Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20240714

Coming up well be taking a look at how techonlogy is transforming farming across the uk. And it looks like the ashes are slipping away from england after they suffer a battling collapse batting collapse. Good evening and welcome to bbc news. The fires which are currently ravaging the amazon rainforest in brazil have prompted the leaders of france and ireland to declare they wont support a major eu trade deal with south america unless brazil does more to bring the situation under control. Campaigners have blamed the Environmental Policies of brazils president , jair bolsonaro, for the spread of the fires, which are threatening a major source of the worlds oxygen. The blazes, which are scattered widely across the amazon, most notably in the north of brazil, are the most intense in the region for almost a decade. The issue is due to be discussed at the g7 summit of World Leaders in france this weekend but the brazilian president has criticised foreign governments for interfering. Heres our Diplomatic Correspondent james robbins. E fires efires in e fires in the amazon forest continued to rage. And as more and more trees are lost, the threat to this great carbon capturing region of the world grows. Report suggest that maybe 2500 separate fires in the brazilian amazon. Amazonian bloggers are blamed for lighting many of them, there has been a sustained pattern of clearing forest for cultivation, part of a drive to expand agriculture encouraged by the country plus my controversial right wing president. Actually it is and who is responsible for what is happening in the amazon, he promotes policies that promote environmental crime. They will travel to france posted by Emmanuel Macron, and applaud his decision to put the amazon fires at the top of the decision. He has tweeted, our house is burning literally, the lungs that produce 20 of the planets oxygen is on fire and it is an international crisis. I passionately share the veal of Emmanuel Macron about what is happening in brazil and one of the things i am going to be raising at the g7 is the horrific loss of habitats and species around the world. With protests in london and other capitals, all of this has gone down very badly with brazils president. He is accusing g7 leaders ofa president. He is accusing g7 leaders of a colonial mindset and climate charities of interference. Translation those countries that send money here are not doing it for charity, i hope everyone can understand that, they are doing it because they have a vested interest. They want to interfere with our sovereignty and are looking for riches under the soil. The amazon rain forest is huge not only an shared geographical size but also and its importance in sustaining life on earth. It covers about 2. 1 million square miles, about half the size of europe. It has billions of trees and is home to 3 million species of plants and animals. The amazon produces 20 of our planets oxygen and absorbs harmful c02 from the atmosphere but the forest is under threat with the average area the size of a football page being cleared every minute. This year the number of fires cleared every minute. This year the number offires in cleared every minute. This year the number of fires in the forest has jumped by 85 . My colleague is in the west of the country. Firefighters in the state most affected by the amazon fires has been working here for the past two weeks using blower is and that water trying to put out the flames but resources a re trying to put out the flames but resources are an issue here as it is a vast area with a few people on the ground and a tight budget. It is the Indigenous People of the amazon who are suffering most, some are being attacked and killed and they see their entire world under threat. That is increasingly the view of the rest of the world to. But is there enough political will to change things . James robbins, bbc news. Lets cross to texas to speak to Niyanta Spelman the ceo of Rainforest Partnership a non profit which works to protect tropical rainforests. Thank you for being here and tell us how the amazon has changed in recent months. So the fires have been going on for several years and years. What we have seen in the last few years is the frequency and the piece of change that has been happening fast and Climate Change has a lot to do with it. And alsojust and Climate Change has a lot to do with it. And also just the and Climate Change has a lot to do with it. And alsojust the rapid changes in terms of the response from people trying to industrialize and dig up forests for agriculture. That has had a huge effect. It is not all of the amazon that this is happening with. There are parts of the amazon where people are awakening and realising that we really do need to protect the forest. And so i think the fact that this is a global issue and that this is having a Global Impact and perhaps the First Time Ever that people are truly understanding the scope of why these forests and the amazon is so important and what it means for us as a planet and humanity that lives on this one planet that we have when so much of our first day forest is burning in the amazon. It is notjust the trees burning or the carbon that is in the air, it is what is it doing to the animals that are there. The sheer amount of biodiversity of wildlife and if you think about the numbers of trees, the diversity of trees, and more diversity in one hectare than all of europe and all the way down to the