tv BBC News BBC News October 22, 2017 3:00pm-3:31pm BST
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this is bbc news. the headlines at 3.00pm. communities secretary sajid javid says the government should do more to boost house building. we can sensibly borrow more to invest in the infrastructure that leads to more housing and take advantage of some of the record low interest rates that we have. i think we should be considering that. the zimbabwean president, robert mugabe, is removed as a goodwill ambassador for the world health organisation — two days after his controversial appointment. international trade secretary, liam fox says the government won't decide how much money it will pay the eu after brexit, until the trade deal becomes clear. also in the next hour ——counting the votes injapan‘s snap general election. exit polls suggest the japanese prime minister, shinzo abe, has won a resounding victory. and at 3.30pm, click takes a seat in the world's toughest yacht race. good afternoon and
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welcome to bbc news. a senior cabinet minister has told the bbc that the government should consider borrowing more money to invest in building hundreds of thousands of new homes. speaking on the andrew marr show, the communities secretary sajid javid said up to 300,000 new homes a year are needed — a level of construction not seen since the 1960s. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake reports. new homes are being built, but nowhere near enough. the government admits that the housing market is
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broken. building more is one way to fix that, and community secretary, sajid javid says that more money could be porridge to build them. what i want to do is make sure that we are using everything we have available to deal with this housing crisis, and where that means, for example, that we can sensibly borrow more to invest in the infrastructure that leads to more housing, take advantage of some of the record low interest rates that we have, i think we should absolutely be considering that. as for how many, sajid javid said that up to 300,000 homes are needed annually. that is double the number built last year in england. labour welcomed the announcement, but said they would go further.m is less than we would like to see, but it is a step in the right direction. it is important that it is social and affordable housing, thatis is social and affordable housing, that is so important. this man has been keeping a tight grip on dublin
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spending. but he may have to loosen the reins and borrow to get more homes built. if there are announcement in the government budget last next month, that will considered a shift in government policy. kate webb from shelter said this was a good step in the right direction. they are putting money into the... my they are putting money into the... my problem with the have to buy scheme is that... what the government are now talking about, is exactly what they should have been talking about all along, is that how the government could intervene, to make sure that homes are actually built. when you are in the current environment, where interest rates are very low, and houses are looking
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ata are very low, and houses are looking at a very good investment, the key test for us will be what is actually built at the end of this. we have seen built at the end of this. we have seen a built at the end of this. we have seen a preoccupation in government, supporting homeownership, which is com pletely supporting homeownership, which is completely understandable on one hand, because that is what people aspire to, but when you actually look at the incomes of people who are stuck renting, there is a big gap at the moment between what people can afford, and what he has prices are. so, if the government is serious about helping people, then they have to be making sure that what is being built is a good range of houses, including homes are available as cheaper rent, and that red is affordable if you are doing a job such as a teaching assistant, or working in a shot. so, when it comes to social housing, of course you're making the point that these kinds of houses have to be the right kind of houses. there have been problems in the past with property developers may be not building the
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right type of housing. it has been left to property developers to pick up left to property developers to pick up the slack. what you have seen is the obligations that local authorities are placing on them, when local authorities say, that is what our community needs, 30% affordable housing, but because of the way that the laws are written at the way that the laws are written at the moment, it has been far too easy for property developers to turn round and get out of building new homes that are action desperately neededin homes that are action desperately needed in the local committee. so, i think part of what is being seen in the government, needs to be a new approach, where actually central government, local government and business, are working together to make sure that we are not having loopholes that are easy to exploit, and every tool at the disposal is working together to get the
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generally affordable homes. that is one of the things that we want to see, is the tightening up of the rules about development and section 106 arrangements, so that developers have two admits to building affordable homes. whose role is it, local or national government that make this happen. we have heard so many governments talking about the need for more housing, but it does not always happen, does it? can the government force to give people to ta ke government force to give people to take the land, forced property developers to develop in the correct way, forced construction companies, after a ll way, forced construction companies, after all they have got to be ready to do this work. it has to be everybody working together. there's a lot more that the government could do. at the moment the way that section 16 is written, it is from war easy to get developers out of their obligations. there is far more that the government could do to change the incentives. at the moment, we have extremely expensive
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land market in england, which means that houses are going to be expensive. there is more that the garment could do to make sure that that land is available at cheaper prices, so that it could be developed by people who action have an interest in developing for the community, but local authorities 0dyssey have to play their part as well. they do have to make sure that they are identifying local brands that can bring these types of housing the people does billy need. what we do know, is that local authorities do want to do more, they are desperate to invest themselves in new housing, because they know thatis in new housing, because they know that is what is desperately needed. so, what would also like to do the government doing, is distinctly local authorities, and getting tougher on those who need that incentive. but also if people want to build, giving them the tools they need. japanese prime minister shinzo abe's ruling coalition is on course for a resounding victory in sunday's general election, according to exit polls.
