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tv   BBC News  BBC News  March 27, 2023 11:45am-1:00pm BST

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prosecutors, enough judges, lawyers, prosecutors, and enoughjudges, lawyers, prosecutors, and there are really long delays with getting these cases to conclusion. that is one of the biggest issues at the moment. we heard in the review which was published last week into the metropolitan police, england's largest police force, that had some terrible examples of how rape victims were treated, for example, the lack of priority given to rape investigations in terms of the number of offices compared to other investigations, the failure to retain samples that are critical to evidence in sufficient condition for them to be used, but the suggestion is that this is a uk wide problem you are talking about. why is it that victims are withdrawing? these are cases where _ that victims are withdrawing? these are cases where we _ that victims are withdrawing? these are cases where we have _ that victims are withdrawing? these are cases where we have got - that victims are withdrawing? ii—iifflf are cases where we have got victims and defendants as well who have gone
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through really traumatic circumstances. they are going through a difficult time in their lives and we are finding that their cases are not being dealt with quickly enough. we really need to see proper investment in the justice system so we need morejudges, more courts, more police officers, more lawyers and there is not enough funding in the system at the moment. i was going to say, what is happening is that victims are now getting to a stage where cases are being adjourned a number of times before they get to conclusions, some trials are taking 2—3 years before they are concluding and victims are just getting to a stage where they have had enough. it's hanging over them and they get to a point where they just can't support action them and they get to a point where theyjust can't support action any further. ., , , .
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further. from my experience, certainly. _ further. from my experience, certainly. as— further. from my experience, certainly, as a _ further. from my experience, certainly, as a journalist, - further. from my experience, | certainly, as a journalist, there further. from my experience, - certainly, as ajournalist, there is certainly, as a journalist, there is no such thing as a quick rape case. these things always seem to take months and some cases, ridiculously, years to get to a conviction stage or to someone being found not guilty. eitherway, is there anything that can be done if all you are talking about things that will take a long time to work through in terms of funding, training, recruiting, is it possible that something more could be done to effectively manage cases so that those who accuse someone of rape don't feel that they are lost in the system? i don't feel that they are lost in the s stem? ~ 1, ., ,, don't feel that they are lost in the sstem? ., ,, .,_ don't feel that they are lost in the sstem? ~ ., ,, , ., system? i think baroness casey who dealt with a — system? i think baroness casey who dealt with a number— system? i think baroness casey who dealt with a number of _ system? i think baroness casey who dealt with a number of these - system? i think baroness casey who dealt with a number of these issues| dealt with a number of these issues in her report, we need more police officers. one of the things that she mentioned is that there are not enough police officers. victims that are reporting cases are finding that police officers are changing during
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the course of the case, sometimes several times over. all of this means that things are not getting dealt with as quickly as they probably need to be and that impacts on how long it takes to get to trial, how long it takes to get to court and to ultimately conclude cases. we would say the key thing here is that we need more investment in the criminaljustice system, right across the system so, as i said, is notjust in the police forces also the courts, it's in the getting morejudges, getting more lawyers dealing with cases, more prosecutors, that is how we are going to get things moving a lot faster. . ~' , ., the uk prime minister, rishi sunak has unveiled plans to clamp down on anti—social behaviour. speaking at a live event in essex, the pm announed plans to target crime hotspots, force offenders to repair damage "within days of being caught"
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and ban nitrous oxide cannisters. we need to make sure that we give anti—social behaviour the urgency that this subject deserves. so what we're going to do is use far more �*hotspot policing' where we make sure that our police target the areas that are of most concern — it has been proven to work in lots of different places — and, we're going to have more use of what is called �*immediate justice' so that the people who are behaving irresponsibly and poorly will have to repair the damage they are causing, clear up the mess that they have made within days of that having been caught so thatjustice can be seen to be done. that's what immediate justice is about. i'm joined now by professor of neuro—psycho—pharmacology at imperial college london and founding chair of the charity drug science, professor david nutt.
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thank you for talking to us. what do you make of this proposal? what link is established between nitrous oxide and anti—social behaviour? is established between nitrous oxide and anti-social behaviour?— and anti-social behaviour? none. next question. _ and anti-social behaviour? none. next question. none _ and anti-social behaviour? none. next question. none at _ and anti-social behaviour? none. next question. none at all? - and anti-social behaviour? none. next question. none at all? hasl and anti-social behaviour? none. | next question. none at all? has it been looked _ next question. none at all? has it been looked at? _ next question. none at all? has it been looked at? it _ next question. none at all? has it been looked at? it all _ next question. none at all? has it been looked at? it all depends - next question. none at all? has it i been looked at? it all depends what ou mean been looked at? it all depends what you mean by — been looked at? it all depends what you mean by anti-social— been looked at? it all depends what you mean by anti-social behaviour. | you mean by anti—social behaviour. if you define anti—social behaviour as taking nitrous oxide then of course there is a link but what has happened over the last ten years as there has been a systematic attempt to get nitrous oxide banned by a whole range of particularly right wing media. no idea what's driving it but it has certainly achieved its goal and now it will be made illegal, illegalfor personal possession and use as well as sale. it has been illegal to sell for the
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last seven years. the fear has been generated that nitrous oxide is leading to people behaving in a dangerous and anti—social way. to my knowledge, there has never been any recorded incidence of people under the influence of nitrous oxide causing harm to other people. unlike alcohol, where we know something like 3000 events a week occur as a result of drunkenness. the big concern about nitrous oxide, in terms of the public�*s mind is the littering of whippets, these little metal canisters which are the source of the gas, people don't like them being thrown out of cars into cap accent into packs. i quite understand that, but you don't have two criminalise people using them in order to get rid of whippets. all you have to do is to simply have a deposit scheme. if you charge iop for the return of the whippet, the