microbes, your college just talked about the 3 million species and the Indigenous People, the 400 Indigenous People living and that forest and speaking 300 different languages and the Cultural Diversity and when Indigenous People talk about the forest, they say they are the forest and are part of the ecosystem. And so it is the wildlife and plant diversity and it is the human and Cultural Diversity. And it is all under attack and that is what is all under attack and that is what is changing. And on the other side, ha rd is changing. And on the other side, hard as this is, what is also changing is the very fact that finally this week, have realised what is happening and you have World Leaders talking about it. The g7 talking about it. That is a difference and countries around the wealth and we hear about the pain people feel in the anger they feel and this is something they did not know about and how could it be happening . And if you think about it for the Indigenous People who live in the forest and the local people who live in the forest, and people who live in the forest, and people who have been doing this work and have been doing it for many years, this is part of our life and we know about this. Ifi could this is part of our life and we know about this. If i could just come in, to highlight the huge important of amazon to brazil, the president argues that this land needs to be burnt to provide the land for farmers and how do we balance the needs for the people who need those lands to earn a living . So it is. Except to say that most of the amazon when he gets cleared it is not cleared for a very productive use. If you think about it often when the first gets cleared you are clearing one hectare, two and a half acres, for us here in the us, to ta ke acres, for us here in the us, to take out part of the forest that has hundreds of species and trees and Everything Else that supports to perhaps put one count on that hectare. How does that ever make economic sense weather for the farmer or for economic sense weather for the farmer orfor any of economic sense weather for the farmer or for any of us as a Global Community and in terms of the Global Economy. There are ways of doing things differently and the other quick thing by the way is that rain forest la nd quick thing by the way is that rain forest land is not very fertile. Yet just a few inches of topsoil and people think an ecosystem that is not rich and is that. Green would have the ability to grow a lot of agricultural products, that is not true. It gets depleted within a couple of years, two or three years and you have to do all the antidotes whether it is fertiliser his or pesticides. Ceo of Rainforest Partnership thank you for being here on bbc news. Police forces across the country have held a minutes silence in memory of pc Andrew Harper, who was killed while investigating a burglary in berkshire last week. His mother said the familys lives and hearts had been torn apart by his death. Our Home Affairs Correspondent Daniel Sandford reports. Pc Andrew Harpers family are still in the early days of coming to terms with his death. But today, just a week after he was killed, his mother, father and other close relatives came to the poignant ceremony organised by his force. We gather here one week from the tragic death of pc Andrew Harper, our dearly loved and respected colleague, friend and proud Police Officer, son, brother and husband. Were here to offer our respects and to acknowledge his passing. Pc harper, who got married just 28 days before he died, was killed responding to a burglary last thursday night. So in this moment, let us still our busy hearts and minds as we remember our colleague and friend andrew, in silence now. Whistle. Pc harpers mother said the familys lives had been torn apart. We are devastated and bereft, she wrote. But as andrew always lived with dignity, honour and calmness, we intend to grieve in this way. In his hometown of wallingford, shops have put up ribbons to represent the thin blue line role that police play, protecting society from crime. Releasing more photographs, the family said Andrew Harper had been a funny, brave, compassionate brother and a generous, caring, loving son. Daniel sandford, bbc news. The bbc understands the mp for sheffield hallam, jared 0mara has been arrested on suspicion of fraud. Its understood his chief of staff Gareth Arnold was also arrested both men were later released under investigation. Police are believed to have confiscated electronic equipment from mr 0mara, who sits as an independent mp. He ousted the former liberal democrat leader nick clegg from his long held seat, standing as a labour candidate in 2017. British Airways Pilots are to stage a series of strikes next month, in a dispute over pay. The British Airline Pilots Association said its members will walk out on the ninth, tenth and 27th of september. It comes after they rejected a pay increase worth 11. 5 over three years, which the airline said is fair and generous. Joining me now is the chairman and chief executive of British Airways, alex cruz. The union said that they rejected a number of packages that could have resolved this issue and why . number of packages that could have resolved this issue and why . I must apologise to you being here at the end of the day on friday to discuss the rejection of what we believe it indeed is a fair deal, of 11. 