we shared an office and travelled throughout sub—se he ran africa together. at that time he was already quite an established star in bbc news and i was still trying to find my own distinctive broadcasting voice, so i learned from him. i used to watch him and kind of marvel at the way he engaged with people. he could speak to anybody from heads of state to children in a refugee camp and what was striking was how much people wanted to talk to him. i watched him win their trust. i think what i learned from him about everything was that decent storytelling, decent reporting, is rooted in values and george had great respect for the people who were trusting him with their story often at the worst possible times of their life, in times of heightened grief and heightened loss. and george wanted to do well by all of them, he wanted to be fair. he didn't want to be dramatic, he didn't want to use their misery as colour to make his reports more dramatic. he wanted to be true.

and i learned from him i think that good reporting, decentjournalism, is rooted in human decency. there was a word that he and i used to use when we were living in south africa and it is from the nguni languages of southern africa and the word is "ubuntu". there is no translation into english but it contained the idea that all human beings are bound together in a shared responsibility for each other. bishop tutu used to say ubuntu can be defined like this. i can only be fully me when you are fully you. we two are connected. i can't be rich if you are poor and i can't be free if you are enslaved. george mentioned ubuntu at a gathering to celebrate his 60th birthday seven years ago when we thought his cancer had been eradicated and he talked about ubuntu, the sense of humanity, and i think it was his lodestar. i hoped watching him as a younger journalist that some of the values he lived would rub off on me. so he was a very inspiring

and generous and selfless man. i don't want to make him sound saintly because he wasn't. he was also great fun and a great raconteur and sometimes a merciless mimic and it was great to sit around the table with him and just laugh. so he wasn't saintly but his sound journalism was rooted in values of human decency. i came to think that in george's reporting there was a kind of outstretched hand, the outstretched hand of a kind of shared humanity, human solidarity and he stretched that hand—out to almost everybody he reported on. that was the broadcaster alan little remembering george alagiah. milton nkosi also worked closely with george. he's the former bbc africa bureau chief. he spoke to us from johannesburg. first of all, i would like to convey my deepest

sympathies to george's family, friends and indeed colleagues, particularly his wife, fran, who stood by him throughout his cancer challenge. and also his two sons, adam and matty, together with their young children, george's grandchildren. we are saddened, my family and i and many other colleagues, by the news of george's passing. i spent a lot of time with george. we travelled across the continent of africa. we went to zimbabwe, swaziland and, liberia, kenya, all of those countries. when you travel together in places going through turmoil, it bonds you, and we became more than colleagues, we became friends. i was very proud when george very

graciously agreed to be the godfather to my son, who was born in 2001. that brought the families together. george was at my wedding in 1998. we have a picture of him at home on our display when he was at my wife's home during ourwedding. many, many memories that we shared. we travelled to iraq together at the time when there was a ban, a flight ban, so you couldn't fly into iraq under saddam hussein's regime. the only way we could get there to report was to fly intojordan and drive 15 hours across the desert. george and i did the trips together, we spoke about our families, what they mean to us, and looking at the prospect, that even we could be in the same

fate as the iraqi people. as we were reporting, we were thinking about what it means to be alive. let's talk to genevieve edwards, chief executive at bowel cancer uk. thank you forjoining us. just a sad time because you did work closely with george, particularly towards the end of his life. tell us about the end of his life. tell us about the man that you knew. he the end of his life. tell us about the man that you knew.- the end of his life. tell us about the man that you knew. he was so kind, the kindest _ the man that you knew. he was so kind, the kindest man _ the man that you knew. he was so kind, the kindest man and - the man that you knew. he was so kind, the kindest man and so - kind, the kindest man and so generous with his time. he was a huge advocate for power cancer uk. he campaigned with us to lower the

screening age to 50 and that is a commitment that we want together. and he was just so generous with his broadcasting skills. he did a podcast for us, a couple of seasons of podcasts, and he was just brilliant. he could talk to anyone. he would interview a fellow patient, oncologists, and always get the very best out of them. we heard so much from other bowel cancer patients how valuable they found his insight. he always brought something personal with it. he was very happy to share his own experiences. i with it. he was very happy to share his own experiences.— his own experiences. i knew him throu~h his own experiences. i knew him through his _ his own experiences. i knew him through his connections - his own experiences. i knew him through his connections with - his own experiences. i knew him i through his connections with africa, having grown up there and seeing his reports. i presume you got to know him because of the disease. just tell us what it was like when you first met him and decided to work together. 50 first met him and decided to work touether. , ., , together. so i met george in my first week _ together. so i met george in my first week as _ together. so i met george in my first week as chief _

together. so i met george in my first week as chief executive - together. so i met george in my first week as chief executive of l first week as chief executive of power cancer uk. i went up to meet him and hear him record several episodes of the podcasts stop we had lunch afterwards and i remember how kind he was to me, this new chief executive who was a bit green behind the ears. he was always offering to help. what can i do? is there anything i can do to help? it is just so sad. my heartfelt condolences to his family and to all of you, his colleagues, who worked so closely with him as well. rah? of you, his colleagues, who worked so closely with him as well. why did he want to work— so closely with him as well. why did he want to work with _ so closely with him as well. why did he want to work with you? - so closely with him as well. why did he want to work with you? it - so closely with him as well. why did he want to work with you? it is - so closely with him as well. why did he want to work with you? it is a - he want to work with you? it is a commitment to work for a charity and he was pearly as well. what was his driving force behind that? that he was pearly as well. what was his driving force behind that?— driving force behind that? that is one of the things _ driving force behind that? that is one of the things we _ driving force behind that? that is one of the things we will - driving force behind that? that is one of the things we will never . one of the things we will never forget actually, just how much of his precious time he gave to our charity and the support he gave to other patients and other people in

