Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At Six 20171016

And what happens when stars collide 130 million years ago. And coming up on sportsday on bbc news. A change in selection policy at the welsh rfu as they look to stem the number of players leaving wales for leagues elsewhere. Good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. Three people have died as the worst storm for 50 years hits ireland. Parts of the uk are affected too. Storm ophelia has brought gusts of nearly 100mph damaging buildings, and there are flood warnings in place along much of the west coastline of britain. The centre of the storm hit the south coast of ireland late this morning and moved up the country with the west coast bearing the brunt. Its now over the north coast heading to scotland, where it will gradually weaken before finally passing the uk tomorrow afternoon. 360,000 homes and businesses have lost power. In ireland, around 170 flights have been cancelled with flights and ferries also called off in parts of scotland. Our correspondent Chris Buckler reports from galway, where the centre of the storm passed through. From the Atlantic Ophelia arrived in force. No longer a hurricane, from the Atlantic Ophelia arrived in force. No longera hurricane, but from the Atlantic Ophelia arrived in force. No longer a hurricane, but a storm still determined to show her power. That was seen on irelands south and west coasts, but red Wind Warnings were in place across the country. Trampolines were no match for the weather. And this roof was torn from a school in county cork on a day declared by the Irish Government to be one of a national emergency. This is a national red alert. It applies to all cities, all counties and all areas. Also bear in mind, that even after the storm has passed, there will still be dangers. There will be trees on the ground and power lines down. Galway was in the direct path. Here many listened to appeals to stay inside. In the windows of shop after shop there we re windows of shop after shop there were signs saying they would be staying closed because of the storm. Flood gates were put on the doors of businesses and the streets cleared of potentially dangerous debris. But in galway bay, even with ophelia approaching, some ignored the warnings to go swimming. Even last night, you had a meeting at city council with the army, the civil defence, fire brigade, both councils and they were putting together a plan in place for it. Youll still have an idiot in the water swimming besides the black rock tower. Thats the type of idiot that will put somebodys life at risk and wasting the resources of the Emergency Services that should be somewhere else at the same time. Lives have been lost as a result of fallen trees. Hundreds of thousands of homes have been left without electricity because of the damage caused by the high winds. With this number of customers out its unprecedented. Its going to be a number of days before people have their power back. About 5 of customers it will be up to ten days before they have their power back. We are keeping a little bit of a distance. We are concerned for our own safety here. But even at this point, you can really feel the sheer power of ophelia. Its quite impressive. But it gives you a sense why the authorities have been so concerned about these winds. They are going to cause a lot of damage andindeed are going to cause a lot of damage and indeed destruction. 6 much has been left in need of repair in ophelias wake. Only so much can be done to protect houses, cars, even stadiums, despite the days of warnings. But some did ignore the appeals for them to stay inside their homes in order to see and experience this storm for themselves. Its spectacular. Are you not mad being out in it . themselves. Its spectacular. Are you not mad being out in it . I love big weather. Watching big seas, i just love it. With schools and colleges closed, roads blocked off and much public transport cancelled, people have been protected from this storm. But ophelia has tested ireland. We can get the latest on the situation now. Chris is in galway, and sian lloyd is in Milford Haven on the pembrokeshire coast. Chris, we saw in your piece the damage caused throughout the day. It looks like it may be easing off there a little . Yeah, its easing off here in galway, but the storm is continuing to move north and easterly. Its continuing to cause problems. Its worth emphasising at this point that you could get distracted by the conditions being much better, but there is still a red wind warning in place for this country. Thats the most Severe Weather warning issued by the weather warning issued by the weather forecasters here. There remains this concern and of course the damage caused by ophelia is still to be cleared up. Beyond that, you talk about the electricity, there are people who are going to be without power for days. That is going to be a concern for them. Schools will remain closed notjust here in the republic of ireland, but in Northern