tv BBC News BBC News April 2, 2018 4:00pm-4:30pm BST
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this is bbc news. the headlines: winnie mandela, the south african anti—apartheid campaigner and second wife of nelson mandela, has died at the age of 81. doctors warn the nhs is facing a year—round crisis — with claims the pressures of winter look set to continue over the summer. we're likely to see trolley waits and pressures on beds similar to the winters of 2015 and 2016. the director of public prosecutions, alison saunders, will stand down in october when her contract expires, after a series of recent controversies. china hits back at us trade tariffs with new import taxes worth over £2 billion. us pork, nuts and wine are among the products hit — as beijing responds to president trump's duties on steel and aluminium. the m62 near bradford reopens after a crash which killed two people. a man has been arrested. china's abandoned space lab comes to a fiery end as it falls to earth over the south pacific.
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and, 70 years on from sex, lies and murder on the high seas, new evidence about the porthole mystery. that's in half an hour, here on bbc news. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. winnie mandela, the former wife of nelson mandela, has died. she was 81. she played a significant role in the anti—apartheid movement in south africa during the years when her husband was in prison, but was often at the centre of controversy. she trained as a social worker and met her future husband in the 1950s. they were married for a total of 38 years, although for almost three decades of that time they were separated due to mr mandela's imprisonment.
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they separated two years after his release, and divorced in 1996. she kept his surname and maintained ties with him. a spokesman for her family said she died "after a long illness, for which she had been in and out of hospital since the start of the year". we will have much more on that comment and we will be talking to nelson mandela's former goddaughter late in the hour. doctors say the nhs in england is likely to see its "winter crisis" extend into the summer because of continuing pressures on the system. figures analysed by the british medical association show that hospitals can expect similar problems with a&e attendances, waiting times and admissions reaching alarming numbers this summer. the government says it's planning to increase the funding to the nhs by £10 billion a year by 2020. richard lister reports. how does that feel? winter always puts hospitals under pressure. this was university hospital of north tees injanuary, one of many in england battling one
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of the most difficult winter seasons yet, with flu and norovirus forcing evermore people to seek treatment. but the british medical association says, without more money for the nhs a&e, the numbers waiting more than four hours to be admitted, will be as great as the winter months, and we are likely to see trolley waiting times and pressures on beds similar to the winters of 2015 and 2016. looking at the past five years of data in england, the bma forecasts that, betweenjuly and september this year, there could be up to 6.2 million visits to a&e, resulting in more than 750,000 people having to wait more than four hours to be seen, and almost 150,000 spending that time on a hospital trolley. those waiting times are more than 5%
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higher than the government's official targets, and the bma says funding cuts over decades have resulted in insufficient doctors and hospital beds to meet demand. the winter crisis, it warns, could be here to stay. the staff themselves seem to be working incredibly hard. the worry is that they are just running on empty, and it's... it's difficult to see how they are going to be able to keep going. i've got no complaints at the moment, but if i had a chronic health condition, i would be concerned about increased waiting times. it's no secret that demand for hospital care is growing. the government says it recognises that, too, and injected an extra £2.8 billion into nhs england last year, to be followed by another £10 billion in the budget from 2020. but the bma's concern that money may be too little, too late. the demands on the nhs in england are becoming overwhelming, it says, and it may no longer rely on the summer months
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to take the pressure off. richard lister, bbc news. let's go to the hospital where winnie mandela died earlier. the hospital team and family are giving this conference. in salute of this great icon. the mandela family are very grateful for the gift of her life and, even as our hearts break at her passing, we urge all of those who loved her to celebrate this most remarkable south african woman. the family, the african national congress and the government will release details of the memorial and funeral services once all this has been finalised. end of statement. thank you very much, comrades. we
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are here to send our condolences to the mandela family, to the two families together. they have become one. the african national conference is also sending its condolences. and the president will be visiting the family home this evening, and i would imagine that he would make a comment there. all that i can add is that one of the very few of the icons of the struggle, she is one of those who will tell us exactly what
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is wrong and what is right at any time. we are going to be missing that, because it is notjust an icon because of the length of your involvement in the struggle. you become an icon when you provide the ideas. we are sending our condolences to all of the families affected, to everybody, every member of the anc is sending our condolences. thank you very much. good afternoon. i'm a bishop from the methodist church of southern africa. i spent some time this morning around about 12pm, midday, with some of the family, spent some time in prayer with mum winnie shortly after that, we received a
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phone call saying she had moved on. the methodist church of southern africa considers it a gift to have mama winnie as part of our community. she spent good friday at oui’ community. she spent good friday at our service in soweto. mama winnie remained in soweto and, even as we speak, was worshipping in soweto over this weekend and, yesterday, on easter sunday, she spent the morning at one of the churches in soweto, celebrating easter sunday. the methodist church of southern africa extends its deepest condolences to the family, to all of those who know her, both here in south africa, africa and, indeed, across the world. an icon, a giant, is laid to rest. we thank god for her life. good afternoon to you all. first and
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foremost, i'd like to thank you all here for your support. as i speak, on behalf of the family, we'd like to request that you all bear with us after this unfortunate incident. it's one none of us had predicted. we will do our best to ensure that everyone is well informed in order that our grandmother, who played an important role to all of us in this room, and to the further society. it's a tragic loss to us all, so i sent condolences to everyone, to all that turned up in support of mama winnie and the family. thank you.
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so, members of the family, her grandson paying tribute to mama winnie, as she was affectionately known. i'm joined by nelson mandela's goddaughter. as such, you got to know the family well. the irony is she is particularly well for when her husband was imprisoned. absolutely. that's exactly when she really became infamous, i think that's the word we are looking for. that word pays more tribute, perhaps, to her time later in life, because she was a very controversial figure for much of that time. because she was a very controversial figure for much of that timelj think she became a very controversial figure. think she became a very controversialfigure. neil mallender della started out —— winnie mandela started out a wonderful, vibrant lady, very devoted to her husband, and she played a very major role in his life in the early days. how it
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panned out, and her involvement with the anc and the armed wing of it, it then became a different story of it, i think. without her, i mean, then became a different story of it, ithink. without her, i mean, she was tireless during her husband's time in prison, and partly responsible for the huge profile. that moment when they walked out, looking at the pictures now, anybody who remembers watching that live, it is indelibly marked as a moment of history. and really a history that was delighted with the most incredible trauma, being exiled to a foreign land where she didn't even speak the language. the amount of abuse she suffered during that period as well. it was a major victory for herself as well as her husband that she'd managed to raise the profile so enormously, and done such tireless work, as you say, she did a phenomenal thing. it's a great
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shame that it did descend into a lot of controversy but, you know, really the work she did must be admired. of controversy but, you know, really the work she did must be admiredm descended into a trial, and some very graphic evidence being given, a murder trial, and she was implicated in that. how do you think that history willjudge her?|j in that. how do you think that history willjudge her? i think we have to be very careful in terms of judgment, because who of anyone can judge somebody who has been through such a traumatic life, worked tirelessly and really done an awful lot in the name ofjustice and freedom. so i thinkjudgment, you know, i think none of us can really judge. difficult for her, standing next to her then husband, who of course became the global icon, the face of the anti—apartheid movement and, of course, the first black president of south african. that left her with a life very much in
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the shadows, a life she perhaps didn't deserve. of course. i think all the work she had done behind the scenes, she probably had deserved a lot better life and she ended up receiving. like you say, the exile she experienced and so on, it really was a very traumatic life to lead. do we perhaps outside south africa misunderstand ? as we just do we perhaps outside south africa misunderstand? as we just heard, do we perhaps outside south africa misunderstand? as wejust heard, she is still talked of in terms of mama winnie. i think so, is still talked of in terms of mama winnie. ithink so, and i think there is a great affection and i'm quite sure that opinion is divided, because an awful lot of people do know about some of the more controversial involvements that she had. but, you know, ithink we controversial involvements that she had. but, you know, i think we need to know all of the facts before anyone can really form a good judgment or opinion about her life and what she actually did for the apartheid movement. is easy to be
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judgmental about a woman, about her marriage. 0nly judgmental about a woman, about her marriage. only two people ever really know what happens in a marriage but, it has to be said, without her, things could have been different with nelson mandela. without her, things could have been different with nelson mandelalj different with nelson mandela.” totally agree. that's why i say we need to be very careful and reserve oui’ need to be very careful and reserve ourjudgment, because the life she led, it was quite extraordinary, quite pivotal, and it had a major impact. it would be nice if we could remember a lot of the good work that she did do and, you know, be informed about some of the more controversial things. in reality, informed about some of the more controversialthings. in reality, i think deep condolences should go out to the family, and the respect due that she does leave. thank you. you are very welcome. let's talk to the africa regional editor with bbc africa. 0ne africa regional editor with bbc africa. one word is coming out everywhere, and it is controversial.
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she was controversial, but one reason why she was, while her then husband was spending 27 years in jail, winnie mandela was right at the forefront, at the coal face of the forefront, at the coal face of the anti—apartheid struggle, and therefore she had to get her hands dirty, and perhaps she got them rather dirtier than many would have hoped. for example, she endorsed a form of killing known as necklace ing, with burning tyres could erode peoples necks, she was implicated in the murder of a young lad from the townships, but she was greatly loved by, especially the poor, downtrodden people of south africa, the ones who really suffered under apartheid, she was a heroine to this day. peter hain says, she suffered so much bringing up two goals while nelson was imprisoned, beaten up, banished, harassed in prison, fearlessly divide in part of the apartheid state. remember that when correctly criticising her later life. peter hain, very close to the issue of anti—apartheid south africa. it is
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very easy to be judgmental, as we we re very easy to be judgmental, as we were hearing from nelson mandela's goddaughter. but that moment, when nelson mandela came out of prison, and he had her hand inheres, it's an iconic image and, at the time, it was iconic because we knew our hard she had fought. absolutely, and i think few people will forget that image, when they saw the couple emerging hand in hand. the anti—apartheid fist raised. they work this sort of friend, the mandela brand, and then it started to fall apart, maybe because of nelson mandela's long years in jail, her long years, she herself spent time in solitary confinement, bringing up children under these difficult circumstances, being banished to a remote part of south africa. that had its scars, so their marriage crumbled and, in some ways, for many people, that was almost the beginning of the end of the
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post—apartheid dream. it wasn't as simple as that. desmond tutu, nobel laureate, has just said that she is a defining symbol of the struggle against apartheid and refused to be bound by the imprisonment of her husband, the harassment of her family by security forces and banishment. the greatest defiance was inspirational to me and generations of activists. i'm wondering if that outside south africa we don't really understand. yes, and her name, and had been sung about her, she was one of the main icons, a figurehead of the anti—apartheid struggle, and somehow her name became very tarnished, but i think within south africa, amongst at least one section of the population, she will always remain as their real anti—apartheid heroine. for others outside south africa and on the african continent, i think they understood a bit more than people in the west about how
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difficult her life was, how she would have been affected by that. she couldn't be perfect, given that she was living under such imperfect circumstances. even today, people referring to her as mama winnie, mother of the nation, and still felt by many south africans. very much so. by many south africans. very much so. when you listen to the press conference that was just given about her passing, the emotion in people's voices and the way they still refer to her as mama winnie, she is ready somebody that, no matter what she did in those years, associations with violence and also with fraud, somehow she still retained, at least for certain sections of the population, that sort of motherly aura. thank you for coming in. 0n the line is verashni pillay, a johannesburg—based political journalist and former editor of the south african mail and guardian. let's pick up on that point. she was
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perhaps much misunderstood, especially outside her native south africa. indeed inside. there was a time she was deeply unpopular politically. because of the controversy around her, especially towards the latter part of nelson mandela horse imprisonment. even outside, she was considered controversial, but inside as well. recently, there has been quite a huge swell of support, particularly among younger people. yes, and perhaps a great contradiction of her life is that she was a bit not wa nted life is that she was a bit not wanted when the allegations were around her, and something about her young lover, details about money. after that, she fell out of favour and she was fired, threatened by her ex—husband, nelson mandela. in
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recent yea rs, ex—husband, nelson mandela. in recent years, winnie mandela's anger and her rage at post apartheid south africa, it has found some meaning for the younger generation. and people have cottoned onto her. people have spoken out in her favour, despite being anc members. in that way, she has really come to symbolise the voice of young south africans. mother of the nation to some, mama winnie, but also a mother to children she brought up in difficult circumstances. a lot of young people that i speak to, they revere her, because the facts of her life. i don't think any of us can imagine what it must be like to spend 18 months in solitary
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confinement. it's unimaginable what i must do to you. that's quite apart from the house arrest, the constant harassment, and bringing up young children on her own. i think there isa children on her own. i think there is a lot of renewed sympathy and on a ring of mama winnie, as she is called. but there is still the fact of the many controversies around her. like the acts of her bodyguard, the so—called mandela football club, and the alleged murder of stompie moeketsi, the young activist. thank you forjoining us. plenty more to come on the death of winnie mandela, who has died at the age of 81. mama winnie, affectionately known as that by many in south africa. we'll talk to more people about that later. alison saunders — the director of public prosecutions for england and wales — is to step down from the role later this year,
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when her contract expires. her five years in charge have been marked by a series of controversies — most recently, the collapse of a number of high profile rape cases, where prosecutors had failed to disclose evidence to the defence. but alison saunders has defended her time in charge saying criticism is an "insult" to her 6000 staff in the crown prosecution service. here's our legal affairs correspondent, clive coleman. alison saunders, the head of the crown prosecution service, announced her departure, defiantly facing down criticism of her record. 0ur performance across the last five years has been as good as, if not improving, despite the cuts that we have taken over that period. and we have prosecutors up and down the country who come to work every day, who make really important decisions about people's lives, who do so professionally and well. dealt a tough hand, she inherited stringent cuts, losing hundreds of prosecutors and other staff. but her time has been dogged by controversy. her decision that his dementia meant
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that it wasn't in the public interest to prosecute the late labour peer lord janner over allegations of sexual abuse was overturned. he was to face a limited trial of the facts before his death. well, sadly, she has been a very disappointing dpp. it's notjust my opinion, it's the opinion of the profession as a whole, and it stems from this central policy that all complainants are to be believed. they need to be sifted, they need to be considered. otherwise it will lead to the injustices that my family suffered. it was the collapse of a series of high—profile rape cases, like that of liam allen, because of failures by police and prosecutors to disclose critical evidence to the defence, that led to the most recent criticism. it prompted an urgent review of all rape and serious sexual assault cases. afterfive years heading up what some call the nation's law firm, alison saunders will leave the crown prosecution service when it's under intense scrutiny. clive coleman, bbc news.
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two men were killed on the m62 near bradford in the early hours of this morning after a crash involving a car driving the wrong way down the motorway. a 22—year—old man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after failing a roadside breath test. britain's biggest teaching union has warned that growing levels of poverty are having a significant impact on children's learning. 0ne headteacher said some pupils are so malnourished they're "filling their pockets" with food from school canteens. the government says it is supporting initiatives such as breakfast clubs to help the most disadvantaged children. marc ashdown reports. "heartbreaking." that's how some teachers have described child poverty and how it's affecting their ability to learn. this snapshot survey of 900 heads, teachers, and support staff in england, wales, and northern ireland, found 87% think poverty is having a significant impact on learning. 60% believe the situation has worsened since 2015. in their responses, teachers
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talk of children coming to class with pale faces, dirty clothes, and worn—out shoes. a growing number of schools say they're now setting up clothes banks and food banks to support struggling parents. heads say it's having a wider effect on school budgets, with teachers having to intervene to make sure children are getting the basics. one of the problems that we have now is the capacity of other agencies to support us as they used to is not there. we're becoming social workers. not "becoming," we are social workers. members of staff are becoming social workers. putting their hand in their own pocket to support children with christmas presents, with food, with uniforms, and that, in 2018, should not be happening. the department for education says it is continuing to support the most the country's most disadvantaged children through free school meals, pupil premiums, and a new £26 million fund to launch of improve 1,700 breakfast clubs.
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marc ashdown, bbc news. winnie mandela has died. she was 81. a spokesman said she died after a long illness with which she had been in and out of hospital since the start of the year. i'm joined now from johannesburg by an associate professor at the university, and the author of a book about her life. she was always at the heart of the troubled times, as well as the good times. absolutely. if you think about the 1980s, especially our generation, she was the face of the anc. we now remember that mandela, during the 1980s until 1990, winnie mandela was the face of the anc. as such, it was that moment
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when he came out of prison with her hand inheres, it was so iconic because she was there. we somehow forget how crucial she was. for my generation, and those from the early 19805 generation, and those from the early 1980s until the early 1990s, she was the leading figure of the anc at home. you must remember in the late 19805 home. you must remember in the late 1980s the trajectory of the anti—apartheid struggle in south africa changed, from where the anti—apartheid forces wanted to make south africa ungovernable, to make it impossible for the party government to govern, and winnie mandela played a leading role in that. so that isn't... you, it also looking also bad at the same time, because she was seen in the 1980s as the leader of making the country ungovernable. perhaps
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underestimating the difficulties, because she was charged, there was the death of a young boy, the issue of necklaceing, this horrific torture that was pointed out, and many fingers pointed in her direction. yes, she was a flawed figure at the same time. some very flawed judgment calls. particularly, the one around stompie moeketsi, who was a young man who died, allegedly by bodyguards in her employee. at some point in the 1980s, the anc had talked to her to say, you are synonymous the wrong sort of people. these are not the moral, upstanding people we want to associate with the anti—apartheid struggle. but winnie mandela, by the 1980s, she was almost an independent thinker. she had so much power internally in the
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anc that it became a challenge to the anc, almost a parallel anc. the anc wasn't happy about it. the anc, almost a parallel anc. the anc wasn't happy about itm the anc, almost a parallel anc. the anc wasn't happy about it. it was almost inevitable, when she divorced the man who many regarded as a living saint, that that was always going to mean she was at the centre of controversy from then on. absolutely, two interesting things about this. when mandela was in prison, you always had two icons who we re prison, you always had two icons who were married together, but there was a competitive edge between them. in the 1980s, the figure of the anc, when the anc was banned, it was millie mandela, and now mandela came out, and who is going to be supreme as leader? of course, winnie mandela had to defer to nelson mandela, so there was a clash, a political between the two, and they didn't see each other for between the two, and they didn't see each otherfor decades, between the two, and they didn't see each other for decades, so there
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between the two, and they didn't see each otherfor decades, so there had to bea each otherfor decades, so there had to be a period there. but there were accusations around winnie mandela, during the time nelson mandela was imprisoned, having affairs and so on, at least allegations, and mandela had to deal with that, and also winnie mandela, with some of the anc tactics, there were different views. mandela had to deal with all three of these issues. and it was always unlikely that their relationship would overcome the long absence of them being together, and also winnie mandela being almost an independent leader in her own right and also wanted to be the leader of the anc herself. thank you for your time. nick miller has the weather.
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