Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20240714

Are the political commentator james millar and the business commentatorjosie cox. A very good morning to you. Welcome to bbc news. Riot police have cleared roads in hong kong after a brief stand off with pro democracy protesters, as the political crisis in the city continues into its eleventh week. This is the scene live in hong kong at the moment. Protesters are preparing to march from Victoria Park to chater garden, without official permisson from the authorities. The march itself is without official permission, although they do have permission, although they do have permission to be in the park for a gathering by the civil rights front. It was responsible for the millions strong peaceful protest back in june. This is in the causeway bay district, which is really the heart of the shopping area of hong kong. The estimates on the numbers of people who have turned up vary considerably, but the organisers insist they are expecting half a Million People in the course of this demonstration of solidarity and support for the campaign to ensure that civil rights in hong kong are not eroded further. Remember it began with an attempt by the hong kong authorities to introduce an extradition bill that would allow people to be extradited very easily to china, Mainland China, and the concern about Mainland Chinas Judicial Independence is one of the people in hong kong are very relu cta nt people in hong kong are very reluctant for that measure to go through. The bill is apparently dead according to carrie lam, the chief executive of hong kong, but it hasnt stopped the protest, indeed it seems to have encouraged protesters to go further. But there isa protesters to go further. But there is a sense that there are efforts by those who are trying to organise the protests to clamp down on any expressions of violence of the sort of attacks we saw in the airport just a few days ago, because i fear that that might give the authorities in Mainland China the excuse to impose some kind of solution on the ground, the possibility of armed personnel carriers coming across from shenzen where they have used been right exercises yesterday seems to have encouraged people to try to find a way of trying to take some of the anger out of these protests and keep them under control. We will be hearing from guests and our correspondent in hong kong, stephen mcdonell, and the next 20 minutes or so, so stay with us for that. Now we look at some of the days of the developments. Borisjohnson is to meet top eu leaders in the next few days as he makes his case for a new brexit deal. The Prime Minister will meet the german chancellor, Angela Merkel on wednesday and the french president , Emmanuel Macron on thursday in mrjohnsons first foreign visit. Meanwhile, leaked government documents have warned of major disruption in the event of a no deal brexit, including shortages of food, fuel and medicines john mcmanus reports. 0peration yellowhammer, marked 0fficial, sensitive, not meant for public eyes. Its the governments own comprehensive assessment of the implications of a no deal brexit. Boris johnson, who became Prime Minister less than a month ago, is adamant that britain will leave the European Union on the 31st of october, come what may. That robust position reflects his assertion that the Withdrawal Agreement must be dropped. The eu says thats not on the cards. What happens, then, if neither side budges . Among the consequences envisaged in the leaked report, major disruption at channel ports because up to 85 of hauliers are not ready for french customs procedures. That could mean long queues for lorries, and blocked roads which could last for three months. There would be disruption to supplies of fresh food, meaning price rises hitting the poorest hardest. Medical supplies, three quarters of which come via channel ports, may be delayed, and there could be clashes between eu and british Fishing Vessels in uk waters. The reports authors also warned that rising tensions will lead to protests and a jump in crime. Perhaps most damagingly, the report says efforts to prevent the return of a hard border between the republic of ireland and Northern Ireland will probably be unsustainable. This leak from the government published in the sunday times makes for stark reading. The Cabinet Office is the department tasked with coordinating the government, that is, the Prime Ministers objectives. Borisjohnson has said that much of the preparation for a new deal has been done. This report contradicts that. As leaks go, the timing couldnt be more embarrassing. Borisjohnson is due to meet european leaders later this week. Supporters of brexit have labelled concerns about a no deal as project fear, and past warnings of economic meltdowns have proved wide of the mark. But it seems that some in government are forecasting the worst. John mcmanus, bbc news. With me is our Political Correspondent mark lobel. Mark, good morning. As ever, lots in the papers, but lets start with the official news, in other words what downing street is telling us about this visit next week by the Prime Minister to germany and france. You would think on the face of it that it was significant. There have been nonexistent negotiations since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in a deal he said he is keen to do. We found out very early on that he said they have got to drop the backstop, they have got to drop the backstop, the idea that they could be an insurance policy that could keep, the uk government would say would keep britain in the eu or keep