07/09/2016 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten - more civilian deaths in Syria,

as the Assad government pledges to fight on.

In the city of Aleppo, on another day of suffering,

rebel-held areas are once again under siege,

We have a very strong government, we have sustained the six-year

war against Syria and, I assure you, we shall continue.

In London, Syria's opposition groups set out a plan

for political transition, as the Saudis warn

If Bashar al-Assad continues to be obstinate and continues

to drag his feet and continues to refuse to engage seriously then,

obviously, there will have to be a plan B, which would involve more

We'll be looking at today's plan, and we'll be asking if it provides

In Rio, minutes to go until the start of the Paralympic Games,

Mike Ashley - the boss of Sports Direct -

appeals for more time to fix the company's problems

Clearly I could have done a better job,

but I didn't knowingly do it badly.

Mark Carney denies that the Bank of England "over-egged" warnings

And will Apple's latest iPhone be the company's saviour

And coming up in Sportsday at 10:30pm on BBC News,

Andy Murray makes a strong start in his US Open quarterfinal,

but he doesn't have it all his own way against Kei Nishikori.

Syria's opposition groups meeting in London have presented their most

detailed plan to date to end the conflict which has

Their proposals for a peaceful transfer of power would involve

the departure of President Assad - a notion dismissed as "crazy"

President Assad's forces have been accused of new attacks on civilians

in the city of Aleppo, in the same area hit by a suspected

This report from Damascus by our Middle East editor

Jeremy Bowen contains some distressing images.

Another air attack on East Aleppo, which is held

Civil defence workers pulled out casualties, as they've done

The attack was close to the place where local reports say bombs

containing poisonous chlorine gas were dropped on Tuesday.

The Syrian government always denies using chemical weapons,

This side of the city is at the moment the government's

The Syrian army has tried to surround East Aleppo to seal it

off and attempt to impose a siege and to starve out the anti-regime

Casualties were taken to one of East Aleppo's

The fighting and attempts to impose a total siege mean they're short

The regime blames the bloodshed on foreign countries

It denies allegations it rigs elections here,

and says President Assad has no plans to leave office.

We elected our president, we elected our Parliament.

We elected our local administration units.

But these western countries would recognise only what they want,

So we have a very strong government, we have sustained a six war,

a six-year war against Syria, and I assure you we shall

continue as long as the intervention takes place.

In London, backed by Britain, the Saudis and others,

a Syrian opposition coalition has produced the most detailed blueprint

yet for a transition of power, insisting on President Assad

and what it calls his clique leaving.

They don't expect a yes any time soon from Damascus.

If Bashar al-Assad continues to be obstinate and continues

to drag his feet and contunies to refuse to engage seriously,

then obviously there will have to be a plan B which would involve more

This part of the capital could not look more different

There is huge war damage only a few miles away and across the country,

If the demand to step down had been delivered by a victorious army

at the gates of his palace, President Assad would have

But the way things stand now, he doesn't.

The era of the Assads in Syria seems to be far from over.

Hair-raising rescue journeys have been happening every day in this

These were civil defence workers in rebel-held East Aleppo

racing to save casualties in Tuesday's attack,

that local reports say contained chemical chlorine gas.

One Syrian general I've spoken to said the war could

Our chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet has been

following those meetings between Syrian opposition

groups which have been taking place in London.

Are you detecting any sign of potential progress? This is a

comprehensive plan that the opposition and its allies have

developed. It's essentially a security and political blueprint

intended to send a message to the President's powerful allies like

Russia and Iran, that if the president goes, Syria would not

collapse, as the regime did in neighbouring Iraq and Libya went

there authorities were removed. But this good plan has a big problem. No

matter how much the opposition, the Saudis and Boris Johnson called on

President Assad to go, you will not simply step down. We have seen the

big players like Russia and the United States, they can make a

difference if they want. In the last few hours we are getting some signs

that these protracted talks between the US's John Kerry and Russia's

Sergei Lavrov are making progress. I have been told tonight that it's

likely they could reach a deal by Friday. John Kerry will fly away

tomorrow, but there is a bit of hope. They are aiming for enhanced

military operation against the so-called Islamic State, and a

nationwide temporary truce. That would help stop some of the pain we

saw in Jeremy Bowen's package tonight, with some of those

harrowing moments in Aleppo. But it will not stop soon, and sadly that's

what Syria and the world needs, and it's absolutely not in sight.

