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tv   BBC News  BBC News  March 25, 2024 10:30am-11:01am GMT

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live from london, this is bbc news. four gunmen accused of carrying out the moscow concert hall attack are charged with terrorism. intense fighting is reported around three hospitals in gaza. aid agencies say dozens of doctors and patients are displaced or detained. the uk home office launches a new international campaign to deter migrants from crossing the english channel in small boats. and in the west end sheridan smith on bringing her own life story to her latest role as a drunken legend on the verge of a breakdown. i her latest role as a drunken legend on the verge of a breakdown. i have had that crisis _ on the verge of a breakdown. i have had that crisis and _ on the verge of a breakdown. i have had that crisis and the _ on the verge of a breakdown. i have had that crisis and the light - on the verge of a breakdown. i have had that crisis and the light before l had that crisis and the light before so there are definitely parts of myself, that i can bring to the
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character. now, months after leaving her purse, the former home secretary suella braverman has accused rishi sunak of not taking the issue of migration seriously enough. net migration reached record levels in 2022, and 2023. that is the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving. when the government talks about immigration, one issue dominates. one of my top priorities as prime minister is to stop the boats. you might have got the impression that it is small boats that have driven a net rise in net migration, they haven't. whilst this is important, in the context of overall immigration, the numbers are tiny. last year, almost 30,000 people arrived by small boats. also last year, the government
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issued 1.4 million visas for people to come to the uk legally. at that time suella braverman was home secretary, until rishi sunak sacked her in november. she now says the prime minister had not necessarily assumed that legal of 12 months putting forward policy proposals but he refused
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any in the care sector welcome the government decisions, including rab siegel. if government decisions, including rab sieuel. �* ., government decisions, including rab sieuel. �* . , ., , siegel. if we didn't have the staff that we have _ siegel. if we didn't have the staff that we have got, _ siegel. if we didn't have the staff that we have got, i _ siegel. if we didn't have the staff that we have got, i think- siegel. if we didn't have the staff that we have got, i think we - siegel. if we didn't have the staff. that we have got, i think we would probably be closed by now. last year the government _ probably be closed by now. last year the government announced - probably be closed by now. last year| the government announced measures probably be closed by now. last year- the government announced measures to cut net migration including for care workers and most postgraduate students that they can no longer bring independent diplomat. despite this change in tack the government insists its approach is right, including on small boats. it is riaht including on small boats. it is right that _ including on small boats. it is right that you _ including on small boats. it is right that you place _ including on small boats. it 3 right that you place an emphasis on that, but that is not at the expense of getting on and delivering on their mission around illegal migration, which is to get a better balance, to bring those numbers
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down. labour declined an interview request but says net migration needs to come down, and that a practical plan to tackle skill shortages is needed. net migration is expected to fall, but only from a record high. that was a consequence of the government's own decisions. we have been shown the latest opinion poll which tracks attitudes to immigration. it suggests 69% of people are dissatisfied with the government on immigration, the highest figure since 2015. let speak to the director of british future. you commissioned this survey, tell us about the findings. yes. us about the findings. yes, different — us about the findings. yes, different people _ us about the findings. yes, different people have - us about the findings. 1a: different people have different views of immigration but one thing that people with differing perspectives agree on is that they are all annoyed with the government in different ways. just 9% confidence in what the government is doing, seven out of ten people dissatisfied for different reasons.
