tv BBC News BBC News March 25, 2018 8:00pm-8:31pm BST
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this is bbc news. the headlines at 8pm. thousands of protesters take to the streets of barcelona after former catalonian president carles puigdemont is arrested in germany. these are the latest pictures from barcelona as separatist supporters call for mr puigdemont‘s release. the australia cricket captain, steve smith, has been banned for one match by cricket's ruling body — the icc — over the ball—tampering scandal. the australian prime minister says he's shocked and disappointed. an extra 3,000 midwives are to be trained in england to ease staff shortages and improve care. a teenage girl is seriously injured after a car deliberately drives at children in glasgow. police are treating the incident as attempted murder. also in the next hour — lewis hamilton is denied victory in the formula 1 season opener. sebastian vettel pushed the current world champion into second place in melbourne, despite hamilton qualifying in pole position. and in 30 minutes — the travel show team visit uluru, one of australia's
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most iconic destinations. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the former catalan president, carles puidgemont, will appear before a judge tomorrow following his arrest in germany. he is wanted in spain for sedition and rebellion. meanwhile, thousands of people have been protesting in barcelona against his arrest. mr puigdemont had fled to belgium after catalonia's disputed independence referendum last 0ctober. joining me now from barcelona isjournalist anna llado ferrer. what is the mood in barcelona
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tonight? we can see plenty of people on the streets. good evening from barcelona. i am just outside the german consulate, and the protesters ended up here. there are thousands of people, at least 55,000 people, took to the streets in barcelona, and they started their rally, their concentration in front of the office of the european commission in barcelona, in the centre of barcelona, in the centre of barcelona, and they went to their office, to the german consulate in barcelona, to demand that carles puigdemont is released and also freedom for what they call political prisoners. right now, the protesters have ended up at around 8:30pm. there are still people here outside the office of the journey and
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consulate here in barcelona. —— the german consulate. how concerned i've read that this time carles puigdemont will be extradited back to spain? they don't know what is happening. they are here in front of the german consulate to ask the german authorities for the release of puigdemont, because they are very concerned about the situation in catalonia. that is why they are protesting in the centre of the city. and they demand that puigdemont is released. what impact is this uncertainty having on the entire separatist movement in catalonia? it has a big impact, because this week there was a session to vote the next president, the next catalan president, but there was division in the
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pro—independence parties, it is undecided. 0n the other side, they have a big problem with puigdemont, who has been detained in germany, and they are very concerned because they didn't know what will happen with the president of catalonia, who will be the next president of catalonia, because parliament should choose a president before two months and, if they don't choose a president, we will have elections in catalonia, and they are very concerned with the situation, and article 155 of the spanish constitution is still in catalonia, suspending the spanish government, so suspending the spanish government, so they can't release puigdemont, so they are hearing from the german consulate. we will hopefully have some more clarity tomorrow, but for the moment, thank you for your time. jeremy corbyn has said
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he is "sincerely sorry" for the pain caused by "pockets of anti—semitism" in the labour party. in a statement, the labour leader said he would be meeting representatives of the jewish community this week. he said he now aimed to "rebuild" confidence in labour among jewish people in the uk. the comments came after mr corbyn was criticised for sending an apparently supportive message to the creator of an allegedly anti—semitic mural in 2012. 0ur correspondent iain watson gave us the details. he came under fire he came underfire again in recent days because what was unearthed was his response about five years ago to an artist on facebook who produced clearly what looked like an anti—semitic image as a mural. he complained that they tried to take it down and thatjeremy corbyn at that point that freedom of speech, but it turned out that he subsequently released a statement
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saying he regretted it, that it was right to take it down. he was under a lot of pressure, especially from jewish members of the labour party and jewish mps, to do precisely that. he has been underfurther pressure to make clear his views on what the labour party ought to be doing when these kind of things occui’ doing when these kind of things occur in the future, and tonight he has done so in a more comprehensive way than before. what has he said? he has issued a statement in the last half an hour saying, we recognise there are pockets of anti—semitism in the labour party, causing pain and hurt to thejewish community, but he also says he is sincerely sorry for the pain which has been caused, so not simply a statement of regret or intent to tighten up label toss procedures, clearly saying he is sorry for the pain that has been caused, and pledging to meet representatives from the jewish communities, pledging to meet representatives from thejewish communities, and saying that the purpose is to
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rebuild confidence in the labour party, so i think he is beginning not just to feel the political heat but also potentially the electoral consequences on whether there was a problem with members of thejewish community, many of whom supported labour in the past, continuing to vote labour under his leadership he has taken this head on. we will not have the details until later, but the board of deputies of british jews are expressing concerns, so to some extent is responding to what we expect to be further criticism, but also in response to the criticism he has faced over the past few days. another political story today, a former brexit campaigner says he will present evidence to mps tomorrow which he claims shows the vote leave group broke election laws in the run up to the referendum in 2016. shahmir sanni says vote leave got around spending limits by channelling funds through another pro—brexit group. both organisations strongly deny any wrongdoing, but labour has called for the allegations to be investigated. here's iain watson once more.
