tv BBC News BBC News April 1, 2023 8:00pm-8:30pm BST
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this is bbc news with the headlines... devastating tornadoes tear through america's midwest, leaving at least 11 dead. politicians in iran are reacting to the flouting of headscarf laws by women, by insisting the rules must be enforced rigorously byjudges. "a slap in the face to the international community" — that's the assessment of ukraine's foreign minister to russia assuming the presidency of the un security council. and a critical incident has been declared in dover, as passengers are gridlocked for hours at the start of the easter getaway.
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hello and welcome to bbc news. the latest series of tornadoes to have ripped through parts of the united states has left at least 11 people dead. they were killed in the states of arkansas and illinois. dozens have been injured and tens of thousands have lost power. some pictures coming through to us in the last couple of hours show the extent of the damage to homes in this residential area in the state of illinois. the picture is no better in arkansas, where you can see homes have been completely flattened and businesses forced to close after devastating damage. the governor there, sarah huckabee sanders, has declared a state of emergency. sancha berg reports. dozens of storms and tornadoes left a trail of destruction. two of the fiercest touched down in the southern state of arkansas, tearing off roofs, bringing down power lines, sweeping through homes with incredible force. the volume of itjust seems rather intense and it was extremely dangerous.
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it came through a set of double doors and ploughed through my house. out of my front door was just steel bars in front of it. several people have been killed, dozens injured, in the state alone. the governor declared a state of emergency. today has been a very hard day for the state of arkansas. but the goodness of this is that arkansas and arkansans are tough and resilient. no matter what comes, will get back up the next day and keep moving. 600 miles to the north in belvidere, illinois, another storm hit. the roof of the apollo theatre collapsed. one person has killed, dozens injured. this latest destructive weather arrived just as present biden was visiting mississippi, where he promised help to those hit by another tornado last week. sancha berg, bbc news.
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earlier i spoke to skot covert, a meteorologist with the kthv network, who is in the arkansas state capital, little rock. he told me that tornadoes were not unusual at this time of year but this one was extemely strong. it's like a war zone here. it was a very strong tornado which resulted in basically the entire neighbourhood being obliterated. holmes are nowjust bricks. the scarf this monster has lead to in its wake. there are long tracks and another tornado, upwards of 30 injuries, five fatalities reported injuries, five fatalities reported in our state.
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injuries, five fatalities reported in our state-— in our state. there has been a series of— in our state. there has been a series of tornadoes. _ in our state. there has been a series of tornadoes. just - in our state. there has been a i series of tornadoes. just explain series of tornadoes. just explain the weather pattern and what's going on. it’s the weather pattern and what's going on. �* , . , . . . on. it's a very active weather attern on. it's a very active weather pattern and _ on. it's a very active weather pattern and we _ on. it's a very active weather pattern and we have - on. it's a very active weather pattern and we have seen i on. it's a very active weather pattern and we have seen a l on. it's a very active weather- pattern and we have seen a severe risk every day, at least once a week for the last eight weeks. we see wave after wave of these severe storms and we have another risk in this exact area for severe storms and tornadoes in about three days. we are used to this and we deal with this often but, to this magnitude, it's something rather historic for little rock, arkansas and the us. it is pretty usual. this is tornado season, but these are extreme tornadoes. put it into context for us. ~ . , , tornadoes. put it into context for us. . i, ., ., tornadoes. put it into context for us. we rarely see tornadoes this stronu. us. we rarely see tornadoes this strong. generally _ us. we rarely see tornadoes this strong. generally speaking, - us. we rarely see tornadoes this strong. generally speaking, we | us. we rarely see tornadoes this - strong. generally speaking, we have the weaker ones, which are concerning but rarely do they strengthen to the level which they did yesterday. all of us came
