Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20240903

Thanks for being with us. Trade unions and groups representing the families of israeli hostages are holding a General Strike to press the government to reach a deal to free those still held by hamas. Its already affecting some flights at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, and business, schools, and other forms of transport have also been hit. The stoppage is a day after the Israeli Army said it had recovered the bodies of six hostages who were taken during the attacks of seventh 0ctober. That led to mass Demonstrations Injerusalem and Tel Aviv On Sunday with the organisers calling on prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate a deal with hamas to bring home the estimated 100 remaining hostages. Sundays protests were largely peaceful, but some crowds broke through police lines, blocking a major highway in Tel Aviv. 0ur Correspondentjon Donnison has been following the story. After the biggest protests in israel since the start of the war in gaza, with hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating across the country, today a General Strike. So thousands of businesses are going to be closed. Some schools, universities, government ministries, banks, some bus networks. So were expecting a major hit on the economy here today in israel. And the outrage against hamas is a given. But these protests are not about that. These protests are against the government of prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is accused of pursuing his own personal political ambitions and his survival, in sacrifice of a Hostage Release and Cease Fire Deal in gaza. Mr netanyahu insists that the best way to get the remaining hostages out of gaza is to keep applying Military Pressure on hamas. However, many, many people in israel dont feel that way, including some of the hostage families. They have accused Mr Netanyahu of having the blood of their Loved Ones on his hands. There were chants of murderer at last nights protest. And its notjust the public, it is also within his own government. So weve had reports in the last week of a Shouting Match between the prime minister and his defence minister, yoav gallant, who says that, in effect, Mr Netanyahu is blocking this deal with hamas that the worlds diplomats have been pursuing now for weeks and months. As i say, Mr Netanyahu Up To now has has rejected that pressure. And he says that it is hamas who are the murderers and that they will be pursued and punished. Jon donnison there. The un Childrens Charity Unicef says the first full day of a Mass Polio Vaccination campaign in gaza went well, with more than 72,000 children treated. Palestinians have been taking their children to three Health Centres in gaza in the first phase of the campaign. The aim is to vaccinate some 640,000 children. Louise wateridge is with the un Relief Agency for palestinians, unrwa. Yes, it was incredibly relieving to see so many children and families turn out for the vaccination yesterday morning. I visited an unwra Health Facility in Deir Al Balah and a school turned shelter, and also went with the Teams Tent to tent. It was generally a positive atmosphere for for families towards the polio vaccination. A lot of the parents expressed their relief that this vaccine was available. But of course, you know, we have these periodic humanitarian pauses. We need a ceasefire. You know, having these pauses, weve had strikes this morning, there were strikes yesterday afternoon. Its still a very tense atmosphere here in the gaza strip. It was a little weird yesterday, to be honest. I think everybody noticed. To go even an hour without Hearing A Bomb or a strike is something weve not experienced for weeks. To go a day without having Evacuation Orders issued. It was very unusual after what weve experienced the last two weeks. So its great that this humanitarian pause has so far been respected. But we need a ceasefire now. Louise wateridge there from unrwa. One or two Word Inspection assessments for englands schools are being scrapped with immediate effect. Last year, an inquest found an inspection by the education standards office, 0fsted, had contributed to the suicide of a Headteacher Leading to widespread calls for change. The government said the overall grades werent fair or accurate, but the change was criticised by the conservatives for removing a vital indicator for parents. With me is ellie price, our news correspondent. Just explain what change we are seeing here. Just explain what change we are seeing here just explain what change we are seeinu here. ,. , seeing here. Untilyesterday we had an effect 0fsted seeing here. Untilyesterday we had an effect 0fsted reports, seeing here. Untilyesterday we had an effect 0fsted reports, the seeing here. Untilyesterday we had an effect 0fsted reports, the Body L an effect 0fsted reports, the body that goes and tests out the adequacy of The School, how good it is at teaching in various different ways, and it would come up with a report with obviously plenty of exploration of the quality of education, behaviour of attitudes, personal Development And Leadership and