was to offer reassurance. the nhs wants to offer reassurance. there are other vaccines available that do not have any derivative ingredients from pork which are safe to be given from those of the muslim faith or others who don't want any pork or animal products in their vaccine. local councils are using social media to reach different communities here in somali. adults as well as children can be vulnerable to measles and the message from health authorities is to encourage people who have not already done so to get theirjabs. the outbreak of measles isn't confined to the uk. another country facing an escalation in the number of infections is the democratic republic of congo. the authorities in the drc say they have insufficient resources to respond to a measles epidemics, and there are fears
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that the outbreak could spread to neighbouring countries. live now to aline napon, national director at world vision drc. a humanitarian aid organisation, which declared category 3 national response. thanks very much forjoining us here on bbc news. first of all, explain what a category three national response is? what a category three national resnonse is?— what a category three national resonse is? . ~ ,, , . what a category three national resonse is? . ~ , . ., response is? thank you very much for this opportunity- _ response is? thank you very much for this opportunity. we _ response is? thank you very much for this opportunity. we have _ response is? thank you very much for this opportunity. we have declared i this opportunity. we have declared that a category three crisis and this means that we are going to use enough resources to handle the situation and it also means that there are many people that are affected and it also means that it's, it has been declared as a national disaster and the national country level. flan national disaster and the national country level-— country level. can you give us an idea of the _ country level. can you give us an idea of the scale _ country level. can you give us an idea of the scale of— country level. can you give us an idea of the scale of the - country level. can you give us an idea of the scale of the probleml idea of the scale of the problem in
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drc? in idea of the scale of the problem in drc? , ., ., ~ ., drc? in drc, we are talking about total number of— drc? in drc, we are talking about total number of cases _ drc? in drc, we are talking about total number of cases of _ drc? in drc, we are talking about total number of cases of over - drc? in drc, we are talking about - total number of cases of over 300000 and we have a total of people who died of around 5700. and what is really dramatic is most of the children under five are the most affected. a , , ., children under five are the most affected. , , ., . ., affected. mainly small children of around this _ affected. mainly small children of around this age. _ affected. mainly small children of around this age. that's _ affected. mainly small children of around this age. that's a - affected. mainly small children of i around this age. that's a staggering number. are these preventable deaths? ., number. are these preventable deaths? . �*, , ., , deaths? yeah, it's preventable, because if— deaths? yeah, it's preventable, because if we _ deaths? yeah, it's preventable, because if we do _ deaths? yeah, it's preventable, because if we do enough - deaths? yeah, it's preventable, - because if we do enough awareness raising, if we do enough... training
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of health people, i think we can come and do enough vaccination, i think we can come and reduce the number of people affected. i think what is really a reason of people not going to do vaccination while we are knowing, you know, with vaccination you know, has a good potential if you are protecting people of around 85% you know, we have cultural leaves you know, that makes people think that being scared of going to do vaccination. we also have some churches that are really encouraging people to pray rather than going to vaccination. sometimes its access issues. you know, the place where the vaccination is taking place is quite far. some
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other things, taking place is quite far. some otherthings, but taking place is quite far. some other things, but mainly it's ignorance. and that's why awareness raising on vaccination, on the importance of vaccination, is really key. importance of vaccination, is really ke . �* ., , importance of vaccination, is really ke . �* . , key. and as the government giving enou:h key. and as the government giving enough funds _ key. and as the government giving enough funds to _ key. and as the government giving enough funds to this? _ key. and as the government giving enough funds to this? do - key. and as the government giving enough funds to this? do you - enough funds to this? do you need more help globally to get enough vaccines and get enough supports to make sure that children in particular who are being impacted are protected?— are protected? some efforts have been done _ are protected? some efforts have been done and _ are protected? some efforts have been done and there _ are protected? some efforts have been done and there is _ are protected? some efforts have been done and there is a - are protected? some efforts have been done and there is a plan - are protected? some efforts have| been done and there is a plan that has been draughted at national level that funding is still an issue. you know, to be able to respond globally to this crises. at sea level, we have also developed a plan because it's a category three as we say, at the beginning, and what we are looking for is really around 2
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million dollars to target 100,000 people, you know in intervention areas. and in some of the activities we are really planning to raise awareness, raising, doing contextual communication for people who understand you note the importance of vaccination. we also are planning to train volunteers to work with different partners, with churches, you know, to help spread the news and also identify, help to identify the cases so that they can be taken care of. ., ., the cases so that they can be taken care of. ., ~ ,, ~ care of. 0k. 0k thank you aline, thank you so _ care of. 0k. 0k thank you aline, thank you so much _ care of. 0k. 0k thank you aline, thank you so much for— care of. 0k. 0k thank you aline, | thank you so much forjoining us.
