Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC 20240703

Primary school in brixton. And Katherines Primary Academy in essex. Just three of the more than 150 schools that wont be fully reopening as planned this week thanks to the presence of this, raac. A lightweight concrete used in the 50s, 60s and 70s but now often in a state of serious disrepair. Its a problem thats been known about for years. Five years ago, a Primary School building in kent collapsed, leading to wider concerns. Good morning, sir. So the questions of many parents are now asking of government why act only now, just days before the start of The New School year in england . We went through this exhaustive survey of 22,000 schools after the initial incident in 2018. Then, in the summer months, new information came to light that suggested that some of the buildings that had previously been classified as safe might not be. And so the Education Secretary acted immediately on that. The chancellor said the government would spend whatever it takes to keep children safe at school, although its not clear what that means in the long term. Labour is piling on the pressure, demanding action. First, im calling on the government to publish the full list of all of the schools affected and publish the papers that are driving all of that. We dont fully know exactly what is going on, and if the government arent prepared to do it then we will force the vote in parliament next week. We need to understand the scale of whats going on. The chickens are coming home to roost after 13 years. And i can think a no more defining image of the last 13 years of conservative government than children being sat in classrooms under metal props to prevent the ceilings literally falling in on their heads. Educational leaders are concerned too about the impact on pupils. They think this could have been avoided. I am extremely disappointed i and frustrated that there wasnt a plan in place for this happening. The government might not have known that it would happen this week but we knew the stock was in this situation. I ministers will face tough questions when mps return To Westminster this week, particularly as the true scale of this crisis remains unknown. Staying with politics, and the chancellor has also hinted inflation could rise again when the next set of figures are released later this month. Jeremy hunt said there may be a blip in inflation, but he insisted the governments plan to slow price rises is working. The Prime Minister has promised to halve inflation by the end of the year from the 10. 7 level it hit last autumn. Last month, the Consumer Prices index figure stood at 6. 8 . This is what the chancellor had to say to the bbc this morning. What people want from a chancellor, what people want from their Prime Minister, is not people who are going to take the easy decisions, but people who are going to take the right decisions for the long term of the british economy. Thats what were doing, and we can see the plan is working. Inflation is coming down. Well, it may go up. The Bank Of England thinks it has gone up in august. Do you accept that . Do think that is whats going to happen . I do think we may see a blip in inflation in september but, after that, the Bank Of England is saying it will fall down to around 5 . If were going to put money in peoples pockets quickly, the fastest thing i can do is to deliver the Prime Ministers pledge to halve inflation. Ukraines military says its managed to break through key Russian Defences near the south eastern city of zaporizhzhia. General 0leksandr Tarnavskyi told the Observer Newspaper that extensive minefields had blocked troops for several weeks, leaving them vulnerable to russian shellfire and drone attacks, but the general claimed that painstaking Mine Clearance work has now allowed his forces to advance and they expect to face far weaker Russian Defences ahead. Ukraine says its forces are making gains in the south of the country and has in recent weeks expanded its units towards the strategic town of tokmak, which is a Logistical Centre for russian forces. Last week, ukraines military said it had captured the village of robotyne in the zaporizhzhia region amid a counteroffensive that is yielding incremental gains. Sources in the Ukrainian Army have confirmed the breakthrough to the bbc. An adviser to president zelensky, aleksander rodnyansky, explained the significance for kyiv� s forces. Weve been waiting for this moment, for quite some weve been hoping that we would pierce through the Russian Defence line, the first defence line, which was the hardest to pierce through, if you believe Military Experts when they talk about it. So hopefully now when we reach the second and the third lines of defence that the russians have established, those will be easier to to essentially overcome. And perhaps hopefully this is the spot, this is the place where we can actually put all the modern needed technology, the tanks that weve been getting and the training that weve been receiving, put all of that to use, to our advantage. Hopefully, its the key moment. Again, well see what happens. Its hard to predict any at any point, including at this point. But you know what the objectives are . We have a Common Objective of liberating ukraine, notjust for ukraine, but for the whole western developed democratic world, because this is a standoff between democracies and authoritarian systems and its really key for everybody to chip in. So hopefully this is a key moment. Hopefully well be able to build on that and make sure that we liberate all of ukraine in its 1991 internationally recognised borders. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, hasjust sent us his assessment from kyiv. So, for several days now, weve been Hearing Reports that the ukrainians might have got through the first line of Russian Defences. In fact, its been a week since the commander of one unit said he had done precisely that. But in the last couple of days, were hearing senior officials, both here in kyiv and generals involved in the fighting down in the south, all making the same claim. Where is this happening . Well, its an area around a tiny village called robotyne that is some distance south east of the city of zaporizhzhia. And its an area the ukrainians have been concentrating on for some time. It seems as though to some degree the ukrainians have pushed through the first line. Now, that is minefields, tank traps and trenches. Ukrainian forces are now through those obstacles, possibly in those russian trenches or even perhaps slightly beyond them, trying to push this gap in the russian line wider and wider so that ultimately ukraine can pour through that gap, the armoured infantry that it has been preparing and equipping for precisely this moment. Now, that opportunity to push through may still be some way off. The ukrainians have got to widen that gap first before theyre confident enough that the armoured forces can move through without being attacked by the russian artillery. But we are in the beginnings of what could turn out to be a new phase. If they are successful in widening that breach and pushing forward, we could see the pace of the ukrainian counteroffensive getting slightly quicker because its thought that the defences that lie behind the front line of defences may not be quite as strong as that first line. All of that will remain to be seen. It is probably some way ahead of us. But clearly officials here in kyiv and down in the south believe that this could be a bit of a turning point. Live now to dr patrick bury, a defence and Security Expert at the University Of Bath and a former nato analyst. I wonder if you could just clarify where this momentum and advance is taking place, is that in the south . That is 600 miles of russian front line, how significant is it . What line, how significant is it . What has been happening line, how significant is it . What has been happening is line, how significant is it . What has been happening is it line, how significant is it . misgt has been happening is it has line, how significant is it . iiiisgt has been happening is it has been a bit like bankruptcy, it is happening gradually, the ukrainian offensive, and the chances, if they penetrate that line, we are talking about the south, Southern Ukraine near zaporizhzhia, one of the axes they are attacking on, there is another one that does not have so much Media Coverage which they are also starting to make progress on, some reports say they have reached the line, so it is in these two locations and, as paul said, outside robotyne, they have managed to it looks like get through the first round, and the reason is, the reason it is important is because the Russian Defences have set up their first line of defence into killing, so thats why you have the minefields which are covered by artillery and machine guns and trenches and Attack Helicopters in some places, so that is the hardest bit, the killing zone is where they want to eliminate the enemy, so once you get out of that it is less prepared, there is still some way to go because the way the russians use their main line of defence is usually the second one, where they keep their fighters in, usually the second one, where they keep theirfighters in, then usually the second one, where they keep their fighters in, then they use them to counter attack into the first line, so i would expect some heavy fighting on the second line. The third line is usually moved forgetting reserves up and moving, so once you get through the second line actually then obviously you have the chance of getting your armoured infantry and tanks through there. The big risk is how wide that breaches because if you start pouring tanks through, the breach is not that big, they can be flanked and attacked from the side and what looks like an opportunity suddenly turns into a bit of a disaster so you have to be cautious but once you get the momentum and get that breakthrough, and you are confident, then you can start driving hell for leather because you are trying to get behind the russians, you are dictating the tempo of operations on them, they are having to react and by the time they react they will have to react again. By the time they react they will have to react again. Picking up on that oint have to react again. Picking up on that point of have to react again. Picking up