Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20171021

Welcome to bbc news. Spains Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, is chairing an emergency meeting of his cabinet which is expected to start imposing Central Control over catalonia. The Regional Government says it will respond with a unilateral declaration of independence. My colleague tim willcox is in barcelona for us. Welcome to a beautiful and sunny barcelona. Im standing here high above one of the best known streets in barcelona, just behind me on my left the cathedral designed by architect gaudi. In the next few hours we are expecting hundreds of thousands of demonstrators to take to the streets here, pro separatism, very much against direct rule imposed by madrid as a result of article 150 five. An article that has never been used before. About an hour ago spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy convened an extraordinary meeting of the spanish cabinet to discuss which measures they plan to impose here on barcelona in the next few days. Its a slightly complicated process. They have to agree in cabinet, then go to the senate, where they have a majority with opposition parties. And then we could be looking at the actual concrete imposition of such measures in about one weeks time. We are talking perhaps about suspending the catalan parliament, taking over the local police force, 17,000 catalan police, and also taking some of the powers back from the economic and education ministries. There is a lot at stake here, the First Time Ever that spain, since the death of franco has taken back some autonomy from the 17 autonomous regions in this country. We can get up to date with the latest developments. It could be a landmark moment for spain. The Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, is due to begin the process of the government stepping in and exerting control over what it sees as a disobedient regional administration. Catalonia has many strands of autonomy, including running its own education, health care, and police force. And in time, all could be taken over. Translation we are caught up in a political hurricane, but we are not politicians, we are policemen. But the controversial move is already making many in the region nervous. Gunfire. Built upon memories of violence caused by Spanish National police disrupting catalonias disputed referendum. Beth, seen here comforting her mother the following day, is now horrified madrid might take control. I dont want violence, i dont want a war, but if i have to go to have a strike, i will do it. Ifi if i have to do be in a strike, i will do it. Its my future, my pa rents future, will do it. Its my future, my parents future, my sons future. But outside the region, the decision excepted by the Spanish Government has huge support. Spains king felipe says catalonia is and will remain an essential part of the country. He added that the Catalan Government was causing a rift and spain would solve the problem through democratic institutions. Many agree. Translation catalan nationalists do not have the power to decide on behalf of all spaniards that it to decide on behalf of all spaniards thatitis to decide on behalf of all spaniards that it is a foreign territory. I will never accept being a foreigner in catalonia. The Spanish Government has a strategy but it risks further fractures within Catalan Society and deeper divisions not only within catalonia itself, but between the region and the rest of spain. Briony williams, bbc news. Ican speak i can speak to a member of the erc party, a separatist group here. The king and Prime Minister of spain summit top as you have broken the law and they have no option but to impose direct rule. We have to go back a few months, and even years to see what has brought us to where we are now. I think the Catalan Government has not been given many options to negotiate. A referendum would be legal if it were non binding under the constitution, but the Spanish Government refuses that. It has taken the previous president of catalonia to court over the organisation of that referendum, which was a straw poll. You are living in cloud cuckoo land. This referendum was illegal, unconstitutional. You have declared independence for a few seconds and there might be another formal declaration today. Its outside the constitution. It was declared in parliament and then suspended immediately afterwards. It wasnt because there is a procedure. Parliament has to debate it. The president proposes declaration, parliament would debate that and vote on it. Obviously they would win, but the declaration formally has not been made. What happens now . Hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets of barcelona, maybe even a million people. Madrid suspends parliament, they take control of the 17,000 local police. They run ministries from madrid. What will happen here . Will everyone just say ok . Very unlikely. There will be peaceful protest, like the work to rule from civil servants. The catalans will notjust lie down and take it easily. There is no solution going down this route. This is the serious problem that madrid has. If they go hard line, then they will not be able to solve this at all. Say they take over direct rule, at sometime or other