Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC 20240704

Good evening. Russians have begun voting in a president ial election which Vladimir Putin is certain to win when the polls close on sunday. There have very unusually been some protests such as this woman pouring dye into a ballot box but President Putin faces no serious opposition, with his rivals dead, in prison or in exile. This report from our russia editor, steve rosenberg. Russias democracy is the best in the world, the kremlin says. And at Polling Station 38 in moscow, we found a choice of candidates and plenty of voters. Democracy in action, right . Not quite. Realistically, only one man can win this. Vladimir putin the man whos been on russias political stage for the last quarter of a century. Vladimir putin faces no serious challenger. His fiercest rivals are in exile or in prison. Not that this woman, whose son is fighting in ukraine, wants any change at the top. Of course i voted for putin, she says. I trust him. But not everyone who came out today was actually voting. This, one of a string of attacks on Polling Stations across russia. They are unprecedented. After chaotic scenes here. An arsonist is detained. And green ink poured into a ballot box. The authorities called the attackers scum. Some voters were greeted with a show. Well, its one way to bang the drum for russian elections. There is voting, too, in parts of ukraine, which are under Russian Occupation what russia calls its new territories. The Ukrainian Government called the election here illegal. Polls close on sunday night. Expect a putin landslide. Unpredictability is very much a feature of life now in russia, but that does not apply to elections. The political system here is built around one man Vladimir Putin and the kremlin tightly controls that system, including elections. So mr putins re election is not in doubt. And neither is the message the kremlin will be sending after this. That Vladimir Putin has the full support of his people. Steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. Well, in ukraine, these were the scenes today in the city of odesa on the black sea the result of the latest Russian Missile strikes. The authorities said at least 20 people were killed and more than 70 injured in this residential neighbourhood. Meanwhile in russia, theres been shelling by ukraine of border towns this is belgorod. Ukraine has carried out a series of such attacks in recent days. The kremlin has accused kyiv of attempting to disrupt the russian president ial election. Sarah rainsford is in ukraines capital, kyiv. A significant attack on odesa tonight . It is, this is the deadliest attack in sometime on odesa and the details are particularly grim because ukrainian Officials Say two missiles were fired by russia from crimea in the first landed on the city and it was when emergency teams rushed to the spot the second was fired from crimea and hit the same place. We know that a medic was killed, a young firefighter almost also amongst those killed and injured and many dozens are in hospital and we are being told that this missiles fired from crimea and we do not know exactly what russia was targeting but we know there was some interior Ministry Personnel amongst the casualties. President zelensky has called this a vile attack and says the Ukrainian Military will respond but this is a stark reminder of what that vote in russia means for ukraine because more Vladimir Putin in the kremlin means more war in ukraine and were Missile Attacks and more days like today in odesa with dozens of dead and injured. Thank dozens of dead and inured. Thank ou, dozens of dead and inured. Thank you. Sarah dozens of dead and injured. Thank you, sarah rainsford. Here, police say they have now identified the 35 bodies found at a Funeral Directors in hull which is at the centre of a major police investigation. The National Crime agency has been called in to assist. Detectives have received more than 1,500 calls in the past week from people who have used Legacy Independent Funeral Directors. Danny savage has heard from some of them. This is rita shaw. She died last october after a short illness. Her husband has her ashes at home. But like so many people in the hull area who used legacy Funeral Directors, hes now wondering if they really are her ashes. You get over the initial part of rita passing away. Its hard, but its this on top of it if they arent ritas ashes, its like torture for the rest of your life, i would have thought. Police have taken 35 bodies from this funeral home in hull. They now say they have contacted the families of those people. But richard is one of 1,500 who have contacted Police Concerned about the investigation. And then they says, is there any distinguishing marks on your wife . And i said, yes, my wife had a butterfly on her shoulder. And they asked if ive got any photographs, as well, of my wife. This is what were hearing from many families. They raise concerns, and police ask them if their relative has any scars or tattoos by which their body could be identified. I thought, theres something up here, you know, something very wrong. Very wrong indeed. This afternoon, people gathered outside one of the three Funeral Homes in East Yorkshire belonging to the company being investigated. Julie says her relative, who she didnt want to name, is one of the 35 bodies found here. You believed that he had already been cremated . Yeah, yeah, cos