on that point of the have to react again. Picking up on that point of the reserves have to react again. Picking up on that point of the reserves that have to react again. Picking up on| that point of the reserves that you brought up, following this incursion by ukraine, there had been reports that russia as a result had to deploy its 76th brigade which many analysts are saying is their last major operational reserve, what can you tell us about that and how significant is that when it comes to reserves, who has the momentum there . ,. ,. , , there . Once the ukrainians docked up in the first phase there . Once the ukrainians docked up in the first phase they there . Once the ukrainians docked up in the first phase they tried there . Once the ukrainians docked up in the first phase they tried to in the first phase they tried to attack injune and it got repelled, they switched to basically trick the russians gradually. This was a battle of the reserves. Both sides are having to commit more troops which they did not want to and you are starting to see really good units which have made this breakthrough being committed, and analysts are saying, this is reaching a Decisive Point because at the same time russians are having to laterally move troops across the line from areas that were not so heavily attacked to areas where they were facing a lot of pressure, and then they have committed the 76th guard is a resort division, and that is pretty much the scene as their last very reliable force, so it does indicate that we are moving into a Decisive Point and things are hanging very closely in the balance, it can go either way, but we will see. Certainly its it can go either way, but we will see. Certainly its interesting to see. Certainly its interesting to see both units committing more than they thought they would have to. You have had experience as a nato analyst, so a two pronged question, romania are not happy about something that has been discussed, i think it was a strike by the russians around the danube region, is that significant because romania is that significant because romania is a nato partner . And what can you also tell us about the nasa fire detecting satellites used to monitor where fighting and taking place . fin where fighting and taking place . ©i the stroke on the danube, there where fighting and taking place . ©i the stroke on the danube, there was one today but there was 16 weeks ago if i remember correctly and it came to 200 metres of romanian territory. For the russians to do that they have to be confident about the precision of their artillery or drones, it seems like today was a drones, it seems like today was a drone attack, i cannot remember if the last one was a missile or drone, they are confident in their targeting because if it goes wrong then something could really escalate quickly. 0bviously things go wrong in war, we have already seen the polish incident last year, and that did not escalate too much when the missile landed in poland, so leaders are also aware that things go wrong in war but its cutting the line fairly close. Satellites have been used. And there are open source satellites that do that for analysts so that has been happening since day one of the war, they are able to indicate hotspots and stuff like that. Some of the more interesting stuff is after the death of prigozhin, the way the us was able to come out and say they did not think it was a failure of an aircraft, quite quickly it indicated they had some pretty serious in my view anyway techniques and assets where they were able to detect stuff so of course they are the global superpower and lead in that field. Thank you, its been fascinating. Israels hard line government is considering tough measures, including the immediate deportation of eritrean Asylum Seekers who were involved in violent protests on saturday. Around 160 people were injured in clashes with the police and in fighting between rival groups for and against the eritrean government. They broke through Police Barriers and vandalised cars and businesses nearby. Israeli police used live gunfire, tear gas and Stun Grenades to try to push them back and stop street battles. 0ur middle east correspondent, yolande knell, has more from jerusalem. One day on from those Rioutous Scenes in tel aviv, were really seeing the political fallout. Weve had the israeli Prime Minister, benjamin netanyahu, coming out at a special ministerial meeting, calling for the immediate deportation of those who were involved in this violence, the people he is calling illegal infiltrators. And he says that he wants ministers to present their plans for the removal of all of those so called illegal infiltrators. A red line has been crossed, he said. Already, the far right National Security minister, itamar ben gvir, has said that he has legislation to change basic law in israel that he is planning, so that would allow mass deportations to take place. And just to be clear, there are about 20,000 people who are classed as eritrean Asylum Seekers in israel. They say that they fled from danger, from persecution, in their country, seen as one of the worlds most repressive countries. Now theyre facing this high degree