In a few minutes' time in Rio, the Paralympic Games will get

underway with an opening ceremony at the Maracana Stadium.

Organisers are hoping to erase the memory of a series of problems

in recent months including poor ticket sales, a funding crisis,

and criticism of the way athletes have been classified.

So with 12 days of competition ahead, let's join our correspondent

All eyes are now on the opening ceremony of the 15th summer

Paralympic games. Despite all the problems, and there have been a lot

of problems, all the venues are ready. Crucially, all the athletes

are here and the mood is turning to that of excitement. But the funding

crisis we know about has led some to believe that the Paralympic movement

would be unable to capitalise on the success of London 2012. A warning

that my report contains flashing images.

It's been just over two weeks since Rio said

But tonight the crowds have returned to the Maracana to mark

the start of the 15th summer Paralympic games.

I'm very excited, we all very excited for the Paralympic games. I

can't believe it's happening here Rio.

the movement has grown, culminating in London 2012,

With a record number of tickets sold and more people tuning

in than ever before, the Paralympic movement

But it's been a bumpy road to Rio 2016.

The entire Russian team have been banned.

There has been controversy over athlete classification,

a poor start to ticket sales, and worst of all,

There was a real sense that it was dire, as bad as it could get.

Did the IPC have any warning signs that this could get any worse?

What happened was the organising committee ran out of money.

Therefore the consequence was pretty serious for the Olympics, but

absolutely dire for the Paralympics. Every country is going to be here,

every nation? Every country is here, there will be no team not here

because of lack of money. We made sure of that. The Paralympic

movement has come together, as have the people of the world, and

particularly the people of Britain from what I know when I was back

there. Really, nobody was going to let the Paralympics die here.

Competition starts tomorrow, but as a result of the cuts, there will be

fewer venues and reduced transport facilities and there is no escaping

the fact this has angered some athletes. We should not be taking

out our begging bowls. We understand people are living in difficult

times, but what we don't understand is why we have to be an after

thought every time. Why should these games be staged on a shoestring? But

early concerns to do with ticket sales have diminished and the mood

here is optimistic. The hope is the sport will soon overtake the

problems. People might look at the negative, but I think people will be

pleasantly surprised and when they see the performances of British

athletes especially, getting gold medals, I think it will be forgotten

about. Over 4000 athletes from 160 countries will join thousands of

volunteers. The games are about to begin, but perhaps here in Rio, the

Paralympic movement has already passed its hardest test.

And it does seem as though they have already passed their biggest test,

looking forward with the sport starting tomorrow and new broadcast

deals, particularly in America, means the games will be beamed to

more people than ever before, which the Paralympic movement Will Hope as

a positive effect on people's understanding of disability. There

is definitely a general sense here that it will be all right on the

night. Nikki Fox there at the start of the Paralympic games in Rio.

Mike Ashley - the boss of Sports Direct -

has asked investors to give him 12 months to fix the

Mr Ashley has been accused of running parts of his company

Today, the shareholders, unhappy with bad publicity

and falling profits, called on the chairman

Our business correspondent Emma Simpson was at

the annual general meeting in Shirebrook in Derbyshire.

Welcome to Sports Direct HQ, and its billionaire founder,

who threw open the doors to show us around the warehouse where workers

Clearly, I could have done a better job.

A charm offensive at breakneck speed.

Could I ask you to empty the contents of your pocket

Mike Ashley then pulled out a wad of ?50 notes as he demonstrated

I'm just going to look in the tray, could I, mate?

But it was always going to be harder to impress this lot,

the shareholders, who have come to have their say at the AGM.

They have seen the share price tumble by nearly

Sports Direct has had a very difficult year.

It now needs to put that behind them.

And we believe a change in the corporate governance

and the board composition should help do that.

I will be supporting an independent inquiry, right,

into the way in which this company does its business,

because I think it's unsustainable and exploitative.

Inside, there were some testing moments.

The chairman, Keith Helliwell, was conciliatory, admitting

that the way the company had acted has been embarrassing at times.

But Mike Ashley looked glum and clashed with the Unite union rep

saying, "Don't pull me down, it doesn't help," while large

corporate shareholders pressed for changes at the top.

Those independent shareholders voted for the chairman to go,

It is disappointing, and my job, and my job with the company,

is to show that in 12 months' time they should have confidence in me,

I deserve their confidence, and they will see a big

We've done some good work in 90 days, so let's do some fantastic

And if we fail, I won't be stood here, he won't be stood

It's a damning blow from investors, but Mike Ashley owns

He calls the shots, and he's come out fighting.

Emma Simpson, BBC News, Shirebrook in Derbyshire.

The Prime Minister has told MPs that the Government will not be

reporting back on every twist and turn of the Brexit negotiations.

In the first Prime Minister's Questions since the summer break,

and more than two months after the EU referendum,

Theresa May said she was taking a considered approach and seeking

Later she was pressed to clarify whether she wanted

the country to remain within the European single market.

Please could she tell us and clear up the confusion from yesterday,

does she value membership of the single market?

Does she think it should be an aim or an objective of the negotiations,

and that we should be trying to stay in it if we can?

What I say to the right honourable lady is the aim

that we have is to get the right deal in trade in goods

We will be looking to develop a new model of the relationship

between the UK and the European Union.

And we will not, as I said earlier, be setting out every bit

of our negotiating hand in advance of entering those negotiations,

because that would be the best way to come out with the worst deal.

The Prime Minister speaking earlier today.

The economic risks of a Brexit vote were not exaggerated

by the Bank of England, according to the Governor,

He was answering questions from members of the

Mr Carney said he was "absolutely serene" about the bank's actions,

and stressed that the recent cut in interest rates -

as part of an emergency package of measures

Our economics editor Kamal Ahmed watched to the exchanges.

The message was clear, a slowdown, possibly a recession,

if Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Before the referendum in June, the Governor was in warning mode.

Of course there's a range of possible scenarios

Which could possibly include a technical recession.

Now, after the Bank cut interest rates and some positive

economic figures, Mr Carney was talking not of gloom,

I'm quite comfortable with the analysis we did in advance,

the preparation we did in advance, the effectiveness of

All of which put us in a position to help this economy

adjust and help make it, if I can bring it back to the issue

which is at the heart of the referendum,

which is to help make the leaving of the European Union a success

With almost icy politeness, Jacob Rees-Mogg, a Brexit backer,

laid out the charge sheet against the Bank.

The Bank of England was contributing to a fear in the markets

about what would happen in the event of Brexit, which it is now saying

That seems to me to be at the heart...

No, Mr Rees-Mogg, we were absolutely clear-eyed about the risks.

We are charged by Parliament to do that.

The next step is not just to observe risks,

We have made the crystallisation of those risks less likely.

Mr Carney said he welcomed evidence of an economic bounceback,

As barometer of investor confidence in the UK economy,

the value of the pound against the dollar is

Before the referendum, sterling was riding high,

After the Brexit vote, the pound's value plunged to $1.28.

Good for exports, not so good for imports such as food and energy,

Since then, the pound has seen some volatility and then

Investors are feeling more confident as the threat

The UK has held up pretty well after the Brexit referendum.

A lot of confidence indicators are pretty weak.

And if we look ahead, I think there's still some

Maybe as we trigger Article 50, probably next year, and as inflation

picks up and squeezes consumers' real income.

The cheers went up just 76 days ago, but major questions remain

What about tax and spending policies to support the economy?

