Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20240915

In england and wales. That policy sees the proportion of sentences which some inmates must serve behind bars temporarily cut from 50 to A0 . But latest government figures suggest more than a quarter of prisoners will go on to reoffend within a year of being released. The problem is there are no guarantees that anybody who is released early will not reoffend, because weve got to do ourjob in our prisons of trying to rehabilitate people. We simply cannot do that if theyre used as Human Warehouses and were overcrowded. We must be given a chance to give people hope. The Ministry Ofjustice says it cannot comment on individual cases but insists that anyone who breaks their Licence Conditions upon release, or who commits further crimes, will be punished, and the government says without the early release scheme, police would not be able to make arrests and the courts would not be able to hold trials. The Prison Population in england and wales has dropped by more than 2,000 in a week following the measures that deal with overcrowding. Next month, up to another 1,700 prisoners are due to be released early. The government will be monitoring the latest reoffending figures, too. Simon jones, Bbc News. Government analysis suggests that over three quarters of A Million pensioners in england and wales, who should be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, will lose it because they may not apply for benefits theyre entitled to. Their research also indicates that seven out of ten pensioners with a disability would lose the payment. Ministers say they have to target support to those who need it most. Heres our business correspondent, marc ashdown. Since 1997, the Winter Fuel Allowance has been a lifeline for many pensioners. Anyone aged over 66 gets £200 a year, £300 for those over 80 to help towards paying their energy bills every winter. Sandra lives alone in durham in the north east. I have been known to sit here with my Hat And Scarf and fingerless gloves and a blanket over my lap. Without this extra money . Yeah, its going to make it quite a difficult winterfor me. The nos to the left, 348. Earlier this week, the government won a vote in parliament to restrict the payment to those receiving certain benefits like pension credit. Now, underfreedom of information laws, the Department For Work And Pensions has had to publish its analysis of who might miss out. Last year, 10. 8 million people got the Winter Fuel Allowance. But under the governments new policy, around nine in 10 people will not now be eligible. This analysis also shows that 780,000 pensioners who could qualify are, for various reasons, expected not to claim the benefits they are entitled to, which means they wont qualify to receive the Winter Fuel Payment either. Now, overall, the prime minister expects to save around £1. 5 billion every year because of these changes. The findings also reveal that 71 of those with a disability will lose their entitlement. Charities warn that millions of pensioners will really struggle this winter without the extra financial help. If youre someone whos living with a Heart Condition or a lung condition, then getting cold is really bad news because it can make it more likely that you have a stroke or a heart attack, or if you get a cold or flu that that turns into a Chest Infection and then pneumonia. Sir Keir Starmer has said the decision to cut Winter Fuel Payments was necessary to stabilise the economy, and that mitigations would be put in place. But by its own admission, the Government Hasnt carried out a full assessment of how this policy might impact millions of vulnerable people this winter. Mark ashdown, Bbc News. The us national Security Adviser, jake sullivan, says intense conversations are still taking place among Western Allies on whether to let ukraine Attack Russia with donated long range weapons. The subject was discussed on friday at a meeting between Joe Biden and Keir Starmer, but no conclusion was announced. Ukraines President Zelensky expressed frustration after the meeting. But President Biden� s top Security Adviser has now insisted the issue is still on the agenda. Jake sullivan spoke to a Security Conference in kyiv by video link. He said that President Biden would use the rest of his term putting ukraine in the best possible position to prevail against russia. And i think having a conversation that puts all the pieces together, what we can offer up, what we can support ukraine with, and then how ukraine looks at that in the context of a strategy for diplomacy, that is what we hope to bring together at The End of this in new york. President biden at that point will still have four months left on his term, and he is determined to use those a four months to put ukraine in the best possible position to prevail. Meanwhile, nato� s highest military authorities have been meeting in prague, for the annual military committee conference. The final conclusion of the committee is always the highest Military Recommendation for the political leaders of the alliance. Admiral rob bauer, is the chair of the nato military committee. The chiefs of defence of nato talked about taking stock with regards to our readiness in relation