5 . It really has been accepted by other unions, which represent over 90 of our employees. We are focused now on our employees. We are focused now on our customers and making sure that we minute dominic minimise disruption to those who may be affected by the consequence of this disappointing news by the pilots union. You believe you are in the right and the union says that there pilots have made many sacrifices including pay cuts and giving away annual leave over recent years and how do you respond to that . The average salary of a British Airways captain is £167,000 and in addition to that they have allowances and other pay related items. When you apply a deal that we have presented to them, they have rejected and the same captains will be making over £200,000 by the year 20 21, just over two and a half years we believe our deal is fair. The fact that the other unions representing 90 really confirms that. They believe that they close the Pension Scheme and they close the Pension Scheme and they have to give up annual leave and be strikes to them are a last resort. They say it is born out of an enormous frustration with the Airlines Management as a chief executive, that is you isnt it . Yes and we have the best pilots in the wealth and let me make that very clear, we have over 2000 applicants every year tojoin ba clear, we have over 2000 applicants every year to join ba and we are a plastic employer for pilots. And we continue to develop his possessions and we look at the overall compensation package and look at the investments we a re compensation package and look at the investments we are making in the company at the moment, we believe this is a fair deal. Why are they so unhappy with management . this is a fair deal. Why are they so unhappy with management . I think the people unhappy is the union and who has been negotiating with them. They are unhappy because they voted in favour of the strike. Last week we actually shook hands with the Union Representatives and they said that we we re representatives and they said that we were going to recommend and ultimately they came back and said that way, if they were not able to do it. The focus at the moment is our passengers and they need to be contacted, if they are going to be affected and the plan is to contact them over the next three hours if they have been affected and make sure we provide them with as many options as possible of course refunds, changing flights and with many of our partners. How much disruption do you think this will cause . We do not know how much it will be but we do know we will cancel flights and i think the emphasis at the moment is making those contacts, those passengers who may be affected and get in as many options as possible so they can plan themselves around three days of strikes. You are clearly very concerned about the passengers and they say it will cost £40 million, three days £120 million and the gap between deposition and yours is only £5 million and isnt it worth paying that to avoid the disruption for your value that valued customer. Those are not the figures we have been working on them when you look at the deal itself being generous, when you look at other angles like the investment of £6. 5 billion on not just new meals the investment of £6. 5 billion on notjust new meals and food and seeds and services for passengers but aeroplanes that will guarantee thejobs of our but aeroplanes that will guarantee the jobs of our pilots for years to come, i think the overall package is afair come, i think the overall package is a fair deal. This is the first strike by pilots and that 100 years history and how damaging is it for your brand . 100 years of history that includes all kinds of things that includes all kinds of things that happened over the 100 years, andi that happened over the 100 years, and i am trade this will be something that we will go over, the British Airways brand is very resilient. Thank you. A young boy has died after becoming unwell at the centre parks resort in wiltshire. The boy was reportedly playing in the sub tropical indoor pool area when he was taken ill. A spokeswoman for centre parcs said it was deeply saddened by the tragic news and that their thoughts were with the childs family. The Care Quality Commission has forced the closure of a Childrens Mental Health unit at west lane hospital in middlesbrough where two 17 year old women died this summer. An inspection report published this week rated the unit as inadequate, with patients at high risk of avoidable harm. The Prime Minister has warned that people shouldnt get their hopes up too soon about the prospects of a brexit deal. Speaking while visiting a hopsital in devon about this weeks meetings in germany and france borisjohnson played down hopes of a breakthrough in the brexit talks. He said that whilst progress was being made, he would caution everyone not to hold their breath that a deal would be done. Meanwhile the eus chief brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier has said he is ready to examine any proposals from the uk that he considers realistic and compatible with eu principles. The headlines on bbc news. European countries threatened to block a huge eu trade deal with south america unless brazil does more to curb forest fires. The family ofa more to curb forest fires. The family of a Police Officer killed in the line of duty pay tribute to him as forces across the country held a minute silence. Berry Football Club could be expelled from the Football League unless hsn has Adequate Funding by midnight tonight. U nless funding by midnight tonight. Unless it shows it has Adequate