Long record. One fact is indisputable. Throughout my time in congress, i have remained steadfast on the side of Civil Society and Human Rights Defenders in egypt, and everywhere else in the world. If you look at my actions related to that during the period described in this indictment and throughout my whole career, my record is clear and consistent in holding it accountable for its unjust detention of american citizens and others, human rights abuses, its deepening relationship with russia, and efforts that have eroded the independence of the nationjudiciary among a eroded the independence of the nation judiciary among a myriad eroded the independence of the nationjudiciary among a myriad of concerns. In 2017, i led a bipartisan letter to then President Trump expressing grave concern with the worsening situation for human rights in egypt. That same year sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee supporting us assistance to egypt as long as egypt adhered to the accords and urge the Appropriations Committee to include the requirements for Assistance Reform Strategies outlined in the egypt assistance reform act of 2013. In 2018, i urged the secretary to focus more on Human Rights Issues in egypt and raised concerns that the electoral environment ahead of egypt was my collections at the time was not free, fair and credible. In 2019, i met with the president at the Security Conference and emphasised the level of repression inside of egypt, risking eroding our security, cooperation and raising concerns about each of� s intent to purchase a Russian Missile system. In 2020, i spoke on the senate floor for International Womens day and cited some cases of Human Rights Lawyer and a Human Rights Activist and reporter who unjustly detained in egypt for fighting for human rights, democracy and the free press. I have placed holds on Foreign Military sales funding to egypt and in the presence of other United States senators, i have challenged the president directly on human rights abuses, are between detention and press freedoms. On the list goes on. Throughout my 30 years in the House Of Representatives and the senate, have always worked to hold accountable those countries, including egypt, for human rights abuses, for repression of the citizenry, Civil Society and more. Those were now are attempting to malign my actions as it pertains to egypt, civilly dont know the facts. Third, for 30 years, i have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal Savings Account. Which i have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family Facing Confiscation in cuba. Now, this may seem old fashioned, but these are monies drawn from my personal Savings Account based on the income that i have lawfully derived over those 30 years. I look forward to addressing other issues at trial. For, i want to speak directly to the people of newjersey. As i started these remarks, you are the reason why i have dedicated the entirety of my adult life to improving the lives of hard working people in newjersey and all america. Some of the people calling for my resignation for political reasons say have lost the trust of the people of newjersey. They could not be more wrong. Today, i am surrounded by everyday people and constituents who know me, theyre here because i fought for Important Health care policies like the Affordable Care act, access to Reproductive Health camp, funding for Community Health centres and lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Theyre here because i have fought for working people, those who work 5 9 to support those working from 9 5. Ive always advocated for the right of workers to organise for better wages and working conditions and had been a staunch supporter of delivering Critical Services like affordable childcare to better support working families. Theyre here because, when newjersey was in the darkest days following super never relented, making sure that new jersey was made whole and had the resources to rebuild stronger and more resilient than before. Theyre here because during the worst pandemic in a century, i went to bat for Small Business owners throughout the state to ensure they could keep the state to ensure they could keep the doors opened and their employees on the payroll. They are here because when state and local governments were faced with excruciating decision of having to lay our front line responders, Police Officers and firefighters during pandemic, i delivered billions in federalfunding during pandemic, i delivered billions in federal funding and investments to keep our state, cities and towns and hospitals afloat. They are here because, throughout my career, and some may not. ,. ,. , , not. There we are going to come away from not. There we are going to come away from that not. There we are going to come away from that news not. There we are going to come away from that News Conference. L away from that News Conference. Senator Robert Menendez saying i firmly believe i will be exonerated. He said some people simply dont know the facts. The justice department, prosecutors allege in the senator and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for aid to egypts government. We are listening to that in washington, with our correspondent gary