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some people wanted to see the boats stopped and a much tougher approach and other people think the language and other people think the language and policy is too tough and too harsh and the policies are too tight. the government is under pressure from all sides. 0ver tight. the government is under pressure from all sides. over the time that we ran this poll every year, we saw a softening and a warming of attitudes after brexit and that has been checked. a small majority of people, 52%, now say they want the overall numbers to be reduced. but when you get into the details of what people would reduce or wouldn't reduce, there is no support for reducing health and social care visas, which have been the biggest areas of increase. [30 the biggest areas of increase. do ou the biggest areas of increase. do you think people understand, as we were just hearing you think people understand, as we werejust hearing in ros' report, that people who come over in small boats are a very tiny proportion of those who come here legally or illegally. people are not aware of that. there are lots of reasons for that. it is
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discussed more in politics and in the media. another reason is that people do worry more about the flows they don't think i handled well, thatis they don't think i handled well, that is a visible lack of control that is a visible lack of control that people are arriving across the channel without permission. if you said to people, students are a much bigger share of visas, 600,000 visas, people might still say i am not too worried about students because i know what's going on. people don't really know those facts but they worry about the things they think are not being handled well. this think are not being handled well. as we move towards a general election, how big an issue is immigration going to play in the polls? this will only be _ going to play in the polls? this will only be one _ going to play in the polls? this will only be one of _ going to play in the polls? ti 3 will only be one of the issues in the mix. 0verall, will only be one of the issues in the mix. overall, the public places it forth as their priority. but there is a big split on that. it is behind the cost of living and the economy and the nhs but it is a top issue for those who tend to vote conservative, especially those who are considering reform. people who
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will vote labour, currently ahead, it is in 12th place, not in the top ten. there is a big partisan division, the polarised politics we have seen both about the real wonder scheme and visas and illegal migration. a big partisan scheme —— in the rwanda scheme. migration. a big partisan scheme -- in the rwanda scheme.— in the rwanda scheme. thanks. you can see more _ in the rwanda scheme. thanks. you can see more from _ in the rwanda scheme. thanks. you can see more from ross _ in the rwanda scheme. thanks. you can see more from ross atkins - in the rwanda scheme. thanks. you can see more from ross atkins on l can see more from ross atkins on panorama tonight on bbc one. staying with the issue of immigrants the government has launched an international social media campaign aimed at deterring people from attempting to enter the country illegally by boat. adverts on facebook and youtube will warn of the dangers of becoming indebted to criminal gangs and the perils of a journey often made in unsafe, overloaded vessels. simonjones reports.
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a campaign that aims to convince people not to put their lives in the hands of ruthless people smugglers — featuring testimony from those who have attempted the perilous journey across the channel. it will initially be rolled out in vietnam, following a sharp rise in vietnamese people making the crossing by boat. the dangers are very real. we've been given rare access to the area in dover, where migrants are brought to shore. so far this year, nine people have lost their lives trying to reach the uk. well, as you can see from this, you might look at this at first hand and think that's a sturdy piece of equipment. it's really not. it's a death trap. the poor quality of the rubber is like a bouncy castle. if there's a puncture in one bit, it's all going to go down. these life jackets are very, very poor quality. last year, more than 29,000 people crossed the channel in small boats — that represented a fall of more than a third on 2022. but so far this year, around 4,300 people have made the journey — an increase of 17% on the same period last year, despite government pledges to stop the boats.
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the boats have been getting bigger with more and more people packed on to them. when the crossings became a regular thing five years ago, there was an average of seven people per boat, now, it's more like 50. the home office says its recent social media activity in albania helped contribute to a fall of 90% in arrivals from there. and the home secretary told me the new campaign isjust one part of a wider plan. given numbers are similar — even more than last year — is the plan plateauing? as we have evolved our response to the smuggling, the smugglers have also adapted their tactics. we've seen a smaller number of larger boats because we have been successful at preventing boat launches on the french channel. so what we're doing is we're going after the boats upstream in the supply chain.
