08/09/2011 BBC News at Six


08/09/2011

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 08/09/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

An inquiry condemns the appalling, gratuitous violence by British

:00:07.:00:12.

soldiers that led to the death of a Iraqi civilian. 36 hours in

:00:12.:00:17.

detention that left a family without a father. Baha Mousa had 93

:00:17.:00:24.

separate injuries. What happened to Baha Mousa and his fellow detainees

:00:25.:00:34.

in September 2003 was deplorable, Baha Mousa and others were herded,

:00:34.:00:39.

humiliated and abused. The report calls it systemic failure. We hear

:00:39.:00:44.

from a soldier that was there. personal views are that everybody

:00:44.:00:49.

that was there that day has their own responsibility for his death.

:00:49.:00:52.

Whether you hit him or you didn't, you still have your own

:00:52.:00:56.

responsibility for his death. tonight: A bleak forecast for

:00:57.:01:01.

Britain's economy. A leading international think-tank sees even

:01:01.:01:05.

slower growth for the rest of the year. 10 years on, US officials

:01:05.:01:11.

released chilling messages from the 9/11 hijacker Mohammed actor as he

:01:11.:01:14.

took control of an American Airlines plane towards the twin

:01:14.:01:24.
:01:24.:01:29.

Paralympic tickets go on sale tomorrow. The athletes and

:01:29.:01:33.

organisers promise the best performances yet. The more

:01:33.:01:37.

Paralympic sport you show young people, the more interest there is

:01:37.:01:43.

in Paralympic sport. It gives us a real head start in this country.

:01:43.:01:46.

sport, Andy Murray is back on court after two days of rain at the US

:01:46.:01:56.
:01:56.:02:11.

Open. We will have news of his bid Good evening. Welcome to the BBC

:02:11.:02:16.

News at six. 36 hours in the custody of the British Army and the

:02:16.:02:20.

Iraqi civilian Baha Mousa was left with 93 separate injuries that led

:02:20.:02:24.

to his death. In a devastating report, Sir William Gage, who has

:02:24.:02:30.

just completed a two year inquiry, said Baha Mousa was the victim of

:02:30.:02:34.

appalling, gratuitous violence. He said that death had left a great

:02:34.:02:39.

stain on the British Army. Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, said that

:02:39.:02:43.

the episode was shocking and shameful. In a moment, the lessons

:02:43.:02:48.

for the army. First, Caroline Hawley on this damning report. Her

:02:48.:02:53.

piece contains distressing images. In a makeshift detention facility

:02:53.:02:57.

eight years ago, a killing that cast a shadow over the army's

:02:57.:03:01.

reputation. Baha Mousa had just lost his wife to cancer when he was

:03:01.:03:07.

detained by British troops. Over the next 36 hours, he and nine

:03:07.:03:11.

other detainees were forced to wear hoods, forced into painful

:03:11.:03:17.

positions and badly beaten. When he died, he had 93 separate injuries.

:03:17.:03:21.

My judgment is that it constituted an appalling episode of serious,

:03:21.:03:26.

gratuitous violence on civilians, which resulted in the death of One

:03:26.:03:31.

man and injuries to others. They represented a very serious breach

:03:31.:03:41.
:03:41.:03:41.

of discipline. Footage from detention facility shows corporal

:03:41.:03:45.

Donald Payne shouting obscenities at the Iraqis. He's the only man to

:03:45.:03:52.

have been punished in any way. The use of hoods and stress positions

:03:53.:03:55.

are against international law and had been banned by the British

:03:55.:03:59.

government in 1972. It was an army major that instructed the soldiers

:03:59.:04:03.

to use them. The inquiry heard they were standard operating procedure.

:04:03.:04:08.

The report blamed they used on a corporate failure at the Ministry

:04:08.:04:11.

of Defence. It said stress positions and the use of hunts were

:04:11.:04:16.

wholly unacceptable in any circumstances. -- hunts. It also

:04:16.:04:20.

found that many soldiers had assaulted the Iraqis. Even more had

:04:20.:04:25.

failed to intervene. There had been, it said, a lack of moral courage.

:04:25.:04:30.

It is truly a shocking and appalling incident. It should not

:04:30.:04:33.

have happened and it should never be allowed to happen again. The

:04:33.:04:38.

