tv World News Today BBC News October 4, 2019 9:00pm-9:31pm BST
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this is bbc world news today. our top stories... protests continue into the night in hong kong — after a government ban on face masks comes into effect. the duke of sussex is to take two british newspapers to court over the alleged illegal interception of voicemail messages. new text messages increase pressure on president trump over requests he made to ukraine for information on his rivaljoe biden. and we look at the technology that enabled a paralysed man to move all four of his limbs using brain power and a very special suit. hello and welcome to world news today.
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there've been violent clashes in hong kong between the police and anti—government protesters who are defying a ban on face masks. hong kong's entire metro system has been suspended for the first time since the pro—democracy protests began four months ago, after several stations were smashed and set on fire. businesses including chinese banks have also been targeted. our correspondent robin brant is there. we spent the last couple of hours outside this police station. now, this has been a focal point for protests because about five weeks ago, police attacked passengers on the metro system here — pretty aggressive. and since then, you've seen democracy demonstrators come here laying flowers, laying posters as well. now, the police were here earlier. they created a roadblock that was barricaded in that direction over there. it basically was a good example of a cat—and—mouse that has happened in many parts of the city over the last five weeks or so.
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police come, they clear the road, they come here, they clear the walls, some of the protesters dispersed, some of them don't. it has been pretty quiet though to be honest. we have not seen any violent confrontations. there has been tear gas and more aggressive confrontations and other areas of the city tonight. all of this is in the context of two significant developments today. firstly, hong kong's metro system, that's the underground trains, light rail, even the road to the airport has been completely suspended and completely shut down today as a sign of an escalation by the authorities to try and quell these protests. secondly as well, we've seen a band come in place at midnight on friday on the wearing of masks and protesters covering their face. that includes face paint and stuff like that as well. so, two significant moves by the authorities tonight to really try and quell the protests. —— a ban commonplace. thirdly, one other thing that's happened this evening. it shows you how nasty frankly the feeling is between the police and the protesters, we've seen a teenager shot in the leg and that's been linked to an incident involving a policeman that the police say was attacked by people with petrol bombs. at one point apparently parts of his body were on fire.
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that shows you how unpleasant the confrontation now is between both sides here. that was robin brant speaking a little earlier. here in the uk, the duke of sussex has begun legal action against the owners of the sun and mirror newspapers, in relation to alleged phone hacking. documents have been filed on behalf of prince harry at the high court regarding the alleged illegal interception of voice mail messages. his wife meghan recently launched legal action against the mail on sunday over claims it unlawfully published one of of her private letters to her father. jonny dymond, the bbc‘s royal correspondent, told me that the presumption is that this goes back to the phone—hacking scandal of the early 2000s. we are pretty clear that prince harry's phone was hacked certainly when he was an officer cadet at sandhurst, the military training college here in the uk. stories emerged that subsequently were found to be as a result of phone hacking and again, there is documentation on that. what's so interesting about this, and bear in mind he is taking on two
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of the most popular newspapers in the uk and his wife just two days ago announced court action against another one of the biggest newspapers in the uk, is the context. and the context is simmering, simmering hatred really that prince harry has for what he describes as the tablet press, the cheaper end, the more popular populist end of the newspaper industry here in the uk. it is very aggressive and has published a series of highly critical stories about prince harry but also in particular about meghan. and when meghan issued that court action against the mail on sunday an absolutely excoriating statement, there is a statement saying there was a ruthless campaign against his wife saying that it was maliciously driven, saying that it was selectively edited. i mean, there was no holds barred. and then two days later, up pops the court case. now, that would have been filed some weeks ago but it is a sign that
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unlike the royal family normally, he is simply taking on some of the most popular newspapers. there is no holds barred, he is doubling down all the way. well the timing is very interesting, isn't it? because this alleged phone hacking happens a long time ago. why do you think it has taken so long for him to do this? oh, i mean, i think he decided at some point over the summer as this stream of stories came out about both him but also about meghan to whom he feels extraordinarily protective. he has let loose before about commentary made about meghan. he must have decided at some point over the summer, "right, what can i do?" and he realised that he probably had them on phone hacking on the interception of voicemails and thought, "right, let's see what we get." now, is this going to end up in court? we will see. we've had acknowledgement from one of the newspaper groups that this is happening but have not said that they are going to defend it, whether they will try and cental, i suspect harry is looking
