tv BBC News BBC News March 2, 2023 4:00am-4:31am GMT
4:00 am
welcome to bbc news. i'm lisa—marie misztak. our top stories: was it a lab—leak after all? the fbi says it's most likely covid originated in this facility in china. more than a0 dead after two trains collide in greece. it's been described as the worst rail disaster the country's ever seen. there's grief and anger. protests take place over a rail network demonstrators say has been neglected for years. we could be on the verge of a water crisis. the french government's warning as europe's winter drought goes on. and thinking out loud. the singer ed sheeran opens up about using music to cope with depression.
4:01 am
welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. fbi director, christopher wray, says it's "most likely" that covid—19 emerged from a chinese government—controlled laboratory in wuhan. in response, china has accused the fbi of politicising the investigation into the origins of coronavirus, and says there has been no new scientific evidence to support the theory. other us agencies believe the virus developed naturally. our north america correspondent john sudworth reports. suspicions have long swirled around wuhan�*s laboratories. now three years after the start of the pandemic, they have burst out into the open once again. the fbi has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most
4:02 am
likely a potential lab incident in wuhan. here, you are talking about a potential leak from a chinese government—controlled lab that killed millions of americans. from the start, many scientists believed that covid had passed naturally from animals to humans. some of the first cases were centred around this wuhan�*s market known to sell wildlife. but with wuhan�*s laboratories known to have been collecting samples from bats and experimenting on coronaviruses, there is an alternative possibility, that a researcher became accidentally infected with the virus they were working on. it comes from china, that's why. it comes from china. i want to be accurate. but the theory�*s close association with donald trump made it for many one more piece of disinformation and it was widely dismissed. for the past three years
4:03 am
in china, in europe and now in america, i have been investigating the question of covid's origin. some scientists claim the lab leak theory has been convincingly debunked but others say that in the absence of better evidence to rule it out, they want the possibility to remain firmly on the table. the world health organization team that travelled to wuhan in 2021 concluded that it was extremely unlikely that the virus leaked from a lab but there were concerns about china's political management of the enquiry. something one member of that team acknowledged in an interview for our upcoming podcast series. it is difficult to know where the science ends and where the politics starts. so you can have a heated debate about a lot of different details and you do not know if there is political influence. while the lab leak theory... china, it is clear, never wanted journalists asking
4:04 am
questions about the origins of covid and there appears to be very little hope of further co—operation with international efforts to look for answers but in america, there is renewed interest. the biden administration has given the lab leak theory fresh impetus and a new republican—controlled congress has willingly picked up the batten. the select committee will come to order. this is an existential struggle over what life will look like in the 21st century. despite the fbi's public comments, the us intelligence agencies remain divided. with little hard evidence, many fear one of the biggest questions of our time — where did covid come from? — may never be convincingly answered. john sudworth, bbc news, new york. greece's prime minister has blamed tragic human error for the country's worst ever rail disaster. it's now reported to have killed at least 43 people. the passenger service heading to thessaloniki with 350 people on board collided with a freight train
4:05 am
in the town of tempi near the central city of larissa, causing carriages to fly off the tracks and catch fire. police have charged a local stationmaster with manslaughter by negligence. our europe correspondent nick beake is at the scene, and sent this report. the mangled remnants of a train bringing hundreds of students back from the holidays. down the track, their now grieving families who had waived them off. greece's worst railway crash. it should never have happened. earlier they had worked through the night, recovering dozens of victims. identification has been hard. the fire that broke out was intense. survivors describe the moments just before midnight their intercity service hit the freight train head—on. translation: we heard the big bang than it wasl io nightmarish seconds. we were turning over in the carriage. we fell on our side and then it stopped and that it was panic. cables everywhere and fire.
