Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At Six 20170816

The royal navys Flagship Carrier enters its home port of portsmouth for the first time. And coming up in Sportsday On Bbc News celtic play the first leg of their Champion League qualifier tonight at celtic park, they take on kazakhstan champions astana. Good evening and welcome to the bbcs news at six. After brexit, people and goods should be able to move seamlessly across the border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland, much as they do today. In their latest proposal for life outside the eu, ministers says there will be no return to check points and border posts. But critics say the plan raises as many questions as answers not least, whats to stop eu migrants coming into the uk from ireland through an unsupervised crossing . Our ireland correspondent, chris buckler, is in narrow water, on the irish border. Chris. George, people who live at this border rarely recognise it. But could all that to change once the other side of this water is still inside the eu and this part is outside of the European Union . Today, alongside the phrases we have heard so often like there needs to bea heard so often like there needs to be a seamless border, we heard another from the British Government, that there needs to be an unprecedented solution to this modern irish problem. And perhaps that gives a sense of the scale of the challenge facing both the uk and the challenge facing both the uk and the eu. The challenge facing both the uk and the eu. For more than 300 miles, Crossing Fields and bridges, roads and rivers, there is a political Dividing Line on the island of ireland. But it is a border that cannot be seen, and many want it to stay that way. Soft toys and cushions are the latest protest against a hard brexit. Where some kind of barriers could divide towns like belcoo and blacklion in the republic, they are either side of this bridge and people in areas like this have jobs, businesses and friends that require them to cross this border regularly. I cross this border quite easily 15, 20 times a day, moving goods sometimes, sometimes just to manage staff, meet people, whatever is involved in daily work. If there is any sort of checks that slow that down or anything else, it is going to create a lot of logistical difficulties. The government wants to return to the days when border huts and Customs Posts marked where the Norwich Island meets the republic. This paper seems to dismiss the idea ofa this paper seems to dismiss the idea of a return to infrastructure or cameras at the border. And ministers say they are determined to protect the common travel area. Allowing the Free Movement of people across ireland and britain. Ideas and aspirations that will be welcomed beyond these islands and brussels, but ones which raise political and practical difficulties, with claims that it could allow a back door for people to get into the uk. We do wa nt people to get into the uk. We do want to ensure that we dont see a return to the borders of the past, we dont see a return to a hard border and that are able to ensure that the crucial flow of goods and people between Northern Ireland and the Republic Of Ireland is able to continue in the future. Some have raised doubts about the uks ability to forge trade deals with other countries if it agrees to meet the eus standards for food and agriculture. And if they customs deal cannot be agreed with the eu, there are questions about what will happen to the billions of pounds of trade carried along these busy border roads. The British Government believes technology and online declarations could be used to monitor goods carried by bigger firms. But there are concerns about smuggling and the Irish Government has other doubts. I dont believe the island of ireland issues will be resolved through technology and i believe this paper but we also acce pt believe this paper but we also accept that, which is a Step Forward Andl accept that, which is a step forward and i welcome that. It does leave you wondering what the board it is going to look like and if you are outside of the Customs Union how you police that. We are no clear as to knowing what that is going to be, are we . That is because a negotiation now needs to take place. And there is a will to find solutions in this negotiation because tied up with the politics and practicalities are concerns about the attention impact of peace and prosperity at this, what is currently the softest of borders. Alex forsyth is in westminster. Listening to the reaction, people still seem to have a lot of questions about these plans. Until now, the goblet has been accused of a lack of clarity is and confusion of its approach to brexit so it is showing it has been working on this for some time and that it has a vision and key to that is that Idea Ofan Vision and key to that is that idea of an invisible border between Northern Ireland and the republic and that idea of frictionless trade. There are some specific ideas about how that might be achieved. For example, exempting Small Businesses from customs checks. But there is great step because their scepticism about whether