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his party is set to win two thirds of the seats in the japanese parliament. mr abe called the snap election to strengthen his position in the face of the growing threat from north korea. earlier i spoke to our what mr abe's mandate would be for this next term as the japanese premier. this will be his fourth time in parliament. it will be almost certainly his last term as by minister, so he is very likely to use it, to try and pursue his lifelong dream of reforming japan's post—war constitution. shinzo abe is a right—wing nationalist, and he and his supporters seedy pacifist opposed on japan by his supporters seedy pacifist opposed onjapan by the united states at the end of the second world war, as a deep humiliation. they want to get rid of the pacifist
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element, not all at least change it, so element, not all at least change it, so that japan can become what he calls a normal country with a normal military. but, it will be difficult. you need to get a two thirds vote in both houses of parliament, and needs to wina both houses of parliament, and needs to win a referendum of the japanese people. but, it looks like this is his best, last chance to do this. this is quite a turnaround, isn't it for the president. he was suffering from pretty low popularity rating is not so long ago. what is behind the researchers? -- the surgeons. if you go back to the beginning of the summer, his personal popularity rating had dipped below 30%. he was caught up in a couple of political scandals involving close friends of hers. it looked like he could have been ousted as the party leader, but then, the verse them that happened is north korea's dictatorfired then, the verse them that happened is north korea's dictator fired to ballistic missile across japan. in
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the aftermath of that, his popularity, perhaps because of his tough stand dumber stance and tough rhetoric, shinzo abe decided to take the opportunity to call this the collection more than a year early. it was a risk, such as the taken by theresa may last year. and he could have been punished by voters for it, but the gamble has paid off. and of course, north korea, the biggest issue facing the president now. how issue facing the president now. how is he going to deal with that. there is he going to deal with that. there is not a great deal that shinzo abe mkhitaryan she do to stop north korea developing nuclear weapons and firing missiles towards japan or indeed over the top ofjapan. he said they want to invest in more technology to be closer to the americans. quite a lot of people in
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japan wanted to talk to the koreans, but he has pulled that out. but, this does help his agenda of wanted to end the pacifist constitution, because he is able to go but the public and say, look, we face a real threats now from north korea, we have to do something, the cannot be a pacifist country any more, and a lot of japanese people are starting to agree with him. the zimbabwean president, robert mugabe, has been removed as a goodwill ambassador for the world health organisation — two days after his controversial appointment. mr mugabe, who has led his country for 37 years has been condemned over his human rights record. britain and the united states had warned the decision could overshadow the work of the global agency. the new head of the who said he'd listened carefully to all who'd expressed their concerns and rescinded the appointment. 0ur africa correspondent andrew harding is in johannesburg for us. a u—turn by the who, but it has been
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a bit ofa a u—turn by the who, but it has been a bit of a disaster for them, a u—turn by the who, but it has been a bit of a disasterfor them, hasn't it was mike it has been a complete mess up by all those concerned. it makes the leader of the who look not very clever on this. he must have known what he was getting into. this was not some unknown celebrity who happens to have skeletons in the closets that were not known about it, this was president robert mugabe, one of the best—known leaders on the continent, around the world, and 37 years in power. so, it was clearly a political choice, to appoint him to this role. 0ne assumes that he thought that robert mugabe could use his repetition as a statesman to influence other african leaders. but he must have known that there was good to be a backlash. perhaps he did not related it to be this angry and this quick. to be pa rt this angry and this quick. to be part of this is to do with the difference in perception of robert