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around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. farmoor reservoir outside oxford should have far more water at this time of year but locals who enjoy walking, fishing and boating here have seen levels drop significantly in the past two weeks. just as nearby roads, summer homes and vast areas of agricultural land have been inundated. after recent heavy rainfall and so much of the south dealing with the after effects of flooding it may seem surprising that major reservoirs like this one are not full to the brim. but as you can see, we are still way below capacity. thames water was unable to give us an interview but confirmed it caused pumping water into the reservoir when recent storms raised the volume thames water was unable to give us an interview but confirmed it paused pumping water into the reservoir when recent storms raised the volume of dirt and debris being carried by the rivers that feed farmoor. campaigners say the company has at least in part made the situation worse for itself.
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for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. the half sister of the two—year—old boy found dead next to his father earlier this week, sais social workers should not be earlier this week, said social workers should not be blamed for his death. bronson battersby, who was found in a flat in skegness, is believed to have starved to death. his father kenneth suffered a fatal heart attack. melanie battersby, his step sister who is 37, says she believes social services and the police did what they could. she's been speaking exclusively to navtej johal.
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he absolutely doted on him, i never complained, i think he loved doing what we were doing for him, seeing him with him, it was really, really heart—warming. him with him, it was really, really heart-warming.— him with him, it was really, really heart-warmina. ~ . �* , . heart-warming. melanie's dad kenneth and her two-year-old _ heart-warming. melanie's dad kenneth and her two-year-old half-brother - and her two—year—old half—brother bronson died in the most tragic of circumstances. it's believed this toddler starve to death after his dad had a heart attack. they were found alone in their home in stegner�*s last week. found alone in their home in stegner's last week.- found alone in their home in stegner's last week. they believed that a week _ stegner's last week. they believed that a week before _ stegner's last week. they believed that a week before my _ stegner's last week. they believed that a week before my dad - stegner's last week. they believed that a week before my dad had - that a week before my dad had died and that bronson was two or three days later. and that bronson was two or three da s later. ~ ., and that bronson was two or three da s later. ~ . ., ., days later. melanie wanted to speak to us but says _ days later. melanie wanted to speak to us but says she _ days later. melanie wanted to speak to us but says she wishes _ days later. melanie wanted to speak to us but says she wishes to - days later. melanie wanted to speak to us but says she wishes to keep i to us but says she wishes to keep the focus on bronson and ken at we've agreed not to show her face. i was told they were both found looking very peaceful and that is the only consolation i can take from thatis the only consolation i can take from that is that my little brother snuggled up to my dad and looked peaceful. i don't want to think about too much of the stuff that he went through. and they are together.
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a social worker visited the father and son's home twice in the days before hand but the door was not answered either time. their bodies were found on a third visit us when access to the property was finally gained. a rapid review is being carried out by lincolnshire county council social services and the police watchdog were also investigate. i police watchdog were also investigate.— police watchdog were also investirate. , ., ., investigate. i believe that social services and _ investigate. i believe that social services and the _ investigate. i believe that social services and the police - investigate. i believe that social services and the police did - investigate. i believe that social services and the police did whatj services and the police did what they could within the powers that they could within the powers that they had and the information that they had and the information that they were given. i'm glad the inquiries going to take place. i don't place any blame on them, i think it must be devastating for them to work in that profession, to have to deal with tragedies like this. , . , have to deal with tragedies like this. , ., , ., . this. these deaths have affected every parent. — this. these deaths have affected every parent, every _ this. these deaths have affected every parent, every person - this. these deaths have affected every parent, every person who| this. these deaths have affected i every parent, every person who has heard about them. the family are now hoping that they could be left alone to grieve in peace. afterjoel how bbc news.
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prince harry has withdrawn his libel claim against the publisher of the mail on sunday. the duke of sussex had sued associated newspapers over an article about his security arrangements after stepping back as a senior royal. in an article on the mail online website, the paper said the prince had "abandoned his case" hours before a court deadline. our media correspondent, david sillito reports. in prince harry's ongoing legal war against britain's newspapers, this is perhaps a minor battle. but after a series of victories against the mail and the mirror, it is a climb—down. the dispute has its roots in his tussle with the home office over paying for his security arrangements. the piece in question in the mail on sunday was headlined, "how prince harry tried to keep his legal fight with the government over police bodyguards a secret." a judge said the article does suggest that the duke of sussex was responsible for attempting to mislead and confuse the public as to the true position about when he made the offer to pay.
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the prince says there was no deception and that he'd made the offer to pay in 2020. the mail on sunday argued their article was an honest opinion and didn't cause much harm. a full trial was looming, but today the case was dropped. the legal bill will be sizeable, but this is just one of many cases. a much bigger claim accusing the mail of phone hacking and other illegal practices is still going ahead. so, too, another against the publisher of the sun. this is far from the end of prince harry versus the press. david sillito, bbc news. for a long time south africa has been plagued by violent crime, but from murders to car—jackings, levels have now reached a 20—year high. with an election this year, there is little evidence the government has a grip, with many people relying on private security instead of police. daniel de simone sent this report from johannesburg.
