tv BBC News BBC News July 31, 2018 11:00pm-11:31pm BST
11:00 pm
this is bbc news, i'm rebecca jones, the this is bbc news i'm rebecca jones. the headlines at 11:00: a teenager is jailed for 17 years for the manslaughter of a nurse who died after being splashed head to toe with acid. the opposition party in zimbabe claims victory in the elections but tensions grow amid accusations from both sides. facebook says it's removed 32 accounts thought to have been set up to influence this years mid—term us elections. also this hour — sexual exploitation and abuse are endemic in the aid sector according to a damning report by mps. their criticism comes after revelations emerged that oxfam staff paid survivors of an earthquake in haiti for sex. the scandal of 5 year olds unable to speak in full sentences —
11:01 pm
the education secretary pledges to tackle what he says is a gap that just widens. and at 11:30, we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers camilla tominey, who's the political editor at the sunday express, and the political commentatorjane merrick. stay with us for that. we start with breaking news from mexico. local reports say the plane was carrying 80 passengers and it happened in durango state north of mexico city. the airline said it was
11:02 pm
trying to verify what happened. it is believed the crane —— the plane crashed on take—off. details are coming in and we will bring you more news as soon as we get it. a teenager has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for manslaughter in the first acid killing of its kind in the uk. 19—year—old general webster was fighting with another man in high wycombe in buckinghamshire when the acid he was carrying was knocked from his hand. the acid hitjoanne rand, who happened to be sitting on a bench nearby and the nurse, and mother of three, died days later. jo black reports. it's a busy saturday afternoon in high wycombe and jo rand is sitting on a bench in the town centre. a few feet away from here, general webster is threatening another man with a bottle of high—strength sulphuric acid while attempting to steal his bike.
11:03 pm
the man panics and kicks the bottle away. it hitsjo‘s leg as the birds fly away and she is sprayed with acid and as it starts to burn, she runs away to get help. moments later, webster goes to retrieve the bottle of acid, puts on a balaclava and leaves the scene. jo suffered 5% burns and although she was released from hospital, she developed sepsis and died 11 days later. lots of doctors there just looking at us and they said, "i'm afraid we can't do any more forjoanne, "we are going to have to turn all the machines off. "come and say goodbye." we watched the life drain out of her, it was the most horrendous day of my life. of all of our lives. sentencing webster for manslaughter, thejudge told him thatjoanne rand
11:04 pm
had only been 47 when she died and that his actions must bear responsibility for her tragic demise. in response, webster started swearing and shouting in court and had to be led away by dock officers. after today's hearing, they said no sentence could justify it.|j after today's hearing, they said no sentence could justify it. i have to live the rest of my life the fact she will never be at my wedding. this should not have happened to her. this is that such a big impact on all of our lives that we are satisfied knowing this killer will not be able to hurt others now. during the police investigation it transpired just two months beforejo rand's debt, webster himself had been attacked by acid. it's important that people to understand that it not acceptable to carry your use asset. there may have been a precancerous gene that while it might injure, that as far as it goes
11:05 pm
but that is not the case. thames valley police say they believe this is the first manslaughter conviction in relation to an acid attack. as jo's family try and move on without her, they are now calling for schools to teach young people the dangers and consequences that come with carrying acid. jo black, bbc news. there's growing tension in zimbabwe, with just a handful of results released after yesterday's elections. the opposition movement for democratic change party has claimed victory with a senior figure accusing the ruling zanu—pf party, which has been in power for nearly a0 years, of interference with the people's will. the electoral commission — who have been accused of delaying the results — insist that there's been no cheating and say the results are still being counted. 0ur africa editor fergal keane reports. this was a day in which conflicting hopes would finally collide. a day that began with the first results being posted outside polling stations.