there will be elections. And then what will happen . We are going to be in exactly the same situation because you will have more or less the same result, or even Pro Independence parties will be a clear majority in parliament. So it will be even worse for them. So whats really incomprehensible is that they dont sit down and negotiate and least talk. Each party has its positions, but if they sit down, they might be able to concede certain issues and come to some kind of agreement. But this is not the way. Thank you for speaking to us. Its worth pointing out that this is notjust speaking to us. Its worth pointing out that this is not just a speaking to us. Its worth pointing out that this is notjust a battle between the region of catalonia and madrid. There are also a significant, some say majority of people here who want to stay part of spain. Catalonia itself is divided and this is a very important moment for the future of the region and the future of spain. Studio tim willcox in barcelona, thank you. He will be keeping us up to date with further developments and news of that Cabinet Meeting in madrid as it happens. Police in germany say an attacker with a knife has injured several people in the Southern City of munich. The stabbings occurred near the rosenheimer underground station. Police say there are no life threatening injuries but they describe the attacker as volatile. They say the suspects still at large and have asked residents to stay indoors while they search for him. The motive for the attack is still unclear. Explosives experts have been called to the Sellafield Nuclear plant to deal with a chemical incident. A cordon was put in place following an incident which happened during an audit of chemicals which had been stored at the site since 1992. Joining me now with more on this story is our correspondent alice hutton. What do we know about this incident . It was about hpm yesterday evening when explosive experts and the Civil Nuclear constabulary were called out to sellafield. The latter are the special police force based at the plant who are there to deal with safety if required. A hundred metre cordon was put around a lab rhetoric and people were evacuated. The issue seems to be centred around a routine Lab Inventory involving the decommissioning of sellafield where staff had found around five bottles of Industrial Chemicals that had been there for around 25 years, since 1992. That is what sparked the call out. Since 1992. That is what sparked the callout. What are the companies saying about what has happened . Callout. What are the companies saying about what has happened 7m an official statement sellafield has said following the chemical infantry audit in the laboratory we took the decision to dispose of and above chemicals that are no longer used in oui chemicals that are no longer used in our operations and have been stored since 1982. In line with best practice and procedures we alerted releva nt practice and procedures we alerted relevant Partner Agencies and sought advice. I spoke to a spokesman from sellafield this morning who said there had been no explosion, no leak, and there was no Nuclear Waste involved. But because it still involved. But because it still involved Industrial Chemicals, it was a matter of routine that they called out the experts and sought that advice on how to dispose of the chemicals safely. Thank you. Winds of up to 70 Miles Per Hour and high tidal waves are expected in parts of the uk this morning, as storm brian makes landfall. Some coastal communities have been preparing for the arrival of the storm, using sandbags for barricades. Forecasters are warning of the potential for power cuts, flooding and delays to transport. The met office has issued a yellow weather warning for a swathe of britain, including wales, and southern england as far as the midlands. Speed limits through motorway roadworks could be raised from 50 to 60 Miles Per Hour. The proposed changes follow trials by highways england which showed drivers feel safer at higher speeds. Jon donnison reports. Roadworks and mile after mile of Little Orange cones are the bane of many drivers lives. The current speed limit when passing through motorway roadworks is 50 mph, but highways england says that could be increased to up to 60. It follows trials where drivers were fitted with heartrate monitors to measure stress levels, driving through roadworks at different speeds. 60 of participants recorded a decrease in average heart rates in the 60 mph trial zone. In the 55 mph zone, the decrease was 56 . Some drivers said they were more relaxed at higher speeds because it allowed them to accelerate away from large lorries. But ucatt, the Union Representing road workers, has described the plans as a deadly version of wacky races, which would make dangerous work areas twice as dangerous. Highways england says it is carrying out further tests, but the changes could be phased in by the end of the year. Jon donnison, bbc news. Joining me now is the on set is the president of the aa, edmund king. Lets start with the motivation for this. Why increase the speed limit . One of the problems as we have so many roadworks at the moment, hundreds and hundreds of miles of road works, particularly where we are converting