Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At One 20200821

Whether theyre too lenient. A doctor treating the russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny says no traces of poison have been found in his body. And, taylor swift makes a students wildest dreams come true the singers donated £23,000 to an 18 year old in the uk trying to raise enough money to go to university. For her to donate more than 50 of what i needed, itjust blew my mind. I never expected it to happen, if that makes sense. It was really. Different. And coming up on bbc news. Manchester united say captain Harry Maguire is fully co operating with authorities following an alleged incident on the greek island of mykonos. Good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. Thousands of british holidaymakers are racing to get home before new Coronavirus Travel rules come into force in the early hours of tomorrow morning. From liam, anyone returning from croatia, austria, Trinidad And Tobago will have to isolate for two weeks, because of an increase in coronavirus cases in those countries. Croatias ambassador to the uk has called on the government to take a more targeted approach. The transport secretary, grant shapps, has warned that people travelling anywhere abroad this summer should keep their eyes open to the possibility of further restrictions. Heres our health correspondent, richard galpin. Thousands of british tourists here in croatia now have a crucial decision to make. Whether to head to the airports to return home or continue their holiday knowing they will have to quarantine for two weeks on return to the uk. The uk governments announcement that croatia was now in the quarantine list causing dilemmas for many, and they need to decide before the deadline of early tomorrow morning. I meant to be starting back at university. Im starting my final year of medical school on friday. Im meant to be moving into new accommodation but i wont be able to do that, so im in contact with the university, trying to make arrangements to start a bit later. Im not sure what impact that will have on the rest of the year. In this time of coronavirus, croatia had been seen as one of the safer European Countries for tourists. But infection rates have been rising, not least as a result of foreigners travelling in and out of the country. Croatian officials, though, are frustrated that the uk government now requires british tourists who have travelled anywhere in the country to go into quarantine when they get back home. We regret it that its not possible for the uk government to consider a regional approach, because in croatia we have, as i said, witnessed spikes in certain areas, for example in zagreb, the capital, mainly amongst the young population, but in dubrovnik, the surroundings and its islands, there are very few cases. And it seems they will not be any good news from the uk for the croatian Tourism Industry anytime soon. Where there are islands i think that something where we have said we will look at and we are looking at. Then you get down to how good a detailed level of information you have got on individual islands which might be part of the country with a landmass somewhere else. But there is criticism from tourism experts at the steps taken by the government for british tourists holidaying in croatia. Its also about how much confidence the Government House in the Testing Programme in the countries, about the Health Service in the countries. We have asked the government several times to be more transparent about these numbers so people can keep an eye on it, people want to know and have a bit more notice. But it has refused to do that so far. And its not just croatia for which refused to do that so far. And its notjust croatia for which the government now requires a two week quarantine. Austria and Trinidad And Tobago have also been added to the lengthening list. It already includes spain and france. The one country for which there is good news todayis country for which there is good news today is portugal. No longer will uk tourists have to self isolate on their return home. The country is now on the uk governments official list of travel corridors. Richard galpin, bbc news. 0ur europe correspondent gavin lee is in the popular croatian tourist town of sibenik. What are people saying to you there . This part of the dalmatian coast, here along with split as well, is actually where there are more british tourists than from any other country. And this particular region accou nts country. And this particular region accounts for about 50 of the economy coming for that industry. We have a familiar scramble now which we saw in france last week and two weeks ago in spain with people wondering what to do to get back before four oclock in the morning was that they had 2a hours. I have been speaking to people trying to get to dubrovnik. Some people are going over the border to try to fly from another story. A familiar story iam hearing from another story. A familiar story i am hearing is how difficult it is, how many flights are full, and one family say they have paid at least eight times the amount of what they originally paid. That on top of the impact here. When i interviewed the tourism minister here he says he doesnt believe its fair, not legitimate, and he puts the blame solely on squarely on young people in nightclubs in split, the Party Capital of croatia. He says thats