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whippets would disappear immediately and would give a bit of income to people who could benefit from it. what about this argument that we have heard before, firstly, in this case, that if you act against something that government think is less desirable, that you will somehow improve people's behaviour, it has an impact on them. we have been down this route before, haven't we? notably, with cannabis.- we? notably, with cannabis. exactly. what happened _ we? notably, with cannabis. exactly. what happened there? _ we? notably, with cannabis. exactly. what happened there? we _ we? notably, with cannabis. exactly. what happened there? we had - we? notably, with cannabis. exactly. what happened there? we had a - what happened there? we had a million young people, notably black and ethnic minorities criminalise, which had enormous implications for thejob prospects. they can go into thejob prospects. they can go into the police or teaching or the civil service, it was hard to get into the army, etc. that created a lot of social unrest, it was very racist, it led to the riots in london about ten years ago and thankfully has now been put to bed because most police commissioners and most chief policemen realise it's pointless. the same will almost certainly happen with nitrous oxide, i can't imagine the police want to waste
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their time prosecuting people who are doing nothing other than having are doing nothing other than having a little giggle for a short while,...— a little giggle for a short while,... ~ ., ., ., while,... what about the argument that there are _ while,... what about the argument that there are cases, _ while,... what about the argument that there are cases, albeit - while,... what about the argument that there are cases, albeit if- while,... what about the argument that there are cases, albeit if they | that there are cases, albeit if they are rare, we had somebody interviewed on bbc breakfast about a month or so ago, a young woman who actually ended up with serious damage physically, she was paralysed at one point, i don't know for how long, and it was because she was using this stuff pretty relentlessly.- using this stuff pretty relentlessly. using this stuff pretty relentlessl . ., , ., using this stuff pretty relentlessl. ., , ., relentlessly. two things to say about that- — relentlessly. two things to say about that. the _ relentlessly. two things to say about that. the first _ relentlessly. two things to say about that. the first thing - relentlessly. two things to say about that. the first thing is i relentlessly. two things to say l about that. the first thing is that alcohol directly kills about 8000 people per year in britain out of about 30-40,000,000 people per year in britain out of about 30—40,000,000 users. nitrous oxide kills about one person per year out of about a million users, so alcohol is at least 50—100 times more harmful and also much more likely to cause social disorder and much more littering. so that is one side of the argument. but then look
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at the other side. why are people coming to harm from using nitrous oxide? they didn't used to. the reason they are coming to harm is because we try to ban whippets. what happened was that young people realise that they could be caught with whippets and the government was very unclear about this, it basically said that any whippets in your possession could be done for dealing. so kids move from whippets to canisters. they contain vast amount more of the gas in the whippets, they are hard to detect, and people are now taking much greater doses of nitrous oxide than they were before with the whippets. so our policy has actually driven, as were predicted, people to using a more harmfulform. the cylinders are illegal, selling the cylinders are illegal, selling the cylinders are illegal, this law doesn't change anything other than it allows the police to prosecute users and that is exactly... 50 police to prosecute users and that is exactly- - -_ is exactly... so you would presumably _ is exactly... so you would presumably rather - is exactly... so you would i presumably rather prosecute is exactly... so you would - presumably rather prosecute the people selling it? it is
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presumably rather prosecute the people selling it?— people selling it? it is already illeaal. people selling it? it is already illegal- so _ people selling it? it is already illegal. so in _ people selling it? it is already illegal. so in other— people selling it? it is already illegal. so in other words - people selling it? it is already illegal. so in other words that j people selling it? it is already l illegal. so in other words that is not bein: illegal. so in other words that is not being properly _ illegal. so in other words that is not being properly enforced? i illegal. so in other words that is | not being properly enforced? no, illegal. so in other words that is - not being properly enforced? no, not at all. this not being properly enforced? no, not at all- this law— not being properly enforced? no, not at all. this law isn't _ not being properly enforced? no, not at all. this law isn't about _ at all. this law isn't about littering, it's not about trying to reduce the harms of nitrous oxide, it's all about posturing against a group of young people who don't vote and who you can vilify in the same way as cannabis users were vilify in order to gain some kind of larger advantage in the next election. thank you. work has started to protect a vulnerable stretch of coastline in the east of england, which has been severely damaged by erosion in the last few weeks. about 2000 tonnes of granite is being placed along a ao—metre section of the cliff in hemsby in norfolk. five homes at risk of falling into the sea there were recently demolished, and another was moved inland. great yarmouth borough council said the rock was a "temporary solution".
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hello again. it was a cool and a frosty start to the day, but for many of us, we're going to hang on to a fair bit of sunshine and dry conditions as high pressure is firmly in charge of our weather. it's breezy today, but again, a lot of dry weather, a few wintry showers peppering the east coast at times. we could catch the odd one inland, but they'll be the exception rather than the rule with some fairweather cloud bubbling up through the day. later, the cloud thickening across northern ireland, but a top temperature around about 11 degrees. so into this evening and overnight, under clear skies, the temperature will fall away. but as the cloud and rain come in from the southwest, you'll find the temperatures will rise. but as the rain engages with the cold air ahead of it in scotland and northern england on higher ground, we could see some snow for a time. but it won't last because as the weather fronts continue to drift northwards and eastwards taking their cloud
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and rain with them, what you'll find is the milder air will win out. so tomorrow, fairly cloudy again, quite a blustery day, particularly so with exposure in the west. the rain continues to push northwards and eastwards behind it. in northern ireland, it will brighten up for you to sunshine and showers, but some of the showers will be heavy and thundery. and again tomorrow, top temperatures, 10 or 11 degrees. now from tuesday into wednesday we've got this clutch of fronts coming in from the atlantic. they're going to drag in all this milder air as represented by the yellows and the ambers on the charts. but on wednesday, it's going to be a fairly cloudy day. again, another blustery one. and as our weather fronts move across the country, bringing the rain with them, some of that will be heavy, perhaps a little bit more showery in the southeast. but temperatures on the rise — we could have ia, 15, possibly i6. and in fact, on thursday, we could hit 17 degrees. as we continue with this mixture of bright spells, sunshine and showers. again, a blustery day with some of the showers being heavy and thundery.
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so as i mentioned, temperatures could get up to 17 degrees somewhere along the east coast. but as we head from thursday into friday, we've got this potent area of low pressure crossing us that looks like it's going to bring in some wet and some windy conditions. the strongest winds likely to be across southern parts of the country. the timing and position of that may yet change. so do make sure you keep in touch with the forecast.
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this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories: israel's government is in disarry after prime minister benjamin netanyahu postpones a speech expected to halt controversialjudical changes. this is the scene live at the moment injerusalem where those protests continue for another day. british prime minister rishi sunak outlines a zero tolerance approach towards tackling anti—social behaviour prince harry is at a high court hearing in london. he's among several high—profile figures bringing a privacy case against the publisher of the daily mail.