management of The School but it would in Essence Grade The School with one word. That led to many criticisms and sadly the tragic suicide of a Head Teacher in 2023 amidst concerns this was too simplistic, that you couldnt shine a light on the effectiveness of a school in one word. Today the government has changed that one word, in effect the report will now be more complex in terms ofjudging a school. But i think crucial to say, it hasnt fundamentally changed the way an 0fsted report works. In a year, the government will look to seek out something called a report card, in effect looking at certain areas on which school can be judged, but it hasnt talked about how that will work yet. At the moment we have the Headline Figure of these one Word Description is being scrapped. That has been broadly welcomed by Teaching Unions who say that the previous system was too simplistic. But there are those who say this has reduced Choice And Understanding for parents. Previously it was seen as a more simplistic Way Ofjudging A School if you are looking for a school for your child. Its if you are looking for a school for your child if you are looking for a school for our child. � ,. ,. , your child. Its a balance between the concerns your child. Its a balance between the concerns of your child. Its a balance between the concerns of the your child. Its a balance between the concerns of the children the concerns of the children primarily but also the parents in choosing a school, and we know there was also a very difficult individual Familys Case that led to these initial calls or the focus on this call for change. Initial calls or the focus on this call for change. Thats right, the suicide of ruth call for change. Thats right, the suicide of ruth Perry Call for change. Thats right, the suicide of Ruth Perry in call for change. Thats right, the suicide of Ruth Perry in january | suicide of ruth Perry Injanuary 2023. She was a Head Teacher at a school in caversham in the south of england and she knew her school would be rated inadequate because on one issue of Safeguarding Children it had received an inadequate rating, but the rest of The School was deemed to be outstanding. Because of that one issue, The School gets entirely downgraded. It is bad news for The School but often in those circumstances it would lead to a change of management as well, so very sadly injanuary to a change of management as well, so very sadly in January 2023 to a change of management as well, so very sadly inJanuary 2023 Ruth so very sadly in January 2023 Ruth perry took her own life which then led to calls for change, not least for her family but also parents from The School and the broader Teaching Community that said it is too simplistic to do a one Word Description of how well a school is doing, you need to shine a light in a more complex report. But i dont know if you have ever read and 0fsted report, they are very turgid, big reports. Fora parent 0fsted report, they are very turgid, big reports. For a parent who may not have time to look at these things, it gives a sense of how a school is doing so there is a Trade Off between the simplicity of The One word but obviously really how meaningless that can be in a school where it is notjust about results, notjust about one area, the whole broader picture needs to be looked at. The whole broader picture needs to be looked at the whole broader picture needs to be looked at. Complex, and more to come on this be looked at. Complex, and more to come on this all be looked at. Complex, and more to come on this all day. Be looked at. Complex, and more to come on this all day. La be looked at. Complex, and more to come on this all day. La price, come on this all day. La price, thank you very much indeed. Ellie price. The Uk Government has promised to look into the problems caused by so called Dynamic Pricing of tickets to gigs and concerts. The practice which allows official Ticket Sellers to inflate prices when demand is high will now be included in a planned consultation on protecting fans from ticket touts. Over the weekend, hundreds of thousands of people queued online for hours as they tried to buy Oasis Tickets as Leigh Milner reports. A warning there are flashing images coming up. First came the hype. When both come together, you have greatness. Then the disappointment. Millions of Oasis Fans spent Saturday Morning battling lengthy online queues and technical glitches in the hope of bagging tickets to next Years Reunion gigs. Many of those who did get through then faced another hurdle. Tickets costing hundreds of pounds more than expected thanks to so called Dynamic Pricing. Thats when high demand pushes up costs, a practice more commonly seen on taxi Hailing Apps or airline websites. The cheapest tickets were between 70 and 205, i think, which you can kind of Sort Of, well, yeah, ok, thats not too bad. But then the only ones that were available were the platinum, so it was like £500. We didnt want to pay that so, um, no. So were not going. Tonight im a Rock And Roll star. The government had already pledged a consultation to tackle ticket touting. Thats the resale of tickets by secondary vendors. So maybe