ultimately where they are not listening to the rules was that he says by butterfly effect you now have a situation where notjust the uk but germany, italy, austria and slovenia, all in the last few days have put restrictions in place and now they are specifically lobbying the uk saying we can sort this situation out, please dont kill whats left of our Tourism Industry. Gavin lee in croatia, thank you. Uk Government Debt hit £2 trillion injuly the first time it has ever reached that level. Ministers have greatly increased public spending to try to support the economy during the coronavirus pandemic. Our Business Editor simon jack is here. It is an eye watering figure. Its mind boggling, almost impossible to comprehend the stop put it this way, if you started to spend £i comprehend the stop put it this way, if you started to spend £1 million per day at the time stonehenge and the pyramids were under construction, you wouldnt have got through it yet. But with any number like this, the number is not that important. Like any debt, how big is it compared to what you earn, whether thats a mortgage or a personal loan. If we look at that comparison you can see that actually over time it has now gone through a very important threshold of 100 . There is the number, £2 trillion, but moving to the next slide we can see it is now 100 of everything the nation earns in one year, and thats the first time that has happened since 1961. For a government, the first time that has happened since 1961. Fora government, its uncomfortably high, particularly a conservative government who like to think managing Public Finance is one of their core competencies. So, yes, uncomfortably high. How worried should we all be and what should we think . It is uncomfortably high but not unmanageable at the moment. Luckily the government can borrow money at a very low rate, borrow money, get a ten year loan at 0. 2 , much cheaper than we could borrow at. Thats the good thing for stop the other good news, we are not the most indebted country in europe, greece, spain, portugal and most indebted country in europe, greece, spain, portugaland also japan are much more indebted than us. Japan are much more indebted than us. Thats not usually the company we wa nt us. Thats not usually the company we want to keep though. So at some point taxis have to go up or spending has to come down. The chancellor says we will not go back to austerity but there are some tough choices ahead. Taxes have tough choices ahead. Taxes have to go up. Simon jack, thank you. The attorney general has referred the sentences handed down to the three teenagers who killed pc Andrew Harper to the court of appeal, to consider whether theyre too lenient. The officer, who was 28, died last year in berkshire, when he was dragged along a road by a getaway car, for more than a mile. Lets speak to our home affairs correspondent, danny shaw. What does this announcement mean . What does this announcement mean . What this announcement means is that there will be a full Court Hearing at the court of appeal to determine whether or not the sentences were unduly lenient, that is the phrase used. The sentences handed down were 16 years to henry long, and 13 years both to Albert Bowers and jessie cole. The decision to refer these cases to the court of appeal has been made by the attorney general, suella braverman, who says these we re suella braverman, who says these were horrific crimes and has personally looked at the details of the cases. She says the offenders should be punished for these heinous crimes. The decision to refer to the court of appeal has been welcomed by Andrew Harpers widow, lissie harper, who says it is great to and the sentences did not match the crimes, it was notjustice for stop in terms of whether the court of appeal will raise the sentences, in about two thirds of cases, thats what they do. Two thirds of cases that make it to the court of appeal, they are increased by the court, but they are increased by the court, but the bar is quite high. The court has to decide whether the judge in the sentencing made a gross error or whether the sentences outside the range of reasonable sentences available. We should remember that Albert Bowers and jessie cole have this week launch their own appeals both against their convictions and sentences. They have lodged those appeals and that case will be heard on the 28 october by the most senior judge in england and wales, the lord chiefjustice. It is possible that these appeals will be held at the same time, no confirmation of that, but it is possible. Danny shaw, thank you. A doctor treating the russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny has said no traces of poison have been found in his body. Mr navalny is in a coma in hospital after collapsing during a flight from siberia to moscow. His supporters say he fell ill after a substance was added to his tea at the airport. His wife has written to president putin asking permission for him to be flown to germany for treatment. From moscow, heres sarah rainsford. Could this be the moment Alexei Navalny was poisoned . Drinking tea in tomsk airport before boarding a flight to moscow. Shortly after, he was carried off the plane unconscious. The pilot had to make an Emergency Landing when the russian opposition activist collapsed in agony. So, at the siberian hospital where he is still in a coma, anxious friends and family have gathered. The