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the scottish national party is set to announce a new leader with three contenders in the running to succeed nicola sturgeon. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's coalition government has been plunged into chaos after mass overnight protests in the country. the protests were sparked after he sacked his defence minister who spoke out against plans to reform the system of appointing judges. so why have these reforms proved so contentious? these are the 11th week of protests over prime minister netanyahu's plans to overhaul the justice system. his reforms would give
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the government decisive control over the committee which appoints judges. it would also make it harder for courts to remove a leader deemed unfit for office. mr netanyahu says that the reforms would in fact stop the courts over—reaching their powers. but others say it's a threat to democracy which serves only to benefit the prime minister who's facing an ongoing corruption trial. the defense minister yoav gallant was sacked after he became the first member of the cabinet to call for a pause to controversial plans to overhaul the country's court system. president herzog has also called for a halt on the plans. our middle east correspondent anna foster is injerusalem. what have been the developments in the last hour since we spokesome the the last hour since we spokesome tue: conversation the last hour since we spokesome tte: conversation now the last hour since we spokesome "tte: conversation now at the last hour since we spokesome t'te: conversation now at the the last hour since we spokesome tte: conversation now at the moment up and down israel is what is going to close next. we have heard about
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banks shutting down, shops going on strike. we talked about the fact that flights have been halted. since israel's biggest trade union this morning announced that its workers would strike. we are still waiting to hear from the would strike. we are still waiting to hearfrom the prime minister binyamin netanyahu. there was a suggestion this morning that he may make a statement to the nation, that he may agree to pause this legislation, but nothing has come and there is a growing storm across israel as more and more people go on strike, walk out of work, there is a crowd of demonstrators outside the israeli parliament and the onus is on binyamin netanyahu to say something, to make some sort of decision about what he does with this legislation. he may announce that he is going to pause it after talks with the opposition and with his far right coalition partners. but they are determined to push this through and that is where the problem lies. he has to deal with
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two different groups of people, demonstrators and his coalition partners. he has to make both happy, but they want different things. t5 but they want different things. is it possible that it is such a fundamental red lines for the two parties he in coalition with, that they wouldn't stay in government if this reform doesn't go ahead? tl is this reform doesn't go ahead? it is ossible this reform doesn't go ahead? it is possible and _ this reform doesn't go ahead? tt 3 possible and i'm sure they're using that as their bargaining chip. if they do pull out of coalition, would they do pull out of coalition, would they be in government again? polls that have been conducted in the last few months show if there was another general election in israel, it is not likely that the same group of mks, the same group of parties would get in. the leverage is interesting, because they can push binyamin netanyahu, because he is reliant on
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their mks to have a governing majority in parliament. but this could be their one collapse of pushing through —— chance of pushing through the reforms they're desperate to see. that is why we continue to wait for binyamin netanyahu to make a statement. behind the scenes he will be talking to his coalition partners and the opposition. he will be trying to chart a course through this, as the pressure on him continues to grow. thank you. arieh kovler is a political analyst based injerusalem. thank you for being us with. i want to put something to you that was reported by reuters took place in the knesset on monday, as they sent this bill for ratification, the chairman said the law is balanced and good for israel. leaving aside the shouts of shame from the
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opposition benches, one member of the knesset said this is a hostile takeover of the state of israel, no need for hammers and no need for hezbollah. that is an extraordinary allegation to make. is it in any way justified? tl allegation to make. is it in any way 'ustified? , . , allegation to make. is it in any way 'ustified? , ., , , ., , justified? it is a very strong use of words- _ justified? it is a very strong use of words. there _ justified? it is a very strong use of words. there is _ justified? it is a very strong use of words. there is a _ justified? it is a very strong use of words. there is a sense - justified? it is a very strong use of words. there is a sense that l justified? it is a very strong use i of words. there is a sense that the changes being proposed to the judiciary and to generally how the government and the knesset deal with the judiciary government and the knesset deal with thejudiciary amount to government and the knesset deal with the judiciary amount to regime change. regime change is the form of words being used by opponents. and even some supporters of it. there is a feeling that even though people voted for this government, and both parties that make it up, they were not expecting this broad series of changes and certainly not to be forced through so quickly with so little debate. there has only been 12 weeks of the government and the
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judiciary committee vote was supposed to happen today or tomorrow, that is a very fast pace. there is a sense of whiplash and despair among some of the protesters that until the last couple of days nothing would stop this. share that until the last couple of days nothing would stop this. are there loner nothing would stop this. are there longer term _ nothing would stop this. are there longer term aspects _ nothing would stop this. are there longer term aspects to _ nothing would stop this. are there longer term aspects to this? i i nothing would stop this. are there longer term aspects to this? i wasj longer term aspects to this? i was reading a couple of pieces over the weekend suggesting in part this reflects a change over several decades in the demography of israel. the ultraorthodox community has grown, due to high birth rates compared to wider society. also generally in society it has moved
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right, younger people are mo likely to be right—wing. there are a series of demographic changes and things have changed on the side of the courts. the courts have taken more powers in recent decades. partly empowered by the knesset. in the 90s the knesset passed a law that gave them a framework to do that. there is a feeling among some that things have gone too far in one way. even among the opponents of the particular set of reforms, they acknowledge that things are not perfect in terms of constitutional balance, but they feel this set of reforms, goes far too far the other way and gives more power to the government than it would be possible to take back. t5 government than it would be possible to take back-— to take back. is there a sense that bin amin to take back. is there a sense that binyamin netanyahu, _ to take back. is there a sense that binyamin netanyahu, one - to take back. is there a sense that binyamin netanyahu, one of- to take back. is there a sense that binyamin netanyahu, one of our. binyamin netanyahu, one of our contributors said he is known in
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israel as the wizard, his ability to pull rabbits out of hat has been remarkable over the years, but on this occasion help has actually in a sense not in charge of events, that he is really sort of in a sense he is trying to control forces that in a sense he doesn't control, because he does haven't a parliamentary majority and he has had to compromise with parties he might otherwise not have compromised w parties who haven't been in coalition before? tia parties who haven't been in coalition before?— parties who haven't been in coalition before? ., ~ , coalition before? no prime minister in israel coalition before? no prime minister in israel has — coalition before? no prime minister in israel has had _ coalition before? no prime minister in israel has had a _ coalition before? no prime minister in israel has had a parliamentary i in israel has had a parliamentary majority, there has always been coalitions. what is different with this government than any previous government is binyamin netanyahu has no parties to his left. his likud party is the most moderate party in the coalition, it is more complicated with the orthodox parties. he doesn't have that room he has tried to give himself. he has
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always tried to bring in parties from the left into the coalition and he is in the middle and can be the deal maker and bringing he is in the middle and can be the deal makerand bringing in he is in the middle and can be the deal maker and bringing in this one and pushing out this one, finding out parties to bring into the coalition. he no longer has that room to manoeuvre. he only has pressure from his right when it comes to other party and the parties to his left are not prepared to work with him, because he is on criminal trial. that is a red line for them and they're not prepared to be part of coalition with a prime minister who is on trial for bribery and corruption. so his move to manoeuvre has disa peered. corruption. so his move to manoeuvre has disa peered-— the uk prime minister rishi sunak has unveiled plans to clamp down on anti—social behaviour. speaking at a live event in essex, the pm announed plans to target crime hotspots, force offenders to repair damage 'within days of being caught�* and ban nitrous oxide cannisters for more on this i'm joined by the shadow