11:06 pm
in harare. in the second city of bulawayo. in rural areas. and a day of checking and listening. with this assurance to those who remembered rigged elections of the past. we are absolutely confident that there was no rigging and we would like to show the people that we will not subvert the will of the people. the opposition has alleged vote rigging but still claims victory. supporters acting as if they'd already won. it did feel premature. the results show beyond reasonable doubt that we have won this election. sources on both sides say they are confident. they both believe. the
11:07 pm
people have spoken, the president is unelectable. there is a battle here to shape local and international opinion ahead of an official announcement but the government also escalated its rhetoric, warning the 0pposition leader could face jail for declaring victory early. 0pposition leader could face jail for declaring victory earlylj 0pposition leader could face jail for declaring victory early. i am sure no one wants to provoke the raft of the law and risk being sent to jail. the government of zimbabwe is equally perturbed with the high level of incitement to violence being perpetrated by certain individuals and some political party leaders who have declared themselves winners even before the announcement of results. this afternoon, we filmed police water cannon as they deployed near opposition headquarters. up till now, this election has proceeded with calm and tolerance. it will take cool heads
11:08 pm
tolerance. it will take cool heads to keep that way. the social media giant facebook says it has closed more than 30 accounts involved in what appear to be a coordinated attempt to influence the forthcoming us mid—term elections. the company said this included almost 10,000 facebook posts and 150 pieces of advertising. the firm was criticised for failing to block political adverts linked to russia during the last us presidential election. let's speak to our north american rechnology reporte dave lee. he's in san francisco. how significant is this news? facebook wants to have this scene is significant, that they are taking this seriously because there are big investments on handling this information. they were rampant in
11:09 pm
the past. in terms of this habit, they say that 32 pages and accounts they say that 32 pages and accounts they removed, were 10,000 posts they made. they brought 150 pieces of advertising which cost them around $10,000 and in terms of family people they reached, facebook said there were around 290,000 facebook users interacting somehow with these pages and accounts. the most dramatic interaction and event set to ta ke dramatic interaction and event set to take place next month on august ten whereby people on facebook were planning to demonstrate in washington and antifascist rally. that rally was being organised by one of these groups, facebook says. it just shows you one of these groups, facebook says. itjust shows you the impact that some of these groups potentially could have had. but they are not making an explicit link between these groups in russia, are they? no, they are not. they fell slightly short of being completely confident that it short of being completely confident thatitis short of being completely confident that it is russia. facebook said
11:10 pm
many of the techniques used were similarto many of the techniques used were similar to what the russians were allegedly undertaking for the 2016 presidential election and there was some overlap between new and accou nts some overlap between new and accounts they had discovered and accou nts accounts they had discovered and accounts they had discovered and accounts they knew were linked to the internet to research agency, the russian group linked to the kremlin which specialises in this kind of thing but facebook said they don't have the intelligence capability to be absolutely sure this is something the russians themselves are co—ordinated all they do seem pretty confident as to politicians in this country. how did facebook detect this activity? what tools do they have available but they didn't in the 2016 will action? to put it simply, they had the experience of the 2016 election. they knew about the 2016 election. they knew about the attempts to manipulate facebook so they looked for those patterns to ta ke so they looked for those patterns to take place again and it seems to have worked. the question is whether
11:11 pm
there may be new techniques brought on which can be particularly effective that facebook does not know about. there are calls for labour to suspend a member of its ruling body, after he was recorded calling some members of thejewish community "trump fanatics. " peter willsman — an ally ofjeremy corbyn — claimed that accusations of anti—semitism in the party have been invented. he's since apologised and said not all his remarks were accurately reported as our political correspondent vicki young reports. reporter: do you plan to withdraw as a candidate from the nec? this is peter willsman, the man at the centre of yet another anti—semitism row in the labour party. he is a long—standing ally ofjeremy corbyn and is up for re—election to the party's ruling body. but some are calling on him to stand down after a recording emerged of him denying that labour had a problem with anti—semitism. they can falsify social media very
11:12 pm
easily and some of these people in the jewish community support trump. they are trump fanatics. and all the rest of it. so i am not going to be lectured to by trump fanatics making up information without any evidence at all. so i think we should ask the 70 rabbis, where is your evidence of severe and widespread anti—semitism in this party? mr willsman has apologised, saying his remarks fell short and said he'd be referring himself to receive equalities training. but the party's deputy leader tom watson tweeted, "peter willsman is and always has been a loudmouthed bully. he disgusts me." this jewish labour mp spoke out in the commons about the anti—semitic abuse she's received. the time for action is now. she wants tougher measures against mr willsman. i think it's only appropriate that he's suspended