British Army should uphold the highest standards. The inquiry

:04:38.:04:42.

found that Major Michael Peebles knew that detainees had been

:04:42.:04:46.

assaulted. It said if the pennant Craig Rogers had acted when he

:04:46.:04:49.

first knew what was happening, Baha Mousa or would almost certainly

:04:50.:04:55.

have had survived. It found that the decorated commander Colonel

:04:55.:05:01.

Jorge Mendonca So should have known what was going on, and that

:05:01.:05:06.

Corporal Payne was a violent bully that tried to cover up what he had

:05:06.:05:10.

done. No doubt the Director of Prosecutions will be reading that

:05:10.:05:13.

report and they will be considering war crimes of torture, inhumane

:05:13.:05:17.

treatment and submitting people to grossly humiliating behaviour. They

:05:17.:05:20.

awry number of people that have every reason to be very, very

:05:20.:05:27.

worried. Back in the Middle East, a family is still grieving. Baha

:05:27.:05:37.
:05:37.:05:43.

Mousa's father had to identify his In my heart... My son. Baha Mousa's

:05:44.:05:47.

two children are now growing up without a father. Today, the

:05:47.:05:54.

soldier that tried to resuscitate him expressed remorse. I cannot say

:05:54.:05:57.

enough words how sorry I am, not only for myself but for those that

:05:57.:06:01.

were involved in his death. If you hit him we didn't hit him, you

:06:01.:06:06.

still have your own responsibility for his death. Baha Mousa is buried

:06:06.:06:11.

in Iraq's holiest city. Today's report into his death is a big step

:06:11.:06:14.

towards accountability. But the scandal over what happened to him

:06:14.:06:21.

has not yet been laid to rest. The inquiry's chairman Sir William

:06:21.:06:24.

Gage has blamed the death on a systemic failure at the Ministry of

:06:24.:06:28.

Defence, for not giving clear guidance about the treatment of

:06:28.:06:32.

prisoners. Caroline Wyatt is here. This will make very difficult

:06:32.:06:36.

reading for the army. Have they learned any lessons? Indeed it does.

:06:36.:06:40.

The army insist that they have learned lessons. As we heard from

:06:40.:06:43.

the inquiry, the abuse and the death of Baha Mousa as a prisoner

:06:44.:06:47.

in British custody was a dark day for the British Army, one that

:06:47.:06:51.

stained its reputation. The MoD and the army say they are ensuring that

:06:51.:06:55.

all soldiers that are deployed are aware of the ban on the five so-

:06:55.:06:58.

called conditioning techniques that were used to soften up prisoners

:06:58.:07:03.

before questioning. In 2003, that Banahan soon how -- some have been

:07:03.:07:11.

Baha Mousa was not a casualty of war. His death occurred as a

:07:11.:07:14.

detainee in British custody. It was avoidable and preventable and there

:07:14.:07:19.

can be no excuses. There is no place in our armed forces for the

:07:19.:07:23.

mistreatment of detainees. Although the challenges that British

:07:23.:07:28.

soldiers based in Iraq in 2003 were hostile and intense, the head of

:07:28.:07:31.

the army said today that there could be no excuse for the loss of

:07:31.:07:36.

discipline and the lack of moral courage that occurred. His clear

:07:36.:07:41.

from the inquiry report that we were ill prepared in 2003 for the

:07:42.:07:47.

task of handling civilian detainees. The army has made strenuous efforts

:07:47.:07:51.

since then to transform the way that we train them for and conduct

:07:51.:07:56.

detention operations. The army insists that some improvements have

:07:56.:08:00.

already been made. You've got to treat everybody you have captured

:08:00.:08:05.

humanely. No exceptions, no IFS or buts. Amongst the recommendations

:08:05.:08:08.

are an update and improvements to this training video for British

:08:08.:08:14.

soldiers on prisoner handling. It came out in 2005, in the wake of

:08:14.:08:21.

Baha Mousa's death. Inquiry also said that the MoD must keep the ban

:08:21.:08:25.

on making detainees wear hoods, and improved training. It also wants to

:08:25.:08:31.

see more rapid medical attention for detainees and possible civilian

:08:31.:08:36.

inspections of prisons. But some say that those involved must face

:08:36.:08:42.

trial. The inhuman treatment of civilians is a war crime. The

:08:42.:08:46.

beating and killing of a prisoner is in breach of our criminal laws.

