tv BBC News BBC News July 12, 2022 8:30pm-9:01pm BST
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than 1,000 children were subject to appalling suffering and cruelty over decades in telford in shropshire. a bbc investigation has uncovered evidence that the sas executed detainees and murdered un—armed people in afghanistan. and a major moment for astronomers — as more jaw dropping images from nasa's new telescope the james webb are released showing stunning pictures of the distant cosmos. eight candidates have made it onto the ballot for the conservative party leadership contest. today was the deadline for candidates to get the deadline for candidates to get the backing of at least 20 of their fellow conservative mps in order to be included in those going forward to the rounds of voting. the first ballot will take place tomorrow and
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the final two candidates should be known by the end of next week. the government is refusing to let parliamentary time for labour's notion of no confidence. they are choosing to play politics with the wedding of the notion and could be debated as the business of the day. let's speak to steve reid, the shadowjustice secretary. very good to have you here on bbc news. i am curious as to the timing of this no—confidence motion, why table this vote of no confidence in the government under borisjohnson after we know that borisjohnson is resigning? why didn't labour tabled this before? we resigning? why didn't labour tabled this before? ~ ., ., , , ., this before? we have only 'ust found out that the — this before? we have only 'ust found out that the conservative _ this before? we have onlyjust found out that the conservative party - out that the conservative party intends to prop up in office, for another two months, a prime minister who they have now admitted is unfit for office, is dishonest and lacks integrity. and by trying to inflict
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a prime minister who doesn't enjoy the support of the majority of the house of commons, they are breaching a long—standing constitutional principle. so labour is putting this motion of no confidence and is a long—standing convention that when emotion like that is put down by the official leader of the opposition, time is given for it to be debated. but they are running scared that they are propping up a man he was unfit of the state of office he holds. �* ., , unfit of the state of office he holds. 1, _ ., ,., unfit of the state of office he holds. 1, _ ., ., holds. boris johnson found -- resitned holds. boris johnson found -- resigned a _ holds. boris johnson found -- resigned a week _ holds. boris johnson found -- resigned a week ago - holds. boris johnson found -- resigned a week ago and - holds. boris johnson found -- resigned a week ago and we l holds. boris johnson found -- . resigned a week ago and we have known he is staying on as a caretaker manager, so i'm curious you didn't table this vote of no confidence before that? we only found out yesterday _ confidence before that? we only found out yesterday from - confidence before that? we onlyl found out yesterday from graham brady, the chair of the 1922 committee that they intended to keep borisjohnson in office, despite the fact he has resigned as leader of the conservative party. he hasn't resigned as prime minister and he doesn't intend to do that until the
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5th of september, but the conservatives intend to prop him up, despite admitting he is unfit for office. they have a majority of 80 seats in house of commons and 50 ministers have resigned by saying borisjohnson was unfit ministers have resigned by saying boris johnson was unfit for office. the house of borisjohnson was unfit for office. the house of commons boris johnson was unfit for office. the house of commons would vote to remove borisjohnson immediately so we would have a caretaker prime minister who did command the confidence of the house until a new leader of the conservative party is elected. that is the way we believe this should proceed, but the tories are running scared of the fact that the man they are still propping up in office, despite everything we have seen going on these past few weeks, despite the lies and the lawbreaking and mockery of the sacrifices of the british people they covered up for three years, they covered up for three years, they are continuing that behaviour even now, even at this late stage. once again, breaching constitutional conventions that are the foundations of our democracy. the conventions that are the foundations of our democracy.— of our democracy. the government sa s ou of our democracy. the government says you are _ of our democracy. the government says you are playing _ of our democracy. the government says you are playing politics - of our democracy. the government says you are playing politics by -