the hard shoulder injury running lane on the so called smart motorways. What they found in some pilots was that where you have long stretches of seven or eight miles of road works with quite a wide lane, they found at 50 mph it was more dangerous. The reason being that many trucks have their Speed Limited to 56. So they tailgate cars because they know over an average distance, they might slow down going up distance, they might slow down going upa distance, they might slow down going up a hill. That causes a lot of problems and anxiety for drivers. They had heart monitors on drivers and when they were doing 60 they we re and when they were doing 60 they were much more relaxed than at 50 because they didnt have that interaction. They feel they can outmanoeuvre trucks if it became necessary . Yes. I have seen on the m3 on the road works there, trucks driving so close to vehicles. I have reported some two companies because it was so dangerous. We have to put it was so dangerous. We have to put it into context because there are other stretches when it would be totally unsafe to drive at 55 or 60. In particular where there are road workers and narrow lanes. That wouldnt be safe. I think we need a more flexible attitude. The logic of speed limits is the braking distance you need to avoid an accident. That a lwa ys you need to avoid an accident. That always has to be borne in mind. You need to avoid an accident. That always has to be borne in mindm has. It doesnt matter what speed you are doing, if you drive too close to the vehicle in front, that isa close to the vehicle in front, that is a danger. But if there are not road workers there, if it is a relatively straight stretch of road, it could work. But this is only one element of reducing congestion. There are other things to look at, like more lay bys on smart motorways. If you havent got a hard shoulder, and you break down, if you can see lay bys then you can get there, but if you cant come you will be stuck. It can cause severe congestion. We are calling for twice as many lay bys because they are spaced at a mile and a half. We would like to see twice as many so broken down cars can get the carriageway, you dont have congestion and you dont have the extra risk of crashing. What will be the anxiety among some of those who work on our roads who say even as things currently are, there are times when they dont feel safe and they dont think drivers are sufficiently respectful of the fact that they are very short distances from people . Absolutely. I think the safety of our road workers should be absolutely paramount. But there are stretches of road where the road workers are the other side of concrete barriers, so it is the same as the central reservation. On those stretches, fine, but if there is any danger at all, i think some of the speed limits should be reduced lower than 50 Miles Per Hour if people are at risk. Good to see you. Thanks very much. Lets take a look at the headlines now. The Spanish Government convenes a special Cabinet Meeting to begin imposing Central Control over the region of catalonia. Experts have been called in to deal with a chemical incident at the Sellafield Nuclear site in cumbria. Drivers could soon be allowed to pass through sections of motorway roadworks at higher speeds. Sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, heres mike bushell. Good morning, what would saturday morning be without you . Good morning, what would saturday morning be without you . |j good morning, what would saturday morning be without you . I dont know what i would do if i wasnt here good morning. If leicester city, who are already looking for a new manager win today at swansea, it will suck west ham into the relegation zone, and further increase the pressure on their manager slaven bilic. In contrast, brighton have found their feet at this level, and were ahead after ten minutes, thanks to glenn murray. His second was a penalty, and follows a first strike of the season forjose isquierdo. Thats brightons first away win of the season and afterwards, bilic apologised to the west ham fans, who booed at the final whistle he says his future is not up to him. Are you worried about your position . Im not worried, but realistic. How will you deal with the speculation that will follow this result . Those speculations were here before and i am here as the manager of the team. As i said, i dont want to hide behind anything. It is my responsibility and now its up to the board. The early game of the day takes high flying watford to chelsea. The champions head coach, Antonio Conte has defended his training methods in the wake of reports that some of his players are unhappy with the intensity of the sessions. The premier League Champions could be without four of their key players for todays lunch time kick off with fourth placed watford, who are a place and two points, ahead of them in the table. My methods are the same as last season, when we won the league. But honestly i think we are working maybe 70 less this season. Maybe for this reason we are having trouble. Englands women lost their first match since coach mark sampson was sacked and interim boss mo marley said change can be tough. The game was a cagey affair, with few clear cut chances before viviane