this is bbc news. the headlines: the un's humanitarian chief has warned that hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the fighting in northwest syria are at great risk from an imminent escalation in the conflict. almost a million people have fled and the conflict is approaching heavily populated areas where many have sought shelter. eight people are dead following two shootings at shisha bars in the western german city of hanau. at least five people were also injured after gunmen opened fire. police added that they are searching for the suspects, who fled the scene and are currently still at large. the american billionaire mike bloomberg has joined five other democratic presidential hopefuls for the latest televised debate in nevada. the former mayor of new york is a latecomer to the democratic race, but his standing has soared in recent polls. bernie sanders is the current frontrunner. communities across england

and wales, already hit by flooding from storm dennis, are being warned to brace themselves for more heavy rain in the days ahead. six severe flood warnings, meaning there's a danger to life, remain in place. jon kay has the story of a sports club that's attempting to clear up after a month's rain fell in 48 hours. well, there's obviously going to be no games for a couple of months now, which is a terrible shame. there's not really any need for a pitch inspection. at hereford rugby club, games are off. got to remain positive in situations like this and the club spirit will come shining through. but that is easier said than done. the ground is right next to the river wye. there it is, in the middle of the picture, and they've flooded five times since october. they've only played one home match. this week, in the course of a few hours, security cameras recorded the stand being slowly submerged.

the water's come up to this height on the bricks. never come that high before? never, absolutely never. bit late for that, eh? looks like you've had a party. funnily enough, yeah, some of our saturday nights in here can be quite wild, but fortunately not quite as devastating as this. instead of losing matches, they're worried about losing their clubs history. really sad, really. obviously, great memories and great friends, and those great friendships will go on. it's really sad to see it. alan was an england international... how do you save 150 years? the levels are now dropping along the wye and the severn, but... there's an incredible amount of water about, so people still need to take extra care. the forecast is unsettled for the next few days, over the weekend into next week. in places like worcester, things do seem a little more normal this evening.

flood defences appear to have been held. but with levels still high and the ground saturated, this may be normalfor a while. jon kay, bbc news, hereford. now on bbc news — hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. in ourwarp in our warp speed online culture, today's trending topic is often tomorrow's forgotten hashtag. not so with me too, an expression of understanding and solidarity from women to women driven by a determination to expose the truth about sexual violence. well, my guess today, tarana burke, first coined the phrase, me too, long before the harvey weinstein case. and she continues to reach out to

marginalised women and girls. but what difference has that me too movement made to the bigger picture? tara na tarana burke, tara na burke, welcome tarana burke, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me.” tarana burke, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me. i want to begin with those two words," me too", you coined it long before harvey weinstein, before the me too went viral. did you feel, in a way, you lost control of that phrase? well, i thought, you lost control of that phrase? well, ithought, you know, in the first days when me too went viral it

was very nerve—racking for a person like me. i was not known, wasn't in the spotlight, and so we thought that it would be lost. i thought is original cause would be lost, and its purpose. and i think it's a very, very short period of time for me to realise that this was sort of an evolution of what i had started, not necessarily it being lost. shifted quickly from the nerves to sing opportunity. the actress who, think, but the hashtag gonnet and originated that sort of 2017 viral phenomenon, was alyssa milano, she said she wasn't aware that you had used this phrase, with regard to your activism on the sexual violence issue, for years beforehand. did you then talk to her to find out exactly what happened and how she came upon this phrase? yes, she reached out to me. she was made aware, pretty quickly after she put the tweeter, and she reached out to me within 24-48 and she reached out to me within 24—48 hours to say i didn't know i'm so

24—48 hours to say i didn't know i'm so excited to meet you. and then she tweeted it out to her followers that this is the person who originated the phrase and she put my, you know, oui’ the phrase and she put my, you know, our website i'll —— up on things like that. and then we started a friendship. because, the big difference i suppose, both the wasting allegations hitting the headlines in 2017, many of the women who spoke out were high—profile, well—connected women. your work, of course, which we can trace back to the 1990s, was mostly with disadvantaged women in communities very, very farfrom disadvantaged women in communities very, very far from the disadvantaged women in communities very, very farfrom the public disadvantaged women in communities very, very far from the public eye. so there was a real fundamental difference. absolutely. did you, in a sense, feel that your point was being lost there? so, like i said, it was an evolution of it. so my point was to support survivors. we started out with black and brown girls in the deep south and the united states. and those girls had gone through very similar things to

