tv BBC News BBC News October 15, 2022 3:00am-3:31am BST
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great stepping stone to europe and beyond. welcome to bbc news, i'm rich preston. our top stories: out afterjust 38 days in thejob. kwasi kwarteng is sacked as britain's chancellor by prime minister liz truss. staright after the sacking, the pm announces another major u—turn on her economic plans it is clear that parts of our many budget went further and faster than markets were expecting, so the way we are delivering our mission right now has two change. iran's supreme leader warns no one can overturn the islamic republic, as protesters again take to the streets. and we'll bring you the story of a six—month—old ukrainian boy who's never known
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life without war. hello and welcome to bbc news. britain's prime minister, liz truss, has sacked the chancellor of the exchequer, britain's finance minister, kwasi kwarteng, just 38 days into his tenure. his departure came as the prime minister's economic growth plan and political credibility are being called into question. he's been replaced by the former foreign secretaryjeremy hunt. in a press conference lasting less than nine minutes, ms truss was asked four times why she was remaining in herjob, with reports that some of her own conservative mps are privately suggesting she should resign. our political editor chris mason reports.
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turning up for another u—turn, the prime minister invited reporters to downing street this afternoon and scrapped one of her key policies that she's championed for months. it is clear that parts of our mini budget went further and faster than markets were expecting, so the way we are delivering our mission right now has to change. i have therefore decided to keep the increase in corporation tax that was planned by the previous government. this will raise £18 billion per year. so, a tax policy ditched, and her chancellor, too. it never rains, but it pours. this was the now former chancellor kwasi kwarteng making an early dash home from a meeting of finance ministers in washington last night. a long—haul flight, followed by the sack is how his friday went. should the prime minister go next, mr kwarteng? hello, good afternoon.
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congratulations, mr chancellor. so congratulations, mr chancellor. 50 nice — congratulations, mr chancellor. 50 nice to — congratulations, mr chancellor. 50 nice to see _ congratulations, mr chancellor. so nice to see you. _ jeremy hunt is a former health secretary and foreign secretary, and has tried to become leader himself twice. now, he is the fourth chancellor of the exchequer since july. perhaps it's little wonder the conservatives�* political rivals are sounding like this. another change in who is running the treasury, another tory chancellor isn't the answer to the challenges that we face as a country. the tories are out of ideas, they're out of time, it's time for a labor government. this is beyond a joke — it was never funny, but liz truss has already, through her own decisions, crashed the economy and heaped misery on people who were already struggling with the cost of living crisis. so many questions for the prime minister, but she only asked four of us to ask one. chris mason. excuse the bluntness, prime minister, but given everything that has happened, what credibility do you have to continue governing? what i have done today is made sure
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that we have economic stability in this country. jeremy hunt as chancellor is somebody who shares my desire for a high—growth, low—tax economy. the questions from others were in a similar vein, and brutal. he has to go because of the fall—out from it, how come you get to stay? clearly, a difficult day — can you explain to the public why you think you should remain as prime minister? will you apologise to your party? - her answers were similar to the one i got, and then, that was it. thank you very much, everybody. and since that news conference this afternoon, let me share with you some of the reaction, in private from conservative mps. "it was awful," says one. "i voted for liz. sadly, i think it hastens her demise," says another. "i can't see how she survives," and, "she has trashed our
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reputation." the prime minister may have a new chancellor this evening, but she, he, confront many of the same problems, and herjob is still farfrom secure. chris mason, bbc news, at westminster. the turkish health minister says 25 people have been killed and dozens are trapped underground following an explosion at a coal mine in amasra on the black sea coast. eight of those rescued are in a critical condition. rescuers are digging through hard rock trying to reach workers stuck 300 metres below the surface. initial reports suggest the blast may have been caused by a build—up of flammable gas. iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, has said no—one should dare think they can overturn the islamic republic, as anti—government protests enter a fifth week. crowds have again come out onto the streets of zahedan, the city where dozens of people
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were reportedly killed by the security forces two weeks ago. it's been barely a month since the death of a 22—year—old woman in police custody sparked the demonstrations. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet has this report. cheering and chanting a defiance that's dangerous. brandishing headscarves — burning them can get you arrested. hundreds have been detained. cheering and applause this may seem so ordinary, but even walking without compulsory hijab can have consequences. dounir, in a white shirt, eating breakfast, went to prison after she posted this photo. across iran over the past month, there have been unprecedented scenes like this. shouting and cheering and this, too — schoolgirls ripping photos of iran's leaders.