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home secretary yvette cooper. thank you forjoining us. a lot of this not dissimilar to that which you and others were campaigning for in the labour party in the 1990s? not only is it, the rhetoric call for things we have called for and implemented, it is things we have been arguing for over the last few months. but if you look at the detail of the plan, it is too weak, too little and too late. over the last 13 years the conservatives have decimated neighbourhood policing and weakened anti—social behaviour powers so they're rarely used. there are 10,000 fewer neighbourhood police officers and pcsos on the beat and in our communities and this plan does nothing to reverse that. a few pilots on hotspot policing doesn't actually get the police back
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into the neighbourhood teams. that is what we need. otherwise there is no enforcement action going to be taken and it is why labour set out plans for 13,000 more neighbourhood police into the neighbourhood teams, because that is what we need to keep communities safe. you because that is what we need to keep communities safe.— because that is what we need to keep communities safe. you heard what the government — communities safe. you heard what the government was _ communities safe. you heard what the government was saying _ communities safe. you heard what the government was saying earlier - communities safe. you heard what the government was saying earlier this i government was saying earlier this morning, it was saying there has been a significant drop in crime, 48%, it claims, across its 13 years in government. 4896, it claims, across its 13 years in government-— 4896, it claims, across its 13 years in government. well, the patterns of crime have changed, _ in government. well, the patterns of crime have changed, have _ in government. well, the patterns of crime have changed, have been i crime have changed, have been increase in fraud and serious violent crime and as we know in many of our town centres, big increases in anti—social behaviour and things like criminal damage. yet the government has done nothing about that, because we don't have the neighbourhood patrols and community teams in place. astonishingly in this whole document we haven't found a single reference to neighbourhood
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policing. yet it is at the heart of what police do and at the heart of what police do and at the heart of what communities value, having known police officers who know where the problems are with drug dealing outside schools and the problems in terms of young people, or community problems. yet, we are getting none of that from this plan. this is just empty rhetoric at a time when the conservatives are still actually damaging our communities by taking the police and pcsos off our streets. . r' the police and pcsos off our streets. ., , ., ., , streets. let me ask you a brief question. _ streets. let me ask you a brief question, could _ streets. let me ask you a brief question, could you _ streets. let me ask you a brief question, could you support i streets. let me ask you a brief i question, could you support this? and we will talk more about the detail? 50 and we will talk more about the detail? ,, ., and we will talk more about the detail? ., , , ,., and we will talk more about the detail? ., , , ., , and we will talk more about the detail? ., , ., , ., detail? so we do support many of the measures, because _ detail? so we do support many of the measures, because they're _ detail? so we do support many of the measures, because they're the i detail? so we do support many of the j measures, because they're the things we have been calling for, but they don't go far enough. most of it is consultation on things potentially to be done some time in the future, rather than actually taking action now. we have set out plans for new respect orders, for repeat
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anti—social behaviour, for the repeat adult offenders who are ignoring the courts. we would bring in the respect orders. the government said it will consult maybe on looking at them. we support the measures but we need to go further. t the measures but we need to go further. . r' the measures but we need to go further. ., , ., ., the measures but we need to go further. ., i. ., , further. i will ask you to pause, because we _ further. i will ask you to pause, because we are _ further. i will ask you to pause, because we are saying - further. i will ask you to pause, because we are saying goodbye j further. i will ask you to pause, i because we are saying goodbye to viewers on bbc two. you're watching bbc news. let me ask you about one of the details, the proposals to ban nitrous oxide. i spoke to one guest who said, it is banned already, this is to criminalise people who use it, he said labour tried it with cannabis and it failed and it criminalised a proportion of the young people and did them a lot of damage in terms of their future employment, such as joining the army, if they had a conviction. it
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had the effect of leading to the development of more psycho active drugs like spice, would you say that you got this wrong, or do you think no, we have got to ban this stuff? we support a ban but it must be part of an integrated strategy on prevention and tackling anti—social behaviour and diverting young people and older people into treatment and into alternatives as well. i think it is right to tackle a real serious problem around anti—social behaviour and persistent drug abuse. but what we know is some of the things that worry people are persistent drug dealing outside schools, but nothing is done, because there are not enough neighbourhood police. this comes back to having the neighbourhood police, the community teams, who will work with
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communities, both to prevent crime in the first place and to make sure that people are connected back to other local services, whether that is youth service, drug addiction services, different kind of prevention services, as well as cracking down on criminals and catching those involved in the drug dealing gangs. we are not seeing any integrated approach, because we have lost the neighbourhood police. t lost the neighbourhood police. i would politely suggest that was an elegant way of avoiding the specifics that nitrous oxide, there is no evidence that people who take it are committing anti—social behaviour or criminal acts, there wasn't any evidence, it is a gate way drug, there is no evidence one person on average a year dying from overuse of it. for most young people it does no harm.— it does no harm. there are concerns about some — it does no harm. there are concerns about some of _ it does no harm. there are concerns about some of the _ it does no harm. there are concerns about some of the early _ it does no harm. there are concerns about some of the early evidence i it does no harm. there are concerns. about some of the early evidence and you're right it is early evidence thatis
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you're right it is early evidence that is suggesting real concerns from the hospitals for example in high use areas have been raising concerns. there are concerns about harm and links to some of the anti—social behaviour in particular areas and also drug driving as well. so, look, we support action, but i think there is the wider issue is in the end it is a small part of the wider problem, which is we simply don't have enough neighbourhood police to actually tackle the real concerns people have on anti—social behaviour and on the kind of problems that mean that crimes themselves this is are not being solved. there is no action in a lot of town centres and communities. lel of town centres and communities. let me ask you finally about the status of your former party leader, jeremy corbyn. i know you didn't serve on the front bench when he was labour leader, having been yourself a candidate in the election for leader. i wonder if there is a risk for labour in deciding he shouldn't
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be a candidate for the next general election. it did it once before with ken livingstone who had been a labour mp and he ran as an independent and ran labour mp and he ran as an independentand rana labour mp and he ran as an independent and ran a vibrant campaign and won. there is a risk thatjeremy corbyn stands and he wins? t that jeremy corbyn stands and he wins? ~ ., ,, ., that jeremy corbyn stands and he wins? ~' ., ,, ., wins? i think what keir starmer has made clear — wins? i think what keir starmer has made clear is _ wins? i think what keir starmer has made clear is the _ wins? i think what keir starmer has made clear is the labour _ wins? i think what keir starmer has made clear is the labour party i wins? i think what keir starmer has made clear is the labour party has| made clear is the labour party has changed and in particular we have changed and in particular we have changed in terms of tackling anti—semitism, where we did have a very damaging report from the equalities commission, who found that the labour party was in breach of the equality act. keir starmer has made clear that the whole party needs to address that, every member needs to address that, every member needs to address that, every member needs to take that seriously and thatis needs to take that seriously and that is part of the standards that are expected of every candidate. so i think keir has shown leadership and showing that our party has changed. we are in a very different place, compared to where the party
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was in 2019. place, compared to where the party was in 20153-— was in 2019. yvette cooper, thank ou. prince harry is in london for the first hearing of a lawsuit brought by him, singer eltonjohn and other high profile figures against the publisher of the daily mail newspaper over alleged phone—tapping and other breaches of privacy. the duke of sussex made a surprise appearance at the high court this morning where a hearing into the case which alledges the media group bugged people's calls, cars and homes, and paid police for sensitive information. associated newspapers, publisher of the daily mail, the mail on sunday and the mail online, has said it "utterly and unambiguously" denies the allegations.