4:06 am
the fire was immediate. as it quickly became clear, no—one else would be found alive, news arrived that a signal master at the nearest city has been charged with manslaughter by negligence. he has blamed a possible technicalfailure. greece's prime minister visiting this carnage failed to find out what had gone so catastrophically wrong. translation: our thoughts are with the victims's relatives. - our duty is to treat the injured and then to identify the bodies. i can guarantee only one thing, we will find out what caused this tragedy and we will do whatever we can to avoid anything similar the future. this evening, greece's transport minister resigned, saying his efforts to improve the railway had not been enough to prevent such an accident but who is to blame is not a straightforward question. many feel though this was a disaster waiting to happen. nick beake, bbc news.
4:07 am
as we heard there from nick, some accountability is being taken for the crash but for many its not enough and anger has spilled out on to the streets. tell us more about public feeling about the disaster. i5 feeling about the disaster. is the full scale of the collision the full scale of the collision the initial reaction was one of shock and sadness, now we see a lot of anger, especially in the city is connected to the passenger train that was in the cash. the train left athens demonstrators gathered en masse and went to the headquarters of the company that operated the line, heavy neck train, initially we saw a candlelit vigil still turning into clashes with police and right gas deployed by riot police forces there. because of this anger seems to be these issues around the safety of the greek
4:08 am
rail network were well—known and people have been complaining them for a number of years. people from the union have said safety concerns about that particular line were well—known and one supervisor last year resigned from his post saying crucial infrastructure had not been changed. crucially that also involved automation. automation that would have taken away the human error element at cited as one of the causes of the crash. hellenic train have said they are cooperating with the full examination but demonstrators say this has to be a very full investigation, they were chanting, there can't be a cover—up. in thessaloniki other groups have demonstrated and gathered what we saw from them is the same atmosphere of defiance. thessaloniki would have been the end of destination for the train at the collision not occurred in protesters say there has to be a full investigation into this.
4:09 am
those demonstrations have now been dispersed, what we hear is there a more plans for the rest of this week, some involving trained personnel. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has accused anti—government protesters unhappy at his judicial reforms of crossing a red line. he said anarchy could not be tolerated. mr netanyahu spoke after people again took to the streets in tel aviv, where 14 people were injured. the protesters believe the sweeping changes being pushed through parliament will undermine judicial independence and threaten democracy. our middle east correspondent yoland knell is injerusalem. with stun grenades and horses, israeli police try to drive protesters back. but here they break through the barricades. on the country's busiest motorway between tel aviv and jerusalem, traffic came grinding to a halt. demonstrators believe sweeping judicial changes will undermine the independence of the courts
4:10 am
and threaten democracy. they will allow the government to overturn supreme court rulings. but the prime minister and his new hardline government call the protesters anarchists. translation: the freedom of protest is not a license i to reduce the country to anarchy, to chaos. a sovereign state cannot tolerate anarchy. today, amid rowdy scenes, a parliamentary committee pushed new legislation through an initial vote. supporters argue their plans restore balance between the branches of government. outside, another crowd began to gather. after weeks of protest you get a real sense of frustration from people here that their voices aren't being heard and they feel there's so much at stake. this issue is really exposing the deep divisions in the country. competing visions for israel.
4:11 am
and some unexpected voices are speaking out. veterans of an elite military intelligence unit are among those now threatening to refuse to perform their army reserve service in protest. it's completely unusual. we don't tend to use our position in the military background in order to gain an influence. we tend to remain impartial in those matters. but it's not a routine political debate. it's a dramatic change. polls suggest most israelis seek a compromise on judicial changes, and the president's calling for political dialogue. but the size of the latest protests and the authority's tough response showjust how split israel has become. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. the united states has denounced comments by israel's far—right finance minister, bezalel smotrich, who had called for the palestinian village of huwara to be "wiped out" by the state of israel.
4:12 am
here is us state department spokesman, ned price. these comments were irresponsible. they were repugnant. they were disgusting. and just as we condemn palestinian incitement to violence, we condemn these provocative remarks that also amount to incitement to violence. we call on prime minister netanyahu and other israeli officials to publicly and clearly reject and disavow these comments. our north america correspondent, david willis, told us more. the biden administration has become increasingly critical of the words of the right—wing government of benjamin netanyahu. especially in regards to the expansion of israeli settlement into palestinian land.