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for an admission of liability and an apology and some pretty sizeable damages too but it is just a sign of how bad things have got as far as he's concerned with some of the biggest newspapers in the uk. and if it does go to court, what are the chances of seeing the prince? i mean, i think pretty slim to be honest. and i don't know whether he would need to go into the witness box. it's not like he's actually seen anything happen. i think the lawyers could probably sort it out. again, i suspect this is about roasting the papers as far as harry is concerned. he has roasted them verbally on wednesday with the statement he put out and i suspect the next stage for him is to try and break them in court as much as he can. that was jonny dymond speaking that wasjonny dymond speaking to me a little earlier. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the european commission has released a statement on britain's latest proposals for leaving the eu. it's said they "do not provide a basis for concluding an agreement." meanwhile, uk government papers submitted to a scottish court suggest that prime minister boris johnson will ask for a delay to brexit, despite mrjohnson repeatedly promising he'd never do such a thing. anti—terror police have taken over
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the investigation into a knife attack at the police headquarters in paris on thursday. four police employees were killed by a worker who was shot dead at the scene. the former assistant of robert de niro is suing the actor for what she claims are "years of gender discrimination and harassment". graham chase robinson claimed the star was verbally abusive and subjected her to unwanted physical contact and sexually—charged comments. in response, mr de niro‘s lawyer said the allegations were "beyond absurd". text messages released by democrats in congress have revealed how us officials worked to push the ukrainian president into opening a public inquiry into president trump's leading opponent, joe biden. the messages come as mr trump faces a formal impeachment inquiry about it. the exchanges show a senior diplomat saying it would be "crazy" to withhold military aid to ukraine for mr trump's political gain in the 2020 election.
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earlier the president spoke to reporters on the white house lawn. i don't care about biden‘s campaign, but i do care about corruption. his campaign, that's up to him. politics, that's up to them, i don't care about politics. politics is i think i made clear... and yesterday somebody asked me a question and i gave an answer but always in the form of corruption. what i want to do, and i think i have an obligation to do it and probably do need to do it. corruption, we are looking for corruption. the bbc‘s gary 0'donoghue joined the bbc‘s gary 0'donoghuejoined me to use plaintiff there would be any implications for president trump. there is a lot of this emerging from the democrats, text messages, e—mails, details of some of the evidence they have been gathering behind closed doors as well. and when you're sitting there from the is an indication of a slightly new strategy one that says, "i am actually really open to telling you
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that i'm going to talk to these foreign leaders and asked to help to investigate people likejoe biden not just because i investigate people likejoe biden notjust because i can but because i have a duty and a right to do it." in some ways it is the maximum offence by way of defence if you like. do you think the democrats have more information to come out in the next few days? absolutely. they had been handed a whole load of material from the former special envoy, some of that, those text m essa 9 es envoy, some of that, those text messages that detail what happened over the summer between some senior diplomats already being released. there are other depositions to come notably from the ambassador to ukraine who was fired earlier on this year. rudy giuliani has been subpoenaed for documents, mike pompeo has been subpoena for documents, the white house might be subpoenaed for documents as well. they will go hunting for everything they can find. and meanwhile and
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there are some noises of disquiet from some republicans. mitt romney the republican senator, the former candidate, he has come out pretty strongly today and said what the president had done in terms of the investigation into joe biden president had done in terms of the investigation intojoe biden was wrong and upon. and another senator who's connected with the ukraine quite closely a republican senator has told the wall streetjournal that he was told by another person in this loop that the deal if you like for you military aid was contingent on president trump getting a investigation. difficult noises coming from his own side as well and that is the first and my think that it has happened in the eight, nine days since the impeachment inquiry was announced. very quickly, he is also encouraging china to investigate the bidens as well. that came yesterday and that is part of the new strategy of saying "it is not a problem the
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asking ukraine. iwill ask saying "it is not a problem the asking ukraine. i will ask these people as well." we have had no response from beijing on that and it relates to something a long time ago, 2013 with a private equity firm thatjoe biden's son was involved with. there has been no proof of any wrongdoing whatsoever. that was gary speaking to be a little earlier. do stay here on bbc news. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come... the technology that has enabled a paralysed man to move all four of his limbs using brain power and a very special suit.