his sons got his ashes. And his son talks to him all the time. What hes been talking to, or who hes been talking to, he doesnt know now. So we just, you know, dont know where it goes from here. How does that leave the Family Feeling . Devastated, obviously, yeah. And that appears to be the crux of the issue here. 35 families have been told that their deceased relatives body has now been found on these premises, yet in the past they have been given their ashes or told they can come and collect them. Has there now been a huge mix up of ashes across this city . For many people like richard, the distressing uncertainty continues. And you miss her . Like mad. They hope for clear answers soon. Danny savage, bbc news, hull. The us says its hopeful that some form of order can be restored in haiti after weeks of violence. Gangs have been running riot, cutting off Food Supplies and forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. The countrys Prime Minister has resigned and the us has intervened with a plan for an interim council to represent the different political factions in haiti while an attempt is made to arrange a fresh election. Some food aid has been distributed in the capital, Port Au Prince, and a lull in fighting has also allowed will grant to enter the country, and hejoins us now from cap haitien. The scene behind you suggests disorder and chaos . The scene behind you suggests disorder and chaos . Yes, after a comlex disorder and chaos . Yes, after a complex coume disorder and chaos . Yes, after a complex couple of disorder and chaos . Yes, after a complex couple of days disorder and chaos . Yes, after a complex couple of days at disorder and chaos . Yes, after a complex couple of days at the i complex couple of days at the border, we are amongst the First International journalists to border, we are amongst the First Internationaljournalists to make it into haiti since the current wave of fighting began and we have driven a couple of hours to the coastal town of cap haitien and haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and the additional humanitarian need created by the Current Crisis is abundantly clear so statistics make for dire reading, 360,000 internally displaced people and 3000 women due to give birth in the expect no Maternity Care to the situation remains critical and the Us Development arm of the government has promised millions of additional aid and some of that is beginning to trickle through now but it is nowhere near sufficient for the scale of the crisis under the political realm, a Transitional Council has been named but the gangs that control Port Au Prince do not recognise them and have threatened them in Stock Language so 80 remains mired in a dangerous, complicated mess with the civilian population caught between the populations and the gangs. Caught between the populations and the hans. ~ caught between the populations and the hans. , ~ i. Caught between the populations and the hans. , ~ , caught between the populations and theuaans. ,. ~ the gangs. Thank you very much. Will grant reporting the risk of death from alcohol, drugs or suicide is higher in more deprived areas in the north of england and in seaside towns, according to a new study. Death rates are worst in blackpool six times higher than the area with the lowest rate barnet in london. The report is based on deaths recorded by Coroners Courts across england. 0ur Health Correspondent Dominic Hughes reports now from blackpool. Hugging my mum again. Yeah. Id love that. Pauls had a long struggle with alcohol, but this could be a moment of change. I need to do it. I know you do. His Support Worker has played a key role in getting him this far. Been more than a worker to me. But now paul is about to enter detox, then a stint in rehab. Its time to move on. Yeah. Its a chance to live my life a different way. Im taking it, im doing it. And this is where a lot of our Service Users hang around. Theres a lot of drug using round the town. Steven knows exactly what paul is going through. After all, its a life he too has lived, and against the odds has somehow survived. I didnt know that people recovered. You either went to prison, you got locked up, or you died. A life of addiction and prison was changed forever by a Prison Talk Given by a former addict. Morning, everyone. And steven is now part of a lived experience team at the charity empowerment, staffed by those who have come through addiction and, working alongside the local nhs and social workers, are trying to help others get clean. There is now a new thing called nitazenes, and i think theyre saying that thats like 500 times stronger. Fatalities related to drink, drugs and suicide what are known as deaths of despair are significantly higher in poorer areas, especially in the north of england and seaside towns. And blackpool has a higher rate of these deaths than anywhere else in england. We need to listen to people with that lived experience. There also needs to be a really strong focus on prevention. That levelling up of the country to make sure that everyone has got the right conditions to thrive. But today, a committee of mps says there are no compelling examples of What Levelling Up Funding has delivered so far, with councils only able to spend a fraction of the money promised to them. The government points to increased spending on Mental Health and drug and alcohol Harm Reduction services, plus a Suicide Prevention