this can work in practice and there is concern about extra checks meaning there could be a back door to immigration which was central plank of the referendum campaign. Much of this detail is still to come and it all has to be thrashed out with the eu in those ongoing negotiations. But while there is clarity the goblet has provided has been broadly welcomed, it does show that in this complex Jigsaw Puzzle that is brexit, every piece that is revealed only shows what gaps are still left. Alex, thank you very much. Us President Donald Trump is once again facing criticism from all sides after his latest comments about the violence in Cha Rlottesville, virginia, over the weekend. It left one woman dead. In a bad tempered press conference, hes returned to the sentiments that got him into trouble in the first place, saying that anti racist protesters were violent too. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, reports. Amazing grace. The Memorial Service for an antiracism text are mown down by a White Supremacists in Cha Rlottesville White Supremacists in charlottesville on White Supremacists in Cha Rlottesville on saturday, White Supremacists in charlottesville on saturday, but far from this being an occasion when a nation comes together, america seems more between divided than ever. They try to kill my child to shut her up. Well, guess what . You just magnified her . This was charlottesville on friday night, racist groups chanting dues will not replace us, carrying ku klux klan Stealth Tortures and marching to the slogan white lives matter. Yesterday, the president blamed both sides for the violence that ensued. You had a group on one side and you had a group on the other and they came at each other with clubs and it was vicious and it was horrible and it was a horrible thing to watch. But there is another side. There was a group on their side, you can call them the left, you have just called them the left, that came viole ntly you have just called them the left, that came violently attacking the othergroup, so that came violently attacking the other group, so you can say what you want, but that is the way it is. Other group, so you can say what you want, but that is the way it ism is true there was violence on both sides. But the race had protesters had come to dock for trouble. Many carried guns will stop this is not the army, but a right wing militia that turned up whistling with r. That turned up whistling with weaponry. Most had clubs, helmets and shields with White Supremacists insignia. The Antiracism Demonstrators were not organisers, they were mostly local people on whom a small group had come to fight. But donald trump seeming to draw a moral equivalence between swastika carrying neo nazis and Antiracism Protesters has brought near universal condemnation. The senior republican paul ryan tweeting. The only significant voice of support last night came from the former leader of the ku klux klan david duke, who said. There is reported to be Deep Unhappiness among some senior white house staff over the president s comments. He had not been due to say anything and significantly, a new intervention, this time from two former republican living president s George Hw Bush and george w bush, saying there is no room for bigotry and Anti Semitism in todays america. The number of people out of work in the uk is now at its lowest level in more than a0 years. Theres also been a slight rise in average earnings. 0ur economics correspondent, andy verity, is here with the details. George. Yes, the rate of unemployment in the uk is at its lowest since 1975. The number of Unemployed People is 1. 48 million. Part of the reason its such a low rate 4. 4 is because its a smaller and smaller percentage of a workforce that keeps growing. Theres now a record 32. 1 Million People in work. With the Unemployment Rate so low, in theory, wages should take off because employers need to pay more to attract staff and workers have greater bargaining power. That hasnt been happening. Pay rises did improve slightly the average was 2. 1 . But in the past, as you can see here, we used to take it for granted that pay would rise faster than inflation. After the crisis, pay rises started falling behind price rises, so we could all buy less than before the big squeeze on living standards. In 2014, that was supposed to have gone away, when pay rises started beating inflation again. But this year, theyve flopped back again, so even though the Labour Markets tight, pay is still shrinking in real terms. They call it the wages puzzle. The paradox is, weve got super low unemployment right down to the level that would normally cause an acceleration of wages, but its not happening. Its not happening here and its not happening in any country in the developed world, even with low unemployment. For Companies Like this upmarket motorbike maker, the tight Labour Market would be solved by offering higher pay. It simply cant find enough Skilled Staff to meet demand for the bikes. At the moment, i cant drive the growth as fast as were able bizarrely, not because of models or orders or finance, but people. And its super frustrating that we cant get the Skilled Staff to come in and take advantage of the orders that we have. Companies used to be able to afford inflation beating pay rises because every year, each worker produced a little bit more per hour, helped by investment in new technology, training and skills. But that growth in productivity has been absent in 2017. Todays figures also show Something Interesting about the flow of workers into the ukjobs market. 