it in the customs union, if they cant find an alternative arrangement over the border. So they have got to drop that and they have got to change their Withdrawal Agreement, the agreement that was rejected three times in the houses of parliament. So here he is, he is about to meet Angela Merkel and emanuel macron, the two power brokers in europe, but number 10 keen to say he is really just going to tell them that parliament cant stop brexit, because there has been a lot of chatter, between you and i particularly, about how parliament, many people against a no deal settle m e nt many people against a no deal settlement in parliament want to do something in parliament, legislate in parliament in september to stop us in parliament in september to stop us leaving with no deal. He wants to assure them that that will not happen and reiterate his demands for a deal. Whether that will happen and there will be behind the scenes movements to suss out whether either side would actually enjoy, have plans for avoiding a deal, that is to be seen. But essentially i think we cannot expect a big breakthrough this week, because as we say, eu leaders will be waiting till september to find out what parliament does. And just interesting picking up on one of the things you said about the question of what happens in parliament, this letter that has been published today from hundred mps saying, recall parliament now, because presumably with parliament not setting, it is ha rd with parliament not setting, it is hard for them to engage in any of the manoeuvres that might enable them to add some sort of delay or a limit, clip the Prime Ministers wings on this one. That is right, but parliament will be back within three weeks, and we do know that there will be attempt at a vote of no confidence, that is what the leader of the opposition is talking about. Boris johnson hit leader of the opposition is talking about. Borisjohnson hit out at those mps in a letter of his own, saying that they were wrecking his negotiating position with the leaders that he is going to be meeting this week. He feels that he should be able to genuinely offer a no deal exit in order to get them to be able to change their negotiating stance, said he feels they are tying his hands, if you like. Mark lobel, Political Correspondent, we will dou btless Political Correspondent, we will doubtless talk again through the course of the morning. Thank you very much. The Afghan Government says at least 60 people have been killed in a bomb explosion at a wedding reception in the capital, kabul. A suicide bomber detonated explosives inside the reception hall. The taliban have denied carrying out the attack. Richard forrest reports. This is the aftermath inside the wedding hall. It had been packed with people celebrating a marriage in a minority shiite neighbourhood in the west of the city. Eyewitnesses said the bomber detonated his device in the mens reception area. Translation i was in the kitchen, and was coming to the hall when i heard the huge sound. My ears couldnt hear anything, and there were lots of injured people. Everybody was running away. Several of our waiters were killed or injured. Most of the victims were men or boys. The injured taken to hospitals across the city. There were so many, they were crowded into corridors. People rushing to the hospital trying to find missing relatives. Translation i was in the Wedding Party when the blast occurred. It was very powerful, and the situation was terrible. I saw many children and people hurt. These wedding halls have become big business in kabul as the afghan economy slowly picks up and families spend more on celebrations. But they are seen as soft targets. Last november, at least a0 people were killed at a wedding in kabul. The attack came as the taliban and the United States are trying to negotiate an agreement on the withdrawal of us forces from afghanistan in exchange for a taliban commitment on security and peace talks with the us backed government. Richard forrest, bbc news. Lets go to kabul now and our correspondent shoaib sharifi. He has been following the developments since this terrible incident happened. Shoaib, in terms of the attack, do we know who might have been responsible . Not yet. The taliban have condemned the attack, indicating they were not behind it, but no other group has claimed responsibility. However, in the past, similar attacks on big gatherings of sheer minority shia minority like this wedding was, have been claimed by die daesh, but what matters here is that anybody anywhere is not safe, even away from the front line, even events like a Wedding Party a very ordinary people could be a target as people woke this morning in kabul woke this morning to the disturbing news that this wedding turned into a funeral. This is a shock with the peace talks making some progress between the americans and the taliban, but there are still some sleeping cells of other groups intending to inflict harms on civilians. You mentioned that it was a kind of very ordinary event. These wedding parties are vast, arent they . People who want to commit carnage looking for soft targets, places where there isnt much security but where they will get large numbers of people in an enclosed space, it is perhaps not unsurprising that they choose these kinds of targets with the terrible consequences that we saw . Yes. People wouldnt have thought so, because the reason they dont have security, they believe it is a personal ceremony, happy ceremony, it is not a political gathering, and afg ha n it is not a political gathering, and afghan wedding parties