who are the places. who are the people who bring us these stories? how do they do it? and what drives them to the firing line? as journalists we know the importance of being where news breaks. of capturing the situation on the ground, of living the story. that it would be impossible to tell the biggest and most consequential global stories of our time without the work of freelance journalists and filmmakers who often operate in incredibly difficult circumstances under great personal strain. each year their workers honoured by the rory packed awards named after a british freelancer who killed in moscow covering the october coup in 1993. his work lives on through the rory packed trust which is supported freelance journalists and their families around the world for nearly 30 years. over the next

half hour we will hear from the 2024 finalists and winners whose work reflects the turbulent and volatile times we live in. it explores the human cost that so often lies at the heart of these stories from across the world. first up, the award for news for work that focuses on the immediacy of the story. in early 2024, haiti's capital, port au prince, saw a widespread outbreak of violence. the assassination of president jovenel moise three years earlier created a power vacuum in which armed gangs have prospered. local journalist luckensonjean filmed throughout the crisis, as hundreds of thousands of haitians were forced to flee their homes amid the brutality and political instability.

in june, a kenyan—led multinational security force was dispatched to help the haitian police rein in the gangs. yet the country remains in a state of emergency.

the judges said that this was powerful reporting by a journalist who knows his beat intimately and lets the images tell his story. in april 2023, sudan was thrown into disarray when its army and a powerful paramilitary group, the rapid support forces, began a vicious struggle for power. even conservative estimates suggest that tens of thousands have been killed in the conflict, with millions more displaced and at risk of starvation. film—maker sara creta travelled to the sudan—chad border in may 2024, where she saw people fleeing to survive. women, children, elderly, travelling almost with nothing, sometimes on barefoot, trying to reach safety.

and one million people are now living in chad, in camps in the middle of the desert. this community endure so much and yet they are so strong and resilient. creta secured unprecedented access to the rsf—controlled city of aljunaynah, in western darfur. questions about the ethnic cleansing the group is alleged to have committed were met with denial by the rsf chaperones. they wanted to show their sense of control. they wanted to show that they were the peacekeeper, that they were the protectors. however, their claims were in contrast with what i was, you know, aware of and what people were just telling me.

especially, you know, locals. they have described a completely different reality. the judges said that the film conveyed the real tragedy unfolding in darfur. at great personal risk, creta had brought an under—reported story to a global audience at a critical time. on the 7th of october, 2023, the palestinian militant group hamas launched a deadly attack on israel, killing around 1,200 men, women and children and taking more than 250 hostages. this triggered a huge israeli military offensive in gaza, which has killed more than 43,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the hamas—run health ministry. throughout the conflict, palestinian journalists belal al—sabbagh and youssef hassouna

captured everything — from hamas rocket fire and militants returning from the october the 7th attacks, to israeli air strikes on gaza and the resulting devastation and loss. on the 27th of october, israel launched its full—scale invasion. hassouna and his family sought refuge at his office, where he documented the destruction unfolding around them.

the judges described al—sabbagh and hassouna's coverage as visual reporting of the highest order, that took the viewer to the heart of gaza's agony. next, the news features award recognises coverage that takes a more in—depth look at a story, beyond the immediacy of the news. over more than a year, katie arnold's film documented the lives of a palestinian family in masafer yatta in the occupied west bank,

and their attempts to resist the expansion of israeli settlements in the area. he's grazing his sheep. he's a settler, and he's grazing his sheep in my land. settlements are considered illegal under international law, although israel disputes this. arnold started work on the film in late 2022, as a new government, led by benjamin netanyahu, came to power. for, you know, 30 years, the israeli state has been trying to annexe that part of the west bank, by saying that they needed it as a live—firing zone for the israeli army. there had been many displacements. there had also been settlement building. and so i thought that this could be a place that would be particularly vulnerable, should far—right figures within the israeli government want to sort of try and annexe more parts of the west bank. with tensions between palestinians and israeli settlers already high, the events of october the 7th marked an escalation in the

decades—long conflict. within days of the hamas attacks, the situation changed very rapidly. settlers came onto the family's land, armed with guns. they shot at a relative at point—blank range, and they forcibly took two acres of the family's farmland. so settlers had essentially become emboldened by the war and were violently trying to enforce their vision for israel in the west bank. towards the end of filming, arnold met huda, an elderly widow who went to extraordinary lengths to avoid what she claims were regular night—time attacks by settlers. huda and herfamily, every night, were walking with their sheep into the desert and spending the night inside a cave for safety. it was just heartbreaking to see someone as powerless as huda

being targeted in this way. the judges said that the film demonstrated great foresight and commitment by arnold, and represented a serious investment in the deadly disputes that have proliferated in the west bank. since the military seized power in a coup in 2021, myanmar has been locked in a brutal civil war. while regime forces are equipped with aircraft, helicopters and heavy weaponry, the pro—democracy rebels are a loose coalition of former protesters, supported by relatively poorly armed ethnic militias. for her second entry into this year's awards,