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there could be a very simple explanation for vote leave's victory. they may well have run a better campaign and, well, more voters wanted to leave the eu than remain. but one of vote leave's volunteers claims that the main brexit campaign didn't play by the rules, and spent more money than was allowed. vote leave was permitted to spend £7 million but as they approached that limit they gave an additional £625,000 to smaller operations, called beleave, which is fine just so long as beleave was a genuinely independent campaign. but it is alleged it may have been nothing more than a front for vote leave itself. there was coordination, they say there wasn't but there was. beleave was set up by vote leave and until after the referendum we were constantly communicating with senior members of vote leave, being instructed by them, before and after the referendum.
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shahmir sanni claims that vote leave and beleave were so interlinked that they even shared the same computer drives. that level of coordination he says would break electoral law. but in a tweet, leading brexit campaign boris johnson described the allegations as utterly ludicrous and said that vote leave won fair and square and legally. vote leave's former campaign director dominic cummings has dismissed the allegations. the former vote leave volunteer shahmir sanni says his lawyers will produce more evidence tomorrow to back up his allegations. we will see, but it is certainly the case that the referendum watchdog, the electoral commission, is already investigating. and some opposition politicians here at westminster say that their powers are stuck in the analogue age and are inadequate to deal with the challenges of the digital world. what i think needs to happen is,
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theresa may needs to make sure the electoral commission has the resources to fully investigate the allegations made that there was collusion, criminal collusion, because let's remember, the people that led these campaigns are now senior cabinet members. i think what this whole saga demonstrates is that the electoral commission simply doesn't have the resources or the power, it has been looking at this for more than a year and nothing has happened. whatever the result of the investigation into vote leave's activities, government ministers have been clear, the referendum won't be rerun. well a reminder this coming thursday marks 1 year to go before the uk leaves the eu and throughout the week we will be putting your questions to a range of experts. you can send us your questions by emailing them to askthis texting us at 61124 or tweet using the hashtag bbcaskthis. australia's cricket captain,
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steve smith, has been banned from playing in the final test match in south africa amid a ball—tampering scandal described by prime minister malcolm turnbull as a "shocking disappointment". smith had already been forced to hand over his duties as captain for the third test. there are still questions for the wider leadership of the national team after a player was caught on camera manipulating the ball with a piece of tape. 0ur sports correspondent andy swiss reports. in the eye of a cricketing storm, steve smith, booed onto the field in cape town, the world's best batsman given one of its worst receptions after a scandal which has shocked a sport and shamed a nation. smith had orchestrated a plan to cheat by getting his team—mate cameron bancroft to tamper with the ball using sticky tape and make it harder to play against. but they were caught on camera and they confessed all, the resulting controversy leaving a country which defines itself by cricket struggling for answers right to the very top.