youre gonna be The One that saves me. Now it says it will add Dynamic Pricing, which is done by the primary vendors, to that consultation. This must be welcome news. Dynamic pricing was an odious Business Product that was brought overfrom North America and really does disadvantage a significant number of consumers. Its vitally important that government actually understands how this industry works, not just what theyre told by ticket companies. You gotta roll with it, you gotta take your time. The society of Ticket Agents and retailers has stressed that Ticket Prices are set by artists and their management. Whoever� s responsible, Music Fans will be hoping prices come down. Leigh milner, bbc news. Theres been another wave of russian missile and Drone Attacks on ukraine with kyiv hit several times. The mayor, vitali klitschko, said the entrance of a metro station, which was being used as a shelter, was struck, as well as a water treatment plant. Military officials said Air Defence units had destroyed 22 out of 35 missiles, and 20 out of 23 attack drones, spread across six of ukraines regions. Two people were injured. Around the world and across the uk. This is bbc news. The german chancellor, 0laf scholz, has urged mainstream parties not to lend support to the alternative for germany, the first far right party projected to win a State Election since the second world war. The afd appears to have done well in thuringia and also in saxony. Other parties have said they wont help it form a Governing Coalition. 0ur Correspondent in berlin, damien mcguiness, explained the results for us. So what weve seen in thuringia is that the afd has won the most votes, which is around 33 getting in The End a third of all seats of the parliament. And in saxony they came a close second, but also have ended up with pretty much almost a third of the seats in parliament. So both results are seen as historic. Thats why the afd is celebrating. Of course, this leads to a political problem in saxony itself, because even though no other parties will work with the afd because its seen as so extreme and some of the leaders are seen as so toxic, itll, you know, so that means they wont get into government, but itll make forming a Coalition Government very difficult, because the other parties will find it very hard to cobble together a majority. Youre going to have some very uncomfortable alliances with, for example, conservatives having to come together with radical leftists, which they wouldnt usually do. And then nationally, its going to have a big impact because the three parties and 0laf schulz� s national Governing Coalition were really punished at this election. And for many people, it was a real signal to berlin that theyre not happy in this government. So on the ground, its going to have an effect politically, but also nationally. And of course, next year we have national elections here in germany. So thats why this is something that all the parties are looking closely at, whats been happening in Eastern Germany in those regional elections with great worry, because it means that theyre going to, you know, not have an easy ride over the next year in the run Up To these elections next year. Markus ziener a professor who teaches political theory, and nonresident fellow of the german Marshall Fund of the us explained why there was so much support in these two states. Well, i think there is a couple of factors in play, in particular when we look into the east. The two parties, the afd, which was mentioned before, and also the alliance of former left politician, they both are capturing a certain mood, trying to convey a East German sentiment. This East German nostalgia for even the gdr, the former East German Socialist Party of germany. So i think this was The One part. And secondly, of course, it was about migration, in particular in the eastern part of germany. They people believe that we have too many migrants, and we have to put a stop to that. I think this is one of the. Two of the biggest issues. And just tell me about those populations in those two states of germany. I mean, what is the wealth and the education of that population . Is there a big Migrant Population there . Well, actually, when it comes to migrants, there are not that many migrants in the eastern part. So its kind of an irony that in particular in the eastern part of germany, where we dont find that many migrants, people are voting more strongly against having more migrants in germany or more more strongly against having migrants in germany or more migrants in germany. This is The One thing. And secondly, when it comes to the wealth and how well off are people in the east, of course, i mean, there is a structural disadvantage here at play in the east. People who used to live in the former gdr are not as well off as in the western part. And look at the. How much money is inherited from one generation to the next. 90 , actually, of everything thats inherited to the next generation that comes. Happens in the western part of germany, not in the eastern part. So there is a structural disadvantage and people feel like they are left behind, but this is only part of it. I think there are more things here at play. And if you look at russia and the sympathy for russia, there is a nostalgia for the life that used to be. And people are, i think, forgetting how life under Gdr Oppression really was. Just finally, what does this mean . Just finally, what does this mean, do you think, for national elections coming up and the overall Sort Of political mood in germany now . Yeah, on The One hand, one can say, well, this is only a small part of people in germany. I mean, if were talking about the two states where we have seen Elections Yesterday and The One is coming up in brandenburg in three weeks, this only makes up for less than 10 of the whole population of germany. So probably we should not exaggerate. 