be drawn women who had come forward in the wasting case. and so the thing, the beauty, and the magic of me too is that it is a unified in that way and it is where survivors find community. and so i definitely, definitely the mainstream media kept the focus on the actresses and hollywood and that idea, but at its core the women who came forward were really no different from those girls is served in the community is ten yea rs before. is served in the community is ten years before. interesting, the only difference really is frankly wider society seem to engage more with the experiences of their well—connected and the high profile? absolutely. then they did with this sort of voices you are reporting on. absolutely. and that seems to me thatis absolutely. and that seems to me that is an area where there might be a good deal of resentment on your part. a good deal of resentment on your pa rt. let a good deal of resentment on your part. let me tell you what i feel. this is not resentment. this is what they have experience. and i think most people who look like me have expressed a similar thing. we have been socialised to respond to and pay attention to rich, white,

wealthy, famous people in general, and in particular these women. but i don't blame the women for that, blame the media for that. i'd blame the media who will costly... you of these women are survivors and they came forward to tell their story. and even though other people, if you think about it, the people who made me too go viral won't those people. the people who made me too go viral with everyday folks, from around the world, got online and told the truth. and we build this movement on the backs of those people, but we don't get to hear those people's stories. indeed. and before we get to some of the fallout from the weinstein case. they actually want to focus on the work you have been doing for years. wonderful. because you have this capacity, it seems, to sit down with women, and indeed girls as well, and get them to discuss and listen to their stories in ways that others haven't. and you open them up and get their truth. how do you do it? you know, i don't

think that it's like magic, i think this so many people, and, again, this so many people, and, again, this is not just this so many people, and, again, this is notjust for this so many people, and, again, this is not just for women this so many people, and, again, this is notjust for women and girls, people who have survived sexual violence in general. so many of us are shamed into silence that there aren't very many spaces where we can open up, there aren't very many spaces where we can open up, we can there aren't very many spaces where we can open up, we can tell our stories, where we can reveal our truth. that when you provide that opportunity or create the community people eager to do that. 0nce me too went viral. amen, what i saw when me too went viral is what i saw in community centres ten went and did workshops and with smaller numbers of people, is that people want to be seen, they want to be heard, they wa nt seen, they want to be heard, they want be believed —— i mean. seen, they want to be heard, they want be believed -- i mean. your new yorker. i am. i think want be believed -- i mean. your new yorker. iam. ithink one want be believed -- i mean. your new yorker. i am. i think one of the most shocking sprints as you had, just from recollecting a memory you had that was sitting down with a bunch of girls in selma, alabama, andi bunch of girls in selma, alabama, and i think you asked them to raise their hands if they had had an

experience of sexual violence. and you can believe how many in that room. so we never you can believe how many in that room. so we never ask you can believe how many in that room. so we never ask people to raise their hands publicly. let me tell you how it happens. because we don't want people to out themselves if they're not comfortable. we ask folks to write it down. so in this insta nce folks to write it down. so in this instance would given all the girls a sheet of paper after the workshop and said give us three things you learned at this workshop. and, if you're so inclined, right me too at the bottom of the page if you're a survivor and if you want help. and so we survivor and if you want help. and so we collected those papers and went back to the hotel room and when i'd dumped them out and began to read one after another after another after another it was shocking how many, really, the majority of the room had an experience of sexual violence. and it's something they had seen over and over again. but seeing it in writing, in paper was just, it was definitely shocking. do you think it would be pretty much the same experience today? absolutely. so, in that sense, we're going to talk a lot what me too has

achieved, but it hasn't changed that much on that sort of systemic structural level. no, but we're dealing with something that is centuries old. when dealing with an epidemic that has been affecting people around the world since the beginning, i mean, is biblical, right. so there's no way that a hashtag going viral two years ago going to dismantle struck as an systems in such a short period of time. what we've done is we've opened up the space to talk about it in ways that we haven't been able to talk about it on to say this is not about individuals, this is about systems and about structures and this is the pathway forward. do you think there is a race issue here as well? that the voices of girls and women are not heard in the ways that white females in the united states are ——? black women and girls?” are ——? black women and girls?|j think are ——? black women and girls?” think marginalised people of the