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0ur cricketers, our role models, and cricket is synonymous with fair play. how can our team be engaged in cheating like this? and the fallout has been swift. after agreeing to stand down as captain for the rest of this match, smith has now been suspended for the next one, the cricket authorities saying his actions were clearly contrary to the spirit of the game, and that game is united in outrage. smith's predecessor michael clarke tweeted it was like a bad dream, and many believe the captain's position is untenable. i think he probably has no way out of this. his reputation has died completely, he was the guy who won the ashes for australia, he was absolutely immovable, people calling him the best test batsman since don bradman. well, his reputation has collapsed almost overnight. there are further questions
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for coach darren lehman over whether he knew anything, and for bancroft, who has been fined for his involvement. but perhaps most of all for the culture of australian cricket. their aggressive approach has won them few friends, as bancroft also discovered today, booed back to the pavilion, sympathy is in short supply. australia has been taking this high and mighty line recently, saying you can't cross this line and we're the purveyors ofjustice on a cricket field. and i know that within cricket that has wound a lot of people up, because they know that's australia get into the sledging and they will be quite glad that this has happened to them. and to make it worse smith was out for seven as australia were thrashed. after losing this match, both he and his team now face a far bigger challenge, to save their reputation. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30pm
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our guests joining me tonight are the broadcaster and former national newspaper editor eve pollard, and charlie wells from the economist. another 3,000 training places for midwives in england will be made available over the next four years, in what the government says is the "largest ever" boost to nhs midwives and maternity staff. it's part of plans to address staff shortages. the royal college of midwives has welcomed the new training places but says they'll only address part of the problem because the nhs in england is short of the required number of midwives right now. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports. providing most women with care from the same midwives throughout their pregnancy, labour and birth is the aim of the plan for england announced today. it is hoped this will reduce the chances of miscarriages and premature births. to try to achieve it ministers say there will be a boost to the number of training places for new midwives and support staff. health unions have welcomed it but warned it will take time. the benefits of those extra midwives is not going to be seen until four years hence and then the years
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after, so there's pressures in the service at the moment, which need to be addressed. here's how the numbers look right now. there were just over 22,500 midwives in post in england in 2017. the royal college of midwives estimates there's a shortfall of around 3,500. the new plan will create an extra 650 midwifery training places next year. that will be followed by 1,000 new places in each of the three subsequent years. but like nurses in england, the students will now have to pay tuition fees. the government knows that recruitment and retention in the nhs is a problem — one reason why it recently announced a 6.5% pay deal over three years for many staff in england. there's pressure on ministers to find more money to put into front—line services. the idea of a dedicated nhs tax has been floated, and it wasn't ruled out today.
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if you ask the public about the nhs, they're very clear they would like to see more money going to the nhs, they would be prepared to see some of their own taxes going into the nhs. but they are very clear they want to know that money is actually going into the nhs and social care system, and they want to know that the nhs is going to reform. labour argues there is a need for an immediate cash injection with the nhs under severe pressure. the political debate on health and social care funding is certainly gathering pace. with me now is elizabeth duff, who's senior policy adviser with the nct, the nct, the national childbirth trust. what are the pressures that necessitate these extra places? it's been a thinly stretched and overgrown workforce for quite some
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time, over ten years, overgrown workforce for quite some time, overten years, as overgrown workforce for quite some time, over ten years, as we have heard from the royal college of midwives, and the nct have been campaigning to get more midwives and better deployed workforce with this continuity that has now been promised. how much difference will the main places make eventually when they come on stream? let's hope the lot of difference does the older, more experienced with wives, who are very valuable, i hope that some of them who may have been planning to retire, i hope some of them will think, we've got some new blood coming in, i'll stay think, we've got some new blood coming in, i'llstaya bit long think, we've got some new blood coming in, i'll stay a bit long and helped to train them, and we won't have a loss of continuity. you can't insta ntly have a loss of continuity. you can't instantly produce a few thousand extra midwives, they take years to train. they have to go through three yea rs train. they have to go through three years 01’ more. train. they have to go through three years or more. how appealing is it asa years or more. how appealing is it as a career now? i hope very appealing, as we all do. there are still a lot of young women and men keen to do the midwifery training