0n the other hand, if we look at berlin, and as it was mentioned earlier, for the coalition thats ruling in berlin, this was a heavy blow because they dont even. They were way below 20 and put all together all the three parties together. So for 0laf schulz, looking at the elections in next year, i think he will really have a hard time to maintain as a candidate for the Social Democrats because he has no Leadership Qualities and he has not really charisma that kind of would carry the spd, the social democratic party, over the finishing line. About 10,000 Hotel Workers are on strike in several cities across the us after Contract Talks with hotel operators marriot international, Hilton Worldwide and Hyatt Hotels failed to reach agreement. Representatives from the unite here union say their members are being given unfair workloads following cutbacks. 25 hotels in eight cities, including san francisco, san diego, honolulu, boston and seattle are among those affected. One of the hotel chains, hyatt, has said it remains willing to negotiate, and is disappointed that the union has chosen to call a strike. The social Media Platform X is facing the loss of one of its largest markets in an argument over Hate Speech and disinformation. On friday, brazils Telecoms Regulator suspended access to x for the countrys 200 plus million people after a ruling by a seniorjudge. Brazils Supreme Court will on monday decide whether to uphold that ruling. Its the most serious crisis yet for the platform. Its owner, Elon Musk, promised x would be a � Town Square for Free Speech but critics accuse it of becoming a haven for extremist and hateful content and false information. David waddell reports. When Elon Musk took control of twitter two years ago, in a 41; billion deal, rebranding it x, he signalled there would be far fewer restrictions on what people could post. Mr musk calls himself a Free Speech Absolutist as he told the bbc� s James Clayton last year. Free speech is meaningless unless you allow people you dont like to say things you dont like, otherwise it is irrelevant. The point at which we lose Free Speech, it doesnt come back. Since then, the platform and its owner have faced constant controversy. Individuals banned from twitter, including controversial influencer andrew tate, and the uk far right Activist Tommy Robinson were reinstated by x. During violent far right protests this summer in the uk, Mr Musk found himself in a row with prime Minister Sir Keir starmer after posting that Civil War Is Inevitable and accusing the government of two tier policing. Mr musk� s latest row threatens the position of x in one of its biggest markets. Over the weekend, brazilian Supreme Courtjustice Alexandre De Moraes ordered the platform to be shut down across the country. It comes after a months long feud over alleged misinformation and Hate Speech on the platform, in which Mr Musk called the judge an evil dictator. Translation people my Age Arent really in the habit of watching Tv News or reading the news. And Twitter Or X was a way at least for me to get news from Around The World. So i have lost touch a little with what is happening Around The World and a way of entertaining myself. Translation x was a much freer space for various forms of speech, so much so that there was a lot of discrimination. So, honestly, i do see a positive side to twitter being shut down. But there were also many good movements, campaigns and ngos that have lost their space. Translation everyone i know who uses x gets a bit lost between what is real and what is fake, but i dont think it has to be All Or Nothing there could be some regulation there. If Elon Musk wants to come here and thinks this is a banana republic, hes wrong. The arrest in france last month of pavel durov, ceo of messaging app telegram, has raised the stakes in the debate. France has rejected claims the Ceo Cant be held responsible for illegal content shared on the platform. But Elon Musk hinted on x over the weekend that its probably wise for me to limit movement to countries where Free Speech is constitutionally protected. A new vaccination, described as game changing, is being rolled out across the uk by The Nhs to protect babies and elderly people from a cold virus this winter. Respiratory syncytial virus or rsv, leads to mild cold like symptoms for most, but can lead to pneumonia or even prove fatal for vulnerable people. Our Health Correspondent Sophie Hutchinson