Funding. Sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. Cement a very good evening to you and supporters who came to headingley with so much optimism this morning and a sunny day, good for a batting and just over an hour ago, any hope of regaining the ashes was fading away. They fizzled out forjust 67 and england now a huge task to save the tests and any hope of mastering the caressing it australia hands. It is a Comfortable Lead for australia and plenty more available on the bbc sport website. The first football of the weekend is at villa park this evening and pointless aston villa against everything and everything can leap frog neighbour is at the top of the table for just 24 hours with frog neighbour is at the top of the table forjust 24 hours with a wind stomach when. A slow burner this one and just stomach when. A slow burner this one andjust in stomach when. A slow burner this one and just in the last 30 seconds or so, aston villa have taken the lead. To games for aston villa so far and no wins and now it looks like they are on course for three points as we speak sell aston villa out one nail up speak sell aston villa out one nail up and you can get the commentary. Limited progress has been made with barry today as the league 1 club faces a midnight deadline to avoid being expelled from the lead. They wa nt being expelled from the lead. They want evidence they can pay off their debts and make it through the season. Earlier mike riley spoke to the owner who said there is an Interested Party and buying the club and that he has done all he can to say that. I am not in control. It is like watching a car crash and holding a steering wheel. We need to try to come up with a plan but what iam try to come up with a plan but what i am getting sick of it is being blamed for someone elses debt. I did not run up the debt with the clu b sto p did not run up the debt with the club stop the club was first beyond belief when i came over and it is not sustainable. The only action stopping bury now are the ones of the efl. No monetary requirements now for that club to trade, none whatsoever. It is dried for the only industry i have ever been involved in where the guy trying to say that was disqualified. The dreadful acts that came through for my family and my home. And if i retaliate in the bag i my home. And if i retaliate in the bagi i my home. And if i retaliate in the bag i i retaliate in the bag i. But i will not let people kryptonite family. In the semifinal they suffered their worst defeat and lost to the champion and will face spain or germany and also Great Britain securing an olympic spot just yet. Meanwhile the legal settled islands regulation play, and their last game is against russia on sunday. Into the second round of the most lucrative tournament and golf, the championship with more than £12 million is available for the winter and rory mcilroy won the fedex payoff three years ago and started a shot off a leader but now he started with those being the opening hole and he has three shots behind the current leader. You can find a full scorecard on the cricket and on the golf as well on bbc sport website and on the app if you are on this evening. More stories at 10 30 p m. , sojoin us and. Thank you. Donald trump has waded deeper into the us china trade war on twitter. This time the us president said he was ordering us companies to look at ways to close their operations in china and make more products in america. Our Great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to china he said including bringing your Companies Home and making your products in the usa. He added i will be responding to chinas tariffs this afternoon. He went on to say we dont need china and, frankly, would be far better off without them. The comments came hours after china announced it will impose additional tariffs on us imports worth about seventy five billion dollars this in retaliation to a us decision to increase tariffs on chinese goods. 0r washington correspondent says that he imagines that he is furious at the way the trade war is turning out. You see both sides with damaging tariffs and potentially could damage both countrys economies and cause issues for the Global Economy and as a result he is now trying to ratcheted up result he is now trying to ratcheted upa result he is now trying to ratcheted up a level, trying to force china i suppose into a deal but certainly if you take a look at it on twitter, it gives you a sense of a president who is serious, the white house is sitting there and saying as far as it is concerned it will continue this battle, certainly to indicate there will be a response of some sort and does that mean retaliation . Difficult to set the white house is sitting there and saying as far as it is concerned it will continue this battle, certainly to indicate there will be a response of some sort and does that mean retaliation . Difficulties at this age but donald trump had announced tariffs of 10 to go on another 300 billion of chinese goods by the 15th of december. There are some questioning whether he might bring that forward again because they initially had planned to go on from the 1st of september and it does give you a sense that the trade war is only going to go further. Tokyo is preparing to hold the olympic and Paralympic Games next year, and much of what will be the olympic park is still under construction. But the British Paralympic Association says it has serious concerns about the number of Accessible Hotel Rooms available for athletes, spectators and media. The citys governor says tokyo is short of 300 suitable rooms, but has pledged to adapt accommodation for those with disabilities. 