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tv   BBC News at Six  BBC News  February 12, 2024 6:00pm-6:31pm GMT

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it really, we think, is impossible to see how you can fight a war amongst these people. there nowhere for them to go. there's nowhere for them to go. also today — tributes to the record—breaking kenyan runner kelvin kiptum, who has died in a road accident, aged 24. the headteachers struggling to make ends meet for their schools. they blame the rising costs of private contracts. you feel like a failure. my sixth year of headship, and i'm no furtherforward in resolving the issues. kansas city! and the kansas city chiefs star — and taylor swift's other half — on how he's going to celebrate his team's super bowl win. how will you and your lovely pop star girlfriend be celebrating? i'm pretty sure vegas is going to roll out the red carpet.
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i'm going to be elvis for a night! and coming up in sport on bbc news... is time running out for roy hodgson at crystal palace? chelsea are the visitors tonight with the manager in need of a win at selhurst park. good evening. at least 67 palestinians have been killed in israeli air strikes in the south of gaza, as part of a rescue mission to free two hostages being held by hamas — designated a terror organisation by the uk government. it brings the total number of palestinians killed in the conflict to more than 28,000, according to the hamas—run health ministry. the israeli strikes were in the border city of rafah, where around a million and a half palestinians are currently sheltering. president biden has told israel's prime minister there must be a credible plan to protect civilians, and the foreign secretary lord cameron has urged him to "stop and think seriously" before taking more action, as there is "nowhere"
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for people in rafah to go. but benjamin netanyahu says only continued military pressure on hamas will release the more than 100 remaining hostages. lucy williamson reports. it contains some distressing images. explosion last night, israel's army came to rafah. special forces, backed by airstrikes on homes and mosques. left behind, more than 60 people dead, and took with them two israeli hostages, snatched from a second—floor apartment. these pictures — released by the israeli army — showed the moment counter—terrorist police went in. 60—year—old fernando marman and 70—year—old louis har were kidnapped from kibbutz nir yitzhak on october the 7th. their arrival back in israel, a rare moment
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for the country's prime minister. covered by special forces on their way out of gaza, covered on arrival with love. military operations have so far freed three hostages. relatives say a deal with hamas is still the best way to get the others out. mentally, they look ok. physically, they look ok. please, be serious and strike a deal. the israeli people needs the deal done. not yesterday, not tomorrow, today. we want it done as soon as possible. we want to go back to our ordinary life. for gazans, ordinary life has disappeared, buried in the rubble of their homes, in the quivering of their children. translation: we were at home i when the airstrikes were going on. i told my mother that i wanted to use the bathroom.
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suddenly, all the walls of the bathroom and all the water containers above it collapsed on me. rafah is the next target for israel's army. the war has pushed half of gaza's population south, into this border town. the us has warned an offensive here, without proper planning, would be a disaster. israel is so far sticking to its plan. the united nations and international actors now face a fateful choice. do they want to save hamas or save palestinian civilians? they cannot stop israel from dismantling the last four hamas battalions in the gaza strip and securing the release of the 134 remaining hostages. the price of israel's war is rising. forfamilies in rafah today, the cost, incalculable.
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the us is urging israel to consider a potential hostage deal to pause the fighting. israel worries that a deal would mean hamas surviving. but after four months of war, it isn't the group's leaders who are dying. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. well, unicef has described the conditions on the ground in rafah as "catastrophic", and other aid agencies have expressed concern about a potential israeli ground operation there. bbc verify�*s nick eardley has been looking at how the situation has changed in rafah since the october seventh attacks. thanks a lot. we have four months into the current conflict and experts have been mapping the damage done to buildings. you can see it starts in the north. but over time, it moves to the south all the way down to rafah. israeli forces have urged people to move south overtime for their own safety, too. but many have ended up in areas where the
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fighting is taking place. the current flashpoint is rafah, just here beside the border with egypt. hundreds of thousands of people are being displaced in gaza, sometimes they have moved several times. this is a satellite image from october. and this is the change injanuary. tents now cover a wide area, leading to rafah being dubbed a tent city. this video gives a sense of conditions. here, tents have been built around a cemetery. you can see more in the distance, too. the population of rafah has shot up as people have played here. the un says it is now 1.5 million compared to a quarter of a million in 2022. strikes on rafah have escalated in recent days. this image shows some of the destruction. this appears to be just of the destruction. this appears to bejust beside of the destruction. this appears to be just beside where the two israeli hostages were rescued last night. the idf says this video shows that rescue and it is just beside the area we have identified where the
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damages. israel's allies have expressed concern about the impact of an offensive. a particular worry is if there is anywhere safe for people to pleating. the rafah crossing is close to most and israel has yet to lay out any evacuation plan. they say that will come when an offensive in rafah is confirmed. —— where people can flee to. nick eardley. britain has imposed sanctions on four israeli settlers accused of committing human rights abuses in the other palestinian territory, the occupied west bank. the israeli settlements in the west bank are seen as illegal under international law. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james landale, is with me. to what extent are we seeing a shift here? i think there is a shift going on because people are getting really worried about the west bank. many countries in the west and the middle east think that this is the place where there is a real risk of escalation. because what you've got is hundreds of thousands of israelis packed into these illegal settlements and some are using violence to try to seize more territory from the palestinians.