to all the plans that were agreed last year in vilnius. However, if you look at this question from a military point of view, then it is logical from the ukrainian side to ask for this permission. Because basically, if you are attacked by a nation, then the aggressor can be attacked in its own nation in accordance with the Un Charter and in accordance with the law of armed conflict. So this militarily a logical thing to ask. It is actually the right thing to do militarily, because you want to basically prevent the attacker to continue to attack by basically ensuring that the logistics are not coming to the front weapons, fuel, things like that. So if you are able to not only defend yourself against the arrows that are being fired at you but also attack the archer, that is militarily the right thing to do. And admiral, President Putin has pre empted any decision like this, saying that this would be a Red Line that nato countries in particular would be fighting russia. This is a warning not for ukraine but for your member countries. Do you believe him when he gives this warning . What would you say to people in your countries who would be worried about an escalation in this conflict . I think this shows that the russians are not achieving any of the strategic goals they want to achieve in ukraine. So i think they are frustrated, they are angry with their poor performance in itself there. And therefore, they are talking to us when they see that other nations, including nato allies, are helping ukraine theres 50 nations that do this since 2022. And of course, its not helping them if we help ukraine. So this is their frustration and their way to talk to us about this. What nato does is nothing else than basically help ukraine in accordance with the Un Charter and international law. And admiral, where do you go from here . This would be a big step forward in terms of western commitment towards ukraine. If it doesnt work, what more will you do when it stops stopping the russian forces in ukraine . How much further are you able to go from here . The decision in washington set up this command in germany, is to make sure the coordination of training has being done by nato, the coordination of all requirements that ukraine has are reaching ukraine, including logistics to the border, and working with the ukrainians on the future armed forces. That is the command, what we are going to do. And the discussions were about how we are moving towards the set up to make sure the command becomes operational as soon as possible. Lets turn to a developing story that were following here in the Bbc News room. Large parts of Central And Eastern Europe are under flood alert. At least four people are dead in romania. Thousands of homes are destroyed and people displaced. And in the cezch Republic Emergency services are desperately trying to find a car washed away by a flooded river. Its believed three people are inside. The rain, caused by cyclone boris, has mainly hit the eastern part of romania. Authorities are creating Displacement Camps and sending Emergency Aid to those forced to evacuate their homes. The Cyclone Rains have also hit several other countries in the region including the Czech Republic where 38 locations have declared the highest flood alert. Authorities there say the worst Rainfall And Flood risk should be experienced in the coming 2a to 48 hours. Poland, too, has also experienced heavy rain. The government in poland has warned of a critical night ahead with the country facing severe flooding. Authorities have shut a Border Crossing with the Czech Republic after a river flooded its banks. Theyve also closed several roads and halted trains. Polish prime Minister Donald Tusk has been visiting flooded areas in silesia and he spoke to reporters there. Translation the low pressure that brought these heavy rains to poland and the Czech Republic is not entirely predictable. These forecasts has changed within 48 hours but generally they are not optimistic. What awaits us Tonight And Part of sunday will be heavier, record breaking rainfall in many places. A former Chief Executive of the american Fashion Chain Abercrombie and fitch is facing further allegations of sexually exploiting men at events he hosted around the world. Mikejeffries and his british partner, matthew smith, are already defending a civil lawsuit which alleges they ran a sex trafficking operation. 20 men have now told the bbc they attended or helped organise Sex Events for mrjeffries between 2009 and 2015. The fbi is also investigating. A lawyer for mrjeffries has previously said his client denied wrongdoing. Mr smith has never responded to requests for comment. Large crowds have gathered in Eastern Uganda to attend the funeral of the olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who died after a former boyfriend set her on fire. Fellow athletes wore black T Shirts with slogans denouncing violence against women and local leaders paid tribute to her by proposing to name a Sports Stadium after her. 0ur senior Africa Correspondent Anne soy reports. Full military honours as uganda Bid Farewell to one of its finest ambassadors. Sergeant Rebecca Cheptegei flew her countrys flag high across the world in long distance races. But back in her