of uncertainty. Migration has always been a very hot political issue in israel, something that is very divisive politically. And now what weve seen has gone right back there firmly on the political agenda. Taiwan is being battered by its biggest storm in four years. Typhoon haikui has brought winds of up to 190 kilometres an hour. 0ur reporter, nicky schiller, is in the newsroom with more. The storm gathered pace as it approached taiwan, and what you can see behind me is one of the government webcams where you can see the Torrential Rain Pounding the lens. Its predicted in some areas there could be at least half a metre of rain by monday. With those winds of 190 kilometres an hour, its no surprise that trees and power lines have been brought down in several coastal towns, causing, as you can see, damage to vehicles. The state run Taiwan Power Company says it is working hard to restore electricity to Tens Of Thousands of homes and businesses. All domestic flights were cancelled on sunday. Roads have also been damaged, with the authorities warning that there is a risk of landslides in some mountainous districts. Thousands of people have been moved to evacuation centres, whilst others are staying sheltering in their homes, although they have been told to stay away from windows in case they get broken by flying debris in those strong winds. The military have mobilised soldiers and equipment to help with those Evacuation Efforts and the flood relief. Taiwan has escaped any direct hits by major storms since 2019. Although the typhoon is expected to cause extensive damage, it is passing over a relatively sparsely populated area of the island. It will then move, forecasters say, across the Taiwan Strait and into china. Thousands of protestors have taken to the streets of niger capital, niamey. They demand that the former colonial ruler, france, withdraw its 1,500 troops from the country. It is in line with demands of nigers Military Regime which seized power injuly. We do know there were a chance tos yesterday of, french army, leave our country france was a former colonial ruler. And a number of west african countries which have gone through similar coups. The regime has also announced the scrapping of Military Agreements with france and last friday announced the immediate expulsion of the french ambassador. The french government has stood by the ousted president , mohammed bazoum. The family of a boy thrown from a tenth floor balcony at the tate modern gallery in london say he now uses his wheelchair only for longer outings. The boy, who was six at the time, suffered serious injuries in the attack in 2019. The teenager who attacked him was jailed for 15 years. The boss of one of the Worlds Largest supermarket chains, tesco, has called for the laws to be toughened to protect shop workers from increasing attacks. Ceo ken murphy told a Sunday Newspaper newspaper that physical assaults against his staff were up a third on the same time last year. Mark ashdown reports. Why are you touching me . Why are you touching me for . Get out now. Why are you touching me for . Get out. A Body Worn Camera captures a suspected shoplifter unleashing a torrent of abuse. The British Retail Consortium found there are now 850 attacks on retail staff every single day, almost double the number before the covid pandemic. Staff report being sworn at, spat at, racially and sexually insulted, and verbally and physically abused. The boss of britains biggest retailer, tesco, says enough is enough. Writing in the mail on sunday, ken murphy said, millions of people stock the shelves, walk the floor and serve the tills. These Unsung Heroes are being made to feel unsafe by customers who will be verbally or physically abusive or who will threaten or attack them when challenged. These attacks are unacceptable, he said. For these colleagues and their families, its heartbreaking. After the co op and waitrose started using Body Worn Cameras, tesco will now offer them to any staff working face to face with customers. But does it work . Clearly, there are some people who just dont care. But what it does do is make some people think twice. It makes them realise that theyre on camera, that their conflict is actually being recorded. And obviously its also a huge cost to the retailers, and its a cost which ultimately gets borne by the customer in terms of the prices we see in stores. There is growing evidence that organised criminal gangs are targeting shops more frequently, but one former Security Manager at asda told us the squeeze on Household Budgets is also having an impact. I think people are more accepting of violence in society today. I think, with the economic situation, more people are desperate, so they are willing to use violence to get the items that they need. In scotland, abusing staff is a specific criminal offence, which Industry Leaders want to see extended across the uk. Body worn cameras are just one tactic in the ongoing fight against retail crime, which cost the industry £1. 