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and work in that area, so i think the main thing is to get them through, given the fantastic training they get, and give them a job they can really do and get satisfaction out, and not be running around from pillar to post, happen to ta ke around from pillar to post, happen to take on a virtually impossible workload. to what extent is itjust about the extra midwives? hopefully that's all you need, you don't need a doctor, but sometimes you need intervention. absolutely, all about teamwork. the way things work best within a maternity unit is doctors and midwives, support workers and others, all working together, knowing each other in a team, doing their skills and drills together in an emergency, and women being able to get to know every member of the team, if possible, so there is a lwa ys team, if possible, so there is always a familiar face. when we think of midwives, i suppose we think of midwives, i suppose we think of midwives, i suppose we think of the point where you are about to give birth, when you are in labour, but they are involved in ca re labour, but they are involved in care way before all that. what
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difference can i could make to that? we have read some of the systematic evidence about continuity of midwife led care, showing a reduction in miscarriage and preterm birth, which would be fantastic if we can get that, because that is not only a tremendous emotional anxiety burden for a family but, of course, a huge cost when babies have to go into neonatal intensive care because they are too little, and it can have an impact on their whole life. so there is all of that. there is women having a familiar face, being able to build a relationship with their midwife, which can make a big difference. continuity postnatally, when a woman can be feeling pretty knocked back with the recovery from the birth, as well as caring for herself, and has anxieties and the need for care 24/7 for the new baby, so need for care 24/7 for the new baby, so that is where continuity can make a difference. the outcomes for the overall health of mother and baby
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are linked to midwifery care then? absolutely, continuity has been shown to reduce preterm births and have a lot of other, generally reducing unnecessary intervention around the time of the birth, and we get a great deal of feedback and, generally, it is saying that women feel more relaxed, confident and safer if they are being looked after bya safer if they are being looked after by a midwife that they've had the chance to get to know and trust, and that can be two or three of them, it can't always be the same individual, but it is that knowledge and knowing that those midwives know their story, which can sometimes be difficult, previous loss of pregnancy or perhaps a baby with poor mental health, or women who have been victims of abuse, key knowledge to have, and hugely valuable support when a midwife knows that story and can work with them. thank you. the headlines on bbc news:
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separatist supporters take to the streets of barcelona calling for the release of carles puigdemont, after the former catalonian president was arrested in germany. jeremy corbyn says he is sincerely sorry for the pain caused by what he describes as pockets of anti—semitism within labour. an extra 3000 midwives are to be trained in england — to ease staff shortages and improve care. sport now, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre. the australian prime minister said today he is shocked and bitterly disappointed at the ball tampering scandal that has marred australia's third test with south africa. captain steve smith has been suspended for one match and find his entire match the ticket pitted conspiring with cameron bancroft to tamper with the ball, and things got
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worse for australia, slumping to a crushing defeat in cape town. smith was booed onto the ground as he came into bat, australia 59—4 at the time. he lost his wicket for seven, australia truly lacklustre. they we re australia truly lacklustre. they were bowled out for 107, to lose the match by 322 runs, but all the talk was focused on those ball tampering revelations. the australians i have been speaking to our devastated. they feel let down by the way that their team has behaved. they don't like cheats, and their captain has admitted he has done, so it's important for cricket australia to rebuild that trust, i am sure there will be a new captain, maybe some players, but overall they should look at the way that their players and team play the game of cricket. most people in the rest of the cricket world don't like it. meanwhile, england captain joe cricket world don't like it. meanwhile, england captainjoe root was dismissed with the last ball of the day to leave england trailing
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new zealand by 237 runs going into the last day of the first test. the home side got alastair cook out early in england's second innings forjust early in england's second innings for just two runs. early in england's second innings forjust two runs. mark stoneman reached his fourth test half—century with a six, but out of next ball, caught by trent boultjoe root also reached 50 but then he took a nasty hit to the glove from trent boult, receiving lengthy treatment, and out off the next ball, off the bowling off the next ball, off the bowling of trent boult. england must now bat out the final day for a draw tomorrow. by contrast, england's women in great form, a brilliant 52 ball century for wyatt. england topped the table with two wins from two. in tennis, johanna konta is through to the fourth round of the miami open. she is the defending champion at the event and she made relatively light work of elise
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merton ‘s. the world number 14 took the first set comfortably, and it got better in the second set, 6—2, 6-1 got better in the second set, 6—2, 6—1 in the final score, and she makes her way into the last 16, with venus williams a possible opponent. the opening race of the formula 1 season the opening race of the formula 1 season ended with a setback for lewis hamilton, the reigning world champion settling for second place, as curare's champion settling for second place, as cu ra re's sebastian champion settling for second place, as curare's sebastian vettel won the race. earl on the 25th lap after a miscalculation by mercedes under a safety car, sebastian vettel was able to pick stop and take the lead from there. the german held uncomfortably to claim his 48th formula 1 victory, with hamilton in second, and sebastian vettel‘s team—mate, kimi raikkonen, third. leicester tigers have boosted their play—off hopes in the rugby union championship, with a win over wasps.