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voting has just closed for the next leader of the scottish national party. ash regan, humza yousaf and kate forbes are the three hopfuls vying to replace nicola sturgeon, who is stepping down after eight years in the role. whoever wins the top job will take on a fractured party — and a country facing a number of policy challenges. our scotland editor james cook reports. for the snp, this has been a difficult campaign. splits have emerged on the economy, social issues such as gay marriage and a lack of progress towards independence. so party members have been deciding which candidate they want to sort things out. snp members want a leader who can deliver independence, continue to win elections and deliver competent government. i'm the only candidate that can do all three because i can reach out across the country. i can reach out to labour
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voters and conservatives. i am trusted on every policy area and more trusted than either of the other two candidates to deliver competent government. to have and to take on the topjob in scotland, you've got to have experience and i've had ten years in government with some of the toughest jobs, transport, justice and now entrusted with the nhs's recovery through the global pandemic. i think i've got the skills necessary and also because i believe in independence too. i believe it's the best future for our country and i believe i can be the person that re—energises the independence campaign. i am the candidate for- getting independence done. i am the only candidate - with a published plan on legally achieving independence, i and i am the only candidate with a published plan for what to do if westminster says no. _ the victor will have big shoes to fill. at one point, nicola sturgeon was a rock star politician, feted by adoring crowds, winning eight elections in a row. thank you from the bottom of my heart for the privilege of being your first minister.
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but she stands down with her dream of independence still unrealised, leaving her party wondering if someone else can win that place in history. james cook, bbc news, edinburgh. let's speak to amjid bashir, an entrepreneur who co—owns newsbox newsagents in glasgow, part of a family chain of convenience stores, and a property business in glasgow. he's also an snp voter and is pro—independence. i take it you're an snp member, can be so impertinent to ask who you voted for? t be so impertinent to ask who you voted for? ., be so impertinent to ask who you voted for?— be so impertinent to ask who you voted for? ., ., ., ., voted for? i voted for humza yousaf. can i ask voted for? i voted for humza yousaf. can i ask you — voted for? i voted for humza yousaf. can i ask you why? — voted for? i voted for humza yousaf. can i ask you why? for _ voted for? i voted for humza yousaf. can i ask you why? for me _ voted for? i voted for humza yousaf. can i ask you why? for me it - voted for? i voted for humza yousaf. can i ask you why? for me it comes l can i ask you why? for me it comes down to experience, _ can i ask you why? for me it comes down to experience, humza - can i ask you why? for me it comes down to experience, humza has i can i ask you why? for me it comes i down to experience, humza has been in different cabinet positions and he has headed transport, health and
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justice. he has a proven track railroad. it is —— track record. it is also about continuity. nicola sturgeon built a big legacy with eight election wins. we need someone who can continue that work and a stable pair of hands. tl who can continue that work and a stable pair of hands.— stable pair of hands. it looks like from what _ stable pair of hands. it looks like from what survey _ stable pair of hands. it looks like from what survey evidence i stable pair of hands. it looks like from what survey evidence there | stable pair of hands. it looks like l from what survey evidence there is that he is the most popular among snp members, but his lead over ordinary voters is very narrow, if nonexistent. he is in the margin of error in the ipsos survey. that is a problem, because one of the difficulties the cause of independence has faced is in recent years it doesn't look like nicola sturgeon, however successful he was as first minister, has won over many converts. t as first minister, has won over many converts. , ., , ,.,, , converts. i see the opposite. i see two very strong — converts. i see the opposite. i see two very strong candidates. it i converts. i see the opposite. i see l two very strong candidates. it gives the party even greater choice. the
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fact that there is such a short margin goes to show how much the party and the general population, how much of a strength these two characters have. tit how much of a strength these two characters have.— characters have. in terms of your own personal _ characters have. in terms of your own personaljourney, _ characters have. in terms of your own personaljourney, it- characters have. in terms of your own personaljourney, it is- characters have. in terms of your own personaljourney, it is fair. characters have. in terms of yourj own personaljourney, it is fair to say you were not in favour of independence originally. what changed your view?— independence originally. what changed your view? yeah, i mean i was, ou changed your view? yeah, i mean i was. you could _ changed your view? yeah, i mean i was, you could probably— changed your view? yeah, i mean i was, you could probably tell- changed your view? yeah, i mean i was, you could probably tell by i changed your view? yeah, i mean i was, you could probably tell by the j was, you could probably tell by the accent, i was born in england and moved to scotland when i was 16. when it came to, up until 2014, the referendum, i was very much a unionist. but as it got closer to the referendum and i looked at the debate and the questions on the economic issues around scotland, i was persuaded that scotland would be better served to be independent for its people. you can now see, no matter how scotland votes, if certain parts of the rest of uk
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voted in a particular way, it goes that way. we saw that in brexit. scotland as a nation on mass voted to remain, but we were still taken out. it is notjust the economy. it is about the freedom to decide what you want for your own country. [30 you want for your own country. do ou you want for your own country. do you think the snp government has lived up to the potential? a lot of people say performance in health and education has been disappointing, if you're arguing for independence, aren't people going to say, well, show us what you have delivered to justify that argument? thal show us what you have delivered to justify that argument?— show us what you have delivered to justify that argument? that could be said for the uk _ justify that argument? that could be said for the uk government, - justify that argument? that could be said for the uk government, the i said for the uk government, the economy has, it has been difficult for the economy, not only in scotland, but across the uk and the world, the nhs is not only suffering in scotland, but it is suffering across the uk. so this is a criticism that isn't particularly relevant criticism that isn't particularly releva nt just criticism that isn't particularly relevant just to scotland. criticism that isn't particularly relevantjust to scotland. i would say for the whole of the uk. we will leave it there. _ say for the whole of the uk. we will leave it there. thank _ say for the whole of the uk. we will
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leave it there. thank you. _ say for the whole of the uk. we will leave it there. thank you. we i say for the whole of the uk. we will leave it there. thank you. we will i leave it there. thank you. we will know in 90 minutes' time. we will have that story here on the bbc news channel. thank you. hello again. it was a cold and frosty start, but for many we will hang on to sunshine and dry conditions as high pressure is in charge. it is breezy today, but again a lot of dry weather. a few wintry showers on the eastern coast. we could catch the odd one inland. with some fair weather cloud through the day. later cloud thickening in northern ireland. top temperatures around 11 degrees. tonight under clear skies the temperatures will fall, as the cloud and the rain come in though you will find the temperatures will rise. but as the rain engages with the cold air in scotland and northern england on
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higher ground we could see some snow for a time. but it won't last, because as the fronts continue to drift north and east, taking the cloud and rain with them. you will find the milder air will win. tomorrow blustery and the rain continues to move north and east and in northern ireland it will brighten up in northern ireland it will brighten up to sunshine and showers. but some of the showers will be heavy. tomorrow, top temperatures 10 or 11 degrees. from tuesday until wednesday, we have this clutch of fronts coming in from the west, they will drag in all this milder air. but on wednesday, it is going to be a cloudy day and another blustery one and as the fronts move across the country, bringing the rain, some of that will be heavy. perhaps more showery in the south—east. but temperatures on the rise. we could have 14 or 16. on thursday we could
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hit 17 degrees as we continue with this mixture of bright spells, sunshine and showers. again a blustery day with some showers heavy. temperatures could get up to 17 degrees somewhere along the east coast. as we head from thursday into friday we have this area of low pressure crossing us, that look like it is going to bring in wet and windy conditions. the strongest winds will be in the south. the time and position of that may change. so do make sure you keep in touch with the forecast.