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mugabe, if you are in britain or america compare to fly in africa. yellow magennis. he is a specialist in longevity, 37 years in power —— yes. he is a specialist in longevity, 37 years in power. younger people see him as the old guard, the big man of africa, something of the past, and embarrassment, but to 20 of leaders and political parties here, here is still celebrate it for his role in zimbabwe's still celebrate it for his role in zimba bwe's liberation struggle, still celebrate it for his role in zimbabwe's liberation struggle, and certainly for the early years of his rule, when zimbabwe did have a world class, or oratory is a very good health care system. and the double 80 appointing him briefly to this goodwill ambassador role, cited his government's commitment to this. when you talk about ordinary zimbabweans trying to get health ca re zimbabweans trying to get health care in zimbabwe, it is a different story. the country is ready
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struggling, and the help system has collapsed. that might be economy is really cycling. —— the economy is released. the international trade secretary liam fox says the government won't decide how much money it will pay to the european union after brexit —— until it becomes clear what trade agreement the two after brexit until it becomes clear what trade agreement the two sides will reach. dr fox says ministers are still trying to establish what the eu wants. iam i am saying that what we would decide is a number, when we can see the final package. discussions we have had with ministers across the european union, we have been very clear on our position. when we said to them, would you, simply give a number before you knew what the outcome was good to be, they say, absolutely not. in which case we say, why should we. but the shadow foreign secretary emily thornberry says she thinks the uk is "heading for no deal". and despite talk of progress at the recent eu summit, the reality is that negotiations
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on the divorce remain deadlocked. in cabbage and is on theresa may's side, because she does not have the strength or the authority to control her backbenchers or her cabinet. i think we are heading to know deal, andl think we are heading to know deal, and i think that is a serious threat to britain. it is not in our interest for that to happen. we will stop it. the headlines on bbc news: community secretary sajid javid says the government need to do more to boost house building. robert mugabe is removed as an ambassador for the world health organisation, to days after his controversial appointment. international trade secretary, liam fox, says that the government will not decide how much money to pay the eu intoa not decide how much money to pay the eu into a trade deal becomes clear. in sport, struggling everton looked
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to be heading to a another premier league defeat. they are 3—1 down. the just one stomach a couple of minutes remaining. it is 0—0 between motherwell and rangers. the winner will face celtic. and exeter have one their match, beating montpelier a. our details on the stories in around one hour's time. the spanish foreign minister has urged people in catalonia to ignore any instructions from the regional government there. yesterday, spain's prime minister, mariano rajoy, announced moves to sack catalonia's government and curtail some of the freedoms of its parliament. the measures follow the disputed independence referendum earlier this month,
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which was declared unconstitutional. speaking to the andrew marr show, alfonso dastis dismissed suggestions that madrid's actions amounted to a coup. if this is a coup, it is the one followed by their government. what we are doing is following strictly the provision of our concentration, which are in no way exceptional. they are a carbon copy of the german constitution, it's a kind of constitution, it's a kind of constitution that you can that you can see in constitution that you can that you can see in western constitution that you can that you can see in western constitutions. as our correspondent bethany bell explained, yesterday's announcement by mariano rajoy was unprecedented. the spanish prime minister has said that he wants to remove the regional government, the regional leadership, he wants to suspend parliament, he wa nts to he wants to suspend parliament, he wants to initiate direct rule from madrid, and he wants to see new
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elections. this is really an up precedent it move, it would mean the first time that madrid has acted to strip one of its regions of its autonomy, and it really deepens the political crisis here. what would have to happen next is that the upper house of the senate would have to vote on these measures, which is expected to happen at the end of this week. prison officers in fourjails are to trial the use of parva spray —— which is similar to pepper spray —— to defend themselves against aggressive inmates. the ministry ofjustice will also issue more than five—thousand body—cameras to officers in england and wales, as well as handcuffs. violence in prisons rose significantly last year —— significantly last year with assaults on staff reaching record levels. the prisons minister, sam gyimah, has been explaining why the new measures are necessary. violence against prison officers is up violence against prison officers is up 24% in the last year. i think we