home, she fell victim to domestic violence. Thousands of local residents here turned up for the funeral. They said rebecca was a much loved member of this bukwo community, and who inspired many children to take up athletics. She died in neighbouring kenya after Herformer Boyfriend poured petrol on her and set her on fire. We are guilty as a government, but also the community is guilty. It is not true that we did not know, even in the local community, that rebecca was facing family problems. Domestic violence is endemic in the community where rebecca lived, and so many people are hoping that her death will mark the beginning of The End of this vice so that elite athletes like her and women generally will feel safe in their homes. We have a right to live, and no one has a right to take over Someones Life someones daughter, someone who the family depends on. Local leaders here say they will name a road and a Sports Venue in her honour. Anne soy, Bbc News. One of englands largest School Academy trusts wants to ban Mobile Phones for students during the day. The 0rmiston Academies Trust says its started phasing out access to smartphones for its 35,000 students because of what it calls the catastrophic impact on childrens Mental Health and learning. Some parents in englands West Midlands are concerned smartphones could be bad for their Childrens Development so theyve decided to test out phones that have no access to the internet. 0ur Reporter, Joanne Writtle has been to meet them. In the � 80s, yuppies posed with huge Mobile Phones. But no one was glued to screens. In fact, their phones didnt even have screens, they were purely for making calls. Imagine that Fast Forward to today and ten year old twins imogen and toby and their pals are going retro. They have Feature Phones which are basically a smaller version of the old Brick Phone with no access to the internet. We can call and text loads and its really good. There are games and you can call and you can text, but there isnt any internet. At first, ijust generally didnt want one because i thought everyone was going to make fun of me. Everyone is going to think im just weird for having one. At first, i was a bit, like, really angry at mum but now i really like it as now basically all my friends have one. When i found out that my friends got one, that made me happy because i knew i could. I said to my mum, 0h, can i have one . And she was like, sure. So, instead of scrolling through social media, they spend more time playing at home in shrewsbury. Their parents are part of a growing movement called smartphone free childhood. This movement is not aboutjudging parents who have made decisions in the past when they didnt have enough information available to them. Harry has a Feature Phone and its worth about £50. Rather than an iphone which is six or £700. The group wants parents to sign a pact not to buy their children smartphones until they are 1a. There are more than 120,000 members across the country. You dont want them to be bullied for not having a smartphone, but, at the same time, you dont want to expose them to all of the risks that come with smartphones. It is the exposure to harmful content, it is the addictive element of smartphones. The children here are happy with their internet free phones, but tess admits the Reaction Wasnt great initially. Because nobody else had a Feature Phone at that time and it was, mum, its not fair. Her hope is that simpler phones will become a social norm for children under 1a. Lets get an update on Typhoon Yagi which has hit several asian countries. The typhoon has now caused severe flooding in myanmar with officials saying more than 230,000 people have been forced to leave their homes. The Countrys Military has called for foreign aid to help cope with the disaster. Michael bristow has more. The Burmese Military has become isolated from the outside world since it seized power three years ago. But such is the extent of the flooding in myanmar and its now appealing for outside help. Images show burmese people rescuing what they can, including livestock, from the rising water. Translation its terrible to experience flooding because we cannot live our lives well when it happens. It can be ok for people who have money, but for the people who have to work day to day for their meals, its not ok at all. So im afraid of the floods. Heavy rain has also caused the Mekong River to break its banks, causing flooding in areas of Northern Thailand and across the border in laos. Typhoon yagi was the most powerful storm in asia this year. Its after effects has still been felt. Michael bristow, Bbc News. The trailblazing ballerina, michaela deprince, has died at the age of 29. A Family Statement said she was an inspiration to everyone who heard her story. Deprince was born during sierra leones civil war, which took the lives of both her parents. She was taken to the us as a four year old, where her adopted family nurtured her love of ballet. She became the youngest ever principal dancer at the Dance Theatre of harlem and worked with the Dutch National Ballet before joining the prestigious boston ballet. She spent much of her career promoting the inclusion of black dancers in ballet. She also starred in Tv Show Dancing with the stars and Beyonces Lemonade Music video album. 