last voices that we hear. and so we have stories about black and brown women, stories about queer and trans people, about disabled folks, that never rise to the top, that never get the attention. so coming back to the weinstein case, and a should make it quite clear that we are talking while thejury make it quite clear that we are talking while the jury is deliberating. we do not know which way the verdict is going to go in the weinstein case. nonetheless, it has resources of interesting questions. he is what one black woman activist, who may know you know very well, april rain, has said about the weinstein case. she said "white women have not been as supportive as they could have been of women of colour and that is one lesson that we can take away from the fallout from the whole harvey weinstein situation." do you some of those without? you know, i think that there's always been this schism between white feminists, black feminist, and particularly online. there was a fallout when kautu went

viral about it. and a lot of black women felt not seen and not heard in that moment because of this long history. and so i think there's a lot for white women and nonblack women, non— women of colour... white women, non— women of colour... white women to learn about how to help amplify the voices of those who don't often get hurt, which is women of colour, black women in particular. it does raise questions about the way in which the response has been targeted on personal stories. and it's notjust weinstein. that hit the media in 0ctober weinstein. that hit the media in october 2017. after that there were a host of other famous men that then faced allegations of, at the very least, inappropriate and sometimes outright sexually violent behaviours. yeah. but they were all told a sort of personal narratives. you followed those stories very closely, but your message appeared to be let us not get too involved in the personnel, in the private,

because this is a much deeper structural question. right. you know, at some point, and at the end of 2017, the beginning of 2018, i felt like i was playing lakmal. every week there would be a new accusation and a new person in the media and the attention would be on whoever this next person was. and, one, we would never hear about this survivor and what happened about the survivor and what happened about the survivor and what happens in our lives, but we also didn't look at the systems around those people that allowed it to happen. all right, we can talk about harvey weinstein ad nauseam , can talk about harvey weinstein ad nauseam, but we have to talk about what other structures that were in place that allowed a harvey weinstein to thrive? if you're going to talk about harvey weinstein being successful then we also have to talk about capitalism, right, because it's the love of money and the desire for people to have money and what he represented. the bottom line is people value those things more than they valued the humanity of the women that he was really destroying their lives. it's about power. it's

about power and is about privilege. at the end of the day these are the two things that we have to talk about dismantling. these are not individuals, it is the power and the they hold. i should say and we are speaking before the jury has returned the verdict, that harvey weinstein category not donna categorically denies all of the charges he's been facing and it is important to acknowledge that point in this part of the legal process. let's look at a few of the concrete steps that have been taken by a number of states in the united states over the last couple of years as me too, notjust went viral, but also became a major social and cultural phenomenon. some states have banned nondisclosure agreements concerning cases of sexual harassment. 0ther concerning cases of sexual harassment. other states have introduced new protections for workers, including protecting freelance and contract workers, not just staff employees. the time is up

legal defence fund has been established, many millions of dollars have been funnelled to poorer and disadvantaged women who wa nt to poorer and disadvantaged women who want to pursue a, furthermore, the allegations of sexual violence. these two you represent a real step change? 0h, absolutely. thing that's happened, we have miles to go. these things represent the people are paying attention to the needs of survivors. example b times up legal defence fund is about making sure that people couldn't afford legal representation in the past and couldn't fight the cases now have that and that opens up a whole another corridorfor that and that opens up a whole another corridor for people to pursue legal action. there are different steps people can take to and organisations can take and corporate america can take and governments can take. and so every bit that we chip away, every bit that we get is... i count that as a victory for us. but the problem in some ways is that while you might

achieve these significant but relatively small victories, there is something much more overwhelming as a reality in the united states today. you have a president in the white house who we know, thanks to a lea ked white house who we know, thanks to a leaked tape, has in the past carried out abusive sexual harassment. not only was he elected with the public knowing that, there is a real chance that he may be re—elected. knowing that, there is a real chance that he may be re-elected. don't say that. that is the political reality. i know. and surely that, in terms of what it says about the united states and the political culture and the attitudes towards these issues we are discussing today, that says something much more damning and depressing and negative than all of the little steps you're talking about. again, we have to count every step about. again, we have to count every ste p sto p about. again, we have to count every step stop talking about a monumental thing we have to dismantle but yes, having somebody in the white house who is a self proclaimed sexual