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now, the west has urged israel's government to tackle it, it hasn't. so ten days ago, the united states imposed sanctions on four settlers. today, the uk has followed suit, imposing travel and financial restrictions on four men it accuses of attacking palestinians. settlers are a really powerful force within israeli politics and benjamin netanyahu's government actually neta nyahu's government actually depends netanyahu's government actually depends on them. but i think these sanctions are a warning that international patients is growing thinner and also, international pressure is growing stronger. you have got britain and the us are urging restraint on rafah as we have seen, they are calling for more humanitarian aid to get into gaza and they are telling israel, you've got to get a grip on settlers in the west bank. got to get a grip on settlers in the west bank-— west bank. thank you very much, james west bank. thank you very much, james landale- — tributes have been paid to the world marathon record holder kelvin kiptum, who's been killed in a car crash at the age of 24. he died alongside his coach when their car came off the road in western kenya. eurotunnel he set the world record
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in the chicago marathon last year, with a winning time of two hours and 35 seconds. anne soy reports from nairobi. he was no doubt destined for greatness. at only 2a, kelvin kiptum had run three of the seven fastest marathon times in history. this is him in london last year. he broke away from the leading pack mid—race and went on to win and set a new course record. later in the year, he broke the world record in chicago, shaving 3a seconds off his compatriot eliud kipchoge's time. a world record means a lot to me. to beat a world record, it's so hard, you have to work hard, and that has been a long journey for me. he was going to attempt to run the rotterdam marathon in under two hours this april, but over the weekend, he crashed on this road, close to his birthplace in kenya's rift valley. kelvin lost control of the vehicle, it veered off the road and entered into a ditch.
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he drove through that ditch for 60 metres, before hitting a big tree. tributes have been paid to him in kenya and across the world. the world athletics federation ratified kiptum's record only last week. its president, sebastian coe, described him as "an incredible athlete, who's leaving an incredible legacy". also paying tribute to kelvin kiptum, the four—time olympic gold medallist sir mo farah. "kelvin was an amazingly talented athlete and had already achieved so much. he truly had a special talent and i have no doubt he would have gone on to have had an incredible career." and this, from emile cairess, the highest—placed british athlete in the london marathon last year. i was in a state of shock.
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you never expect anybody so young to pass away. and then i guess it takes it to that next level and it's even more shocking when it's a generational talent, like kelvin kiptum was. kelvin kiptum ran his first major competition in borrowed shoes because he couldn't afford a pair. in such a short time, he had achieved so much, before an accident robbed the world of a sporting great. anne soy, bbc news, nairobi. headteachers in england say they're having to spend tens of thousands of pounds each year to meet the rising costs of contracts with private firms, including getting essential repairs done. more than 900 schools were built under the private finance initiative, where private companies constructed the buildings and maintained them for an annual fee. 0ur education editor branwen jeffreys reports. quick as you can, please.
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radiators spewing out boiling water, flooding classrooms, in a school building opened in 2012, costing £33 million. the original radiators that were in the building all had to be removed because they were all exploding. now the head teacher worries the new heating system isn't much better. a few days later, i followed him, filming on my phone, after a classroom ceiling collapsed. that's hot water. all the maintenance here is locked into a contract lasting decades. under a private finance deal, a company owns the building and chooses who does the work. it bothers me immensely, because it's made on the backs of children who can't go to their classroom because it's leaking, who can't come into school because the heating doesn't work.