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together to support the strong tornadoes and, once they touch the ground, they are really causing destruction for hours at a time step that's one reason we didn't have as many fatalities as you'd expect. it's because they were on the ground for so long. we could give lead in advance and people got the warnings and they took it seriously and i certainly think the work of the national weather service, providing these warnings, is a large reason why we didn't have more deaths. find why we didn't have more deaths. and the scene of — why we didn't have more deaths. and the scene of destruction where you are and in so new places is so devastating. what help is there for the people who have been made homeless? fix, the people who have been made homeless?— homeless? a lot of folks are homeless. _ homeless? a lot of folks are homeless, hundreds - homeless? a lot of folks are homeless, hundreds of- homeless? a lot of folks are l homeless, hundreds of homes homeless? a lot of folks are - homeless, hundreds of homes are inhabitable, if not destroyed entirely. the federal government is involved. president biden has made phone calls to the local mayor and
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the governor providing direct assistance. we have volunteer organisations like the red cross on the scene. they are pouring resources from around the country and descending on little rock to provide that shelter. the salvation army, a key group in this area, also providing support. but this is going to be continuing for several weeks. it takes weeks upon months to clear up it takes weeks upon months to clear up after such devastation, so these folks will be here for quite some time and they are going to need help for the next several weeks, at a minimum. figs for the next several weeks, at a minimum-— for the next several weeks, at a minimum. �* , ., ., ., ., , �*, minimum. as a meteorologist, it's our 'ob minimum. as a meteorologist, it's yourjob to — minimum. as a meteorologist, it's yourjob to let _ minimum. as a meteorologist, it's yourjob to let people _ minimum. as a meteorologist, it's yourjob to let people know - minimum. as a meteorologist, it's yourjob to let people know aboutl yourjob to let people know about these weather fronts and tornadoes and thankfully lots of people got a wooden, but how does it feel for you when you do this job and you see this coming? it’s when you do this 'ob and you see this coming?— when you do this “0b and you see this coming? it's a tough question to answer- — this coming? it's a tough question to answer- i _ this coming? it's a tough question to answer. i see _ this coming? it's a tough question to answer. i see this _ this coming? it's a tough question to answer. i see this coming - this coming? it's a tough question to answer. i see this coming on i to answer. i see this coming on radar and we saw it live on our cameras. i don't see the date at
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that point, what i see are my friends, my family, my co—workers, who i knew were in the path of the storm. it was very difficult. it's also very difficult knowing that there is somebody, their lives is going to be changed as a result of what i saw on the radar and from weather cams and storm chasers. it's overwhelming. it's certainly different than science. it becomes reality and humanising the issue. it's tough to put into exact words how difficult it was to keep composure at that moment while still giving folks the proper heads up that they need to save lives. russia has taken the presidency of the un security council despite ukraine urging members to block the move. each of the council's 15 members takes up the presidency for a month, on a rotating pattern. the last time russia had the presidency, it launched a full—scale invasion of ukraine.
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earlier, i spoke to 0rysia lutsevych. she started by explaining if anything could have been done to change this. it's very difficult to do anything to prevent russia from actually taking over the rotating presidency. i think ukraine tries actually to make the case on both sides, on one hand that russia so gravely violated the un charter and on the other that actually it was illegal in the first place to take this seat, because when the soviet union collapsed it violated the procedure of adopting the new permanent security council member and there was no vote at the un general assembly, so it's kind of making a point of it being illegitimate and also in violation of the un charter. what does it say about the un as an institution? well obviously as an institution it was set up by the second world war in a way to provide peace, and these p5 countries, permanent members, nuclear states,
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were here to be sort of a jury of the world, and we are facing for the first time really a situation where a nuclear power launches an attack against ukraine that actually relinquished nuclear state and the un deems to be within the security council not really powerful, but what is interesting this time is that the un general assembly is acting quite forcefully where two quite powerful resolutions and also a special commission on inquiry to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity, that the un is actually leading, which is so important to actually tell the story of who is the perpetrator and who is the victim. volodymyr zelensky called last year for the security council to be dissolved or reformed because of this action that russia has taken invading his country, but that is unlikely to happen, isn't it? absolutely.