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says you are playing politics by tabling this now after the resignation of borisjohnson and the leadership contest is under way. should labour and the motion appropriately they can have the next day business for it to be debated. are you going to amend the motion and if you are not going to, why not? ., , �* and if you are not going to, why not? . , �* , , , not? he hasn't resigned, he is still in office. not? he hasn't resigned, he is still in office- if— not? he hasn't resigned, he is still in office. if he had _ not? he hasn't resigned, he is still in office. if he had resigned - not? he hasn't resigned, he is still in office. if he had resigned he - in office. if he had resigned he would no longer be prime minister and he intends to stay there, propped up by the conservative party for another two months. the conservatives, as with so much else, are lying about the no—confidence motion and are very similar motion, also criticising the prime minister at the time it was laid by the conservative party in 1965 by ted heath when he was the leader of the conservatives. it was debated and voted on and exactly the same principle should apply now. the tories are lying, they are running scared and trying to prop up a prime minister then it is unfit for office and will say and do whatever they think they need to do. and the sad
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truth is, for the conservatives, their party political interest outweighs the interests of the british people, so the problem isn't just borisjohnson, it is the whole lot of these conservative mps. we now know the eight conservative candidates he will become our next prime minister and most of the leadership candidates are pledging tax cuts. would labour cut taxes if it was to form the next government? it is like the charge of the lightweight brigade, seeing all of them who voted for tax hikes in the budget when it came to. they voted to back up taxes on working people despite the cost of living crisis. labour oppose that and we voted against it but all of the conservative party leadership candidates voted for it. that is why we have the highest rates of personal taxation for 70 years, higher than at any point under a previous labour government. would labour cut taxes then? labour wouldn't have put them up on working people, we said it was the wrong
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thing to do when the burden should have been shared out fairly. whatever the conservatives are saying, judge them by what they do and not by what they say. they say they are tax cutters, but the whole lot of them are tax hikers and they are lying about it today and that is the modern conservative party. stews the modern conservative party. steve reed, thank — the modern conservative party. steve reed. thank you _ the modern conservative party. steve reed, thank you for _ the modern conservative party. steve reed, thank you forjoining _ the modern conservative party. steve reed, thank you forjoining us on bbc news. an independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation in telford in shropshire has found that children suffered appalling abuse over decades, with their anguish made worse by the actions of police and the council. more than a 1,000 children were exploited, with clear evidence that the exploitation was ignored and children blamed instead of the perpetrators. 0ur midlands correspondent phil mackie reports from telford. you may find some details disturbing. a town where more than 1,000 children have been sexually exploited since the late 19705. young girls were groomed, often by gangs and subjected to some of the most appalling abuse.
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after three years, the findings of an independent inquiry are damning. countless children were sexually assaulted and raped. they were deliberately humiliated, degraded. they were shared and trafficked. they were subjected to violence and their families were threatened. they lived in fear. their lives were forever changed. they've asked over the years, how was this allowed to happen? the answer, he believes, is that the authorities had ignored obvious signs of child exploitation, had blamed the children and not the perpetrators, and in many cases wouldn't investigate because of nervousness about race. the problems came to light during operation chalice when seven men of south asian descent were convicted of offences against teenage girls. but the inquiry has spoken to victims of exploitation from many more communities. this afternoon, i spoke to one. she was raped and trafficked.