predator is definitely... it doesn't make you feel helpful. we started an initiative call me too voted this year at the second anniversary of me too going viral. the reason we did that was because he did not win by a large margin. there are millions of people in america who feel very strongly that we should have a different person in the white house for several reasons. one of which is of his past as a set she will predator. a me too voter is about people who survive sexual violence being able to stand up and stand in their power and say, notjust a victim, ia their power and say, notjust a victim, i a survivor and a constituent. isn't there a danger in your entering the political arena with your movements me too voter and other messages. just looking at some survey evidence, you are really turning off a lot of white, male, and largely republican voters. there is one extraordinary survey recently

that showed that just 37% of self—proclaimed republican men in the united states today say that they are now likely to believe women in legal cases which hinge upon the proof of allegations of sexual violence. i don't know that number would have been different before me too. is actually gone down over the last few years. it was over 50% and now it is just 37% of republican men say they are inclined to believe women. i think the issue we have around me too is that people don't understand what the movement is. they will understand that mike don't understand what the workers. numbers like this come from perceptions in the media. there is a perception because the media says this new person is guilty this this new person is guilty this this new person is guilty of that and they keep honing in on the individual bad actors. it is one of the reasons we wa nt to actors. it is one of the reasons we want to shift the conversation in the narrative away from that. all of america was able to look in on for example, the nomination process in

front of senators of supreme court judge brett cavanagh. every american was able to form their own of and what people took away from that very much depend on their political risk perspective. most republicans were absolutely sure that cavanagh deserved his place on the bench while most democrats were equally convinced that this was a man not fit to serve, it is polarising and it has become deeply political.” think the country right now is polarised. every topic, if you brought up climate change in america, it would be split down the middle by partisanship. i think we're ina middle by partisanship. i think we're in a moment in our country where every topic you bring up, people are going to divide it. i have people who send us messages on sale, i'm republican, but from supporter, and i was raped. and i don't support your movement and i do believe it. that they would even put their own trauma to the side politically shows just how decisive things are in our country and i think that is more about what is happening in the country than me

too. here is another way in which i wonder have you reflected on the way the me too has evolved over the last couple of years and that's, just a sense that surveys reveal a sense of unease and uncertainty that particularly men have about what is a cce pta ble particularly men have about what is acceptable and what is not a cce pta ble acceptable and what is not acceptable in terms of behaviours with women, particularly in the workplace. example, i'm going to quote to you survey evidence was up 10% of both men and women say they are now 10% of both men and women say they a re now less 10% of both men and women say they are now less willing to hire attractive women. 22% of men, 40% of women addicted that men would be more likely to exclude women from social interactions like afterwork drinks. when in three men that they would now be reluctant to have a one—on—one work meeting with a woman. why is this happening to you think? it is because people don't understand what the movement is. this is the thing, we are leaving something that people really don't wa nt to something that people really don't want to talk about. never had a

moment like this in history, never had a moment where we actually had a sexual violence on centre stage. what we are looking at the breadth of sexual violence, sexual harassment, to rape and murder. we haven't really examined that. now that we having these conversations and women, particularly women, voicing things that have always been uncomfortable. there is this notion that something has changed but really nothing has changed except for the fact that people can hear us when we say, these things are inappropriate. so now, you have people responding to that because we are upending something that has been institutionalised for really so long. people have been able to do what they want to do, so they want to say, be inappropriate in all kinds of ways without being called out on it. now they're being called on itand out on it. now they're being called on it and saying, i out on it. now they're being called on itand saying, i my out on it. now they're being called on it and saying, i my gosh, this is uncomfortable. when really all women are saying is, i'm asking for you to consent. this word than that sometimes gets bandied around, that is want to fight, that some say it is want to fight, that some say it isa is want to fight, that some say it is a witch—hunt is now under way. some of them cite an interesting

case and i would like your views on this. i know you don't like to get too involved in individual cases but the one a something of is the democratic senator al franklin who was essentially forced out, he felt he was required to resign after a host of women said that he behaved inappropriately towards them. interestingly, even some self proclaimed feminists, including the lawyer who represented christine blows forward in her battle against brett cava nagh. blows forward in her battle against brett cavanagh. she said that the allegations levelled against senator al franken didn't warrantee his forced expulsion from the senator to treat all allegations the same is not only appropriate but feeds a backlash narrative that men are vulnerable to even frivolous allegations by women.” vulnerable to even frivolous allegations by women. i don't think alcohol is to treat all allegations the same. no, of course not. it makes no sense to try and dump