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nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe was jailed for five years in 2016 after being convicted of spying. she has always denied the charges. last week, british prime minister borisjohnson called for the release of mrs zaghari—ratcliffe during a meeting with iran's president. i've been finding out more from our world affairs correspondent, caroline hawley she's been talking mrs zaghari—ratcliffe's husband. he told me that the family has applied to the iranian authority to bring her back home from the uk so she could start school. —— to the uk. we heard this first from a letter nazneen wrote from jail. it talks of what an excruciating the difficult decision this was for her and the reason it is so had —— hard was since she was let out of solitary confinement in 2016, she has short but regular visits most
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recently once a week from gabriella. in this letter she shows just how much the visits have meant to her. she says" she goes on to say they are my world. then she says... and then she says... so, real despair and anguish and then she says... so, real despairand anguish in and then she says... so, real despair and anguish in that letter that nazanin wrote from jail. there must be fierce also for her mental health because there have been before. this was clearly like a ray of light for her once a week to see her daughter and to have that taken away, are there worries that this could further increase those fears
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about mental health? absolutely. so nazanin and richard remember in june, that month gabriella turned five and they wanted to press for nazanin to be allowed back with gabriella because that's what gabriella because that's what gabriella was always told that they would come back together. then you may remember in september which is when she would have started school, nazanin was transferred to a psychiatric ward in shackles. her mental state has been very, very difficult and richard said he is concerned about the impact on nazanin of not having gabriella in iran. he said the weekly prison visits that gabriella pays nazanin area visits that gabriella pays nazanin are a lifeline. that was caroline hawley speaking a little bit earlier. let's return to the impeachment inquiry against president trump. as the investigation deepens — so do divisions in america. with the presidential election just over a year away, the battle lines between democrats and republicans are drawn and the stakes couldn't be higher. aleem maqbool reports
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from california on how both sides are reacting to recent events. applause there are many on the left in america hopeful donald trump could be removed from office. the town hall meeting in california democrats together to hearjohn dean, the whistle—blower who helped ring down president richard nixon. this president is making richard nixon look like a choir boy. the idea of donald trump's impeachment appears to be galvanising grassroots democrats. calling another world leader in asking them to interfere with our election, it is disloyal and unpatriotic. it makes me worried and unpatriotic. it makes me worried and angryfor our and unpatriotic. it makes me worried and angry for our democracy. for me and angry for our democracy. for me andl and angry for our democracy. for me and i think all the other people here today, my neighbours and friends, we really want to see impeachment move forward. you have to wonder why the leftist dems are
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pushing so hard to impeach. the media forgets that they had been screaming for impeachment since the election... the impeachment issue appears to be energising those on the right as well. this is a meeting of trump supporters in beverly hills. angry about the impeachment inquiry. i think most people don't think it's absolutely an attack on donald trump, it is really an attack on the people who voted for donald trump. iam on the people who voted for donald trump. i am kind on the people who voted for donald trump. iam kind of sad on the people who voted for donald trump. i am kind of sad because i think it is not authentic and at the end of the day i love my country and i would like impeachment to be reserved for the most serious of situations. the guest speaker at this conservative gathering was an activist and street artist on the far right. he is a trump supporter on the extremist fringes who thinks the impeachment inquiry will only help the president. it is going to enrage the right. you're only going to infuriate the right. you're only going to bring more voters out. if you think for one second someone is