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instead of getting helped, she got a criminal record. her words have been revoiced to protect her identity. victims were being identified as child prostitutes. once you have been convicted, that label will never leave you. prosecutions are damaging to your life. some children went to prison for not paying the fines. convictions should be completely expunged. there are 47 recommendations which are made in the report, including that the borough council and police should set up a joint task force which should report back annually, that counselling should be provided for victims and that money for specialist teams should be ringfenced. i do hope it's going to bring closure for a lot of people, but i also really hope it's going to open a lot of doors for other people. another survivor, who's known as holly archer, has set up the holly project in telford to help other victims of child sexual exploitation. for the likes of myself and other survivors who have sort of gone
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quite far on theirjourney now for us, that is a form of closure, but also a form of fight for what happens next. tonight, west mercia police and telford and wrekin borough council apologised to all of the victims. phil mackie, bbc news, telford. a senior military commander has called for a public inquiry after a bbc investigation found evidence that the british sas executed detainees and murdered unarmed people in afghanistan. colonel 0liver lee, who was in charge of the royal marines in helmand at the time, described the allegations as extremely shocking. panorama has discovered that one unit killed 5a people in suspicious circumstances. the ministry of defence says it will always hold uk troops to the highest standards and that they served with courage and professionalism in afghanistan. richard bilton reports. the kill or capture raids
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happened most nights. the sas were hunting for bomb makers, but something went wrong. what we have found suggests a pattern of deliberate killings. we've spoken to eyewitnesses who were on some of these night raids. now, they don't want to be identified, but they say they saw unarmed afghans being shot dead by british special forces. panorama obtained military reports that show people were repeatedly shot dead after surrendering to the sas. we looked at one sas tour and identified 5a suspicious killings injust six months. this isn'tjust rogue troops on the ground. 0ur evidence shows that those at the very top of special forces were warned. one of my team, an officer, has been told that there is, in effect, an unofficial policy
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to kill, wherever possible, fighting age males on target. what is extraordinary is senior officers didn't report the allegations to the royal military police, but kept them in a secret classified file for another four years. the ministry of defence said in a statement today. we believe that bbc panorama's episode about sas operations in afghanistan jumps to unjustified conclusions from allegations that have already been fully investigated. but military investigators who worked on the main investigation into war crimes in afghanistan have told us they were stopped from getting to the truth. it became increasingly clear to me that it didn't matter what evidence we were able to gather. these cases were never going to be allowed to go to court.
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we put our findings to colonel 0liver lee, who was in charge of the royal marines in helmand at that same period. i think allegations of the kind that you're making are incredibly shocking. and if they are true, then they would make me deeply sad and also deeply angry. my experience is that the military finds it very difficult to look at serious failure in the chain of command. so allegations on this level merit a public inquiry? i would say so, yes. the ministry of defence says military police will consider any allegations should new evidence come to light. but some believe it is time to look again at the behaviour of sas death squads that arrived in the night. richard bilton, bbc news. and panorama: sas
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death squads exposed: a british war crime? is on bbc one at 9pm tonight. the uncle of a bradford woman who went missing for more than a week has been charged with her murder. 20—year—old somaiya begum was last seen at her home on 25thjune. her body was found in fitzwilliam street last wednesday. 52—year—old mohammed taroos khan appeared at bradford crown court today in connection with her death. he has been remanded in custody to stand trial next year. the headlines on bbc news... eight conservative mps make it through— eight conservative mps make it through to the ballot for the first round _ through to the ballot for the first round of— through to the ballot for the first round of the party's leadership contest — round of the party's leadership contest after securing enough nominations. an _ nominations. an independent inquiry into sexual exploitation found is more than 1000 children were subject to appalling suffering and cruelty over decades in telford, shropshire. a bbc investigation has uncovered
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evidence that the sas executed detainees and murdered unarmed people in afghanistan. it's getting hotter and hotter across many parts of the uk this week. some experts say we could be heading for the most prolonged heatwave for 50 years. the met office has issued a weather warning for extreme heat this weekend in england and wales, with sunday and monday set to be the hottest. 0ur correspondentjon donnison is in cambridge. on another scorcher. what better way to try and cool off than a pint and a punt? temperatures in cambridge once again up around 30 degrees and forecast to go hotter still. it's humid. i love it.