:08:46.:08:51.

The army had investigated, so they say, in respect of the court

:08:51.:08:56.

martial that took place. But that was a court martial where we met a

:08:56.:09:02.

wall of scientists -- silence. army says that those still serving

:09:02.:09:05.

have now been suspended and there will be another look at whether

:09:06.:09:10.

they could face disciplinary action. That could be a fresh court martial

:09:10.:09:12.

war even prosecution in a civilian court.

:09:12.:09:17.

The Bank of England has once again kept interest rates at the record

:09:17.:09:21.

low of 0.5%. The rates have remained unchanged now for two-and-

:09:21.:09:25.

a-half years. It comes as a group of leading international economists

:09:25.:09:29.

warned that the UK growth could be a lot lower than the Government is

:09:29.:09:35.

predicting. The British economy is stumbling

:09:35.:09:39.

forward without much momentum. That is the message from the OECD think-

:09:39.:09:43.

tank. Now the hunt is on for growth, with the Chancellor examining every

:09:43.:09:47.

area of activity as the pressure grows for policies to get things

:09:47.:09:52.

back on track. Today, Mr Osborne, after trade talks with the high-

:09:52.:09:56.

level Chinese delegation, said that his deficit reduction plan had laid

:09:56.:10:01.

the foundations for the UK economy to expand. If you were to start

:10:01.:10:03.

spending more money, the almost immediate result would be that

:10:04.:10:07.

interest rates go up. Families would find themselves paying higher

:10:07.:10:11.

mortgage payments, businesses would find themselves paying more to

:10:11.:10:14.

borrow and invest. That doesn't seem to be very sensible. What

:10:14.:10:18.

Britain has to do is work through the debt problems, but also grow

:10:18.:10:24.

and become more competitive. economic outlook is cloudier. Life

:10:24.:10:27.

is getting more difficult for policy makers at home and further

:10:27.:10:32.

afield. The climate is worse for leading industrialised economies.

:10:32.:10:36.

The OECD says all of their growth prospects are going down. The UK is

:10:36.:10:40.

no exception. Last autumn, they predicted that UK growth this year

:10:40.:10:45.

would be 1.7%. By May this year, they had revised that forecast down

:10:46.:10:51.

to 1.4%. Now the OECD believes that the UK will grow by less than 1% in

:10:51.:10:56.

2011. George Osborne's decisions a year ago choked of our recovery in

:10:56.:11:00.

Britain, even before this latest crisis in the eurozone and in

:11:00.:11:06.

America. That means we are very badly exposed indeed. Our economy

:11:06.:11:12.

is flat-lining. Unemployment is rising. The case for a global plan

:11:12.:11:15.

B and a change of course in Britain is growing by the day. Consumers

:11:15.:11:18.

are feeling the pinch. They might be on the high streets, but they

:11:18.:11:21.

are not spending like they used to. It was revealed today that some

:11:21.:11:26.

towns like Stockport have nearly 30% of shops empty, as many retail

:11:26.:11:30.

chains struggle. Back in the city, they are trying to come up with

:11:30.:11:34.

ideas for growth. His business leader says the Government can help

:11:34.:11:38.

with targeted tax breaks. British government commit they need

:11:38.:11:41.

to do anything, they need to sit shoulder to shoulder with this

:11:42.:11:47.

country's very impressive entrepreneurs, who are creating

:11:47.:11:49.

businesses and high growth industries of tomorrow. But it will

:11:49.:11:53.

not be easy, even with the Bank of England keeping interest rates on

:11:53.:11:57.

hold yet again, at record low levels. Looking for growth with

:11:57.:12:03.

other countries struggling is now a major challenge for this government.

:12:03.:12:07.

The first homecoming ceremony play for one British serviceman since

:12:07.:12:10.

repatriations through Wootton Bassett ended has taken place at

:12:10.:12:20.
:12:20.:12:23.

The body of Sergeant Darren Weston, or 42 Commando, was flown into the

:12:23.:12:26.

base. He was killed while on foot patrol by a roadside bomb in

:12:26.:12:31.

Afghanistan. He leaves behind it wife and three daughters. Around

:12:31.:12:37.