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need to give officers the tools they need to give officers the tools they need to give officers the tools they need to do theirjob. we need to obviously pilot it to see how it works, but if a prison officer is attacked, surprisingly, then as a last resort, having this, could make a difference, and they should have it. regulators have told several hundred online gambling operators to remove casino games which may appeal to children. the move follows claims that operators are using cartoons and characters to encourage children to play. last year, the industry regulator found 450,000 children in england and wales were gambling every week. a woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder, after a baby fell from a sixth—floor window in bradford. west yorkshire police say the 23—year—old woman is undergoing a medical assessment in custody. officers have described the death of the 18—month—old child as "extremely traumatic" and say specially—trained officers are working to support his family. a eurosceptic billionaire
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businessman in the czech republic has won the general election. andre babishthe country's second richest man won 30 per cent of the vote . it's not enough to govern alone —— but it puts him far ahead of his rivals. rob cameron has more from prague. this is what success looks like for a man who has already tasted so much of it. his business empire controls much of czech agriculture, chemicals and the media. but now he's set his sights much higher. after almost four years at the finance ministry, the slovak—born business tycoon is on the brink of becoming prime minister. translation: i've already congratulated all the chairmen who got into parliament, and we hope they will be willing to deal with us. i think it would be good to have a stable government for our country, which will fight
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for our interests. it was a result few had predicted. andrej babis's prospects had dimmed in recent months after a string of scandals, two separate criminal investigations into claims he fraudulently obtained eu funds for a luxury resort. he said all of that was a campaign against him, a political witch—hunt by an establishment terrified of his pledge to clean up corruption. "trust me," he said — and the voters believed him. populist, mildly eurosceptic, and hostile to immigration, despite his non—czech origins, he's left the established centre—left and centre—right parties in tatters. instead, a host of new protest parties, including the far—right spd. they want to ban islam in the czech republic and also hold a referendum on leaving the european union. they're unlikely to get one,
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but attitudes are hardening here — to the eu and to migrants. and andrej babis has tapped into them. rob cameron, bbc news, prague. donald trump's indicated that he will allow the release of secret files relating to the assassination of former us presidentjohn f kennedy. the final batch of government documents are scheduled to be made public on thursday 25 years after congress classified them in a bid to quash conspiracies — only the president is entitled to extend their secret status. earlier, i spoke to the author and broadcaster, and asked him what to expect from the files. they seem to be focused on a trip that lee harvey oswald took to new mexico, just before he shot the
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president. this has always been a question that people who are, not just conspiracy theorists, but historians, want to know more about. it is reported that he met with cuban and russian officials there. he was under surveillance by the fbi and the cia. these files contain some of the details about this, which may fill in our knowledge about what he was doing, just in the weeks before he actually committed deed. so, the idea that he did not work alone, even that's what he says, how much you mean about that. frankly, this is what happens if you are not open and transparent from the get go. because you just feed conspiracy theorists. we will find out more. there will be people who will never be an convinced that it was just lee harvey oswald shooting on his own, when they find out something that's backed up. perhaps,
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the cia waiting through. some people think that the cia knew what was happening and just waiting through. just before i did this interview, i looked at youtube, and sawdust once again, the day after he was arrested in dallas, where lee harvey oswald said, i'm just in dallas, where lee harvey oswald said, i'mjusta in dallas, where lee harvey oswald said, i'm just a patsy. those words we re said, i'm just a patsy. those words were echo down in history for those who want to find conspiracy. is there anybody who would not want these files to be released. there is some suggestion that the cia might not be too happy. well, it's possible that the cia might not want them to be released. initially it was kept quiet, because there were still agents acting. however, was kept quiet, because there were stillagents acting. however, i think the cia is most concerned about, is that we will find out a lot about the way that they were investigating cuba and russia, just a year after the cu ban investigating cuba and russia, just a year after the cuban missile crisis. i don't think the cia once