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who can't access their favourite subject because there's a building fault. how would you describe that struggle? no, sorry i'm getting upset. no. 0h, glyn. because it takes a toll? you feel like a failure. my sixth year of headship, and i'm no furtherforward in resolving the issues that affect the children who come here every day. the pfi company for the 0ldham school said it was maintained for the community and it hadn't paid out to shareholders for years. across england, schools said the threat of legal action stops them speaking out. 0ne school governor in the south told us, "it's like dealing with the mafia". i think if there was more openness, the actual publicity about it would shock many citizens and taxpayers, and that might push some of these companies to think again and make sure
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that they're not wringing every last penny out of our school system. but pfi investors said these contracts are value for public money in the long—term. these contracts do make provisions to make sure that schools - are getting value for money when it comes to cleaning and catering - and everything else. and there are mechanisms in the contract to compare | and contrast local market rates for all of those services. - so i'm pretty confident that these contracts do reflect good value i for money for the taxpayer. these rising costs are putting pressure on school budgets. the government told us support for pfi schools would go up by 10% from april. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. two stowaways have been found in the luggage compartment of a coachful of children returning from a school trip to france, parents have said. pupils were going home to totton in hampshire when the men were found hiding among bags and suitcases in the hold. 0ur correspondent duncan kennedy is outside the school. what do we know? this has taken everybody by
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surprise, is the short answer to that. it happened when the coach got back here with 36 children on board after a trip to northern france. 0ne mum told the bbc that her daughter came running over and told her, there are men in the luggage rack, so she went and looked and there were two men in the space age between 20 and 30. she said it was concerning, not so much because they might be migrants trying to seek a better life but because they had targeted a school coach. hampshire police were called but no arrests were made. it's not clear where the men got on board, whether it was in france itself, in which case they would have been on—board for many hours, whether they somehow boarded perhaps in dover, in which case the journey would have been three or four hours from there to here. the home office have also been approached for comment but they say they don't comment on individual cases so it's not clear yet where these men now are.— cases so it's not clear yet where these men now are. thank you very much duncan _ these men now are. thank you very much duncan kennedy _ these men now are. thank you very
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much duncan kennedy there. - the time is 18:16. our top story this evening: urgent warnings about the fate of palestinians — after air strikes in southern gaza kill dozens as israel rescues two hostages. and still to come: it was the best day of my life. we hear from eight—year—old stevie mulrooney following his performance at sunday's six nations match in dublin. coming up in sport on bbc news... as chelsea aim to win theirfourth fa cup in a row — we'll look ahead to tonight's quarter final draw and ask if anyone can stop them? dementia charities are warning that alzheimer's patients could lose out on two new drug treatments because the nhs is not ready for them. the medicines, which are expected to be licensed within months, slow down the early stages of the disease and could pave the way for new treatements. 0ur medical editor
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fergus walsh is here. thanks, reeta. these new drugs are not a cure but many scientists see them as a turning point in the fight against the most common form of dementia. alzheimer s disease affects around 600,000 people in the uk. the drugs are only suitable for those with early stage disease and mild symptoms. 0ne estimate says between 50,000 and 280,000 people in england alone could be eligible if the drugs are approved for the nhs. and that might cost between £500 million and £1 billion a year, for a health service which is always facing increasing demands. dawn is 62 and about to get her first dose of a new alzheimer's drug, donanemab, as part of a trial. you've started, have you? we've started, all right? yay! her memory problems were identified early and she has only mild cognitive impairment. i feel so grateful that i noticed and that i investigated
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further, and that i know. because knowledge is power, and it could mean that it just slows it all down, and if it slows it down, then i'll be able to function as i'd like to. in trials, donanemab and another drug, lecanemab, slowed cognitive decline by between a quarter and a third in patients with early—stage alzheimer's. that gives you, over that 18 month period, about five months at a higher level of function. for me that's meaningful. but it's small. i think these drugs do represent a turning point in our research in alzheimer's but i also think they are just the beginning. if the drugs are approved, patients would need a specialist brain scan or a spinal lumbar puncture to check they are eligible. at present, just 2% of alzheimer's patients have either of these tests.