are very big, up afghan wedding parties are very big, up to afghan wedding parties are very big, uptoa afghan wedding parties are very big, up to a thousand people gather, and at this event, 60 killed, more than 180 wounded, most of these people are 180 wounded, most of these people a re close 180 wounded, most of these people are close relatives, immediate family members, and some have lost up family members, and some have lost up to as many as 15 immediate family members, and so we are talking about severalfamilies members, and so we are talking about several families connected to each other having lost so many. And today many parts in the heart of kabul, people are basically with the mass burials and funerals and mourning ceremonies, and it happened at a timejust a day ceremonies, and it happened at a time just a day before the 100th anniversary of the afghan independence, the last two days was so independence, the last two days was so festive, there was a festive mood around, lots of lights and flags around, lots of lights and flags around, and also at the same time people are hearing the news both from the american and the alabama side that they are very close to making a deal in order to enter the 18 year conflict in afghanistan. And midst all this sort of excitement and optimism, this incident shattered hopes for a reduction if not a total ceasefire, reduction of violence in the immediate future of afghanistan. Shoaib sharifi in kabul, many thanks. Lets return to hong kong, where riot police have cleared roads in hong kong after a brief stand off with pro democracy protesters, as the political crisis in the city continues. This is the scene live in hong kong at the moment. Protesters are preparing to march from Victoria Park to chater garden, without official permisson from the authorities. The umbrellas partly have a significant due to the protests a few weeks ago, but also it is a foul day. The legal bit is the gathering in the park. It will become illegal if they decide to carry out their intention of marching from the park. There is also another demonstration taking place simultaneously which has been organised by supporters of the status quo in hong kong. Those who believe that beijing is right to be concerned about what is happening in the city. They are demonstrating as well, and honestly one of the challenges for the police is to keep the two apart, particularly as so much of this is in a relatively small area. If you have ever walked around hong kong, it is a relatively tiny space, the urban part, and therefore you get very quickly from therefore you get very quickly from the park into the shopping malls or else into the streets toward the governing district of the city. So that will be the real concern for riot police. Yesterday they were moving swiftly whenever they saw people trying to break away from the march, from the main demonstration, but they might have a bit more of a challenge to do that given the numbers involved today. Joining us now via webcam is professor rana mitter from Oxford Universitys china centre. Thank you very much for talking to us. Thank you very much for talking to us. It was a relatively calm night last night. Thats right. Everyone was very relieved, and media in hong kong reported relief that there was no tear gas, as they called it. Schoolteachers are an important grouping within hong kong, and so far it does appear that we are talking about non violent protest. We should stress that the majority of the protests have been non violent over the last few weeks, it is just the violent ones that attract the headlines. Difficult for those of the people involved in these demonstrations to kind of take any measures to prevent them turning violent, because in a sense there is one organisation behind this, the civil rights group, but effectively it is leaderless, it doesnt have a kind of structure of which it is able to impose any kind of discipline on the protests. That is exactly white, and i think that is the single factor that has most disconcerted the authorities in hong kong, and also in beijing. In that senseit kong, and also in beijing. In that sense it is difficult for the organisation different from the organisation different from the organisation you mentioned in your report in 2014, the umbrella protest, which had clear leaders, some of whom went to jail or have been released from jail, those like benny tai and joshua wong. This is a howl of outrage by different parts of Hong Kong Civil Society against the feeling that they are slowly having their rights in terms of free media, academic rights, assembly and so forth, not removed in some sudden swoop but just slowly worn away like sandpaper, and that is really i think why it has been such a grassroots movement. And why it is so hard for the authorities to work out what to do next. Given the way it has developed, given that that sense of unease has built up over several years, perhaps they werent expecting it and therefore they dont know how to kind of reverse it or at least what moves on their part might actually be enough to get most people back off the streets. |j might actually be enough to get most people back off the streets. I think some of them do know, and what i would say is the single issue that might makea would say is the single issue that might make a difference, and again local media have said quite a lot about this in hong kong, is a sort of big gesture which is about trying to bring people together. That sounds like a cliche slogan and any politician might use it, but hong kong today really needs that. It needs the chief