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this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories... israel government is in disarray after angela netanyahu posted a speech expected to hold judicial review forms. crowds have not dispersed injerusalem since protest began overnight. it follows 12 weeks of campaigning against the changes. in the uk, the prime minister, rishi sunak, has had the anti—social behaviour is not ok as he sets out plans to deal with the issue at an eventin plans to deal with the issue at an event in the south—east of england. prince harry turned up at the high court on monday morning, he is amongst several high—profile figures bringing a privacy case against the
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daily mail. voting closed half an hour ago in the election of a new scottish national party leader, one of these three people will be announced as a candidate at an event at murrayfield in one hour. a nationwide strike is under way in germany as unions staged walk—outs requesting pay rises to meet the cost of living crisis. most of germany's public transport network has been paralysed, in a strike over pay by two of the country's largest trade unions. staff at airports, railways, ports and bus and metro lines are staging a 24—hour walk out. the unions want pay rises of more than 10% to help their members cope with the rising cost of food and energy.
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earlier i spoke to our berlin correspondent, jenny hill, and i asked her whether such strike were unusual. it is really rare for a dispute over pay to escalate to this level of drama. this is being called the mega strike here, two powerful unions combining their firepower to get their workers out on strike, and attempt to bring the country to a standstill and it looks as though to a degree they are being successful. it is very difficult to get around germany today, planes, trains, ferries, all cancelled, depending on where you are in the country, bus and tram services out, too. i did see earlier on breakfast television here a very cheerful german taxi driver being interviewed saying it is a really good day to be a taxi driver and he is probably right but even motorists are being warned that workers who normally maintain the roads and motorways, for example, immediately after an accident, are also out on strike and that is before you consider the trafficjams with the extra volume of cars potentially on the roads with commuters choosing to drive rather than try and get a train which has been cancelled.
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so, a lot of disruption. but we have seen here in recent weeks and months a good number of workers from a variety of sectors going out on strike, all of them saying that they need their wages to reflect the higher cost of living, saying that they are simply struggling to pay their bills and their bills are going up. the two unions involved in today's industrial action are demanding respectively pay increases of 10.5% and 12% for their members. they are high demands but actually if you look back at the last few weeks and months, you can see that postal workers and metalworkers, who also went out on strike, were able eventually to secure fairly substantial increases in wages as a result of the industrial action they took, so it will be very interesting to see what comes out of today's action.
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some breaking news. the first we have heard from benjamin netanyahu this morning you may have heard he sacked the defence minister who had gone public 24 hours earlier with his objections to the judicial reform plans which would allow them to overrule the courts with a simple parliamentary majority. benjamin netanyahu has tweeted on monday, he had been expected to broadcast but although the broadcast was never confirmed by his office it was confirmed by his office it was confirmed by his office it was confirmed by a television station and was subsequently said to be delayed. this is what he has to say, we have translated it from the tweet.
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that, of course, comes after many israelis have accused him of dividing israel over his planned reforms. the reforms are the result of a coalition government agreement with two parties which, it's fair to say, have been in the past regarded to being on the fringe of israeli politics. they have certainly not beenin politics. they have certainly not been in politics before. he struck a deal with them after the previous coalition collapse. his party is by far the biggest political force coalition collapse. his party is by far the biggest politicalforce in israel but not big enough under the proportional voting system to gain a majority in the parliament, no party has ever had a majority since a finding of the state of israel for top this coalition has been controversial, it's fair to say it is probably the most right—wing government the country has seen but it is these specific proposals that have caused concern. in other words, that the plans would not only allow parliament to overall the courts but
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also would reduce the ability of the court to disqualify a serving prime ministerfrom office. remember that minister from office. remember that benjamin ministerfrom office. remember that benjamin netanyahu himself is facing legal action and has been accused of corruption, the trial is ongoing, lasting forever, but ongoing, and the accusation is that he has confused his own personal interest with israel's interest, something he dramatically and strictly denies. there is a statement coming from the leader of the opposition. the outgoing prime minister is no longer so active and the leader of the opposition we now have instead, he, himself, served in government before the previous government collapse, remember there had been a series of
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elections with no clear results. here he is addressing the crowd. shall wejust take a here he is addressing the crowd. shall we just take a little bit of view, not in english butjust to give you a flavour of the atmosphere. you see, there, the size of the crowds. it's frankly nothing to do with the weather, people have been out on the streets all day and all night, four days and weeks. what is remarkable about this is that these are not process in simple political sense, these are not process in simple politicalsense, many these are not process in simple political sense, many of these protesters appear to be people who might in other circumstances have been quite happy with benjamin netanyahu led government, they had even voted for one. the waving of the israeli flags in a sense as we saw in protest when netanyahu was in london last week, when often you can see the protesters outside downing street when the israeli head of
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government or head of state was visiting, the protesters would largely be made up of people who were protesting over the fate of the palestinians and the treatment of palestinians and the treatment of palestinians or of other minorities in israel, for example, arab israelis, but in this case, many of those were at the gates of downing street at least said that they were traditionally supporters of both the state and many of israel's policies, but on this issue, they oppose the prime minister and what is so interesting that the man they call the wizard of israeli politics, the longest serving prime minister, who has been in and out of office for well over 20 years, that he should so dramatically have misjudged the mood of israelis, that he should have taken it as read that with enough of his political skill and charm he could win over the opponents. he had a majority in the parliament based on the support of the coalition parties but the court of public opinion is a bit harder to win and the difficulty here is that
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people like him have said that they have made the case that this is a challenge to the fundamentals of israeli democracy. israel, as a country, does not have a second chamber. it has no written constitution and arguably, therefore, they courts are part of therefore, they courts are part of the checks and balances that keep democracy functioning. the difficulty is that the courts overreach themselves in the 90s, striking down laws, arguing that the law is involved basic or fundamental israeli rights even though nobody had ever defined what those rights were. that annoyed the politicians in particular some of the orthodox groups because their issues often seem to them to be the ones that got struck down, once they were in favour of, and therefore, when those religious parties were suddenly in a position where the tail could wag the dog, they were small parties, but they could get a big party to do the things they thought were necessary, then they have seize that opportunity. they made these changes
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a condition of the coalition and then the government has not been able to deliver so far. but even the president, who is normally not involved in party politics, has urged the government to halt the plans immediately full stop the question is whether mr netanyahu will hold them for further consultations or whether he will draw them. can he withdraw them without his government collapsing altogether and there being yet another election? the former prime minister, now the opposition leader, flip—flopped in the governing coalition that lost in office last year which was in itself an unusual coalition because it, for the first time, included an arab party member, remember arab israelis make up slightly under 10% of the populations. if we get more we will bring it to you here on bbc news.