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it was tense at welford road, with leicester fighting back from it was tense at welford road, with leicesterfighting back from being eight points down. england wing elliot daly went over twice in the cornerfor elliot daly went over twice in the corner for wasps macro, elliot daly went over twice in the cornerfor wasps macro, giving them the half—time lead, but three second half penalties and george ford helps leicester to come back and seal the victory by a single point. victory sees the tigers moved up to fifth. they are three points off the final play—off spot. britain's simon yates is one of the final stage of the tour of catalonia, so he finished in fourth overall. a spanish rider took the title, claiming his second straight win. that's after his main rival for the title crashed towards the end of today's final stage in barcelona. that is all of the sport for now. we'll be back with more later. tributes have been paid to singer lys assia — the first winner of the eurovision song contest — who died yesterday. she was 94.
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0ur reporter noel phillips takes a look back at her life. it's 1956. the year that lys assia became the first ever winner of the eurovision song contest. across decades, she was an inspiration, paving the way for generations of contestants. including bucks fizz, who won the contest in 1981 with making your mind up. abba in 1974 with waterloo, which became an international hit across the world. a life dedicated to eurovision, assia was born in 1924 and started her career as a dancer. hello, i think this is only fitting, it's only fitting you wear this a eurovision icon, she returned to the show‘s 60th anniversary and was crowned as the queen of eurovision in 2015.
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when i started, it was 60 years ago, we had seven countries only, in lugano, switzerland. nobody knew what would happen. an ambassador to the singing contest, at the age of 87 she returned to eurovision, but this time without success. fans have been paying tribute to the singer, who turned 94 earlier this month, including the show‘s producer, who says she will be missed. lys assia's death marks the end of an era in eurovision history, one which she helped define. noel phillips, bbc news. with me now is alasdair rendall, president of the 0gae — the uk's biggest eurovision fan club. what did lys assia mean to
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eurovision fans? she was the first lady of eurovision, and it feels like a chapter is closed on those early, pioneering days of eurovision, when she represented her country and she won the first—ever contest in 1956. a very different era, very contest in 1956. a very different era, very genteel and elegant compared to some of the pizzazz we see now. absolutely, the era of ball gowns and dinnerjackets, very sedate and formal, miles from the flag—waving exuberance you get now, but the essence of the contest is still the same. tell us what you thought of the song she sang?m still the same. tell us what you thought of the song she sang? it was great for its time. it was that very post—war chanson, a gentle ballad, and she sang it magnificently, a great voice, powerfulsinger, and she sang it magnificently, a great voice, powerful singer, and it
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summed up those early 1950s, black and white era eurovision. she didn't just win it and walk away. she remained committed to the eurovision movement. yes, she had four songs in eurovision over the years, she was very loyal to the contest. she came to many fan events over the years. we have memories of her at the after parties in stockholm a couple of yea rs parties in stockholm a couple of years ago, dancing the night away with eurovision fans until the early hours. she loved the contest and the contest loved her. how much less political was the voting back then? a very difficult question! there has a lwa ys a very difficult question! there has always been an element of cultural voting, and it was a different era but, at its heart, the contest was the same. was their political voting in1956? the same. was their political voting in 1956? who knows? a sad week generally poor eurovision overwrought, because katie and she was associated with the competition.
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the phrase icon is overused, but we have lost two, with katie boyle, who hosted for the uk on four occasions, probably the best presenter eurovision has ever had. and like lys assia, she was loyal to the contest lys assia, she was loyal to the co ntest a nd lys assia, she was loyal to the contest and its fans. thank you very much for paying tribute. good to see you. time for a look at the weather with phil avery. it hasn't been a bad day for many parts of the british isles. a bit more cloud in the south—eastern quarter, but that's the sort of thing many of you will have looked at. perhaps for some even less cloud than that. this evening at overnight, we'll lose some of that cloud that has developed through the day and, underneath clear
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