executive, and carrie lam is the current incumbent, to make a really big charismatic gesture about opening up a new dialogue. That is the kind of thing that might have the capacity to bring all these different groups together, but right now the authorities seem to be almost hiding away inside the headquarters. Analysts have said the demonstrators dont have one single body of people who are there to open the dialogue with, so there is still some way to go before that dialogue can open, but i think most people think that is what has to happen. And prospects in the meantime of keeping this under control . I think actually the signs are that violent protest do seem to be dying down, and it is very good news that we havent seen any of that in the last day or so. The prospects of Hong Kong Civil Society simply going home and not demonstrating any more, i think that is more difficult. The genie is now out of the bottle. I think things like the siege of the airport which we saw a couple of days ago, unlikely to happen again not least because of new security measures, but people gathering and making it a regular weekend appointment at Victoria Park to go into these public spaces and seek permits for that sort of demonstration, that is much harder to stop, and of course under hong kong law it is perfectly legal. Professor rana mitter of the university of oxfords china centre, thank you very much for talking to us thank you very much for talking to us this money. Lets ta ke lets take a look at the headlines now on bbc news. 100,000 people are gathering in hong kong for more pro democracy protests. The Prime Minister will go to germany and france next week to insist the uk will leave the eu at the end of october with or witout a deal. A suicide bomb attack on a wedding in the afghan capital, kabul, kills more than 60 people and injures 200 others. The home secretary, priti patel, says more needs to be done to support the families of Police Officers who are killed or injured at work. Pc Andrew Harper died of multiple injuries as he responded to a suspected burglary in berkshire on thursday night. Charlotte simpson reports. Colleagues, friends and the local Community Pay tribute to Police Constable Andrew Harper where he lost his life. Almost exactly a month ago, the pc was getting married. He should have been heading off on his honeymoon next week. A postmortem showed that the Police Officer died from multiple injuries. Detectives are still trying to establish why a call to investigate a burglary ended in tragedy. His death has highlighted the danger that officers face in their everyday work. The home secretary says the country must do more to recognise the sacrifice made by officers. Writing in the sunday telegraph, priti patel says she has instructed the home office to urgently explore what we can do to better support the families of our brave Police Officers, who are seriously injured or worse by cowardly criminals. She said pc harper was the very best of british policing. The hunt for evidence continues at a council run caravan site in west berkshire. Several road closures in the surrounding area are in place. Detectives now have until midnight tonight to question the ten people currently being held in custody. The Thames Valley force has described this as a complex investigation, both a professional and personal challenge, as they try to solve the murder of a much loved officer who was one of their own. Charlotte simpson, bbc news. The muslim convert known as jihadi jack who travelled to syria to join so called Islamic State has reportedly been stripped of his british citizenship according to the mail on sunday. Jack letts was 18 when he left his oxfordshire home in 2014. A Home Office Spokesperson said they do not comment on individual cases. Our reporter ben ando has more. Captive in a kurdishjail and now reportedly stripped of his british citizenship. Jack letts, who became known asjihadijack, left his family home in oxford in 2014 and travelled to syria to fight with the Islamic State group. He lived in raqqa, and was seized by kurdish troops while attempting to flee. Injune, his parents, sally and john, were found guilty of funding terrorism after they sent him money while he was in syria, that they said hed asked for in order to get away. Now the mail on sunday newspaper is reporting that in the final days of theresa mays government, he was stripped of his british citizenship. He has dual uk nationality with canada through his canadian father. In a statement, the Home Office Said that depriving a dual national of citizenship was a decision taken by the home secretary on the basis of advice from officials, lawyers and the security services. Its intended to counter the threat of what it describes as dangerous individuals. In february, the home secretary revoked the citizenship of shamima begum, one of a trio of east London School girls who travelled to syria in 2015 and became known the is brides. Shes challenging that decision on the basis that she would be left stateless, which is contrary to international law. Due to his dual canadian nationality, there is no such challenge available to jack letts. Ben ando, bbc news. The search for a six year old boy whos thought to have fallen into a river in kent is continuing. The boy is believed to have fallen into the river stour near the town of sandwich. Fire and rescue crews joined police and coastguards after the boy was reported missing on saturday afternoon. A convicted businessman who donated £2. 