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we are worried that tens - of thousands of people could miss out on having treatments because the nhs isn't- ready to deliver them. we need to have a really clear plan from the nhs about how they're i going to scale up services. the department of health says early dementia diagnosis is vital and it's working to identify and treat more people as new drugs become available. and this... here? david, who is 79, has been on lecanemab for over three years as part of a study. although his alzheimer's is progressing, his wife cheryl feels the drug has helped. they are not saying this is a complete cure. no. just giving individuals more time before they can't remember, you know... who their children are. it's given me longer with david as my husband and so, you know, that's worth all the money
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in the world. the drugs can cause swelling and bleeding in the brain, so patients like dawn need careful monitoring. but despite their side—effects and modest benefits, many scientists believe they represent a defining moment in the fight against alzheimer's. fergus walsh, bbc news. and you can see more about the trial in tonight's panorama — that's alzheimer's: a turning point? on bbc1 at 8pm. it's also available on the bbc iplayer. labour has defended its decision to continue campaigning for its candidate in the rochdale by—election, despite comments he made about israel during a local meeting. azhar ali has apologised for reportedly saying the country had allowed the 7th october attacks to go ahead, so it could do whatever it wanted in response. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth reports. this is my plan for
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rochdale in 30 seconds. the man who wants to be labour's next mp for rochdale, in his own promotional video. but less than a week after launching his campaign, azharali has had to apologise. he said comments he'd reportedly made claiming israel had allowed the october the 7th attack to happen were inexcusable, ignorant and false. labour has condemned what he said, but the party is standing by him. he has but the party is standing by him. he: has retracted his remarks, apologised unreservedly, explained that he fell for this online conspiracy theory, but also, and this is absolutely critical, has this is absolutely critical, has this seriousness of understanding the scale of the offence caused. in rochdale, it's too late for labour to change its candidate but there are questions over whether the party should withdraw its support, or even say azhar ali can't sit as a labour mp work he'd win, though there is no sign of that from keir starmer yet.
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up sign of that from keir starmer yet. up until now he has been really firm in anti—semitism but now that electoral— in anti—semitism but now that electoral politics is in play, suddenly he seems to be allowing this person notjust remain as a candidate — this person notjust remain as a candidate for the labour party, but also for— candidate for the labour party, but also for the — candidate for the labour party, but also for the labour party to continue _ also for the labour party to continue to actively campaign for this person to become an mp. the labour party _ this person to become an mp. the labour party is _ this person to become an mp. tie labour party is in a bind. keir starmer has made rooting out anti—semitism a central part of his leadership, and manyjewish groups have praised his progress, but this row allows opponents like the conservatives to claim the party has not changed. if, though, labour withdraws support from its candidate in rochdale, it risks handing out advantage to rival campaigns. here is one they are worried about, george galloway standing in rochdale, putting labour's stance on both the front and centre. for some it's all a difficult dilemma. —— margaret labour mixed's stance on —— labour's stance on gaza. the?t margaret labour mixed's stance on -- labour's stance on gaza.— labour's stance on gaza. they are in a re labour's stance on gaza. they are in a pretty impossible _ labour's stance on gaza. they are in a pretty impossible situation - labour's stance on gaza. they are in a pretty impossible situation but - labour's stance on gaza. they are in a pretty impossible situation but i i a pretty impossible situation but i can tell you the labour party has
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changed when it comes to anti—semitism. changed when it comes to anti-semitism._ changed when it comes to anti-semitism. �* :, ., , ., , , anti-semitism. but what has happened with labour's — anti-semitism. but what has happened with labour's candidate _ anti-semitism. but what has happened with labour's candidate here _ anti-semitism. but what has happened with labour's candidate here has - with labour's candidate here has undoubtedly stopped internal tensions in the party at a most unwelcome time. and here's a full list of candidates standing in the rochdale by—election. the families of those killed in last year's attacks in nottingham have been told today that nottingham police will be investigated over their conduct in the case. barnaby webber, grace 0'malley, and ian coates were all stabbed by valdo calocane, who was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. ——barnaby webber, grace 0'malley—kumar and ian coates. an eyewitness to two of the killings
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in nottingham last year has spoken for the first time since the incident. navtej johal reports. police emergency, what's the emergency? there'sjust been a stabbing on ilkeston road, there's somebody lying in the street, i think they're dead. oh, that was awful. this 999 call was made on the 13th ofjune last year in nottingham as an eyewitness from his bedroom window saw barnaby webber and grace 0'malley—kumar being stabbed to death by valdo calocane. ijust couldn't believe what i was seeing. it was absolutely... terrifying, just horrendous. it was seeing two young people being attacked and stabbed... yeah, it will never leave me. the eyewitness has asked to remain anonymous. it'sjust horrific. he just callously and calmlyjust turned around and casually walked off, like nothing had happened. calocane then went on to fatally step school caretaker ian coates and hit three people with his van. the 32—year—old, who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was sentenced to detention in a high security hospital after admitting three counts of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility. the eyewitness's 999 call was issued to the media
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by nottinghamshire police, but he says they never told him the call was being released. he only learned about it when he heard it on the news. the first time i heard it, i went into panic again. i started shaking. took me back to the day. the force have now apologised to him. several reviews have been announced into this case following the sentencing. the eyewitness says he has had nightmares about the incident since that day. you think afterwards, "i could have done this, "i could have climbed out, could have rushed downstairs." ijust wish i could have done something for them. i'm so sorry. this afternoon, grace's family responded to our interview. i would like to say to the gentleman that he should not feel in any way. guilty or responsible. i think if he had tried _ to intervene, he would have probably been in mortal danger himself and i'm very sorry that he - feels the way he does.