reports. This was my Grandson Lyle, on Life Support at alder hey hospital, just weeks old, developed rsv that had gone into bronchiolitis. Andrew gwynne is not only a grandfather but also englands minister for Public Health launching the newjabs. I dont want any other family to have to go through the trauma and the worry that my wife and i went through in those two weeks, and this is preventable, which is why this vaccine is so important. Respiratory syncytial virus, or rsv, usually causes cold like symptoms but can lead to serious complications like bronchiolitis and pneumonia. Every year, 20,000 babies and thousands of elderly people are treated in hospital in england after catching it. Its potentially life threatening, particularly for very young, vulnerable babies who may have other conditions like cardiac conditions or may be premature. Those babies tend to get very sick. But today, for the first time, The Nhs in england, wales and Northern Ireland will be offering women who are 28 weeks pregnant and elderly people aged 75 to 79 newjabs to protect against rsv. The same vaccines are already offered in scotland. So hesjust a conventional five year old boy, full of beans, full of life. Andrew gwynnes Grandson Lyle made a full recovery. Health experts are hoping the newjab will be a Game Changer this winter for vulnerable babies and the elderly. Sophie hutchinson, bbc news. Pope francis leaves for his tour of asia today. It will be a twelve Day Trip across indonesia, papua new guinea, East Timor and singapore. These are the preparations in jakarta. While the pope is there, he is also expected to visit the citys main mosque in a symbol of religious harmony. The tour will feature more than a0 events, and cover nearly 33,000 kilometres thats more than 20,000 miles and will be the longestjourney yet made by the 87 year old pontiff. It was originally planned for 2020 but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Let me show you some pictures coming in live in gaza. It is the second day of the Polio Vaccine is being rolled out to children to protect them from that terrible disease thats already been found in at least one child there. And this comes on a day of strikes, as we can see in our live page activists calling on the government to call a Ceasefire Deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages taken by hamas. This is bbc news. Hello, it was a pretty murky start of the day after a fairly mixed weekend in which we saw Humidity Levels build. Temperatures peaking at 30 degrees in the south east corner, low to Mid 20s elsewhere. Thats because we had a low pressure to the south west, bringing in humid air from the continent, but that low pressure is now on the move, replaced by High Pressure. And in the next few days there will be much fresher conditions and of course a drop in temperature. By wednesday, Mid High teens, closer to where we should be. At the moment, still quite humid and there could be heavy, maybe thundery downpours during the rest of the day. Around the centre of the low, more persistent rain in these western areas. Thundery downpours in the east of scotland drifting Up Towards the northern isles, and there could be thundery showers in wales and the southwest. 26 degrees in East Anglia, temperatures dropping a bit more for the north and west. This evening, Rain In Central Northern Scotland pushes to the north. Clearer Skies West of scotland and Northern Ireland, could drop down to four or 5 degrees here compared to 16 celsius in East Anglia where the humid air just about holds on. It will be on the shift. This Weather System means there will be a split to the day. In between the two tomorrow, Western Parts of england and wales start sunny with the sunny conditions pushing eastwards taking away some cloud and patchy rain. Then in the west we will see increased cloud and a scattering of showers, the breeze picking up for western scotland in particular. Already feeling fresher for many, Up To 22 celsius the afternoon highs. As you go into wednesday, a ridge of High Pressure builds in a bit further, introducing the Atlantic Flow certainly more widely. We will see sunny spells for the vast majority to begin with on wednesday. Cloud amounts will increase from the west, a blustery wind in the north of scotland. How quickly the rain pushes in is a big question at the moment, but compared to how we start the week feeling fresher in the sunshine. This is bbc news, the headlines. Businesses, schools and transport across israel are hit by a nationwide strike. Unions are demanding a deal with hamas to secure the release of hostages. Germanys main political parties will continue their boycott of the far right afd, despite its regional election success. And rusting away on the Ocean Floor exclusive video reveals the titanic� s slow decay. Hello, im geeta guru murthy. Thank you for being with us. More now on our top story, Trade Unions and groups representing the families of israeli hostages are holding a General Strike to press the government to reach a deal to free those still held by hamas. Its affecting some flights at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and business, schools,