4 Million Pounds to the liberal democrats has said it was the stupidest thing he has ever done. Michael brown who now goes by the name of Michael Campbell brown made the payment, which was a record sum for the party, in 2005. A year later, he was jailed for perjury and then fled the uk for the caribbean while facing other criminal charges. Mr Campbell Brown told bbc news he now regrets the donation because it led to an onslaught of recognition. Well be taking an in depth look at the papers with our reviewers james millar and josie cox. Thats coming up after the latest headlines and a full sport update. The three remaining didcot power station cooling towers have been demolished in a controlled explosion this morning. Minutes after the demolition, thousands of people in the area said they had suffered a temporary power cut, although sse said the fault was unconnected to the demolition. The coal fired station was turned off in 2013 after more than 40 years in service. The demolition had been delayed after four men died when the sites boiler house collapsed in 2016. Our correspondent Louisa Currie is there with more. Well, the skyline here is very different to what it was just before seven oclock this morning. These cooling towers have dominated the skyline here in didcot for more than half a century, but it tookjust seconds for them to be demolished and come tumbling down. Now, we have been told that there was a power cut shortly after, 7. 04, 49,000 houses in the area affected, but the local supplier does say that the two incidences are not connected. Demolition has been going on here since the site was turned off in 2013. The six cooling towers originally here, three of those were demolished in 2014, and hundreds of people turned out to watch, as they have done today. In 2016, though, tragedy struck, and you might rememberfour men tragedy struck, and you might remember four men were killed. Tragedy struck, and you might rememberfour men were killed. They we re rememberfour men were killed. They were working on preparatory works on another building on site here which collapsed. Three years on, there is a huge investigation into what caused that collapse. Thames Valley Police and the health and safety executive are trying to establish if there are any charges to be answered, potentially manslaughter charges or any breaches of health and safety guidelines. But today the demolition centred around the three remaining cooling towers, and it really is the end of an era for didcot, a complete change to the skyline. It leaves just one large chimney remaining, which is due to be finally demolished in the autumn. One of the men who switched on the power station said the demolition marked the end ofan era. I deliberately came late, i didnt want to see the towers coming down. And they have gone down, and you might be able to see in the background the open space where they were. But gone they have, and the period is finished. The only thing left is the chimney, and that will be demolished in a few weeks time. I was considered the one to put it on for the first time and it stayed on. It was considered to be a good and reliable power station, depending on coal, of course, and when the coal supplies we depended on were closed away from us, we had to build handling plants in bristol to take in foreign coal, and the last coal was coming from russia, siberia. So it wasnt a pretty picture. Some people think they were an eyesore, some people think they were delightful. An architectural design. And of course they were shaped that way to prevent the outflow of air to cool water, and it must be remembered that nothing came out of the towers other than water vapour. David lynn reminiscing about the didcot power station. A ceremony will take place at the top of an extinct volcano in iceland later on sunday to mark the loss of the glacier that once spilled from the crater. Photographs taken from space show just how rapidly the glacier disappeared. As recently as the 1980s it showed up as a mass of solid white. By 2014 it was declared dead. At the ceremony a plaque will be unveiled, telling future generations that only they will know if enough was done to save other glaciers from climate change. Which leads us seamlessly to the weather prospects, and Tomasz Schafernaker is at the map. Good morning to you, tomasz. Nothing is going to be disappearing during the course of your broadcast, i hope . No, nothing is going to be disappearing. I beg your pardon. Lets see what is in store this afternoon, and it is looking pretty showery across scotland and Northern Ireland today, a bit of a mixed bag like yesterday, quite breezy too, but i think across southern parts of the uk, it is more than likely going to bea the uk, it is more than likely going to be a sunny day predominantly, and just a low risk of a couple of showers in the south. Todays top temperatures, 22 in the south, 16 expected in glasgow and edinburgh. So, the low is with us tonight, it keeps bringing the showers, you can see them frequent across the Western Isles into south western scotland too, but i think in the south and east it is going to be a dry night. 12 degrees the overnight low in most major towns and cities, and then tomorrow the same again, showers in the north west, but in the south of the north west, but in the south of the country we have dry weather, predominantly dry, if you can squint you can see a couple of rogue showers carried by the breeze. The indication is that towards the end of the week things hopefully will be warming upa of the week things hopefully will be warming up a little bit. Hello, this is bbc news. The headlines a hundred thousand people are gathering in hong kong for more