2000 people lined the route, where the new memorial to British troops

:12:38.:12:41.

has been erected. American forces in Afghanistan have

:12:41.:12:45.

admitted that a BBC reporter who died when the Taliban stormed a

:12:45.:12:49.

building in July was shot dead by US troops in a case of mistaken

:12:49.:12:54.

identity. The reporter, who worked for the BBC service, was killed

:12:54.:12:57.

while hiding in a bathroom after his soldier mistaken for a suicide

:12:57.:13:04.

bomber. He left a wife and baby daughter. The funeral of Mark

:13:04.:13:07.

Duggan, the man shot dead by police in north London last month, takes

:13:07.:13:11.

place tomorrow. His family have been speaking today and they have

:13:11.:13:14.

criticised the police watchdog which is carrying out investigation.

:13:14.:13:21.

His death was followed by riots across England. June Kelly is in

:13:21.:13:26.

Tottenham. It is five weeks since Mark Duggan

:13:26.:13:30.

was shot on this road in Tottenham by armed police. Tonight, his

:13:30.:13:33.

family are preparing for the funeral. The Met police say that

:13:33.:13:39.

the policing for the funeral will reflect the family's desire for a

:13:39.:13:42.

peaceful and dignified event. Mark Duggan, with his mother,

:13:42.:13:47.

Pamela. And, in other photographs released by the family, in

:13:47.:13:52.

photographs with his girlfriend, Simone Wilson. When he was shot, he

:13:52.:13:56.

was said to be carrying a gun hidden in a sock. His family are

:13:56.:14:01.

disputing this. There is an issue of a gun. There is an issue of a

:14:01.:14:06.

gun with no fingerprints from my brother on it whatsoever. Where did

:14:06.:14:11.

this gun come from? We don't know, we only know what the police say at

:14:11.:14:15.

this point in time. But I'm sure that was not my brother's gun.

:14:15.:14:18.

After that was a passenger in a mini cab that was stopped in what

:14:19.:14:22.

has been described as an intelligent lead police operation.

:14:22.:14:27.

He was shot in the chest and arm by an officer from the Met Police's

:14:27.:14:31.

firearms unit. For the police to open fire, they must believe the

:14:31.:14:36.

suspect is posing an imminent threat. It was a shooting which led

:14:36.:14:40.

to a protest which descended into the first of the riots which

:14:40.:14:45.

convulsed so many neighbourhoods in London and beyond. Independent

:14:45.:14:47.

Police Complaints Commission is carrying out the investigation into

:14:48.:14:52.

Mark Duggan's death. The IPCC have admitted that they misled

:14:52.:14:56.

journalists shortly afterwards by saying, inaccurately, that Mark

:14:56.:15:01.

Duggan had fired first at officers. This has led to strained relations.

:15:01.:15:11.
:15:11.:15:21.

But the family say they have no faith in the IPCC. The initial

:15:21.:15:27.

stages of this inquiry, the initial stages of this incident, if they

:15:27.:15:31.

are anything to go by, I've got no trust in them whatsoever. Meanwhile

:15:31.:15:36.

Scotland Yard says there is no truth in the reports that the

:15:36.:15:40.

officer who shot Mark Duggan is about to return to firearms duties.

:15:40.:15:44.

Because of the ongoing investigation, no-one is responding

:15:44.:15:48.

to the allegations the family are making about the gun. What we also

:15:48.:15:54.

don't know, crucially, is why the police felt they had to stop Mark

:15:54.:16:00.

Duggan on this road five weeks ago. Viewers on BBC London can see the

:16:00.:16:03.

full interview with Mark Duggan's brother after this programme.

:16:03.:16:05.

Our top story tonight: An inquiry condemns the appalling, gratuitous

:16:05.:16:08.

violence by British soldiers that led to the death of an Iraqi

:16:08.:16:11.

civilian. Coming up: The 2 million-year-old

:16:11.:16:21.

skeleton which could shed new light on the origin of man. Later on the

:16:21.:16:25.

BBC News Channel, as interest rates in the UK and Europe remain on hold

:16:25.:16:30.

in an attempt to keep economic growth alive, gloomy data from both

:16:30.:16:40.

sides of the Atlantic suggest those Chilling messages from the planes

:16:40.:16:43.

which crashed into the World Trade Center in New York on 9/11 have

:16:43.:16:47.

been released by US authorities. The tapes, many of which have not

:16:47.:16:50.

been heard before, paint a dramatic picture of the confusion and horror

:16:50.:16:52.

as American officials and pilots struggled to understand what was

:16:52.:16:56.

happening. This weekend marks ten years since the attacks took place.

