Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News Now 20240920

This is bbc news, the headlines. At least 32 killed in lebanon after two days of exploding Device Attacks targeting hezbollah. Pagers and walkie talkies have been banned from flights out of beirut. Israel widely believed to be behind the attacks has announced what it calls a � new phase in The War the United States is urging calm. The bbc reveals that the former Harrods Boss the late Mohamed Al Fayed has been accused of rape by five female ex employees. Evacuations in Northern Italy as Storm Boris batters the country causing severe flooding and landslides. And in the uk calls for urgent Maternity Service Reform after two thirds of hospitals inspected fail to meet safety standards. The bbc has revealed that the late Mohamed Al Fayed former owner of harrods, the uks largest Luxury Department Store has been accused of rape by five female ex employees. The egyptian born businessman rose from a poor family in alexandria to buying the world famous Department Store in 1985. A Bbc Documentary has uncovered evidence that under Mohamed Al Fayeds ownership, harrods not only failed to intervene, but helped to cover up abuse allegations. This report from Shaima Khalil contains descriptions of sexual violence. Yeah, i went back to harrods about a year ago, and i knew if i could walk through and Come Out the other side, id be in a good place to be talking to you. Ijoined harrods because i wanted to be a buyer, and i ended up working for an absolute monster. When Mohamed Al Fayed took over harrods, he quickly embraced his high Profile Role and the status that came with it. To his customers and the celebrity guests, he was all charm, but to many of his female employees, he was a different man a predator. Weve heard testimony from more than 20 of Al Fayeds Ijoined Harrods because i wanted to be a buyer, and i ended up working for an absolute monster. When Mohamed Al Fayed took over harrods, he quickly embraced his high Profile Role and the status that came with it. He tried to rape me more than once. And he pushed me in and on to the bed so that i couldnt move. You know, he was 79, nearly 80, and i was 15. Mohamed Al Fayed was rich and powerful. That power allowed him to carry out assault at scale over decades. I wasnt at home. I was in france. And hed come upstairs into my room. I was absolutely terrified, got into bed with me and was trying to kiss me and push himself on me and i. Again, ijust. I dont know how i did it. Ijust kicked him off. I kicked him, kicked him, kicked him, kicked and screamed. And again i got him off. I was just. Just terrified. I think Mohamed Al Fayed is a rapist. I think hes a serial rapist. Gemma worked as Al Fayeds Personal Assistant for two years. My first trip was actually to abu dhabi, and he was trying to get in my room in quite an aggressive manner. It was absolutely terrifying, just didnt know which way to turn. So i bought a small dictaphone that i had in my pocket. And, um, these are the transcripts from those recordings. One of them was in paris, in his residence there, villa windsor. I said, i just want to go to sleep on my own. Mr fayed, i dont want to, mr fayed. And he kept saying, relax, please relax. How can you relax when youre in that situation . He walked out and he was angry. Not long after this incident, gemma says Al Fayed raped her. The bbc has heard testimony from four other women, who say he raped them at his properties. In 2009, gemma contacted a lawyer, who told harrods she was leaving herjob on the grounds of sexual harassment. She didnt feel able to disclose the more serious allegations at the time. They agreed to pay a settlement if she signed a non disclosure agreement. There was also one other condition. The lawyers organised for a Shredding Truck to come to my lawyers office. It was shredded in front of us, including tapes i had of him, my phone that had messages and voicemails, really quite nasty voicemails on them. Someone from hr was present for the shredding of all of the evidence i had. I thought id lost the transcripts, but actually what i did have was the transcriptions sent to my lawyer in my sent items of my E Mail Account at the time. In a statement, the current owners of harrods say they were utterly appalled by the allegations and that employees, who were his victims, had been failed, for which they sincerely apologised. They also said that the harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010. There were several attempts to expose Al Fayed before his death, but it is only now that many of the survivors feel able to speak publicly about the abuse. For those who have, the silence and the taboo are finally broken. Shaima khalil, bbc news. With me is erica gornall, the director, and Cassie Cornish Trestrail the producer, of the bbc two documentary Al Fayed predator at harrods who also helped make the new series of the world of Secrets Podcast about it from the bbc world service. You heard testimony from more than 20 women, what did they say . It is an unprecedented number of survivors on a documentary like this, Sexual Abuse is incredibly hard to talk about for anyone let alone on a documentary. They are incredibly serious allegations, serious Sexual Abuse, assaults, and what is significant about this particular case is that these women were going to work, they were in a professional environment and Mohamed Al Fayed was their boss which puts them in a difficult position. We are notjust talking about a couple of years, the women range from the 19805 years, the women range from the 1980s until the late 2,000s, throughout his whole tenure. Why have you decided to make this documentary now . When Mohamed Al Fayed when Mohamed Al Fayed died last year it when Mohamed Al Fayed died last year it brought back a lot of bad year it