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i think once this war is over, i think there will have to be a serious rethinking about what led to it in the first place, because let's remember there's a certain spiral of impunity that russia is allowed to perpetrate. it has violated, actually, more than 400 various international agreements, conventions and there is no way to influence russia, so i think those countries who want to in a way have collaborative relationships around the world have to sit down and think how to reform the un security council, other institutions, the council of europe, organisation for security and co—operation in europe, i don't think we should give up on these small collaterals simply because one country has turned rogue. so you believe that the un is still fit for purpose? well, i think the un has to, in a way, reform, but it is so difficult. i think the un really is in doubt with the power of its members,
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so it is up to countries, members, the united kingdom, ukraine, france, india, indonesia, what do they want from the un? and i think if we get enough majority and consensus in the world, we need to either invent new institutions as part of the un orjust enforce, think about how the un can enforce some of its resolutions and maintain peace. but a lot of countries haven't even been vocal coming out against the war in ukraine, and criticising russia, have they? you're absolutely right, and i think the split is not so much between democracies and autocracies but between the countries who aspire to be rising powers, like india, for example, and the way they view this war is through this opportunistic lens where they want to carve themselves more space and they believe, actually, that russia is getting stronger out of this war. this is quite a big reshaping of the world dynamics
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and we are in the midst of it, we, to be honest, don't know yet what kind of world will emerge out of it. we have to keep our eyes open and watch what is happening. the authorities in iran are vowing to enforce the wearing of a headscarf by women more rigorously , despite months of protests. a growing number of women have been seen unveiled in public, and hardline politicians are giving judges ultimatums to punish those who ignore the rules. param ghobadi from the bbc persian service has the story. scenes like these were unimaginable seven months ago in iran. women refusing to wear the hijab in public. videos obtained by bbc persian show women floating the islamic dress code at a sports complex in tehran on friday. it's not only women. he would also have been arrested for wearing shorts in public a few months ago. the young iranian
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generation is fearless. they don't want to dance to the tune of the clerical establishment. and it's not only in capital tehran. this was sent to us from hormuz island in southern iran, in the persian gulf. and this is the central city of isfahan, and here in this western town these girls are barred from entering a tourist attraction because they have no hijab. such acts of defiance has infuriated the hardliners. here a man warns a girl who is not wearing a headscarf. he then hits both women in the head with a yoghurt bucket. the iranianjudiciary said all three were arrested. many critics say hardliners like him are emboldened due to a statement by the iranian interior ministry published on thursday.
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but enforcing the hijab is not that easy any more after months of protests following the death of a kurdish girl, mahsa amini, in police custody in september. iranian security forces killed over 500 protesters, according to rights groups. despite the deadly crackdown, it would seem there is no going back for iranian women. param ghobadi, bbc news. donald trump will appear in a new york court early next week. the former president is to face criminal charges over the hush money payments to adult film star stormy daniels in the days before the 2016 presidential election. court officials have confirmed that the former president is expected to appear for his arraignment on tuesday. 0ur north america reporter,
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nada tawfik, has been giving us the latest from in new york. preparations are already under way. we expect donald trump to fly in from his club at mar—a—lago in florida to manhattan. he will head straight from laguardia airport to trump tower, where he has a residence, courted the whole way by his secret service detail. that is monday night, then on tuesday is when everyone at the moment is preparing for new york, when he will be escorted from trump tower to the da's office, the district attorney, to be formally booked, and then to the courthouse behind me. he will then enter a plea to the judge after hearing the charges formally against him. of course, this is an unprecedented moment united states, so a lot still uncertain about how this will play out. he is not the typical defendant in a criminal case. nevertheless, those are the details we have at the moment. his
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lawyers say he will not be placed in handcuffs because he is surrounded by federal agents and is not a flight risk. here in the uk, the authorities at the port of dover say they're still trying to clear long queues of people caught in delays, heading for the continent over easter. some people travelling by coach say they've faced up to 14—hour waits, although the government says the situation had improved significantly since yesterday. simonjones has the latest from dover. it is not such a great start to the great easter getaway. forced to spend hours on a coach with no idea when you're going to be able to get across the channel. should we carry on with the karaoke? the driver is trying to keep the spirits of his passengers up as they face missing a day on the slopes and the french alps. we've here 4.5 hours waiting. we've have had other coaches in front of us and they waited for more than 12 hours. i don't know how long were going to be here. could be for another 12 hours, i don't know. the police have been doing what they can to stop dover from snarling up, but lots of cars have been getting caught up as well. we were meant to go to italy,
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ultimately, and we booked into a hotel in france this evening, but i don't know if we are going to make it. it is going to be a long one, i think. we're going to be here for a while. it is ok, it's the holiday. what is causing this? it has been blamed on a perfect storm of huge numbers of people wanting to travel, bad weather yesterday causing delays and, according to the port, new checks introduced after brexit, meaning all coach passengers have to get out of the vehicle to have their passports checked and stamped by the french authorities. lorries were forced to wait on the outskirts of dover last night. and questions are being asked about why this is happening again just like last easter. every single holiday getaway we see this gridlock. we need to invest, that means investing in the roads, putting in car parks, making sure there are facilities for people to wait and not just queue in our roads all around the town. that is not fair
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for the people here. the port says it is deeply frustrated saying that it had planned ahead, but the additional coach bookings has added to the challenge. and it looks to learn lessons. i want to say i am sorry that everyone who wanted to get away this easter break it has been so disruptive, and particularly the schoolkids. being a father myself, i know how anxious i'd feel. what we have been doing is we've been working really hard with the operators throughout kent to try and make certain that all the traffic that has been backlogged can get through as quickly as possible. spare a thought for those who have not even gotten to the port. these students heading to croatia have been stranded at a nearby service station when the coach driver reached its daily driving limit. there is no toilet roll. running low on food. coaches constantly arriving. young children are here. there is no one here to help you. there is no security. there is nothing. there are people sleeping, there are people sitting everywhere. it is chaotic.