katie arnold travelled to karenni state with correspondent secunder kermani, to meet the young rebels who, against the odds, have forced the military into retreat. ultimately, this is a david and goliath fight. you know the rebels are ill—equipped and they're fighting against a really well—established military regime who get their weapons from russia and china. but yet, these fighters are still so determined that they will restore democracy to the country. the team were given exclusive access to a secret drone unit that has played a pivotal role in the rebels�* advance. the journey taken by one young drone pilot really resonated with arnold. ko khant lived in yangon, myanmar�*s biggest city, before hejoined the rebels. and that is a city that i used to live in as well. so when we were filming with him, we were discussing sort of bars that we both went to, streets that we lived in, and whilst we didn't meet each other in yangon, our lives must have crossed so many times.

and yet a few years later, you know, the situation in myanmar has thrust him into a war zone, whereas my life has gone down a very different path. so i found that sort of parallel universe almost, like, very poignant? despite the drone unit's many successes, the regime forces remain a constant threat. while filming one operation, arnold and the team were forced to beat a hasty retreat. don't worry. just drive, drive, drive. drive, drive! they're expecting heavy incoming artillery fire, and we have to leave straight away. these are the conditions that people are living in, day in, day out, in myanmar and it is important to document that. and i think if that is your motivation as a journalist and something that you feel very strongly about, then ultimately these risks are something that you are able to cope with. the judges said that the film offered a unique insight into the myanmar conflict, thanks to fantastic access and years of investment

in the story by arnold. explosion sunday the 29th of october, day 22 of the war in gaza, and the palestinian civil defence, which is responsible for emergency services and rescue, is under enormous pressure as israel steps up its response to the october the 7th attacks. ibrahim al otla's winning film tells the story of one brutal day in the life of captain moumen and his team of first responders.

explosion for al otla, staying safe amid the chaos wasn't a luxury that he or the emergency workers could afford. explosions confronted with the dilemma of assisting in rescue missions, or carrying on with his journalistic duty to report

what was happening, al otla opted to do both. the judges said that al otla had created an extraordinary film that was mesmerising from the opening scene. capturing humanity and helplessness in equal turn, it had kept thejudges rapt. and, finally, the sony impact award recognises the work of those in long—form current affairs, examining a single story

that has an impact on the viewer, policy or public awareness. huh? gunshot three months on from the october the 7th attacks, with the world focused on events in gaza, the israeli military had drastically increased its operations in the occupied west bank. it really does seem like the whole city is on lockdown. with allegations surfacing about its conduct in the region, sara obeidat, isobel yeung and josh baker went there to examine israel's claim that its army is the most moral in the world. during the course of filming, we noticed that there had been a dramatic uptick in the numbers of children being killed by the israeli military and the number of operations taking place.

bbc! english! and so we wanted to understand what are the parameters and rules that the israeli military are meant to be using when they go out and conduct these operations? how are they staged? what is the rules around the use of lethal force? and, crucially, are those rules being followed? the israeli military repeatedly declined to be interviewed for the film, but a number of former servicemen did agree to talk. the team presented them with evidence uncovered during the course of their investigation. obviously, at face value, and i'm going to stress at face value, - it doesn't look good. i i would like to believe that there was some i kind of trigger for that. we wanted to speak to people who had served in the israeli military, which is difficult when it comes to trying to find people who would be willing to critique or be very candid about what they saw were the flaws, and were the issues within the military. some people requested to remain anonymous in order for them to be able to share their story

and shed light on this issue. at the time of filming, the west bank had become an extremely dangerous place to operate. they've got guns pointed to us. step outside, please. 0k. 0k. but the experienced team were acutely aware of balancing the risks with their duty to report the story. i cover a lot of conflicts in my career. i think that what's going through your mind when you're faced with that violence, you know, when you're held at gunpoint, you're just trying to stay focused. you're trying to ensure that you being there is worth the risk. and that, for me, means coming out with the story, making sure that people's voices are heard, making sure that the world understands what's happening in this region. thejudges commended the film—makers for their rigorous and in—depth investigative journalism, and for bringing a critical new understanding to an extensively covered

conflict. with exclusive, intimate with exclusive, intimate access, this film by melanie ouigley, access, this film by melanie ouigley, vladimir sevrinovsky, vladimir sevrinovsky, oksa na serbinova, oksa na serbinova, anastasia tenisheva anastasia tenisheva and evan williams reveals the story of russian and evan williams reveals the story of russian women trying to find their women trying to find their sons, husbands and brothers sons, husbands and brothers who've gone missing fighting who've gone missing fighting in ukraine. to the regime, in ukraine. filmed by a team of russian film—makers filmed by a team of russian film—makers at the romb independent at the romb independent media group, media group, the producers carefully the producers carefully navigated access, security navigated access, security and legal issues at a time and legal issues at a time of ever—tightening of ever—tightening official control. official control. nobody else would make a story about these people.