strategy. But inequality is stalking the streets of blackpool. I started drink and drugs at a very young age, to the point of oblivion sometimes. So, for those like kate not her real name who found herself pregnant, homeless, and in the grip of a terrible addiction, the Empowerment Team are life savers. When i was really bad in addiction to now being clean and having someone there, regardless, and still wanting to support me, its an amazing feeling. I wont let nobody down. Nobody. Kate and paul were both at risk of becoming statistics, but with the help of the Empowerment Team, people who have lived the life, theyre beginning the long and difficult road to recovery. Dominic hughes, bbc news, blackpool. Motorists are being warned of travel disruption, as part of the m25 motorway which Encircles London is closed for a whole weekend for the First Time Since it was built in 1986. Its been shut betweenjunctions 10 and 11 with a diversion in place, until 6am on monday. This is the part thats closed and it will affect those travelling to heathrow or Gatwick Airports and to channel ports on the south coast. 0ur Transport correspondent katy austin is there. This is unprecedented. Why are they doing it . Well of this weekend a bridge is going to be demolished and a large gantry will be put up and thats part of major upgrade works. There will be more closures to come before september and from a short distance away from where im now standing, yes, a particularly busy section of britains busiest motorway is now shut until early on monday morning and thats likely to mean long delays on alternative routes. As road closures go, its a very big one. We tend to forget that the m25 is the biggest bypass in europe. Its one of the biggest roads in europe, and this is the first full closure over a weekend that weve ever had on our most important motorway. Some drivers at Cobham Services today had planned ahead. Weve been up to essex. We would have stayed over tonight but what we decided to do was come back straightaway. Are you going to be driving round here at the weekend . Im going to try and avoid it now, yeah. | are you planning on driving this weekend . Yeah, well, we were, but im thinking, i mean, were not sure, we might take the train, i think well probably end up doing that instead. Along the diversion route, west byfleet. Son and Daughter In Law live in weybridge and they normally come round for sunday lunch but we said, not this week. Ive put my car away. Its not coming out until monday morning im not even attempting to go anywhere this weekend. Local businesses fear gridlock. Definitely lose money, because its, i mean, big area, so people dont walk to here usually, they do drive, so if they cant drive to us theyll have to drive somewhere else. Four more closures are planned before september as part of the Major Programme of improvement works. The advice to motorists this weekend avoid the whole area if you can, plan ahead and leave plenty of time. Katy austin, bbc news, in surrey. The woman who made accusations about red bull principal christian horner� s behaviour is to appeal against red bulls decision to dismiss her complaint. The woman, who was suspended from her position last week by red bull, accused mr horner of inappropriate and controlling behaviour. She will ask red bull to reconsider its decision, which was made after an investigation conducted by a lawyer. Mr horner has always denied the accusations made against him. An nhs trust is allegedly using an unproven medical procedure that is said to have harmed patients. A former consultant at the Portsmouth Hospitals nhs trust has told the bbc that the technique which has been used on patients needing a particular type of Kidney Dialysis has led to increases in the rates of infections and blood clots. The consultant who spoke to the bbc was dismissed by the trust for misconduct after repeatedly trying to stop the procedure. The trust said it disputes her findings and that the safety of its patients is its priority. Michael buchanan reports. Amanda kelsey died in 2020. She had Kidney Problems for much of her life, spending years on dialysis. In 2015, she was offered a procedure that no other nhs trust uses and is considered in several countries to pose a risk to patients. Theyve got a technique that theyre trialling, is what they said, and its a technique called buttonholing, and theyre going to try it on different patients, are you happy to go ahead and have a go . Yeah, if thats going to help. Amandas Medical Records, however, detail a range of complications, particularly infections and blood clots. Many of the problems came after she started using the new procedure, a Needling Technique called buttonholing. One of the claims the team at portsmouth have made is that this was requested by patients. No, not at all. Over 30,000 people in the uk need Kidney Dialysis a process that cleans their blood as their kidneys are failing. For some patients, like mrs kelsey, a piece of plastic tubing called a graft can be inserted into their bodies to aid dialysis. The graft should then be connected to the machine using a technique called Rope Laddering according to uk guidelines, where the needles go into different holes each time. But at the Portsmouth Hospitals trust, they encourage some patients to buttonhole to insert needles into the same hole each time a technique not supported by the uk kidney association. Its not really known