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a normal day in a security van carrying cash in south africa. what happens next looks extraordinary. but it's a constant criminal threat. this is a cash—in—transit robbery. vans rammed off busy roads. guards terrorised. bombs used to access cash. explosion cit hijackings are one of the violent crimes at crisis levels here. this guard survived a robbery. some don't. as a human being, i'm scared. but, hey, i'm going out. i might not come back, but it's life for everyone in cit. from here they dispatch, the helicopters, the back—up teams, everything. his boss says more help is needed from government. well, it's a like a terrorist group. it's been very military organised, well executed. and if you see the way
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that they plan these robberies, it's very difficult for our teams to stop that. although most south africans can't afford to pay for them, private security officers now outnumber their police counterparts. in the air, each day criss—crossing cities, guarding security vans down below, waiting to respond to hijackings. on the ground, patrolling the streets. we are with an armed intervention team injohannesburg, and they've just heard a vehicle has been hijacked. they're following a digital tracker in the vehicle, spotting men running from the car's possible location. stop them. hey, hey! stop, stop, stop, stop! where's the car? which car? but they weren't the robbers. the chase was back on. moments later, the vehicle's found.
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it's a game of cat and mouse. they normally dump the vehicle. what they call it, - a cool—off period to see if anyone does respond. l but i think now it was literally i seconds that we missed this guy. they call the police to fetch the car. thousands of new officers are being recruited. it's election year, the most competitive since the african national congress came to power in 1994 at the end of apartheid. i've always wanted to join the police. it's more about serving the country than anything else, and just being able to help people in need. i can't wait to go out there to serve the community, to uphold the law and fight crime. murders are at a two—decade high, with over 27,000 people killed in a year and only 12% solved. poverty and corruption drive crime and make safety an issue for all. the man in charge of policing
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accepts there's a big challenge. our murder rate is not pleasing at all. our sexual attack is not pleasing at all. car hijack, and all that. as the police, we think we are getting on top of things. there are things that have happened, maybe that have put us on a little bit of the back foot. but in this state of insecurity, the wave of violence will not be quickly turned back. daniel de simone, bbc news, johannesburg. that's it for this hour of the context, will be discussing in more detail all of the day's news. of course there is more of all of the stories we've covered this hour on the bbc news website including a live page on the ongoing conflict in gaza. to stay with us here on the
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context. hello there, good evening. it's all change weather—wise as we head through this weekend. it's been cold and wintry through the week, with snow showers in the north. sharp overnight frosts and lots of dry weather, some weak winter sunshine, too, on friday for many. but much milder—feeling conditions over the weekend, it's also going to be wet and very windy, with a named storm — stormy isha — on sunday night into monday morning, storm isha — on sunday night into monday morning, could cause some disruption from strong winds. why is it happening? well, the high pressure is pulling away towards the east, allowing atlantic fronts to roll in from the west, along with some much milder—feeling airjust streaming in from the southwest — marked in yellow here — displacing that cold, arctic air further northwards and eastwards. and there will be some more rain overnight tonight across western areas of scotland — some snowmelt, too, possibly still a little wintry over the higher ground. icy conditions for the far north of scotland. some more rain edging into western wales and into northwest england. temperatures towards eastern areas of england are likely to dip below freezing for a while,
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and then, rise again to just above freezing as we head into the start of the day tomorrow. so, we should be largely frost—free to start off saturday morning. and then, tomorrow, some more outbreaks of rain across western wales, up through the pennines and possibly approaching western scotland by the end of the day. strong, gusty winds for irish sea coasts, gusting perhaps as high as 50—55 mph. lots of dry weather towards eastern areas here — temperatures will struggle to recover through the day, but further west, 9—10 celsius — so back up into double figures with that milder—feeling air. as we head through sunday, this is storm isha rolling in from the west. you can just see the squeeze on the isobars here — very strong, gusty winds, with the worst of them to come on sunday night into the first part of monday morning. but on sunday, the winds will start to pick out from the southwest turning more westerly. there'll be outbreaks of heavy rain, too, warnings in force across northwest england and southwest scotland. could be some localised flooding here, maybe.
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the air is mild — top temperatures between 9—13 celsius. now the whole of the uk is covered by a weather warning for strong winds, but of most concern are these areas here — they've been upgraded to an amber weather warning. these warnings in force until 9am on monday morning. some gusts of wind could exceed 70—80 mph, particularly for exposed coasts. it's all likely to cause disruption if you are travelling on monday morning, so do keep an eye on the forecast. bye— bye.
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hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. you're watching the context on bbc news. the focus of the onslaught very much in khan younis, the largest city in the south of gaza and where the israeli defence forces believe that some of the most senior hamas leaders are holed up in tunnels. translation: israel needs security control over all territory west - of the jordan river. i think that it would be. a mistake to...for israel to occupy gaza again. israel cannot afford to allow a future palestinian entity to sign treaties, defence pacts with people like iran, or hezbollah fighters to visit them for joint exercises and operations. we may still be a long way from the end of the fighting in gaza —

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