brought back a lot of bad memories for these women. And it bad memories for these women. And it has bad memories for these women. And it has taken away a lot of the feat and it has taken away a lot of the fear. He has been trained in the the fear. He has been trained in the Netflix Series and in that in the Netflix Series and in that he in the Netflix Series and in that he had a positive, Gregarious Portrayal that is not Gregarious Portrayal that is hot the Gregarious Portrayal that is not the same as the expenses of these not the same as the expenses of these women and they wanted to set the these women and they wanted to set the record straight. What have harrods said . The Ownership Today is different from back then when Mohamed Al Fayed was in charge, he sold the store in 2010. We have had a statement and they say they are utterly appalled by the allegations, the current owners, and his victims have been veiled for which the store sincerely apologises. So yes, quite a statement from them. There have been allegations about Mohamed Al Fayed going back a long period since the 19905. What did we know then and what is different now . Backin and what is different now . Back in the 1990s, there were a number of allegations that did Come Out, there was a Vanity Fair article, Come Out, there was a Vanity Fairarticle, and a Come Out, there was a Vanity Fair article, and a film which talked about groping and sexual assault. The biographer also featured a lot of allegations there as well. So we do look at that in the film to see how things continued without investigation. What has happened now which is significant with all these new women is the sense of scale, the number of women who have talked to us, and the seriousness of the allegations of attempted rape which have not been made before. It is not easy making a programme like this, what are the difficulties . There is so much emotion, these women there is so much emotion, these women describing some of the worst women describing some of the worst experiences of their lives worst experiences of their lives. Together we have built relationships with them across this year relationships with them across this year and made sure all the people this year and made sure all the people who feature in the documentary are contributing in a Way Documentary are contributing in a way they feel comfortable. There a way they feel comfortable. There is a way they feel comfortable. There is a a way they feel comfortable. There is a range in the 13 survivors, there is a range in the 13 survivors, some waving their anonymity, to an audio interview, to testimony voiced by an interview, to testimony voiced by an actor. There is huge strength by an actor. There is huge strength in numbers which has come strength in numbers which has come across in this film. You come across in this film. You have come across in this film. You have been working on this since the beginning of the year. Since the beginning of this year since the beginning of this year. And it started before. We should say year. And it started before. Should say the original investigation came from the husband of one of the survivors and a lot of his work and him reaching out to these Women Led to the work we continued in this Documentary And Podcast which is out today. The polls show the president ial race is too close to call. Any leads the candidates may appear to have are still within the crucial margin of error. So to try and win over undecided and marginal voters both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are crisscrossing the Battleground States. One of those Battleground States is michigan, from where my Colleague Katrina Perry now reports. The city Of Dearborn is home to the biggest Arab American and muslim american populations in the us. The economy, cost of living, immigration, all issues concerning voters here. But the middle East Crisis is top of the list. Concern for family and friends in gaza has spread to worries about those in lebanon, as Exploding Devices killed dozens and injured thousands this week. It is heartbreaking just knowing that our Tax Money and our hard work is helping fund this. These business owners, long time democrats, feel abandoned by the Biden Harris Administration in its continued support for israel. You have somebody that is claiming to be a democrat, somebody that is claiming to be a republican, and they are parroting the exact same platforms who can cause more damage, who can cause more destruction. The thought of voting for someone who is directly contributing, right now, directly contributing to the Death And Destruction of our Home Country and of our relatives overseas. I have made the decision to vote forjill stein. And i know that there are people who will say, you know, it is a wasted vote. Sam is the owner of the sahara cafe. We asked for a ceasefire. We never received a ceasefire. I mean, we are running out of words. As a local employer, he says inflation is crippling him. I use a lot of flour. I bake my own bread here. For example, in September 21 i brought down a pallet of 40lb bags of flour, it cost me 13. 78 a bag. Today it has cost me 21. 92 a bag. How are things going here . This man runs an auto parts manufacturing business. He has created 1000 jobs in the last 25 years. Each party has pros and cons and some positive stuff and some negative stuff, so we are still undecided which way to go. It is a clearer choice for this doctor. Trump is offering to stop The War, so through his four years of presidency we havent experienced any wars and the economy was booming, actually. In 2020, Joe Biden won michigan by 2. 78 . In 2016, Donald Trump won by 0. 