whether Buttonhole Needling can safely be used for grafts, because its not generally practised. Why is that . Because of theoretical worry that it might lead to more bleeding or infection. Patients in portsmouth werent initially fully informed of the dangers of the new procedure, and no proper monitoring was set up, according to a later review. When Drjasna Macanovic became aware of the technique in 2016, she immediately objected. I completely appreciate that my colleagues did not set out to harm patients by introducing buttonholing. But the second when i raised concerns, that very second, the trust was obliged to start investigations immediately. Documents dr macanovic shared with the bbc show the efforts the consultant went to, to stop the procedure. She wrote to Hospital Bosses and to external regulators, including the Care Quality Commission and the general medical council. But though the reviews found there had been problems, they didnt stop the procedure, saying Safety Concerns were taken into account. They havent looked for harm. They have done no audit of the practice. Audit of the complications. They have not reviewed patients notes. Shortly before her sacking, dr macanovic did her own audit, reviewing the Medical Records of those who had been using the controversial procedure. She said the rate of blood clots and blocked arteries was, on average, three and a half times higherfor those patients than it had been when theyd used the recommended Needling Technique. For amanda kelsey, the level of complications was even higher at least six times greater than before. Its quite upsetting, to be fair. Mark kelsey questions if the technique contributed to his wifes death. The trust said an independent examiner said shed died of a stroke and covid 19. In a statement, the Portsmouth Hospitals University Trust went on. Two of the 20 patients who used the procedure are still on it. Jasna macanovic was awarded £219,000 in damages for being unfairly dismissed by the trust. Mark kelsey wants an independent investigation into his wifes death. Michael buchanan, bbc news. Tomorrow, a new Welsh Labour Leader will be elected. They will replace mark drakeford. The winner either Vaughan Gething Orjeremy Miles will take over as First Minister next week. The labour party has been in power in wales for more than 20 years and interest in its record in government is ramping up ahead of the general election. 0ur Political Editor chris mason has been talking to the outgoing First Minister, mark drakeford. We are in the very final days. Im just beginning to get that feeling of things coming to an end. President clinton said to me, the great thing about being retired is you can say what you like the problem is, nobody wants to listen are you handing over two stink bombs to your successor . There is the row with farmers and 20mph, theyve caused quite the ruckus. Ah, well. That stink on the farm a proposed Welsh Government subsidy system demanding environmental measures which could cost around one in ten farm workers theirjobs. Its very frightening and very frightening to farmers to think that that could happen to their businesses and to our rural communities. Do welsh ministers, do you think, understand the countryside . There seems to be an ever growing divide between urban and rural. Certainly, its very difficult to have a lot of conversations at the moment, because everything has got so toxic. Change is a challenge. Change that youre imposing. Well, a change that we are navigating, were not imposing. We have to explain to people that change is unavoidable and inescapable, even when it is difficult. And if that means thousands of welsh farmers are driven out of the industry, so be it . No. I dont believe for a moment that thousands of farmers will be driven out of the industry. Lets talk about the default 20mph speed limit in all built up areas. Weve seen hundreds of thousands of people opposing it. Did you misjudge it . We might have done more to explain the reason for the policy. We might have done more to build up to the introduction. It is a policy that will save peoples lives. Lets examine your record on Public Services and your opponents observations. Regrettably, the policies he has pursued here in wales havent improved educational attainment, havent improved the economy, and importantly, havent brought those chronically long Waiting Lists down in the nhs. Never once has wales met the a e target of 95 of patients being seen within four hours. Never reached. Mm. Thats a failure, isnt it . Well, on those terms, you can say that, but its a really complex issue and. Is it a complex issue, if youre sat there in pain waiting to be seen and you are waiting for more than four hours, its not complex, is it . But, you see, many, many people who wait in hospital to be treated are not sitting there waiting in pain, they are sitting there waiting because they are drunk. 0k, there might be some people who are drunk, but it would be an awful lot. Seven out of ten people who turn up at an A E Department In Cardiff will be there because alcohol has played a part in their arriving there on a friday or saturday night. So leave them there for four hours, they can sober up . Well, a more sensible system would not count them. Are you convinced that labours record in government, your record in government, is something that the rest of the uk can look in on and be reassured by . I think people in other parts of the United Kingdom can look at what we have done and will see some things that they might want to try. That does not mean that you can drag and drop, wales is a different country in that way. As labour seek to govern the whole of the uk, scrutiny of its governing record here will sharpen. Chris mason, bbc news, in cardiff. As weve heard, tomorrow a new Welsh Labour Leader will be elected. Heres my colleague, jane hill. Im in cardiff for that announcement. Will it be Vaughan Gething Orjeremy Miles . Who will be the new First Minister . Well have all the reaction and analysis on the bbc one bulletins all day from lunchtime. The annual British Wildlife photography awards have produced their usual High Standard of entries, among them this stunning shot of two swans at sundown taken in north tyneside. There are frolicking frogs captured at play in perthshire. An urban fox exposed in the sunlight of bristol and this photo, entitled beech for the sky. But the overall best photograph was judged to be this stunning image of a deflated football floating near a dorset beach, beset with barnacles. The ball was found here off of chesil beach. It was found by a local beachcomber and i had the opportunity to get in the water around here. I did take quite a few pictures. As i was snorkelling i got that Split Shot View which you can sort of see the ball on the surface and then another world underneath. A team of International Scientists is carrying out a remarkable experiment in the Arctic Circle to find out if they can stop sea ice from melting as the world gets warmer. They are trying to thicken the ice by pouring salt water on it. Will it help . 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh reports. Its such a simple idea that its surprising that no ones tried it before. The team here are pumping sea water on top of the ice so that it freezes and thickens. The aim is to stop, maybe even reverse the loss of Arctic Sea Ice caused by climate change. We are pumping around 1,000 litres per minute of sea water. Today well add an extra layer, so well add probably another five to ten centimetres of Ice Thickness in this area. This was the extent of the Arctic Sea Ice in september 1979. Its sharp decline since then is alarming. So, could thickening the ice stop this trend . If not, polar bears and other arctic Sea Creatures will lose their homes, and the rest of the world will be worse off because the sea ice is the Air Conditioning System for the entire planet. This is the centre for climate repair. Researchers here are assessing whether the Ice Thickening will work and can be implemented across the arctic in a way thats affordable and practical. If we just allow the the sea ice to go, the arctic ocean becomes one of our greatest Heat Absorbers rather than one of our greatest heat reflectors. The idea of repairing the climate is a controversial one. If you can fix the damage, so the argument goes, then its a green light for countries not to reduce their emissions quickly enough. But the researchers here believe that the situation is so dire that theres no alternative but to do both. If we stop doing efforts and we will leave it as it is, then we will for sure result in a really, really bad scenario. The researchers expect to know by next year whether their Ice Thickening has the potential to fix the arctic and buy a little more time to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions. Pallab ghosh, bbc news. And just a quick update on comic relief a total of more than £37 million has been raised so far tonight for red nose day. The money goes towards tackling poverty and providing help for people in the uk and around the world. Time for a look at the weather. Heres chris faulkes. Today has been a day of sunshine and showers. These clouds have been gradually collapsing and melting away, leaving still conditions here in the highlands of scotland. Temperatures for scotland, Northern Ireland and wales were close to average. In contrast, england had very mild weather, 17 degrees in suffolk, the mildest place in the country, 6 degrees above average for the time of year. The low pressure that brought showery conditions is pushing into sweden and norway where it will bring heavy snow to low elevations. We get a slice of clearer weather ahead of the next Atlantic System Waiting In The Wings and overnight tonight as the ridge of High Pressure builds in the skies will continue to clear and for most of the uk it stays dry over night with like winds, its a recipe for a cold night, frost for scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of Northern England as well. Tomorrow morning, you will probably get off to a nice sunrise across western areas, the rising sun lighting up this cloud will quickly bring rain and strong winds to Northern Ireland with splashes of rain in wales and south west england, probably not too heavy. Across Eastern Scotland and eastern areas of england the weather will turn to to turn cloudy but it shall stay dry until after dry, temperatures close to average, 10 12. For sunday weve got a band of rain that will move into eastern england. Is that clears away what will follow its very mild south westerly winds, so rain initially, yes, across east anglia and south east england, moving out of the way, followed by those brighter, showery conditions. Some of the showers could be quite heavy and quite widespread so a reasonable chance of catching a downpour. Very