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this defiance spread across society, across generations, on wider issues. and security forces have shot back with tear gas, metal pellets, live fire. one protester who, like most, hides her identity, told us it's no longer just about hijab. they don't want islamic republic with all the violence it's giving. things that they have done politically to us, economically to us, and what they are showing as the face of iranians to the world, and this is what we do not want. power resides here in the islamic republic. the supreme leader, 83—year—old ayatollah khamenei, has said little, but he's blaming the west. translation: these recent matters are not home—grown and spontaneous. it's possible that the enemy used some pretext to pursue their agenda using provocative propaganda. those who back the government deny the islamic republic is at risk, or even rattled.
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there are very few protests, the country is quiet. we see them every day, professor marandi. that's factually incorrect. the united states and its allies try to undermine iran in every possible way. iran is more open than any of the countries in this region. what we see says these protests aren't dying down, and the government isn't backing down. mahsa amini! in london, a vigil to mark a month of defiance, to remember 22—year—old mahsa amini. her death sparked this movement. say her name, say her name! protests like this have been happening in cities across the world over the past month. what's happening now in iran, what happens next, matters in many places. but the course of events inside iran will be decided there.
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chanting a young generation rises against an old clerical order. it's hard to say how and when this will end. for now, it's moving in ways iran hasn't seen before. chanting lyse doucet, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to our news reporter, azadeh moshiri, who updated us on the story. it is important to understand these sort of incidences and reports of behaviour by security forces and the revolutionary guards are not new, they have been reported for a long time but the difference is iranians are feeling more empowered to catalogue each event and that the world is watching. it is why the internet is so important to protesters right now, because it is allowing them to galvanise support and continue their momentum. it is also why the government has consistently, each time
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there has been dissent in iran, the last time was 2019 and those big protests, that is why the government keeps causing internet blackouts because it is to stifle that momentum and stifle the fact that the world will start condemning these sorts of actions. but, as in the case of this video, protesters are still managing to show the world what is happening on the ground, either by managing to put it on social media, sometimes using vpns, or by sending it directly to media organisations like bbc persian so that these events can be catalogued for the record. in the instance of this video, the tehran police have acknowledged it happened but it was a begrudging statement because they have also said the west and iran's enemies were continuing to use psychological warfare to incite violence and unrest in the country, and that is a government line. and what has been the response from the government?
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president raisi and the supreme leader have continued to use the same line, a line that they use every time there is dissent in the country, that is the us and israel's fault, that is the west inciting unrest. the supreme leader today went further and said iran's enemies and people should understand that no—one should dare overthrow, dare think that they can overthrow the islamic republic. another thing that's important to note is in addition to the brutal crackdown that's going on, all of these images of shots being fired by security forces, things that the bbc has verified, the government is also trying to win the hearts and minds. i want to show the viewers a billboard that was put up in one of the most prominent squares in tehran, and it shows a number of prominent iranian women with hijabs, with their veils, and it says, "the women of my homeland, iran", trying to show unity. but a lot of those women
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did not give consent for that billboard because they said they went to social media and said it needed to be taken down, including one prominent iranian actress who was in tears and called the authorities murderers. it shows how much the government is struggling and grappling to deal with this unrest for weeks on. over a thousand venezuelan migrants have set out from southern mexico towards the us border. that's after an announcement by washington earlier this week that they would be sent back. the united states and mexico agreed that venezuelans who try to cross overland would be returned — a decision migrant advocates described as unhumanitarian. here's our correspondent in mexico city, will grant. what is happening here is partly the fact that these migrants have been to hell and back to get to the point that those protests took place, ie, southern mexico. they have already traversed the derian gap which separates columbia from panama. thick, very very treacherous jungle. pregnant women, people with their children in their arms and so on,
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so they have very, very little intention of turning back at this stage despite the policy change taking place in washington. and in fact, those who were already in the united states and who've been deported since the policy announcement changed are also gathering along the border, refusing to go anywhere for the time being and talking about ways of getting back in. so, will, venezuelans on both sides of mexico angry at the united states, is this likely to change washington's policy towards them? not at this stage. i think what's clear is that are a variety of things at play here. one of course is the mid—term elections that are not too far away. certainly the biden administration with a close eye on demographics in the united dates and domestic political policy, the idea of formalising ways for venezuelans to come in but throwing out anybody who doesn't have the right
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paperwork, they hope will play well. but also at play is relations with caracas. we've seen efforts by the united states in recent weeks, particularly after the russian invasion of ukraine, and the energy crisis that that has created, to sort of re—establish, to create a better relationship. we saw, for example, members of nicolas maduro, the president there, his family were arrested in the united states, serving a sentence on drug charges and they have been sent back to venezuela in exchange for americans in prison there, so all of these things, i think, are efforts to try to normalise things in the middle of a global energy crisis too. let's get some of the day's other news. two brothers have each been jailed for a0 years after admitting they killed a journalist in malta in 2017. the murder of daphne caruana galizia sparked global anger. many suspect the killing was ordered by top establishment figures after ms caruana galizia uncovered networks
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of corruption in malta and abroad. george and alfred degiorgio admitted murdering herjust hours after pleading not guilty. president putin says his call—up target of 300,000 conscripts for his war in ukraine will be reached within two weeks. he said more than 220,000 had already been mobilised with 16,000 already engaged in fighting. he denied his objective was ending the existence of ukraine as a nation. meanwhile, president biden has authorised the release of another $725 million worth of military aid for ukraine. it brings the total us assistance to more than $17 billion. saudi arabia has also announced a further $400 million in aid following a telephone conversation between crown prince mohammed bin salman and president zelensky. let us stick with ukraine now. the exact death toll
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in the war in ukraine remains unknown, but thousands are believed to have been killed. many, many more have been forced from their homes, seeking safety where they can. the bbc�*s tim allman reports now on one family in the eastern city kharkiv, who've had their lives turned upside down. zenya is six months old, and this bomb shelter is the only home he's ever known. his mother was seven months pregnant when the war began and the family fled here as the russian invasion got under way. they've tried to make the best of things, living as normal a life as possible. but it's not easy. translation: today, as soon as we left the shelter to go - to the clinic, there was an air raid alarm, so we turned back and went downstairs straight away. two or three weeks ago, there was a blast which shattered all the windows in this building. kharkiv bears the scars of war. buildings and vehicles
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burned out, a city living on the edge. this was where the shevchenko family used to live in the village of prudyanka, just north of kharkiv. their home almost derelict and they have no plans to rush back. translation: we will. surely spend winter here because we have nowhere else to go, nowhere to stay. we're not going back home because, first of all, in order to rebuild it, clean it all, it's not a job for one day. zenya and his family are just one of countless families trying to survive in a country at war. his parents hoping the future will be much better than the months just passed. tim allman, bbc news. in the caribbean... malnutrition, gang violence, cholera, spiralling inflation — the situation in haiti
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is worsening by the day. according to the united nations, almost two million people are experiencing acute food shortages and thousands of residents in an area of the capital, port—au—prince, could face starvation in the coming days. and there are now also reports of sexual violence being used as a weapon in the city's gang—controlled areas. stephanie prentice has this report. gunfire chaos in the capital and a situation being described as horrific. this is port—au—prince, a major city running on empty. food is scarce, water is scarce, gasoline is scarce. what resources there are primarily controlled by violent gangs who've also cut off supply lines from the food—producing south. haiti is facing a humanitarian catastrophe, 4.7 million people are facing food insecurity, 1.8 million of them are facing emergency levels of food insecurity.
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here in cite soleil, already one of port—au—prince's poorest areas, the situation is exacerbated by a lack of infrastructure. many people can't get to work, can't reach supplies and don't know where to turn. translation: | had to | take out a high-interest loan to survive. they lent me 2,000 haitian dollars. on top of poverty and hunger, women here in particular facing another threat with reports of widespread sexual violence, including children as young as ten and elderly women. they say gangs are using sexual violence to create a culture of fear. and amid the sphere, aid agencies are still trying to get through. the struggle to reach these communities along flooded roads emblematic of the global community's struggle with how to help. the us say they're sending in disaster response support
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and armoured vehicles, but they are entering a situation that is only getting worse. stephanie prentice, bbc news. let us go to west africa. the red cross in nigeria is warning that communities affected by extensive flooding there could soon face outbreaks of disease. it's believed people whose homes have been submerged are living on boats in an attempt to protect valuable roofing materials from looters. the state of kogi in central nigeria is one of the worst affected. our west africa correspondent mayenijones is in its capital, lokoja. a neighbourhood submerged. nigeria is facing disaster — hundreds dead, the worst flooding for a decade. for the past three weeks, this has been the only way some of the people here have been able to get into their houses. this civil servant moved here a decade ago with her husband, who passed away during the pandemic. she now takes care of her four children on her own. you're doing very well. yes. take your time.
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when you think about the future and more flooding coming, how does it make you feel? whispers that is my tears coming out. how do i get money to review this house? i built this house with my husband and it's no more. kogi is where two of nigeria's major rivers, the river niger and a river benue, meets, and for that reason, neighbourhoods like these get flooded every single year. people have to use canoes to go through neighbourhoods where you used to be able to walk. and many of the residents of this neighbourhood say they haven't been able to go anywhere else, they simply can't afford to move. one of the factors why it is worse, people continue to build in water plain areas. despite the warning, immediately after the flood recedes,
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people goes back to the same place again and they continue to block water channels. seasonal flooding in africa's most populous country has many causes, including poor infrastructure and urban planning. but many people believe climate change is also making things dramatically worse. many communities are short of food and fuel. with more rain expected over the coming weeks, the situation in kogi state remains precarious. mayenijones, bbc news, lokoja. the actor robbie coltrane has died at the age of 72. for many, he'll mostly be remembered for his role as hagrid in the harry potter films, but he had a varied career in film and on british television. our correspondent david sillito looks back at his life and career. oh, hello. sorry, don't wish to be rude, but i'm in no fit state to entertain today. ain't no—one going to get past fluffy. hagrid in harry potter. big, gruff, fond of a drink, but blessed with a good heart. jk rowling said there was only one person who could play him — robbie coltrane. well, i knew that she wanted me to play hagrid the film,
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and then i heard that she actually imagined me as hagrid. but, you know, women imagine me all the time, you know! laughs in her tribute, jk rowling said: sorry, guvnor. apples and pears, tit—for—tat, i love london town. and it was comedy in the �*80s where he made his name. i went into the video shop yesterday, you know. among those he worked alongside, stephen fry, who said: come back here, dammit! and you could see it all in a drama like tutti frutti. don't get the stripey stuff, it stings my gums. and his best work, cracker. i think i owe you an explanation. think again.
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an apology. you owe me nothing. my life's a bit of a mess... i had a wonderful time, fitz. the gifted, but troubled criminal psychologist fitz. he won a bafta three years running for this clever, hard—drinking character. some questions are so obvious that nobody ever bothers to ask them. there were a few parallels with his own carefully guarded private life. singing this is our only chance to go straight! the killer's not on the dole, you're not up and about at 7:30 if you're unemployed, right? i terminated my uninterrupted categorisation... robbie coltrane — fierce, clever, funny, vulnerable. it's what made him so compelling. the actor robbie coltrane who has died at the age of 72.
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for astronauts to return to earth after spinning six months on international space station. the group included three americans and one italian who splashed down off the coast of florida. they travelled back to earth in a capsule. this was the fourth mission that the company felt about elon musk has floated international space station for nasa. british scientists have unravelled a mystery surrounding one of nature's most incredible journeys. every year, mature eels leave european rivers to travel more than 5,000 kilometres across the atlantic ocean to the sargasso sea. in this large region of the north atlantic, they breed for a single time and then die. the researchers found direct proof of the epic migration by fitting eels with satellite tags. the study will help in conservation efforts to save the critically endangered species. much more on the bbc news website and you can reach me on twitter. from all of us here,
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thank you for your company and we will see you next time. bye—bye. hello. most of the weekend's showers will come on saturday, there will be some heavy downpours around, a blustery day, too. by sunday, it's a different story — it's looking drier. we are in between weather systems by then. now, low pressure very much in control for saturday just to the north of scotland, bands of showers swinging around that. before that pulls away on sunday, there's the gap we find ourselves in, this next system coming in towards the south and west later in the day. after a cold night in scotland, we'll start saturday with some rain in the west, having gone through northern ireland overnight. rain across north—west england, wales too. all of these heavy downpours sweep eastwards during the day, some reaching east anglia and the south—east later in the afternoon. after some showers in
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the morning have cleared away, then a few hours of fine weather. now, once you clear through the heavy and thundery downpours, further scattered showers arrive into the afternoon, particularly across the north and west of the uk. getting windier — gales through the irish sea and adjacent coasts. a cold—feeling day in scotland when you get the showers and the wind — maybe some snow to the highest ground out of these. as we go on into saturday night, you can see all these showers becoming mainly confined to northern areas where it stays quite windy. it does mean a milder night and, going into sunday morning in scotland, it does mean a touch colder the further south you are, where you become mainly dry with clear spells. so, on sunday then, still blustery and showery, especially in scotland first thing, but here's the gap many of us find ourselves in during sunday with a lot of fine weather to come. here's the next weather system moving in, though — some uncertainty about timing, but towards southern england, parts of wales, especially northern ireland going on through sunday evening, it will be turning wetter by then. and after a brief lull in the wind, the winds will pick up again as this system moves in. so, here it is — it sweeps its wet weather
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north and east overnight and into monday morning and, still on monday, early rain clearing away from the far south—east, but further heavy downpours to come in scotland, especially north and west. showers for northern ireland, northern england, perhaps north wales too. northern areas staying windiest on monday, whereas for much of england and wales and especially the further south you are, it is looking like another spell of fine weather after some overnight rain. then after that, well, a largely fine tuesday then, then another weather system coming in towards the south—west later in the week, with a lot of uncertainty about how quickly it will move any wetter weather northwards.
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this is bbc news, the headlines: britain's prime minister has abandoned another key tax—cutting proposal. liz truss says a rise in corporation tax will now go ahead. the decision has failed to immediately reassure financial markets. the pound sterling dropped against the dollar, and interest rates on long—term uk government bonds have risen again. it follows her earlier decision to sack her chancellor, kwasi kwarteng. he was recalled from washington to be replaced by the more centristjeremy hunt, britain's fourth finance minister in a year. the labor party said the government was "in meltdown" and it was time for a general election. iran's supreme leader has said no one
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