the bowel cancer community. it was a difficult time in his own life and that reallyjust difficult time in his own life and that really just sums difficult time in his own life and that reallyjust sums up his commitment. he said very clearly there are things i can do for you and i will do for you. and he did. there are things i can do for you and i will do foryou. and he did. i think he has raised such valuable awareness over the years, the spotlight he has been able to shine on bowel cancer, he has not shied away from talking about it and that will have helped countless other people with bowel cancer and probably prompted people to go and see their doctors, many with symptoms they have been worrying about. so it is a hugely sad day and he will be very much missed. i think it was u- he will be very much missed. i think it was up until _ he will be very much missed. i think it was up untiljune _ he will be very much missed. i think it was up untiljune that _ he will be very much missed. i think it was up untiljune that he - he will be very much missed. i think it was up untiljune that he was - it was up untiljune that he was still campaigning for people to use those test kits. take it upstairs with you, use it, and i think there was an element of regret that he hadn't tested himself picked up on the signs earlier. it was really

interesting when i listened to some of those podcasts and to continue to learn about this disease and he admitted i think in one of the first one is when he was talking the lower age, and the younger victims of bowel cancer and a link with smoking. even he admitted i didn't know that. he was very engaging, he connected with people. he know that. he was very engaging, he connected with people.— connected with people. he really did. as i connected with people. he really did- as i say. _ connected with people. he really did. as i say, we _ connected with people. he really did. as i say, we were _ connected with people. he really did. as i say, we were so - connected with people. he really| did. as i say, we were so pleased that he supported our campaign to have the screening age lowered to 50. obviously for him when he was diagnosed the screening age or 60 so he wasn't eligible. i am delighted to see that commitment has been made. in scotland they are screened from 50 and in england it is coming down slowly, we are about 56 at the moment. i down slowly, we are about 56 at the moment. , moment. i believe he said if

scotland _ moment. i believe he said if scotland get _ moment. i believe he said if scotland get it, _ moment. i believe he said if scotland get it, why - moment. i believe he said if scotland get it, why don't i moment. i believe he said if. scotland get it, why don't we? moment. i believe he said if- scotland get it, why don't we? in terms of the age of screening. in a lot of bowel cancer it is connected to the lack of awareness, the late diagnosis and it is the stigma, isn't it? we are talking about george alagiah, everyone knew him, he was known throughout the uk and obviously in his time as a correspondence around the world. what were his thoughts on smashing through the stigma of bowel cancer? well, i think he knew how important it was to talk about it. i think as a very trusted broadcaster, as you know, everybody knew george and he was trusted by all who watched him broadcasting. for him to be able to talk about it made it a little bit easierfor talk about it made it a little bit easier for other people. for him to be really open about his own

diagnosis and what he was going through i think made it easierfor other people to go and see their gp and have that really important conversation. as you said, at the moment fewer than 40% of people are diagnosed at the earlier stages of bowel cancer. let me tell you why thatis bowel cancer. let me tell you why that is important, because at that stage 197% of people will survive bowel cancer. but at stage four that plummets to just 8%, so it is a really stark difference and getting people talking about it and getting it diagnosed earlier is crucial. so sorry to apologise, we have run out of time. just to make that connection, 2014 was when george was diagnosed and that was at stage four. thank you very much indeed for your time. four. thank you very much indeed for yourtime. i four. thank you very much indeed for your time. i encourage you to listen to this podcast. here is the weather. the mixed bag continues after what was a very mixed weekend

and for some of us an absolute wash—out on saturday. the weather was more typical of autumn and indeed little change expected for the rest of this week and quite possibly into august as well. i want to show you the weather systems developing across the north atlantic and heading in our direction on this wide picture here, this wide map. let's have a look at this animation and once again you can see the cloud and the outbreaks of rain and this undulating jet stream, and where we see these troughs in the jet stream that is where the low pressure tends to form. crucially over the next few days the jet stream will be generally to the south of us, an autumn—like pattern, hence the colder air comes in from the north and keeps things very fresh for us. today a lot of cloud across the uk, thicker cloud in the second half of the day in southern areas and this is where the showers will be more frequent. it is not raining all the time today and there will be decent spells,

but it is on the cool side with the jet stream to the south of us generally. temperatures will be around 16 to 18, peaking this afternoon. tonight it is the same pattern, there will be clear spells and showers become more frequent in scotland and there will be a few showers elsewhere. not too cold in the city centres, around 9 to 11, but in rural spots it will be a little bit colder. tomorrow starts off quite bright, even sunny in some areas, but this is what we call unstable air, so the cloud will grow quite quickly and produce sharp showers. some of them will be quite heavy across northern parts of england and southern scotland. but in this situation the best of the weather tends to be up towards the south—west, particularly coastal areas. i showed you the animation with the jet stream and the developing weather systems and this is a different look at it. this is early on wednesday and early in the day there will be decent weather, particularly in northern and eastern parts of the country, but then quickly this next weather front will sweep in and bring

outbreaks of rain and at times it will be heavy. it has already been a very wet month in parts of north—western england. if you look at the outlook through the week into the weekend it is unsettled. live from london. this is bbc news.

one of the bbc�*s most respected journalists george alagiah has died of bowel cancer at the age of 67. israel's parliament approves of the reform plan. protests turn angry and police have used water cannons. this is the scene right now live in jerusalem outside. you can see there the demonstrations are continuing. more than eighty wildfires burn — across greece — as evacuations from resort islands continue. hello, welcome to bbc news now, 3 hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. we start with some heart—breaking news for the bbc. the highly—respected journalist — and our much—loved colleague — george alagiah, has died. he was 67 and had been battling bowel cancer since 2014.