eve ryo ne makes no sense to try and dump everyone into run box and say these are the bad people and these are the good people. sexual violence happens ona good people. sexual violence happens on a spectrum so accountability should happen on a spectrum. the level of things that happen to people vary from depending on... i could have an experience and another woman could have the exact same experience and will come away feeling differently about that. how do you feel about the resignation of the senate i? i thinki do you feel about the resignation of the senate i? i think i was his own decision. i'm not here to draw opinions about whether he should or shouldn't have. he made a decision about based on what was happening in his life. the big question is, we have to look at what accountability looks like the people and survivors wa nt looks like the people and survivors want accountability in different ways. we have to shift away from this idea that there is only one way to look at and deal with all sexual violence. i think that is a more, a more appropriate framework for us to work from. the more we develop this conversation, they won't think to myself is that while we characterise me too is largely a movement by women for women, it is only going to

work if you really have men with you and do you think that men get it? festival, this is the reason why, everywhere i go, i tell people me too is not a women's movement. where a survivors movement and i think it is counter—productive to only engage men from the perspective that they are the harm dealers and they have to change and they are the perpetrators. men are also survivors of sexual violence and so, our first engagement with them is from that place. the second point is that men are also wonderful allies and you are also wonderful allies and you are right, we're not going to move the needle at all unless we can engage and however people identify in ways that let them understand how harmful sexual violence is and how we as human beings are responsible for on doing that. men are very much involved in that are never very much a part of the solution. this is not a part of the solution. this is not a waragainsta a part of the solution. this is not a war against a man. we can't make the changes that we need to see an end or even interruption to sexual violence unless we have everybody engaged. you said to me a little

earlier that fundamentally, is about power, is about the dynamics of power, is about the dynamics of power and privilege. you've been at this for decades and it's been your life ‘s work. how far down at this path along with this journey do you feel yourself to be? are you still near the beginning or can you see the end in sight? i am standing on the end in sight? i am standing on the shoulders of people who started this fight way before me. i see myself as taking the mantle, the paternal was passed to me and i'm carrying it even further —— time. my job is to do further work than what was done prior to me. away forever the 40 was done prior to me. away forever the a0 years ago when the first rape crisis centres were open in the united states and we are just getting to certain kinds of women's liberation issues around sexual violence. away forever advanced and that. can you imagine a day when you walk back into a classroom or a rest home in selma alabama and you ask women or girls whether they have had direct personal experience of sexual

violence and they don't have to write on a piece of paper, me too?” can imagine that i can imagine the day when there is sexual education curriculum is across the country so that young people when they go through school but undergraduate have been hearing about consent and boundaries and respect since they we re boundaries and respect since they were in kindergarten and they think differently and so sexual violence is appalling to them. tarana burke, has been a pleasure having you on the show. thank you so much. thank you. hello there.

there is more rain in the forecast and met office yellow what is in force for southwest scotland, wales and north—west england going to be very wet here and certainly as we had free thursday. this is the culprit, this weather front much it's way south—east with quite quickly for the day on thursday. could be some very heavy, squally rain on this band as it moves south east and perhaps somehow and thunder officer as it moves, scuttlebutt number will turn cold up and was blustery showers and of these heavy across scotland with some snow on the hills. as we had identified, the next weather system moves in. what of isobars on the charts, weather front across the north, going to be a windy day. most of the rain will be north wales, not across the western hills and over south, little bit of brightness but very winds could see some transport disruptions to the east of the pennines because of the winds. damages, ten to 12 degrees amata again. sunshine and shower again on saturday, they were living off a sunday, like some of us could see more rain.

welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: the un warns of a potentially huge human cost, as fighting in syria's last rebel stronghold draws close to densely—populated civilian areas. ibrahim says they fled the village in idlib because of bombing. the war keeps catching up wherever they go. ready for his close up. multibillionaire michael bloomberg is to make his big tv debut in the race for the us presidency. as the spread of the coronavirus continues, criticism of how japan has handled a cruise ship