8 billion every year. Mark ashdown, bbc news. Torrential rains have swept across spain, with residents in the capital, madrid, being advised to stay at home. Large areas of the countryside in the castellon area have been left flooded. Emergency services sent Text Messages to People Living in madrid advising them not to use vehicles. The la liga has suspended the Football Match Due to take place between Atletico Madrid and sevilla in madrid due to the alert. In the us, one person has died during torrential rain at the Burning Man Festival in nevada. Thousands of people remain stranded due to rare rainstorms that turned the event into a mudbath. Roads in and out of the event are closed as vehicles can barely move. Burning man is held in the black rock desert, which is usually dry and dusty. Max verstappen has won his tenth formula one race in a row, setting a new grand prix record. The red bull driver, a two time world champion, sped to victory in italy. Verstappen beat the record set a decade ago by sebastian vettel. His team mate sergio perez finished second to make it a red bull one two and give the team their fifteenth straight win. Now for some pictures from the largest hot air Balloon Festival in colorado in the us. Around 70 balloons take part in the event flying over the Colorado Springs landscape. As you can see, the balloons come in all shapes and sizes. The mass liftoff takes place each morning and evening over the Labor Day Holiday weekend in the us. The organisers say its one of only two Balloon Events in the world that are free. And before we go, lets take you to argentina for a little bit of tango. Buenos aires has hosted the world cup of tango and argentina managed to keep the crown of the competition as the country took home the top prize in both the salon and stage categories. These are pictures of the couple that won the salon competition. More than 650 couples from All Over The World took part in the event. Stay with us here on bbc news. Hello. Weve got a september Heat Wave Building over the next few days. Lots of dry, sunny, very warm, if not hot weather with temperatures probably peaking wednesday, thursday into the low 30s in the very hottest parts of the country. Now, looking at the weather picture today, we did start off with a bit of morning mist and fog that all cleared out of the way to reveal these blue and sunny skies. And its been like that pretty much for the whole of the day. The exception has been the far north of scotland, where we have had some thicker cloud, and thats been bringing a few patches of rain to the hebrides, parts of highland, 0rkney and shetland as well. Temperatures with that cloud and rain been a little bit suppressed across the far north of scotland. But otherwise its been warm for the rest of scotland and northern ireland. England and wales, Mid To High 20s for some. Now, overnight tonight, well keep the clear skies going. Again, there could be a few mist and fog patches developing later in the night with temperatures slowly drifting down to between 12 and 16 degrees for most of us. And the weather over the next few days is dominated by this area of High Pressure thats overalljust to the east of the uk. And its this thats going to be bringing us our long spell of dry, sunny, very warm, if not hot weather. Now, for the details on monday. Mist and fog patches clearing, plenty of sunshine for the vast majority. A brighter day for the hebrides and the highlands. 0rkney too. But shetland could continue to see some thicker cloud and occasional spots of rain. Temperatures rising, probably mid 20s in the very warmest parts of scotland and northern ireland. But highs are set to hit about 27 into parts of england and wales. Weve got more of that very warm, sunny weather to come on tuesday as well. Probably some thicker cloud just for a time working across the northern isles. So probably bright if not sunny here. But for most of us, the sunshine back out in full force. And again, another very warm day. Those temperatures are set to rise a bit further as we head towards the middle part of the week. But again, could see a bit of mist and fog first thing in the morning. The hottest weather towards Eastern England where we could see temperatures on wednesday afternoon hitting 30 degrees celsius, which isnt too far away from the highest temperature of the year, which currently stands at 32. 2. And the dry, sunny, very warm weather lasts for most of us into the first part of next weekend. Probably a change on sunday with rain returning. This is bbc news, the headlines ukraines military says it has managed to break through key Russian Defences near the southeastern city of zaporizhzhia. A high ranking ukrainian general has told a british newspaper that extensive minefields had blocked advancing troops for several weeks. Headteachers in england are in a race this weekend to find ways to reopen their schools after being told to shut buildings made with unsafe concrete. Many from the 104 affected schools are busy rejigging timetables, seeking alternative classrooms and trying to rent temporary toilets. A powerful typhoon is battering southern taiwan. Its biggest storm to strike the island for four years, bringing Heavy Rain And Winds of up to190 kilometres an hour. Soldiers have been mobilized to help deal with flooding and schools and businesses have been ordered to close on monday