:16:56.:17:06.
:17:06.:17:08.

Adam Brookes reports. September 11th. At 8.13 in the morning air

:17:08.:17:12.

traffic controllers lose contact with American Airlines Flight 11

:17:12.:17:16.

not far from New York. Then a telephone call from the plane

:17:16.:17:22.

itself. It is Betty Ong, an attendant. Somebody is stab in

:17:22.:17:27.

business class. I think there's mace. We can't breathe. I don't

:17:27.:17:31.

know but I think we are being hijacked. Nobody move. Everybody is

:17:31.:17:37.

og. If you try to make any moves you will endanger yourself and the

:17:37.:17:42.

aeroplane. Just stay quiet. voice of Mohammad Atta now at the

:17:42.:17:46.

plane's controls. Stunned air traffic controllers try to find

:17:46.:17:51.

what is happening. We have a problem here. We've got a hijacked

:17:51.:17:55.

aircraft heading for New York. We need someone to scramble some F-16s

:17:55.:18:02.

or something to help us out. this real world or an exercise?

:18:02.:18:08.

This is not an exercise. I found myself as standing in the middle of

:18:08.:18:13.

that floor mostly trying to comprehend what the heck was going

:18:13.:18:18.

on. As events unfold, in the control towers, bafflement and

:18:18.:18:22.

disbelief. You can look out your window right now? You can see a guy

:18:22.:18:28.

at 4,000 feet? I see him. That's another situation. Another one just

:18:28.:18:36.

hit the building! Wow! Another one hit the World Trade. The whole

:18:36.:18:41.

building came apart! At 10.30 the orders go out to shoot down the

:18:41.:18:45.

aircraft. The commander who declared we can shoot down aircraft

:18:45.:18:49.

that do not respond to our direction. Did you copy that?

:18:49.:18:56.

that, Sir. But there were none left to shoot down. One tape has not

:18:56.:19:01.

been released from Flight 93, in which passengers fought the

:19:02.:19:05.

hijackers and the plane went down. To protect the families, we are

:19:05.:19:10.

told, the voices will not be heard. It took just 73 minutes for those

:19:10.:19:12.

terror attacks on 9/11 to change the course of American history.

:19:12.:19:15.

Those moments also changed the lives of thousands of families as

:19:15.:19:18.

husbands, wives, sons and daughters were killed. More than 3,000

:19:18.:19:23.

children lost a parent. As the 10th anniversary of the terrorist

:19:23.:19:30.

attacks approach, Laura Trevelyan reports on the children of 9/11.

:19:30.:19:34.

The at wood children are back from their first day at school but this

:19:34.:19:39.

is no ordinary week for Margaret, Gerald and Robert and their mother,

:19:39.:19:44.

Barbara. On Sunday the children will mourn the death of their

:19:44.:19:49.

father, firefighter Gerald Attwood, who perished ten years ago at

:19:49.:19:53.

Ground Zero trying to save others. I am proud because he sacrificed

:19:53.:19:57.

his life for other people, that he didn't even know, and he cares so

:19:57.:20:02.

much about them. Barbara was pregnant with Robert when Gerald

:20:02.:20:07.

was killed. The pregnancy helped her to deal with the grief. Robert

:20:07.:20:12.

miss the father who never got to take him on school trips. What has

:20:12.:20:17.

it been like growing up without your father? Alright but it what be

:20:17.:20:23.

beyond better if he were here. Barbara has devoted herself to

:20:23.:20:27.

bringing up the family. But she worries about what she and the

:20:27.:20:33.

children are missing without Gerald. Taking the boys to Scouts, just

:20:34.:20:42.

being that partner who is committed to being there for me, for the

:20:42.:20:48.

children. It's been huge. There is not a day that I don't think about

:20:48.:20:53.

him. When Al-Qaeda destroyed the Twin Towers more than 60 fathers of

:20:53.:20:56.

unborn children were among those killed. The pain of growing up

:20:56.:21:01.

without a dad isn't confined to New York. The long shadow of 9/11

:21:02.:21:08.

extends to Britain too. Elizabeth Turner's husband, Simon, has flown

:21:08.:21:12.

from London to New York for a meeting on September 11th.