0ur disability Affairs Correspondent nikki fox is in tokyo. Tokyos famous shibuya crossing. Its as crowded as the city itself, which will, next year, see thousands of athletes plus disabled spectators and media all arrive for the 2020 Paralympic Games. In the build up, many of the 4,500 paralympians will come here to train and to acclimatise. But during that time theres no fully accessible athletes village. They will have to stay in the city. You want to Stay Together asa team. Canadian born and now japanese citizen josh grisdale, who runs the website accessible japan, says thats a problem. There are really not enough rooms for people with disabilities. Right now there are only about 0. 4 of hotel rooms in japan are accessible. This is one of the busiest hotels in tokyo. It has more than 1,400 rooms butjust 13 are accessible. As it stands legally, a hotel this size is only required to have one accessible room. I will show you the bathroom the law is changing to 1 for all new hotels, but the rooms themselves might not suit everyone. Only this space. Why is there a bath and not a shower . Its the japanese bathroom style. Yes, absolutely. That room was beautiful and beauty and accessibility dont always go hand in hand. Ive also never stayed in hotel with a height adjustable bed, so that was fancy. But that bathroom would be out of bounds for many wheelchair users. Theyll try but it would be difficult. This week, olympic and paralympic judo hopefuls have been getting used to their Training Facilities in tokyo. These are just a few of the more than 300 british athletes as well as support staff coming to japan ahead of the games. The Paralympic Association says they underestimated just how challenging it would be to find accessible accommodation. 0ur athletes are used to living independently and the last thing they want is to revert back to having to be helped in and out of a bath. Whats the situation like now with regards to Accessible Hotel Rooms . The tokyo government is giving subsidies to the Hotel Industry right now to arrange the rooms very free. So i hope people from all over the world can stay without problem. With a year to go, tokyo 2020 is on track. The organisers are hoping the problem with rooms will be sorted soon so that the focus can return to sporting achievement and changing attitudes. Nikki fox, bbc news, tokyo. The weather picture is looking good for the bank holiday weekend. We had some fine styles of sunshine around today and more of the same over the weekend but it is getting a bit hotter. Now overnight tonight it is not dry for all of us and we have a weather front across northWestern Areas bringing a bit of rain and not far away from western towns of Northern Ireland and other than that it is dry with a few nest patches. The weekend is high pressure, steering the winds from the near continent across the uk and boosting the temperature is, the weather front across Western Areas will bring the focus of cloudy skies and a few showers worked into the Western Areas particularly the highlands and islands. With some cloud coming through and it is going to bea cloud coming through and it is going to be a one on one the heights reached 30 degrees towards london and south east england, more of the same on sunday dry, sunny and very hot for most of us and perhaps easing at that and a few showers. Hello this is bbc news with me samantha said and ends, the headlines, france and ireland threatened to block a new south american trade deal with the eu u nless american trade deal with the eu unless the brazilian president take urgent action. Firefighters are struggling to bring the fire under control. 0ne struggling to bring the fire under control. One of the most affected by the amazon fires have been working here for the past two weeks and using blowers and that water, trying to put out the flames. Tributes in a minutes silence for pc Andrew Harper who died in the line of duty. Berry Football Club could be expelled from the english Football League from lack of funding, the club has until midnight has the funds to survive. Glasgow university is to make £20 million of reparations after finance it benefited by tens of millions of pounds from the slave trade. The fires which are currently ravaging the amazon rainforest portions is that he deeply concerned about the Record Number of fires and he will use the g7 summit to call for any renewed focus on protecting the environment. Our bbc brazil reporter has been following the effort to contain the fires. She is in the district of the amazon rain forest where low humidity and strong winds are making conditions for firefighters tackling the fires extremely difficult. We spotted this area from the highway and kept take a closer look, they said this fire has a going on for days and destroyed part of this property. There is a conservancy area to columbus from here and the direction where the fire was heading, the state is one of the most affected by the fires, fire brigades have been working here for the past two weeks to try to put down the flames, to put out the fla mes down the flames, to put out the flames that has been caused by human activity, but low humidity and strong winds make theirjob way tougher. Results of our mental policy has been heavily criticised inside and outside the country for discrediting Scientific Data and blaming ngos for the current situation. 