0ur Reporter Emer Mccarthy talked me through her life and legacy. It is such sad news. She was only 29 years old. This was announced on her Instagram Page last night with this beautiful picture, and the caption read, her life was one that was defined by grace, purpose and strength, her unwavering commitment to her art, her humanitarian efforts and her courage in overcoming unimaginable challenges will forever inspire us. Though her time with us was far too brief, her Brilliance And Legacy will continue to shine in the hearts of all who were touched by her story for generations to come. As you said, she really was a trailblazer in making history at the Dance Theatre of harlem before moving to the netherlands to dance with the Dutch National Ballet. Back in 2017, she actually spoke to our very own Stephen Sackur here on hardtalk. Lets have a listen to that interview. I think its very important for people not to forget about the struggles they have been through, because it creates who you are. And if i did not go through those things, i wouldnt be as strong as i am today. Because i go through horrible things every day in my dance career, and people say things to me that maybe i would cry about. But it doesnt necessarily faze me any more because of the things that have been said to me before. You can use the things you have been through to connect with the audience, and that is what art is and that is what makes us so passionate. It means its sometimes hard, but at the same time you have got to have the same support system, the right people who can help bring you back into reality. And in addition to that stellar dance career, she also wrote a number of books, including a memoir reflecting on her early childhood in sierra leone. As we heard in that interview as well, she really dedicated so much of her time really advocating for black Ballet Dancers in the us. No cause of death has been reported, but it is such a sad loss for the ballet and greater arts world, catherine. Strictly come dancing returned to Tv Screens tonight, but there was no mention of the controversies that have plagued the show over the summer. Now in its 20th year, is been a rocky few months, with several celebrities speaking out about their experiences on the show. Our Culture Reporter Noor nanji was watching. Please welcome, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman . Its that time again strictly is back. Welcome to the launch of Strictly Come Dancing 202a. A brand new set of celebrities hit the Dance Floor with the usual sprinkle of sparkles and sequins. Lets find out who you have all got. But the new series follows a storm of controversy, and there was no mention of that tonight. The focus was on revealing the new pairings. Your safari, lets say, starts here. Tess, our first four have been paired up. The bbc� s flagship Saturday Night Tv Show has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent months. A number of former contestants have made claims about the way they were treated on the show. An investigation launched by the bbc following amanda abbington� s complaint about Herformer Dance Partner Giovanni Pernice will reportedly conclude soon. Im coming into this room with a positive outlook and trying to do the best that i can, and that is not being reciprocated. Ifeel like i dont feel happy orsafe, im not having a nice time. Pernice has denied any allegations of abusive or threatening behaviour. The bbc has responded to complaints by introducing new Welfare Measures including putting chaperones in all rehearsal rooms. For now, the show goes on, and the hope will be that in the coming weeks, the focus shifts to the dancing rather than backstage allegations. Noor nanji, Bbc News. Lets take a look at tomorrows papers. Beginning with the Sunday Times which leads with Keir Starmer and Joe Biden� s talks over ukraine. And also on the front page a headline saying � Starmer Breached Rules over clothes that a donor gave his Wife. � the Sunday Telegraph includes that story which claims that � starmer failed to declare gifts to his Wife from a � party donor. And another story involving labour which says that the party is backing away from a 2030 ban on new petrol cars. The Sunday Express focuses on The Cost Of Living and claims that � pensioners will be � One Thousand pounds worse off under labour. � meanwhile, the Mail On Sunday reports that the Assisted Dying Bill is set to be � rushed into law. And, the observer leads on a global story saying alarm is growing over a possible iran russia nuclear deal. Surrounded by Rolling Green Hills and overlooked by a 13th Century palace, a tiny village here in the uk has been named one of the Best Secret Villages to live in by the times newspaper. Its beautiful Setting And Community spirit earned Bishop Wilton fifth place on the list of most desirable areas to move to. But the current residents would rather you didnt. Sarah May Buccieri has been to find out why. Well, its pretty horrible, really. I mean, this place here. I wouldnt come here again. The prices are extortionate. I dont know. Theres not. Once youve been here foran hour or so, theres not much left to do. Thats it. And the pubs closed. Yeah. Pubs closed. Toilet