11:13 pm
and he's investigated, and a formal inquiry is opened into that conduct because it is not acceptable. reporter: has labour done enough on anti—semitism, mr corbyn? jeremy corbyn has repeatedly condemned all racism, butjewish leaders accuse him of being too soft on anti—semitic behaviour. in a statement today, the labour party said: but in one north london council, labour activists are worried, saying they saw earlier this year how the anti—semitism row turned voters away. it made a big difference in the local elections. by all the evidence we are gathering, it seems to be that could do a lot for the residents here. so it has already done damage. until it is sorted out,
11:14 pm
it will continue to do damage. labour has held inquiries about anti—semitism and there have been dozens of suspensions but some see peter willsman's case as a test forjeremy corbyn. is he prepared to personally intervene against an ally or will he stay silent and let such behaviour go unpunished? vicki young, bbc news, westminster. aid agencies are accused of being "almost complict" in sexual abuse across the sector, in a damning report by mps. the international development committee says the delivery of aid has been subverted by sexual predators — and that there's been a "culture of denial" since revelations that workers for 0xfam paid for sex while helping victims of the 2010 earthquake in haiti. charities have welcomed the report, and 0xfam concedes it has further to go. here's our special correspondent, lucy manning. the charity workers were supposed to bring help, not abuse. they were supposed to bring aid, not exploitation.
11:15 pm
but when people were at their most vulnerable, they couldn't rely on their rescuers. haiti, the aftermath of 2010. a report found that sex workers were rented. people were ignored. it is hard for aid agencies focused on doing good things to acknowledge there was this systemic issue and the aid sector has had its metoo moment. the charity sector has helped many but the report found abuse was an open secret, that the response was patchy and sluggish, little has changed since the uncovering of a sex for food scandal in west
11:16 pm
africa 16 years ago. there has been complacency with what has happened and that has been because organisations all too often have been more concerned to protect our reputation in the sector, rather than protecting victims and survivors stop at. the charity sector has helped many but the report found abuse was an open secret, that the response was patchy and sluggish, little has changed since the uncovering of a sex for food scandal in west africa 16 years ago. there hasn't been change because organisations have become complacent, they have been left to their own devices, there is no external scrutiny or pressure. this is only the second time in 16 years there has been global media attention to this. the international development committee recommends independent aid ombudsman to help victims, annual safeguarding reports, and a register of aid workers to try to stop sexual predators working in this sector. sometimes people target our industry to get access to these people. i think what is very
11:17 pm
welcome about this report is that recognition that this needs to be treated as kind of large—scale criminal activity. 0xfam says it is incredibly painful to read the report and it is truly sorry that it failed to protect the vulnerable women in haiti. it says improvements have been made but it accepts all charities need to give the same priority to stopping sexual abuse as they do to saving lives when helping in disaster areas. the public gives money to help those in need but charities, the un and governments all stand accused of failing to tackle a problem ignored for years. lucy manning, bbc news. i want to take you back to that news that we were bringing you at the top of the hour that a plane has crashed in mexico. we have a few more details for you now. local reports say the plane was carrying 97
11:18 pm
passengers and four crew members on board. that is according to mexico's transport ministry on twitter. it went down about 1000 kilometres north of mexico city. the airline hasissued north of mexico city. the airline has issued a statement saying it is trying to verify what has happened, but in the last few, the governor of the mexican state of durango has said there were no text. the transport ministry has said there we re transport ministry has said there were 94 passengers and two crew members on board, but there are reports of a number of people being injured. that is according to the state civil protection spokesman, who has been talking to local television there, but he couldn't give a precise figure. at the moment there are no reports of any deaths. the headlines on bbc news:
11:19 pm
a teenager is sentenced to 17 years in prison for an acid attack, after a woman dies. a passenger plane carrying 101 people has crashed in macro one state —— durango stake in mexico. —— state. the opposition party in zimbabe claims victory in the elections but tensions grow amid accusations from both sides. every year, up to 32,000 women in america fall pregnant after being raped. and in four states in the country, if they decide to keep the child born after the attack — their rapist is given automatic parental rights. this that means the rapist is allowed access to the baby. or if the mother chooses to put the baby up for adoption, she may have to secure her rapists' permission. frankie mccamley has been speaking to some of the women affected — and one of the men claiming his right to see his child.