23 . And the campaigners know it is going to be tight again this year. They are peppering the state with multiple visits. In the last week alone, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Jd Vance and Tim Walz have all made trips to michigan. Moving north, in flint there is anger that ten years on from the contaminated water crisis, many still dont have clean water to drink and have not received Compensation Due to them. Cities still show the scars of the long gone motor heyday. This is a union town. You have got to care enough. It is about a humanitarian element. Now, i hear Kamala Harris constantly talking about the relief for the people, and that is what i am looking for and that is why i am leaning towards her. Whatever their view, both Trump And Harris are courting michigan voters in an election they are calling a battle for the soul of america. A Un Committee has condemned severe violations by israel of a global treaty protecting childrens rights, saying its military actions since October Seventh had a catastrophic impact on them. In an unusually long report following a regular review of Israels Compliance with the Un Convention on the rights of the child, the committee expressed its deep concern about the number of children in gaza who continue to be killed, maimed, orphaned and subjected to famine, malnutrition and disease. Israels delegation argued in a series of hearings earlier this month that the treaty did not apply in gaza or the West Bank and said that it was committed to respecting international humanitarian law. Lets speak to imogen foulkes, our geneva correspondent. Give us more detail . As you said, this is a very long and unusually long report for what is a regular review that all un member states have to undergo. But the committee looked at gazan, the occupied territories, looked at the situation of children in israel, there are sections on that. What comes out is for a start what the Committee Members call an effective disconnect between the Committee And Israel over who is responsible for the welfare of children in the occupied territories. The committee argue israel does have a responsibility, it called in the West Bank. In the detention of children, quite young children had been arrested for allegedly throwing stones, that these children should be reunited with their parents or their parents at least told where they are because there are reportedly thousands of palestinians including children detained by israelis and nobody knows where they are. That is part of it. Then, the effect of the conflict on children in gaza, as we know thousands and thousands of children have died since october the 7th. The committee was blunt, it told israel to stop its violence causing the deaths of children immediately, and to immediately allow humanitarian aid into gaza, to rebuild the schools that have been destroyed, to allow controversially the Aid Agency You Nra to run them. We know israel does not want to work with them at all. Thank you very much. Around the world and across the uk. This is bbc news. In haiti, prospects for holding a long delayed election have improved. The council is tasked with arranging polls by 2026, previous attempts have been hijacked by violence and political turmoil. Its mandate runs out at The End of the month if not renewed. The social Media Platform X says the sudden reappearance of its app in brazil was caused by a change in network providers. The restoration of the app was welcomed by many brazilian users. But x said it expected the platform to be inaccessible again soon, in accordance with a supreme court ban. X was blocked in brazil last month for refusing to remove dozens of right wing accounts accused of spreading disinformation. Air pollution, high temperatures, and risk factors such as obesity and high Blood Pressure are driving global increases of people who suffer stroke according to medical journal, the lancet. Although strokes are preventable and treatable, latest figures estimate there are 12 Million cases and more than Seven Million deaths each year. Prosecutors say sean combs coerced women into having six using threats of violence, he had pleaded guilty. His lawyers have applied for bail. The judge upheld a previous ruling that it was insufficient given his history of Violence And Substance abuse and the possibility of witness tampering. A Lawyerfor Possibility of witness tampering. A lawyer for sean combs spoke to reporters. We made a Bail Appeal Tojudge carter. We made a Bail Appeal Tojudge carter. It we made a Bail Appeal Tojudge carter, it did not go our way. The carter, it did not go our way. The fight carter, it did not go our way. The fight continues. We are not giving the fight continues. We are not giving up bya by a long shot. I told mr coombs i will try to get his case to trial as quickly as possible. I am going to try to minimise the amount of time he spends in very, very difficult and i believe inhumane Housing Conditions in the special Housing Unit of the metropolitan detention facility. And i will do everything i can to move his case as quickly as possible. I understand that the government has a great amount of electronic devices that they have to download and provide to me. But everything is on the governments timetable, nothing is on the defendants timetable. And they are going to have accommodate him and me and give us a quick trial, and i am going to be pushing for that. Australia is being urged to follow peru and New Zealand to legally protect Surf Breaks to boost tourism and wellbeing. A new survey from the Australian National University says surfing injects around 2 Billion into the australian economy each year. Researchers say governments have overlooked the value of Surf Breaks. From sydney, Phil Mercer reports. Surfing in australia has a proud history. A pioneer was the Hawaiian Legend duke kahanamoku. He showcased his skills here more than 100 years ago. Researchers say Australias World Class Surf Breaks need more legal