Ireland as well, tomorrow, closed for a second day, just because of those concerns about the storm. I think when you look at the storm. I think when you look at the fact that this warning remains in place, it gives you an indication that people are concerned, that they dont become complacent. Weve seen three deaths already as a result of the high winds and fallen trees. They want tone sure that no one else dies and the minimum amount of damage is caused over the next few hours. Here in pembrokeshire the sea isa hours. Here in pembrokeshire the sea is a cauldron out there. This is a relatively sheltered spot. I spent the afternoon on the head land with the afternoon on the head land with the coastguard and there there are gusts of 70mph. They advised us against broadcasting from there. Theyre monitoring a bank of live web feeds that are coming in from peers and jetties across wales. Theyre very concerned about people who are going down there to look at the waves and theyre warning them to stay away or they could be swept away into the sea. Pembrokeshire is one of the worst counties affected here in wales. All the schools were closed as a precaution. Also, children were sent home early on the isle of anglesey and in ceredigion. Through the day, more than 7,000 homes here in wales have been without power. Thats back on now in large parts for people, there are about 1500 who are still out. Theres been some travel disruption as well with roads closed due to falling trees. Sian and chris, thank you both very much. Theresa may is in brussels this evening, for talks over dinner with eu leaders, in an attempt to break the brexit deadlock. The Prime Minister is having dinner with the eus chief negotiator, michel barnier, and the head of the european commission, jean claude juncker, days after the men said talks had stalled. Our political editor, laura kuenssberg, reports. Cross your path, the British Black cat brings good luck in. Most of europe, this humble feline is said to bring bad omens. There is a sense of foreboding around here. Notjust from the yellow sky. Reporter Prime Minister, what are you putting on the table . As she heads to brussels, a sense theresa mays luck is in short supply. The motorcade speeding her to belgium to meet the brexit negotiators, the uk desperate to talk about how we do business with the rest of the eu in future, not just how business with the rest of the eu in future, notjust how much we pay, as we leave the club. But one of those waiting for her already openly joking about how hard that might be. I will meet mrs may. We will talk and then you will see the autopsy. The french Prime Minister laughing on, entertained it seems by the thought of britains tough reception. It will be a tremendous success. Theresa mays dinner has a lot in common with these two men in a boat. Come on chaps whatever form of persuasion it takes, the governments been using whatever diplomacy it can to try to ease the deadlock. Lets put a tyinger in the tank, lets get these conversations going and stop letting the grass grow under ourfeet. Going and stop letting the grass grow under our feet. We going and stop letting the grass grow under ourfeet. We hope going and stop letting the grass grow under our feet. We hope very much that our friends and partners will take that message and really begin some serious negotiations. Its little friendships, words here and there, with individual countries that britain hopes will make the difference. Until now, the 27 countries have been publicly sticking together. But peeling them away from each other, over to the uk side, might unblock the talks. The Prime Minister is keeping in close touch not just Prime Minister is keeping in close touch notjust with mrjuncker but with other european leaders, because its important that we continue dialogue. These are tough negotiations. Theyre very important negotiations. Theyre very important negotiations. Ministers are desperate to move on, to talk transition and trade. The westminster offer to do so paying nearly 20 billion of membership dues and keeping close ties to the European Club for two years, after we leave. Sources suggest some of the countries are ready to move, but the countries are ready to move, but the big players france and germany are asking for more. The big players france and germany are asking for more. The really important figures are merkel and macron and the other leaders of the member states. The commission isnt really in the driving seat here. Its about the other 27 countries. And its also about time. Seven months in, 12 left to shake down the broad shape of a deal. As the Prime Minister arrives in brussels, she knows she cant afford to slow the pace. Our europe editor, katya adler, is in brussels. 0h, oh, to be a fly on the wall at that dinner tonight. What kind of response can theresa may expect tonight . Is she likely to break the deadlock . There she is in this building, the european commission, having dinner as we speak. Of course, the domestic pressure on her is huge. The expectations of this dinner here in the eu is very low. One very high level source i spoke to today said he thought the only things news worthy to come out of this dinner is the fact that it happened at all. The eu has been clear, it doesnt think the working dinner is a forum for brexit negotiations. Speaking to various eu politicians today, i was told by them that they think this is more of a symbolic move by theresa may, a pr exercise. They think she needs this on the back of her political problems at home, a message to eu countries, but uk citizens too and members of her cabinet that shes in control and she means business. But whatever she means tonight, the eus planned message for her is one theyve repeated before the ball is in your court, uk. Make progress on the key divorce Brexit Issues and then we can move on to what you want, talks of transition and trade. Katya, thank you. Thousands of civilians are fleeing the iraqi city of kirkuk, after the iraqi army seized control of the city from kurdish forces. Kurdish fighters or peshmerga have been in control of the city since 2014, when iraqi forces fled in the face of an advance by so called islamic state. It lies in a region claimed by both the kurds and the Iraqi Government and is outside the autonomous kurdish region in the north of iraq. Last month, kurds there and in kirkuk voted overwhelmingly for independence, provoking the Iraqi Government to send in the troops. Our middle east correspondent, orla guerin, and cameraman, duncan stone, have this report from kirkuk. Pledging to defend kirkuk, this morning, still defiant. A handful of mesh merga fighters with a peshmerga fighters with a few guns and grenades. And locals with whatever came to hand. We lost 2,000 men fighting is, he says. Were not afraid of the iraqi Prime Minister. But further on, fear had emptied the streets. Remnants of unity on display with kurdish and iraqi flags. But this checkpoint now a frontline. No one seems sure how to defend it. Locals said iraqi forces we re defend it. Locals said iraqi forces were closing in. Shia militia units, linked to the government, out of sight behind these buildings. Then this. Gunfire we had to scramble for cover. Weve suddenly had to pull back. There was a sustained outburst of gunfire at the position up ahead. We cant be sure where it came from, but it seemed to be coloneling from ahead of us to be coming from ahead of us, from positions we were told there were Iraqi Military forces. In there were Iraqi Military forces. In the last few seconds, weve heard gunfire also up ahead. As kirkuk slipped out of kurdish hands, the exodus began. Desperate civilians heading north towards the autonomous kurdish region. It felt like the city was emptying before oui like the city was emptying before our eyes. Some asking why no one was helping them, after they helped the world to fight is. The world isjust silent when it comes to the kurds. Its just not fair. Its not fair. By its just not fair. Its not fair. By evening, an iraqi victory parade in the centre of kirkuk. Baghdad said the takeover was largely unopposed. Some locals in this ethnically mixed city welcoming the troops. But a fractured country is now divided anew. Our top story this evening three people have been killed and hundreds of thousands are without power, as storm ophelia rages across ireland and parts of the uk. And still to come. Struggling to pay off debts we report from scarborough, which has one of the highest bankruptcy rates amongst young people in the country. Coming up on sportsday on bbc news. England will not be one of the seeded teams at russia 2018 paving the way for a potentially tougher draw at next years tournament, following the release of todays fifa rankings. Now, take a look at this a recreation of the moment two neutron stars collided sending ripples, called Gravitational Waves, through the fabric of the universe. It happened 130 million years ago but has onlyjust been seen and heard by scientists. Its the type of collision shown to be responsible for creating gold and platinum in the universe. As you might expect, this report from our science correspondent pallab ghosh contains flashing images. Its the longest Straight Line in the world. A 2. 5 mile pipe containing a laser that can detect powerful explosions in space. Inside, a technician fine tunes the instrument. It has made a discovery that has shaken the scientific world. Two stars colliding in a galaxy far, far away. Around 800 billion billion miles from earth. The two stars got closer and closer until they merged, resulting in a huge shock wave that rippled across the universe. The massive explosion led to the production of rare elements, such as gold and platinum. Neutron stars are what is left over when giant suns die and collapse on themselves. They are so densely packed that a teaspoon would weigh one billion tonnes. And here is the actual sound of the collision. Low humming and pop they then become part of planets when they form, including here on earth. The explosion was picked up in the control room here. It took place 130 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth. It is only now the light and Gravitational Waves have reached us. Ooh, it was. We have been waiting for this for so long. We dont know if we were lucky and this happened to be an event that happened close, relatively close, to us. But its very rare. Or, perhaps there are many more neutron stars than we thought. We dont know yet, but we will know. Within seconds, telescopes all over the world were pointed at the colliding stars. This is what they saw. The Coalition Created distortions, stretching and squeezing space. These are known as Gravitational Waves. A new observational window on the universe typically leads to surprises that cannot yet be foreseen. We are still rubbing our eyes, 01 our ears, as we have just woken up to the sound of Gravitational Waves. Researchers say that there are likely to be many more discoveries using Gravitational Waves. Of objects in the universe that we have not yet imagined. Pallab ghosh, bbc news, livingston, louisiana. The death toll from the massive truck bomb blast in the somali capital mogadishu on saturday now exceeds 300, according to officials. One of the trucks exploded close to a fuel tanker, creating a massive fireball. Its the deadliest attack in somalia since the Islamist Militant Group al shabaab began an insurgency there a decade ago. An academic at Birmingham University said to be among britains most prolific paedophiles has pleaded guilty to blackmailing adults and Children Online into carrying out degrading sexual acts. Matthew falder, 28 years old and a cambridge graduate, admitted more than a hundred offences, it took 30 minutes to list them all. Our Midlands Correspondent sima kotecha is at Birmingham Crown court. The crimes listed are horrific, what more can you tell us about this case . Doctor Matthew Falder lived and minor and posting and distributing indecent images of Children Online. The cps said in a statement that Matthew Falder is a highly manipulative individual who used his knowledge of computers and the internet to persuade dozens of young people to supply him with degrading images he could distribute online and subsequently use in blackmailing them. The statement goes on to say, he clearly enjoyed humiliating his victims and the impact of his offending, which carried on over several years, has been significant. Falder will be sentenced in december. Falder at Birmingham Crown court, thank you. Sima kotecha at Birmingham Crown court, thank you. Britains top financial regulator the head of the Financial Conduct Authority has warned that many young people are having to go into debt to cover basic living costs. New figures show that 20 say theyve been borrowing to cover food, rent and essential bills. 28 are worried that they cant make repayments. Ten mostly seaside towns in england and wales have the highest rates of bankruptcy amongst the young. Scarborough is high on the list. Our personal finance correspondent, Simon Gompertz reports from there. On the face of it, theres money in scarborough. From the arcades, the restaurants. And hotels. But scratch the surface and you see a different story. What do you want to do after school . There is so much debt among the young that people like kelly, a single mother, that increasingly they are choosing to go legally insolvent to escape creditors. Have a lovely day, love you loads. See you later this is the debt relief order i have done. Kellys debt relief order is a slimline version of bankruptcy. This is jacomo, a catalogue that i had out. This is provident. By paying £90, she gets out of her £4000 debt. But it was you who was doing the borrowing, did you have to do that . I needed to because on income support, low income, your little lad is growing up and needs clothes and i need clothes. Kelly is now producing video blogs to earn something from the adverts and applying for temporary work to start again. But a fresh start is not easy here, you are contending with Seasonal Work and the lowest average wage in the country. Even for the youngest, debt is taking over. How much is going out and what is coming in . Many getting help at this scarborough hostel are just 20. My debt with argos was over £200 and for my mobile £300. You are worried in case bailiffs come take your stuff. You dont know when they are going to come. Or you get a letter through the post, that makes me worry and go down more. Do you see the worry that it causes . Yes, we see worry every day in young people. One of the first things we do is look at exactly what debt they have got and how we can address and sort it out, paying it back in instalments. Often when they come here they are at breaking point. What makes scarborough the sort of place where more young people are in debt and going insolvent is a concentration of the problems besetting the young across the country. Work is getting more casual, there is low pay, problems with benefits, rents and no savings to fall back on. The signs from here is that the debt problem is getting worse, young people and young families starting out in life are already behind. Simon gompertz, bbc news. The irish comedian and writer sean hughes has died in hospital at the age of 51. Sean hughes, ladies and gentlemen mrsean hughes he was a familiar face on tv as team captain on the bbcs never mind the buzzcocks for ten series. Sean hughes was the youngest ever winner of the perrier comedy award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1990. Storm orphelia is causing damage and destruction to parts of the uk today, but 30 years ago the country was reeling from the impact of the great storm of 1987. 