doesnt flush very well. People can be a little bit nosy. You cant really do anything without everybody knowing what youre up to. You almost want to keep it hidden so you dont have an influx of people. We dont want people from scunthorpe, you mean. Yeah, right. Thats rude. So the locals may be having us on there. Theyd like to put us off. This is how they really feel. It doesnt matter where you are in the village, where you look, theres always a nice fist to look at. Would you describe it as a hidden gem . Oh, yeah, without a doubt. Im a bit annoyed with the times for releasing that. Would you rather they kept it quiet . Yeah, absolutely. That view there. The people, the green the just the whole place. I came here, what, nine and a half years ago. Just made me better. It was amazing. When i had my Break And Ijust stand there and just think. I am so lucky. One of the very precious things about the village i is the church, saint ediths, which is a grade one listed building. A fantastic floor. Which is a copy of a mosaic in the vatican. Perhaps the biggest fans of this place are the kids at this villages school. Theres lots of wildlife. And also its very out in the open. Its not. It hasnt got a lot of big tower blocks. Its also quite secret, so its really nice. Would you rather keep it a secret . Yeah. Also, that Everyonesj Kind and its all calm. All dont come here, its not very nice maybe not moved there, but im sure we can visit. Time for the weather with tomasz. Hello. In the forecast for sunday, we both have sunshine and some rain, but the Rain Isnt going to be particularly widespread. And with a bit of luck, most of us will have a fine, dry day. Lets have a look at the satellite picture. Here is the Weather Front sweeping towards us earlier on. That has brought the damp weather to parts of wales and northern england. And through the course of sunday, the Weather Front will drift a little bit further south and then eventually will rain itself out. So, through the early hours, the damp weather from northern wales, merseyside, parts of lancashire, yorkshire, to the north and to the south, the skies will be generally clear. And our Temperatures early on Sunday Morning in the range of 8 13 celsius. So here is the Weather Front, then, through the irish sea, northern wales, most of northern england. Occasionally it will be wet. Some of the bursts of rain could be at least for a time heavy, but i think as we go through the course of the afternoon that rain should eventually petered out. We will also have showers across scotland, and then for most of us it should be at the very least a bright day. Really quite sunny in the south and the south east, where we will have the highest Temperatures. 20 celsius. Here is that Weather Front as it moves southwards and also drift gently towards the east, it eventually rains itself out. The forecast for monday shows fine conditions across most of the uk. A large area of High Pressure with light winds, feeling very pleasant in the sunshine. And i think widely Temperatures are reach the high teens, probably exceed 20 celsius in one or two spots. So a beautiful start to the week for most of us. Now, the High Pressure is indeed going to stick around for the next few days. It will anchor itself over the uk. We are right in the middle of it. And it is not in a hurry to budge. Now, the very far north west of the uk will be potentially clipped by Weather Fronts, so maybe thicker cloud here at times and some spots of rain. But the vast majority of us are in the centre of that high, so sunny conditions, light winds. Look at these Temperatures. Whether you are an author south, it will be around whether you are north or south, it will be around the high teens or perhaps even in excess of 20 celsius. Now, the high will change in shape and they will be changes in the wind direction, so there might be one or two showers sneaking in, particularly into southern parts of the uk. But overall, the message is looking dry, bright and really quite warm. Goodbye. Youre watching Bbc News The Media Show is next. Hello, im katie razzall. This week, how russia is alleged to be using influencers to interfere with the us election. And we look at the ongoing Media Fascination with the child killer, lucy letby. Its all coming up on The Media Show. The us has accused russia of attempting to influence the upcoming election with a widespread disinformation campaign. One of the most unusual aspects of the story is the alleged use of american influencers. The Department Ofjustice claims that two employees of the russian State Broadcaster Rt paid a Media Company named by Us News outlets as Tenet Media to create pro russian content. Well, Maggie Miller is the Cybersecurity Reporter at politico and fills us in. These were charges that were unveiled last week by the us attorney general, one of our, well, our top Ranking Law Enforcement official. And really, these two rt employees, who are both russian citizens, are accused of funnelling around 10 Million over the past year to a us based Media Company, which was called Tenet Media, established last year, to help pay some of their Youtube Commentators to put out certain content, most of which was pro russian Content Or Content that was aimed at exploiting