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it's lovely being warm and i love it. it's great being outside. i just get a bit sticky. i absolutely love it because i've just been on holiday and i've come back and it's exactly the same weather that it was there. it was here in the botanic garden in cambridge, where the hottest temperature ever recorded in the uk was taken. that was in 2019, 38.7 degrees. but the forecasters think that could be broken later this week. and the truth is that such temperatures are really not that unusual anymore. every year for the past ten years has seen temperatures above 32 degrees. scientists like professor emily at the university of cambridge say climate change in the uk is already literally costing lives. in 2020, more than 2,500 people died in heat related deaths in one of the severe heatwaves we saw that summer. so it really is something that is starting to impact us, not just in terms of the financial costs, but the human cost as well. it's especially worrying times forfarmers here in norfolk. they grow potatoes, carrots
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and onions for supermarkets. but the heat means they're going through 50,000 litres of water an hour to irrigate their crops. and reservoirs that would normally be half full at this time of year are at only 15% capacity. i think we're sort of near record breaking temperatures. we're certainly near record breaking evapotranspiration rates, which means that the water is just absolutely pouring through these crops. you know, that's fuelled by the wind and the high temperatures and the high levels of sunlight at the moment. so the real challenge is to get enough water on these crops to sustain them. wheat is a particular worry. there are fears that if the heatwave continues, it could affect the autumn harvest, putting even further pressure on food prices which are already surging. jon donnison, bbc news in cambridge. a teenager, who drowned in a river in west yorkshire, has been named as 16 year—old alfie mccraw from wakefield. the police and fire service today
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spoke at the riverbank to warn people of the dangers of cooling off in open water. tom ingall reports. yesterday afternoon on the edge of wakefield, an all too familiar tragedy as temperatures soared. a teenage boy sought to cool off in the waters of the air. and calder navigation near broad reach loch. he lost his life. first of all, masks are truly tragic incident. local boy alfred mccraw, 16, just finished his gcses this summer ahead of him. he's been out with a group of friends that have been into the water. alfie got into difficulties. emergency services were called but sadly were able to save him, despite the welcome the waters seem to offer. there's a warning even the strongest of swimmers can quickly get into trouble. there are lots of dangers in not only the cold water shock, but the hidden danger underneath the water and the pollution involved there. the advice i would give is don't go into a known. what we're doing is going into the schools before
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the summer recess, just highlighting the hazards. you know, we'd hate for somebody else to become another victim like alfie in this sad occasion. as more hot weather is forecast emergency services are urgently reminding everyone to be safe around open water. more young lives like alfie's depend on the message being heard. tom ingle, bbc look north, wakefield. all ten ambulance services in england have moved to their highest level of alert, with officials warning that a combination of factors has placed trusts under "extreme pressure". they say covid absences among staff, nearly 20,000, an increased demand caused by the hot weather, a near record levels of 999 emergency calls and ongoing delays in handing over patients to hospitals have left them struggling to cope. wales senedd members have passeds a new law to reduce speed limits in built—up areas from 30 to 20mph. it was backed by 39 votes for, 15 against in the welsh parliament. the law was supported by labour and plaid cymru but opposed by the welsh conservatives.
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network rail has made a fresh pay offer to unions. they say it was worth more than 5% and dependent on workers accepting modernised reforms. at the national union of transport workers said it would mean cutting a third of front line maintenance roles. the rmt union said its executive committee would consider it tomorrow. women who sufferfrom life changing consider it tomorrow. women who suffer from life changing side effects from mesh implants are to be offered removal surgery in the united states. the scottish government has signed a contract with the surgeon that will see patients travel and accommodation paid for by the nhs. we have been speaking to one woman who hopes to get the surgery. maureen spent eight years in pain.
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she had her womb removed, but it didn't work. a private scan showed her mesh was twisted and eroded and she hopes the us surgeon can help. the damage is already done because the scans have shown that it is already embedded in the muscle. how it will come off, i don't know. i might not get any better than what i am now, but the mesh won't be there to do any more damage. mesh implants were used to — to do any more damage. mesh implants were used to treat _ to do any more damage. mesh implants were used to treat conditions _ to do any more damage. mesh implants were used to treat conditions like - were used to treat conditions like prolapse and incontinence offered by some women after childbirth. but they use. in 2018 in scotland after hundreds suffered life changing side effects. the doctor is based in missouri. the nhs will pay for women to travel to him for treatment and it involves a similar deal with spire health care in bristol. women have been campaigning for years for
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treatment. some don't trust scotland health service to resolve the issues after being let down when they have presented with complications in the past. no firm timetable, but the scottish government how women can start getting treatment in the coming months but at around £23 million at the mall, the health secretary is not looking to set any limits. , ., .., ., _,, limits. there is no cat on the cost we are putting — limits. there is no cat on the cost we are putting on _ limits. there is no cat on the cost we are putting on this. _ limits. there is no cat on the cost we are putting on this. we - limits. there is no cat on the cost we are putting on this. we have l limits. there is no cat on the cost| we are putting on this. we have to be careful with public money but there is no cap in place to prevent women from going across to the united states if that is what they want to do. united states if that is what they want to do-_ want to do. the length of time it has taken them _ want to do. the length of time it has taken them to _ want to do. the length of time it has taken them to get _ want to do. the length of time it has taken them to get where - want to do. the length of time it has taken them to get where we | want to do. the length of time it - has taken them to get where we are today, _ has taken them to get where we are today, i— has taken them to get where we are today, i think it is abysmal, realty _ today, i think it is abysmal, reall . ., today, i think it is abysmal, reall. ., , ., ., really. for those still waiting for their mesh _ really. for those still waiting for their mesh to _ really. for those still waiting for their mesh to be _ really. for those still waiting for their mesh to be removed, - really. for those still waiting for| their mesh to be removed, today really. for those still waiting for. their mesh to be removed, today is really. for those still waiting for- their mesh to be removed, today is a welcome step, but not an end to their suffering. claire mcallister, reporting scotland. stunning new images from deep in the cosmos have
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been released by nasa, taken by the world's largest and most powerful space telescope, the james webb. all of these points of lights are hundreds of galaxies in one small section of the universe. these are the first full power, full colour images. they were broadcast live from the nasa centre in maryland, from where jane rigby explains what they mean. it is teeming with galaxies and that has been true for every image we have gotten with webb. everywhere we look there is galaxies everywhere. and so this image, as we are looking at it, we're notjust seeing the galaxies but there is a cluster. the cluster, these white galaxies, we are seeing them as they looked back
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in time. the speed of light is only so fast and so we are seeing distant galaxies in space, we are seeing what they looked like billions of years ago. these galaxies, we are seeing they looked as about time the sun and the earth formed. i'm joined now by dr becky smethurst, astrophysicist at the university of oxford. good to have you with us, what went through your mind when he saw those pictures, how excited were you? incredibly excited, i was like a kid on christmas morning, to be honest. it also overwhelmed, there is just so much to look at. i think that was the overriding feeling for both me and my colleagues, we are all here for the meeting this week, 500 of us in one place, so you can imagine the atmosphere in the room when these images first release. so many others working on different things but got excited on different things. it was
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definitely like christmas.- definitely like christmas. there is a lot of different _ definitely like christmas. there is a lot of different images, - definitely like christmas. there is a lot of different images, i - a lot of different images, i appreciate that. when i look at them i can see they look very beautiful but i need an expert such as you to talk me through what they are seeing and what we can learn from them? the ke thint and what we can learn from them? tue: key thing about and what we can learn from them? tte: key thing about these and what we can learn from them? t"te: key thing about these images and what we can learn from them? ttl key thing about these images and and what we can learn from them? t“tl key thing about these images and why they are different is because they are taken with infrared light, we can see visible optical light, the colours of the rainbow. infrared light is the like your tv communicates, your tv remote communicates, your tv remote communicate with your tv, a light we cannot see. so we are seeing through dusts and little particles of carbon, nitrogen in the universe that block a physical light easily, but don't clock infrared light. we are seeing the view that has been shrouded by different nebula for a very long time, places that started forming and places that started to die. but this allows to see the
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light that has been travelling for the longest through the universe as it expands and get stretched along the way until we no longer see it in a visible wavelength, but we can detect it in the infrared with james webb also the infrared is absorbed tjy webb also the infrared is absorbed by the earth's atmosphere so need a telescope in space to get these incredible images. everything from distant galaxies and stars forming in our own galaxy, the milky way or even galaxies colliding as well, that i think is my favourite image from today. but there was also a graph as well, which might not look a very exciting to members of the general public but that is the one that astrophysicist got most excited about today. the line, played rather than his beautiful, spectacular images but one that revealed there was water in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star in our galaxy. so that was incredible to see. ~ , , :, galaxy. so that was incredible to see. . y, ., galaxy. so that was incredible to see. , , ., see. why is that so significant? first of all. _