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that revealed. i think we will learn about their trade craft. they don't wa nt about their trade craft. they don't want people to know how big are about finding information. donald trump says, he is going to release it in less it is something very serious, i think you will milk this all he can between now and thursday. america's five living former presidents have gathered in texas, for a benefit concert to help the victims of the hurricanes which have hit the united states this year. barack 0bama, george w bush, his father george h—w bush, bill clinton, and jimmy carter came together to support the one america appeal, following the hurricanes harvey, irma and maria. the appeal has so far raised more than 30 million dollars. bill clinton had this message for americans. there is still work to be done in texas and florida, and ourfriends in puerto rico and the us virgin islands have already begun to dig their way out of what could be still a calamitous disaster but can be a new beginning — if we just do what we ought to do and prove that the heart of america,
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without regard to race or religion or political party, is greater than our problems. at the age of 21, alex tew had a brainwave. aiming to become a millionaire, he set up a website and sold the pixels it contained to advertisers for a dollar each. by 2005, he'd achieved his dream. but what came next for the young entrepreneur? 0ur correspondent robert hall has been to meet him. 0n the streets of san francisco, alex tew has travelled a long way from the day he made a million. 21—year—old alex tew set up the website in his bedroom after spending a restless night working out how he could become
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a millionaire before going to university... every computer image is made up of tiny dots or pixels. alex sold a million of them, in blocks at $1 each, just enough screen space for advertisers to show their own logo or a link to their website. alex, and this happens while you're sleeping, effectively? yeah, that's the beauty of the internet. i am sitting here right now, and i have probably made a few more dollars since i woke up. that idea and that time of my life was really at turning point. the true value of the million dollar homepage was not the money it made me, but actually the relationships that formed as a result. 12 years on, with a string of successful projects behind him, alex has embarked on another, but this time the high flyer is trying to persuade the rest of us to slow down. i was actually working on something to do with meditation and the internet combined, even when i was about 16. it was always in the back of my mind
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to combine those two interests. well over 8 million people are now using the website and app. we are on track to do about $20 million of revenue this year. mental— health issues are on the rise. what's more important is the value it's creating in the world. a trip back home to gloucestershire offers a chance to draw breath and to reflect on the past. he had always been an ideas guy, even from seven or eight. all these experiences opened doors he never imagined. what he has also shown is that he's really committed to continuing with ideas. alex may have found a new direction of travel, but what advice had he for today's would—be entrepreneurs? we live in a culture where everything is instant. people expect things to happen and go perfectly for them, and it's not the case.
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be doggedly persistent and go after your goals with relentless focus and drive, because it is a competitive world out there. he may be a little more thoughtful, but alex tew is not slowing down. there are so many more challenges down the track. robert hall, bbc news. good morning, as storm brian wea ke ns, good morning, as storm brian weakens, it turns a bit dry and bright as the days go out on. still stars in north—west scotland, probably best of the sunshine in north wales and the midlands, and use anger and the midlands by this afternoon. temperatures are little
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lower, it right originally. 0vernight, rural spot is going down to below single figures. —— low single figures. mild air coming in. this will take rain east across the uk quay tomorrow. even into the often, it is still close to southern and eastern part of england, whereas elsewhere, brighter skies come back, and it feels a little warmer.
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