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5000 cars and 400 coaches will pass through the port today and for many it has been a waiting game. simon jones, bbc news. the new school year started last week in afghanistan. but, for the second year running, a taliban ban is keeping teenage girls out of school. so, what are the options for young afghans who want to keep up their studies but are unable to return to class? shazia haya reports on one new solution being offered by the bbc world service. across afghanistan, girls�* classrooms sit empty. they have told the bbc how it feels. translation: | find it - so painful that they are not allowing us to our schools. this decision is against islam. for the past two years, every morning i go to the rooftop of our home to watch the primary schoolgirls going to school. i stay there until midday when they finish and i cry. i miss learning new things.
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the bbc made lessons for the children to access remotely during the coronavirus lockdown in the uk. we thought they might be useful in somewhere else. this is where the journalists and producers of bbc�*s afghan service are coming together to work on a very different task from what we normally do. working on an educational programme for young afghans, this lesson in dari and pashto, the two most widely spoken languages in afghanistan. the show will help people learn english in both my maths and science for the presenters who are all journalists from afghanistan, it is a very personal project.
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my father was a teacher and he was killed in a suicide bomb attack 16 years ago. at that time, i felt that i want to be a teacher because my father was a teacher. but i became a journalist. but now, by presenting this programme, i think that i have become a teacher and fulfilled my dream and also my father's dream in afghanistan. for those unable to go to school, classes will now come to them at home. a court in romania has agreed to allow the controversial social media influencer andrew tate to leave prison and move into house arrest. the british—american former kickboxer has millions of online followers. he's being investigated for a number of crimes, all of which he denies. tim allman reports.
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andrew tate wanted to stress he was relieved and grateful.— relieved and grateful. respect to the 'udaes relieved and grateful. respect to the judges who _ relieved and grateful. respect to the judges who have _ relieved and grateful. respect to the judges who have heard - relieved and grateful. respect to the judges who have heard us . relieved and grateful. respect to i the judges who have heard us today because they listened and let us free. i have no resentment in my heart for the country of romania or anybody else. ijust believe in the truth. anybody else. i 'ust believe in the truth. �* ., , anybody else. i 'ust believe in the truth. �* . , ., , ., truth. andrew tate is controversial with a huge _ truth. andrew tate is controversial with a huge online _ truth. andrew tate is controversial with a huge online following. - truth. andrew tate is controversial with a huge online following. he i truth. andrew tate is controversial i with a huge online following. he has previously been accused of misogyny. it's been proven the smartest people in the world amen. that's been proven. female move fidelity is more disgusting than male infidelity and i think the world agrees. last december— i think the world agrees. last december remaining - i think the world agrees. last december remaining police raided his home. along with his brother and two local women he is being investigated on allegations of rape, people trafficking and forming an organised crime group. he continues to deny any wrongdoing. i crime group. he continues to deny any wrongdoing-— crime group. he continues to deny any wrongdoing. i truly believe that
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'ustice will any wrongdoing. i truly believe that justice will be _ any wrongdoing. i truly believe that justice will be served _ any wrongdoing. i truly believe that justice will be served in _ any wrongdoing. i truly believe that justice will be served in the - any wrongdoing. i truly believe that justice will be served in the end. i justice will be served in the end. there is 0% chance of me being found guilty of something i haven't done for the i'm innocent. i look forward to going home. is for the i'm innocent. i look forward to going home-— for the i'm innocent. i look forward to going home. is the brothers have been forbidden _ to going home. is the brothers have been forbidden from _ to going home. is the brothers have been forbidden from contacting i to going home. is the brothers have been forbidden from contacting any| been forbidden from contacting any witnesses and can't leave the house without approval from the authorities. no charges have yet been brought. andrew tate city will now focus on reading the koran and doing push—ups. scotland's first undisputed boxing world champion, ken buchanan, has died. he was 77. he became the lightweight world champion in 1970, and was inducted into the international boxing hall of fame in 2000. he was diagnosed with dementia a year ago, and died peacefully in his sleep at a care home in edinburgh. policing has rarely been more of an issue in britain, with attention especially on london's metropolitan police. in the capital, one officer has been using his skills to engage young people through a sport which more than a million children play every week in england.