asseyi, capitalised on goalkeeper siobhan chamberlains mistake, to snatch victory for france in the last minute. England goalkeeping coach lee kendall who is under investigation for alleged Unacceptable Behaviour towards striker eni aluko was not at the match. Its a big weekend of European Club rugby, and bath, surged ahead at the top of their pool reigning champions saracens looking to build on an emphatic victory on the Opening Weekend when they face ospreys. British fighter Lauren Williams claimed a breakthrough world taekwondo grand prix title on a brilliant day for the gb team in london. Williams who is a two time world junior champion defeated ivory coasts former senior World Champion ruth bagbee, in the 67 kilogram final. Elsewhere Bradly Sinden claimed silver and gb heavyweight mahama cho, picked up a bronze its really not sunk in. Thats probably the bit that means the most to me at the minute. I have beaten some big girls. I am lost for words. Amazed. Im satisfied with my performance. I had been on it all day and felt really good. Thats the first time ive really enjoyed a competition. I went out smiling and was smiling all day. A good competition for me. Thats all the sport for now. You can follow more sport for now. You can follow more sport on the bbc sport website. I will have more in the next hour. We can bring you an update on the story we brought you at the start of this hour, a knife attack on the streets of munich. We are getting confirmation from the Munich Fire Department that the people who have been injured have suffered what is described as light injuries, no serious injuries, but its a very strange story. The man apparently carried out the attacks near an underground station. Police have tweeted that pupils should remain indoors while they search for the suspect. The man is described as in his 40s, and he has fled on a black b i cycle. His 40s, and he has fled on a black bicycle. The injured several people ina bicycle. The injured several people in a knife attack this morning. They say they have no idea what the motive is at the moment. But the good news is the five people injured have suffered only light injuries. We will bring you more as we get it. The World Health Organisation has appointed the zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe as a goodwill ambassador. It said the appointment was because of the african countrys commitment to public health. Critics say his human rights record renders him unfit to represent the organisation. The United States has intervened to try to prevent further conflict between kurdish and iraqi forces in the disputed oil fields of northern iraq. Its urged the government to control its forces in parts of the country claimed by both baghdad and the kurdistan government. There are fears that the latest unrest could further destabilise the region. The majority of households have experienced problems with their broadband over the last year, with slow speeds the most common complaint. A survey by which found that customers of virgin media, talktalk, sky and bt were the most likely to be affected. Simon gompertz reports. Frustration with broadband is boiling over in some households. Weve become so dependent on it for shopping, banking and entertainment that the internet not working can drive people mad. It cuts out more than it should. I live in the countryside and its terrible there, like 5 megabytes per second is the maximum youll get. The speed in my area doesnt work as well as it should. It depends on where you live. I live in a newbuild apartment, so the speed is pretty good. I get what i pay for. Which . s survey shows 21 of customers had problems with speed, 17 experienced frequent dropouts in the connection, 12 had a wireless router fault and 8 had no connection at all for hours or days. With talktalk, 33 said speed was very slow. 22 in the case of bt. 38 of virgin customers complained about price increases. Talktalk says it is disappointment and its extensive Investment Programme has already led to fewer faults and quicker repair times. Virgin says its service is faster and the majority of its customers get their advertised speed or above at peak times. There is a regulator, ofcom, with the job of making sure companies provide what they promise. It says they must up their game. Simon gompertz, bbc news. The us and south korea are conducting joint military exercises off the korean peninsula, amid heightened tensions with north korea. The us says the drills are designed to be a show of sea and air power, to Deter North Korea from any military action. Pyongyang has described the exercises as a rehearsal for war. Among the ships taking part is the uss Ronald Reagan, the biggest of the us navys fleet in the asia region. Our correspondent mark lowen was on the ship. We have come down here to busan, south koreas second city, where the uss Ronald Reagan docked earlier today. If ijust step back and we can zoom in, we cant shoot directly at the port, so we have come up to the hill and you can see there the enormous aircraft carrier, the uss Ronald Reagan, leading the uss seventh fleet stationed in japan. It has a crew of five and a half thousand. On board we went up to the deck, had a short time on deck and saw some of the 70 or so fighterjets