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see. why is that so significant? first of all, this _ see. why is that so significant? first of all, this planet - see. why is that so significant? first of all, this planet they - see. why is that so significant? i first of all, this planet they found water in the atmosphere of is very similar tojupiter, water in the atmosphere of is very similartojupiter, except water in the atmosphere of is very similar tojupiter, except it orbits very close to its staff. tt very close to its staff. it only takes three _ very close to its staff. it only takes three days _ very close to its staff. it only takes three days to - very close to its staff. it only takes three days to orbit - very close to its staff. it only takes three days to orbit a i very close to its staff. it only l takes three days to orbit a star rather than earth's 365 days. the fact they found water vapour in this atmosphere, essentially the light that has come from the star passed through the planet atmosphere on its way to us and the water vapour in the atmosphere is stealing a little bit of the light away. you can see on the graph, bumps where more of the light has been blocked and we know the water is. so the idea that there is water in the planet's atmospheres around other stars in our galaxy suggests there could be water everywhere. we know what it is a key ingredient for life on earth so we are excited to see other graphs of this type going forward on jupiter —like planet and earth size planets as well. t do jupiter -like planet and earth size planets as well.—
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jupiter -like planet and earth size planets as well. i do want to follow u . planets as well. i do want to follow u- with planets as well. i do want to follow up with that. _ planets as well. i do want to follow up with that, does _ planets as well. i do want to follow up with that, does this _ planets as well. i do want to follow up with that, does this mean - planets as well. i do want to follow up with that, does this mean this l up with that, does this mean this telescope might be able to tell us whether there is alien life out there? t whether there is alien life out there? :, , whether there is alien life out there? . there? i really hope so. whether it will confirm _ there? i really hope so. whether it will confirm necessary, _ there? i really hope so. whether it will confirm necessary, but - there? i really hope so. whether it will confirm necessary, but i - will confirm necessary, but i imagine we could find the most earthlike planet with the myth earthlike planet with the myth earthlike atmosphere around the most unlike staff, oxygen, carbon dioxide and ozone in the atmosphere. that is our sister planet, a couple of hundred thousand light—years across the galaxy, who knows? tt has hundred thousand light-years across the galaxy, who knows?— the galaxy, who knows? it has been such a pleasure _ the galaxy, who knows? it has been such a pleasure talking _ the galaxy, who knows? it has been such a pleasure talking to _ the galaxy, who knows? it has been such a pleasure talking to you, - the galaxy, who knows? it has been such a pleasure talking to you, yourj such a pleasure talking to you, your enthusiasm is so infectious. thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news and explaining that so well. you are welcome. the queen has presented the george cross to the nhs for its courage, compassion and dedication during the pandemic. compassion and dedication during the tandemic. :, ., , :, pandemic. health leaders from the four home nations _ pandemic. health leaders from the four home nations were _ pandemic. health leaders from the four home nations were each - pandemic. health leaders from the i four home nations were each awarded a medal and front line workers also attended the ceremony, including the
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nurse who gave the world's first covid that scene to a patient. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello again. it's been another hot day across southeast england with temperatures reaching the low 30s. the reaching the low 30s. heat across north—western a fresher the heat across north—western areas, fresher air moving in. a comfortable night's slick for scotland, northern ireland but late in the night we are talking about temperature 16 degrees in cardiff, 19 by the end of the night in london. so it will be vorm the further south you live. a bit more of a breeze tomorrow for scotland and northern ireland where they will be one or two showers but many dry with a fuse should sunny spells. arrange in temperatures, high teen to low 20s in the north, feeling comfortable. another hot day in the southeast with temperatures
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hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. the january 6th committee sheds new light on the role donald trump played in inspiring the attack on the us capitol. the committee linked the former president's tweets with the plotting forjan 6th, and they published a draft tweet trump never sent, in which he intended to direct people to march on the capitol. he is now calling on we the people to take action and show our numbers. if necessary, storming right into the capitol. the next prime minister of the united kingdom will be one of these eight people. the first round of the ballot will be held tomorrow. sajid javid and grant schapps are the first fallers. and the first extraordinary images from nasa's new telescope —
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