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navteonhal, bbc news, nottingham. now, it isn't the action on the pitch that many rugby fans will remember from yesterday's six nations clash between ireland and italy, but rather the passionate rendition of irelands sporting anthem by eight—year—old stevie mulrooney before the match. he sings. the schoolboy from kilkenny found fame singing on rte�*s late late show, before being invited to perform at a packed landsdowne road. i was, yes, a bit nervous, but the nerves helped and i sang great. but i was... ..nervous because the big crowd made me, and because there's linesmen watching and the players, they're watching, too. there's more people than 53,000. yeah, there's more people! it was the best day of my life, and they keep changing,
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the best day of my life. and last night was the biggest of the year in american sport as the kansas city chiefs beat the san francisco 49ers to win the super bowl in las vegas. the event was made even bigger by the presence of pop superstar taylor swift, who was there to support her boyfriend, travis kelce, as his team lifted the trophy. nesta mcgregor was watching the action and sent this report from las vegas. super bowl 58 starts now! america's showpiece event very rarely fails to deliver, and this was no exception. although the defending champions, kansas city chiefs, were underdogs going up against the san francisco 49ers. officially under way. the game proved to be a nervy back and forth affair with several lead changes... touchdown! ..but the 49ers looked to be in control. what an effort, breaking tackles.
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even the chiefs' most experienced seemed to lose their cool. however, kansas city rallied back. they needed this kick to force overtime. relief for the chiefs' faithful — well, those who made it to the game, who clearly needed some dutch courage. step forward, patrick mahomes, the quarterback once again proving he's one of the best to ever do it. jackpot, kansas city! elation for a team securing their second super bowl in succession. does this one feel any different? it does, man. it feels ten times better, man. adversity... what this team went through, the naysayers. but on top of that, man, that's how much fun we have coming in the building. you can see how we're enjoying this one right now. how will you and your lovely pop star girlfriend be celebrating? i'm pretty sure vegas is going to roll out the red carpet. i'm going to be elvis for tonight. the champagne is flowing. my glasses are proof.
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the kansas city chiefs, back to back nfl champions. no team has ever won three super bowl titles in a row, but planning for next year can surely wait. after all, this is vegas and this party is unlikely to end any time soon. # we are the champions #. nesta mcgregor, bbc news, at the super bowl. time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz schafernaker. thanks, reeta. couldn't possibly match that level of excitement! very quiet and the weather front for the next few days, that's pretty much it, it's looking mild and damp, there you go, that's as exciting as it gets. there will be a bit of sunshine here and there but not an awful lot. here is the satellite picture, i think the weather fronts just gently wafting in from the south—west, fairly mild direction, and for the next few days we will be
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tapping into some of that warmth coming from the subtropics, in fact could be getting up to 16 celsius by thursday, in one or two spots. but tonight, pretty chilly in the north, wintry showers in the highlands, touch of frost there, some clear spells for the first part of the night but then this messy weather front here in the south—west, we will call it a warmish front, it comes in. ahead of it, chilly in the morning, but basically, behind these red semicircles here, the wind is coming in out of the south—west, it follows the lines of these isobars, that's where the air is coming from the southern climes, so mild, damp, i think the rain will be pretty intermittent across the book of england, wales and northern ireland by the end of the afternoon. but in scotland, where that weather front isn't quite in scotland, we are actually headed for some brighter skies, a little colder, eight closer to the average, and into wednesday, because this warm front, even though it is warm it's still moving at a glacial pace, it is going to deliver again a lot of cloud miss 0

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