even if they are loyal

because these women are also victims. while russian public support for the war remains ostensibly high, sevrinovsky sees a clear distinction between the views of ukrainian and russian service families. in ukraine, the picture for them is quite clear, because they are defending their country. and for russia, it's very hard for any mother to admit that her son gave his life in an unjust war. so they're heavily tortured by this situation. the judges noted the extreme risks taken by the team to tell this story, and said that the ultimate success of the film lay in their ability to build trusting relationships with the mothers and wives who went on camera.

winner of the sony impact award, this film, by director of photography jaber badwan and producer—director vanessa bowles, follows the lives of ordinary palestinians as war rages around them. filmed over months by a team of palestinian journalists, it's a testament to their extraordinary efforts to report the events unfolding in gaza as they endure professional and personal hardship and loss.

in london, director vanessa bowles was in constant contact with the teams on the ground, supporting and guiding them through extremely traumatic circumstances. nothing can prepare you to witness this amount of suffering. the scale of killing. what helped me push through — and let me tell you, it wasn't easy — is the slight hope that these kinds of films might produce some kind of compassion. and that the film—makers and the contributors on the ground in gaza would somehow feel like they were being seen, however slightly. for badwan, an encounter with a young palestinian girl whose father was killed and who was herself badly injured in an israeli air strike,

left him deeply affected. as an award that recognises the immense risks and challenges that freelance journalists face, the judges felt the film was both vital and humanising in its portrayal of the war. they said the film—makers' unflinching commitment to capture their own lived reality in such depth was awe inspiring. that's it from this year's edition of the firing line, where we heard from the freelance journalists who brought us stories from the caribbean

and europe to southeast asia and sub—saharan africa, and, of course, the middle east, and whose work was honoured at the 2024 rory peck awards. until next year, goodbye. hello. meteorologically speaking, saturday was the last day of autumn. it was bright enough across many eastern areas of the uk. in the west, though, we had thicker cloud and a bit of drizzle at times. wherever you were, though, it was very mild with temperatures six degrees above average in the highlands. achnagart seeing a high of 15 degrees. the average at this time of the year is nine. and these mild south—southwesterly winds continuing to blow a band of rain across from scotland and northern ireland, moving it into wales and western areas of england over the next few hours.

these are the kind of temperatures you'll have to start your breezy sunday morning as our band of rain continues to push its way eastwards with time. now, behind that, actually, we should get some brighter weather, so sunny spells are in the forecast for western areas. there will be some scattered showers, though, at times, so not entirely dry. it will, however, continue to be very mild and for the first day of winter, temperatures could reach around 14, 15, maybe even 16 degrees in the mildest spots. but that milder weather isn't going to hang around for very long because heading into monday, behind this weather front here, we get a flow of much colder northwesterly winds heading in and that will be dropping the temperatures across northern areas as we go through the course of monday. so, mild enough start to the day on monday for many areas. a band of rain pushes across northern england, reaches north wales and north midlands. behind that, sunshine comes out with some scattered showers. gusty winds through the irish sea and the north sea, reaching gale force at times and making it feel a little on the chilly side. temperatures not doing too

badly across much of england and wales but through the afternoon, further northwards temperatures will be dropping through the afternoon and it will start to get colder and colder. and then, through monday night, that colder air surges its way southwards — a real turnaround in weather fortunes. we get a widespread frost, a much colder night on the cards. well, that takes us on into tuesday, and it's a dry, sunny start to the day, if cold for most of us. the exception is northern ireland, where we'll get this band of rain. the rain starts to move into that colder air and we start to see a little bit of snow on its leading edge, initially falling across parts of scotland. and it's across the hills of northern scotland that that lasts longest. could cause one or two issues but, eventually, milder air will mean that the snow all turns back to rain. and then, later in the week, yes, it is set to turn a good deal milder. with that milder weather comes thicker cloud and rain at times. that's your weather. bye— bye.

live from washington, this is bbc news. protesters and police clash again in georgia. the country's president says she won't step down when her term ends, over the government's decision to suspend talks tojoin the eu. islamist rebels in syria, seize control of the second largest city aleppo, and are now sweeping south. two humanitarian groups say members of their staff have been killed in israeli

airstrikes in gaza. i'm helena humphrey. good to have you with us. the pro—western president of georgia has told the bbc she'll stay in her post, amid a crisis over the government's decision to suspend accession talks with the european union. salome zourabichvili's term is due to end in two weeks' time, but she says she will not stand down because the current parliament is what she calls �*illegitimate'. the ruling georgia dream party announced on thursday that it will put talks with the eu on hold until 2028. a quick warning these pictures coming up may have some flashing images. this is the scene now live in tbilisi. earlier police used water cannon and tear gas against demonstrators who turned out in their thousands near the parliament building in the capital for a third night running. police say 107 people have been arrested. there you can see the scene

shortly after 7.00 in the morning