odonoghue. Gary, he has also said he he believes he will remain in newjersey� s senator. Is that likely, you think . Get them is that likely, you think . Get them i think it will all depend on the prosecution in the criminal process, of course. fist prosecution in the criminal process, of course. �. , of course. At the end of the day, he can stay a of course. At the end of the day, he can stay a senator of course. At the end of the day, he can stay a senator if of course. At the end of the day, he can stay a senator if he of course. At the end of the day, he can stay a senator if he goes of course. At the end of the day, he can stay a senator if he goes to can stay a senator if he goes to jail. But at the he is innocent until proven guilty. And bear in mind, bob menendez is a pretty robust character. Hes been here before. He was prosecuted back in 2015 on bribery charges. That ended in a mistrial, a hung jury, 2015 on bribery charges. That ended in a mistrial, a hungjury, in effect. And then those charges were all dropped. So he is no stranger to this process and you can hear from his words that let you take on a pretty strong stands but some of the detail of the indictment that we haveis detail of the indictment that we have is quite extraordinary. You had and theyre trying to explain why he has hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash lying around includes and closets in his house. He that is just how we operate literally draws money in cash. It is as background. But also prosecutors out that he seems to be in possession of gold bars, luxury cars, and they quote a number of Text Messages which are connected, they say, to these various businessmen connected to egypt and indeed local issues in new jersey itself. I egypt and indeed local issues in new jerse itself. ,. , egypt and indeed local issues in new jersey itself jersey itself. I will let you get back to listening jersey itself. I will let you get back to listening to jersey itself. I will let you get back to listening to more jersey itself. I will let you get| back to listening to more than jersey itself. I will let you get i back to listening to more than a News Conference if there are any more significant lines, will return to you. Thank you very much, for now. Around the world and across the uk, youre watching bbc news. Even spend on council and police are trying a new way of intervening early with teenagers identified by social services. At the public leisure centres like here at the centre in west swindon theyre giving out six months gym memberships. So we identify the real challenge for some of our most Vulnerable Children in swindon. One of the issues is often we get to them too late. We really wanted to work to identify the children at risk of Substance Misuse, adverse golf Substance Misuse of their parents and tried to find interventions that fundamentally change how they think and feel about themselves. They have funding for 400 of these passes. The money comes from the confiscated proceeds of Illegal Drugs crime. It is one of the first councils outside of london to try this new approach to solving growing problem. For more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. Well, you are live with bbc news. It is business time. Good afternoon. Brexit could mean a sharp rise in the cost of Electric Cars. Thats the warning from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. It says new trade rules could cost european manufacturers e4. 3 billion euros, thats about £3. 75 billion pounds more over the next three years. Many thought the rules would ensure that eu produced Electric Cars would be made from locally sourced parts, but as our Business Correspondent theo leggett explains, its led to some unexpected consequences. Most of january, an electric car is being transported across the channel in either direction will have to have batteries made in the eu are in the uk. The problem is, there arent many batteries being made in the eu or the uk at the moment, and cars which dont have them which have battery sourced from china, for example, will have to pay a 10 tariff when they cross the channel in either direction. Thats a 10 tax, it will up the cost for producers and almost certainly mean that customers pay higher prices as well. Why does this matter . Because Sigrid De Vries of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association explained to me, this is a really, really important to market. The uk is now the main foreign market for the eu auto industry. So its really a crucial thing, and the uk is an important market. Its also advancing fast when it comes to electrification. Some manufacturers have set their eye am not markets, when to be there, and this is basically hampering that. In the eu say they are trying to protect what is a markets for batteries and battery development. They went to protect the ecosystem, but the simple fact of the matter is that the ecosystem isnt ready yet. What the manufacturers want its pretty clear. They went these rules delayed for another three years. They are in favour of having some kind of protection for the european Battery IndustryGoing Forward. But they say theres no point having these rules when the Production Capacity is not there yet. Itjust loads extra costs on them. So they want this delay. The problem is that requires agreement from the European Commission and the european member states. The European Commission has so far played hardball, because all of this is intensely political. There is a real reluctance in the corridors of brussels to tamper with the trading cooperation agreement, the brexit deal. That is so political, and we heard on friday from the internal Market Commissioner who said we are not going to be open this deal. So there is intense lobbying going on, both on the other side of the channel in brussels and here. And mike hawes the Chief Executive of the society for Motor Manufacturers and traders in the uk. He reckons this dispute could go on until christmas. Europes commissioner for trade has warned that trade between the eu and china is very imbalanced. Speaking in beijing he warned that european businesses are questioning their future in china, amid changing laws and the politicisation of trade. Take a listen. Many are questioning their position in the country. They are asking themselves what many saw that a win win relationship in past decades could become a lose lose dynamic in the coming years. This means European Companies struggle to understand their compliance obligation and the fact that it significantly decreases Business Confidence and deters new investments in china. To hollywood, where there has been a breakthrough in the near 5 month strike that has brought tinseltown to a standstill. The Writers Guild of america, which represents more than 11 thousand screen writers, says it has reached a tentative deal that makes meaningful gains and protections for writers. With this pact secured, the major film and tv studios will turn their attention to actors who have also been on strike since mid july. Lets get more from Michelle Fleury in new york. This is sort of a big leap forward but it is not a done deal yet, is it . Need to see the detail of this present agreement and the actors themselves are still on strike right now. ,. ,. ,. , now. Yes. I mean, hollywood, no doubt, now. Yes. I mean, hollywood, no doubt. Though. Now. Yes. I mean, hollywood, no doubt, though, is now. Yes. I mean, hollywood, no doubt, though, is breathing now. Yes. I mean, hollywood, no doubt, though, is breathing a now. Yes. I mean, hollywood, no| doubt, though, is breathing a sigh of relief, ben, but the details wont be released for several days. Lawyers are still kind of, you know, going over the fine print of the language that is going to be included in it, then the negotiators and the Writers Guild of america vote on it before sending it to the board before they send it to the membership. We do know, obviously, that there was a crucial key paragraph that will relate to Generative Ai and how that is used in Content Production in the future Going Forward. The role it will play in there. That was something that was a real concern. The details as yet still unknown is at the picket lines, suspended for now but the strike is going on until that ratification. Strike is going on until that ratification. , ~. ,. ,. , ratification. Talk to me about that issue of ai ratification. Talk to me about that issue of ai. It ratification. Talk to me about that issue of ai. It is ratification. Talk to me about that issue of ai. It is fascinating, issue of ai. It is fascinating, isnt it . This is applicable to bet that writers and the actors themselves that of the fight is the idea that maybe you could use ai themselves that of the fight is the idea that maybe you could use al to look at a few scripts that have been written by humans and then create a whole series and then, for the actors, about using their face on stuff they have not actually acted in. You are coming, though, you think about your, you know, so it favourite sitcoms or Something Like friends that is very long running. You can imagine a world where writers were involved in the first season and then Going Forward you get to a stage where Generative Ai so sophisticated a good kind of clone, if you like, the tone of voice and style and i think that is the fear of writers. That is what they have been fighting for is the future of their livelihoods and the conditions under which they will work and they are cut off guided by the fact that streaming later this residual payments and they dont want to make the same mistake the future technology. For actors it is their likeness. They were saying that was perhaps less pressing issue thanit that was perhaps less pressing issue than it was for the writers. That being said, though, there are now the last group on strike because, remember, directors did a deal, writers did a deal and now the actors, more pressure on them will be to sort of resolve this and of course, we are starting to hear from people like President Biden who says this was a testament to collective bargaining. Remember he has often described himself as the most pro labour president and of course he is going to be visiting the picket line, not with hollywood actors are writers, but with auto workers later this week. And all of this serves to underline both the right to strike actor strike and if you said my car maker strike, the change in technology and how it is meeting some industries face on and