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we showed the home office campaign to grmalem gonetse kasa. originally from eritrea, he arrived in the uk in the back of a lorry and now works with the kent refugee action network. what do you think of this? this is just a waste of money. i mean, honestly... i don't know. actually, it's nothing for us. nothing for us refugees and asylum seekers. you don't think it would stop people? not even... we're not even interested. we're not going to look at it. the big hope still of ministers is the rwanda plan, but labour says the government's approach isjust about gimmicks. simonjones, bbc news, dover. an urgent review into the crown prosecution service's handling of the nottingham attacks case is expected to be published today. barnaby webber, grace 0'malley kumar, and ian coates were killed by valdo calocane lastjune but the cps's decision
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to accept his guilty plea of manslaughter, as opposed to prosecuting him for murder, caused outrage among the victims' families. louisa pilbeam has the story. ian coates, barnaby webber, and grace 0'malley—kumar were stabbed to death in violent attacks in nottingham. their families were expecting their killer to be tried for murder. when we went to nottingham, the day after barney had been murdered, and the very first person we saw was the chief constable, and her first words to us were, "don't worry, we've got him, he's going down." and i think i, foolishly, took it verbatim that the criminaljustice system would do the right thing. valdo calocane was initially charged with three counts of murder and the attempted murder of three others. police, stay where you are! shown here being arrested by police, calocane
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was assessed by five psychiatrists, who agreed his severe mental illness meant he had a partial defence of diminished responsibility. the crown prosecution service accepted that plea. he was instead charged with three counts of manslaughter, alongside three counts of attempted murder. but the families say they were not consulted. an urgent independent inspection was launched into how the cps handled the case. 19—year—old grace's father believes the cps failed them. all of the families were utterly, utterly let down. technically, he could have killed tens of people that day in nottingham. if you can't get someone like him a life tariff, then i can't understand in the country, who deserves a life tariff. speaking alongside the other victims' families outside court injanuary, after calocane was sentenced, caretaker ian coate's son expressed his frustrations. this man is a killer. murder was the only thing he cared about, and he fulfilled
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this in horrific fashion. the crown prosecution service told the bbc... "we are fully engaging with the review." the findings of this review will be announced today and are expected to clarify whether or not the cps made the right decisions and fulfilled its duty to the families devastated by these attacks. louisa pilbeam, bbc news. junior doctors in wales have started a 96 hour walk—out as part of an on—going pay dispute with the welsh government. bma cymru say they were left with no choice but to strike after the welsh government "failed to produce a credible offer to end the dispute". the welsh government said it did not have the funds to improve its 5% pay offer, whichjunior doctors have rejected. protests outside schools should be banned — that's according to a review by a senior government advisor. dame sara khan has made the recommendation after examining the handling of demonstrations outside batt—ley grammar school outside battley grammar school in west yorkshire in 2021. they began when pupils were shown
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an "offensive" cartoon of the prophet muhammad. she says children need to be protected. one of the recommendations that i have made to the government is that there should be an exclusion zone, or a buffer zone, outside schools, to protect children. if it is the case, for example, that teachers want to go on pickets, because of industrial action for example, that should be acceptable, and there will be other reasons where some type of protest should be acceptable, but these types of intimidating and threatening protest should be banned, just in the same way that there are exclusion zones outside abortion clinics. the children's commissioner for england is calling on politicians to put the ambitions of young people at the heart of their election manifestos. dame rachel de souza will publish the findings of a survey of children's views today. it suggests only one in five children believe that adults in power are listening to them.
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since the murder of her daughter brianna by two other teenagers, esther gheye has embarked on a campaign to improve mental wellbeing for school children across the country. one of the focuses of her campaigning is mindfulness — and she recently visited a school in liverpool to see how it's helping pupils there. 0ur reporter, fi lamdin, has the story. it's thursday morning! it's 9am and the first lesson at this primary school in liverpool is mindfulness. and today, esther ghey, the mother of the murdered teenager, brianna, is here to watch. have we all got a space? her daughter was lured and then killed in a park by two 15—year— olds in february last year. she thinks mindfulness in schools will build resilience. three, two, one! i actually do guided meditation. esther herself has practised mindfulness for the last eight years.
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mindfulness teaches you to be more in the present moment and to be more aware of your surroundings. in february last year, when it happened, me and my other daughter would go for walks and we would see, like, the beauty that was around us — we would see like the beautiful trees or the flowers or the blossoms or how lovely the sky was. and i think that during a difficult time, it's really important to be able to see those things because it shows you that even though you're struggling that there is still beauty in the world. nice and still on the floor. esther believes it should now be introduced in all primaries in england. we did blow a balloon up. this school has been teaching it for the last five years. mindfulness isjust about experiencing the world for what it is right now. being alive and knowing it, savouring the good stuff, the fun stuff, and also noticing the not so good stuff when it shows up for us.