18 people died as winds reached more than 100 miles an hour. Scotney castle in kent was particularly badly damaged, and our correspondent robert hall has been to find out how its recovered. Winds raging at 110 mph lifted trailers off the ground. A group of 60 houses all but swept away. Howling in from the channel, the most devastating storm since 1703. It caught the southern half of the uk totally by surprise. Gusts of up to 115 miles an hour ripped 15 Million Trees from the wet ground, tore off roofs and cut power to thousands of homes. 18 people were killed and the damage ran to over £1 billion. Andrea pell celebrates her 30th birthday today. Her mother still remembers a hazardous dash to hospitalfor the birth. As we got further and further, the storm got worse and worse. Trees started falling in front of us and behind us. At one stage, we just had to stop suddenly because a tree had fallen right in front of us. Part of the reason that so many were caught on the hop could be found in a now infamous forecast the previous day. Apparently a woman rang the bbc and said she had heard there was a hurricane on the way. If you are watching dont worry, there isnt. The most lasting effect was the devastation of ancient woodland. Emmetts garden near sevenoaks lost 95 of its trees to the gale. Some were more than 300 years old. We lost our electricity for nine days. Our telephone for five days. Our water supply for four days. Caught up in the storm, nature expert Matthew Oates remembers a change of emphasis during years of recovery. The managers were under terrific pressure from a lot of local people, to clear up and replant. Then we found that actually, if you left the woods to themselves, they would regenerate naturally. Not necessarily like for like, but nonetheless you would get woodland back very quickly. That is what happened. A lot has changed over the last three decades. We now have the technology to predict and prepare, as we have seen in the case of ophelia. But perhaps the biggest lesson we learned from the great storm was the sheer power of nature to recover from disaster. Robert hall, bbc news, at scotney castle, kent. Time for a look at the weather. Heres chris fawkes. Its been something across england and ireland . Something across england and ireland . Incredible scenes something across england and ireland . Incredible scenes across the country for different reasons. This is hurricane ophelia, on saturday, it was a major category three hurricane, it weakened as it came past spain and portugal. Then return to normal low pressure, i say normal but it has been incredibly powerful. The strongest winds have been to the south of the republic of ireland, near cork, 97 mph gusts, and in the last couple of hours in west wales, gusts of up to 90 mph. For some of us, the story has been strong winds but for others it is about the red sun, ophelia picking up about the red sun, ophelia picking up dust from the sahara and smoke from forest fires burning in spain and portugal to turn the sky bred for some. But tonight, fierce winds coming across Northern Ireland, west wales and western scotland. A met Office Amber Warning in force for wind gusts of up to 80 mph, Strong Enough to bring down trees. Overnight, we are likely to see further transport disruption. We have seen some of that with trees blown over in places. That could affect the roads, power cuts are possible too. Through the second half of the night, strong winds blowing to the east of the pennines and rattling through the central belt. Winds picking up here, but it will be a mild night, temperatures of up to 13 degrees, feeling fresher but not cold. Tomorrow, strong winds to start the day through central scotland. Especially the eastern side and east of the pennines, winds of up to 70 miles an hour, Strong Enough to blow down trees and topple high sided vehicles. There could also be transport disruption. Those strong winds will eventually pass as we get into the afternoon. Rain later in the day but for many of us a try and bright day, feeling a lot fresher that it does today. That is your weather. Chris, thank you. Thats all from the bbc news at six, so its goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbcs news teams where you are. And this is bbc news. Theresa may has arrived in brussels to meet eu leaders in a bid to get