4:13 am
the administration condemned the rampage by israeli settlers through the palestinian village on sunday and it called for those who were responsible to be brought to book. now, the administration has accused a senior member of the netanyahu administration of incitement to violence for calling for that palestinian town to be "wiped out". it has also called on benjamin netanyahu and senior members of his parliament to disavow the sentiments expressed by bezalel smotrich. so far, there is no indication that any senior member of the israeli government has disavowed those comments. but this comes less than two weeks before mr smotrich himself is due to visit the united states for a long—standing speaking engagement in washington, dc, and there have been calls from groups such as an arab advocacy group, the democracy for the arab world now group, to ask for him
4:14 am
to have his entry denied. this isn't the first time that the washington has given these responses. last week president biden urged consensus building on the judicial plans? that's right — and criticism about those judicial reforms, the speed at which the netanyahu administration is going about implementing them, effectively lead to one member of the israeli government telling the united states to mind its own business. but this is the most right—wing government in israel's history, and there are those, like mr smotrich, who make no secret of the fact that they want to see tougher action taken against palestinians in the west bank. the biden administration fears a further increase in violence in the run—up to ramadan at the end of this month. it is worth pointing
4:15 am
out, or reminding viewers, that the united states supplies about $4 billion in aid every year to israel, and there have been calls — increasing calls — for conditions to be attached to that aid. a jewish american group, called j street, which describes itself as pro—israel, called on the biden administration to set clear red lines and consequences for certain israeli government policies. david willis, thank you for the update. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: music plays. thinking out loud — the singer ed sheeran opens up about using music to cope with depression. first, the plates slid gently off the restaurant tables.
4:16 am
then suddenly, the tables, the chairs and people crashed sideways and downwards. it was just a matter of seconds as the ferry lurched onto her side. the hydrogen bomb. on a remote pacific atoll, the americans had successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i had heard the news earlier, and so my heart went bang, bang, bang! the constitutional rights of these marches - are their rights as citizens of the united states, - and they should be protected, even in the right to test them out so that they don't get their heads broken. and are sent to hospital. this religious controversy — i know you don't want to say too much about it — but does it worry you that it's going to boil up? oh, it worries me, yes, but i hope everything'll be all right at the end of the day.
4:17 am
this is bbc news, the latest headlines: america's federal bureau of investigation says the mostly likely cause of the covid pandemic was that it began in a chinese laboratory. more than a0 dead after two trains collide in greece. it's been described as the worst rail disaster the country's ever seen. in the uk, sussex police have confirmed that the remains of a baby have been found by officers searching for the missing infant of constance marten and mark gordon. the couple were arrested on monday after a seven week search for them when their car was found on fire by the side of a motorway. here's our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. this morning, at locations from newhaven to brighton, the search for the missing baby was in full flow. officers from the metropolitan police and sussex police were joined by volunteer experts in search and rescue. there was concern for the welfare of the infant,
4:18 am
but there was also still hope. but tonight, that hope may have evaporated when the man leading the investigation made the announcement that he'd been dreading. it is my very sad duty to update this afternoon, police officers searching a wooded area close to where constance and mark gordon were arrested, discovered the remains of a baby. a postmortem examination will be held in due course. a crime scene is in place, and work at the location is expected to continue for some time. this is an outcome that myself and the many officers who have been part of this search had hoped would not happen. constance marten and mark gordon, the one walking slowly with a stick, had emerged from the woods on monday night to visit the local shops. they returned along the same suburban street 45 minutes later. but they'd been spotted by a member of the public who'd called 999, and moments after this cctv footage was recorded, they were arrested. constance marten comes
4:19 am