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shake those legs, shaking those legs! i like the tapping because it makes me feel sleepy. i i like the singing because it makes me calm. when do you use this? i use it outside. and then sometimes when... when i'm... when i'm going a little bit too crazy. what does it do when you're going a little bit crazy? it makes me feel more calmer. so have you seen behaviour improve? absolutely. what we're finding is that our children are more responsive rather than reactive. the children are taking time to think about their actions, to think about their decisions, and to really take that time to be present in the moment. and then will respond rather than react straightaway with what might have been a gut instinct. and even though brianna didn't seem interested in it, her mum thinks it would have helped her. if she had experienced mindfulness at a young age and it was embedded into her life as well,
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then maybe she wouldn't have suffered the way that she did when she was a teenager. listening... and while she knows it's too late for her daughter, esther wants all children across the country to be taught this when they start school. fiona lamdin, bbc news. now to the story ofjasmin paris from scotland — the first woman to complete one of the world's most gruelling races — the barkley marathons in tennessee. it's 160 kilometres — up and down hills — through rugged terrain. she finished with just 99 seconds to spare. jasmin finally recovered her breath — and her voice — and spoke to the bbc. it wasn't until the last kilometre that i really sort of doubted that it was going to be possible. and at that point i was just so desperate to stop, to stop running and to walk. and i knew that i couldn't because i wouldn't make it. cheering.
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i think it was just the thought that if i didn't make it this time, it was going to be by seconds and then i would have to come back and do the whole thing again. because i would never have let it rest. i was so oxygen deficient when i reached the end and the last few hundred metres, i couldn't even really see anybody. cheering and applause. i knew there were people kind of cheering me on and there was lots of noise and... but i was just aiming for the gate and everything else sort of went blurry at the edges of my vision and ijust needed to make it to the gate, at which point i just sort of collapsed down in a gasping, kind of heap on the ground. cheering and applause. so, i did it for me and i am super happy that i achieved what i set out to do. hey, everyone. i am really glad that i kind of did it for women worldwide as well. notjust runners, but maybe any woman that wants to take on a challenge, and especially all the young girls, how hard it is to keep young girls in sports.
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this year, there was a new section of the course which involved a lot of kind of brambles, really thick ones that kind of slashed your legs. so my legs were actually far worse but i got quite a few scratches on my arms and hands. but this is nothing compared with my legs. i guess the next thing i'm going to do is the scottish highlands peaks race. but really i think maybe just have a bit of a rest first. what an incredible achievement, definitely deserves a rest. sheridan smith is one of the uk's most well—known actresses, winning awards for her tv and stage work in a career that has spanned more than two decades. now, she's back on the west end, starring as an alcoholic broadway legend struggling with her mental health. our culture reporter, charlotte gallagher, spoke to her about the challenges of her latest role. action! # you gotta make magic...#
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sheridan smith is back in the west end in a role she's described herself as being close to the bone. it's about this character, myrtle, who is a broadway actress, and she's kind of clinging on to life by her fingernails. and you don't know if she's going to make opening night. but it's just such a buzz. it's like, i've never done anything like this before, so i'm really kind of pushing myself to the limit physically and mentally on this, but it's worth it. # one said to me cool. # down, down. # don't act the fool. # now, now. # i always act a fool. # 0w, ow. # ain't nothing new. # now, now. she's experienced the highs of fame, starring in shows like gavin and stacey... sheridan smith, mrs biggs. ..and winning a bafta award, but also the lows. in 2016, she temporarily pulled out of the musical funny girl because of stress, exhaustion, and grief about her father's cancer diagnosis. # when they tell you, tell you that you can't...# i read that when you first got the script, you talk about
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how it's dark and it's challenging, you thought, "is this about me?" there's so many parts of the character that i relate to in that way. i've been in my own mental crisis before, which was quite well publicised, so there's definitely parts of myself i can bring to the character. and it's a wonderful role, like, she's vulnerable, strong, but all over the place. and you kind of... the whole point of the story is that you never know if she's going to be ok. i had a wobble, covered myself with tattoos, had my moment... which actually, i'm allowed to have my tattoos in this, for the firstjob ever. but, yeah, i lost a lot of confidence around that time. but it's come back, thankfully, due to friends and supportive people and being given opportunities like this again. i'm very grateful because that's the one thing, the public always kind of stood by me, even though whatever went on in the press and what was reported, they understood that, you know, when you're grieving, you can't really explain what you go through. and people were stopping me and cuddling me on the street! part of sheridan's new show involves her leaving the theatre