theyre struggling to keep up with theyre struggling to keep up with the way that technologies ultimately transform their industries. I the way that technologies ultimately transform their industries. Transform their industries. I mean, ou transform their industries. I mean, you know. Transform their industries. I mean, you know. If transform their industries. I mean, you know. If you transform their industries. I mean, you know, if you look transform their industries. I mean, you know, if you look at transform their industries. I mean, you know, if you look at the transform their industries. I mean, you know, if you look at the kind. Transform their industries. I mean, | you know, if you look at the kind of industrial unrest that has taken place in america at the moment, underpinning a lot of these fights is notjust traditional underpinning a lot of these fights is not just traditional things underpinning a lot of these fights is notjust traditional things weve seenin is notjust traditional things weve seen in the past, fights about pay, better working conditions, it has, as you say, got ties to technology, you know, we were talking now, right now, about hollywood and the transition is going to fight because of streaming but secondly the role of streaming but secondly the role of ai in the future. The same could be said about the car industry. It is going through this transition where you are talking about electric vehicles in the future so Combustion Engine to batteries, but you also talking about the role of ai in the Production Line so there is a lot at stake for these workers and that is why we are seeing an increase, in some ways, of activity. I5 why we are seeing an increase, in some ways, of activity. Some ways, of activity. Is always, really good some ways, of activity. Is always, really good to some ways, of activity. Is always, really good to have some ways, of activity. Is always, really good to have you some ways, of activity. Is always, really good to have you with some ways, of activity. Is always, really good to have you with us. L really good to have you with us. Thank you. Live in new york. Funding for social care in england needs to rise by billions of pounds a year in the coming years, according to a new study by the health foundation. It says thats largely because of an ageing population, and in particular, the growing number of younger people with ongoing care needs. The foundation says Central Government spending has grown by 2. 6 a year in recent years, but it will need to grow by 3 to 4 per centjust to keep up with growing demand. Without more funding, it says therell be a funding gap of £8. 3 billion pounds by 2033. Earlier, i spoke to Anita Charlesworth from the health foundation. She explained why this challenge is arising. By the end of this decade, the number of people aged 85 or over will have increased by a third compared to just before the pandemic. But it isnt actuallyjust ageing. And in part, this is a wonderful problem to have because people are living longer and there is more that we can do to help support them with a good quality of life. Thats true for older people, but also actually half of the social care budget goes to younger adults who have Long Term Health positions or have debilitating accidents. And they are living for longer. And society, as well, rightly recognises thatjust because Something Like that has happened to you, it doesnt mean that you cant contribute, you cant live a good quality of life. But you do need some support to do that. And over recent years, we havent funded the social care system. A weve allowed it to erode. And weve not planned for these perfectly predictable changes. In other news us president is expected to travel to michigan on tuesday to show support for the United Auto Workers strike against detroit car makers. Joe biden� s arrivals expected a day before the former President Donald Trump is also scheduled to be there. That comes after United Auto Workers union escalated its fibre some of americas biggest car makers. And lego has reportedly abandoned its target of replacing oil based plastics and specs by the 2030. According to the financial times, the Danish Toymaker says a new material made from recycled bottles would have a bigger Carbon Footprint because it would need new equipment. The oil based substance that currently uses requires about two kilograms of petroleum to make one kilograms of petroleum to make one kilogram of plastic. The boss of aldi says the way british people shop for groceries has been transformed by The Cost Of Living crisis, and he believes the shift is permanent. Giles hurley says theres a new generation of savvy shoppers who are buying more own label products than ever before and his Supermarket Chain is doing rather well as a result. Aldis annual results for the year to the end of december show a healthy rise in profits and sales. Sales for 2022 rose almost 2 billlon pounds to 15 and a half billion pounds. Mr hurleys been talking to our Business Correspondent emma simpson, and she asked him why food Price Inflation is still so high. In the last six months, Food Inflation has been coming down, but it is still tremendously challenging for customers out there. And i think more than ever, thats forcing customers to reappraise their grocery habits. You are pulling more shoppers in, but are they going to stick with you when this cost of living crisis is over . I think The Cost Of Living crisis has fundamentally changed the way the British Public shop. First of all, customers are shopping around. So when it comes to grocery, shoppers are reappraising value like never before. And with our low prices, weve got universal appeal. As a result, we have welcomed almost a million new customers into our stories in the last 12 months. But this story is notjust about shopping around. Customers are also behaving very differently in store. So own label sales have grown substantially in the last two years. They now account for more than 50 of grocery sales. And if you look at a volume. Across the uk . Exactly. And if you look at volume, that figure would be even higher. And right now, own label sales are growing at twice the rate of brands. This is bbc news. Baking is coming to from the metropolitan police who had said that it has received, quote, a number of allegations of years assault in london following news reports about the comedian russell brand. An update from the metropolitan police saying it has received a number of allegations of assault in london following the reports about the comedian russell brand. A couple of other lines with a talk about receiving a number of allegations of non recent offences in london. They have the full met statement so let me give you a few more details because this has just been released in the last few minutes and it follows that investigation by channel 4s Dispatches Programme on the sunday times, the metropolitan police saying they have received a number of allegations of Sexual Offences in london. Detectives have launched an investigation into allegations of Sexual Offences. They also go on to say we have received a number of allegations of Sexual Offences committed elsewhere in the country and will investigate these. The offences are all non recent. The statement says. Officers will be Offering Specialist support to all that the women who have made allegations, the investigation has been carried out with detectives in the met� s central Specialist Crime command. They have a quote from a superintendent who says we continue to encourage anyone who believes they have been a victim of sexual offence, no matter how long ago it was, to contact us. We understand it can feel like a difficult step to take and i want to reassure that we have a team of specialist officers available to advise and support. There had been no arrests and inquiries continue so worth just repeating the central plank of that Breaking News because it is a statementjust released by the metropolitan police and in summary, it says we have received a number of allegations of Sexual Assault in london following the news reports about the comedian russell brand. They have launched an investigation into those allegations. They say a number of allegations of Sexual Offences committed elsewhere in the country which they will investigate and the offences, they say, all non recent. So, important Breaking News involving the comedian russell brand. Bill talk to our correspondence given the programme the next few minutes to get an update on that story but that news just breaking and we will have more shortly. Uk Prime Minister rishi sunak wont comment on speculation about the future of the extension of the h52 high speed rail link to cities in the north of england. Over the weekend, the government said it would be crazy not to reconsider the project, in light of the economic situation. That led to several former conservative ministers, including George Osborne and Michael Heseltine, warning that cancelling the extension would mean abandoning the north of england. The hunt has said that because of a chest to getting out of control and thatis chest to getting out of control and that is why the government is looking at it, there is so much uncertainty about the line between birmingham and manchester. But, at the same time, the huge political pressure on him from former conservative ministers like Michael Heseltine and George Osborne here said that abandoning it really would be an act of economic self harm. It would be an economic disaster. Well, rishi sunak was asked today directly, with that line between birmingham and manchester go ahead . Im not going to comment on that type of speculation but what i would say is we are absolutely committed to levelling up and spreading opportunity around the country not just in the north but in the midlands, and all other regions of our fantastic country as well and transport infrastructure is a key part of that but notjust big rail projects. Also local projects, improving local bus services, fixing potholes, all of these things make a difference to peoples day to day lives and that is what the government is getting on doing with record amounts of funding. Xyoud record amounts of funding. Youd anxiety up record amounts of funding. Youd anxiety up north record amounts of funding. Youd anxiety up north about record amounts of funding. Youd anxiety up north about h52 record amounts of funding. Youd anxiety up north about h52 two. L record amounts of funding. Youd anxiety up north about hsz two. They anxiety up north about hs2 two. They get the go ahead, yes or no . You might welcome again, this guy was big addition that people are making is not right. We got spades on the ground, we are getting under delivering but what we are also doing is connecting up all the towns and cities in the north, east to west, that is a very important part of how we will create jobs, drive growth across the region. Bill of how we will create jobs, drive growth across the region. All part of our plans growth across the region. All part of our plans are growth across the region. All part of our plans are level growth across the region. All part of our plans are level output growth across the region. All part of our plans are level output of. Of our plans are level output of three parts are another good example of that with that is in teesside or elsewhere, extracting investment, new businesses coming in, all good examples of the government levelling up. Examples of the government levelling u. ,. , ~ examples of the government levelling up. Rishi sunak are talking a little out ust to up. Rishi sunak are talking a little out just to repeat up. Rishi sunak are talking a little out just to repeat that up. Rishi sunak are talking a little out just to repeat that breaking i out just to repeat that Breaking News from the last couple of minutes. The metropolitan police saying they have received a number of allegations of Sexual Assault in london following news reports about the comedian russell brand. There is also a line that the allegations are of non recent Sexual Offences in the capital so that line just breaking from the met. We will have more on that here on verified life in a moment or two after the weather. Hello there. Apart from some rain across the north and the west of the uk, today potentially could be one of the better days of this week as things are set to turn very windy with gales and heavy rain, particularly around the middle part of the week. But this afternoon looks largely fine and dry. For most of us, that is a way from the north west of the uk, where here rain will continue to affect the north and west of scotland. A few showery bursts as well, further south and west across Western England and western wales. But a good deal of sunshine around, particularly towards southern and eastern parts of the country which will stay dry all day and will feel quite warm as well. In the brisk south westerly wind, up to 23 degrees in the southeast, generally the high teens further north and west. As we head through tonight, itll be dry for most areas. The winds pick up a little bit across the north and the west. We start to see some rain eventually pushing into Northern Ireland as a Weather Front approaches. I dont think anywhere is going to be particularly cold tonight. Lowest values around 7 to 9 degrees across northeast england and eastern scotland. A couple of Weather Fronts, though, invade as we move through tuesday. So although we start dry and bright through central and eastern areas, well start to see some rain pushing across england. Well, some of this could be thundery nature and longer spells of rain also affecting Northern Ireland, Western Scotland with that other Weather Front. So a bit of a mixed day on tuesday. But again, not too bad in the sunshine across the southeast, again, could be up to 23 celsius, high teens further north. By wednesday, though, we could see a stormy spell of weather. Storm agnes, named by the met office, could bring some disruption maybe towards northern and western parts of the uk. Here it is on the pressure charts, gathering speed, deepening rapidly as it approaches ireland. But as the storm approaches our shores, it will start to weaken, but still pack quite a punch with some Gale Force Winds 60 to 70 miles an hour around the irish sea coast may be in excess, up to 80 miles an hour. And also very windy conditions across northern and eastern scotland. And with the strong winds throughout wednesday, heavy rain will pile up the western side of the country across Northern Ireland, up in towards scotland because see some localised flooding in fact across the east and south east of england. I think you will escape the worst of it. Were seeing some sunshine, one or two showers, but it will be quite blustery wherever you are. And then signs as we end the week and push into the weekend High Pressure could build in, bring us increasing amounts of drier and sunnier weather. Take care. Live from london, this is bbc news. The Met Police Has said it received a number of allegations of Sexual Assault in london following news reports about comedian russell brand. The comedian had strongly denied the accusations. The british army is stood down from supporting the metropolitan police after hundreds of officers stepped back from firearms duties, when a colleague was charged with murder. Scenes of panic and chaos as thousands of people leave Nagorno Karabakh for armenia following azerbaijans seizure of the disputed territory. Ukraine claims a Fleet Commander is among dozens of russian officers killed in last weeks Missile Strike on the black sea naval headquarters. And the former nurse lucy letby, will face a retrial on a charge of attempting to murder a new born baby