0ur blaming ngos for the current situation. Our local agency or have been under a gag order and cannot speak to the press amid growing pressure, the president here has said that brazil lacks the amount of resources to properly address the situation but its important to remember that he said resulted need International Money to protect the own territory. The main supporters of the amazon fund which helped apply the aeroplane has been used in oversight operations. Artificial intelligences transform many sectors of the economy and farming is one of them. Lets hope the position farming can reduce waste and welfare. It also helping to decide which crops are ready to harvest. 0n the concluding day of our focus on farming week, our environment correspondent Claire Marshall takes a closer look at farmings future. What are these pigs thinking . How do they feel . This scanner acts as an eye for a machine that is analysing their expressions. Soon, it should allow us to understand the pigs emotions. This technology, in its research phase, was conceived in the west country. The vision of the future of farming is one where the well being of the animals and their comfort is the priority. Just look at the facilities here. The cows movement is monitored to check its health. This tech is already on the market. The facial recognition is coming next. We will be able to see whether or not an animal that is lame, you can infer that its going to be an unhappy animal, and whether that animal has a different face to an animal that isnt in pain. So we are looking to try to tease out those differences between the faces. Heres another glimpse into the future. Watch this disease spore. It enters a sensor biologically engineered to mimic the crop. Like a kind of fire alarm, the sensor sets off an early alert. They can all be linked up, warning otherfarmers weeks before any damage is visible. And they can be 3d printed. Weve got some very clever, cutting edge engineering. But at the same time, theres cutting edge biology as well. And only by bringing those two together can we actually start addressing what will need to be done in the future. 1. 3 million broccoli plants are growing on this land near doncaster. We were given exclusive access to field trials of a scouting device that gathers data about each specific plant. Its the latest in precision farming. Most of us as consumers, we dont buy wonky veg. If its too big or too small or misshapen, the supermarkets wont accept it. We can know which plants are of saleable quality directly, and then if its too small we can leave it behind and if its just right we can harvest it. This could save millions of tonnes of food from being wasted and cut pesticide use. As the climate grows more unstable, scientists warn humans do need to take more care of the land. Claire marshall, bbc news. Earlier this week the three to ask them how theyre using new technology in their day to day work. Weve got about 400 breeding years in the farm and as well as the contract, and looking at different technologies that we can use to improve breeding, and improving all the time better, Getting Better lambs for the markets. Can you give us an example or two . The id for example is compulsory across europe. We have just invested heavily with that, we have an automatic weighing machine, we will be weighing our lamps straight from when they born to when they are ready for the market, so that we make sure that we are producing the right animal with the right way to gaines, rep for the marketplace. What work are you doing to look into sustainability of current farming methods to make sure you have a viable business for the future . Is the one thing we have embraced. Its strict tillage. We have averted the soil and by piling the soil and a lovely seedbed and uses all of these things to create the seedbed. By doing this it saves a lot of fuel and its also better for the structure of the soil as well and by leaving the trash on the surface it stops soil erosion also. The second thing we are doing on this farm is using as many manures as possible to grow the crops are rather than growing the fertiliser being produced in a factory and then burning fossil fuels to create that we use as much manure as possible like five lobby loads of inorganic fertiliser, now will use others and the rest is replaced with manure. How does technology play a part in the work that you do chris green in massive part in what we do. We are trying to encourage students to use new and upcoming technologies that when they go into the Agriculture Sector and going to dojobs when they go into the Agriculture Sector and going to do jobs that they are up to date and secure in they are up to date and secure in the knowledge that they have a. The main thing we use again is the eid scanning and we use that for pregnancy scanning, weight scanning and it gives us better Profit Margins and gives us a better idea of how heavy they are and the life stages and what kind of profit we will make from the future. Borisjohnson has issued a stark warning telling migrants not to cross the English Channel to get to the uk saying we will send you back. The Prime Ministers comments came after dozens of people took to small boats to try to make the crossing from france to the south east coast in one day. South east todays jon hunt has this report. More people landing in dover today after being intercepted by the borderforce after being intercepted by the border force two after being intercepted by the borderforce two miles after being intercepted by the border force two miles east of kings down. Prompting this message from the Prime Minister to those thinking of joining the Prime Minister to those thinking ofjoining them. We will send you back. And in the uk should not be regarded as a place where you can automatically come and break the law by seeking to arrive illegally. But few migrants have been sent back so far, 65 since january and the numbers attempted to cross is growing by the day come on wednesday 21 people were intercepted in the English Channel having set off from france, yesterday a total of 64 people mostly claiming to be irani and six separate vessels. The 11 arriving today brings the total number of migrants arriving by small boat this week to 96, the busiest week since the bbc began tracking the crossings in november. We need to see 24 7 surveillance of the french coast, greater action by the french coast, greater action by the french authorities to stop any boats leaving the french coast and if they do leave they must be apprehended. They are stopping some boats and operations on 24 migrants rescued near dunkirk this morning. Heres the markets are taking to greater risk though, a woman who fell from a dinghy in the channel earlier this month still has not been found. Its a matter of time before he starts the bodies watching off on the coast. None of the viewers watching this want to see that im sure. The government has to find a way to enable these people to make that journey safely. European nations as a whole must also share the issues of providing a safe haven for those refugees looking for a place of safety, human beings just like refugees looking for a place of safety, human beingsjust like us trying to survive in a difficult world. They said they have three cutters showing the channel and operates a general action plan with the french authorities and monitoring the situation. Glasgow university is to make £20m of reparations after finding out it benefited by tens of millions of pounds from the slave trade. Earlier today, a memorandum of understanding was signed in partnership with the university of the west indies. The money, to be raised over the next 20 years, will be spent on setting up and running the glasgow Caribbean Centre for development research. Earlier, i spoke to sir geoff palmer, the Professor Emeritus at Heriot Watt University in edinburgh who attended the ceremony marking glasgow universitys reparations announcement earlier this afternoon i was there today, and the faces of those who attended reassured me that this was absolutely the right thing to do. That the university has done. How did you help make this happen . What needed to be recognised and who needed to be aware, and a shift in attitudes . Welcome with the university, a lot of people doing research in this topic for years, and we know that in glasgow and we look at certain buildings and street names for example a Central Building the centre of glasgow, now, that enormous building was a slave masters house. And therefore with the university did was to check back in their own history and found they received about 200 million in legacies, you know, we had a situation where a notorious slave master was a director of the university. To the university then did the research, came up with the results, found that they had been involved and decided to set up a Reparations Programme which of the university of the west indies and in fa Ct University of the west indies and in fact themselves, and also to form relationships with organisations in britain. How did they come up with this £20 million . Well, im not party to that, but i think it is probably a figure that they know they can afford. And this reparation is not just about they can afford. And this reparation is notjust about money, its about a frame of mind, its about admission. In the admission in the greater impact that the money that has been announced. There are those that argue that true restitution really co m es that argue that true restitution really comes only in the form of paying some financial compensation to the relatives of those who have been born since slavery, those directly impacted, the direct descendents, do you think theres an argument for that. People can have different views about this, my view is that education and reparation go together. I think its completely unrealistic that money is going to be doled out to individuals, i think if money were going to be doled out it should be to the governments of the colonial countries. But glasgow has taken this responsibility, and i think its a wonderful decision and i think if people want to question it they should just sit and see what glasgow will achieve it. And i can ensure that achievement will be significant. Glasgow was the First University to do this, do you think the others will follow . Yes, i think other universities are concerned about Public Perception about you know, well, if we are associated with slavery then it might affect ourfunding. Individuals with slavery then it might affect our funding. Individuals may with slavery then it might affect ourfunding. Individuals may not wa nt to ourfunding. Individuals may not want to fund us and i think that if thats the case glasgow should be applauded that they held their hand up applauded that they held their hand up and said we were involved, and have really done something about it and put up a plaque which other institutions do not want to put up a placket, but glasgow is pointing out exactly what it was so that