activists brother, one of the few allowed to his bedside. The family are convinced this was a deliberate attack and furious at doctors who tell them hes too unstable to be flown abroad yet for treatment. Translation we think its done so that the chemicals they found disappear from his body. Alexei is not in a very good state. And of course, we cant trust this hospital. We demand they give him to us so we can take him to doctors we trust. Theyve called in this air ambulance from germany. For now, its standing by. The family want independent toxicology tests and the best treatment, but his russian medics insist that flying is too risky. Theyre still testing for toxins but say so far theyve found nothing. Translation our main working diagnosis is a metabolic imbalance. This may have been caused by a sudden drop in his blood sugar levels in the plane which could have caused him to lose consciousness. At this point, doctors are doing Everything Possible to bring mr navalny out of his coma. Mr navalny is the most effective challenger to those in power here. An Anti Corruption campaigner, the only opposition figure who can bring big crowds of protesters onto the streets. Hes been arrested multiple times because of it. And now, Alexei Navalny is fighting for his life, as his friends and family fight to find out exactly whats happened to him. Sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. Britain has accused the eu of making post brexit negotiations unnecessarily difficult. David frost, the uks chief negotiator, said he believes a deal is still possible but warned theres been little progress after seven rounds of talks. 0ur europe correspondent nick beake is in brussels. How would politicians where you are react to those comments . These negotiations have been ongoing despite the rules being tightened here in brussels with everyone having to wear a mask in public places. But its a pretty gloomy assessment today from both sides, saying that really no key progress has been made on the most important matters, but that a deal they think can still be done, but time is running out. This effect all our lives because the position would be from the start of next year, British Goods would be subject to tariffs, which means they would be more expensive, and also there could be problems in moving stuff around. Michel barnier are today, the eu chief negotiator, said he was disappointed at the lack of progress. He accused the uk of time wasting. As you say, david frost, the uks chief negotiator, he said basically the problem here is that the eu has to accept that the uk wa nts a the eu has to accept that the uk wants a deal, a trade deal, that would give it a sovereign control of things that really matter, including laws, borders and waters. We still have these two big stumbling blocks. First of all, fishing, the extent to which eu boats can come into british waters and also the so called state aid rules, all about different governments being able to give support to different industries, which in the light of covid 19 is a really important thing. They will meet again in london in september but no breakthrough this week. Nick beakein but no breakthrough this week. Nick bea ke in brussels, but no breakthrough this week. Nick beake in brussels, thank you. Our top story this lunchtime thousands of holidaymakers race to get back to the uk, before new quarantine rules come into force early tomorrow. And coming up surfs up how pulling on a wetsuit and getting out on the waves could improve your Mental Health. Coming up on bbc news england try to steady the ship, after losing a couple of wickets on the first day of the final test against pakistan in southampton. A battle between light and darkness thats howjoe biden framed novembers us elections, as he accepted his partys nomination to challenge donald trump for the white house. Mr biden called for unity and optimism, and accused his rival of cloaking the United States in anger, fear and division. But, as the Democratic Convention ended, there was no traditional razzmatazz or cheering crowds this weeks event has been online because of coronavirus. Heres our north america correspondent david willis. This was the nominationjoe biden had sought for so long, having run for president unsuccessfully twice before. The current president has cloaked america in darkness for much too long. Too much anger, too much fear, too much division. Here and now, i give you my word if you entrust me with the presidency, i will draw on the best of us, not the worst. Ill be an ally of the light, not the darkness. So, its with great honour, and humility, i accept this nomination for president of the United States of america. Oh, one day. Earlier, on the final night of the convention, tribute was paid to the democratic congressman and civil rights icon john lewis, who fought alongside Martin Luther king for the right to vote. A contender for the democrats Vice President ial nomination told the virtual gathering the time to exercise that right was now. Weve cried out forjustice. Weve gathered in our streets to demand change, and now we must pass on the giftjohn lewis sacrificed to give us. We must register and we must vote. The early emphasis was on stressing their candidates empathy, through the story of a teenager whom he helped overcome a stutter. And withoutjoe biden, i wouldnt be talking to you today. Im beau biden, and joe biden is my dad. And linking his own heart wrenching story to the lives of millions of americans suffering problems of their own. Biden lost his son beau to brain cancer five years ago, his first wife and young daughter in a car accident 43 years before that. I have some idea how it feels to lose someone you love. I know that deep black hole that opens up in the middle of your chest and you feel like youre being sucked into it. I know how mean and cruel and unfair life can be sometimes. A feature of this Unconventional Convention has been that instead of a background of cheering crowds speeches have been delivered via video link from largely empty event centres in different parts of the country. Joe biden and Kamala Harris intend to continue campaigning mostly virtually. The final ten weeks of this president ial campaign are shaping up to be one of the strangest ever. David willis, bbc news, los angeles. 0ur correspondent Barbara Plett usher is in washington. Where plett usher is in washington. Does the campaign g here . Where does the campaign go from here . Well, we are heading into a new face of uncertainty and unpredictability, which seem to be the defining themes of this pandemic convention. Pandemic election season. It was experimental but highly scripted and it played to a joe bidens strengths. He is up against the Republican Convention next week and i have no doubt they will attack him probably on Economic Policy and i think they will try to paint him as a radical left wing socialist who wants to raise taxes and cut private health care, which resonates with the republican supporters. The biggest threat to his second term because he said rigged voting would be highly fraudulent. Four test for candidate. Convention speech at the three debates. The consensus isjoe biden passed the first test with flying colours but what about the debates . But will be something very closely watched. We are 7a days until election day. So much can happen before then. Yes, goodness. Thank you. The number of people in the community in england with coronavirus is levelling off, according to the latest data. 0ur head of statistics, robert cuffe, is here. What do these new figures show . Nationally the number of infections in homes in england has been pretty sta ble in homes in england has been pretty stable for about a month which suggests some of the rises we have seenin suggests some of the rises we have seen in cases is due to more testing and may not more infections. Cases fell very sharply throughout june and once he had to light it stabilises around 25,000 people in homes in england infected with coronavirus. If you push ahead you can maybe see little rises and falls during july and august but it has been pretty stable and that gives us an indication that is not messed up by the fact you bring a mobile testing van into a hot spot because this is a survey testing people at random in the community that tells us about infections and not the amount of tests and it tells us that some of the rising is probably down to more testing. The number of infections we are seeing is not going down, not following any more, but it is not shooting back up again, so we are stabilising nationally. That is interesting nationally. That is interesting nationally because we are hearing suggestions of restrictions on certain parts of the country, local restrictions. Three very different stories to tell. If you live in wigan or die when you have just got good because the restrictions are going to be lifted so you can meet with people from outside your home. In northampton we have seen a massive spike in cases but that is due to an infection outbreak in one factory. Workers and their families are going to have to stay at home for two weeks and isolator that is going to be legally enforced. But does not affect everyone in northampton, mainly the people working in the factory. A different story again in 0ldham, pendle and blackburn where infections have been stubbornly high. Infection rates in the 70s and 80s hair 100,000 people. Three quarters of all local authorities in the uk have infection rates below ten per 100,000 so they have been high for a long time and the announcement has been made they could no longer socialise with people they do not live with, so i further tightening of restrictions, because even though cases have been coming down it is not enough. Thank you. Sources have told the bbc that the government will extend the ban on evictions in england and wales until 20th september. Cases were put on hold at the start of the coronavirus crisis. The Charity Shelter has warned that more than 200,000 tenants are behind with their rent, and could be at risk of losing their homes. Surfing in the uk was once a sport for the hardy few, but its popularity has rocketed in recent years. More and more of us are pulling on a wetsuit and getting out on the waves. Now, new Research Shows the sport is also beneficial to Mental Health and wellbeing, as john maguire has been finding out. Believe it or not, ten years ago, charlotte ba nfield had a phobia of water. I used to be really scared to go to the beach, go near the shower, go in the rain. It was more of a sensory thing, the feel of water used to really scare me. Charlotte has cerebral palsy, autism and anxiety. When her mum signed her up for a surf therapy session, part of the wave project, it changed her life. I still have bad days where i get really anxious and feel like i cant leave the house. When im having those days, i literally get my surfboard, wetsuit, get in the car and go, because i know that as soon as i get in the sea i will feel better again. Its like the sea has some magic Healing Properties that just works instantly. Charlottes recovery is such that last year she won the english adaptive surfing contest, and she has a masters degree in marine biology. Today, shes at the wave, the artificial surf lake near bristol with its founder, nick hounsfield. He has long been an advocate of whats known as blue health the healing powers of water and the sea. For nick, his belief became a reality six months ago. I suffered a massive stroke and it became part of my rehabilitation, being here and being in water, swimming alone, and starting to realise that the connectivity with my brain and my health was a big part of rehabilitation and i really believe that thats a massive part of how i have managed to recover my speech coming back so quickly. Charlotte and nick are prime examples of the benefits of surfing. Highlighted in a report published today by the wave, it looks at how the sport can help physical and mental well being, especially considering the impact of covid 19. Dr Easkey Britton from the National University of ireland, galway, is a surfer and has studied what happens to the brain and body when in the water. Being in, on or near water, and certainly being actively engaged in it, helps to both stimulate and soothe the nervous system, our hormonal system, our respiratory system and even our heart rate can start to. It slows in response to these environments. From the blues to blue health, the power of waves are helping people to ride out the storm. John maguire, bbc news, south gloucestershire. Cricket, and england lost both of their opening batsmen in the first session of the third and final test against pakistan in southampton. But, in blustery conditions, the home side rallied thanks to a half century from zak crawley. At lunch england were 91 2. Joe lynskey has been watching the action. In this unique summer of cricket, theres barely time to catch a breath. This is englands sixth test match in seven weeks and the last in the bubble will have to fight through a storm. 60 mile an hour winds are due in southampton today, but pakistans fast bowlers embrace any conditions. Rory burns misjudged the swinging ball in the breeze. His edged shot had carried through to the slips with no bounce. Shan masoods catch was fair. Burns was out. In conditions like this, challenges come with bat and ball. Absolutely perfect, just where you want it. Zak crawley came to the crease and took on the wind. As it stands, this is the last test of the year. Crawley and dom sibley hope to leave a lasting impression. Sibley has emerged this summer as englands patient performer, wearing down bowlers with a few runs every hour. Butjust as pakistan were toiling, they drew sibley forward. Yasir shahs spinning ball kept low and struck the pads. England appealed, but it was plumb on for the wicket. And while the opener had to go, crawley finished the morning with a milestone, his half century has given england a decent foundation. This team spent ten weeks in a biosecure bubble they will hope the last week in isolation ends in celebration. Joe lynskey, bbc news. She had a hit with the song wildest dreams now taylor swift has made a students dreams come true. The american singer has donated 23,000 pounds to help an 18 year old in london, whos been trying to raise enough money to study maths at university. Vitoria mario isnt eligible for student loans, after moving to the uk from portugal four years ago. David sillito has been to meet her. Yes, this is about a little unexpected text message. Can i introduce you to vitoria here . Vitoria, you are a student, arent you . Yes, iam. And you have a little go fund me page to try and raise the money to go to university . Yes, that is correct. Can you just show us your phone here . Yeah, sure. And this all happened yesterday, while you were in church . Yeah, 20 hours ago. So, this is it here. £23,373 from taylor swift. Bit of a surprise. Unreal. Just. Itjust came out of the blue . Out of the blue, yeah. I did not know, ijust checked and there it was. So, you arrived in the uk four years ago from portugal. Yes. Speaking no english. Yes. And you have just got your a level grades. That is true, i got a star in maths, a star in further maths and a in physics. But you werent eligible for any grants to go to university or anything like that . No. So, you started a go fund me page. I was like, why not . I have nothing to lose. Only to gain, i guess. What were your feelings when you saw this . I couldnt believe it, i couldnt believe it. Im still even processing it, because its so unreal. How do you reach out to taylor swift . I dont know. So, you werent a massive taylor swift fan, then . Yeah. Just came out of the blue . Just came out of the blue, yeah, definitely. I thought she was in america, so. And you arrived in the uk speaking no english . No english, yes. I had to learn on my own, netflix mainly. You learned from netflix . Netflix mainly, yes. Listening to people as well and yeah, that was it. Well, congratulations and i hope you have a Successful University life at warwick. Thank you very much. Vitoria there, and well, that is a little unexpected moment. Of course, it is not the first time a celebrity or pop star has made