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another school year started this weekend in afghanistan but teenage girls were forced to stay at home. the taliban government has barred girls and women from secondary schools and university in afghanistan, the only government in the world to do so. the bbc�*s south asia correspondent, yogita limaye, reports. women shout as a new school year begins, afghan women out on the streets again. risking violence and detention, they're marching for teenage girls... ..who've been denied this, the most basic of human rights — going to school, meeting friends, getting an education. look what it's doing to them. "when i see my brother going to school, i feel sad and broken," says tamana.
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"he used to say, i won't go without you. "i'd hug him and tell him i'd join later. "i had hoped the taliban would change their minds." almost every afghan girl we've spoken to has broken down within minutes of talking about school. habiba says she doesn't believe taliban claims that the closure is temporary. these girls used to be in the same class. occasionally they forget their grief, when they reminisce about school life, how they pranked a new teacher orjoked in drama class. education has never come easy.
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mahtab was injured in a school bombing that killed more than 80 before the taliban took over. but she was determined to study. translation: life has no| meaning without education. i think death would be better. if the restrictions on women get more and more intense, i don't think this life is worth living. with each day that goes by, the hopes they had are fading. yogita limaye, bbc news. the bbc�*s learned over the last five years more than 1600 rape and serious sexual assault cases across england and wales have collapsed after the alleged victims withdrew from providing evidence. the data was obtained exclusively by newsnight using freedom of information requests. rape crisis england & wales also released their report stating victims of rape and other serious sexual offences are waiting the longest to have their say in court, with an average wait
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of 839 days. the president of the law society, lubna shuja says that's one reason the president of the law society, lubna shuja, says that's one reason why many cases are collapsing. the biggest problem that we have got at the moment is that there are really huge backlogs in the courts. we know that in the crown court alone the backlogs are 61,000 cases, over 61,000 cases, and the problem is that we haven't got enough judges, lawyers, prosecutors, and there are really, really long delays with getting these cases to conclusion. that is one of the biggest issues at the moment. we heard in the casey review which was published last week into the metropolitan police, england's largest police force,
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that had some terrible examples of how rape victims were treated, for example, the lack of priority given to rape investigations in terms of the number of officers compared to other investigations, the failure to retain samples that are critical to evidence in sufficient condition for them to be used, but the suggestion is that this is a uk—wide problem you are talking about. why is it that victims are withdrawing? these are cases where we have got victims, and defendants as well, who have gone through really traumatic circumstances. they are going through a really difficult time in their lives and we are finding that their cases are not being dealt with quickly enough. we really need to see proper investment in the justice system so we need morejudges, courts, police officers, lawyers and there is just not enough funding in the system at the moment. i was going to say, what is happening is that victims
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are now getting to a stage where cases are being adjourned a number of times before they get to conclusions, some trials are taking two to three years before they are concluding and victims are just getting to a stage where they have had enough. it's hanging over them and they get to a point where theyjust can't support action any further. from my experience, certainly as a journalist, there is no such thing as a quick rape case. these things always seem to take months and some cases, ridiculously, years to get to a conviction stage or to someone being found not guilty. either way, is there anything that can be done, if all you are talking about things that will take a long time to work through in terms of funding, training, recruiting, is it possible that something more
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could be done to effectively manage cases so that those who accuse someone of rape don't feel that they are lost in the system? i think baroness casey dealt with a number of these issues in her report. we need more police officers. one of the things that she mentioned is that there are not enough police officers. victims that are reporting cases are finding that their police officers are changing during the course of the case, sometimes several times over. all of this means that things are not getting dealt with as quickly as they probably need to be and that impacts on how long it takes to get to trial, to get to court and to ultimately conclude cases. we would say the key thing here is that we need more investment in the criminaljustice system, right across the system. so, as i said, is notjust in the police forces also the courts, it's in the getting more judges, getting more lawyers dealing with cases, more prosecutors, that is how we are going to get things moving a lot faster.