The answers will take months or years to become clear.

In the race for the White House most major opinion polls seem to have

tightened once again, reducing the apparent lead enjoyed

by Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump during the summer months.

Mrs Clinton has been persistently dogged by criticism of her use

of a private email server while she was Secretary of State.

This week she's been campaigning in Florida,

one of the key battle ground states which for the past five presidential

Our correspondent Nick Bryant joined her on the campaign trail

Florida, the Sunshine State, where the road to the White House

Battlegrounds don't come much more beautiful,

and this one is especially important because its multiracial

demographics are representative of the country as a whole.

That helps Hillary Clinton, because to study the faces

at her rallies is to look at a mosaic of modern-day America.

Donald Trump supporters are mainly white.

But her events lack the scale and passion of his rallies.

It's telling that her best applause lines come from attacking

the billionaire, her Trump card, in the most literal sense of all.

He stands there, mocks a reporter with a disability, and he calls

women "pigs", and he calls Mexican immigrants "rapists and criminals"

Donald Trump is totally unfit and unqualified to be our president.

Beating the most unpopular Republican presidential nominee

in the history of modern-day polling should have been something

The problem - she's the most unpopular ever Democrat.

Take this women's football team, practising on a field next

Its players are split 50-50 between Clinton and Trump.

Coach Denise Shilty Brown has a theory about why they aren't more

enthused about the prospect of a female president.

They speak about things they have heard Trump say or done

They still think he's honest and forthright,

and yet everything that Hillary has been perceived as saying or doing,

they really want to hit her hard for it.

Unfortunately we criticise women faster and easier,

and we are much more accepting of men's mistakes.

But it's with white males that her poll numbers are tanking.

Local businessman James Ollashay would rather dive into a shark pool

It's the cumulative effect of the e-mail controversy,

and foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation.

A poll this week revealed voters think Donald Trump is more honest.

Too many scandals, too many things, some of which at least

I have a struggle believing her, honestly.

Twilight racing in a state that is used to close contests.

Some show the billionaire edging ahead.

Donald Trump is gaining in the polls, not because he's

becoming more popular, but because Hillary

A poll released in the last couple of days suggested her image

is at its lowest point in 25 years in public life.

As we enter the home stretch, she remains the favourite,

but both of these deeply unpopular candidates are limping

Nick Bryant, BBC News, Florida.

The Prime Minister has attempted to reassure Conservative MPs opposed

to her plans to allow new grammar schools in England.

Theresa May was speaking tonight in Westminster at a meeting

She said grammars would not be forced on areas that

Our political correspondent Iain Watson is in Westminster tonight.

What is the significance of these remarks? I think it is this, it is

the first time that Theresa May, as Prime Minister, has discussed her

thoughts on grammar schools with her own MPs, coming just 24 hours after

a Government document was leaked suggesting that grammar schools

could be expanded. This obviously concerned some of her own

backbenchers, tonight she told them she would not be turning the clock

back grammar schools to the 1950s where children were split aged 11 on

the basis of academic ability, and Grammar schools would not be imposed

on areas which did not want them. But she achieved the feat which

possibly only a new Prime Minister can, as well as reassuring opponents

of grammar schools, she reassured supporters. She said that there is a

selection of house price in the current system, where people may pay

more to live close to an outstanding school. She was signalling that it

was a logical that the areas which already have grammar schools, such

as Kent, that there should be a ban, as currently exists, on new schools

in those area. Those who support grammar schools

for Juba signalling that you might take that approach and expanded to

the rest of the country, so if there was demand to have new grammar

schools, that is something she would consider. We expect to get the

government's formal proposals in the next few days. Ian, thank you. Some

of the other main news stories now. Hundreds of thousands of passengers

using trains in London, Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire have once again

had their journeys disrupted by another strike

affecting Southern Rail. Members of the RMT union have walked

out for 48 hours in a long-running The union said today the dispute

could last till Christmas. The first part of a multi-billion

pound deal which could see the US media giant liberty media acquiring

Formula 1 could be announced. Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone

says he will stay on in his job for three years. Liberty Media will buy

a minority stake, with the intention of eventually mounting a full

takeover. In rugby union, Warren Gatland has

been confirmed as head coach of the British and Irish Lions

for the second time. He'll lead their tour of his home

country New Zealand next summer. His assistant Rob Howley

is to take charge of Wales The tech giant Apple has

unveiled its new iPhone this evening in California,

with some new features. But the bigger question

is whether this new version will satisfy the demands

of shareholders who want to see the company continue

to achieve rapid growth. Our technology correspondent

Rory Cellan-Jones has the story. It's the best iPhone that we have

ever created. His company has been ordered to pay

Ireland billions in back taxes, his investors wonder if the boom years

are over, but, for Tim Cook, everything is awesome.

It makes all the things you do every day so much better. The boss of

Apple knows that an iPhone launches the biggest event of the company's

year, vital to regaining momentum. The iPhone 7 is waterproof and

boasts what is said to be the best camera in a phone, but it is most

notable for what is missing. The old headphones jack is missing, now you

will have to plug-in you set into the power jack or splash out on

wireless and earbuds. That means millions will find their way of

living has become obsolete. I know why they are doing it, more money,

you will be able to buy headphones, they will cost more. It is the next

step, they always try to do new things. For me, it would not work.

If the connection and sound quality are better, they may be some

advantage. Apple has a range of products making

plenty of money from all of them, but the iPhone accounts for more

than 50% of its revenue and even more of its profits. In the last

year it has seemed that its best days might be behind it. Apple's

share price reflects the iPhone plasma changing fortunes. The launch

of the bigger iPhone six in 2014 was a huge success, by the following

May, the price had hit a record high of $133. But since then, as sales

faulted, it headed downwards, closing tonight at $108.

Its biggest competitor Samson has seen phone sales surge ahead,

although there was a recall last week after some batteries caught

fire, a major setback. But Apple is battling not just the Korean firm

but a smartphone -- smartphone market which is dawning.

Markets are saturated, people already own a phone, they are being

used for longer and longer. If Apple wants to deliver growth and make

Wall Street happy it these two really crack these emerging markets,

like China and India. The marketing chief of Apple said

this about removing the headphone socket.

It comes down to one word, courage. But a company which prides itself on

thinking different may find it has not been bold enough to get iPhone

sales surging again. Grime is a unique blend

of musical influences. It's said to be bold and British,

its popularity driven It started in East London around 15

years ago but it's achieved much And the second Grime Awards took

place tonight in London, as our correspondent

Colleen Harris reports. It's British, it's raw,

it's from the streets. What punk was to rock,

grime is to hip-hop. Less about champagne and fast cars,

more about life on the margins. # That's not me,

and it's shut down #. This home-grown scene has emerged

without big record label backing and at times has been criticised

for being too aggressive, too dark. But with Mercury award nominations

for MCs Skepta and Kano, along with big brand sponsorships

knocking on the door, She is one of the few female MCs

and is from Birmingham. New artists on the scene

have shaken the scene up and brought something very

refreshing to the scene and people are like,

grime is popping again, Social media is one of the best

things that could have Or someone who wants

to start writing. You pick up your phone

and that is all your supporters How much has social media driven

the movement of grime? I think grime has been very good

at harnessing what digital media is and can be,

and translating that not only into followers, but into ticket

sales and album sales. For a genre built on the underground

scene, it's growth and appeal to new audiences has attracted

commercial interest. The brands want to reach out

to the people that these artists Obviously this is a very

youthful audience. And brands are going to love that

and want to associate They can get direct

access to the consumer. This grimy sound now shaping up

to secure its place Tonight, if Saudi Arabia is using

British weapons to bomb Yemen, Newsnight learns of turmoil

at the heart of the British establishment as senior MPs tried

to water down Join me now on BBC Two,

11pm in Scotland. Here on BBC One it's time

for the news where you are.