from a hugely wealthy family, growing up in this country house in dorset. she became estranged from herfamily in 2016 when she met mark gordon. he was convicted of rape in the united states aged just 14 and served 20 years in prison before being deported back to the uk. the two of them left their home in london in september when her pregnancy started to show and stayed in a series of airbnbs — apparently trying to avoid being found. police believe their baby was born in the car but when the car caught fire on the m61 near bolton onjanuary 5th, the police started to investigate. cctv showed them visiting harwich, then london, where they bought a tent, and eventually newhaven. their baby was definitely alive at this stage, as the taxi driver who drove them there heard it. but at that point, they disappeared, only to re—emerge six weeks later in brighton when they were arrested. tonight, in the woods, just a few hundred metres away,
4:20 am
police officers now guard a crime scene where an infant's body was found. though only forensic tests will confirm if it is the missing baby. more than half of argentina has been left without power. capital buenos aires and a large swathes of the countryside are wholly or partly affected. of the fire reportedly started in open fields affect thing crucial powerlines and putting a nuclear power station off—line. the power outage comes in the middle of a heat wave and drought in argentina. a french government minister is warning the country could be on the verge of a water crisis, as a result of an ongoing winter drought. parts of france has had little
4:21 am
or no rain in the last few weeks, and water levels have dropped alarmingly. spain has also suffered from the drought, as the bbc�*s tim allman explains. this is, or perhaps was, the river loire. france's longest river, which seems to be disappearing before our eyes. for week after week no rain has come. the driest period since records began more than 60 years ago and for the people who live here, these are worrying times. translation: i am scared, i feel like we'll lack water. l i have never seen this. often at this time of the year, as the snow melts, there is a lot of water but right now it is shocking to see the water so low. translation: there is no fishing left. - back in the day, the water levels were high and we caught fish. right now it is no good. we can't fish anymore, at least for now. winter is normally a crucial period in restoring water levels but not this year, and 2022 was the second—hottest year europe has ever experienced. lack of rain can have a knock—on effect — reduced crops, greater risk of wildfires and potentially rationing.
4:22 am
translation: we are in a particular situation - because we are on the verge of a water crisis in our country for the next summer so we are in the process of acting upon it. it is notjust france that's suffering. this is the catalonia region of spain — more dry river beds, more concerns about the future and the problems climate change can cause. restrictions have already been imposed. people will not be able to wash their cars orfill their swimming pools. rain is forecast for the coming days but long—term, water or a lack of it is still a major concern. tim allman, bbc news. the singer ed sheeran has opened up about the fear, depression and anxiety he experienced last year after a series of events. he says he �*spiralled' into depression after his wife was diagnosed with a tumour
4:23 am
while pregnant, and his close friend the music entrepreneur jamal edwards died unexpectedly at the age of 31. ed sheeran says he used songwriting to �*make sense' of his feelings and get through those experiences. here's our music correspondent, mark savage. # i am in love with the shape of you # we push and pull like a magnet do... up—beat pop songs like bad habit and shape of you have made ed sheeran a global superstar but earlier this year he released a one—off singled that was filled with angst and despair. # therapy sessions digging deep in depression # i've got a life full of blessings # but this just breaks my (bleep) heart... f64 was a tribute to his friend and mentor, jamal edwards, who died suddenly last february. # and yo, we cried for nine nights at your family home, # laid you to rest in the ground but without a stone. # you know it hits me most at moments now when i'm alone # every morning, i remember that you're really gone... now sheeran has revealed that
4:24 am
edwards death coincided with a series of traumatic events in his personal life. in a hand—written letter, he told fans his wife, cherry seaborn, got told she had a tumour with no route to treatment until after the birth. around at the same time, sheeran was at the centre of a copyrighted trial. he wrote: the best feeling in the world — the best feeling — is the euphoria around the first idea of writing a great song, like, the first spark where you go, "this is special, "we can't spoil this, this is amazing." but that feeling has now turned into, gasps oh, wait, let's stand back fora minute, like, have we touched anything... you find yourself in the moment second—guessing yourself. # paradise before my world ends... facing depression and anxiety, he turned to songwriting, scrapping more than 100 tracks he'd written for his sixth album, subtract, and starting again. announcing the record today, sheeran described it as "opening the trapdoor to my soul".
4:25 am
fans will get to hear the results in may. mark savage, bbc news. the royal television societyjournalism awards have taken place in central london this evening. the awards celebrate creativity and excellence in journalism, and the bbc won prizes in several categories. the news coverage international prize was awarded for the bbc�*s coverage of the war in ukraine, whichjudges described as "brave front—line reporting and insightful coverage of the refugee problem". the network presenter of the year is... clive myrie! and clive myrie was named network presenter of the year. he too was recognised for his work in ukraine and his "ability to bring empathy as well as authority" to his broadcasting while "under the most intense pressu re" a reminder of our top story.
4:26 am
fbi director, christopher wray, says it's �*most likely�* that covid 19 emerged from a chinese government—controlled laboratory in wuhan. in response, china has accused the fbi of politicising the investigation. hello there. we're starting off with the weather news that february was a very dry month across the whole of the uk, but particularly so in england. the driest in england for 30 years, and parts of essex only had 3.5mm of rain for the whole month. now, this is the satellite picture from wednesday. you can see the extent of the cloud across the uk, but look closely, we've got some clearer skies set to head into northwest scotland and some clearer skies over the continent that are set to break the cloud across east anglia, the south midlands and southern counties of england as well, whereas this thick cloud out in the north sea, that's going to continue to bring outbreaks of rain over the next few hours.
4:27 am
light and patchy stuff across the south and east of scotland and northern england. so, certainly some pretty damp weather here, albeit the rain not particularly heavy. now where the skies do clear, we're looking at a widespread frost towards the southeast. lowest temperatures about —2 and down to about “4 in the highlands of scotland in the coldest spots. now, we'll take a look at the charts then for thursday. remember, we've got that much thicker cloud across northern england, southeastern scotland. still some patches of light rain to come through the morning, so quite a damp start to the day. best of the sunshine across southern england, the south midlands, southern wales and also northwest scotland, and maybe some breaks in the cloud getting into northern ireland at times. temperatures not really changing much, in what we've seen over recent days, 8 to 10 degrees, but feeling cooler than that in the chilly northeasterly wind that we've still got. i think on friday, by and large, it should be a dry and bright day for most of us, with some sunny spells breaking through at times. temperatures not really changing a great deal. we're looking at highs again around 8 or 9 degrees celsius or so. now, there will be some changes in the weather pattern as we head into this weekend. what we're looking at on saturday is probably
4:28 am
a bit more cloud coming back in from the north sea, and sunday, the cloud thickens further to bring us some patchy outbreaks of light rain. and, so, probably a dry day on saturday, bright conditions. sunday, the chance of a few patches of rain from time to time, but nothing particularly heavy. beyond that, the weather gets a bit more interesting into next week. what happens is we get northerly winds bringing polarair southwards across the uk, and with that, there'll be a significant drop in temperatures, we'll see a return of widespread night—time frost. will be a bit of sunshine around, but, also, for some of us, we're looking at a return of wintry weather with snow in the forecast for some of you. that's the latest.
4:30 am
this is bbc news. the headlines: the director of he fbi says it�*s "most likely�* that covid—19 emerged from a chinese government—controlled laboratory in wuhan. in response, china�*s accused the fbi of politicising the investigation into the origins of coronavirus and says there�*s been no new scientific evidence to support the theory. greece�*s prime minister has blamed "tragic human error" for the country�*s worst—ever rail disaster. it�*s now reported to have killed at least 43 people. the passenger service heading to thessaloniki collided with a freight train in the town of tempi near the central city of larissa. a french government minister�*s warning the country could be on the verge of a water crisis as a result of an ongoing winter drought.
118 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
BBC News Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on