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the american red cross has begun delivering help to the survivors of the tornado which effectively destroyed the small town of rolling fork in mississippi. at least 25 people died when winds, blowing at up to 200 miles per hour, that's 320 kilometres per hour, swept across the area on friday. president biden has promised federal disaster aid. our correspondent sophie long is in mississippi and she sent this report. from the air, you can see the direct path of destruction cut by the tornado. people who survived it say it was as big as the town itself and turned the whole sky black. some trees have been stripped of their branches and uprooted. others are totally untouched. as you drive into rolling fork,
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you can see the extent to which this community has been devastated. salvage what i can. as survivors sift through what remains of their homes in the hope of salvaging something, they're still coming to terms with what's happened here. i sit here and... seeing little kids, seeing the kids hurting, you know, seeing the kids... seeing all them people hurt. so i did what i could, you know, helped move a couple of trees, helped pull a couple of people from tight spots. daryl wasn't able to save his own uncle, who was in his trailer home when it was picked up and smashed to the ground. he'd be hollering, "come on,
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my favourite nephew." he'll tell you that, then he'd get right up, "come on, my favourite nephew. " he going to be missed, he going to be missed by all of rolling fork. everybody knew him. and even though he got on their nerves, they loved him. in the immediate aftermath of the tornado, rolling fork was eerily quiet. people were visibly dazed, trying to comprehend what had happened to their town. now there is activity everywhere, with people just starting to try to clear some of the debris, get trees off cables so they can hopefully restore some power. this is the very beginning of the recovery operation. but as you can see, the task is enormous. this was the most deadly tornado to hit mississippi in half a century. president biden has promised to provide the support they need to rebuild, but there are fears there could be more ahead. we see extreme weather events increasing, only increasing in gravity, in severity and in frequency. and we have to build our communities
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to be best prepared for them to prevent the devastation to the extent possible, to be able to quickly respond and recover, to prove ourselves resilient. the thunderstorm that followed was a prescient reminder of that. it will be a long road to recovery for rolling fork. sophie long, bbc news, mississippi. that's the view of rolling fork after the tornado from the ground — i just want to take a moment to share with you some before and after satellite images of the town... this image takes in most of the town, a few days before the tornado struck. you can see how orderly everything looks.... and look at the contrast to the scene after the tornado. houses and other buildings have been devastated,
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and trees blown over. here's rolling fork, seen closer up from above. again, this is before the damage caused by the extreme weather... and here are those same buildings after the tornado. most of them have been reduced to the brick foundations — little more than piles of rubble. a rescue ship funded by the british street artist banksy was seized in lampedusa on sunday— after italy's coastguard said —the boat had disobeyed its instructions, falling foul of new rules for rescue vessels. stephanie prentice reports: it's a rescue boat known for its favourites financial backer as well as its top speed is described by the crew as being able to out run human traffickers. named after a french
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feminist and louise michelle has reportedly saved hundreds of migrants per over the past three years but the white and pink vessel provided by the british street artist banksy has now been implanted with no timeline for its reduced. this with no timeline for its reduced. as far with no timeline for its reduced. is far as we are aware there are at least 15 distress cases as we speak. we could be helping and we are not because we are not allowed to leave the port. tit because we are not allowed to leave the ort. ., , , ., , , the port. in a series of tweets, its crew described _ the port. in a series of tweets, its crew described a _ the port. in a series of tweets, its crew described a clash _ the port. in a series of tweets, its crew described a clash at - the port. in a series of tweets, its crew described a clash at sea i the port. in a series of tweets, its crew described a clash at sea with the italian coastguard over the weekend. they say they were told to leave an area at sea but ignored it after coming across 34 people in the water at night. a mother holding an unconscious baby was among those they brought on board. in response, they brought on board. in response, the coastguard said they were complicating delicate rescue work and said that charity boats has to stick to a code of conduct. un data suggest that ten times more people are attempting to crossed into lampedusa this year compared to last
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year and at least 29 migrants have died in recent days. tunisia is a country facing instability on many fronts and with better weather conditions on the horizon, the number of people trying to reach italy is sure to increase and so our clashes between the coastguard and rescuers. back tojerusalem back to jerusalem and those back tojerusalem and those pictures from the scene in the centre of the city, they have just been addressed by the former prime minister and leader of the opposition coalition yale bead who is supporting the move. we have had an announcement from the foreign ministry trade union which has sent an instruction to all israelis employed in embassies around the world to go on strike with immediate effect in support of the course for the judicial reform to be halted. those
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calls have also been backed by the president, isaac hertzog, who said they should be halted immediately. prime minister netanyahu tweeted in the last hour calling for people to act peacefully in protest and that israel is a country of unity and protesters should respect that. no word from him yet whether he is going to back down on these controversial reforms but he has already lost his defence minister over them who said that it was becoming a threat to national security and the risk for him is that he tries to bring this out he will find that his coalition can't survive. the northern hemisphere spring is well and truly under way — as these pictures from washington show. the cherry trees at the tidal basin are in full blossom — even attracting some early insects in search of pollen. these paticular trees — around 3000 of them — were given as a friendship gift from japan in 1912 — where cherry blossom festivals are a popular part of the calendar.
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time for a look at the weather. hello again. it was a cool and a frosty start to the day, but for many of us, we're going to hang on to a fair bit of sunshine and dry conditions as high pressure is firmly in charge of our weather. it's breezy today, but again, a lot of dry weather, a few wintry showers peppering the east coast at times. we could catch the odd one inland, but they'll be the exception rather than the rule with some fairweather cloud bubbling up through the day. later, the cloud thickening across northern ireland, but a top temperature around about 11 degrees.
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so into this evening and overnight, under clear skies, the temperature will fall away. but as the cloud and rain come in from the southwest, you'll find the temperatures will rise. but as the rain engages with the cold air ahead of it in scotland and northern england on higher ground, we could see some snow for a time. but it won't last because as the weather fronts continue to drift northwards and eastwards taking their cloud and rain with them, what you'll find is the milder air will win out. so tomorrow, fairly cloudy again, quite a blustery day, particularly so with exposure in the west. the rain continues to push northwards and eastwards behind it. in northern ireland, it will brighten up for you to sunshine and showers, but some of the showers
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will be heavy and thundery. and again tomorrow, top temperatures, 10 or 11 degrees. now from tuesday into wednesday we've got this clutch of fronts coming in from the atlantic. they're going to drag in all this milder air as represented by the yellows and the ambers on the charts. but on wednesday, it's going to be a fairly cloudy day. again, another blustery one. and as our weather fronts move across the country, bringing the rain with them, some of that will be heavy, perhaps a little bit more showery in the southeast. but temperatures on the rise — we could have 14, 15, possibly 16. and in fact, on thursday, we could hit 17 degrees. as we continue with this mixture of bright spells, sunshine and showers. again, a blustery day with some of the showers being heavy and thundery. so as i mentioned, temperatures could get up to 17 degrees somewhere along the east coast. but as we head from thursday into friday, we've got this potent area of low pressure crossing us that looks like it's going to bring in some wet and some windy conditions. the strongest winds likely to be across southern parts of the country. the timing and position of that may yet change. so do make sure you keep in touch with the forecast.
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today at one... we're live in edinburgh as the snp elects a new leader, the person likely to be scotland's next first minister. voting for the three candidates ended an hour ago after a divisive campaign over the past month following nicola sturgeon's resignation. the result is set to be declared within the hour, we'll have the latest on what the outcome means for scotland and for the uk. and the other main stories here this lunchtime... after more mass protests in israel, pressure increases the scottish national party is set to announce a new leader with three contenders in the running to succeed nicola sturgeon. a nationwide strike across germany — as unions stage walkouts to support claims for pay rises to meet the cost of living crisis.

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