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going to say "donald trump is colluding with ukrainians" it is not going to happen. democrats say impeachment is simply about the president having committed crime. republicans tell us that it all has to do with the left still being unable to accept the election result of 2016. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in los angeles. here's sport. thanks simon, we start in the world for next chamfer chips were despite being a short today, there has been plenty of drama. a new world record. ace cessation of... from the khalifa international stadium, here's the action. mohamed is having the season of her life. she broke the season of her life. she broke the world record at the american trials and the olympic trials came here to qatar to win the one... a
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rising star in the sport. but beaten twice on the diamond week circuit. she had a slight lead off the last hurdle, it was like mclaughlin would close down but she held on for victory. bowing her own record of 50.216. and earning herself $100,000. a good atmosphere in the stadium, some 20,000 people showed up stadium, some 20,000 people showed up including the royalfamily in the highjump. up including the royalfamily in the high jump. her first go up including the royalfamily in the highjump. herfirst go —— his first gold medal and this from man who is injured premature season. there was a good finish in the 3000 metres. the defending champion having to run down the ethiopian, a tight finish that had to be separate by a photograph. his victory margin one 100th of a second. stephen gardner w011 100th of a second. stephen gardner won the record in a new world record. unto japan and italy had a bit of a reality check. after those
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two huge wins against canada and namibia, they were thrashed 49—3 by south africa at the springboks running a total of ten tries. they are now the top of the pool and they hope to qualify along with new zealand. i think technically and technically, there was stephanie some mistakes and errors. but i thought the way the guys physically pitched was good. i think if we want to go all the way, that is something that we must do again. and we felt in the previous five or six days that we played this year, it was not really consistent and that was specific which is one of our strengths which was stay consistent. this was a game and i was really proud about that. they are an outstanding side. coming into play italy in a friendly in the autumn, this was them coming. we know they
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are a good side but you can't play for 40 minutes like that. onto cricket ended to stay three. the first test between india and south africa. they had been in trouble since india declared theirfirst innings on 502—7 but dean elders century means that they have... they had been 34—3 but they'd initial day on 385—8. they held on for 100—11. ended football brendan rodgers will return to his old club when leicester visit anfield in the premier league on saturday. liverpool of course unbeaten in the week but rogers has been praise for western backed's form the season. —— western backed's form the season. —— western back‘s form the season. he says he had fond memories of his time in liverpool and the express helped him develop his skills. i'm looking forward to going back. had
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the great privilege of managing one of the iconic clubs in the world. such a place for me to learn it liverpool and like i said, i have not been back since i left as manager. i'm looking forward to seeing good friends there and like i say looking forward to the game. 0nce my time was finished there, there was no bitterness. i was really so happy for the opportunity. it gave me great strength and it gave me an edge to move forward in my management career which is what i needed. and you can follow that match and all the weekend's football on the bbc website. that is all your support. simon is back to you. holly, think very much indeed. a french man has been able to move all four of his paralysed limbs using an exoskeleton suit controlled by his mind. the 30—year—old was paralysed from the neck down after falling 50 foot in a night club four years ago. he said using the exoskeleton made him feel like being
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"the first man on the moon." 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. this is mind controlling machine. thibault, who was paralysed in all four limbs, is sending instructions to his exoskeleton suit using brain signals. the movements may bejerky, but it is a significant technological achievement. the study in the journal lancet neurology explains how thibault had surgery to place two 5cm implants on the outer membrane of his brain, above the areas which control movement. electrodes read his brain activity then beam messages to a computer which converts them into instructions for the exoskeleton. thibault practised by learning to control an avatar in a computer game, and then gradually mastered increasingly complex movements. this is a brain—computer interface...