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pc kip is harnessing the power of basketball. 0ur sports correspondent, joe wilson explains. introducing constable kypros kyriacou. and if you've never seen a police officer like this. well, that's the whole idea. a lot of the time when you're with young people, they see us asjust a uniform, a robot, if you will. so basketball, when i was younger, it wasn't as popular as it is now. so it's starting to get a lot more popular. and the kids love it. they really love it. most people usually associate police officers with like crime and everything. police aren't always bad. they are good people. when you see someone like kyp jump that high, it makes basketball look more entertaining. kyp, as everyone calls him, is a south london schools officer. this is the southbank university academy. we know that policing in london right now is under real scrutiny. we hear a lot about the urgent need to rebuild, build trust. building trust, essentially, that's what's happening on this court right here.
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when i would come into schools, kids would say, you know, you're not a police officer. or they would say to me, oh, you don't seem like a police officer. so i used to say, "well, how is this police officer meant to be?" and just having that rapport and building that trust with them that they were then able to come and talk to me, ask me questions, educate them about the law. one, two, three, hard work! kyp used to train with professionals, could have been one. he was recently a guest at the london lions of the british basketball league. nothing commands respect quite like a slam dunk. has he inspired you, all of you, to actually dunk? yes. yeah. have you tried it? yeah. because if kyp can dunk... we can dunk. he's one officer in one gym. but if pc kyp makes a difference, well, then he's made his point. joe wilson, bbc news, south london.
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some serious skills. that's it from me. thanks for watching. hello there. the met office confirmed that last month of march was indeed a very wet month, pretty much across the country, but especially across england and wales. and we ended the month on a damp, windy, wet note with a deep area of low pressure which has been pulling away gradually. so the next few days, certainly for the first week of april, it's looking quieter as high pressure starts to build in to bring you some sunshine as well. but the legacy left behind by that area of low pressure means it will hold on to quite a lot of cloud. further spots of rain this evening across western scotland, northern ireland. but through the night it will turn drive for many. we'll see the clouds tending to break up with clear spells developing where skies clear. it will turn quite chilly under the cloud with more of a breeze in the south—east as well.
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then no lower than five to seven degrees. you can see this area of high pressure starting to build in. we lose the low pressure system which will pull away from the south—east, taking the fresh north—easterly breeze with it through the day on sunday. so we'll see the clouds melting away across many areas. it could hold on, though, across central northern scotland, maybe the odd shower here. but most places will be dry, increasing sunshine, so feeling a bit warmer away from north sea coast, which will still feel quite chilly with an onshore breeze there. but the winds become even lighter across all areas through sunday night. and with clear skies, it's going to be a recipe for quite a cold night. by the end of the night, it will turn chilly enough for a touch of frost in places, some sub—zero values, particularly out of towns and cities. but it means as we head into monday, the start of the first working week of april, with high pressure overhead, it's going to be fine and dry. it's going to be a cold start, some frost around, early mist and fog, which will tend to lift in clare. and then most places will be dry with plenty of sunshine, including much of the north
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of scotland and also northern ireland. winds coming in from the south—east. so again, cooler around some southern and eastern coast, but further west with the sunshine around after that cold start, it could be up to around 13 degrees. a bit of a blip in the weather around the middle part of the week. we see a high pressure retreat allowing these weather fronts to bring some wind, cloud and rain to northern and western areas for a time. but then it looks like high pressure wants to build back in towards the end of the week and indeed for the run up to the easter weekend. so all in all, i think for many, particularly southern and eastern
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you are watching bbc news. now it is time for the arts interviews: fenton bailey. 0n today's media show, one of the pioneers of reality tv. hello, hello, hello! fenton bailey's behind rupaul�*s drag race, described by time magazine as "one of the most influential reality tv shows of all time". the company he founded, world of wonder, has made documentaries about andy warhol, britney spears, monica lewinsky over the years, about police brutality in la, and about the lgbt—supporting tv evangelist tammy faye. they also brought the cult comedy duo adam and joe to channel 4. fenton, hello, and i wonder whether for you, there is a thread that connects all those incredible
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