:21:12.:21:15.

Elizabeth was pregnant with William when Simon was killed inside the

:21:15.:21:20.

World Trade Center. Her grief is very different to William's

:21:20.:21:26.

mourning. William didn't know Simon. He knows of him and knows of him as

:21:26.:21:31.

has dad. So, it is almost like his grief is about the loss of not

:21:31.:21:38.

having a father. This is the memorial at Ground Zero. For 3,000

:21:38.:21:41.

children who lost a parent now have somewhere to mourn the ir

:21:41.:21:48.

replaceable. The starting gun has been fired and

:21:48.:21:52.

tickets are about to go on sale for the 2012 Paralympics in London.

:21:52.:21:55.

Organisers say they hope the games will prove to be the most

:21:55.:21:58.

successful ever staged and are confident that it will be a sellout.

:21:58.:22:00.

Paralympic athletes have been gathering in Trafalgar Square to

:22:00.:22:09.

mark the occasion. Andy Swiss reports. So, anyone for a quiet

:22:09.:22:15.

game of wheelchair rugby? How about sitting volleyball? Table tennis,

:22:15.:22:19.

or a mere 17 other sports? Today you could watch them and tomorrow

:22:19.:22:28.

you can buy a ticket for them. The Paralympics are coming to town.

:22:28.:22:34.

people are coming out enjoying the sport. I've seen people clench

:22:34.:22:38.

their jaws watching the while chairs clash behind us. It is

:22:38.:22:42.

exciting. The excitement around the sports is what is needed. Yeah, I'm

:22:42.:22:47.

looking forward to it. And so are these two, Boris Johnson and David

:22:47.:22:51.

Cameron, amusing the crowds with an enthusiastic play of their tennis

:22:51.:22:55.

skills. But they know selling ticket will be a far more serious

:22:55.:22:58.

business. Previous Paralympics have given them away. London is not.

:22:58.:23:02.

There are 2 million for sale and they are cheaper than the Olympics.

:23:02.:23:08.

Half of them will cost �10 or less. You can buy them on-line from

:23:08.:23:14.

9.00am tomorrow for nearly three weeks. The Paralympics were born in

:23:14.:23:18.

Britain, at the Stoke Mandeville games in 1948. Organisers hope that

:23:18.:23:23.

tradition will translate into ticket. Our history and the

:23:23.:23:27.

Paralympic movement, the fact that many of our Paralympians are

:23:27.:23:30.

household names, and the more Paralympic sport you show young

:23:30.:23:34.

people the more interest there is in Paralympic sport gives us a real

:23:34.:23:38.

head start this this country. the frustration of missing out on

:23:38.:23:42.

Olympic tickets for thousands like the West family, the Paralympics

:23:42.:23:46.

have gained added significance. were very disappointed. That's why

:23:46.:23:50.

we are hoping we are going to be successful in our ballot tomorrow

:23:50.:23:54.

morning and get the Paralympic tickets, because we do want to be

:23:54.:23:58.

part of it. We are Londoners. It is history and I think it'd be

:23:58.:24:02.

something really nice to be able to look back on and say we were there

:24:02.:24:05.

and witnessed some great sport. Perhaps the best reason to watch

:24:05.:24:13.

the Paralympics will be this. Britain won some 42 gold medals in

:24:13.:24:17.

Beijing, second only to China. With home support anything is possible.

:24:17.:24:21.

Being in Beijing and having the Chinese crowd cheering for you,

:24:21.:24:25.

even though you weren't Chinese, it gave you a buzz. Hopefully in

:24:25.:24:29.

London we'll get that buzz. London organisers will certainly

:24:29.:24:36.

hope so. Britain will want to win new fans as well as win the medals.

:24:36.:24:41.

So yes, quite a day here in Trafalgar Square. Tomorrow you can

:24:41.:24:44.

start applying for those Paralympic tickets from 9 o'clock in the

:24:44.:24:48.

morning. It is not first come first served. You have nearly three weeks

:24:48.:24:51.

to make your choice. Andy, thank you.

:24:51.:24:54.

It's a question that's baffled us for generations: how did we became

:24:54.:24:56.

human, and who are our closest ancestors? Well, scientists in

:24:57.:25:00.