3. 56 Million People working in the uk are non uk nationals. That number is still rising, but not as quickly as it has been. In the first three months of the year, it grew by 207,000 compared with a year before. But in the second quarter, it went up byjust 109,000. Thats a sharp slowdown. George. Andy, thank you very much. The labour mp Sarah Champion has resigned as shadow equalities minister, after apologising for an article she wrote in the sun newspaper. In the article, which was published on friday, she wrote that britain has a problem with British Pakistani Men Raping and exploiting white girls. The mp for rotherham today apologised for what she said was an extremely poor choice of words. Labour Leaderjeremy Corbyn said he had accepted her resignation. Police are investigating a robbery at the showroom of the london jewellers boodles. In footage of the incident, a number of suspects emerge from the knightsbridge shop and make off carrying bags of stolen goods on mopeds. They used hammers to smash their way through counter displays. Boodles, which specialises in diamonds, say no one was hurt in the robbery. Researchers at Newcastle University say england will need an extra 71,000 care home places by 2025 thats less than ten years time. They say people are living longer, but many of them need substantial care in their last years. Heres our health editor, hugh pym. Youre never too old to learn. Ida, whos 92, is being shown how to text at this it class for older people. She feels shes making progress, though sometimes, its hard to remember everything shes learned. Your memory doesnt retain things. Sometimes, it gives you a few minutes, then it comes back and oh, i remember what it was so, you know, you just have to work hard at that. The aim of the class at the Abbey Community centre, in north london, is to help the learners with independent lives and make some friends along the way. What this new Research Highlights is that while living longer can bring more opportunities, it can mean declining health and that means a greater need for care. The report predicts rapidly increasing demands on a system which is already under great pressure. The care needs of the over 65s have doubled over two decades. Men now require 2. 4 years of substantial care on average, women will need three years. So the report says 71,000 extra care home places will be needed in england by 2025, on top of the 220,000 in 2015. Care providers say they need to know about official plans before trying to create those places. After confusion in the election campaign, the governments consulting on a new social care policy, which experts say is needed urgently. We are going to need to spend more as a nation on looking after ourselves when were older. Some of that money, i think, should come from us as individuals, some of it needs to come from the government. What the government most needs to do is come up with a clear strategy. Staying fit and staying healthy are the priorities for many in retirement. Some will live many years independently, some will need social care, and the challenge for them and society as a whole is to work out who will pay for it. Hugh pym, bbc news. The time is 6 16pm, the top story this evening. The government says it wa nts a this evening. The government says it wants a seamless border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic after brexit. Still to come will you return as james bond . Yes. It will be the fifth outing as 007 daniel craig and, he says, the last. Coming up in Sportsday On Bbc News Mark Stoneman has been named in englands team to face west indies in the first test at edgbaston tomorrow. The surry batsman makes his test debut. In alaska hunters can now shoot bear cubs and hibernating bears even when they are in Conservation Areas after President Trump abolished protections put in place by barack 0bama. Welfare organisations say the change in the law is inhumane. However, hunters say they are actually helping conservation. This report from Claire Marshall in the Chugach National forest. Alaskas Wildlife Refuges are immense. Each year, Tens Of Thousands of people hunt here but what rules should they follow . President trump has lifted restrictions put in place by barack 0bama. Once again all hunters can use bait and kill mother bears and their cubs. Animal rights campaigners are outraged. But many believe hunters are the best people to manage big game. Christine has hunted for a decade and she has also won prizes for conservation. She lets us follow her up into the mountains on her first bear hunt. Something i have found hard reading about it is the fact that you can now kill bears when they are with their cubs. I do not know anybody, though, who would want to kill a baby bear. I know a lot of hunters and thats just not what anybody would do. The Game Managers tell me oh, these are, theres getting to be too many bears because you know in a wild place, there is no human impact. So, clearly if theres too many bears, there is a need for them to be managed. Rather than politicians in washington, it is now up to local alaska State Officials that Favour Hunting to set the laws. Good news for businesses that depend on the industry. Come on in, let me show you around. Welcome to mikes taxidermy. This will be the beginning of your experience with a mounted animal right here. Every time we buy a Hunting Licence we are paying for fish and wildlife officers, we are paying for conservation, we are paying for biologists. But people that just look at animals down the road, they do not contribute in any way. But others think very differently. The amount of money that is brought in by hunters from outside and spent here is dwarfed by the number of people who come up here to see wildlife alive. 0ur wildlife is worth far more alive than it is dead. Back up on the mountain they have spotted a bear and are stalking it. It looks like a pretty good sized bear. I think i can see christine getting ready to take a shot. But she doesnt. The bear is young and she feels it is not right. What does this say about you as a hunter . You could say, well, she doesnt have what it takes. Or, i wouldve shot that bear, or i wouldnt have. I dont think you can let that make the decision. Because, you know, its a sleep with yourself decision. So nobody else gets in. At the heart of all this is balancing the needs of the people using Wildlife Refuges and the creatures that live in them. In alaska right now its the hunters that are at the top of the food chain. Claire marshall, bbc news, in alaska. Officials in sierra leones capital freetown, say 105 children are among the 400 people who are known to have died when flooding caused a massive mudslide on the outskirts of the city. At least 600 people are still missing. Martin patience reports from freetown. In freetown the ambulances are rushing not at the hospital but to the main mortuary. They are ferrying the main mortuary. They are ferrying the dead, victims buried alive by a landslide. The relatives wait outside to collect their bodies. The stench of death is overpowering. Emotions are raw. She lost her sister. Daniel wasnt home when disaster struck. But he tells me six members of his family are dead, including his wife. They died, they died. The grief and anger is tangible here. This is a nation in mourning the loss of hundreds. And Rescue Workers say that authorities are hampering their rescue efforts. This gaping scar was once a neighbourhood, but now the scene of a Recovery Operation on the hoof. Diggers have been drafted in but there are no sniffer dogs, not enough body bags. The fear is disease could spread unless hundreds of bodies are found. A trickle of aid is getting through but many like adama are now homeless. Ive lost everything, she tells me. Martin patience, bbc news, freetown. Britains new aircraft carrier, hms Queen Elizabeth, sailed into its home port of portsmouth for the first time this morning. Shes the largest and one of the most powerful warships ever built for the royal navy. Jonathan beale is on board the navys flagship. Jonathan. As you say, this is the largest warship ever built for the royal navy. To give you a sense of scale from the top of the mast down to the bottom of the keel is taller than nelsons column and from one end to the other is longer than the houses of parliament. The flight deck is four acres, three football pitches worth of British Sovereign territory that in theory will be able to go anywhere in the world. But all this does not come cheap. The royal navy has never had a ship of this size before. Hms Queen Elizabeth overshadowed everything around her. Including portsmouth harbour, now her new home. A day to remember for the crowds who woke up early to see her in. And even a touch of nostalgia for when britain ruled the waves. It is absolutely thrilling. I was so proud with it going by. It is absolutely amazing. I think it makes the country feel a lot safer. It puts you, you know, above everybody else really, doesnt it . For the past seven weeks the 700 crew have been testing her systems. It is the most complex warship ever built in uk. A symbol of power and pride for the navy. But they believe, for the whole nation too. It puts us, the royal navy and the British Armed forces, right back in the premier league. I think for a global, outward facing country like the united kingdom, as an island nation, completely dependent on sea trade, why wouldnt you want a Strong Royal Navy . This is a big moment for the royal navy. Its largest Warship Entering Portsmouth for the very first time. It is also its most expensive warship. And it still needs jets, and other warships to protect her. At a time when the Ministry Of Defence is having to save billions of pounds. This former Naval Officer says the navy is already struggling to crewjust 19 frigates and destroyers. Certainly right now there are not enough ships to protect it, there are not enough submarines to run in advance of it. And this is the worry, if we are not even in a situation right now, having delivered the platform itself, to protect the ship, how are we going to actually use it . On her first visit on board, the Prime Minister said the ship sent a signal that britain remains a global power. It will be another year before the first jets fly off this £3 billion ship. The new f35 will also cost around £100 million each. It is a significant investment and a signal of ambition. But it will stretch already limited resources. Jonathan beale, bbc news, portsmouth. Hes back. After months of speculation, daniel craig has confirmed that he will playjames bond again butjust one more time. So, why the Change Of Heart . Chi chi izundu asks if its really all about the money. Her report contains some flashing images. Months of speculation, will daniel craig comeback for a fifth time as 007 . Will you return as james bond . Yes. Daniel is the seventh actor to ta ke yes. Daniel is the seventh actor to take on bond and is commercially the most successful of the franchise with skyfall being the first to break the 1 billion mark at the box office, it was only a matter of time before he was back home at mi6, regardless of how many times its been destroyed in the films. Despite the cars, the Martinis On Tap and of course the women, lets not forget that after the release of Spectre Daniel said he would rather slit his wrists than play the fictional mi6 spy wrists than play the fictional mi6 spy again. And if you believe what you read in the press, hes going to be well paid. And while daniel was mulling over that offer other names like idris elba were discussed. But for the fans, daniel is the man with the golden gun. After all of this regulation we finally have an answer and its like in august. Daniel craig has reinvented bond and his films are among the most successful and critically acclaimed, so i think we are and critically acclaimed, so i think we a re really and critically acclaimed, so i think we are really glad we got the answer we are really glad we got the answer we are really glad we got the answer we are looking for what it bond 25. He will be 51 by the time bond 25 hits the cinemas in 2019 and the Stu Nts Fro M Hits the cinemas in 2019 and the stunts from spectre left him needing knee surgery. So its understandable that he says this time is the last time. Chi chi izundu, bbc news. Time for a look at the weather heres chris fawkes. Hello. For your eyes only. We have had some sunshine across parts of england but it has not been sunny everywhere. This was the scene earlier today across north yorkshire. If we look at the forecast we have heard, further west we have had a band of rain working m, we have had a band of rain working in, quite heavy at times across Northern Ireland and scotland, and beginning to work in to Western Wales and South West England bringing heavy bursts. This is what the cloud and rain looked like this photograph sent to us in the last half hour coming across parts of Argyll And Bute in scotland. This evening and overnight the band will push its way eastwards, The Rain Turning heavier as it works across central and eastern areas of england but it will clear a way for a time further across scotland and Northern Ireland. Mild night, temperatures 1316d. Ireland. Mild night, temperatures 13 16d. Through thursday morning this Weather Front is slow to clear, damp weather for eastern and southern parts of england, staying cloudy in the south, perhaps into the early afternoon. Away from that, some sunshine, and some showers, a bit more sunshine around scotland and Northern Ireland, it will be milder, temperatures of 19 degrees in this guide 20 in belfast. Heavier rain spreads through thursday night across Northern Ireland, scotland and northern england, and this is how weak and friday, mixture of sunshine and showers, some heavy with hail and blunder, particularly across northern part of the uk, cold and blustery winds, temperatures coming down, 15 or 16 degrees for Northern Ireland, Northern Scotland and northern england. What about the weekend Weather Prospects . Hurricane gert will be gobbled up by this area of normal Blood Pressure across eastern canada. It will head over to the uk and during the latter part of sunday it is likely we will get heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricane Gert somewhere across the west of the uk. 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. Hello. This is bbc news. The headlines. The government has published its blueprint for a seamless border between Northern Ireland and the republic after brexit, ruling out new Customs Posts and surveillance technology. New figures out today show that unemployment has fallen to its lowest level since 1975 but average earnings are still lagging behind inflation. The labour mp Sarah Champion resigns from herfront bench role, and apologises for what she says was an extremely poor choice of words in a Newspaper Article about child abuse. At least 600 people are still missing after the sierra leone mudslide. The countrys president says entire communities have been wiped out. Those