and bombers that are stationed up there on the deck. This is one of the vessels that has been taking part in ten days ofjoint military exercises between the us and south korea. The commander of the vessel spoke to us. He talked about an ironclad alliance between the us and south korea. Clearly the us very keen to reinforce its military support for the republic of korea at a time when the escalation of nuclear tension, military tension, with north korea, the Nuclear Crisis from pyongyang and also with that escalation of bellicose rhetoric putting a real strain on international relations. And it has caused some fear here in south korea. The church of england is to Debate Holding services of blessing for same sex couples for the first time. If its agreed by the churchs ruling general synod, the services could be held after a couple has married in a secular ceremony, or formed a civil partnership. Callum may reports. I, david, take you, peter, to be my lawfully wedded husband. Since 2014, same sex couples have been able to marry outside a church, but the church of england has not allowed their relationships to be blessed. It says there is real and profound disagreement about sexuality. Bishops set up a group to spend three years discussing what to do next, but their hand may now have been forced by members in the diocese of hereford, who voted in favour of prayer and dedication following a marriage or civil partnership. Now it will be debated by the churchs ruling synod. The proposed service is described as neither contrary to or opposed to the current doctrine and some priests will be able to opt out. The c of e havent yet gone as far as anglicans in the scottish episcopal church, which began holding same sex weddings this year, and conservative campaigners called the move a fundamental departure from church teaching. The synod which, meets twice a year, is yet to fix a date for the debate to take place. Thousands of people have rallied in the australian city of sydney to express their support for the legalisation of same sex marriages. Similar events are being held in towns and cities across the country this weekend. Australians are taking part in a postal vote to gauge the level of support for same sex unions. The poll closes in two weeks time, with the result due to be announced in mid november. Swansea is bidding to be crowned uk city of culture in 2021 waless second city claims it could attract over a million extra visitors and a £31 million economic boost if its awarded the accolade. It does face some stiff competition though from paisley, sunderland, stoke on trent and coventry. Nick higham has been to swansea to discover why it thinks it deserves the title. Swansea and its magnificent bay. A place once famous for industrial grime and male voice choirs, the birthplace of the poet dylan thomas, now hopes to be the uks next city of culture. Tammy davis grew up 15 miles away. Now shes back, performing cabaret in the city centre, and shes delighted by swanseas bid. Nobody loves music like welsh people. I honestly believe that. When they say to be born welsh is to be born privileged, not with a silver spoon in your mouth. Its with music in your heart and soul, i believe that. Thats how we are born. With music. Ourvoices, ouraccents, sing. She is performing here at a new venue in the citys dilapidated high street. Swansea has problems high unemployment, homelessness, depravation. The city of culture bid could be part of the solution. For decades swansea has been struggling to revive a local economy which never really recovered from the collapse of Traditional Industries like this. Bidding to be city of culture is one way of doing that, and of turning the decaying legacy of the past into something positive an engine of regeneration. This is all that remains of the largest copper foundry in what was once the copper capital of the world. Next door, in swansea museums warehouse, they have a model of the works in its heyday, surrounded by vast slagheaps. The pollution it produced was appalling. The citys past, including its maritime heritage, is an important plank in its bid. Go and see the birthplace of dylan thomas, you can see where he did his early writings. You can come to swansea and visit a tate collection in the new gallery. We have the National Waterfront museum and soon we will have a brand new, first of its kind, digital arena in the uk. This is what the digital arena will look like. They will build it anyway, but city of culture status could draw more visitors to swansea and make the locals feel good about the place. This youth theatre, busily rehearsing, occupies another previously empty building in the high street. The director here knows what kind of city of culture he wants. It needs to be organic, community led, cultural vision and practice. Otherwise its not going to feed into a wider debate about real economic change. And this is one of three buildings colonised by artists. Almost 100 of them. I could have easily worked at home, but i wouldnt have this community, i wouldnt have that input, i wouldnt have that communication and whats going on and how we feed off each other, which is really important. Outwardly a rather drab place, swansea turns out to have a vibrant flourishing cultural scene