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and acting on the street, collapsing outside the stage door. the scene is shown to the audience inside on big screens. we get a lot of people crowding around to watch that scene every night. i mean, i would love people to get involved because it adds to it all, you know, it's so exciting. and then if people kind of come and help me or if people are passing, it makes it all just so live and real. and, you know, that's never done in the theatre. so, it's such an exciting element of the musical. and have you've got a coachload of people coming from home? probably! i mean, on legally blonde, the whole village came and they all used to come in pink cowboy hats. this isn't that show. # what is this feeling that's haunting me at all times?# sheridan has been acting professionally since she was a teenager, leaving her home near doncaster and moving to london. i am very proud working class. me dad was from barnsley, proper yorkshireman, so i am very proud
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of where i've come from. but i have been very lucky, you know, like... when i moved to london when i was 16, i did, actually in the theatre next door i played tallulah and i stayed down since i was 16. so i've been one of the lucky ones. but it is quite hard, i think, for... it's getting better, i think working class kids are being able to get into drama schools and things like that, but, yeah, i'm very proud of my roots and being a northerner, like you! yeah! sheridan became a mum in 2020. so, could her son be following in her footsteps? he sees me on telly, like, he sees me in interviews. and then he came to the theatre and he's been in my dressing room and seen the picture and he goes, "mama!" but, yeah, this isn't shirley valentine! this isn't a light, fun show. so, i don't think he'll be watching this one. but he did, he came on stage with me when i did shirley valentine and did the bows, and he was loving it, he was waving to the crowd. but he's my pride and joy.
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he's the reason i do it all. and, yeah, very proud to have him. when he was doing the bows did that worry you, did you think, "oh my god, he's going to be wanting to act straight away?" i did think that, i thought, "oh, no, he's got it in him, "there's something in him, he's loving it all!" charlotte gallagher, bbc news. scientists at europe's centre for sub—atomic particle research — known as sern — have approved a $120 million to search for "ghost" particles — which might exist, but haven't yet been found. they want to find answers to why 95% of the particles they believe make up the universe remain hidden. the scientists intend to smash together a large number of particles in a 27km—long accelerator that lies underneath switzerland. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello, again. they forecast from early has changed because the met office has dropped
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tuesday's and weather warning for significant hills so now in scotland and heavy rain, the amounts we are now expecting will not be as much that hills no. particularly so over parts of south—west england. the key is that we could see in excess of 80 millimetres in the next 5 days. we have this weather front continuing to push north, bringing in some rain and some hill snow, just not as much as originally thought. another weather front coming in from the south—west introducing some rain. in between, there will be lots of cloud around, some brighter spells and the brighter skies across western scotland and it will be breezy through the irish sea as we go through the irish sea as we go through today. temperatures, 5 in lerwick to 12 in norwich, london and st helier. this evening and overnight, our weather front will continue to progress but it won't bring in as much rain as originally
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thought. neitheras bring in as much rain as originally thought. neither as much snow. above 450 metres in the hills of scotland, we are looking at potentially 10 centimetres. but any lower levels won't settle. these are the temperatures, freezing in stornoway to plus 7 as we push down south. tuesday, you can see how a lot of the snow showers will tend to fade, it will be windy across the far north and we still have a weather front moving very slowly north—east and a fair bit of cloud and dry weather. temperatures of 5 in lerwick and 12 in norwich. beyond that, wednesday, a new area of low pressure comes in. it will introduce windy conditions across the south, especially the south western approaches, bands of showers moving north. by then, rain ensconced across the far north of scotland and across the far north of scotland and a blustery day in prospect, 6 in lerwick to 11 in norwich. the easter weekend and end of week, it is
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changeable, unsettled, and showers, spells of rain at times and a fair bit of sunshine, it's not a wash—out. by easter sunday, temperatures slowly rising.
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live from london, this is bbc news. four gunmen accused of carrying out the moscow concert hall attack are charged with terrorism. intense fighting is reported around three hospitals in gaza. aid agencies say dozens of doctors and patients are displaced or detained. here in the uk, parliament is set to be briefed on threats posed by china — which is believed to be behind a wave of cyber attacks. and american comedian kevin hart is honoured for a lifetime achievement award in comedy. we begin in russia, where authorities have charged four men it says attacked a moscow concert hall

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