11:20 pm
somebody can attack you and rape you, as same as a father who is loving to his wife and his children. sometimes i wonder, is he going to try to see him? is he going to show up try to see him? is he going to show up here? is the going to show up at school? it was what it was. it was rape. at the end of the day, it was rape. at the end of the day, it was rape. tiffany lives in michigan, she became pregnant after being raped at the age of 12. for nearly ten years, she has been looking over her shoulder, worried her rapist may turn up to see her son. his niece had messaged me saying that he wa nted had messaged me saying that he wanted to see him and that they would come pick him up from my house and taken. i was scared, i didn't know if i would have two actually let him see him. because at that time, thejudge had said that the parent, had legal parental rights,
11:21 pm
they were there, that he had the piece of paper. the law in tiffany's state allows her to withdraw her rapists parental rights, many of them have defined thousands of dollars to do that, but she received legal aid. first we found out we didn't know how we were going to afford a lawyer, living paycheque to paycheque. more than 1000 miles away in florida, this woman is another rape survivor who has been to the legal process. she moved here after it giving birth, but her rapist tracked her down, demeaning to see her daughter. florida law had nothing to prevent this from happening, nothing, which is pretty horrifying. that sink in. her case changed her state law, which means women can now automatically have their accpac is parental rights withdrawn. in other states where was had been introduced, they very considerably. some need a rape conviction to withdraw parental rights. b and convincing evidence of
11:22 pm
a sexual assault is enough and others, but in four states, rapists are still given automatic parental rights. burial and is one of the latest to change its law. delegate catherine dumais sponsored the bill here, which was denied nine times as some feared the war would be abused. there were those on the committee who just, truly, acting there were those on the committee whojust, truly, acting genuinely, workers so that women would lie and this statute would be misused. and there are a lot of grey areas of. the law is not as clear—cut as it could be. when the spam was in his 40s, he got a 15—year—old pregnant. unlike the uk, statutory rape does not exist in maryland, so he was convicted of child abuse, despite his conviction, as the biological father, he still has parental rights. i was told i could go to
11:23 pm
court and force her to give me time with him when i wanted it. he believes if his rights were taken away, they would have a detrimental impact. do you think that is fair to the child? to take that child's right away, that they would want to give you that it the decision to meet this parent? she was in aware of this law, but is considering going to the point to withdraw the rights. in order to do that, she has obstacles. i wouldn't be able to afford it but i would definitely consider it. i would want what is best for my son. the agonising pain of wondering what if, what is going to happen. these are questions being asked by a rape survivors in states where laws don't yet exist. for others, protection is now available, but often at a price. it's emerged that the man who carried out the manchester arena bombing last year — in which 22 people died —
11:24 pm
was rescued from the civil war in libya by a royal navy ship in 2014. 0ur correspondentjudith moritz has been at manchester arena and has this update. we always knew that in 2014 that hms enterprise had been sent to libya to help evacuate british nationals who we re help evacuate british nationals who were caught up when fighting between rival factions there worsened. what is new to date is information that on—board were salman abedi and his brother, who was 19 at the time and became the man responsible for the attack at manchester arena. the brothers were visiting their parents and salman abedi was on the radar of the security services, but m15 didn't have enough evidence to continue treating him as a subject of interest. a closed their file on
11:25 pm
him a month before he was evacuated. was it a missed opportunity? some, but not all of the family is briefed and those injured by the bombing here have said it was, but the decision to close that file was considered sound via the intelligence review conducted into the manchester attack. summer's here and the tourist season is in full swing across the uk. the number of overseas visitors continues to grow, with the majority coming from the eu. last year was another record—brea ker with more than 39 million tourists to the uk and they spent more than £24.5 billion while they're here. but how will the sector cope in post—brexit britain? with 8 months to go till brexit, emma simpson reports from stratford upon avon. shakespeare's sha kespeare's country. looking shakespeare's country. looking at its best. welcome to n hathaway's
11:26 pm
cottage. there is always a queue of visitors here, and forforeign tourists it is now cheaper, thanks tourists it is now cheaper, thanks to the fall in the pound. it is certainly nice for us, for more choice and to visit more places. and spend more. and spend more! tourism has been on a roll since the brexit vote, but what about the road ahead? i'm going to be showing you some nice properties... warwickshire's tourism boss says it is vital that we continue to welcome eu visitors. people are worried that they could bea people are worried that they could be a hardening of water controls and we need to be as easy as possible, particular for our european friends, they are used to travelling around europe pretty easily, we want them to know that they can come to the uk pretty easily. but it is the free flow of workers that poses a far eager worry. next stop, flow of workers that poses a far eagerworry. next stop, one flow of workers that poses a far
11:27 pm
eager worry. next stop, one of stratford—upon—avon's top hotels. around a third of the workers here are from the eu. some left after the vote, now they our elected vacancies to fill. housekeepers, spa therapist we're, receptionists food and beverage waiting staff are all areas that we are trying to recruit and we have never seen such a broad issue inside our hotels. and that is before we leave the eu? yeah. which is, you know, even more worrying. he is, you know, even more worrying. he is not the only one looking for staff in a town which is —— has next to no unemployment. they need to make a full—time scoopers here. lovely! as unemployment has fallen, tourism has been increasingly reliant on eu workers. they feel almost half of all vacancies over the last three years. this industry
11:28 pm
reckons it is going to need a million new staff by 2024, the big question is, where are all these workers going to come from? the ambition is to provide training for chefs and caterers... in this region, they are hoping to fill the gaps with home—grown talent. this local landmark is being turned into a —— into one of the uk's first hotel training schools. what is at sta ke hotel training schools. what is at stake is the future of the industry. i think if we don't start to train the future workforce, if we don't get more people involved in this industry then there is a part of the economy that is at risk. we have had plenty of drama since the referendum, tourism now wants a smooth transition to the next act. how fast is your broadband? some
11:29 pm
villages in england are enjoying some of the fastest speeds in the country, trying to make tired of waiting for the government to roll out high—speed broadband. a group of stu d e nts out high—speed broadband. a group of students has gone ahead and installed it themselves. 0ther communities are now following their leader. the british countryside, a place where most teenagers and quite a few adults get a bit twitchy about wi—fi and getting online. take the newbold family for example, who live at rural cumbria, have dismal download speeds and can't get what their mates can. snapchat, loads of stuff on instagram. download videos, youtube. is that a big difference to your life, does it matter? yes! it's having a think, it may work, it may not. in a nutshell, we've had to relocate our business to an office where we've got a decent internet connection. miles away? yes, four or five miles away. this rolled—up wire and the cabinet here shows that in this case in cumbria, bt are putting
11:30 pm
the infrastructure in. but what local people say is what comes out of this isn't good enough, so they are putting in their own system which they say is faster and better. nearby, a not—for—profit venture is feeding fibre—optic cables through and under a field. a coalition of willing landowners is working with volunteers to bring superfast broadband to all of these remote properties. most weekends and even in the week, there will be stalwarts amongst us who are out with diggers, digging the trenches so this will have been going on virtually every week and all weekends for the past 18 months. cable is now shooting out of the ground across these hillsides as the project spreads from farm, to business, to home. it's far better for us to do it for ourselves.
45 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
BBC News Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on