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scientists at imperial college london are pioneering uk research into implants. they've praised the french exoskeleton study as ground—breaking. this is a very important and significant step. usually it has been demonstrated through a movement ofjust a single limb, and in this case they have demonstrated all four limbs simultaneously, although the complete exoskeleton was still attached to the ceiling, so many other elements are missing, such as balance. any device implanted in the body carries the risk of infection, but the potential benefits are huge. the technology that merges brain, body and machine is moving at a rapid pace. as well as paralysis, there are potential applications for implants in the fields of epilepsy, even depression. 0ne team here at imperial is even working on a gut implant to suppress
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appetite to control obesity. the exoskeleton can't yet be used outside the lab, and the technology is so expensive it will be out of reach of most of those with spinal—cord injuries. but as a proof of concept it is an impressive step forward. fergus walsh, bbc news. in paris, a huge, eye—catching sculpture named the "bouquet of tulips" has been unveiled — has been unveiled to remember the victims of 2015 terror attacks. the american artist jeff koons created the 11 tulips from bronze, aluminium and steel and its installation ends three years of dispute over its location. it was feared the sculpture would interrupt views of the eiffel tower before it was installed at the petit palais art museum. you can get more on that story and everything else on the programme on oui’ everything else on the programme on our website. that is bbc dot com.
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follow me on twitter. thank you for watching. hello, good evening. during today we have watched the remnants of what was hurricane lorenzo falling apart in front of our eyes. you can see on the satellite picture the cloud associated with that rapidly weakening area of low pressure. now pushing its way out to the near continent. but here is our next weather maker, this big swirl of cloud and area of low pressure and a frontal system that will bring heavy rain at times through this weekend. there will be some spells of sunshine as well. as we go through tonight, it will turn increasingly cloudy, misty, and murky for the western half of the uk. the odd spot of drizzle for coasts and hills. further east we will keep hold of clear spells with an odd fog patch here and there and temperatures would dip away across parts of
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scotla nd would dip away across parts of scotland where we could get all the way down to freezing. but in this cool way down to freezing. but in this cool, clear zone in the east, we will have some fog patches to contend with perhaps most especially across the north—east of england. they should tend to clear and then we see brightness but cloud will be spreading from the west ahead of this band of rain. now through tomorrow afternoon, we will see some strong winds across the far west and far north of scotland. these are the average wind speeds. gusts could because a gale force, ran across the south west of scotland spreading into northern ireland and parts of northwest england heading down into wells and eventually the south west of england as we go on through the afternoon. ahead of that through the midlands and parts of england, some dry weather, perhaps some slight or lenses but increasingly amounts of cloud. temperature 16—17 degrees. watch this band of rain pushing west to east very slowly with heavy and persistent rain affecting many areas and then on sunday, that frontal
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system instead of clearing awayjust hangs back, it holds on. rain is likely to persist across some parts of southern and central scotland down the eastern side of england. there are met office of the warnings in force, that is the lowest fable issue. we could see 40 mm of rain or more in some places after what has been a very bit of wet weather, any more could cause localised flooding. but in the west, things will brighten up. we will see sunshine late in the day. as we head into the next week, it stays very unsubtle, more heavy rain at times, it will often be windy.
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this is bbc world news. the headlines... police in hong kong have fired tear gas at protesters who've defied a ban on wearing face masks that's just come into force. some protesters attacked buildings, including chinese banks. the territory's entire metro network has shut down. britain's prince harry has begun legal action against the publishers of two newspapers for alleged phone hacking. this comes just days after his wife, meghan, announced she was suing another newspaper for publishing one of her letters. text messages released by democrats in congress are increasing the pressure on president trump over requests he made to ukraine for information on his rivaljoe biden. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the british—iranian woman jailed in iran, hopes to send her five year old daughter home to london,
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