protection. Unfortunately because of a growing number of pressures including climate change, coastal Erosion And Competition for coastal spaces, the elements that make those high quality waves possible are in many occasions endangered. I do not think the lack of protection right now is deliberate. It is just Surf Breaks currently just fall into a Blind Spot for policymakers. Peru and New Zealand have comprehensive measures to safeguard popular surfing spots. In australia the sport has great social and economic value. From beginners, to saltwater veterans, surfing generates about 2 Billion each year in australia. Its very long coastline is arguably its greatest natural treasure. The ocean is like a magnet for board riders who relish their sports physical and psychological benefits. It is like this cool economy, cafes, restaurants, surf stops, accommodation, yes, it is good. Love it. So i have had the business for 30 years, just looking forward, i pretty much see it as a slow growth. We try not to grow too fast here because we dont want to crowd out the actual ocean with too many surfers. Surfing is an Olympic Sport and its global appeal is growing. The World Surf League has recently taken events over to india. And there have been professional Surfing Events in china for over a decade now as well. So anywhere there is ocean with rideable waves, there seems to be a Surfing Contingent these days. The government estimates there are more than 720,000 active adult surfers in australia. There are probably many more when children and international tourists are accounted for. Australia is sort of seen as the country to surf. Ijust thought i would love to be able to teach people and share the joy of surfing. And it is nice not to be working in an office, it is nice to be working at the beach, in the sunshine, in the water every day. For those chasing the perfect wave, surfing is about embracing the power of nature. For them it is a gift that should be protected. Phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. Conservationists in New Zealand have gone to extraordinary lengths to free a whale which had become trapped under a pier by dismantling the construction to set the whale free. This is the pygmy blue whale, about 15 metres in length, which had swum underneath the private wharf in Kawau Island and was unable to free itself. When its plight became public when its plight became public rescue teams were brought in rescue teams were brought in and the decision was made and the decision was made to take the pier apart to take the pier apart piece by piece until piece by piece until the whale could swim away. The whale could swim away. Experts say it suffered experts say it suffered a little bit of distress a little bit of distress during the operation during the operation but it was eventually able but it was eventually able to return to the open to return to the open seas, none the worse seas, none the worse for the experience. For the experience. And the Conservation Groups say they will and the Conservation Groups say they will now replace the pier now replace the pier leaving it as it was leaving it as it was before the whale became before the whale became lodged underneath it. Lodged underneath it. Stay with us here on bbc news. Stay with us here on bbc news. Hello. Plenty of sunshine across the uk, even where you are seeing lots of low cloud today. But there will be changes through the rest of the week. Friday into the weekend, low pressure moves in from iberia. Rainfall amounts from friday through to sunday, pinpoints this evening and overnight, that north easterly breeze draggs The Cloud back, more extensive tonight, parts of scotland, central and eastern areas especially, but in the west with the clearer skies, temperatures could drop down into lower single figures for one or two isolated spots. For most of us, mild enough, a grey start to friday. The low cloud will linger more widely in Eastern Scotland and eastern england. And through the day, while sunshine comes through, we will see Thundery Showers developing through the midlands, Southern England and wales. Hit and miss at this stage, many will still dry, pleasant enough in the sunshine. But temperatures starting to creep down, cooler in the onshore breeze on north sea coast. Into the weekend, saturday, we see showers lingering from friday across the south west, then developing more widely across parts of central and Southern England and wales. Really, it is the low cloud which could bring some drizzle to the north sea coast. Plenty of sunshine to the North And West but temperatures dropping as the breeze picks up. That breeze will pick up further into sunday, the low pressure drifting towards us by this stage bringing longer spells of heavy and thundery rain possible across wales, central and Southern England. One or two spots may avoid, East Anglia may not be too bad, drier further north, but with patchy drizzle where that low cloud lingers near eastern coasts. That is all for now. Today at one, five female staff who worked for the late Mohamed Al Fayed at harrods say he raped them, and the store helped cover it up. Since reporting the story, more former harrods employees have contacted the bbc to say they were assaulted by him. Also on the programme. No change in Interest Rates theyre held at 5 by the bank of england. Some prisoners who were freed under the governments early Release Scheme tell the bbc they werent fitted with electronic tags. A damning review of Maternity Care in england says harm is becoming normalised and urgent change is needed. Bleep. Move away from there. Violence and abuse 40 of people working directly with the public say they want to quit their jobs because of it. And a World First Operation to Fix Amara the baby rhinos broken leg is perfomed by a team of vets in liverpool