South Africa now believe they may have found a missing link between

:25:00.:25:02.

chimps and humans. They've been studying two skeletons which are

:25:02.:25:05.

over 2 million years old. As Pallab Ghosh now reports, if this

:25:05.:25:07.

controversial claim is true, the find would overturn our current

:25:08.:25:10.

understanding of how and where humans evolved. South Africans call

:25:10.:25:15.

this park the Cradle of Human Kind. It turns out that it may well be.

:25:15.:25:19.

These remains were found in a cave at the park. They are of an ape-

:25:19.:25:25.

like creature that live 2 million years ago. And a new detailed

:25:25.:25:29.

analysis published in the journal, Science, show that they are the

:25:29.:25:32.

most human-like apes of their time. These hands, for example, may have

:25:32.:25:38.

been able to use tools. And new scans of its skull show that the

:25:38.:25:42.

creature as brain was shifting towards being more human-like.

:25:42.:25:47.

we are looking at is the point of transition where we move from

:25:47.:25:53.

relatively primitive creatures to something that's potentially stone

:25:53.:25:57.

tool-using. There are the potential origins of language, the way that

:25:57.:26:01.

something is looking like us. is is the story of human evolution

:26:01.:26:07.

so far. The first apes emerged 20 million years ago. Then came pre-

:26:07.:26:11.

humans, these were apes with some human characteristics.

:26:11.:26:15.

And then came the first true humans - this happened around 2 million

:26:15.:26:20.

years ago. The new species is thought to be right at the

:26:20.:26:26.

transition point between pre-human and human. Some say it actually was

:26:26.:26:31.

the very first human. However, up until now it's thought that this

:26:31.:26:36.

transition happened in East Africa. But the new discovery has

:26:36.:26:40.

challenged that theory. This now puts the focus back on South Africa

:26:40.:26:43.

as the place where that first transition to people beginning to

:26:43.:26:49.

look like us happened. Scientists once thought there was a linear

:26:49.:26:54.

progression from monkey to ape to human. We now know the picture was

:26:54.:26:59.

far more complicated. Million office years ago there were many

:26:59.:27:03.

human-like species. They became fewer and fewer over the years

:27:03.:27:08.

until there was just one - us. Never before have our origins been

:27:08.:27:13.

studied in such detail. It is research that's answering not just

:27:13.:27:17.

where and how our species emerged but deeper questions about what it

:27:18.:27:26.

truly means to be human. truly means to be human.

:27:26.:27:29.

The weather now with Alex Deakin. We are dig out summer for one more

:27:29.:27:35.

day tomorrow. Warm air is across us tonight. A damp night. Outbreaks of

:27:35.:27:39.

rain in Northern Ireland this evening and spreading here into

:27:39.:27:42.

southern Scotland and northern England overnight. Heavy rain in

:27:42.:27:46.

places. Heavy, showery rain drifting across southern parts of

:27:46.:27:52.

England and Wales. Double digits, 16 in the South West. Cooler in the

:27:52.:27:55.

far north of Scotland. The rain will arrive in northern Scotland

:27:55.:27:58.

tomorrow. It sticks around for most of the day. It tends to clear from

:27:59.:28:02.

central and southern Scotland and northern England. As things

:28:02.:28:06.

brighten it will feel warm and human nid the afternoon. One or two

:28:06.:28:09.

scattered showers in England and Wales. Around some coasts it may

:28:09.:28:13.

stay grey and misty. But head inland and things should brighten

:28:13.:28:19.

up. Where we get did sunshine, 23 maybe 24 degrees through parts of

:28:19.:28:22.

East Anglia and the East Midlands. Bright anything north-east England

:28:22.:28:26.

after a grey start. Central Scotland becoming drier and

:28:26.:28:30.

brighter in the afternoon. In the far north, a dull and damp day. The

:28:30.:28:33.

overnight clears from Northern Ireland. Things brighten here with

:28:33.:28:38.

a hint of sunshine. We might reach 20 degrees. Warm and humid. Across

:28:38.:28:43.

Wales it will be predominantly cloudy. Brightness east of the

:28:43.:28:47.

hills maybe. The same for south- west England. Quite cloudy and

:28:47.:28:50.

misty. All change for Saturday. A band of

:28:50.:28:55.

rain sweeps across the country, accompanied by strong winds. Warmer

:28:55.:29:00.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS