as conflicts rage across the globe... explosion ..and press freedom comes under sustained attack... don't worry. just drive, drive, drive. drive, drive! we have to leave straight away. ..we celebrate the crucial work and unwavering commitment of freelance journalists and film—makers worldwide. often the only eyes on the ground... complete chaos. women and children are taking this place as a refuge. ..in challenging and dangerous places. they've got guns pointed to us. step outside, please. 0k~ _ who are the people who bring us these stories? how do they do it? and what drives them to the firing line? asjournalists, we know the importance of being where news breaks, of capturing

the situation on the ground, of living the story. but it would be impossible to tell the biggest and most consequential global stories of our time without the work of freelance journalists and film—makers, who often operate in incredibly difficult circumstances and under great personal strain. each year, their work is honoured by the rory peck awards, named after a british freelancer, who was killed in moscow, covering the october coup in 1993. his work lives on through the rory peck trust, which has supported freelance journalists and their families around the world for nearly 30 years. over the next half hour, we'll hear from the 2024 finalists and winners, whose work reflects the turbulent and volatile times we live in, and explores the human cost, which so often lies at the heart of these stories from across the world. first up, the rory peck award for news, for work that focuses on the immediacy of the story.

gunshot in early 2024, haiti's capital, port—au—prince, saw a widespread outbreak of violence. the assassination of presidentjovenel moise three years earlier created a power vacuum in which armed gangs have prospered. localjournalist 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. 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 endures 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. 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 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 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, 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 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 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 would like to believe that there was some kind of triggerfor 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. 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 access, this film by melanie quigley, vladimir sevrinovsky, oksana serbinova, anastasia tenisheva and evan williams reveals

the story of russian women trying to find their sons, husbands and brothers who've gone missing fighting in ukraine. filmed by a team of russian film—makers at the romb independent media group, the producers carefully navigated access, security and legal issues at a time of ever—tightening official control. nobody else would make a story about these people. even if they are loyal to the regime, is not very convenient to the regime, because it wants to paint a very bright and nice picture. but, of course, people are dying and the whole of russia is full of tragedies such as the tragedy of these women.

as the women's searches were hampered by a repressive state bureaucracy, some of them turned to an unlikely source in the search for their loved ones. a lot of our heroes, they called ukrainian soldiers and they asked about their sons and husbands, and the ukrainian soldiers answered them. maybe they thought that maybe if something bad would happen to me, my mother would do the same. and i think there's a kind of weird brotherhood between these victims of the war on both sides, 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 there. we're holding on to this very benign, gloomy weather across most of the country. winds are light, so there's nothing really to stirthe airaround. so it does stay cloudy and misty for most. some fog patches in places which could be stubborn to clear, and we'll continue to see patches of light rain and drizzle. this fog could be problematic across england and wales through the course of today, so just bear that in mind if you are heading out on the roads. so it's all down to this area of high pressure bringing these light winds, very stagnant air. we still have this weather front straddling parts of scotland, northern ireland, that will bring thicker cloud with outbreaks of rain here. but most of england and wales will be rather grey with that fog in places, although some sunshine certainly over the higher ground of wales, across the pennines, perhaps over the moors of south west england. but for most it stays cloudy

and feels quite chilly. temperatures in single figures for most, up to 10 or 11 across scotland, where we get some sunshine. as we head through tonight, it stays quite misty and murky for england and wales. further outbreaks of rain for scotland and northern ireland as we continue to see that weather front draped across the north. any clear spells, temperatures will dip close to freezing, but where we hold on to the cloud, then generally between 4 and 9 degrees. into the weekend, then, we have this weather front pushing a little bit further southwards, so it could bring outbreaks of rain to central southern scotland, northern ireland. but through the day, with the breeze picking up in the northwest, we may start to see more sunshine for scotland and northern ireland, with a few showers in the northwest, but again, for large parts of england and wales, it's going to be another rather grey and gloomy day to start the weekend, and again quite chilly. seven to 10 or 11 degrees. some changes, though, as we move into sunday. more isobars on the chart. it turns breezier. a more active weather front pushes into scotland,

so some heavier, more persistent rain here. more of a breeze, so we should see the clouds breaking up, even across england and wales, and an increasing chance of seeing some sunshine, which will be a bit of a relief. temperatures may respond a bit, up to 10 or ii for most, where any mist and fog lingers or low cloud, then it will stay quite chilly, but it stays unsettled. wet, windy across northern areas in the run up to new year, and there's a potential of a deeper area of low pressure, which could bring some wet and stormy weather around new year's eve, so this could give rise to some transport disruption. have to stay tuned to the forecast for this. and then in the first few days of january, looks like it will turn colder for all with sunshine and wintry showers. take care.

live from london, this is bbc news. survivors of a deadly plane crash in kazakhstan have described hearing a loud blast outside the aircraft, as speculation continues that russia may have been involved.

a nasa spacecraft has made history by surviving the closest ever approach to the sun. the uk government is being urged to send more prisoners to low—securityjails to help reduce reoffending and overcrowding. the prime minister of nepal says there are too many tigers in his country and wants to give some away. hello, i'm lucy hockings. azerbaijan airlines says that the preliminary results of the investigation into the plane crash in kazakhstan has found there was "external physical and technical interference". but the report has stopped short of accusing any group or country of being responsible, nor what the cause of that interference was. azerbaijan airlines had already suspended flights to several russian cities. it says it has

to take flight safety risks into account. neither russia nor